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Marcus Hester (MWF - 9:00-9:50 a.m. -Tribble
Hall A306)
In the first couple of weeks, we work on translating arguments
from English to logic and determining whether these arguments
are valid. Logic is an important tool of the course. I have
written a text for this part of the course. Then the course
consists of three problems:
1) The Nature of Morality, with two subparts:
A) Subjective Relativism and Objectivism. We read some secondary
material on the Sophists, who thought every opinion is as true
as any other. Then we read two texts by Plato (the Apology
and the Crito) about Socrates. Socrates rejected
the Sophists view and thought moral opinions could be improved
by critical questioning. Last we read some early views of Plato
in the Meno. Plato thought that moral matters such as
what is justice could be rationally aroused in persons by questioning
in a way parallel to questions in math. This problem is whether
expressions of a moral judgment such as "abortion is wrong"
are mere expressions of taste or personal preference or whether
such a judgments can be defended objectively by rational means.
This question is about morality.
B) Substantial Moral Codes. Instead of being merely about morality,
substantial moral codes are like the Ten Commandments in telling
us how to actually make moral decisions. J.S. Mill argues that
the moral good is doing that possible action which maximizes
happiness among all those affected by the action. Kant argues
to the contrary that the best action is done solely from duty
defined by moral imperatives such as "you should not make
false promises."
2) Free Will, Knowledge and Modern Philosophy. Aristotle
thought that our body parts, and most things in nature, served
a purpose and that you could not really explain them without
referring to these purposes, a view expressed in his Physics.
Descartes in his Meditations on First Philosophy has
no use for this sort of explanation of material bodies in terms
of purpose. Instead, our bodies, and all animal bodies, are
just machines behaving according to laws of nature. Yet we do
not think of ourselves as machines in our thoughts, actions
and art works. Descartes struggles to reconcile this modern
scientific mechanical view with the way we think of ourselves.
Then we read Aristotle's theory of voluntary actions in relation
to his kind of science in his Nicomachean Ethics. Last
we read Hume's attempt to reconcile liberty with his belief
that everything we do is causally determined.
3) Rational Grounds for Belief in God. Some thinkers have thought
that one can prove by argument that God exists. Anselm tries
to prove that the very definition of God, defined as a being
than which none greater is conceivable, implies that God necessarily
exists. Aquinas tries to prove that God exists from things we
see in nature such as motion and degrees of perfections such
as justice and goodness. Hume casts doubt on all such proofs
and argues that at best we can make belief in a powerful and
good God consistent with the massive evils we observe in the
world.
In terms of grading, we have short weekly tests on the readings,
and a midterm and final exam. The midterm and final exams consist
of problems in logic and essays on the problems covered in the
course. There is an optional paper on any topic in philosophy.
Andrew Cross - (TR - 9:30-10:45 a.m. - Tribble
Hall A306)
The course is envisioned as a kind of workshop in philosophy.
What that means is that at least much of the time it will be
more like a "lab" section than a lecture course. The
emphasis will be not on learning the content of philosophical
doctrines, but on acquiring the skills involved in reading,
writing, and thinking philosophically--learning the practice
of philosophy largely by working through texts and problems
in class in a collaborative manner. In-class work (collective
discussion and exercises) will be an important part of this
process; however, such work will naturally require considerable
out-of-class preparation. The assigned readings will be a mix
of contemporary and classic sources, with considerable (though
not exclusive) emphasis on questions of ethics. Two papers,
a mid-term exam, and a cumulative final exam, along with various
short writing exercises, will be required. Required readings:
articles to be downloaded from course web page.
Charles Lewis - (MWF - 10:00-10:50 a.m. - Tribble
Hall A306)
This course, after examining the common sense and religious
background of the first scientific thinkers or philosophers,
turns to the study of Plato and Aristotle, the major shapers
of pre-modern scientific, theological, and philosophical thought.
Then the course turns to Descartes, the first great architect
of the modern scientific and philosophical ways of thinking.
The study of this momentous departure from pre-modern belief
in the purposive natures of all things--and thus from classical
moral and political philosophy--is followed by the study of
Hume, one of Descartes' major critics who takes modern skepticism
to a new level. Twentieth-century existential nihilism is introduced
along the way in order to consider its place in modern thought
and its radical critique of conventional assumptions about the
meaning or purpose of human existence. Attention is given throughout
to how an examination of modern and pre-modern ways of thinking
can help us to understand contemporary conceptions of self and
world.
Adrian Bardon
(MWF - 11:00-11:50 a.m. - Tribble Hall A306)
(MWF - 1:00-1:50 p.m. - Tribble Hall A306)
Philosophy is not so much a body of knowledge as a process:
it consists in the critical examination of views about fundamental
issues of human existence. Any field of human endeavor can be
the subject of philosophical investigation: mathematics, biology,
psychology, art, medicine, etc. Some inquiries, however, have
come to be seen as particular to the discipline of philosophy
itself, and these are often considered the "core"
areas of philosophy. In this course we will sample several core
issues in classical, early modern and contemporary Western philosophy
through reading, writing, and discussion. Topics we shall focus
on include: skepticism concerning knowledge and science, rational
approaches to religion, free will and determinism, personal
identity and immortality, the nature of consciousness, and animal
and artificial intelligence. Students will take a midterm and
final exam, and will write two short papers. Class discussion
will be emphasized.
Eric Brandon
(MWF - 12:00-12:50 p.m. - Tribble Hall A306)
(MWF - 2:00-2:50 p.m. - Tribble Hall A306)
This course aims to give both an historical and a thematic introduction
to some of the central problems of philosophy. Issues such as
virtue, the good life, the role of reason in human life, freedom
of the will, the origin of evil, the existence of God, and the
nature of knowledge will be explored through the use of classical
texts. These texts are categorized in four historical periods:
Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern. Within each period
the readings will concentrate on problems which were especially
pertinent to the particular historical period in question. The
aim of the course is not to give a comprehensive survey of western
philosophy. Instead, the goal is to challenge students to think
deeply about philosophical problems by reading a few texts as
intensively as possible.
Dorothea Lotter
(TR - 12:00-1:15 p.m. Tribble Hall A306)
(TR - 3:00-4:15 p.m. Tribble Hall A306)
The course will be dealing with basic problems of philosophy
in a twofold sense: We will be exploring, on the one hand, typical
problems of philosophical inquiry and, on the other hand, problems
of philosophical method. We will discuss basic philosophical
questions about identity, knowledge, the mind, the self, the
world, God, free will and morality. The course does not intend
to give you definite answers to these questions, but rather
to encourage you to think philosophically about them according
to your own common sense and good reasons. Special attention
will be paid, moreover, to acquiring basic skills as are required
in reading, writing, analyzing and criticizing a philosophical
text, or in having a philosophical discussion.
Requirements:
An active interest in understanding and engaging in the material;
a considerable amount of short, non-graded but mandatory exercises
and discussion assignments; two short papers, each on one of
the philosophical questions discussed in class; a midterm and
a final take-home exam.
Textbooks:
Simon Blackburn, Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy,
Oxford University Press, 1999; Simon Blackburn, Being Good.
A Short Introduction to Ethics, Oxford University Press
2001; Aloysius P. Martinich, Philosophical Writing: An Introduction,
2nd edition, Blackwell Publishers 1997.
Clark Thompson
(TR - 12:00-1:15 p.m. Tribble Hall A307)
(TR - 1:30-2:45 p.m. Tribble Hall A306)
We will study the following questions in political, social,
ethical, and religious thought: Do we have an obligation to
obey the law? What is the extent of the legitimate authority
of government in matters of religion? Have the arts and sciences
promoted moral progress, or have they contributed to moral decline?
What is the relation between morality and religion? Can God's
existence and attributes be established by appeal to the existence
of design in nature? Is the existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing,
and benevolent God consistent with the existence of suffering
and moral evil? What makes an act morally right?
Hannah Hardgrave - (MW - 3:00-4:15 p.m. Tribble
Hall A306)
Plato's Republic, Descartes' Discourse on Method,
Kant's Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals and Mill's
Utilitarianism provide the framework for this course.
A detailed understanding of the views of these four major philosophers
will include not only the reasons they give to justify their
claims, but also their place in the Western Critical Tradition
- how they came to propose their ideas as well as the criticisms
by their successors. The historical understanding of these philosophical
claims will be the background for their application to a critical
analysis of selected films. Class discussions will focus on
films to be shown in class while topics for the assigned papers
will require a viewing of films outside of class. In addition
to the three papers, there will be short quizzes on the parts
of the reading relevant to the issues illustrated by the films.
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