Undergraduate Program

Graduate teaching assistantship in Philosophy.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Graduate research assistantship in Philosophy.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Philosophers ask questions about a vast variety of topics, including what really exists, what we can know, how we should live, how we should treat each other, whether there is a God or a life after this one, how can we have free choices, and what it means to be a human with a particular identity.  Philosophers seek answers to such questions by thinking carefully about them, using experience, reason and argumentation, and taking into account contributions of the sciences, literature, and other fields. This course will introduce students to some of the most interesting and exciting parts of philosophy.

Location

(TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Leading theories of right and wrong, good and evil, and related matters such as the functions of ethical language and the reality or unreality of moral knowledge.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

An introduction to moral philosophy as applied to current topics. Some questions to be explored: What sorts of socioeconomic principles are morally justifiable? Does the history of racial injustice in the U.S. create a moral demand for reparations, and if so, what is the best argument for this? What is the relation, if any, between morality and religion? Do animals have moral rights? How should we understand the meaning and value of human life and death? Can abortion sometimes be justified, and if so, how? Is it okay to destroy embryos for stem cell research? Is active euthanasia ever permissible? Is capital punishment justifiable in principle? In practice? Is torture morally permissible in the fight against terrorism? How far does our moral duty to aid distant strangers extend? We will also explore related general questions: Is it always possible for a good enough end to justify bad means? Are there objective facts about right or wrong, or is morality ultimately relative to cultures or times? Are there situations in which every available action is wrong? Can we be morally assessed even for some things that are largely a matter of luck?

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Methods of identifying, interpreting, reconstructing, and evaluating reasoning found in speeches, essays, editorials, magazine articles, and scientific reports. Analytical methods mastered in this course do not include those of formal symbolic logic.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

We will investigate broad models of argument and evidence from the interdisciplinary field of argumentation theory. Students will apply these models to specific academic and social contexts of their choice. Some questions we might ask are: Can argument or evidence be understood absent context? What do arguments in STEM fields have in common with those in the humanities? For instance, is there common ground in how we argue about English literature and how biologists argue about the natural world? How do audience and purpose in disciplines such as psychology, physics and philosophy shape what counts as an argument in their respective fields? Does political argument resemble academic argument? What strategies will enable experts to communicate more effectively with public audiences in fields such as public health and the environmental humanities? Students will write frequent reflections, develop several short papers, and the semester will culminate in the construction of a final project of the student’s own design (for example, a research paper, a website, a podcast…) that can focus on any aspect of academic, professional, or political argumentation.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Logic is the study of valid forms of argument. This course is an introduction to symbolic logic, a modern theory of logic that involves the construction of an artificial symbolic language within which the logical forms of sentences can be expressed and the validity of arguments can be proven. Students will learn two logical systems, Sentence Logic and Predicate Logic. In addition to translating English arguments into symbolic form, and constructing interpretations to demonstrate the invalidity of arguments, students will also learn how to prove that an argument is valid using a set of rigorously defined implication rules for each logical system.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This course is an introduction to the ethics of human beings’ interactions with the environment and the impact of those interactions on other human beings, other species, and ecosystems. It addresses basic questions about the nature of ethics itself, alternative ethical theories and considerations, and the value of individual human beings, individuals of other species, species as such, and ecosystems.  Topics will include the interests of future generations, animal rights, the concept of nature, climate change, sustainability, and population and consumption.

Location

(TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Often regarded as generating many of our contemporary philosophical questions and resources, the philosophy of 17th and 18th century Europe was shaped by the new science of Galileo, Descartes and Newton, geopolitical developments like the Thirty Years War and exploration and colonization of non-European places, and debates about religious and political freedom and toleration. Readings from among Montaigne, Descartes, Cavendish, Leibniz, Conway, Spinoza, Newton, Du Chatelet, Berkeley and Hume on methodology, motion, space and time, causality, perception, the mind-body problem, toleration and knowledge.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course aims to give students familiarity with some of the basic mathematical concepts and tools used in decision theory as well as an appreciation of some of the main philosophical issues at stake. We will cover theories of rational decision making both for individual agents and for groups.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Analysis of the nature of mathematical objects and nature and foundations of mathematical knowledge.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

We do social and political philosophy to better understand how our social and political communities should be structured. We’ll use both classic and contemporary works of political philosophy to explore how we might best balance two aims of political community: Freedom and Equality. While both of these aims are central to a just society, they also seem to be in deep tension with one another.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

We do social and political philosophy to better understand how our social and political communities should be structured. We’ll use both classic and contemporary works of political philosophy to explore how we might best balance two aims of political community: Freedom and Equality. While both of these aims are central to a just society, they also seem to be in deep tension with one another.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Most health care ethics focuses on the individual decisions about health care, but many ethical questions have implications for society at large. The demands that individual health decisions make on the system may create collective problems, and conversely, the needs of society may limit the freedoms that individuals think they should have. Public health ethics then, lie at the intersection of medicine, political philosophy, and public policy. This course will examine the values of health, social needs, and freedom through a systematic examination of situations in which these conflicts arise.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Most health care ethics focuses on the individual decisions about health care, but many ethical questions have implications for society at large. The demands that individual health decisions make on the system may create collective problems, and conversely, the needs of society may limit the freedoms that individuals think they should have. Public health ethics then, lie at the intersection of medicine, political philosophy, and public policy. This course will examine the values of health, social needs, and freedom through a systematic examination of situations in which these conflicts arise.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Theories and controversies about the nature and aims of education; boundaries of educational authority; educational adequacy, equality, and justice; learning, inquiry, knowledge, and critical thinking; the measurement of learning; moral and civic education; patriotism, evolution, and sex in the curriculum.

Location

(W 4:50PM - 7:30PM)

Prerequisite - at least one prior course in Philosophy
In this course, we will explore several main questions: What are race and gender? What do we want race and gender to be? How might our treatment of applied issues in race- and gender-related areas change if we reimagined the concepts? When we look at the world around us, it seems clear that race and gender are real categories – after all, some people are obviously disadvantaged by their race or gender, and other people are obviously advantaged. But just how should we think about these categories? Are they biological realities? Are they “mere” social realities? Or are we mistaken, and do they not meaningfully exist at all? In this course, we will explore the roles that these concepts play in the real world and how these concepts could be reimagined as effective tools for changing our world for the better.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

No prior courses in science required.
Investigates topics in contemporary metaphysics, including questions about the existence and persistence conditions of abstract and material objects; the nature of space and time; the possibility of time travel; the status of quantum mechanics.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

No prior courses in science required.
Investigates topics in contemporary metaphysics, including questions about the existence and persistence conditions of abstract and material objects; the nature of space and time; the possibility of time travel; the status of quantum mechanics.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

The course addresses major questions in epistemology, using recent philosophical readings. The questions include: What is knowledge? Do context or practical concerns affect what we know? Do we really know anything about the world around us? What makes a belief justified? When is disagreement rational?

Location

(TR 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

The course addresses major questions in epistemology, using recent philosophical readings. The questions include: What is knowledge? Do context or practical concerns affect what we know? Do we really know anything about the world around us? What makes a belief justified? When is disagreement rational?

Location

(TR 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

The goal of the course is to examine a number of central philosophical problems about language (including the nature of linguistic meaning and its relation to truth, reference, communication, and necessity), while exploring the connections between these problems and issues in and about philosophy more generally.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

The goal of the course is to examine a number of central philosophical problems about language (including the nature of linguistic meaning and its relation to truth, reference, communication, and necessity), while exploring the connections between these problems and issues in and about philosophy more generally.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Many people believe that very soon, artificial intelligence is going to be everywhere. Artificial systems will steer cars, ships, and planes, care for the sick, fight fires and fight wars for us, organize our schedules, order our food, etc. But what exactly is an artificial intelligence? And can there be artificial systems that truly think, or feel? In this course, we will address questions like these from a philosophical perspective. In doing so, we will encounter some of the most fundamental issues in the philosophy of mind‹for example, what are thoughts and feelings, and how might they relate to physical states of our brains, or to computational states? We will then examine how artificial systems, such as artificial neural networks, function, and discuss what they might teach us about the mind in general and about human minds in particular. Finally, we will consider the consequences that the development and application of artificial intelligence might have for humanity.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Many people believe that very soon, artificial intelligence is going to be everywhere. Artificial systems will steer cars, ships, and planes, care for the sick, fight fires and fight wars for us, organize our schedules, order our food, etc. But what exactly is an artificial intelligence? And can there be artificial systems that truly think, or feel? In this course, we will address questions like these from a philosophical perspective. In doing so, we will encounter some of the most fundamental issues in the philosophy of mind‹for example, what are thoughts and feelings, and how might they relate to physical states of our brains, or to computational states? We will then examine how artificial systems, such as artificial neural networks, function, and discuss what they might teach us about the mind in general and about human minds in particular. Finally, we will consider the consequences that the development and application of artificial intelligence might have for humanity.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)