PHIL 100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 9:30-10:20 TR/Disc 9:00-9:50 or 10:00-10:50 F/Klein
This course will provide an introduction to central themes and methods in western philosophy. We will consider a number of topics, including the existence of god, knowledge of other minds, and the possibility of free will. Readings will come from a variety of historical and contemporary sources.
Required Text: TBA.
PHIL 100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 11:00- 11:50 TR/Disc 2:00-2:50, 3:00-3:50 F/Sinkler
This course will provide a general introduction to some of the central problems in philosophy: What do we know and how do we know it? Does a supremely perfect being exist? Do we have free will? What is the nature of mortality? Readings will be from classic and contemporary sources.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 9:00- 9:50 MW/Disc 1:00- 1:50, 2:00- 2:50, or 3:00- 3:50 F/Snyder
(Catalog Description) A survey of traditional problems concerning the existence and nature of God, freedom, justification, morality, etc. Readings from historical or contemporary philosophers.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 5:30- 7:00 M/Disc 7:00-8:00 M/Staff
(Catalog Description) A survey of traditional problems concerning the existence and nature of God, freedom, justification, morality, etc. Readings from historical or contemporary philosophers.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 102: INTRODUCTORY LOGIC
Lect 11:00-11:50 MW/Disc 1:00- 1:50, 2:00- 2:50, or 3:00- 3:50F/Hylton
An introduction to the concepts and techniques of modern logic.
Required Text: Virginia Klenk, Understanding Symbolic Logic.
PHIL 102: INTRODUCTORY LOGIC
Lect 10:00-10:50 MW/Disc 10:00-10:50 or 1:00-1:50, or 2:00- 2:50 F/Sutherland
Logic brings clarity to one’s thinking and it helps one understand and evaluate the reasons people give to do or believe something. Logic helps with just about every intellectual endeavor, whether it be writing a paper for English class or evaluating the arguments of political candidates. Besides being useful, it is philosophically important. Formal logic can be viewed as the structure of thought and reasoning. It is also like a language because it can be articulated in a few simple rules that can generate an infinite number of sentences that validly follow from each other. The connections between language, logic and thought are rich in philosophical interest.
Logic concerns the form of valid reasoning. An classic example of valid reasoning is: “All humans are mortal. Socrates is a human. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.” Any argument that has the same form will be valid. Valid logical arguments can be much more complicated than this and can be strung together into extended logical proofs. Formal logic is the study of identifying, understanding and applying the forms of these arguments. This course uses a computer-based formal logical system. We will learn how to express sentences in this system, and then how to carry out valid proofs from a set of sentences taken as premises to a sentence taken as a conclusion. We will also learn how to recognize and demonstrate that an invalid argument is invalid. The ultimate aim is to enable you identify and analyze the logical form of arguments. This in turn will improve your ability to think critically and evaluate the reasons people give to do or believe something.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 102: INTRODUCTORY LOGIC
Lect 5:30-7:00 T/Disc 7:00-8:00 T/Staff
(Catalog Description): Sentential logic: representation of English using truth-functional connectives, decision methods, natural deduction techniques. Introduction to predicate logic: representation of English using quantifiers. Decision methods for monadic predicate logic.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 103: INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Lect 9:30-10:20 TR/Disc 12:00-12:50, 1:00- 1:50, or 2:00- 2:50 F/Sedgwick
In this course we consider classic texts in Western moral philosophy. We begin with the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), then move on to explore the Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius (121-180). We will devote most of the course, however, to studying great authors of the modern period: Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), and J.S. Mill (1806-1873). There are no prerequisites for this course.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 103: INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Lect 5:30-7:00 W/Disc 7:00-8:00 W/Staff
(Catalog Description): Surveys attempts to answer central questions of ethics: What acts are right? What things are good? How do we know this? Individual and Society course.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 104: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL/POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Lect 12:30- 1:20 TR/Disc 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50 F/ Whipple
In this course we will study three of the most influential works in the history of western political philosophy: Plato's Republic, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, and John Rawls' A Theory of Justice. We will consider questions such as the following: what is the best form of government? What is justice? What are the limits of the power that society can legitimately exercise over the individual? What principles should a society use to distribute the benefits and burdens of social cooperation?
Required Text: Republic, Plato, trans. C. D. C. Reeve, Hackett, 2004; On Liberty, J. S. Mill, ed. E. Rapaport, Hackett, 1977; A Theory of Justice Revised Edition, John Rawls, Harvard, 1999.
PHIL 107: UNDERSTANDING ART
Lect 9:30-10:20 TR/Disc 9:00- 9:50 or 10:00- 10:50 F/Eaton
(Description from Fall 2006) What is art? Why do we value it? These are the questions that will occupy us as we explore leading philosophical theories of art. Focusing mainly on the visual arts, we’ll aim to bring abstract thinking about art to bear on our experience of actual works in Chicago museums.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 115: DEATH
Lect 11:00- 11:50 MW/ Disc 11:00- 11:50 or 12:00- 12:50 F/ Grossman
We will examine several philosophical issues pertaining to death and dying, with particular emphasis on the question of survival of the person after death. Some of the questions we shall discuss are: Is there evidence for survival? How do our beliefs about survival affect our attitude towards death and dying? How do our attitudes about death affect how we live our lives?
Required texts: Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich; Almeder, Death and Personal Survival; Callanan and Kelley, Final Gifts; Album, Tuesdays with Morrie, Album; Ring, Lessons From the Light.
PHIL 120: INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Lect 11:00- 11:50 TR/ Disc 10:00- 10:50 or 11:00- 11:50 F/ Meinwald
What is philosophy? How is it different from other forms of human activity? Is it beneficial? Can it be harmful? We will address these questions by reading, in translation, texts that feature a character
called "Socrates": the *Clouds* of Aristophanes and some of Plato's dialogues.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 141: PHILOSOPHY AND REVELATION: JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES
Lect 9:00-9:50 MW/ Disc 1:00- 1:50 or 2:00- 2:50 F/ Fleischacker
Many philosophers - in past centuries, at least - have argued that there is a God, but the God they have defended with their arguments is an unchangeable, immaterial Being that could not possibly intervene in history, speak to human beings, or take human form. What relation can this God of reason bear to the God described in the Torah and the Gospels? This question has vexed Jewish and Christian thinkers for much of the past 200 years. We will look in this class at a sampling of the most ingenious theories that have been proposed for how either Scripture should be re-interpreted, or the "God of philosophers" revised, to bring religious and philosophical understandings of God together. Readings from Moses Mendelssohn, Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, and Hermann Cohen.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 202: PHILOSOPHY OF PSYCHOLOGY
Lect/ Disc 9:30- 10:45 TR/ Potts
(Catalog Description): Theories and methods of scientific psychology: modes of explaining the structure of theories, the nature of mental states; implications of commonsense conceptions of the mind.
Required Text: TBA
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy; or junior or senior standing in the physical, biological, or social sciences; or consent of the instructor.
PHIL 203: METAPHYSICS
Lect 1:00- 1:50 MW/ Disc 1:00- 1:50 F/ Edelberg
We will explore a number of foundational issues in metaphysics: universals and particulars, necessity and possibility, causation, time, and persistence through time. Course requirements: weekly homework assignments and/or short quizzes, class participation, one 1-page paper, one 2-page paper, two 6-8-page papers, and a final exam. Texts to be announced. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 210: SYMBOLIC LOGIC
Lect-Disc 11:00-12:15 TR/Jarrett
This course provides a review of truth-functional logic (the main focus of Philosophy 102, which is a prerequisite for this course) and a thorough treatment of the principles of first-order predicate logic (“quantification theory”) with identity. Our study will include a system of natural deduction for predicate logic. We will examine a handful of more advanced topics as time permits.
Required Text: Understanding Symbolic Logic (4th edition), by Virginia Klenk. (ISBN 0-13-020142-1)
PHIL 220: ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY I: PLATO AND HIS PREDECESSORS
Lect 10:00- 10:50 MW/ Disc 10:00- 10:50 F/Grossman
Plato is often regarded as the father of Western Philosophy. The breadth, depth, and beauty of the Platonic dialogues, together with their lasting influence, render them as important and relevant for study today as they were when they were first written over two thousand years ago. In this course we will read selected Platonic dialogues, including Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phadrus, Phaedo, Gorgias, and his masterpiece, The Republic.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 223: HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY I: DESCARTES AND HIS SUCCESSORS
Lect 11:00- 11:50 MW/ Disc 11:00- 11:50 F/Whipple
This course will begin with a careful study of Descartes' epistemology and metaphysics. We will focus on his most famous work, Meditations on First Philosophy, but will also draw from Principles of Philosophy and his correspondence. In the remainder of the course we will consider how Descartes' views were received by three other leading figures of the early modern period: Spinoza, Malebranche, and Leibniz. Topics covered will include skepticism, the natures of mind and body (and their relation), causation, theistic proof, the problem of evil, human freedom, and modality.
Required Text: Philosophical Essays and Correspondence, Descartes, ed. R. Ariew, Hackett, 2000; Ethics, Spinoza, trans. S. Shirley, Hackett, 1992; Philosophical Selections, Malebranche, ed. S. Nadler, Hackett, 1992; Philosophical Essays, Leibniz, trans. R. Ariew and D. Garber, Hackett, 1989.
PHIL 230: TOPICS IN ETHICS AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Lect 12:00- 12:50 MW/ Disc 12:00- 12:50 F/Svolba
This course is an introduction to contemporary philosophy of law. Topics will include: the nature of law; the limits of law; the basis of our obligation to obey the law; the nature of rights; and the justification of punishment. Students will be expected to complete reading assignments prior to each class. Two Exams; One Paper.
Required Text: TBA
Prerequisites: One course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.
PHIL 232: SEX ROLES: MORAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES
Lect- Disc 12:30 – 1:45 TR/ Eaton
(Description from Fall 2006) What is sexism? What should be done about it? This course focuses on these two questions and provides an overview of feminists’ responses to them, including critiques of the questions themselves. Through a combination of both historical and contemporary philosophical works as well as political texts considering practical applications, we shall explore major theories of sex oppression. This course does not aim to present definitive answers to these questions but instead to provide you with the conceptual tools needed to form your own opinions regarding sexism.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 400: PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
1 hour. Prerequisite(s): Major in philosophy and concurrent registration in a 400-level philosophy course as designated in the Timetable. This term Phil. 424 (CRN 26568) is the designated course to be taken in conjunction with Philosophy 400.
PHIL 404: PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Lect/ Disc 2:00- 3:15 TR/ Jarrett
This will be a survey course examining a broad range of standard topics. Among the topics to be addressed are the nature of scientific theories, scientific laws, explanation, realism, objectivity, confirmation theory, scientific reasoning, and causation. We will give consideration to the role of the logical empiricist movement as a historical backdrop to more recent developments. We will also examine one or two topics in the foundations of physics in order to explore some connections between the special sciences and more general issues in the philosophy of science. Readings will be drawn from an anthology (see the required text title below) and supplemented by a selection of articles to be made available in photocopied form.
Required Text: Philosophy of Science, edited by Marc Lange, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN: 1-4051-3034-2
PHIL 416: METALOGIC I
Lect- Disc 12:00- 12:50 MWF/ Sutherland
This is a first course in metatheory for sentence and predicate logic. Completeness and compactness theorems and their applications. We will use but will not rely too heavily on Mendelsohn’s Introduction to Mathematical Logic. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 210 or consent of the instructor.
Required Texts: TBA
Prerequisite: Phil 210 or consent of the instructor.
PHIL 422: MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Lect- Disc 2:00- 3:15 TR/ Sinkler
The course will follow the development of philosophy in the Latin-speaking West from the beginning of the Christian era through the 15th Century. The emphasis will be on metaphysics, including philosophical theology, in the work of authors such as Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas.
Required Texts
PHIL 424: KANT
Lect/ Disc 12:30- 1:45 TR/ Sedgwick
The focus of this course is Kant’s metaphysics and theory of knowledge. We will prepare the way for our study of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason with a brief review of David Hume’s skeptical arguments about human knowledge. We will then try to understand how the Critique of Pure Reason is Kant’s effort to provide an alternative to “save” metaphysics from Hume’s skeptical arguments. We will consider Kant’s treatment of the nature of space and time, his account of the pure concepts of understanding (the “categories”), his argument in defense of the view that we have some material knowledge that is necessary. In the final weeks of the course, we will consider his claim that his
theory of knowledge also provides a foundation for a theory of human freedom.
Required Text: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding , David Hume; Critique of Pure Reason , Immanuel Kant.
PHIL 432: TOPICS IN ETHICS
Lect-Disc 10:00- 10:50 MWF/Svolba
In this course we will examine philosophical accounts of freedom of the will, moral responsibility, and the relationship between the two. Readings will be drawn from both classical and contemporary authors. One Exam; Two Papers.
Prerequisite: One 200-level course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 501: TOPICS IN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Lect-Disc 12:30- 3:00 T/Meinwald
Topic for 2007: PLATO.
We will read and engage philosophically with several Platonic dialogues chosen to let us pursue one or more of the following themes (to be chosen according to the interests of participants): The Legacy of Socrates; Platonic Love and Immortality; The Moral Psychology of the *Republic*.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 505: SEMINAR IN MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Lect-Disc 1:30- 4:00 R/Hilbert
The Philosophy of George Berkeley.
A comprehensive survey of Berkeley's philosophy, including the works on vision and some of the later works such as Alciphron and Siris. Berkeley's work will be situated with respect to some of his main philosophical influences and contemporaries, especially Descartes, Locke, Malebranche and Bayle. The secondary literature will be used where helpful but the focus will be on Berkeley's works and the not their reception.
Requirements: 5-6 short papers and one longer (10 page) paper
PHIL 528: LIBERALISM AND RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT
Lect- Disc 1:00- 3:30 M/ Fleischacker
This class will focus on the question of the relationship between religious commitment and citizenship, asking above all whether John Rawls is right to claim that the reasons we give for our fundamental political principles should not depend on religious faith. Much of the class will be devoted to a close reading of Rawls's Political Liberalism, after which we will consider criticisms of or alternatives to Rawls's position in writings by Robert Adams, Charles Larmore, Robert Audi, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Kent Greenawalt, and others.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 532: METAPHYSICS
Lect-Disc 3:30- 6:00 T/Klein
This course will survey recent literature on functions, focusing in particular on the notion of function in psychology and biology. We will consider what it means to say that something has a particular function, what the metaphysical place of functional properties might be, and what sort of evolutionary or causal background must be in place for something to have a function. We will focus on recent literature, but time permitting we may discuss some historical perspectives as well.
Required Text: TBA
PHIL 540: PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Lect-Disc 2:00- 4:30 F/Huggett
In this seminar we will consider various issues in the philosophy (and physics) of time. Is time change? Causal order? Does the present move? Why are the past and future so unalike? Why do we remember the past and not the future? Why do causes precede their effects? Is time travel possible? What light is shed on these questions by statistical physics and relativity? (No detailed knowledge of physics is presupposed, but some solid understanding will be developed using very simple algebra and geometry.)
Required Text: TBA |