| PHIL
100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 9:30-10:20 TR/Disc 9:00 or 10:00 F/Instructor:
Edelberg
The
first half of this course addresses questions concerning the nature of evidence,
truth, and knowledge--that branch of philosophy known as epistemology. For instance,
are there certain desirable characteristics that all our beliefs and opinions
ought to have? If so, what are they? Do our beliefs about certain subjects lack
these characteristics? Do any of our beliefs actually have these characteristics?
The second half addresses questions in ethical theory. For instance, is there
an objective difference between moral right and wrong? Can it be defined? If so,
how? Why do the right thing? Required texts: Joel Feinberg and Russ Shafer-Landau,
Reason and Responsibility, 10th edition; Gordon Harvey, Writing with
Sources: A Guide for Students. PHIL
100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 11:00 TR/Disc 10:00 or 11:00 F/Instructor:
Sinkler
The 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 morality?
Readings will be from classic and contemporary sources. Required texts: Burr and
Goldinger, eds., Philosophy and Contemporary Issues. PHIL
100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 11:00 MW/Disc 10:00 or 11:00 F/Instructor:
Hilbert
An introduction to the methods and problems of philosophy. The
problems to be focused on include: Does God exist? Can we know anything about
the external world? What is the nature of the human mind and its relation to the
body? Attention will be paid not only to substantive answers to the questions
but also to the methods available for assessing these answers. The readings are
drawn from both classic texts and the contemporary literature. Required texts:
Rene Descartes, Meditations; David Hume, Concerning Natural Religion;George
Berkeley, Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous, George Berkeley;
John Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality. PHIL
100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 10:00 MW/Disc 10:00 or 11:00 F/Instructor:
Lee
The aim of this course is to introduce and examine a few central problems
and questions in philosophy, with readings from classic texts in the history of
philosophy. The problems include: How should one live? What is the best kind of
human life, and how do the claims of justice fit into it (Plato)? If such an account
can be given of the best life, is it within the place of good government to make
sure that people live such lives (Plato)--or is there a distinct value to be assigned
to liberty and tolerance for different "experiments in living" (Mill)? What is
the nature of our claims to knowledge about the world (Descartes)? What is the
relation between the mind and the body (Descartes)? Does God exist (Descartes,
Hume)? Required texts: Plato, Republic (tr. GMA Grube, rev. C.D.C. Reeve);
Mill, On Liberty (ed. Elizabeth Rapaport); Descartes, Meditations
(tr.Cottingham); David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (ed.
Richard Popkin). PHIL
100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 1:00 MW/Disc 12:00 or 1:00 F/Instructor:
Meinwald
This course is designed to introduce students to the activity
of doing philosophy. We will read the work of selected great figures and engage
in philosophical debate with them. There will be two short papers and two exams.
Required texts: R. Solomon, Introducing Philosophy. PHIL
100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 5:30-7:00 PM M/Disc 7:00 PM M/Instructor:
Milsky
We will cover a broad range of issues to introduce the novice philosopher
to some of the methods and questions of philosophy. Some of the main problems
we will address are: Arguments for and against the existence of God. Can we ever
have knowledge about anything in the world around us? Who am I? Are humans inherently
selfish? Why be moral? We will also discuss some applied ethics, depending on
the interests of the class. The course will also include viewing some films that
develop the ideas of the philosophical literature. Since the course only meets
once per week, it will be very intense and active participation will be heavily
encouraged. Required texts: Bowie, Michaels and Solomon, Twenty Questions:
An Introduction to Philosophy. PHIL
100: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Lect 5:30-7:00 PM R/Disc 7:00 PM R/Instructor:
Baz
Two main issues will occupy us in this course. First, we will read
Plato's account of Socrates' trial and last days. We will discuss some of Socrates'
more specific claims and arguments, but our central question will concern the
point of his activity: How exactly is his peculiar mode of engagement with
the citizens of Athens supposed to lead them to improving their lives? In the
second part of the course we will examine various forms of skepticism--the idea
(or philosophical discovery) that we don't really know, that we can't really
know, something we think we obviously do know (that the world exists, that
other people around us are not automata, that the sun will rise tomorrow, that
we have free will). We will ask ourselves whether the various forms of skepticism
make sense, and what can be learned from the fact that skepticism, sometimes,
appears to be true. Required texts: Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates;
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy; Hume, An Enquiry Concerning
Human Understanding. PHIL
102: INTRODUCTORY LOGIC
Lect 10:00 MW/Disc 9:00 or 10:00 or 11:00 F/Instructor:
Wilson
This course is an introduction to symbolic logic, specifically
sentence logic and as much of predicate logic as time allows. Topics to be covered
include basic concepts such as validity, consistency, and logical implication.
A formal language will be developed in which English sentences and logical operators
can be represented. Techniques for representing sentences of English in the formal
language will be introduced. The use of truth tables to test for basic semantic
properties and relations such as validity and invalidity, consistency and inconsistency,
logical truth and logical falsity will be studied. Finally, we present a system
of natural deduction rules by means of which conclusions can be derived from premises.
Concepts relating to proof and derivation are explained and developed. This course
will involve homework assignments some of which may be done on computer. Every
student must have a computer account. Logic software ("Logic Coach") has been
installed on the computer network so that it may be accessed by computers in the
computer labs. The software will also be available for use on home PCs (not available
for MACs); Use of the computer software will be explained. Homework will count
approximately 10% of the final grade. There will also be 3 exams, each counting
30% of the final grade. The course syllabus and assignments will be distributed
over the Philosophy 102 Web page. From the UIC home page click on The Classroom",
then click on "Class Materials Online", then click on "Philosophy", and then click
on "Phil 102 -Intro to Logic - Prof. Kent Wilson". Lecture notes and assignments
can be accessed from the syllabus. Announcements of exams and descriptions of
the material covered will also be made over FirstClass, a mail and conferencing
program that also permits students to drop off homework electronically in the
homework dropbox folder, and to participate in the phil 102 chat room. These resources
will be used to discuss problems, make announcements, etc. Required texts: Patrick
Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic. Software: Nelson Pole, Logic
Coach (under the "ClassApps" on the lab computers and distributed free by
the instructor. It requires two 1.44 M floppy disks.) PHIL
102: INTRODUCTORY LOGIC
Lect 12:00 MW/Disc 11:00 or 12:00 or 1:00 F/Instructor:
Huggett
What is logic and what does it have to offer? In one sense, logic
is a study of the structure of language -- it is based on the idea that
the infinity of possible sentences can all be composed according to a few simple
rules, so that different sentences composed according to the same rules have the
same 'form’. In another sense, logic is a study of arguments -- the idea
of 'formal’ logic is that when one knows the logical form of an argument, one
can precisely determine whether it is valid or not. In yet another sense, logic
is a study of thought and reason -- for it is natural to think of our thought
processes as like arguments from existing beliefs to new ones. Hence logic is
also important in computer science -- since computers are 'artificial reasoning
machines’. To understand these ideas we will study and master the apparatus of
formal logic: the languages of propositional and predicate logics, and the methods
of proving validity. With this in hand we can start to see the power and importance
of modern logic in a variety of fields: and, perhaps of most immediate practical
benefit in other courses, students will develop precision in their arguments and
reasoning. Required texts: to be announced. PHIL
102: INTRODUCTORY LOGIC
Lect 5:30-7:00 PM T/Disc 7:00 PM T//Instructor:
Kozma
(Catalog description) Sentential logic: representation of English
using truth-functional connectives, truth table methods, natural deduction techniques.
Introduction to predicate logic: representation of English using quantifiers.
Decision methods for monadic predicate logic. Required texts: to be announced. PHIL
103: INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Lect 9:00 MW/Disc 9:00 or 10:00 F/Instructor:
Poncinie
We all face moral decisions in our day-to-day lives. What does
morality require of us? What does it permit? Ethics courses are of two kinds.
Some focus on issues of contemporary interest, and some on more abstract ethical
theories. This course stresses the first, but introduces both. Neither appraoch
can be taken in isolation. In the first few weeks we consider three theories and
apply them to one major problem. Details of the theories will come out by application
to other problems. Further theoretical issues include the relation of ethics to
other fields (e.g., religion, law, science, business, medicine). Ethics is already
part of your world-view. This course will help you to make your view more explicit
and to decide whether it needs revision. Required texts: Larry May, et.al., Applied
Ethics. PHIL
103: INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Lect 5:30-7:00 W/Disc 7:00 W/Instructor: Cohen
This course will be an introduction to ethics centered on the issue of affirmative
action. The readings will be drawn primarily from contemporary sources in philosophy,
with complementary readings from classic texts and legal and political sources.
Required texts: to be announced. PHIL
105: SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY
Lect 10:00 MW/Disc 10:00 or 11:00 F/Instructor:
Huggett
What is space? It seems to be all around us, but we can’t see
it (and not because it is too small, for it may be infinite). It is part of the
physical realm, for it is studied in physics (in classical physics physical objects
are located in space, and in relativistic physics one studies the physical curvature
of space), but it is not a material object like other physical objects. Space
is at once familiar and unfamiliar. This course looks at the history of scientific
and philosophical attempts to come to grips with these questions, from antiquity
to modern times. Our central idea is that space is described by geometry, for
instance, as a three dimensional version of the Euclidean plane. We will study
the alleged difficulties of this view: Zeno’s paradoxes seem to show that it is
incompatible with the possibility of motion, and we must untangle this challenge.
We will also consider an important debate between Newton and Leibniz concerning
the relation between space and material objects: does space exist at all independently
of matter? Does space influence matter? (Does matter influence space?) We will
consider what it is to be handed: left and right hands are at once very similar
-- twins -- but wholly different -- just try to put a left hand glove on your
right hand. Can we find an explanation of this phenomenon in space? Finally we
will also look at two key features of modern views of space: that space and time
are not truly distinct but are really combined in one four dimensional entity,
'spacetime’, and that space is not, as Euclid would have us believe, flat, but
can be 'warped’. Both of these ideas jar with our intuitions, and we will have
to think through physical examples carefully to illustrate them. Aside from learning
about the history of thought on space and understanding some important concepts
of contemporary spacetime physics, students will discover how philosophy and physics
interact, and will develop their writing skills. Required texts: Course pack of
selected readings; Nicholas Huggett, Space from Zeno to Einstein. PHIL
150: THE PHILOSOPHY OF MYSTICISM
Lect-D 11:00 MWF/ Instructor: Grossman
The central tenet of all forms of mysticism is the belief that it is possible
to experience the Divine, or God, directly. Accounts of such experiences permeate
most of the world's religions and philosophies. In this course we will focus mostly
on the mystical experience as it occurs in non-Western religions and philosophies.
Required texts: Huston Smith, The World's Religions; P. Fenwick, The
Truth in the Light; S. Abhayananda, The History of Mysticism; and The
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Prerequisite: you must be in the Honors
College to enroll in this course PHIL
203: METAPHYSICS
Lect 1:00 MW/Disc 1:00 F/Instructor: Griffin
Philosophical
issues concerning free will, causation, action, mind and body, identity over time,
God, universals and particulars. Required texts: to be announced. Prerequisite:
one course in philosophy or consent of the instructor. PHIL
210: SYMBOLIC LOGIC
Lect 12:30-1:15 TR/Disc 1:15-1:45 TR/Instructor: Jarrett
Representation of English sentences using quantifiers and identity; quantificational
natural deduction; interpretations. Optional topics include naive set theory,
axiomatic systems, theory of descriptions, metatheory. Required texts: to be announced.
Prerequisite: Phil 102; a grade of B or better in Phil. 102 is recommended. PHIL
221: ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY II: ARISTOTLE AND HIS SUCCESSORS
Lect 12:00 MW/Disc
12:00 F/Instructor: Lee
This course will cover selected readings from
Aristotle’s Categories, De Interpretatione, Physics, Metaphysics, De Anima,
Nicomachean Ethics, and Politics, as well as readings from the surviving
fragments from the three Hellenistic (i.e., post-Aristotelian) schools, the Stoics,
Epicureans, and Skeptics. One of the aims of the course will be to come to a better
appreciation of the lively debates in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy concerning
such questions as: what is the best life, and how can philosophy contribute to
it? What is human nature? Is knowledge possible? What should be considered the
basic substance of the universe? What should the basic principles of explanation
be for natural phenomena? In a deterministic world, are our actions up to us?
Required texts: J. L. Ackrill (ed.), A New Aristotle Reader; B. Inwood
and L. Gerson (eds.), Hellenistic Philosophy; R. W. Sharples, Stoics,
Epicureans, and Sceptics: An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy. Optional
text: Jonathan Lear, Aristotle: The Desire to Undestand. Prerequisite:
One course in philosophy or consent of the instructor. PHIL
224: HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY II: KANT AND HIS PREDECESSORS
Lect 9:30-10:15
TR/Disc 10:15-10:45 TR/Instructor: Cronin
This course will deal with the
work of Immanuel Kant and two of his most influential predecessors, the rationalist
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and the empiricist David Hume. While the primary focus
of the course will be on their accounts of reality and how we can know it (i.e.
metaphysics and epistemology), we will also examine the important contributions
which each of these thinkers made to moral philosophy. The course will begin with
an overview of the two movements in modern history which most deeply shaped modern
philosophy, the Scientific Revolution and the Reformation. These movements posed
problems concerning the foundations of human knowledge and of morality which set
the agenda for all subsequent philosophers. The first and second parts of the
course will deal, respectively, with Leibniz's rationalism and Hume's empiricism,
the two major currents in philosophy following Descartes. In the third part of
the course Kant's critical philosophy will be presented as an attempt to reconcile
the apparently conflicting claims of rationalism and empiricism in a radically
new philosophical framework. Required Texts: Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics
and Other Essays; Hume (Nidditch, ed.), Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding
and Concerning the Principles of Morals; Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future
Metaphysics; Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Recommended
Texts: Otfried Höffe, Immanuel Kant. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy
or consent of the instructor. It is recommended that Phil 223 and Phil 224 be
taken as a sequence in successive PHIL
230: ETHICAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Lect 2:00 -2:45 TR/Disc 2:45-3:15
TR/Instructor: Mills
Political philosophy seeks to understand, at a more
abstract and general level than political science, how political systems come
into existence and how they work. It also seeks to prescribe ideal norms for a
more just polity. In this course, we will look at some of the classic figures
and themes in Western political philosophy, starting with Plato’s Republic,
and then moving on to such central theorists of the modern period as Hobbes, Locke,
and Rousseau. Required texts: to be announced. Prerequisite: Phil 103 or 109 or
112 or 116 is recommended. PHIL
241: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Lect 11:00 MW/Disc 11:00 F/Instructor: Poncinie
In the first few weeks of the course we will consider "What should one think
about religions other than one’s own?" Most of these answers come from writers
in the Western Tradition. We will also begin gathering information about religions
outside that tradition. The rest of the course will take up questions like "What
is a good way to live?", "What is sacred?", and "What happens after death?" Here
the answers come from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confusianism, Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam. Philosophy includes learning how to evaluate answers to such questions
and arguments for and against the answers. Philosophy also includes learning how
to put your answers together into a consistent world-view. This course will help
you to make our own view more explicit and to decide whether it needs revision.
Required texts: William J. Wainwright, Philosophy of Religion; Tolstoy,
Confession, Occhiogrosso, The Joy of Sects. Prerequisite: One course
in philosophy or consent of the instructor. PHIL
406: PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
Lect-D 12:00 MWF/Instructor: Wilson
Language
is characteristic and unique to human beings. Philosophy of language addresses
issues such as the nature of meaning (What is meaning, anyway?); the relation
between meaning and thought (Do we always think in our language? Does language
impose its structure and content on our thought? What can we learn about our minds
through the study of our language?); reference to things of the world (A very
important use for language is to communicate information about the world); the
nature of truth (What is truth? Can it be defined?). Well, these are some of the
problems we tackle in philosophy of language. (One problem we do not address is
"The Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything"). The answers given to these
questions have important consequences for metaphysics and epistemology, some of
which we will investigate. There will be two exams and three movies in the course.
Students will also be asked to write a 5-10 page term paper. Required texts: Robert
Stainton, Philosophical Perspectives on Language; Devitt and Sterelny,
Language and Reality; R. Jackendoff, Patterns in the Mind. Addendum:
In some ways, philosophy of language interfaces with logic very closely, especially
certain topics in philosophy of language. I used to emphasize this approach to
philosophy of language, but do not emphasize it so much now because too many students
do not care for logic. Logic issues will still come up in the course, however.
Students really need Phil. 210 for the logic aspects of philosophy of language
to be fully appreciated. My focus in the course is on the nature of human language
and what that reveals about human nature and the human mind. It has been argued
since Descartes that language is unique to humans and is found universally among
humans (except in cases of severe mental pathology). We examine a variety of data,
from sign languages of the deaf to asphasias (language deficits due to strokes
or other brain trauma or genetic defects), that suggest that human children have
an inborn capacity to acquire language. None of this material is presented in
a clinical or technical way, however; it is accessible to students and I have
found students generally find it very interesting. We will also consider some
data from attempts to teach chimpanzees and gorillas sign language. Other topics
that will be covered (or may be covered as time and interest permits) are metaphysical
problems of claims about existence and non-existence as these are related to certain
features of language (reference). Here is one place where logic comes in. We also
will look at some theories about the nature of meaning, of communication, and
whether and to what extent a language influences thought (the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
of linguistic relativity). Prerequisite: Phil 102 or one 200- or 400-level logic
course or Phil 226 of consent of the instructor. PHIL
417: METALOGIC II
Lect-D 9:30-10:45 TR/Instructor: Hart
We will
go through proofs, due basically to Gödel, of the incompleteness and undecidability
of first order elementary number theory in detail. Time permitting we'll then
go on to recursion theory, and Post's Problem. Required texts: Introduction
to Mathematical Logic, 4th edition, Elliott Mendelson. Prerequisite: Phil.
416 or consent of the instructor. PHIL
423: STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Lect-D 12:30-1:45 TR/Instructor:
Chastain
We will study John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
in its historical context, and see why some historians have called Locke "the
most important philosopher of the modern age." (We will use Nidditch’s edition
of the Essay, published by Oxford University Press.) Required texts: John
Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (edited by Nidditch). Prerequisite:
Phil 223 or 224 or 3 courses in philosophy or consent of the instructor. PHIL
424: KANT
Lect-D 10:00 MWF/Instructor: Griffin
(Catalog description)
Intensive study of Kant’s metaphysics and theory of knowledge. Required texts:
to be announced. Prerequisite: Phil 223 or 224 or 3 courses in philosophy or consent
of the instructor. PHIL
433: TOPICS IN SOCIAL/POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Lect-D 11:00-12:15 TR/Instructor:
Mills
The idea of the social contract has once again become central to
Western political philosophy. This course will attempt to give an historical and
conceptual overview of social contract theory, and its contemporary incarnations.
After a brief look at the ancient and medieval roots of the idea of the social
contract, we wil focus on three of its exponents in the modern period--Hobbes,
Locke, and Kant. We wil then turn to John Rawls’s 1971 A Theory of Justice,
whose updating of contractarianism is widely credited with reviving postwar Anglo-American
political philosophy. Finally, Susan Moller Okin’s work will be examined as an
example of contemporary feminist applications of contractarian theory to issues
of gender justice. Required texts: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan; John Locke,
Two Treatises of Government; Immanual Kant, Political Writings;
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice; Susan Moller Okin, Justice, Gender,
and the Family. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in philosophy or consent
of the instructor. Credit in a course in moral, social, or political philosophy
is recommended. PHIL
441: TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Lect-D 2:00-3:15 TR/Instructor: Sinkler
In this course we will study in depth one of the three classical proofs for
the existence of God: the Cosmological Argument, which states that there must
be a God to create the world or nothing would exist in the world. Readings will
be from classic and contemporary sources. Required texts: to be announced. Prerequisite:
One 200-level course in philosophy (Phil. 241 is recommended), or consent of the
instructor. PHIL
505: SEMINAR IN MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Disc 2:00-4:30 M/Instructor: Hilbert
Consciousness has become a hot topic in both philosophy and some areas of
cognitive science over the last decade. We will look at some recent work on consciousness
to try to understand what all the fuss is about. Issues to be covered may include
materialism vs. dualism (i.e. the mind-body problem), the nature of conscious
perceptual experience, philosophical theories of consciousness itself, and the
relevance of neuroscience to philosophical understanding of consciousness. Required
texts: Ned Block, Owen Flanagan, and Güven Güzeldere, The Nature
of Consciousness. Prerequisite: graduate standing. PHIL
507: SEMINAR: TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY
Topic: Postmodernism
Disc 2:00-4:30 T/Instructor: Bartky
We will examine such postmodern thinkers
as Lyotard, Baudrillard, Foucault, Derrida and Judith Butler. Some themes on which
we will focus: The retreat from "totalizing theory"; "the problem of difference";
the relation of truth to power and the "death of the subject." Required texts:
Lyotard, Postmodern Condition; Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard; Foucault,
Discipline and Punish; Derrida, Of Grammatology. Recommended texts:
Judith Butler, Bodies that Matter. Prerequisite: graduate standing. PHIL
517: SEMINAR ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Disc 3:00-5:30 R/Instructor:
Jarrett
Philosophy and Bell's Theorem: In this course we will study the
derivation and significance of various forms of Bell's Theorem. No special background
in mathematics or physics will be assumed, but students will need to be able to
follow a fair bit of not-very-complicated mathematical reasoning. We will examine
in some detail the premises in Bell-type arguments in order to try to get some
insight into precisely what sorts of modifications in the classical worldview
are forced upon us by the experiments testing the Bell Inequalities. This will
afford us the opportunity to consider the extent to which we have empirical evidence
that certain unusual features of quantum theory will remain even if that theory
were to be superseded. Required texts: James T. Cushing and Ernan McMullin, Philosophical
Consequences of Quantum Theory. Prerequisite: graduate standing or permission
of the instructor. PHIL
519: SEMINAR ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
Topic: Propositional
Attitudes
Disc 12:00-2:30 R/Instructor: Edelberg
This is a seminar
on propositional attitude reports: statements ascribing beliefs, desires, hopes,
doubts, and other mental states with propositional content. These have long served
as a kind of philosophical proving ground for semantical theories. After a general
introduction, we’ll turn to the main focus of the course: the surprising behavior
of pronouns in the context of attitude ascriptions. We’ll read some recent work
on anaphoric pronouns to help us understand what is going on here. Our reading
list includes papers by Gotttlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, David Kaplan, Mark Richard,
Scott Soames, Peter geach, Gareth Evans, Hans Kamp, Nicholas Asher, and Jeffrey
King. Required texts: to be announced. Prerequisite: first order logic. PHIL
521: SEMINAR IN THE THEORYOF KNOWLEDGE
Disc 1:00-3:30 F/Instructor: Grossman
The question of whether empirical evidence might be relevant in deciding the
issue between Materialism and Dualism was, I believe, first raised by the British
philosopher Henry Sidgwick a little over one hundred years ago. Together with
other intellectuals and scholars, he founded the British Society for Psychical
Research, the purpose of which was to collect, analyze, and publish accounts of
experiences and cases which, prima facia, appeared to be suggestive of some form
of non-physical reality. William James was actively involved with this research
from 1885 until his death in 1911. James' conclusion was that although the evidence
does not logically compel one to believe in an afterlife, it is strong enough
to render such belief rational. Since James' death, and especially during the
last 30 years, the evidence has grown significantly, both quantitatively and qualitatively,
so much so that at least one contemporary philosopher has concluded that, given
the evidence, not only is it reasonable to believe in some form of Dualism, but
that it is unreasonable not to. My purpose in offering this seminar is to acquaint
students with this large, and in my opinion impressive, body of evidence. After
all, this would not be the first time that questions that were once thought to
be purely philosophical or theological turned out to be decideable on empirical
grounds alone, and the history of science is filled with such examples. It is
thus, I believe, important for philosophers, Materialists and Dualists alike,
to become thoroughly acquainted with this body of evidence which, from James to
the present, has convinced most, but not all, of those who have studied it seriously,
that Materialism is empirically false. Required texts: to be announced. Prerequisite:
graduate standing PHIL
590: RESEARCH SEMINAR
Disc 2:30-5:00 T/Instructor: Schechtman
This
is the workshop seminar for students working on topicals or dissertations. Each
participant makes (at least) one presentation and attends and comments on the
presentations of others. Grades assigned: S(atisfactory) or U(nsatisfactory).
Prerequisite: graduate standing. |