| PHIL
100 | INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY |
| Lect 11:00 MW/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: Philosophy and Contemporary Issues, Burr and Goldinger, editors.
| PHIL
100 | INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY |
| Lect 1:00 MW/Disc 12:00 or 1:00 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: Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes, (ed. Donald Cress);
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume, (ed. Richard H. Popkin);
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, George Berkeley
(ed. Kenneth Winkler); A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality,
John Perry.
| PHIL 100 | INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY |
| Lect 5:30-7:00 PM M/Disc 7:00-8:00
PM M | Instructor: Staff | A survey
of traditional problems concerning the existence and nature of God, freedom, justification,
morality, etc. Readings from historical or contemporary philosophers. Required
texts: to be announced.
| PHIL 102 | INTRODUCTORY LOGIC |
| Lect 11:00 MW/Disc 10:00 or
11:00 or 12:00F | Instructor: Hylton | An
introduction to the vocabulary, techniques, and results of elementary modern logic.
Required texts: Understanding Symbolic Logic, Virginia Klenk.
| PHIL
102 | INTRODUCTORY LOGIC |
| Lect 10:00 MW/Disc 9:00 or 10:00 or 11:00 F | Instructor:
Jarrett | 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: Understanding
Symbolic Logic, Virginia Klenk.
| PHIL 102 | INTRODUCTORY LOGIC |
| Lect 1:00 MW/Disc 12:00 or 1:00
F | Instructor: Moore | We are often
presented with arguments designed to convince us to believe certain things, or
to act in certain ways. Most of the time we do pretty well at sorting out the
bad arguments from the good ones, but we may not have a very clear idea of exactly
what makes an argument good or bad. In this course we will develop an elementary
formal language in which many arguments can be symbolized and analyzed, and will
study certain basic semantical and syntactical tools---truth-tables and derivations,
respectively---by means of which such logical concepts as validity, entailment
and equivalence can be precisely defined. Required: The Logic Book, Merrie
Bergmann, James Moor and Jack Nelson.
| PHIL 102 | INTRODUCTORY
LOGIC | | Lect 5:30-7:00
PM T/Disc 7:00 PM T | Instructor: Staff |
(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 9:30-10:20 TR /Disc 9:00
or 10:00 F | Instructor: Laden | Almost
everyone agrees that racism and sexism are wrong. But what makes an act racist
or sexist, and just what sorts of harms do racism and sexism inflict on their
victims? How we answer these questions depends on how we understand the way in
which race and gender function in our society, as well as how we think we ought
to treat others. This course will focus on topics of racism and sexism, and ask
what sorts of moral obligations we have both in general and in the particular
context of living in a world marked by racism and sexism. Our aim will be to think
more clearly about our moral obligations, but also to think more clearly about
how to think about our obligations. Required texts: Readings will be from a variety
of contemporary sources and will be available in a course packet.
| PHIL 104 | INTRODUCTION
TO SOCIAL & POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY |
| Lect 12:00 MW/Disc 11:00 or 12:00 or 1:00 F | Instructor:
Mills | The subject matter of political science is the empirical/factual
study of socio-political systems. Political philosophy, on the other hand, focuses
primarily on the normative/evaluative questions that arise out of the makeup of
these systems. So it looks at issues of justice and injustice, right and wrong,
good and bad. For example: What is a just society? What rights should people have?
How should the government act? The main aim of this course is to introduce students
to some of the major figures and central themes of the Western political tradition.
Required texts: to be announced.
| PHIL 204 | INTRODUCTION
TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE | | Lect
2:00-2:45 TR//Disc 2:45-3:15 TR F | Instructor: Huggett |
This class will discuss how scientific progress is made. We will look
at various views: of what scientific progress is; of how new scientific theories
come to replace old ones; of how scientists come to choose between competing theories;
of how scientists come to believe that theories are true; of what it is to believe
that a theory is true; of how scientists can reliably learn nature's secrets;
of the influence of society on scientific beliefs. Our readings are drawn from
philosophical, historical and scientific writings, so that we can see how philosophical
theories relate to actual science. (The readings are selected so that no specific
scientific or philosophical background is assumed of the students.) Required texts:
to be announced. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy; or junior or senior standing
in the physical, biological, or social sciences; or consent of the instructor.
| PHIL
210 | SYMBOLIC LOGIC |
| Lect 12:30-1:15 TR/Disc 1:15-1:45 TR | Instructor:
Meyer | This is a course for everyone who wants to (or needs
to) know more about logic than what is covered in the introductory class Phil
102. We will give a rigorous treatment of truth-functional and quantificational
logic, explore different methods for determining logical truth and validity, and
take a look at the major metalogical results: normal form theorems, soundness,
compactness, and completeness. Further topics to be addressed include: logic of
relations, logic with identity, decidability, and induction. More details and
a preliminary syllabus for this class can be found on Prof. Meyer's web page:
www.uic.edu/~umeyer. Requirements: weekly problem sets (60%), four short quizzes
(10% each). Required texts: Intermediate Logic, David Bostock. Recommended texts:
Logic with Trees: An Introduction to Symbolic Logic, Colin Howson; Methods
of Logic, W. V. Quine. Prerequisite: Phil 102; a grade or B or better in Phil
102 is recommended. Feel free to contact the instructor (umeyer@uic.edu) if you
are unsure whether this course would be right for you.
| PHIL 221 | ANCIENT
PHILOSOPHY II: ARISTOTLE AND HIS SUCCESSORS |
| Lect 2:00-2:45 TR/Disc 2:45-3:15 TR | Instructor:
Lee | Introduction to the moral and political philosophy
of Aristotle and the Hellenistic schools, i.e., the Epicureans, Skeptics and Stoics.
Required texts: Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle (translated by Terence Irwin);
Politics, Aristotle (translated by C. D. C. Reeve); Hellenistic Philosophy:
Introductory Readings, ed. B. Inwood and L. Gerson; The Therapy of Desire:
Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, Martha C. Nussbaum. Recommended
texts: Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics: An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy,
R. W. Sharples; Aristotle's Ethical Theory, W. F. R. Hardie. Prerequisite:
one course in philosophy or consent of the instructor. It is recommended that
Phil 220 and 221 be taken as a sequence in successive terms.
| PHIL 224 | HISTORY
OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY II: KANT AND HIS PREDECESSORS |
| Lect 11:00-11:45 TR/Disc 11:45-12:15 | Instructor:
Sutherland | This course is designed to cover, with Philosophy
223, what is known as the early modern period of philosophy, covering roughly
from 1637 to 1787. Many aspects of early modern philosophy can be seen as developments
of and responses to the dramatic changes taking place in the science of the day,
that is, during the scientific revolution. To understand those developments and
responses, one needs to have some appreciation for the world view at the time
the scientific revolution took place, and the scientific revolution itself. For
that reason, we will spend the first part of the course giving a synopsis of the
prevalent world view at the time of the scientific revolution began, and how the
rise of modern science threatened it. We will give particular attention to the
rise of the mechanical philosophy and the achievements of Newton. With this background
in place, we will consider how both Rationalists and Empiricists responded and
contributed to the changes occurring in natural philosophy. We will focus this
semester on the philosophy of Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. These philosophers
concerned themselves with a wide range of issues; we will focus on issues in metaphysics
and epistemology, such as the nature of matter, mind, God and freedom, and the
nature and limitations of human knowledge. We will do so with a particular eye
to how the evolving science and mathematics played a part in their views. Required
texts: Discourse on Metaphysics/Correspondence with Arnauld/Monadology,
G. W. Leibniz; Principles of Knowledge and Three Dialogues, George Berkeley;
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume; Critique of Pure
Reason, Immanuel Kant. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or consent of
the instructor. It is recommended that Phil 223 and 224 be taken as a sequence
in successive terms.
| PHIL 227 | CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY
I: PHENOMENOLOGY AND EXISTENTIALISM |
| Lect 10:00 MW/Disc 10:00 F | Instructor:
Schechtman | This course will be an introduction to Existentialist
thought, through a look at both philosophical and literary texts both central
to and at the edges of "Existentialism." In the course we will try to identify
and explore central themes of Existentialism such as personal responsibility,
the absence of external sources of value, and the absurdity of human existence.
We will ask to what extent these themes really appear in Existentialist writings,
how they are defended, and what they ultimately imply. Formal writing requirements
will include two papers of around 1500 words each and a take-home final examination.
Required texts: Being and Nothingness, John Paul Sartre; The Myth of
Sisyphus and Other Essays, Albert Camus; On the Genealogy of Morals,
Friedrich Nietzsche; No Exit and Three Other Plays, Jean Paul Sartre; Eight
Men; Richard Wright; Notes from the Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of the instructor.
| PHIL 232 |
SEX ROLES: MORAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES |
| Lect 12:00 MW/Disc 12:00 F | Instructor:
Weekes | In this course, we will examine the claim that the
consequence of "sex roles"-the marking, recognition, social status, and identities,
etc. of men and women as such-is that women are oppressed as such for the benefit
of men/ In exploring this claim, we will consider a series of questions arising
from it: What does it mean to be oppressed? What kinds of things contribute to
oppression? Does oppression require an oppressor? Who is responsible for oppression?
What are the specific indicators of oppression in the case of women? What if anything
can be done to combat oppression? Is feminist philosophy particularly situated
to respond to these questions? Among the issues we may consider are women's work,
sexist language, sexual harassment, rape, pornography, and other images of women
in our culture. Required texts: A course packet will be available in the copy
shop.
| PHIL 241 | PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
| | Lect 9:30-10:15
TR/Disc 10:15-10:45 TR | Instructor: Chastain |
We will study classic works on religion written by three great philosophers:
Saint Augustine, David Hume, and William James. These works will be examined in
their historical context and also analyzed with a view towards contemporary issues
in philosophy and religion. We will consider our authors' opinions about the nature
of divinity and the supernatural in monotheism and polytheism; revelation and
authority in religion; faith and mystical experience; whether the existence of
divine beings (one God or many gods) can be proved by rational arguments; miracles
and prophecy; concepts of the soul and of survival after death. Required texts:
Confessions, Saint Augustine (translated by Henry Chadwick); Augustine,
Henry Chadwick; Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume; The
Varieties of Religious Experience, William James. Prerequisite: one course
in philosophy or consent of the instructor.
| PHIL
403 | METAPHYSICS |
| Lect-D 9:30-10:45TR | Instructor:
Meyer | A survey of the contemporary discussion of causation,
laws of nature, and dispositional properties. We will explore the range of available
views on these matters, and discuss how they are related to important questions
elsewhere in philosophy, especially in the philosophy of science and the philosophy
of mind. Readings by N. Goodman, D. Armstrong, D. Lewis, D. Davidson, J. Kim,
D. H. Mellor, and others. More details and a preliminary syllabus for this class
can be found on Prof. Meyer's web page: www.uic.edu/~umeyer. Requirements: Two
short papers, class participation. Required texts: What is a Law of Nature?,
David Armstrong; Fact, Fiction, and Forecast, Nelson Goodman; and Causation,
Ernest Sosa and Michael Tooley. Prerequisites: One or more of Phil 203, Phil 204,
Phil 226, Phil 404, Phil 426 or permission of the instructor. Feel free to contact
Ulrich Meyer (umeyer@uic.edu) if you are unsure whether this course would be right
for you.
| PHIL 404 | PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE |
| Lect-D 10:00 MWF | Instructor:
Moore | Berkeley derided them as ``ghosts of departed quantities'';
Bertrand Russell dismissed them as ``unnecessary, erroneous and self-contradictory.''
All this philosophical scorn was heaped on infinitesimals, numbers smaller in
absolute value than any positive real number, and yet not zero. Such numbers played
an important role in early formulations of the calculus. They were supplanted
in the 19th century by Cauchy-Weierstrass limits, and then rehabilitated in the
middle of the 20th by Abraham Robinson, whose nonstandard analysis puts infinitesimals
and infinitely large numbers as well on a rigorous footing. In this course we
will study infinitesimals as an issue of both historical and living importance
in the philosophy of mathematics and natural science. We will read great figures
from the past like Newton, Berkeley and Dedekind, and also more recent writers
like Robinson and Gödel. We will survey the elements of nonstandard analysis and
address such questions as: is nonstandard analysis mathematically legitimate?
Are the real numbers better suited than the hyperreals to the study of physical
space? In grappling with these questions we will be faced anew with some fundamental
issues in the epistemology of mathematics and geometry. No prior background in
mathematics, physics or philosophy of mathematics will be presumed. Required text:
Essays on the Theory of Numbers, Richard Dedekind. Recommended text: Lectures
on the Hyperreals: An Introduction to Nonstandard Analysis, Robert Goldblatt.
Prerequisite: Phil 102 or Phil 210 and one 200-level course in philosophy; or
consent of the instructor.
| PHIL 406 | PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE |
| Lect-D 11:00-12:15 TR | Instructor:
Wilson | 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 get to 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. In some ways, phil of language interfaces with logic very closely,
especially certain topics in phil of language. I used to emphasize this approach
to phil of language, but do not emphasize it so much now because 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 phil of language to be
fully appreciated. So I water this down a bit. 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 cognitive pathology).
We examine a variety of data, from sign languages of the deaf to aphasia (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.
All of this material is directed to the quite controversial question of whether
language is innate (inborn) to human beings. So this is one substantial part of
the course. 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). There will be several
exams and at least three videos in the course. Students will also be asked to
write a 5-10 page term paper. Required texts: Patterns in the Mind, R.
Jackendoff; and, Language and Reality, Devitt and Sterelny. Prerequisite:
Phil 102 or one 200- or 400-level logic course or Phil 226 or 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 426 |
ANALYSIS AND LOGICAL EMPIRICISM |
| Lect-D 1:00 MWF | Instructor: Hylton
| Our concern is twentieth-century analytic philosophy, especially
its more empiricist and scientifically-oriented aspects. We shall selectively
discuss the development of this tradition, emphasizing the role of modern logic
and the issue of the a priori. (Beyond that, the emphases will to some extent
be determined by the class.) We shall read one essay by Frege, but most of our
reading will be drawn from the work of Russell, the Logical Positivists (especially
Carnap and Schlick), and Quine. Students should have some knowledge of logic (quantification
theory) beyond 102, i.e. 210 (which may be taken concurrently) or equivalent preparation.
Required texts: Lectures on the Philosophy of Logical Atomism, and Problems
of Philosophy, Bertrand Russell. Prerequisite: one 200-level course in philosophy
or consent of the instructor.
| PHIL 432 | TOPICS IN ETHICS |
| Lect-D 12:30-1:45 TR | Instructor:
Laden | Amongst moral philosophers who have thought that
reason could tell us what we ought to do, Kant and Aristotle have been the most
influential. This course will be devoted to a study of their theories, with a
particular focus on their accounts of practical reason (reasoning about what to
do). We will be interested in such questions as: How does reason discover moral
qualities? How does it move us to act? What role do the emotions have in an account
of moral action? Does moral reasoning necessarily involve others? Is it better
done among friends? To what degree do we have to have free will to be held morally
responsible? Required texts: Ethical Philosophy, Immanuel Kant; Lectures
on the History of Moral Philosophy, John Rawls; and The Nicomachean Ethics,
Aristotle (translated by David Ross). 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 501 | SEMINAR:
TOPICS IN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY | | Disc
11:00-1:30 T | Instructor: Lee | Close
study of Plato's dialogues, with particular emphasis on his moral and political
philosophy. Readings will primarily be of Plato's dialogues, with recommendations
of secondary literature. Required texts: Complete Works, Plato (edited
by J. M. Cooper); Introduction to Plato's Republic, Julia Annas; Plato's
Republic: Critical Essays, Richard Kraut; Plato's Ethics, Terence Irwin.
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
| PHIL 505 | SEMINAR IN MODERN PHILOSOPHY
| | Disc 2:00-4:30
T | Instructor: Grossman | Spinoza
is a unique figure in the history of western philosophy. He is not only a very
astute metaphysician and epistemologist, but also a master therapist and spiritual
teacher. Spinoza's explicitly stated goal in writing his masterpiece, The Ethics,
is to "lead us, by the hand, as it were, to the knowledge of the human mind and
its highest blessedness." Although the path which Spinoza carves out for us is
admittedly a difficult one, nevertheless, it is a path which can be followed.
There is great intellectual beauty in his system of thought, but the "payoff"
comes when the student realizes that his system of thought, aside from its elegance,
can also function as a guide for living. Most treatments of Spinoza focus heavily
on his metaphysics and epistemology. This is both understandable and unfortunate.
Understandable, because his M & E is intrinsically interesting, and it provides
the foundation for his theory of emotions and its consequent therapy. But it is
unfortunate in that his remarkable and surprisingly modern theory of emotions
rarely get discussed. So in the seminar, I would like to gloss over his M & E
(parts 1 and 2 of The Ethics), and, quickly as possible, get to his views
of human happiness and how to achieve it (parts 3, 4 and 5). Spinoza also has
some very interesting views on religion and on the relationship between religion
and philosophy, and I would like us to read at least portions of his Theological-Political
Treatise, which in my opinion is a neglected little masterpiece. Generally
speaking, I believe that the secondary literature is more confusing than it is
helpful, and that your time is better spent rereading, over and over, the primary
texts. Required texts: to be announced.
| PHIL 505 | SEMINAR
IN MODERN PHILOSOPHY | | Disc
2:00-4:30 R | Instructor: Sutherland | We
will investigate Kant's philosophy of mathematics and science with a view to understanding
the implications of these portions of Kant's philosophy for his metaphysics and
epistemology as a whole. We will also consider what relevance Kant's views have
for current issues in the philosophy of mathematics and science. A previous seminar
on Kant is not required, although a familiarity with the transcendental deduction
and Kant's views on space and time would be helpful. Required texts: Kant and
the Exact Sciences, Michael Friedman; Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel
Kant; and various articles, to be assigned.
| PHIL 510 | HISTORY
OF ETHICS AND SOCIAL/POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY |
| Disc 1:00-3:30 F | Instructor: Chastain |
The history of early modern philosophy isn't just Descartes-Hobbes-Spinoza-Leibniz-Berkeley-Hume-Kant.
It is also Grotius, Cumberland, Pufendorf, Thomasius, Herbert of Cherbury, the
Cambridge Platonists, Clarke, Mandeville, Hutcheson, and Butler. In "The Invention
of Autonomy," J. B. Schneewind tells the long and fascinating story of how early
modern moral philosophers, ending with Kant, developed the idea of morality as
self?governance and led us to "a distinctively modern way of understanding ourselves
as moral agents." We will read his book plus selected parallel and background
texts. (Although anyone interested in moral philosophy needs to read Schneewind's
book, this is a seminar on the history of ethics and will count for history distribution
credit.) Required texts: The Invention of Autonomy, Moral Philosophy
from Montaigne to Kant, Volumes I and II, J. B. Schneewind; and The Sources
of Normativity, Christine M. Korsgaard. Prerequisite: graduate standing.
| PHIL
540 | PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE |
| Disc 1:00-3:30 M | Instructor: Jarrett |
This seminar will focus on the principles and applications of Bayesian
epistemology. On one approach to the notion of confirmation, the support conferred
upon a hypothesis by a bit of evidence is an all-or-nothing affair; that is to
say, either the bit of evidence does or it does not support the hypothesis, with
no middle ground. In contrast to this understanding of the confirmation relation,
the Bayesian approach treats the support conferred upon a hypothesis by a bit
of evidence as a matter of degree, so that a bit of evidence will lend a quantifiable
measure of support to a hypothesis, which support is typically only partial. What
truly distinguishes Bayesianism from other approaches of this sort is the construal
of this measure of support as a subjective "degree of belief" constrained by principles
of rationality to obey the axioms of probability. Bayesianism gives rise to a
fresh look at a range of traditional issues in the philosophy of science. We will
try to assess the adequacy of Bayesianism as an account of scientific epistemology.
Required text: Scientific Reasoning, The Bayesian Approach, Colin Howson
and Peter Urbach. Prerequisite: graduate standing.
| PHIL 542 | PHILOSOPHY
OF SPECIAL SCIENCES | | Disc
11:00-1:30 R | Instructor: Huggett | A
close study of Newton's Principia and views on Newton's Absolute Space.
Required texts: Newton's Principia: The Central Argument, notes by Dana
Densmore. Recommended texts: The Principia, Isaac Newton (translated by
B. Cohen and A. Whitman). Prerequisite: graduate standing.
| PHIL 590 | RESEARCH
SEMINAR | | Disc
2:30-5:00 R | Instructor: Edelberg | A
workshop for philosophy graduate students working on their topical, prospectus,
or dissertation project. Participants make at least one presentation, and join
in the discussion of other student's work. Graded S/U. Prerequisite: graduate
standing. |