Upper-Division

PHIL 100A Ancient Greek Philosophy

Survey of ancient Greek philosophy of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Begins with Socrates and the pre-Socratics, then undertakes an intensive study of Plato and Aristotle. Course then surveys the main developments that follow: Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 8 or PHIL 9; one course from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements.

Quarter offered

Fall

PHIL 100B The Rationalists

A study of the historical background and the present relevance of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 8 or PHIL 9; one course from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements.

Quarter offered

Winter

PHIL 100C The Empiricists

A critical study (based on original texts) of Locke, Berkeley, and especially Hume on the nature of knowledge, perception, causation, morality, religion, and political society.

Credits

5

Instructor

Abraham Stone

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 8 or PHIL 9; one course from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements.

Quarter offered

Spring

PHIL 106 Kant

Intensive study of Kant's philosophy, particularly his epistemology and metaphysics developed in his Critique of Pure Reason.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one course from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 107 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy

A study of some European philosophers of the 19th century, with particular attention to Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. (Formerly course 108.)

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 108 Phenomenology

French phenomenology includes primarily the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Additional topics include the nature of consciousness and agency. Course includes discussions of French feminists' reactions to Simone de Beauvoir and Emmanuel Levinas.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 24; PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 111 Continental Philosophy

Study of recent work in continental philosophy. Topics vary.

Credits

5

Instructor

Hande Tuna

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Spring

PHIL 112 American Philosophy

Study of classical American philosophers, specifically Emerson, Peirce, James, and Dewey, with emphasis on their views of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of religion. Some attention is also paid to recent pragmatic tendencies in American philosophy.

Credits

5

Instructor

Robbie Kubala

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Winter

PHIL 113 The History of Analytic Philosophy

Examination of the beginnings and development of analytic philosophy, with primary interest in the reformulation of traditional philosophical problems beginning with Frege. Other figures studied include, but are not limited to, Russell, Carnap, Wittgenstein, Quine, and Sellars.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 114 Probability and Confirmation

Studies the philosophical foundations of probability, induction, and confirmation. Different interpretations of probability studied, and solutions to various problems and paradoxes investigated. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 214.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 116 Logic, Sets, and Functions

Introduction to basic set theory, recursive definitions, and mathematical induction. Provides a bridge between course 9 and courses 117 and 119. Strong emphasis on proving theorems and constructing proofs, both formal proofs and proofs in the customary, informal style used by mathematicians.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11, PHIL 22, PHIL 23, PHIL 24, PHIL 80E, BME 80G/PHIL 80G, PHIL 80M, PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 117 Non-Classical Logic

Investigations of non-classical logic. Studies several non-classical logics, such as various modal logics, multi-valued logics, and relevance logics. Investigates meta-theoretic results for each logic studied.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 118 Stoic Ethics

Surveys Stoic Ethics in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, attending both to the theoretical writings of early Stoa (e.g., Zeno and Chrysippus) as well as to the therapeutic and protreptic writings of later figures (e.g., Seneca and Epictetus).

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 119 Intermediate Logic

Detailed treatment of the semantics of first order logic and formal computability. Completeness, undecidability of first order logic and Lowenheim-Skolem results also proven. Nature and formal limits of computability and introduction to incompleteness also investigated. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 219.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 121 Epistemology

A sustained look at central problems in epistemology. Topics might include the problem of other minds, the nature of justification and knowledge, skepticism of the external world, the nature and limits of human rationality, the problem of induction. (Formerly Knowledge and Rationality.)

Credits

5

Instructor

Jonathan Ellis

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Winter

PHIL 122 Metaphysics

Survey of contemporary analytic metaphysics. Topics may include nominalism, metaphysical realism, and the ontological analysis of concrete particulars, including problems of modality and persistence through time.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 123 Philosophy of Language

Current theories of the nature and preconditions of language, the nature of meaning, and the nature of truth.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 124 Other Minds

An examination of the traditional philosophical problem of other minds and related contemporary scientific issues concerning what it is to encounter a mind that is not one's own and is relevantly unlike one's own.

Credits

5

Instructor

Janette Dinishak

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Fall

PHIL 125 Philosophy of Science

An examination of various topics that arise in thinking about science. Different philosophical problems, such as realism, instrumentalism, confirmation, explanation, space and time, and rational decision making are extensively discussed and criticized.

Credits

5

Instructor

Stone

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Fall

PHIL 126 Philosophy of Social Sciences

Examines philosophical concerns regarding the methods and assumptions of the social sciences. For example, must the methods of the social sciences differ in some important ways from those used by the natural sciences? Another issue concerns problems arising from studying groups where the very notion of rationality appears to vary from culture to culture or over historical periods.

Credits

5

Instructor

Paul Roth

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from course PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Spring

PHIL 127 Philosophy of Biology

Can developmental processes be reduced to gene expression? Does the history of life exhibit trends (e.g. increasing complexity)? How are we to understand key concepts such as fitness, species, adaptation, and gene? Is there such a thing as human nature? Course surveys these and other core philosophical topics in the biological sciences.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 24; PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 133 Philosophy of Mind

Focuses on philosophical questions concerning the nature of mind. Central topics include the relation between mind and matter, and the nature of consciousness. Other topics typically explored include: artificial intelligence; animal consciousness and intelligence; and the relation between thought and language.

Credits

5

Instructor

Nico Orlandi

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Spring

PHIL 135 Philosophy of Psychology

Looks at philosophical issues raised by current research on the nature of perception, cognition, and consciousness in psychology and cognitive science or neuroscience. Can there be a science of the mind? Could machines be conscious? Do animals have minds? How did the mind evolve? These and a host of related questions form the subject matter of this course.

Credits

5

Instructor

Nico Orlandi

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C. Enrollment is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Quarter offered

Winter

PHIL 140 History of Ethics

A careful study of any one or a number of selected primary texts in the history of moral philosophy, with some emphasis on the relation to contemporary issues.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 142 Advanced Ethics

An examination of central issues in ethical theory including the nature of and justification for the moral point of view, the place of reason in ethics, the status of moral principles, and the nature of moral experience.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 143 Applied Ethics: Ethics Bowl

Intensive application of ethics through Ethics Bowl-style debate. Cases change annually. Students develop oral advocacy skills and are given the opportunity to compete for a position on the extracurricular Ethics Bowl team.

Credits

5

Instructor

Kyle Robertson

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall

PHIL 144 Topics in Social and Political Philosophy

A study of selected classical and contemporary writings dealing with topics such as the nature and legitimacy of the liberal state, the limits of political obligation, and theories of distributive justice and rights. (Formerly Social and Political Philosophy.)

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

LGST 144

Instructor

Abraham Stone

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Winter

PHIL 147 Topics in Feminist Philosophy

Topics in feminist philosophy, which may include: the nature of feminist philosophy, feminist approaches to philosophical issues, social and political philosophy, theories of knowledge, ethics, aesthetics, and science, technology, and medicine studies. Presupposes some familiarity with philosophy or feminist scholarship.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

FMST 168

Instructor

Hande Tuna

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

Quarter offered

Fall

PHIL 148 The Holocaust and Philosophy

By using the historiography of the Holocaust as a case study, examines the epistemology and ontology of historical knowledge, i.e., how the past is known, and what about it there is to know.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C. Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors.

PHIL 152 Aesthetics

Problems about form, meaning, and interpretation in art, as found in major aesthetic theories from the philosophical tradition, and also in a variety of encounters between recent philosophy and the arts.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 153 Philosophy of Race

Topics include conceptual-analytical and political-social issues. Selected topics may include: the ontology of race; race as real or constructed; scientific understandings of race; race and identity; and color-blind versus color-sensitive theories of justice and political policy.

Credits

5

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; one from course PHIL 11 or PHIL 22 or PHIL 23 or PHIL 24 or PHIL 80E or BME 80G/PHIL 80G or PHIL 80M or PHIL 80S; and PHIL 100A or PHIL 100B or PHIL 100C.

PHIL 190 Senior Seminar

Special topics. Format varies each quarter. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 9; and two from PHIL 100A, PHIL 100B, and PHIL 100C. Enrollment restricted to senior philosophy majors and by permission of the instructor.

Credits

5

Instructor

Paul Roth, Hande Tuna, Jonathan Ellis, Robbie Kubala

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

PHIL 195A Senior Essay

Preparation of senior essay (approximately 25 pages) during one quarter. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

5

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

PHIL 195B Senior Essay

Under exceptional circumstances, a second senior essay continuing the work of the first essay is permitted but only when the first senior essay has been completed. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

5

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

PHIL 199 Tutorial

Credits

5

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

PHIL 199F Tutorial

Students submit petition to sponsoring agency.

Credits

2

Repeatable for credit

Yes

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring

Cross-listed courses that are managed by another department are listed at the bottom.

Cross-listed Courses

BME 80G Bioethics in the 21st Century: Science, Business, and Society

Serves science and non-science majors interested in bioethics. Guest speakers and instructors lead discussions of major ethical questions having arisen from research in genetics, medicine, and industries supported by this knowledge.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

PHIL 80G

Instructor

The Staff

General Education Code

PE-T

Quarter offered

Fall

HISC 252 Poststructuralism

French poststructuralism, with particular attention to the main philosophical texts of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. Other representative theorists as well as critics of poststructuralism are studied as time permits.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

PHIL 252

Requirements

Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.

LGST 146 Philosophy of Law

Introduction to topics in the philosophy of law. Begins by discussing some famously difficult legal cases. These motivate students to consider more generally how to theorize about law and legality. Course ends by examining a handful of modern legal issues from a philosophical perspective. Course asks students to formulate and defend their positions on classic and contemporary legal debates and provides them tools from moral and legal philosophy with which to work.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

PHIL 146

Instructor

Kyle Robertson

Quarter offered

Fall