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Philosophy Course Offerings Spring 2008
Listed by number for Spring of 2008:
Lower Division Courses
Note: Both 100- and 200- level courses are appropriate as a first course in Philosophy. You do not have to take a 100-level before taking a 200-level course.
· PHIL 123.01A - Philosophy of Human Nature (HML) G. Schaefer
· PHIL 130.01A, 02A - Social Philosophy (HML) C. Wright
· PHIL 153.01A - Philosophy & Gender (HML) J. Keller
· PHIL 180.01A - Great Issues (HML) S. Wagner
· PHIL 210.01A - Logic T. Robinson
Upper Division Courses
· PHIL 331.01A - Ancient Philosophy (HMU) T. Robinson
· PHIL 341.01A - 20th Century Continental Philosophers (HMU) D. Beach
· PHIL 359.01A - Moral Philosophy (HMU) S. Wagner
· PHIL 360.01A - Political Philosophy (HMU) C. Wright
· PHIL 361.01A, 02A - Business Ethics (HMU) G. Schaefer
· PHIL 368B.01A - Economics, Philosophy & Mind (HMU) D. Finn
· PHIL 368E.01A - Special Topics: Philosophy of Mind E. Esch
· PHIL 368F.01A - Special Topics: Arendt, Metaphysics, Ethics & Political R. McGraw
CORE Curriculum, Honors, etc.
· HONR 250C.01A - Great Issues in Philosophy (HML) E. Esch
· CORE 390.04A - Senior Seminar: Social Issues and the Law T. Robinson
· CORE 390.05, 06A - Senior Seminar: Reading for Life T. Cunningham
· CORE 390.07A - Senior Seminar: Visions of a Good Life S. Wagner
· CORE 390.10A, 11A - Senior Seminar: War, Terrorism, Rising Income Inequality, Global Warming J. Keller
Lower Division Courses
PHIL 123-01A - Philosophy of Human Nature
Instructor: Greg Schaefer
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Place: CSB Main Bldg #320
CORE: HM, HML
CRN # 14102
We will look at several views of human nature and ask whether their proponents have got it right, that is, whether all or most human beings are in fact the way these thinkers and philosophers say they are. We will discuss various implications of holding each of these views-for example, what holding a particular view would mean for how we can, or ought to, behave as individuals, the implications the view has for our understanding of morality and for the education of individuals, and what holding each of the several views would mean for how we ought to shape our social and political institutions if we want the best lives possible for ourselves. Given this is a philosophy course, we are especially interested in the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments philosophers have offered for their views on human nature. Our reading will include some of what Hobbes, Plato, Aristotle, Mark Twain, B.F. Skinner, Konrad Lorenz, and Freud have had to say about what human beings are like. We shall also spend some time discussing William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies.
Instructor: Charles Wright
Section 01A 02A
Days: 2/4/6 2/4/6
Time: 8:00-9:10 a.m. 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Place: CSB - HAB 102B CSB - HAB 118
CORE: HM, HML HM, HML
CRN #: 12311 12312
In the United States today, most citizens tend to take for granted that liberty and equal treatment are fundamental parts of social justice. Leaders of the Western World have not always thought this way, though. Thus the first part of the class will be devoted to the study of Plato's Republic - a profoundly influential philosophical work that suggests that neither individual liberty or political equality are necessary for a well-ordered society. We are certain to disagree with Plato, and this disagreement will allow us to explore our reasons for valuing liberty and equality. This exploration will be aided by our study of two further classic texts in the Western tradition of political philosophy: John Locke's Second Treatise on Government and Jean Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract. Following our examination of these philosophical sources for our society's ideals, the class will investigate the question of whether or not freedom and equality are possible in a capitalist society. We shall read arguments from a variety of perspectives. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels will argue that the regime of private property is inherently oppressive. Joseph Pichler, Irving Kristol, James Q. Wilson, and others see capitalism and private property as the best guarantors of freedom. David Schweickart will try to find a middle way between these two positions. We will also read the work of social scientists and investigate journalists such as Erik Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), and Mark Robert Rank, One Nation, Underprivileged. These reading will provide detailed descriptions of the challenges faced by working Americans and so will be important sources of information for our deliberations as to whether the critics or defenders of contemporary capitalism are closer to the truth.
PHIL 153-01A - Philosophy & Gender
Instructor: Jean Keller
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 1:00-2:10 p.m.
Place: CSB - HAB 120
CORE: HM, HML
CRN #: 13591
This course will bring a philosophical perspective to the examination of gender, race and ethnicity, sexual identity, and the interconnections among them. Questions to be considered include: What does a specifically philosophical perspective bring to consideration of the above? Are gender, sexual identity, and race socially constructed or biological givens? How centrally do these aspects of identity inform: a) individuals' experiences of the self? b) their experiences of the world around them? And c) how others respond to and treat them? What would it look like to truly treat people as individuals and give all persons equal consideration and equal rights in full acknowledgement of the differences among us?
Specific sub themes include: Intersexuality and transgender; debates surrounding gay marriage, gay families and Catholic perspectives on homosexuality; considerations of masculinity, femininity, and feminism; gender identity and racial/ethnic identity; sexism, racism, and homophobia.
Instructor: Steve Wagner
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 11:20-12:30 p.m.
Place: SJU Quad 361
CORE: HM, HML
CRN #: 13955
Throughout the ages, several issues have been central to the quest for philosophical insight about human existence. This course examines a number of those issues - free will vs. determinism, the making of moral judgments, the grounds for religious belief and other topics as time allows. Through careful reading of texts and class discussion, we will crticially analyze the ideas that philosophers have offered and strive to formulate our own philosophical views on these issues.
Instructor: Tim Robinson
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 2:40-3:50 p.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 353
CORE: Quantitative Flag
CRN #: 13722
This is an introductory course in philosophical logic. Theory is kept to a minimum. The emphasis is on practice. Much of the work is problem solving. The basic structure of logical procedure is used to sort out the coherence of arguments in ordinary languate, and in symbolic and quantified language. This course carries a quantitative flag.
PHIL 331-01A - Ancient Philosophy
Instructor: Tim Robinson
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 11:20 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 353
CORE: HM, HMU
CRN #: 12316
The first chapter in the history of Western philosophy defines most of the issues that dominate subsequent thought and sets forth most of the methods that can be used for addressing these issues. The period is dominated by the intellectual giants Plato and Aristotle, who were both friends and philosophical adversaries. Between them they can be said to have created philosophy as a new thing upon the earth. But what was this new thing, which they touted as the most meaningful of human activities while some of their fellow-citizens considered it useless if not actually criminal? With the help of these philosophers we explore the place of reason in human life and the nature of the world in which it is lived.
PHIL 341-01A - 20th Century Continental Philosophers
Instructor: Dennis Beach
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 2:40-3:50 p.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 343
CORE: HM, HMU
CRN #: 13957
Certainly the most common verb in English (or any Western language) is the verb to be in its various forms: is, as, was, were, or in general, being. If we think about it all, we probably presume that "being" has such a general meaning that we can ignore it a self-explanatory. But we also call ourselves human beings. What is it about human beings that give them such a antural understanding of this orld being? As human beings, we not only are, but we "are in the world." Does this "being-in-the-world" add something to basic being, or is it being-in-the-world and being concerned about all our "natural" understanding of being? The 20th century German philosopher Martin Heidegger thought that moods such as anxiety and especially anxiety in the face of death disclose suprising insights about our everyday way of assuming the meaning of "being," and can open up for us the possibility of moving from anonymous to authentic existence. The text for this clas will be Heidegger's important and challenging work, Being and Time, which we wil ready together slowly and carefully.
PHIL 359-01A - Moral Philosophy
Instructor: Steve Wagner
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 353
CORE: HM, HMU
CRN #: 12322
We will first consider some of the most prominent moral theories in the tradition of western philosophical thought, such as the views of Aristotle, John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant. We will analyze their views to see if they provide adequate guides for living a good life. We will then turn to a number of contemporary moral views which claim to offer variations or alternatives to the classical models - such as feminist ethics, virtue ethics, and the use of litrary texts to develop moral points of view. Most of our work will be through class discussions of our readings. Our focus throughout will be to consider whether we can find guidance for our own lives in the moral views we will consider.
PHIL 360-01A - Politicial Philosophy
Instructor: Charles Wright
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Place: CSB - HAB 106
CORE: HM, HMU
CRN #: 13958
This course will engage in the close reading, discussion, and written analysis of texts crucial for a developed understanding of the Western political tradition and the political institutions of the United States and Western Europe. The class will start with canonical texts in the history of Western political philosophy - Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, Jean Jacques Rosseau's Social Contract, and Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto. Topics of discussion based on these texts shall include: the nature of political justice; the justification of democratic political procedures and obstacles to their realization; the justification of coercive state power; appropriate limits, if any, to the power of the state; and the tension between individual rights and the common good. Along with these canonical texts, we shall read contemporary philosophical essays and news reports highlighting features of these classical theories that are especially relevant today: in particuluar, the topics of executive prerogative and public deliberation. The class will then consider a series of noted feminist commentaries on this tradition of political thought - essays by Freidrich Engels, Carol Pateman, and Virginia Held, in particular - that drew attention to unacknowledged assumptions of female subordination built into these canonical theories. The course will finish with an examination of Joan Williams' book Unbending Gender, a comtemporary feminist analysis of institutional constraints upon men's and women's freedom and equality that currently coexist with democratic political freedoms.
Instructor: Greg Schaefer
Sections: 01A 02A
Days: 1/3/5 1/3/5
Time: 11:20 a.m. -12:30 p.m. 2:40-3:50 p.m.
Place: CSB - HAB 107 CSB - HAB 119
CORE: HM, HMU HM, HMU
CRN #: 12324 14176
We will look at a number of important ethical issues that arise in the business world. Such issues include corporations' social responsibilities, the rights and responsibilities of employees, and the ethics of marketing. We will also discuss the meaning and value that people find in work. At the beginning of the course we cover several ethical frameworks that contemporary philosophers and ethicists look to for insight in handling particular ethical problems; we shall discuss whether such frameworks shed light on the particular business ethics issues that we address, and if so, how.
PHIL 368B-01A - Economics, Philosophy & Method
Instructor: Daniel Finn
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 1:00-2:10 p.m.
Place: SJU - New Science Center 140
CORE: HM, HMU
CRN #: 14142
An inquiry into the philosophy of social science and the methodology of economics. A survey of philosophical debates concerning what makes a "good" explanation in natural science and social science, and an examination of the debates within the history of economics concerning the requirements for good explanations of economic events. Prerequisite: Two courses in economics or two courses in philosophy. Spring, Alternate years.
Instructor: Emily Esch
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 1:00-2:10 p.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 360
CRN #: 13959
This course explores a number of issues of interest to contemporary philosophers of mind and cognitive scientists. These include: the nature of consciousness and how we should study it, the relationship between the mind, the body, and the world, pyschopathology and what it can teach us about how we think, the problem of personal identity, the relevance of language to thought and the implications for how we should understand animal minds, and finally, how to determine whether a machine can think. In addition to being a general introduction to these topics, this course is designed with a particular interdisciplinary aim: to examine how the empirical work of cognitive scientists informs the theories of contemporary philosophers.
PHIL 368F-01A - Arendt, Metaphysics, Ethics and Political
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 11:20 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Place: SJU - Peter Engel 167
CRN #: 13960
Though the work of Martin Heidegger has strong implications for the realm of the political and the ethical, it was left to Arendt to think through the relationship of metaphyics, ethics and political life. The course will look at two works of Arendt - The Human Condition and Eichmann in Jerusalem. The first looks at the Greek city state and the understanding of human nature, which was reflected in the Greeks' political life. The second work looks at the sense of the political and the ethical and metaphysical at the time of Nationa Socialism. In conjunction with the first, we will read Oedipus Rex of Sophocles. In conjuction with the second, we will read the novel The Town Beyond the Wall of Elie Wiesel. Course requirements: two exams and a research paper. Daily writing.
HONR 250C-01A - Great Issues in Philosophy
OPEN TO FIRST-YEAR HONORS STUDENTS ONLY!
Instructor: Emily Esch
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 2:40-3:50 p.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 361
CORE: HM, HML
CRN #: 13920
This writing intensive course introduces you to philosophy through the examination of some of philosophy's biggest questions. The course is designed around the following five topics: the relationship between the mind and body, personal identity, morality, free will, and the nature of knowledge. In respective order, these are some of the questions which fall under each topic. Is the mind an immaterial soul or is it identical to the brain? What makes it possible that you are the same person now as you were ten years ago, given that all sorts of facts about you have changed? What makes an action right or wrong, or a person good or bad? What does it mean to act freely? What are the reasons for thinking that we actually aren't free agents? What is knowledge and do we have any? In particular, do we have knowledge of the external world? In addition to exploring these issues through classic texts, we will also examine them through contemporary philosophers' essays on the movie The Matrix.
CORE 390-04A - Senior Seminar: Social Issues and the Law
Instructor: Tim Robinson
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 344
CRN #: 13794
What role should moral values play in our thinking about legal and public policy issues? The answer depends in part on whether we can justify our moral judgments to each other. How can that be done? What exactly are moral judgments, anyway? We approach these questions by looking at the process of judicial reasoning in criminal law, both as a potential model for moral reasoning, and as a point of intersection between moral and legal considerations. We examine particular cases and issues, as well as more theoretical questions about the foundations of ethics and law.
CORE 390 - Senior Seminar: Reading for Life
Instructor: Tony Cunningham
Section: 05A 06A
Days: 2/4/6 2/4/6
Time: 1:00-2:10 p.m. 2:40-3:50 p.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 361 SJU - Quad 353
CRN #: 12794 13783
Everyone loves a good story. But great stories can provide us with more than mere recreation. Stories can provide rich character portraits that can reveal the subtleties and nuances of what it means to live well and responsibly. We'll use novels and films to address Socrates' basic ethical questions, "How should one live?" and "What sort of person should I be?" We'll do so by attending to the details of real-life and fictional characters embroiled in the "business of living." Some of our readings may include Arthur Miller's The Crucible; Tony Morrison's Beloved; Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Seraph on the Suwanee; Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day; Nick Horsby's How to Be Good; and Wallance Stegner's Crossing To Safety.
CORE 390-07A - Senior Seminar: Visions of the Good Life
Instructor: Steve Wagner
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Place: SJU - Quad 361
CRN #: 12789
This course will look at some of the most prominent moral views in the tradtion of western philosophical thought. Our goal will be to consider whether these views provide adequate guides for living a good life. We will look at aspects of the moral theories of Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, and Albert Camus. We will also investigate a number of views which claim to offer variations or alternatives to these classical western models, such as feminist though and virtue ethics. We will use a number of literary texts in our attempt to gain moral insight, reading The Stranger, The Remains of the Day, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and The Plague. As we consider whether we can find guidance for our own lives in these readings, our focus throughout will be to develop in ourselves the ability to make good moral judgments.
CORE 390 - Senior Seminar: War, Terrorism, Rising Income Inequality, Global Warming
Instructor: Jean Keller
Section: 10A 11A
Days: 1/3/5 1/3/5
Time: 1:00-2:10 p.m. 2:40-3:50 p.m.
Place: CSB - HAB 121 CSB - HAB 120
CRN #: 12795 13766
Daily headlines bring to our attention a whole host of challenging and seemingly intractable social problems. How, in the face of such challenges, are we to plan out and live our lives? What are our responsiblities, as individuals and communities, to engage and try to resolve such problems? And how do such moral obligations stack up against our desire to pursue our own passions and careers and to care for our family and friends? In this senior seminar, we'll use moral theory to engage problems posed by literature, film, and the news as a means to address the above named questions. Our main text will be Nina Rosenstand's The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics.