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Click here to see Spring 2007 Course Descriptions

Fall 2007 Course Descriptions

Introduction to Philosophy
10100 01 (13874 )
David
12:50-1:40 MW (F)
First Year Students Only
co-requirement 12100

This course uses a mixture of historical and contemporary readings to introduce students to some of the central topics in philosophy:

Logic and Reason˜What is a good argument?

Knowledge and Skepticism˜What, if anything, do we know other than ourselves?

God, Faith, and Reason˜Can God be proven? Is it rational to believe in miracles?

The Mind-Body Problem˜Is the mind immaterial? How is it related to the body?

Rationalism vs. Empiricism˜Is there innate knowledge?

Causation and Freedom˜Are we free agents?

Format: Lecture with separate discussion sections.

Texts: Plato, Meno (Hackett 1981); R. Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett 1993); D. Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (Hackett 1993); and a Course Reader, available at the DECIO Copy Center.

Requirements: Active participation in discussion sections; two very short papers, one longer paper, a short in-class midterm exam, and a short in-class final exam.

Introduction to Philosophy
10100 02 (13875 )
David
2:00-2:50 TR (F)
First Year Students Only
co-requirement 12100

This course uses a mixture of historical and contemporary readings to introduce students to some of the central topics in philosophy:

Logic and Reason˜What is a good argument?

Knowledge and Skepticism˜What, if anything, do we know other than ourselves?

God, Faith, and Reason˜Can God be proven? Is it rational to believe in miracles?

The Mind-Body Problem˜Is the mind immaterial? How is it related to the body?

Rationalism vs. Empiricism˜Is there innate knowledge?

Causation and Freedom˜Are we free agents?

Format: Lecture with separate discussion sections.

Requirements: Active participation in discussion sections; two very short papers, one longer paper, a short in-class midterm exam, and a short in-class final exam.

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 01 (12341)
Jensen, J.
9:30-10:45 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 02 (12346)
Jensen, J.
11:00-12:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 03 (11445)
Reed
12:30-1:45 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy: The Art of the Dialogue

In this class, we will examine some of the most fundamental philosophical questions by reading several classic dialogues. While a dialogue is not the only way to write or read philosophically, it is naturally advantageous to a philosophic frame of mind because of the way it makes the mind move. By evoking reflection from more than one perspective, a dialogue exhibits give and take, question and answer, argument and counterargument. A good dialogue further invites the reader to participate in it and ignites a dialogue in the reader’s mind. Through a dialogue, we learn to examine critically our own opinions. Moreover, because a dialogue takes place between characters, it reminds us that philosophy is not just a set of abstract issues but a way of life. We will look at dialogues by Plato, Boethius, Abelard, Malebranche, and Hume, and we will end with a play, which is of course a dialogue, by Shakespeare. The primary theme of the course, which all of these dialogues address, will be faith and reason. The class will have three papers and two exams.

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 04 (11428)
Keller,John
3:30-4:45 TR
First Year Students Only

This class is an introduction to philosophy ˜but what is philosophy?" Philosophy‚ means love of wisdom˜but what does that tell you about what an introduction to philosophy class actually is? Unlike many of the other classes you will take, this class is not directed at teaching you a body of information.

While there is information about philosophy˜information about its methods and history˜philosophy is not concerned primarily with information, but with understanding. Philosophy is, above all, an activity˜the search for understanding and truth: specifically the search for understanding and truth about certain very important and fundamental questions about the nature of ourselves and the world we live in. This class will be directed at teaching you how to partake in that activity. (This activity, by the way, is a much more difficult activity than memorizing bits of information.) In this class, the overarching question we will be concerned with is "How should we live our lives?". En route to answering that question we will have to grapple with two other questions: 1) What are truth and knowledge and how can we attain them?; and 2) What is our nature˜what most fundamentally are we?

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 05 (10657)
Keller, John
5:00-6:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 06 (10658)
Wicks
12:30-1:45 TR
First Year Students Only

This is an introductory level philosophy course, intended for students with little or no formal background in philosophy. The course is divided into two halves. In the first half we will read two of the most important works in the history of philosophy; Plato’s Republic and Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy. In the second half we will read a selection of philosophical writings from the 20th century.

The course will help you to develop your analytical reasoning skills and your ability to express complex ideas clearly and precisely in writing. Its primary purpose however is to introduce you to some of the most influential arguments and ideas of the Western philosophical tradition.

A full syllabus, including a complete list of readings and requirements, can be found at my webpage: www.nd.edu/~pwicks

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 07 (10681)
Wicks
3:30-4:45 TR
First Year Students Only

A full syllabus, including a complete list of readings and requirements, can be found at my webpage: www.nd.edu/~pwicks

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 08 (10682)
Keller, Lorraine
11:00-12:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Philosophy might be defined as the pursuit of knowledge of the highest (or most fundamental) truths. But what is knowledge? What is truth? In this course we will look into these questions by examining both classical and contemporary texts by influential philosophers. We will discuss the relation between knowledge and truth, the question of whether truth is objective or relative, and the relevance (or lack thereof) of one's personal morality to one's relation to the truth. Students will be challenged to form and rigorously defend their own views on these topics.

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 09 (13666)
Johnson
9:35-10:25 MWF
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 10 (13667)
Langan
1:55-2:45 MWF
First Year Students Only

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to philosophy through an examination of a sampling of philosophical classics. Themes that we will examine in the course include: the nature of philosophy and of philosophical wisdom; the distinctiveness of the philosophical life; the relation between intellection and affection in the pursuit of wisdom; the existence and nature of God; the relation between intellectual virtue and truth; the relation between faith and reason; the nature of human flourishing; the role of individuality in the pursuit of human flourishing; the relation between moral virtue and happiness. The philosophers to be discussed include Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Descartes, and Nietzsche

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 11 (15594)
Mayo
11:45-12:35 MWF
First Year Students Only

This course will attempt to provide a general introduction to the nature of philosophical problems and the methodology one might use to effectively address these problems. In the process, the hope is that you, the student, will learn to think and express your thoughts more clearly, more precisely, more cogently 'in a word' better. This includes developing your capacity to read texts in fair and sensitive yet critical manner. It also includes developing your capacity to write and speak with analytical rigor.

The overall strategy will be to use the first half of the semester to introduce and briefly evaluate an interesting and relevant set of philosophical questions. In the second half of the semester we will then apply what we have learned to the serious examination of a few historically important yet fairly accessible philosophical works.

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 12 (15620)
Keller, Lorraine
9:30-10:45 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 13 (18789)
Cross
5:00-6:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 01 (12919)
Newlands
9:30 - 10:45 TR
First Year Students Only

In this introduction to philosophy, we will try to better understand just what philosophical explanations are supposed to be and how they may differ from alternative kinds of explanation (e.g., theological, scientific, historical). To do this, we will look at alternative philosophical responses to some of the following puzzling questions: (1) Why is there something rather than nothing? (2) What is the relationship between my mind and my body? (3) What is the nature of personal identity? (4) What is the nature of human freedom? (5) Can God and evil co-exist? (6) What does the good life consist in? (7) What is the fundamental nature of reality?

We will discuss four of these topics in a given semester. In each case, after exploring competing answers, we will ask whether any of the alternatives provide satisfying philosophical explanations or not, and, if not, what we should think about questions that appear to have no satisfying philosophical answers.

Requirements: This writing intensive seminar will require four written papers, one on each topic, spaced throughout the term. Class participation will also be a factor in final grades, and there will be at least one structured class debate during the semester.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 02 (12923)
Jauernig
11:00-12:15 TR
First Year Students Only

This course provides a basic introduction to some central problems of philosophy in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and ethics. Questions to be addressed include: Can we know if there is an external world? Can we know the past or the future? Is it possible to prove the existence of God? Is it possible to reconcile God's goodness and omnipotence with the presence of evil in the world? What kind of things are persons? Is the mind different from the brain? Supposing that the physical world is deterministic, can we still maintain that humans are free? What is wrong with being an egoist? What does virtue consist in? Is it morally wrong to abort a fetus? Ought we all become vegetarians? We will be reading both historical texts, as, for instance, selected writings by Aristotle, Descartes, Hume and Kant, and contemporary essays on the mentioned topics.

Readings: Joel Feinberg (ed.), Reason and Responsibility, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 13th edition, 2007

Requirements: active participation in class (10%), four quizzes (10% each), a mid-term paper (15%), a re-write of the mid-term paper (10%), and a final paper (25%)

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 03 (12924)
Watson
3:30-4:45 TR
First Year Students Only

An examination of fundamental questions about the nature of human existence, based on a critical examination of works in the existentialist tradition.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 04 (12925 )
Watson
5:00-6:15 TR
First Year Students Only

An examination of fundamental questions about the nature of human existence, based on a critical examination of works in the existentialist tradition.

Honors Philosophy Seminar
13195 01 (12926)
Jauernig
9:30-10:45 TR
First Year Students Only

This course provides a basic introduction to some central problems of philosophy in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Questions to be addressed include: Can we know if there is an external world? Can we know the past or the future? Is it possible to prove the existence of God? Is it possible to reconcile God's goodness and omnipotence with the presence of evil in the world? What kind of things are persons? Is the mind different from the brain? Supposing that the physical world is deterministic, can we still maintain that humans are free? What is wrong with being an egoist? What does virtue consist in? Is it morally wrong to abort a fetus? Ought we all become vegetarians? We will be reading historical texts, as, for instance, selected writings by Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, and Kant, as well as contemporary essays on the mentioned topics.

Readings: Joel Feinberg (ed.), Reason and Responsibility, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 13th edition, 2007

Requirements: active participation in class (10%), four quizzes (10% each), a mid-term paper (25%), and a final paper (25%)

Honors Philosophy Seminar
13195 02 (12927)
Gutting
12:30-1:45 TR
First Year Students Only

This course will introduce students to philosophy through a close reading of classic texts by Plato, Descartes, Hume, Mill, and Sartre. We will also read contemporary works by John Perry and Peter Singer.

Honors Philosophy Seminar
13195 03 (12928)
Loux
2:00-3:15 TR
First Year Students Only

A first course in philosophy, focusing on problems about the rationality of religious belief, the natrure of the human person, the foundations of ethical values, and the justification of political authority.

Readings will include selections from classical philosophers as well as more recent writings on these topics. Weekly papers are required.

Honors Philosophy Seminar
13195 04 (12929)
Bays
2:00-3:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Honors Philosophy Seminar
13195 05 (13235)
Speaks
3:30-4:45 TR
First Year Students Only

This course will be an introduction to philosophy via study of some of the most important arguments from the history of philosophy. Topics discussed will include arguments for and against the existence of God, the compatibility of human free will with determinism and divine foreknowledge, and the nature of persons. The topics discussed towards the end of the semester will depend on student interest. Typically, the schedule will be set so that we will read one paper presenting an argument, and, for the next class, another paper criticizing that argument.
One aim of the course will be to teach students to recognize and produce good arguments. We will spend a bit of time at the beginning of the course, and occasionally throughout, discussing what good arguments are, and why they might be worth pursuing.
More information will be available at the course web site, which is at
http://www.nd.edu/~jspeaks/courses/13195

Honors Philosophy Seminar
13195 06 (15610)
David
5:00-6:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 01 (12165)
Langan
8:30-9:20 MWF

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 02 (12166 )
McKaughan
9:35-10:25 MWF

This course is a topics-based, though historically sensitive, introduction to some central problems and methods of philosophy. By carefully reading and discussing great classical and contemporary philosophical texts, we will confront foundational questions about life, about our understanding of the world, and about how we ought to conduct our intellectual and moral lives. The course will seek to equip students with the analytic skills needed for critical engagement with these works and to develop the ability to articulate and defend a philosophical position of one’s own. Questions to be considered include: What is knowledge, how do we acquire it, and what are its scope and limits? How should we think about truth and objective reality? What is it to be a person or to have a mind? Are we free? Is it reasonable to believe that God exists? What is the relationship between reason and religious faith? How should we live and what status do moral claims have in a world of facts?

Text: Joel Feinberg & Russ Shafer-Landau, eds. 2007. Reason and Responsibility 13th ed. (Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing).

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 03 (12167)
Branson
10:40-11:30 MWF

An introduction to some basic issues in philosophy through a variety of both classical and contemporary readings. We will begin the class with a viewing of The Matrix and use that film to facilitate a discussion about the distinction between appearance and reality, and the question "Why do Ideas Matter?" We will then discuss why clear definitions and sound reasoning matter in philosophy, leading into a short introduction to contemporary logic. With those tools in hand, we will then go on to more in-depth discussions about the existence of God, free will, the relation between the mind and the body, the objectivity or subjectivity of moral values along with some important moral theories, and finally the nature and extent of human knowledge.

Requirements: In addition to occasional pop quizzes over the reading material (10% of your grade), there will be 3 papers (5%, 15%, and 25%), a quiz over logic (5%), a mid-term (15%) and a final (25%).

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 04 (12168 )
Branson
11:45-12:35 MWF

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 05 (12169)
Halteman-Zwart
1:55-2:45 MWF

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 06 (11539 )
Rabbitt
11:00-12:15 TR

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 07 (12170 )
DiQuattro
12:30-1:45 TR

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 08 (12171 )
DiQuattro
2:00-3:15 TR

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 09 (13193 )
Garcia
3:30-4:45 TR

All of us face deep questions at various times in our lives. What happens when we die? Does God exist? If so, what is God like? Is there any meaning in life? What is the good life? What do I owe to my neighbor, community, and country? Throughout its history, philosophical inquiry has sought to answer these questions in a reflective, systematic, and reasonable fashion. Our own search for answers can be improved if we learn how to think philosophically. This course is an introduction to the methods and issues of philosophy, with a special focus on philosophical issues in contemporary (North American) culture.

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 10 (10635 )
Garcia
5:00-6:15 TR

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 11 (15531)
Rabbitt
9:30-10:45 TR

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 12 (15613 )
Haltman-Zwart
12:50-1:40 MWF

Philosophy of Human Nature
20201 01 (12857 )
Reimers
8:30 -9:20 MWF

Classically, the question about human nature has been posed in terms of the relation of the soul to the body. In this course, we will examine this relationship through three principal texts, one each from ancient times, the Middle Ages, and our own time. We will examine these principal questions: the immortality of the soul, the purpose or meaning of life, and the interaction of human sexuality, emotion, and love.

Texts will be Plato's Phaedo, Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Happiness, and Karol Wojtyla's Love and Responsibility.
Course requirements: one term paper, two tests, and a final exam.

Philosophy of Human Nature
20201 02 (12858 )
Reimers
9:35 - 10:25 MWF

Classically, the question about human nature has been posed in terms of the relation of the soul to the body. In this course, we will examine this relationship through three principal texts, one each from ancient times, the Middle Ages, and our own time. We will examine these principal questions: the immortality of the soul, the purpose or meaning of life, and the interaction of human sexuality, emotion, and love.

Texts will be Plato's Phaedo, Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Happiness, and Karol Wojtyla's Love and Responsibility.
Course requirements: one term paper, two tests, and a final exam.

Existentialist Themes
20202 01 (13669)
Ameriks
9:30-10:45 TR

This course focuses on writings from three main figures: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Sartre. The contrast of aesthetic, ethical and religious views, as discussed from an existentialist perspective, is the main thematic focus of the course.

Requirements: The main requirements are two papers, two tests, and a final.

Existentialist Themes
20202 02 (17346)
Ameriks
12:30-1:45 TR

This course focuses on writings from three main figures: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Sartre. The contrast of aesthetic, ethical and religious views, as discussed from an existentialist perspective, is the main thematic focus of the course.

Requirements: The main requirements are two papers, two tests, and a final

Existentialist Themes
20202 03 (18643)
Rabbitt
8:30-9:20 MWF

Existentialist Themes
20202 04 (18644)
DiQuattro
9:35-10:25 MWF

I

Death and Dying
20203 01 (17347 )
Neiman
3:00-4:15 MW

This course in death and dying begins with a few short readings about death and the difference it makes to the meaning of life. Secondly, we will discuss some basic concepts in ethical theory (the study of the nature of the good life). Having taken the time to cover some basic ground in ethical theory, we will (thirdly) spend the last (and largest) part of the course examining some particular "life and death" ethical questions. Possible topics associated with these questions include suicide and assisted suicide, capital punishment, cloning and the handicapped, abortion, war and violence, world hunger, global warming and our duties to future generations, etc.

Probable tests: Aldous Huxley's, Brave New World, Plato's "Apology" and "Phaedo," Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logo-Therapy, and Louis Pojman, ed., Life and Death: A Reader in Moral Problems.

Requirements: One page of careful writing a week, a 5-7 page paper and a final exam.

Death and Dying
20203 02 (17348 )
Neiman
4:30-5:45 MW

Requirements: One page of careful writing a week, a 5-7 page paper and a final exam.

Death and Dying
20203 03 (TBA )
Warfield
11:45-1:00 MW

We will examine moral issues arising in situations in which people are near death. Many of our topics will be moral issues arising in medical practice and discussions of medicine including: euthanasia, withdrawals of treatment, terminal sedation, organ transplantation, assisted suicide. We will also spend some time considering arguments for and against the permissibility of the death penalty.

Requirements: papers and in class exams.

Death and Dying
20203 04 (17958 )
Warfield
1:30-2:45 MW

Requirements: papers and in class exams.

Minds, Brains and Persons
20208 01 (13111)
Stubenberg
2:00-3:15 TR

This course is an introduction to the philosophy of mind. We will study three books, each written by a well known contemporary philosopher, each designed as a general introduction to the philosophy of mind, and each also designed to persuade the reader of the correctness of its author's philosophical views. Unsurprisingly, the three books present three different and, apparently, incompatible views of the place of the mind in nature. Specific topics will include: the nature of the mental, the problem of consciousness, the problem of intentionality, the analysis of perception and action, the problem of freedom and determinism, the concept of the self.

Books: John Searle: Mind. A Brief Introduction. Oxford 2004. , Colin McGinn: The Mysterious Flame: Conscious Minds in Material World. Basic Books 2000., David Armstrong: The Mind-Body Problem. An Opinionated Introduction. Westview Press1999.

Requirements: 2 short papers,1500 words each. (25% each), A midterm and a final, both in take-home format. (25% each), To pass this class you must complete all of these requirements.

Contact Information:
Leopold Stubenberg
Malloy 405
631 5921
Stubenberg.1@nd.edu

Minds, Brains and Persons
20208 02 (15622)
Johnson
12:30-1:45 TR

This course will examine two families of problems in the philosophy of mind. The first of these concerns the nature of consciousness and the relation of mind and body: Are mental phenomena reducible to, or explicable in terms of, physical (mostly neurophysiological) events; do attempts to incorporate our mental life within a purely physical theory adequately account for the distinctive features of consciousness? The second concerns the nature of self-knowledge and moral motivation: How extensive is the mind‚s awareness of its own states; how well do we know our own thoughts, desires, etc; how much knowledge of ourselves is required in order to make moral progress and what are the implications for moral agency of the kinds of limitations we confront in knowing our own minds? Readings will include both historical figures (Augustine and Descartes) as well as recent scholarship in the philosophy of mind and moral psychology. Written work for the course will consist of several short quizes, a short (5 pages) paper and a longer (10 pages) paper.

Minds, Brains and Persons
20208 03 (18645)
Johnson
2:00-3:15 TR

Ethics
20401 01 (12822)
Rodriguez
1:30-2:45 MW

Ethics
20401 02 (15595)
Rodriguez
3:00-4:45 MW

Moral Problems
20402 01 (17350)
Baldwin
2:00-3:15 TR

This course aims to help students think clearly and carefully about controversial moral and political issues. To this end, we will discuss four specimen issues of the teacher's choosing (probably meat eating, religion in democratic deliberation, affirmative action, and economic justice) and three issues of students' choosing. Class meetings will include brief lectures on assigned readings (all of which will be on e-reserve) but will emphasize informed student discussion. Graded requirements will likely consist of regular reading quizzes, two 5-7 page papers, and a final exam.

Moral Problems
20402 02 (17349)
Baldwin
3:30-4:45 TR

Ethics and Business
20404 01 (17351)
Holloway
8:30-9:45 MWF

The purpose of this course is to begin reflecting in a philosophical way about the relationship between ethics and business. In particular, we will consider a number of foundational questions about business ethics: (1) Does the competitive nature of business make ethics irrelevant to business decision making? (2) Are there any objective standards in ethics at all? (3) Can persons act morally and if they can is there any reason for them to? (4) Can a morally responsible business survive in a competitive environment? (5) Does the right to self-defense release business persons from strict adherence to moral rules? (6) Does morality apply to decisions made in a business corporation? (7) If it makes sense to talk of moral responsibilities in a corporate context, what is the nature and scope of these responsibilities? Ultimately, the question we will try to answer is: "To what extent can business persons integrate ethical standards and values into their business decision making?"

Text: Course Packet

Living the Virtues
20418 01 (17352 )
McInerny
11:00-12:15 TR

This course gets started with the idea that human life is a quest, a quest for good things, and for the best of all good things, the possession of which we call happiness. This is not a quest we have chosen for ourselves, it is rather one that has been given to us. But how we should live it? How do we ensure that we see the quest to its end? Throughout history, the wisest minds who have considered this question have answered it this way: happiness is obtained by living the virtues. But what does it mean to live the virtues? What are the virtues? We shall attempt to answer these questions depending especially upon the guidance of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Medical Ethics
20602 01 (12798)
Solomon
10:40-11:30 MW (F)
Corequisite 22602

An exploration, from the point of view of ethical theory, of a number of ethical problems in contemporary biomedicine. Topics to be taken up will include: 1) euthanasia, 2) abortion, 3) the allocation of scarce medical resources, 4) truth telling in the doctor - patient relationship, 5) the right to medical care, and 6) informed consent and human experimentation. No previous work in philosophy will be presupposed.

Requirements: Two short (4-6 pp.) problem papers, a mid-term, and a final exam.
Texts: Munson, Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Medical Ethics.

Science, Technology & Society
20606 01 (15099)
Hamlin
12:50-1:40 MW(F)
Cross List: STV 20556, co-req. STV 22

This course introduces the interdisciplinary field of science and technology studies. Our concern will be with science and technology (including medicine) as social and historical, i.e., as human, phenomena. We shall examine the divergent roots of contemporary science and technology, and the similarities and (sometimes surprising) differences in their methods and goals. The central theme of the course will be the ways in which science and technology interact with other aspects of society, including the effects of technical and theoretical innovation in bringing about social change, and the social shaping of science and technology themselves by cultural, economic and political forces. Because science/society interactions so frequently lead to public controversy and conflict, we shall also explore what resources are available to mediate such conflicts in an avowedly democratic society.
Please Note: Students in 20556 must also register for a section of STV 22556 – Science, Technology and Society Discussion

Philosophy of Biology
20614 01 (18486)
Ramsey
12:30-1:45 TR

In this course, we will survey some of the central issues in the philosophy of biology. We will study the theory of natural selection and consider whether it occurs only at the level of genes or if it can occur at higher levels, such as the organism or group. We will examine the nature of function or purpose in biological systems and ask if all or most features of biological organisms can be understood as adaptations or if there are alternative explanations, such as constraints, spandrels, or self-organization. We will also consider whether the design of organisms implies an intelligent designer or if natural selection is sufficient for explaining all organismic adaptations. Later in the course, we will turn to the difficult concept of fitness, specifically how fitness is understood as both a central theoretical concept in the theory of natural selection, as well as being explanatory and predictive of evolutionary phenomena. Lastly, we will explore the scope of Darwinian explanations. In particular, we will consider the extent to which human behavior can be understood through Darwinian adaptationist explanations.

Philosophy of Biology
20614 02 (18487)
Ramsey
2:00-3:15 TR

Practicing Medical Ethics
20615 01 (15058 )
Solomon
9:00-4:15 Saturday, October 6

This is a one-day, one-credit course. The purpose of this course is to give students who may have a vocation in health care the opportunity to engage in conversation with physicians, philosophers and theologians familiar with medical ethics. Participants will be looking at real cases studies and real situations they might encounter in practicing medicine. The course is also an opportunity for students to form a mentoring relationship with a practicing physician. Students must read a small course packet of case studies and related readings ahead of time to prepare for the course. In order to receive credit, students must attend the one-day course in full and write a 4-6 page paper on their perspective on one of the cases, due approximately two weeks after the one-day course. Lunch will be provided. DOES NOT SATISFY UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENT.

Philosophy and Science Fiction
20620 01 (17353)
Rea
11:45-1:00 MW

The science fiction genre is rich with stories that explore classic philosophical questions and exploit timeless philosophical puzzles and paradoxes. In this class, we will examine the way in which several core problems of philosophy are raised in contemporary works of science fiction, and then we will look carefully at more systematic discussions of those problems by well-known figures in the history of philosophy. We will discuss, among other things, the possibility and limits of human knowledge, the nature of time, paradoxes of time travel, the possibility of free human action, and some widely discussed puzzles about identity and persistence over time. The result will be an introductory survey of some core issues in the areas of philosophy known as metaphysics and epistemology.

Course Requirements: Probably two exams, two or three short papers, and class participation.

Texts: A course packet available at Decio Copy Center, and Michael Phillips (ed.), Philosophy and Science Fiction.

Philosophy of Religion
20801 01 (12790 )
3:30-4:45 TR
van Inwagen

This course is an examination of some philosophical questions about belief in God (as God is understood in Judaism, Christianity and Islam). A considerable part of the course is devoted to a study of philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God. The final topic of discussion is: if all the arguments we shall examine are inconclusive (as they seem to be), what does this imply about what beliefs we should have about God?

Course requirements: One examination (early October), one paper on an assigned topic (mid-November; about 1500 words), and a take-home final examination.

Text: David Schatz (ed.), Philosophy and Fait

Philosophical Reflections on Christian Belief
20802 01 (17354)
Rea
1:30-2:45 MW

In this course we will take a careful look at some of the hard philosophical problems raised by several important Christian doctrines. For example, Christians believe that there is exactly one God but three divine Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). We believe that the second Person of the Trinity became a man, that this man–Jesus of Nazareth–suffered and died for our sins so that we might be restored to fellowship with God, that he was raised from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, and that all Christians will one day undergo a similar bodily resurrection. Many of us also believe that God is sovereign and that in some sense nothing happens apart from his will, but also that we are free creatures who often do things that in run directly contrary to the expressed will of God. Each of these doctrines, however, poses serious philosophical difficulties. The goal of this course is to try to get clear about what exactly these problems are and to explore some of the ways in which philosophers and theologians have attempted to solve them.

Texts: A course packet of readings.

Format: Lecture with (hopefully) a fair bit of discussion.

Requirements: Some combination of exams and paper (to be announced).

All 30000 and 40000 level courses are by permission only *

History of Ancient & Medieval Philosophy
30301 01 (12732)
Dumont
5:00-6:15 TR

A survey of Western philosophy from its beginnings in the early Greek physicists to the late middle ages. The emphasis in class will be on the reading and analysis of fundamental texts by main figures of the period: Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Anselm, Bonaventure, and Thomas Aquinas. Concurrent reading of a standard history will supply additional background and continuity.

Requirements: Two papers (one each for the ancient and medieval portions of the course), a mid-term, and final examination.

History of Ancient & Medieval Philosophy
30301 02 (12765)
Freddoso
1:30-2:45 MW
Cross List: MI 30301 02

A survey of western philosophy from the 6th-century B.C. Presocratics to the 16th-century Scholastics. The lectures will focus primarily on Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas, using the twin themes of nature and human nature as an occasion for (a) formulating with some precision the main metaphysical and moral problematics that emerge from the works of Plato and Aristotle, (b) investigating the influence of Plato and Aristotle on the Catholic intellectual tradition, and (c) exploring in some depth the relation between faith and reason.

Texts: Because the lectures will not try to cover all the important figures (though there will be ample references to them, as well as to key early modern philosophers), the students will be expected to read all of the assigned secondary source, viz., James Jordan's Western Philosophy: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages, as well as the primary sources assigned for the lectures. For the rest of the texts consult http://www.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/301/phil301-fall.htm

Requirements: In addition, the requirements include (a) two 6-7 page papers on assigned topics, and (b) two exams.

History of Modern Philosophy
30302 01 (11906 )
Newlands
12:30-1:45 TR

The sweeping scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries paralleled the development of sweeping new approaches to philosophy. Of particular concern to these so-called “modern philosophers” was to understand the relationship between human beings and the natural world, especially in the light of the emerging new scientific picture. In this course, we will explore many facets of this relationship: the relationship between the mind and the body; the nature, role and knowledge of God; skepticism and knowledge of the natural world; the possibility of human freedom; the possibility of miracles; causation; personal identity; and the nature of the fundamentally real. As we will see along the way, many of the new methods, problems and proposed solutions surrounding these topics are the very methods, problems, and solutions still driving contemporary philosophy.

Readings will be drawn mainly from Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.

Textbook: Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources, eds. Ariew and Watkins, Hackett Publishing

Requirements: 1-2 papers, 1-2 exams and class participation

History of Modern Philosophy
30302 02 (13686 )
Joy
1:30 - 2:45 MW

Modern thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries radically transformed the philosophical traditions they inherited from the Ancient and Medieval schools of thought. We will study of the works of six modern philosophers who contributed to these transformations: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Leibniz, Hume, and Kant. Our main focus will be on their epistemology, metaphysics, and natural philosophy, but attention will also be given to topics from their ethics.

Requirements: Written work will consist of three short papers and one exam. Class participation and regular attendance are also important to success in this course.

Formal Logic
30313 01 (12172 )
Bays
11:00-12:15 TR
DOES NOT SATISFY UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENT

This course will provide an introduction to first-order formal logic. We'll begin by introducing a nice symbolic language and then learn how to "translate" between this language and ordinary English. Next, we'll study the notions of deduction and entailment as they are defined for this language. Finally, and on a more explicitly philosophical note, we'll discuss the degree to which these formally defined notions manage to capture ordinary language notions like "logical consequence" or "argumentative validity."

God, Philosophy and Universities
30326 01 (12833 )
MacIntyre
11:45-1:00 MW

Enquiry and teaching in Catholic universities have aimed at understanding how the universe--physical, animal, human--is ordered to God. One task of philosophy in the Catholic tradition has been to show how the various secular disciplines both contribute to such understanding and remain incomplete without theology. How is this task to be carried out? We shall consider answers by three Catholic philosophers in different intellectual and cultural situations, Aquinas, Arnauld, and Newman,in the hope of learning how to answer this question today.

Requirements: Three papers will be required. There will be no examination.

Environmental Philosophy
30390 01 (17355 )
Sayre
11:00-12:15 TR

The threat of global warming is part of a deeper environmental crisis facing industrial society. This course explores the roots of that underlying crisis, along with possible ways of coping with it. The exploration will take us through fields as diverse as thermodynamics, ecology, economics, and ethics.

Readings will be taken from classic environmental literature as well as material available on the Internet. Class format will emphasize discussion, with occasional lectures. There will be midterm and final examinations, and a number of class reports (depending on class size).

Plato
43101 01 (12660 )
Sayre
2:00-3:15 TR

After a two or three period introduction to pre-Socratic thought, we will read (in translation) 8 to 10 Platonic dialogues from the middle and late periods (to be chosen the first day of class). Class format will include lecture and discussion.

Requirements: Brief summaries of selected dialogues will be due before discussion in class. There will be midterm and final examinations, but no term paper.

Aquinas' Philosophical Theology
43149 01 (17667 )
O'Callaghan
1:30-2:45 MW

A close examination of the philosophical arguments within the first thirteen questions of Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, including arguments about the distinction between philosophy and Sacred Theology, the existence of a god, divine simplicity, divine perfection, divine goodness, divine infinity, divine immutability, divine eternity, divine unity, how God is known by us, and how God is spoken about by us.

Socrates, Nietzsche & Kierkkegaard
43182 01 (17357 )
Neiman
3:30-2:45 TR

If we assume the conventional designation of Socrates as the father of philosophy, we can perhaps best understand Kierkegaard (18913-1855) and Nietzsche (1844-1900) as sons who spent their philosophical lives attempting an appropriate stance of loyalty to, yet independence from, the father. It may, in fact, be useful to imagine each of these figures, along with many others who have have sought the yoke of "self-examination,", engaged in oedipal conflict with Socrates . In this seminar we will examine the oedipal intrigues of some of these authors with/towards/against Socrates with a view towards understanding the possibilities for philosophy taken not merely as abstract theorizing, but
as an embodied way of life.

We will begin with the "so-called" Socratic dialogues of Plato, e.g. "The Apology," "The Crito," etc. along with "The Meno." and perhaps "The Symposium." Possible works of Kierkegaard include his doctoral thesis The Conept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates as well as his treatment of Christ and Socrates as teachers in Philosophical Fragmants. As for Nietzsche, we will probably look at The Gay Science and Twilight of the Idols. Finally, Alexander Nehamas' The Art of Living: Socratic Refelectins from Plato to Foucault will form the spine of the course.

As the course is a seminar, students will be expected to do the assigned readings (carefully) for each class, attend each class and participate. One cannot pass this course without regular attendance and participation. Student presentations are a possibility. Students will also be expected to write two papers for the course on a course topic negotiated with the Professor, the first (5-7 pages) due at mid-term, the second (7-10 pages) due during finals week.

Environmental Justice
43308 01 (14375 )
Shrader-Frechette
4:30-7:00 W
Cross List:

Offered primarily for biology credit, this course is cross-listed for philosophy credit. Course will cover flaws in scientific method and flaws in ethics that cause environmental injustice – the fact that children, minorities, and poor people receive higher exposures to environmental toxins that damage their health and kill them. Course is hands-on, and students will learn to analyze the scientific and ethical flaws in some of the 3000 draft impact assessments done annually in the US; student work on these assessments will actually help influence policy and serve threatened communities. Majors in environmental sciences, pre-med, engineering, philosophy, or any of the natural or biological sciences, need no permission for the course. All other majors need instructor’s permission (kshrader@nd.edu) to enter the course.

Since this course is cross-listed with biology, and presupposes a good bit of science background, students who are neither pre-meds nor science/engineering majors must have the personal written permission of Dr. Shrader-Frechette to enroll in the course

Requirements include weekly summary assignments; weekly quizzes; 3 short, analytic papers; participation in classroom analysis, and one major project. Students each choose a project that involves working on a self-chosen EJ project, so that they can use techniques (learned in course) to promote real-world social justice and improved scientific methods in specific poor or minority communities There are no exams.

Texts include Peter Singer, One World; Shrader-Frechette, Environmental Justice; and a variety of articles from scientific and medical journals.

Justice Seminar
43404 01 (12844 )
Roos
1:30-2:45 MW

The Justice Seminar undertakes a critical examination of major theories of justice, using both contemporary works (e.g., John Rawls' A Theory of Justice and Kenneth Arrow's seminal papers on voting theory) and historical classics (e.g., Aristotle's Politics and the Lincoln & Douglas debates). The seminar requires substantial participation of students both in the form of seminar papers and in oral discussion. This is the core course for the concentration in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (P.P.E.).

Metaphysics
43501 01 (13114 )
van Inwagen
5:00-6:15 TR

Metaphysics is the part of philosophy that attempts to get behind all appearances and to arrive at reasoned judgments about how things really are. Metaphysics asks what the most general features of the world are, why there is a world that has those features, and how we human beings fit into that world. Some metaphysical questions that will be investigated are: Is the apparent existence of a multitude of things a real feature of the world, or is reality somehow "one" and individuality an illusion? Is there a real physical world outside the mind? Is there a mind-independent truth? Why is there a world: Why does anything at all exist? Is the physical world the work of an intelligent designer? How are our thoughts and feelings related to our bodies? Have we free will?

Biomedical Ethics & Public Health Risk
43708 01 (14384)
Shrader-Frechette
3:30-6:00 T

Designed for premedical students and those interested in the environment, science, and engineering, the course will survey ethical issues associated with current public-health problems such as pollution-induced cancers occupational injury and death, and inadequate emphasis on disease prevention, nutrition, and environmental health.

Courses requirements: Weekly quizzes but no tests, weekly one-page reading reports, 3 one-page papers, readings for every class, participation in classroom analysis.

Philosophy and Theology of the Body
43808 01 (18236)
Reimers
1:30-2:45 MW
Cross List: THEO

Pope John Paul II’s “theology of the body,” presented in his weekly public audiences over the course of five years, constitutes a thoroughgoing effort to develop of sexuality and love in the context of an integrated understanding of the human person. This understanding is based in part on his work in philosophical anthropology as Professor of Ethics at the University of Lublin in Poland and in part on the Scriptural conception of the human being as imago Dei.

In this course we will exam the anthropology from both the philosophical and theological perspectives, studying his philosophical works Love and Responsibility and “Person: Subject and Community,” as well as the collection of papal audiences, The Theology of the Body, the Encyclical Veritatis Splendor and the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem.

Chesterton
43811 01 (17359)
Freddoso
3:00-4:15 MW

Though Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was not a 'trained philosopher', a trained philosophical eye can see that he is nonetheless a deep and insightful philosopher. Perhaps the best Catholic apologist of his time, he anticipated as early as 1908 the turn from modernism to post-modernism in the late 20th century, found interesting and creative ways to propound Catholic doctrine, and developed many provocative criticisms of the contemporary alternatives to Catholicism. What's more, mirabile dictu, he did all of this with literary elegance, panache, and humor--a combination that is both hard to beat and not often encountered in philosophy courses for majors. This course will feature Chesterton's two greatest philosophical works, Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man, in addition to his semi-biographical work on the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas. (Also featured will be "The Arena," Chesterton's poem about Notre Dame football and, time permitting, the Father Brown short story "Queer Feet.") The course will be a genuine seminar coupled with moral edification for the students -- when there are class presentations, the instructor will have his mouth taped for the first 45 minutes of the class, thus exhibiting a truly heroic example of self-restraint that the students can learn from. :-)

Requirements: One 5-page class presentation and a 12-15 page term paper.

Prerequisites: Even though there are no formal prerequisites for this course, students who have taken both Phil 30301 and Phil 30302 will, ceteris paribus, get the most out of this course.

Origins of Analytic Philosophy
43904 01 (17360)
Speaks
2:00-3:15 TR

Analytic philosophy is a loose tradition unified neither by adherence to any particular set of views nor by use of any particular philosophical method, but rather by a series of historical connections to the work of a number of seminal early twentieth century philosophers. This course will be an introduction to analytic philosophy via the study of selected works of some of these philosophers: G. E. Moore, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and A. J. Ayer.
These philosophers touched on virtually every area of philosophy; depending on how far we get, we will examine their contributions to metaphysics (with special attention to logical atomism), epistemology (with special attention to the problem of skepticism about the external world and the explanation of a priori knowledge), the philosophy of language (with special attention to the distinction between surface form and logical form, the use of linguistic theses to dissolve metaphysical puzzles, and the verificationist criterion of meaning), the philosophy of mind (with special attention to the sense datum theory of perception), the philosophy of mathematics (with special attention to the logicist reduction of mathematics to logic), and ethics (with special attention to the emotivist claim that ethical, political, and aesthetic sentences are expressions of attitudes which are neither true nor false).
More information will be available at the course web site, which is at
http://www.nd.edu/~jspeaks/courses/43904

Personal Identity and Unity of Consciousness
43910 01 (17361)
Stubenberg
12:30-1:45 TR

What sort of a thing am I? What is it to be a person? Can one living human body count as two or more persons (split-brain cases, multiple personality disorder)? Through which sorts of changes can a person persist (how much physical and mental change is survivable?)? We shall study some of the traditional answers to these questions-especially Descartes's ego-theory, Locke's theory that you are coextensive with your consciousness, and Hume's bundle theory of the self. Thus prepared we will be in a good position to discuss and assess Douglas Hofstadter's new theory of the self.

Texts: John Perry (ed.): Personal Identity, Sydeny Shoemaker & Richard Swinburne. Personal Identity, Douglas Hofstadter: I Am a Strange Loop, Papers by various authors, available on the web

Requirements: Two papers (2600 words each), Take home final, Participation, This is a small course at an advanced level. So I expect everyone to participate. And I will not hesitate to call on you. I'll expect you to show up for class. If you cannot make it, please excuse yourself ahead of time.

Grading
1st paper: 25%, 2nd paper: 35%; Final: 25%, Participation: 15%
Contact Information:
Leopold Stubenberg
Malloy Hall 405
631 5921
stubenberg.1@nd.edu

Directed Readings
46497 01 (12173)
Holloway

Directed Readings
46497 02 (10157)
Holloway

Senior Thesis
48499 01 (11246)
O'Connor

* These courses are typically for majors only and are more difficult than 20000 level courses. For a permission only course, you must sign up for an appointment with Professor Freddoso, the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Sign up sheets will be posted in the hallway outside 100 Malloy Hall. Non major sign up sheets are at the end of advising as majors get first preference.

Department of Philosophy

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Click here to see Spring 2007 Course Descriptions

Fall 2007 Course Descriptions

All 30000 and 40000 level courses are by permission only *

College of Arts and Letters