Undergraduate Course Descriptions Spring 2007

Click here to see Fall 2006 Course Descriptions

Spring 2007 Course Descriptions

Introduction to Philosophy
10100 01 (23964)
Ramsey
2:00-2:50 TR (F)
First Year Students Only
co-requirement 12100

This course is designed as a “topic-based” course. What this means is that instead of working through the history of philosophy, focusing on great historical figures and their views on different topics, we will focus on great philosophical topics and look at what historical and contemporary writers have said about them. Topics to be addressed will include the existence of God, the relation between the mind and the body, human freedom and the foundations of morality.

Requirements: There will be four writing assignments, a midterm, a final, weekly quizzes, and group presentations.

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 01 (22018)
Jensen
9:30-10:45 TR
First Year Students Only

This course is designed to introduce you to some of the major questions and problems addressed in philosophy in the Western tradition. We will examine questions such as: Does God exist? What is knowledge? What is truth? What is a person? How are the human mind and the human body related? Will I survive my death? Am I free? Within the context of these questions, you will be introduced to both classical and contemporary philosophers through reading and discussion.

The main textbook for the course will be Reason and Responsibility edited by Joel Feinberg and Russ Shafer-Landau. Other supplementary readings will be distributed throughout the course of the semester. Tentatively, the course requirements will include 3 papers and 2 exams.

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 02 (22620)
Jensen
11:00-12:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 03 (20648)
Langan
8:30-9:20 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 04 (20580)
Langan
3:00-3:50 MWF
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 05 (21558)
Johnson
5:00-6:15 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 06 (22175)
Johnson
3:30-4:45 TR
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 07 (20299)
Walsh 2
9:35-10:25 MWF
First Year Students Only

This is an introductory philosophy course, and presumes no previous study or knowledge of philosophy. In particular, this course will address some of the basic questions in four distinct areas of philosophy: philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, political philosophy, and ethics. More specifically, we will be reading medieval philosophers on the existence of God, Descartes and various of his critics on the nature of the mind, various 20th Century political philosophers on the subject of equality, and various ancient Greek and Roman philosophers on the good life.

This course will be writing intensive, and so in addition to a mid-term exam and a non-comprehensive final exam, there will be four 5-page papers. This course will also emphasize discussion, and so the Monday and Wednesday courses will be some mixture of lecture and discussion, while the Friday courses will be devoted entirely to discussion. It should also be mentioned that the Friday courses will begin with a reading quiz.

The texts for this course will consist of a course-packet and the following: Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy: with Selections from the Objections and Replies (Cambridge 1996). All texts in the course-packet will be available from the Library's electronic reserve. For more information about the course, including a detailed description of the course-packet as well as tentative versions of the lecture slides, see the course's website at http://www.nd.edu/~swalsh

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 08 (21807)
Walsh 2
10:40-11:30 MWF
First Year Students Only

Introduction to Philosophy
10101 09 (27049)
Rodriguez
11:00-12:15 TR
First Year Students Only

This class will provide an overview of issues that are both important problems of philosophy and issues relevant to the lives of each of us: the existence of God and the problem of evil, the nature of human beings (whether we are more than just bodies, and whether we are free), and what moral standards we should follow (if any). We will also deal with the particular moral issue of war and peace, examining in some detail the positions of pacifism and just war theory.

The goal is for students (a) to become familiar with the issues involved for each topic and with responses that have been posed to these questions (to this end students will be required to read pieces both classical and modern), and (b) to develop the abilities to analyze the alternatives and to adopt more well-thought-out positions of their own (to this end students will be required to participate in class discussions and regularly write papers responding to readings). Class requirements include participation, four short papers, two exams, and a group presentation.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 01 (22197)
Howard
9:30 - 10:45 TR
First Year Students Only

What is the good life, for individuals and for communities? What is the nature of human knowledge and what are its limits? What are the roles of reason and experience in the direction of human affairs? What is the ultimate nature of reality? Is it all just material substance, or do immaterial mind and soul also play an important role? Are there rational grounds for religious belief? This seminar explores these and other such questions through a reading of many classic philosophical works, ranging from Plato's Republic to Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil. The goal will be not only to learn what these thinkers had to say but also to work out one's own views though a focused, critical conversation with the likes of Boethius, René Descartes, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 02 (22641)
Gutting, G.
9:30-10:45 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.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 03 (22986)
Holloway
11:00-12:15 TR
First Year Students Only

This course is a problems oriented introduction to philosophy. This semester we will be considering three philosophical problems: The Foundations of Morality; Freedom and Determinism; and The Existence of God. One goal of the course is for you to gain an understanding of what philosophy is by seeing how philosophers go about formulating and answering a philosophical question. Another goal of the course is for you to be able to read, on your own, a philosophical piece of writing and be able to (1) identify the philosophical question the author is trying to answer, and what the author's answer is; (2) identify what the authors arguments are for the answer he/she gives to the philosophical question; (3) assess how good the authors arguments are; and (4) state and argue for your own answer to a philosophical question.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 04 (22987)
Speaks
12:30-1:45 TR
First Year Students Only

This seminar will focus on the following question: does the nature of the world we inhabit give us good reason to believe that God exists, good reason to believe that there is no God, or neither?

We will begin by considering the main argument against the existence of God: the argument that the existence of evil in the world gives us good reason to believe that there is no God. We will read Peter van Inwagen's The Problem of Evil, along with a selection of articles.

In the second half of the course, we will consider various attempts to provide evidence for the existence of God. We will consider arguments for God's existence from the existence of moral facts, from evidence for miracles, and from evidence of design in the world.

A principal 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.

Texts. (Tentatively) you will be required to purchase only van Inwagen's The Problem of Evil. All others readings will be made available for download via links from: http://www.nd.edu/~jspeaks/courses/13185/ the course schedule.

Assignments. There will be four written assignments. The first will be a short 1-2 page assignment worth 10% of the grade; the next three will each be 5-7 pages in length, and worth 25% of the grade. Late papers will be penalized. The remaining 15% of the grade will be given on the basis of class attendance and participation.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 05 (22988)
Gutting, G.
12:30-1:45 TR
First Year Students Only

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 06 (22989)
Joy
2:00-3:15 TR
First Year Students Only

What is a philosophical problem? What variety of questions have counted as philosophical problems, and how are they related to the other branches of knowledge such as the natural sciences and religion? This introduction to Philosophy will focus on several classic strategies for defining the aims of philosophical inquiry, including those of Aristotle, Descartes, and several 20th-century thinkers. Readings will cover the history of philosophy as well as recent writings on ethics and the neurosciences.

Requirements: This writing-intensive University Seminar satisfies the 100-level Philosophy requirement. Written requirements include 4 papers and 1 exam. Class participation and regular attendance are also important requirements of the course. Classes will normally consist of both lecture and discussion.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 07 (22990)
Stubenberg
2:00-3:15 TR
First Year Students Only

This course is an introduction to philosophy. We’ll start off by reading two brief but comprehensive introductory books. This will acquaint us with a large number of central philosophical questions. In the remainder of the course we will confront a number of “riddles of existence”: Are we free or is everything fated? What is time? Why is there something rather than nothing? Is there (or must there be) a God and how could we know such things? Having looked at these metaphysical issues we will conclude the course by looking at one philosopher’s answer to the question of how one should live.

Texts:
Thomas Nagel: What Does It All Mean?
Bertrand Russell: The Problems of Philosophy
Earl Conee & Theodore Sider: Riddles of Existence.
Harry G. Frankfurt: The Reasons of Love.

Requirements: Five short papers (1500 words each).

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 08 (22991)
Bays
3:30-4:45 TR
First Year Students Only

A careful examination of Plato's Republic. We'll begin with a few texts which lead up to the Republic, then spend most of the term focusing on the Republic itself. Along the way, we'll look at a few, more-modern texts which respond to the Republic.

Philosophy University Seminar
13185 09 (22992)
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.

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 01 (20646)
Morris
10:40-11:30 MWF

It has been said that the history of philosophy consists in a series of footnotes to Plato. Although this is an exaggeration, it serves to emphasize the central role of Plato's philosophy in the formation of Western thought.

This course will focus on four Platonic dialogues -- the Euthyphro, the Apology, the Gorgias, and selections from the Republic. We will read these dialogues with an eye to the perennial questions they raise. We will examine the ways that different philosophers throughout history have dealt with these same questions, focusing on short excerpts by Anselm, Aquinas, Spinoza, Locke, Marx, Engels, Rousseau, Hegel, Nietzsche, Russell, and Popper.

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 02 (20002)
Morris
9:35-10:25 MWF

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 03 (21630)
DiQuattro
2:00-3:15 TR

This course intends to expose students to central texts in philosophy and to teach them how to engage those texts. We will examine what these texts say about the love of wisdom, and ask how the intellectual activity represented in the texts is supposed to manifest a love of wisdom. Along the way, we will examine the questions that philosophers have found important in seeking after wisdom. These questions include, "What is virtue and how is it acquired?" "How can humans know anything?" "What is the relationship between reason and faith?" "What is freedom?" "What is the best kind of life, and how, if at all, is it related to God?" Students will learn to practice philosophy by engaging these texts and asking these questions carefully and critically.

Course format: Lecture on the readings with time reserved for questions and discussion.

Texts: Plato Meno and Republic; Augustine On the Morals of the Catholic Church; Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles (selection); Rene Descartes Meditiations on First Philosophy; Jean-Paul Sartre "Existentialism is a Humanism"; Pope John Paul II Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth)

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 04 (21066)
Rabbitt
12:30-1:45 TR

This course will introduce students to important philosophical topics such as the nature of human knowledge, the nature of our minds, the relationship between faith and reason, whether God’s existence can be proven, and the nature of justice. These and other topics will be dealt with as they arise in the works of historically important philosophers such as Plato, Aquinas, Descartes, and Kant.

This course will be lecture based but include ample discussion opportunities. Requirements will be a midterm, final, weekly 1-2 page papers, two 3-5 page papers, and class participation.

Required Texts:
Plato, Republic (Hackett).
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett).
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (Hackett).
Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (HarperCollins).
Mill, Utilitarianism (Hackett).

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 05 (21457)
Halteman-Zwart
11:00-12:15 TR

Throughout history, philosophical thought has focused on certain 'big' questions, which include the following: how should we live, how can we know about God, what can we know about the world, or how should we act towards others. Though many questions of philosophy matter to humans throughout history, the way in which these questions have been asked varies greatly depending on their differing historical contexts. In this course, we will investigate why certain eras put particular emphasis on specific questions. To this end, we will analyze key texts in the history of philosophy, paying attention not only to what these questions meant for their original writers and readers, but also keeping a close eye on how these questions bear on what it means for us to think and live philosophically in our current context. We will focus on primary source readings from a broad range of time periods and philosophical styles including works from Plato, the Stoics, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume and Foucault, among others.

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 06 (22340)
Garcia
5:00-6:15 TR

All of us face deep questions at various times in our lives. A great many of these questions are philosophical in nature, and some of these questions are taken up in this course. Through classic and contemporary readings, we will consider such questions as: Why should I believe anything at all? What counts as a good reason for believing something? Is faith opposed to reason? What evidence is there for or against the existence of God? If God exists, then why is there so much evil in the world? When it comes to morality, is everything relative? What sorts of moral obligations, if any, do I have towards myself and others? Throughout its history, philosophical inquiry has sought to answer these questions in a reflective, systematic, and reasonable fashion. This course is an introduction to the stance, methods, and issues of philosophy. Our own search for answers can be improved if we learn how to think philosophically. We will spend a substantial amount of class time discussing these issues.

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 07 (27050)
Rodriguez
9:30-10:45 TR

Philosophy of Human Nature
20201 01 (23115)
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 (23116)
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 (22841)
Rush
11:00-12:15 TR

This course will provide an introduction to existentialism by focusing on the writings of Dostoievski (Notes from the Underground), Soren Kierkegaard (Fear and Trembling/Sickness Unto Death), Friedrich Nietzsche (Birth of Tragedy, Genealogy of Morals, and Zarathustra), and Jean-Paul Sartre (Nausea, Existentialism and Human Emotions, and selections from Being and Nothingness). Topics covered will include: the nature of human freedom and creativity, the relation of religion and morality, the meaning of existence. Classes will focus on a close analysis of the text, with lectures to fill in the appropriate philosophical background.

Requirements: Two papers, a mid-term and a final examination.

Death and Dying
20203 01 (27051)
Warfield
1:30-2:45 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.

Knowledge and Mind
20209 01 (27052)
Franks
11:45-12:35 MWF

This lecture course concerns a range of philosophical problems about the nature of our knowledge of the world and our place in the world. Topics include skepticism about human knowledge, the problem of induction, epistemic foundationalism, types of knowledge (of facts, of what we should do, of ourselves), the relationship between the knower and the known.

Requirements: class participation, 2 very short papers, one long paper, a final exam

Texts:
Rene Descartes', Meditations on First Philosophy
David Hume's, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Immanuel Kant's, Prologomena to Any Future Metaphysics
Soren Kierkegaard, "Subjective truth, inwardness', from his
Concluding Unscientific Postscript
Charles Sanders Pierce, The fixation of belief'
Ludwig Wittgenstein's, On Certainty
Charles Margrave Taylor, Overcoming epistemology'

Knowledge and Mind
20209 02 (28719)
Franks
12:50-1:40 MWF

Requirements: class participation, 2 very short papers, one long paper, a final exam

Images of Humanity in Modern Philosophy
20213 01 (23982)
Robbins
3:30-4:45 TR

Philosophy considers the modern age to begin with the reaction to the upheavals in thought and society that have their origins in the sixteenth-century. The fragmentation of religion brought forth by the Reformation issued not only in radically new ways of understanding humankind's relation to God, and thus of how faith and its relation to knowledge is understood, but also altered social experience in deep and fundamental ways. The advent of modern science with the astronomical theories of Copernicus and others forced basic changes in how humankind conceived its position in the universe and, ultimately, in its conception of the nature of reality itself.

The convulsions wrought by this era are still with us, and for this reason, this age has been continually subjected to debate and reinterpretation. The meaning of this era in human thought is still not fully understood, even hundreds of years after its occurrence. We continue to grapple with the legacy of the seventeenth century.

This course explores the philosophical interpretations of the human condition brought forth in this era, with particular attention to the development of moral and political thought therein. We therefore read some of the most revolutionary philosophical works produced in the seventeenth-century, including Hobbes' Leviathan and Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy. In addition to these classic and indispensable texts, we examine some of the main reactions to these texts, including works by Samuel Clarke, Francis Hutcheson and David Hume.

Images of Humanity in Modern Philosophy
20213 02 (23983)
Robbins
5:00-6:15 TR

Philosophy considers the modern age to begin with the reaction to the upheavals in thought and society that have their origins in the sixteenth-century. The fragmentation of religion brought forth by the Reformation issued not only in radically new ways of understanding humankind's relation to God, and thus of how faith and its relation to knowledge is understood, but also altered social experience in deep and fundamental ways. The advent of modern science with the astronomical theories of Copernicus and others forced basic changes in how humankind conceived its position in the universe and, ultimately, in its conception of the nature of reality itself.

The convulsions wrought by this era are still with us, and for this reason, this age has been continually subjected to debate and reinterpretation. The meaning of this era in human thought is still not fully understood, even hundreds of years after its occurrence. We continue to grapple with the legacy of the seventeenth century.

This course explores the philosophical interpretations of the human condition brought forth in this era, with particular attention to the development of moral and political thought therein. We therefore read some of the most revolutionary philosophical works produced in the seventeenth-century, including Hobbes' Leviathan and Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy. In addition to these classic and indispensable texts, we examine some of the main reactions to these texts, including works by Samuel Clarke, Francis Hutcheson and David Hume.

Images of Humanity in Modern Philosophy
20213 03 (28124)
McLeman
1:30-2:45 MW

We'll be reading thinkers from the 17th and 18th centuries and considering their differing perspectives on how we should conceive of ourselves as relating to the world around us, and as relating to God. More specifically, we'll be looking at questions like: how certain can we be that any of our beliefs are true? Can we prove that God exists? What can science tell us about the world around us? What is it to be a person?

Readings will include selections from Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant.

Requirements: two papers; two exams; some informal mini-papers; and active class participation.

Images of Humanity in Modern Philosophy
20213 04 (28125)
McLeman
3:00-4:45 MW

Readings will include selections from Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant.

Requirements: two papers; two exams; some informal mini-papers; and active class participation.

Ancient Wisdom and Modern Love
20214 01 (23984)
O'Connor
1:55-2:45 MW (F)
co-requirement PHIL 22214

Built around Plato's Symposium, Shakespeare (including A Midsummer Night's Dream), Catholic writings (including Humanae Vitae), and a few movies, this course explores the nature of romance, erotic love, and friendship. The course generally tries to integrate the analytic approach of philosophy with the imaginative approach of literature.

Requirements: This is a large lecture course, supplemented with discussion sections or tutorials. Regular participation and attendance are required. Students will write papers totaling 10-15 pages, and there will be a final exam.

Ethics
20401 01 (22859)
Walsh1
12:30 - 1:45 TR

One reason to study ethics is that it enables us to engage people with different worldviews in fruitful ethical and political discussion. To better understand these worldviews, we will be looking at some foundational texts in the history of ethics, including those of Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and J. S. Mill. We will consider how these authors answer some fundamental ethical questions, such as: What is happiness, and is it distinct from the ethical life? What is justice? What is the purpose of human life? Does ethics require us to sacrifice our individual freedom for the sake of the good of the whole community, or is it an expression of our freedom? Can ethical theory tell us how we should live? Philosophy is a process of coming to a rational understanding of such fundamental questions, and putting that rational understanding to good use.

Ethics
20401 02 (23131)
Walsh1
2:00-3:15 TR

Moral Problems
20402 01 (22913)
Sterba
10:40-11:30 MWF

In this course we will critically evaluate alternative solutions to a number of contemporary moral problems. We will begin with the problems of the distribution of income and wealth and our obligations to distant peoples and future generations. We will then turn to the problem of sexual equality and to a particular challenge to feminism which maintains that men themselves suffer from a "second sexism" that benefits women. Finally, we will take up the problem of affirmative action and examine the legal and moral issues raises by affirmative action as it again makes its way to a decision before U.S. Supreme Court.

Requirements: Three short papers (5-7 pages) and participation in class discussions.

Texts: Sterba, Morality in Practice, seventh edition, Wadsworth (2004)
Farrell and Sterba, Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men? - A Debate (Oxford, 2007)
Cohen and Sterba, Affirmative Action and Racial Preference- A Debate (Oxford, 2003)

Moral Problems
20402 02 (22920)
Sterba
12:50-1:40 MWF

Requirements: Three short papers (5-7 pages) and participation in class discussions.

Classics of Political & Constitutional Theory
20407 01 (27054)
Flint
2:00-3:15 TR

This course will examine a number of the fundamental texts in political and constitutional theory, with an emphasis on works of special importance to the British and American political systems. The principal authors to be read are Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, the authors of The Federalist Papers, Bagehot, Marx and Mill. The class will be conducted as a combination of lecture and discussion.

Requirements: In addition to participating in class, students will be required to write two short papers. There will also be a few quizzes and a comprehensive final exam.

Philosophy and the Arts
20412 01 (23085)
9:30 - 10:45 TR
Gutting, A.

This course will consider the nature of art, the artist, and the aesthetic using both philosophical texts and works of art drawn from a wide variety of media (e.g., painting, drama, literature, film, architecture). Readings for the first part of the course are taken from Plato and Aristotle, for the second from thinkers from the 18th century to the present. The course explores the place of art vis à vis traditional categories of beauty, truth, and the good; and also investigates the relationship of art to the political, social and economic. Students are expected to attend arts events on campus (e.g., film screenings, theatrical performances, art exhibits).

Requirements: two multi-stage projects that produce around 25 pages of written material and a final exam.

Philosophy and the Arts
20412 02 (23201)
12:30 - 1:45 TR
Gutting, A.

Requirements: two multi-stage projects that produce around 25 pages of written material and a final exam.

Ethics and Imagination
20413 01 (27055)
D. McInerny
11:00-12:15 TR

Human beings are storytelling animals. Stories assume such a large and varied influence on our lives because the human quest for meaning itself takes the form of a story. The principal aim of this course is to discuss the power of narrative imagery to shed light upon the human path and destiny. Discussion will focus on works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Evelyn Waugh, Walker Percy, Graham Greene, and Flannery O'Connor, with philosophical guidance provided by Plato and Aristotle, among others. Class meetings will rely heavily on student participation as discussion leaders.

Morality and Modernity
20415 01 (23479)
Solomon
10:40-11:30 MW (F)
Corequisite 22415
Cross list: PHIL 40314

Many of the deepest contemporary moral disputes rest on philosophical disagreements about the nature of modernity. These disputes focus particularly on the modern commitments to individualism and the idea of progress. The political, religious, scientific and aesthetic revolutions of the 16th and 17th centuries set forces in motion that changed both the content of moral thought and the role morality plays in human life. The great modern moral philosophers - Hobbes, Rousseau Hume, Kant Mill and Nietzsche - attempt to articulate in different ways the moral content of modernity, but in their work they also express the deep tensions within modern culture that have surfaced so dramatically - and, in some respects, so tragically - in the 20th century. The tensions between individual and community, liberty and equality, religion and science, fact and value, justice and charity, and the intellect and the emotions are the hallmarks of modernity, and the recent work of such critics of modern culture as Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, Bernard Williams, Michel Foucault and Richard Rorty have placed these tensions at the center of contemporary attention. In this course, we will examine the central issues in the contemporary debate about morality and modernity by surveying the central ideas and concerns of the great philosophers of modernity as well as the work of the contemporary critics of modern culture. This discussion will be supplemented by an examination of certain central episodes in the development of modern culture. We will be especially concerned with developments in the arts - especially in music and painting - and in politics that have been central to modernity. This course will have no prerequisites other than an introductory course in philosophy. Required Friday discussion sections will be arranged.

Texts: The readings will include a packet and Charles Taylor's book, Ethic and Authenticity.

Requirements: The requirements of the course are not finally settled but will almost certainly include two short papers and two exams.

Agency, Responsibility & Determinism
20420 01 (24016)
Coffman
3:00 - 4:15 MW

This course explores philosophical questions and problems involving human freedom and moral responsibility. The course has three main parts. First, we'll evaluate prominent arguments for and against the claim that you’re morally accountable for some of your acts only if some of those acts are “up to you”. Second, we’ll evaluate prominent arguments for and against the claim that human freedom is compatible with physical determinism (roughly, the view that there's only one physically possible future at any given moment). Third, we’ll consider prominent arguments for and against the claim that human freedom is compatible with indeterminism (roughly, the view that at some moments, there’s more than one physically possible future). Time permitting, we'll also consider the questions whether human freedom is compatible with divine foreknowledge, and what bearing contemporary brain science has on the belief that some of what we do is “up to us”.

Texts: [1] Robert Kane, ed., Free Will (Blackwell, 2002). [2] A course packet of readings.
Format: A mix of lecture, small group activities, and large group discussion.
Requirements: Two short papers (4-5 pages each); one longer paper (7-8
pages); cumulative final exam; reading guides for most of the assigned readings.

Just War Theory
20422 01 (28176)
Green
3:30-4:45 TR

In this class we will look at contemporary accounts of Just War Theory. The primary text for the course will be Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer. There is a fair amount of reading and writing in the course, and our time in class will be spent discussing the readings. Some of the questions we will ask will include: What is terrorism? Are pre-emptive wars just? How should prisoners of war being treated? and What are the duties of an occupying nation?

Practicing Medical Ethics
20615 01 (TBA)
Solomon
Day and time TBA

This is a one-day, one-credit course to take place on a Saturday (date to be announced) from 9:30am-4:30pm. 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 (24027)
Rea
1:30-2:45 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 (23137)
9:30-10:45 TR
Newlands

This is a course in contemporary issues in philosophy of religion, centered on the most forceful argument against the existence of a theistic God: the argument from evil. We will critically examine one of the oldest (and perhaps most promising) responses to this objection: the free-will theodicy. By studying the most sophisticated version of this reply and potential objections to it, we will also have the opportunity to look at a number of other live issues in philosophical theology: the nature and importance of freedom, the interplay of divine knowledge, divine providence and human freedom, as well as differing models of divine-human relations. Topics in metaphysics and philosophy of language will also be discussed.

Written requirements: two 5-8 page papers, a final exam, and several short response papers to the readings.
Required texts: The Problem of Evil, eds. Adams and Adams (Oxford), God, Freedom and Evil, Plantinga (Eerdmans), and a course packet.

Philosophy of Judaism
20806 01 (28126)
Neiman
4:30-5:45 MW
Cross List: THEO

This course aims at introducing students to the quest for a philosophical understanding of Judaism, as initiated in Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism. Rabbi Heschel (1907-1972) was well known as a scholar of the prophets, philosopher, religious educator and social activist. His version of Judaism, based on his own vast knowledge of the Jewish philosophical tradition and preference for the prophets as religious exemplars, greatly impressed Martin Luther King , Jr. who often referred to Heschel as Rabbi Abraham. In order to provide a useful background for the discussion of Heschel (and the idea of Biblical philosophy in general) , we will also be concerned with what one might refer to as the the history of a chosen people which includes a recognition of ordinary life and practice throughout the ages. We will typically concentrate on the latter (history) on Tuesdays, and the former (philosopher per se)
on Thursdays. Discussion on Tuesdays will typically be based on short quizzes taken at the beginning of class. Discussion on Thursdays will be based on short writing assignments connected to Heschel's writing.
Books required: Something of Heschel's along with Leo Trepp, The History of the Jewish Experience (Behrman House).

Philosophy of Judaism
20806 02 (28701)
Neiman
3:00-4:15 MW

All 30000 and 40000 level courses are by permission only *

History of Ancient & Medieval Philosophy
30301 01 (22788)
Dumont
9::30-10:45 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 (24028)
Freddoso
11:45-1:00 MW
Cross List: MI 30301 02

An introductory 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 (i) formulating with some precision the main metaphysical and ethical problematics that emerge from the works of Plato and Aristotle, (ii) investigating the influence of Plato and Aristotle on Catholic intellectual culture, and (iii) exploring in some depth the relation between faith and reason as articulated by the medievals.

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. In addition, the requirements include (a) two 6-7 page papers on assigned topics, and (b) two challenging exams (challenging to study for, at any rate).

History of Modern Philosophy
30302 01 (21383)
Jauernig
11:00-12:15 TR

Prepared by revolutionary changes and advancements in science, technology, and the cultural sphere in general a new style of philosophy, so-called “modern philosophy”, arose around the beginning of the 17th century. This course offers a comprehensive introduction to modern philosophy and central philosophical problems addressed in the modern period. These problems include, for instance, the nature of mind and body, the existence of the external world, the scope and limits of knowledge, the existence of God, and the apparent conflict between freedom and determinism. We will be studying selections from the works of philosophers in the rationalist tradition, in particular Descartes, Spinoza, Malebranche, and Leibniz, from the writings of philosophers in the empiricist tradition, in particular Boyle, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, and from the work of Immanuel Kant, who can be seen as providing a synthesis of these two traditions in his critical philosophy.

Readings: Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources, Roger Ariew, Eric Watkins (eds.), Hackett, 2000
Requirements: class participation, four short quizzes (12.5% each), a mid-term paper (25%), and a final paper (25%).

History of Modern Philosophy
30302 02 (22667)
David
12:30 - 1:45 TR

This course is designed to introduce students to the major philosophers of the 17th and 18th century. We will read key texts by Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Malebranche, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. The focus will be on central issues in metaphysics and the theory of knowledge. Main topics: philosophy and the new science; skepticism and our knowledge of the external world; the representational theory of the mind; the mind-body problem; the metaphysics of substance and attribute; the debate between rationalism and empiricism; innate knowledge; idealism vs. realism; the nature of causation; the possibility of human freedom; the rationality of belief in God and in miracles.

Formal Logic
30313 01 (20469)
Detlefsen
3:30-4:45 TR
DOES NOT SATISFY UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENT

The chief purposes of this course are (1) to deepen the student's understanding of the theory of deductively valid arguments in certain artificially constructed languages and (2) to investigate to what extent the logical theory for those languages is applicable to the study of deductively valid arguments occurring in natural languages such as English. Under (1), the emphasis shall be on the development of certain standard mathematical techniques which have produced remarkable gains in the rigor and precision with which we may think about logical phenomena. Under (2) we shall focus on various arguments by philosophers and linguists that suggest the existence of noteworthy limitations on the logical similarities between the ideal languages of standard mathematical logic and the languages that humans have actually developed to facilitate their communication with one another.

Requirements: There are 3 exams and a final.
Required Text: A free online text will be used this semester.

Philosophical Issues in Physics
30389 01 (22824)
Brading
11:00-12:15 TR
Cross List: PHYS 30389, STV 30189

Outline: This course concerns developments in our physical theories, focussing on the shifts from Aristotelian cosmology to Newtonian physics, and then from Newtonian physics to special relativity and quantum mechanics. The historical and philosophical backgrounds to these developments are explored, as are the philosophical questions to which the resulting theories give rise. The first part of the course addresses the history of ancient and early modern science, providing necessary background for the quantum and relativistic revolutions discussed in the remainder of the course. The discussion of quantum mechanics will include non-locality and the measurement problem, and how different intepretations of quantum mechanics address these two issues. For special relativity, we will discuss the premises required for deriving the Lorentz transformations, and conventionality of simultaneity, length contraction, time dilation, and the ‘twins paradox’, among other things.

This course is intended for both non-science and science students, and will not be mathematical in nature. Nevertheless, it will require a willingness to tackle the mathematics needed to formulate some of the philosophical issues that we will address. The pre-requisite of one year of general physics at college level must be satisfied.

Examination will be based on individual and group work (including in-class tests), assignments, and a final exam.

Prerequisite: One year of general physics at college level (or consent of the instructor).
Textbook: Philosophical Concepts in Physics, J. T. Cushing.

Morality and Modernity
40314 01 (23491)
Solomon
10:40-11:30 MW (F)
Corequisite 42314
Cross List: PHIL 20415

History of Medieval Philosophy
43134 01 (27091)
Dumont
5:00-6:15 TR

A survey of the major figures and issues of medieval philosophy considered in their historical context from Augustine to William of Ockham, although the principal focus will be on the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (i.e., Aquinas through Ockham). The course will be a lecture format with discussion of central texts. The necessary historical and conceptual background will be supplied in an effort to locate positions within broad movements of the period, such as realism, nominalism, Augustinianism and Aristotelianism. The course is intended for advanced undergraduates and for graduate students who require an introduction to medieval philosophy.

Aquinas on Virtue and Law
43148 01 (27092)
Freddoso
3:00-4:15 MW

A part-lecture/part-seminar course for majors, the purpose of which is to provide the student with an opportunity (a) to see in some depth the relation among the main elements of St. Thomas's general moral theory as laid out in the First Part of the Second Part of the Summa Theologiae, viz., the treatises on happiness, action, passion, habit, virtue, sin, law, and grace, and (b) to explore in great detail the twin realities of virtue and law as complementary (rather than, as some would have it, fundamentally opposed or at least wholly independent) influences on morally upright human action. We will pay special attention to the ways in which Catholic faith and practice lead St. Thomas to appropriate, correct, and transform classical moral theories.

Requirements: Active class participation, one class presentation, a 12-15 page final paper, and a final exam.

Prerequisite: Phil 30301 (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) or some provable equivalent.

Kant
43169 01 (27093)
Ameriks
1:30-2:45 MW

This course will focus on several main works of the major philosopher of the Enlightenment in Germany, Immanuel Kant. It will study his approach to problems in theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, including its implications for philosophy of religion and aesthetics, and its relation to the scientific, political, and cultural revolutions of modernity.
It would be helpful for student to have some background in modern philosophy. A few short papers and one longer paper will be required, along with a class presentation and participation in discussion.
The main texts will be Kant: Practical Philosophy, ed. M. Gregor, and Kant: Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics, ed. G. Hatfield (2nd ed.)

Ethical Theory
43301 01 (27094)
Warfield
11:45-1:00 MW

We will be primarily be concerned with normative ethics: the theoretical investigation of the nature of, among other topics, moral permissibility, moral obligation, the good and its distribution, and the demands of morality. We will also attend to topics within meta-ethics, with a focus on understanding Moral Realism and comparing it with its rivals.

Requirements: significant papers.

Environmental Justice
43308 01 (24041)
Shrader-Frechette
4:30-7:00 W
Cross List: IIPS 50901, STV 43396, BIOS 50544

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.

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.

Philosophy & Literature Seminar
43313 01 (22860)
O'Connor
3:30-5:10 TR
Cross List: ENGL 40118, PLS 43313

This intensive four-credit seminar is the gateway course for the Minor in Philosophy and Literature. Core readings for the seminar often include: Sophocles, Oedipus The King; Plato, Phaedrus; Aristotle, Poetics; Shakespeare, Hamlet; Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy; and the poetry of Wallace Stevens. This year's seminar may also draw on Montaigne's Essays, Cervantes' Don Quixote, Thomas Mann's Death in Venice, Cormac MacCarthy's Blood Meridian, and the poetry and prose of Anne Carson. We will also have one or two visiting scholars in to participate in the seminar.

The course is a true seminar, with student papers, distributed to the seminar participants in advance, often the focus of discussion. There are about 20 pages of writing assigned, and usually an oral final exam.

To apply for the seminar, or for further information about the course or the minor, please email the director of the Minor in Philosophy and Literature, Professor David O'Connor (doconnor@nd.edu). Registration is by permission only. Some priority will be given to students intending to participate in the minor, but other interested students are encouraged to apply.

The Minor in Philosophy and Literature allows students and faculty to integrate interests that otherwise might have to be studied separately in two or more disciplines or majors. How philosophy and literature complement and compete with each other has been a lively field of intellectual inquiry ever since the ancient Greeks, and the Minor is designed so students can continue this conversation while working closely with faculty mentors. The formal requirements for the fifteen-credit Minor are: the four-credit gateway seminar; two semesters of the one-credit Philosophy and Literature Colloquium on special topics following on the gateway seminar; and three three-credit courses that fit the intellectual profile of the Minor, usually drawn from the advanced offerings in the departments of Philosophy, Classics, and the departments in modern languages and literatures. Students are also strongly encouraged to consider writing a senior thesis related to the Minor.

INTERESTED? CONTACT
Professor David O'Connor (doconnor@nd.edu)

Moral Skepticism/Intuitionism
43319 01 (27109)
DePaul
3:30-6:00 R
Cross List: PHIL 93621

In this course we will work our way through two recently published books on moral epistemology: Walter Sinnott-Armstrong Moral Skepticisms (Oxford University Press 2006) and Michael Huemer Ethical Intuitionism (Palgrave Macmilliam 2005).

The course will have a seminar format, not a lecture format. Student's will be expected to read the relevant chapters before each meeting and we will then discuss them. Student's and the professor will share responsibility for leading the discussions. Graduate students will be required to do approximately 25 pages of writing. Undergraduate students will be expected to do approximately 20 pages of writing. Students may divide the required writing among shorter and longer papers as they wish subject to approval by the professor. There will be an opportunity for students to have the seminar discuss a draft of their final paper towards the end of the semester.

History of Ethics
43320 01 (27095)
Joy
9:30-10:45 TR

This undergraduate seminar focuses on theories of moral psychology and moral epistemology in ancient philosophy, modern philosophy, and contemporary philosophy. It will analyze the changing conceptions of human nature and human action that were the basis of Aristotle's ethics, Hume's ethics, and Kant's ethics. It will then consider what happened to these conceptions in 20th-century ethical theory.

Requirements: Written requirements include 3-4 papers and 1 exam. Class participation and regular attendance are also important requirements of the course. Classes will normally consist of both lecture and discussion.

God, Philosophy, and Politics
43426 01 (23617)
MacIntyre
11:45-1:00 MW
Cross List: THEO 40825

This class falls into three parts. In the first we consider the implications for politics of the thought of Augustine and Aquinas. In the second we examine the nature and justification of modern democratic states and a variety of problems posed for democracy, including those that arise from the gradual decline in voting that characterizes polities as various as those of Norway, Switzerland and the United States. In the third we ask what resources modern Catholic political philosophy is able to bring to the solution of those problems.

Readings: Augustine, City of God, Book XIX; In City of God tr. R.W. Dyson (Cambridge University Press). Aquinas, Summa Theologiae Ia-IIae 94-96, IIa-Iiae 105, art. 1; In Aquinas: Political Writings tr. R.W. Dyson (Cambridge University Press). R. A. Dahl , On Democracy (Yale University Press). T. E. Patterson, The Vanishing Voter (Random House). J. Maritain, Man and The State (CUA Press), The Person and the Common Good (UND Press).

Paper Topics: Can one be both an Augustinian and a Thomist in one’s political attitudes and activities? Does government in a democracy represent the will of the governed? If so, how? If not, why not? What is the common good? Can a democracy flourish without a concern for the common good? Discuss with reference to both Dahl and Maritain.

Epistemology
43601 01 (24049)
David
2:00-3:15 TR

The aim of this class is to provide an understanding of the fundamental issues and positions in the theory of knowledge--a theory that tries to answer questions like: "What is knowledge?", "Can we get any?", and "If so, How?". The major topics will be: truth, belief, and the nature of knowledge; the nature of evidence; foundationalism versus coherentism; and skepticism. The course will be problem oriented rather than historical, but it will draw on contemporary and historical texts.

Format: lecture with discussion.
Texts: A book by Richard Feldman, Epistemology (Prentice Hall 2002), which will be supplemented by a Course Reader.
Requirements: Participation; two short "Position Papers", an oral midterm exam, and a term paper.

Philosophy of Biology
43702 01 (27096)
Manier
12:30-1:45 TR

Theo. Dobzhansky (American Biology Teacher, 1973) told us that “Nothing makes sense in biology except in the light of evolution.” Nevertheless, despite the continuing efforts of apologists such as Randolph Nesse, M.D., so few medical school curricula include adequate discussion of key evolutionary concepts that “most future physicians must learn evolution as undergraduates if they are to learn it at all.” (“Evolutionary Biology in the Medical School Curriculum,” Bioscience, 2003, (53) 6: 585-587.

Perhaps this anomaly can be explained by the historic independence of the research traditions launched by the cautious, culturally ambivalent Charles Darwin and his continental contemporaries, the German founders of medical physiology and their ultra-reductionist “materialist manifesto”. But we will examine its current form by examining and comparing current studies of the conceptual and logical foundations of evolutionary theory (K. Sterelny and P. Griffiths, Sex and Death: an Introduction to Philosophy of Biology) and those same features of one of the hottest growth areas in molecular biology (J. Bickle, Philosophy and Neuroscience, a Ruthlessly Reductive Account).

The preferred class format is seminar discussion of assigned materials, supplemented, hopefully infrequently, by lectures as needed.

Students will write several short papers and multiple drafts of one long paper on a related topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructor; students will also be responsible for leading at least one seminar.

Philosophy of Cognitive Science
43703 01 (27097)
Ramsey
11:00-12:15 TR

In this course, we will explore three main topics: philosophical foundations of cognitive science, philosophical critiques of contemporary cognitive science, and the implications of cognitive research for traditional philosophical issues. The first part of the course will examine the ways in which certain philosophical theories about the mind provide support for the basic assumptions of cognitive science, while others have challenged these assumptions. In the second part we will look at specific ways empirical work in psychology is thought to be relevant to issues in philosophy of mind, epistemology, Philosophy of science and other areas of philosophical inquiry. Questions to be addressed will include the following: Is it possible for a computer to be conscious? Are we born with certain kinds of knowledge? To what extent are humans rational creatures? What is the relevance of neuroscience to psychology, and vice versa?

Some background in philosophy, psychology or artificial intelligence would be helpful, but is certainly not necessary and will not be pre-supposed. Besides a midterm and a final, students will be asked to write one short paper and one longer term paper.

Biomedical Ethics & Public Health Risk
43708 01 (25271)
Shrader-Frechette
3:30-6:00 T
Cross List: STV 40216

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.

Evolutionary Psychology & The Sacred
43709 01 (27098)
Manier
1:30-2:45 MW

Darwin began thinking about the implications of his “theory of the transmutation of species” for the “higher powers” of human beings (including the capacity for religious awe) in the earliest years following his return from the voyage of the Beagle (1837-39). However, studies of the “tracks of biology” in the earliest religions have changed so rapidly during the last four decades that this course will limit itself to the period extending from the early works (1966) of Mary Douglas (Natural Symbols) and Marvin Harris (Cultural Materialism) to the current work (2002) of Scott Atran (In Gods We Trust, the Evolutionary Landscape of Religion) and Pascal Boyer (Religion Explained, the Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought). We will follow Boyer and Mithen (The Prehistory of the Mind, the Cognitive Origins of Art, Religion and Science) in stipulating that religion and the “modern mind” arose concurrently with the “symbolic explosion” (circa 25-50K years ago) and Boyd and Richerson (The Origin and Evolution of Cultures, 2005) in arguing that a key element in the transmutation of persistent, common religious ideas is the occurrence of variants slightly more likely to be transmitted from mind to mind, generation to generation.

The preferred class format is seminar discussion of assigned materials, supplemented, hopefully infrequently, by lectures as needed.

Joint Seminar in Philosophy and Theology
43801 01 (23895)
Howard/Ashley
12:30-1:45 TR
Cross List: THEO 43202

This course will examine the intersections of science, philosophy, and theology, with attention to three historical cases: (a) the Galileo affair, (b) controversies over Darwin and natural selection, and (c) contemporary debates [history in the making] over evolutionary psychology and the status of the soul as the marker of the imago Dei. In each part we will alternate detailed consideration of historical case studies with careful theological and philosophical analysis of key concepts and argumentative strategies. Along with the expectation of informed discussion, each student will be required to write three short discussion papers (one for each topic) and a term paper.

Personal Identity and Unity of Consciousness
43910 01 (27099)
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 and Hume’s bundle theory. Thus prepared we will undertake a detailed study of Michael Tye’s recent theory of personal identity. According to Tye the correct understanding of the unity of consciousness (at a time and over time) holds to the key to questions about persons and their identity.

Between Mathematics and Philosophy
43912 01 (28128)
Detlefsen
1:30-2:45 MW

The aim of this course is to introduce the student to important interactions between mathematics and philosophy throughout history. After a brief look at examples from antiquity, the middle ages and the renaissance, we'll focus on the modern era, where we'll pay particular attention to Hobbes, Descartes, the Port Royal logicians, Galileo, Leibniz, Berkeley, Kant and others. If time permits we'll also consider certain ideas of the early nineteenth century mathematician-philosopher Bernard Bolzano."

Directed Readings
46498 01 (20534)
Freddoso

Directed Readings
46498 02 (20668)
Freddoso

Senior Thesis
48499 01 (22089)
Freddoso

* 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 during advising in early November. Non major sign up sheets are at the end of advising as majors get first preference.

Department of Philosophy

Undergraduate Course Descriptions Spring 2007

Click here to see Fall 2006 Course Descriptions

Spring 2007 Course Descriptions

All 30000 and 40000 level courses are by permission only *

College of Arts and Letters