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Fall 2005
Spring 2005
Spring 2006
Philosophy
PHIL 105/105G Western Philosophy
.001 MTH 3:35-4:50PM Tschemplik,
A
This course provides a historical introduction to the Western philosophical
traditions. Students will be introduced to the three major branches of philosophy—metaphysics,
epistemology, and ethics. The course invites students to address some of the
philosophical problems, which have seized the attention of great thinkers
throughout history: What is the nature of Reality? What is the good life?
How should one live? What is justice? How do human beings achieve knowledge?
Does God exist? Do human beings have free will? The objectives of the course
are: (1) to familiarize students with some of the great philosophers' answers
to these questions and (2) to provide a background for students as they begin
to formulate their own answers to these major philosophical problems. The
format of the course will be lecture and discussion.
.002 TF 11:20-12:35PM Erfani, F
In this course, a historical introduction to the Western philosophical tradition,
students closely examine classic and contemporary texts on the nature of reality,
truth, morality, goodness, and justice; the possibility of knowledge; faith,
reason, and the existence of God; and the issue of freedom and determinism.
.003 TF 8:30-9:45AM TBA
In this course, a historical introduction to the Western philosophical tradition,
students closely examine classic and contemporary texts on the nature of reality,
truth, morality, goodness, and justice; the possibility of knowledge; faith,
reason, and the existence of God; and the issue of freedom and determinism.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Area 2, Cluster 2: "Traditions that Shape the Western World".
PHIL 200 Introduction to Logic
.001 TF 11:20-12:35PM Stam, J
Basic principles of formal deductive logic, both Aristotelian and modern,
with attention to informal logic also. Text and exercises supplemented by
discussions in history, applications, and critical appraisal of different
logical systems.
PHIL 220/220G Moral Philosophy
.001 MTh 12:45-2:00PM Reiman, J
This course explores some of the major theories of the good and the just found
in Western philosophy. Among issues to be discussed are the moral evaluation
of actions and persons; the justification of moral judgments; the possibility
of objectivity in ethics; and the relationship between moral goodness, virtue,
and happiness. We will read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics,
Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, and Mill’s
Utilitarianism.
.002H TF 12:45-2:00PM Harre, R
(Open only to students in the University Honors Program.)
Attitudes to the most pressing issues of our own times will be addressed through
studies of the basic conceptions of the moral thinking, proposed by philosophers
of both East and West. The course will cover moral systems based on personal
virtues, on the idea of duty, on the principle that morality can be defined
in terms of human happiness, and so on. Students will be encouraged to engage
in discussion and debate on such matters as capital punishment, euthanasia,
the concept of a just war, and moral issues around human reproduction such
as cloning and surrogacy. An introduction to the moral principles of the great
Eastern thinkers, such as Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Gautama (the Buddha), will
be a feature of this course. There will be a midterm and a final.
.003 TTh 8:10-9:25PM Carr, R
Over the course of the semester, we will critically analyze the major classical
and contemporary approaches to moral philosophy and their application to a
number of contemporary moral problems, including human rights, homosexual
rights, war and peace, environmental protection, abortion and euthanasia,
AIDS, racial and gender justice, and hunger and poverty.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Individual Freedom vs. Authority, Work and Community, Western Legal Tradition, Western Philosophy, or Religious Heritage of the West.
PHIL 235/235G Theories of Democracy & Human Rights
.001 MTH 9:55-11:10PM Peach, L
In this course, we will examine the classic theories about the nature and
moral foundations of democracy and human rights, as well as contemporary problems
regarding democracy and human rights. Examples of the former include the dangers
of democracy, the problems with “free trade democracy,” and democracies
in different cultural contexts. Examples of the former include the debate
over human rights as political and civil only or also social, cultural and
economic; group rights as human rights; and the complications of race, gender,
and sexuality in thinking about the universality or cultural relativism of
human rights.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: GOVT105G Individual Freedom vs. Authority, HIST115G Work and Community, JLS110G Western Legal Tradition, PHIL105G Western Philosophy, or RELG105G Religious Heritage of the West.
PHIL 301/601 Modern Philosophy from Bacon to Hegel
.001 T 5:30-8:00PM Tschemplik,
A
The rise of early modern science in the beginning of the Seventeenth Century
marks an important turning point in Western Philosophy. The collapse of the
mediaeval religious-philosophy synthesis and the rise of a new understanding
of the universe gave birth to philosophic movements which still influence
contemporary discourse. British empiricists such as Locke, Berkeley, and Hume
develop philosophies which contrast sharply with the rationalism of such continental
philosophers as Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibnitz. The Eighteenth-Century Enlightenment
figures prepare the ground for the French Revolution and Kant and Hegel attempt
new comprehensive philosophic syntheses which rival their mediaeval predecessors.
PHIL 311/611 Modern European Movements: Ethical Theories of Hobbes
and Locke
.001 W 5:30-8:00PM Reiman, J
Hobbes and Locke’s versions of social contract theory profoundly shaped
modern moral and political philosophy, the design of American institutions,
and our understanding of international politics. In this course, we will study
the moral and political theories of Hobbes and Locke as well as the empirical
epistemologies upon which their theories were based. We will read Hobbes's
Leviathan, Locke's Second Treatise On Government and his
A Letter Concerning Toleration, as well as sections of Locke's Essay
Concerning Human Understanding.
PHIL 312/612 Recent Contemporary Philosophy: 20th Century Students
of the Human Mind
.001 TF 2:10-3:25PM Harré, R
The Twentieth Century was rich in diverse attempts to characterize and to
understand the human mind. In this course, we cover the work of some of the
most important thinkers: Pavlov, Freud, Foucault, Wittgenstein, Vygotsky,
Piaget, Dewey, and Turing. Each contributed a distinctive perspective on the
nature of persons and their cognitive and emotional capacities. The trends
they initiated and the controversies sparked by their views will be highlighted.
There will be a midterm and final examination.
PHIL 313/613 Studies in Asian Philosophy: Chinese Philosophy
.001 Th 5:30-8:00PM Park, J
The course explores early Chinese thought in three traditions: Confucianism,
Taoism, and Buddhism. Through a close reading of primary texts in each tradition,
the course explores Chinese understanding of human nature, language, transcendentality,
politics, and ethics, and further examines the interface of three thought
systems in the intellectual arena of early Chinese philosophy.
PHIL 316/616 Feminist Philosophy
.001 T 5:30-8:00PM Oliver, A
Posing questions about what we can know, how we perceive, and how we experience
our very bodies and interactions with the world is arguably the central preoccupation
of philosophy. Canonical works such as the Confessions of Augustine
and Rousseau, Descartes’ vivid first-person account of his quest for
certainty, Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological investigation of embodied
experience, and Sartre’s existentialist study of “the gaze”
have historically placed narrative investigation of the nature of human experience
at the center of the philosophical project. One way to understand the distinctive
contribution of feminist philosophers and theorists of the late twentieth
century is to see that body of work as telling “an(other)side of the
story” that radically recasts conceptions of embodiment, identity, ethics,
and the body politic. In this course, we will study feminist narrative approaches
to these questions, underlining “the difference gender makes,”
and furthermore examining how differences in race, class, and sexual orientation
defy efforts to assert a single story of women, thereby revealing the dilemma
at the heart of Beauvoir’s question, “What is a woman?”
PHIL 386/686 Selected Topics in Philosophy:
.001 Art and Politics
W 2:10-4:50PM Erfani, F
Since Plato's (in)famous exile of the poets from his ideal and just city,
art and politics have had a difficult philosophical relationship. This course
focuses on the concept of creativity and its role in politics. Though
we are interested in the relationship between artists and politics, the main
goal of this course is to analyze the aesthetic dimension of political life
and discourse. We will particularly pay attention to the role of narratives,
symbolism, metaphors, imagination, and visual representations for democratic
rule and citizenship.
.002 Modern Political Thought
MTh 3:35-4:50PM Levine, A
In this course, we will look at the works of major political theorists from
the sixteenth to the twentieth century and their application to current questions
of theory and method. Included are Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu,
Rousseau, Mills, Hegel, Marx, and others.
.003 The Idea of America in European Political thought: 1492-9/11
W 2:10-4:50PM Levine, A
From the “discovery” of America through 9/11, this course examines
what America has meant to thinkers from the Old World. The course analyzes
Columbus and Christian cosmologists, the Enlightenment’s idealization
of America as purely natural, reactions to the founding of the United States,
contemporary critiques of America, and reactions to 9/11.
PHIL 386 Selected Topics in Philosophy:
.004 Senior Seminar: Aspects of Punishment
M 5:30-8:00PM Tschemplik, A
This class is open only to senior philosophy majors. The topic this semester
involves philosophical aspects of punishment. We will read a selection of
texts from ancient, modern, and contemporary philosophy, such as Plato's Gorgias,
Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality, Foucault's Discipline and
Punish, and Reiman's Capital Punishment.
Prerequisite: one course in philosophy.
PHIL 390/690 Independent Reading in Philosophy
Prerequisite: permission of instructor
PHIL 391/691 Internship in Philosophy
Feder, E
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 392/692 Cooperative Education Field Experience
Feder, E
Prerequisite: permission of department chair and
Cooperative Education office.
PHIL 486 Colloquium of Philosophy: Elijah Jordan
.001 T 8:10-10:40PM Oliver, A
(Meets 01/24-02/21/06)
Elijah Jordan (1875-1953) was an American existentialist and finalist. Threatened
by the growth of bureaucratic organizations, he developed a philosophy of
resistance to imposed authority. During the McCarthy era, Jordan published
Business Be Damned, a vitriolic attack on U.S. business. Jordan lamented
that institutions, not individuals, were the dominant social actors in the
modern age: "Men can see but they cannot do." We will examine the
applicability of Jordan’s arguments to situations we encounter today.
Films will supplement class discussions.
PHIL 490/690 Independent Study Project in Philosophy
Oliver, A
Prerequisite: permission of instructor and department
chair.
PHIL 498 Honors Project in Philosophy
Oliver, A
Prerequisite: permission of department and University Honors Director.
PHIL 797 Master's Thesis Seminar
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
Religion
RELG 105/105G Religious Heritage of the West
.001 MTh 11:20-12:35PM Rodier, D
In this course we will explore to contribution of religion to the various
Western civilizations. We will start by exploring the roots of the Western
religious traditions in the literature and practices of ancient Mesopotamia
and the culture of Greece and Rome. We will then explore the formation of
Rabbinic Judaism, the emergence of Christianity, and the rise of Islam. We
shall then look at the mature religious syntheses of these religions in the
medieval period, modern secularism's challenge to these traditions, and the
transformation of Christianity from a Western religion to a major Third World
religion.
This course is a foundation-level course in the
General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape
the Western World.
RELG 185/185G Forms of the Sacred
.001 MTh 9:55-11:10AM Rodier, D
.002 MTh 2:10-3:25PM Rodier, D
Since we live in both a global village and in our own national, but multicultural,
universe, some knowledge of Eastern religions can be a real asset. The course
covers three major religious traditions: the traditions developed in South
Asia which form Hinduism, Buddhism as it developed in India and is transformed
in East Asia, and the indigenous religious traditions of China and Japan.
Throughout the course, the manifestations of religion in both high and popular
culture and religion’s influence on issues of gender, social structure,
and personal behaviors will be addressed.
This course is a foundation-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 3, Cluster 2: Global and Multicultural Perspectives.
RELG 210/210G Non-Western Religious Traditions
.001 MTH 8:30-9:45AM Park, J
This course investigates Buddhist tradition in four sections: doctrine, scripture,
historiography, and practice. In the doctrine section, the Buddhist concept
of no-self will be explored in connection with its theory of personhood, individuality,
and the world. In the scripture section, the class reads one of the major
Buddhist scriptures, discussing different concepts of the Buddha in the Theravada
and Mahayana Buddhist schools, devotional Buddhism, and the function of text
in Buddhist tradition. In Historiography, the class investigates the history
of Zen Buddhism, considering both its historicity and fictionality, and their
meanings in Zen Buddhist philosophy in particular and Buddhist tradition in
general. In the practice section, the class will read about life in a Buddhist
monastery and discuss the meaning of Buddhist practice in our time.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 3, Cluster 2: Global and Multicultural Perspectives.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Culture: The Human Mirror, Third-World Literature, Forms of the Sacred, Cross-Cultural Communication, and Views from the Third World.
RELG 220/220G Religious Thought
.001 TF 3:35-4:50PM Greenberg,
G
This course examines the history of Christian thought, according to representative
thinkers and essential issues. Thinkers include the Church Fathers (Tertullian
and Origen), Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, John Wesley, and in the modern period,
Schleiermacher and Bultmann. Issues include the nature of man's relationship
to God, reason and revelation, history and the kingdom of God, holy scripture
and myth, and martyrdom.
This course is a second-level course in the General Education Program, Curricular Area 2, Cluster 2: Traditions that Shape the Western World.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Individual Freedom vs. Authority, Work and Community, Western Legal Tradition, Western Philosophy, or Religious Heritage of the West.
RELG 372/672 Religion in America
.001 M 8:10-10:40PM Greenberg,
G
This course surveys America’s religions beginning with Christianity
and Judaism and continuing through contemporary developments of Islam and
Buddhism. The course also examines Native American religions, Puritanism,
Mormonism, Catholicism, AME, Seventh Day Adventism, and Freemasonry.
RELG 390/590 Independent Reading Course in Religion
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 490/690 Independent Study Project in Religion
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 498 Honors Project in Religion
(Open only to students in the University Honors Program.)
Prerequisite: permission of department chair and university honors director.
Others
GNED 220 Ethical and Social Issues in Genetics
.001 W 11:20-2:00PM Feder, E; Schaeff, C
Rapid advances in the field of genetic research have launched society on a
spirited public debate concerning the social and ethical implications of these
discoveries. This course has two basic objectives: (1) to provide a general
understanding of the genetics underlying the Human Genome Project in order
to (2) enable students to understand and contribute to the debates over the
ethical and social significance of rapidly developing genetic information.
The course is team taught by Drs. Feder (Dept. of Philosophy) and Schaeff
(Dept. of Biology). We will use a multidisciplinary approach to understand
the various arguments and aspects of these debates.
HNRS 300 Philosophical Foundations of Cognitive Science
.001H TF 9:55-11:10AM Harré, R
(Open only to students in the University Honors Program.)