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Fall
2004
Spring
2004 Fall
2003
Spring 2003 Fall
2002
Spring
2005
Philosophy
PHIL 105/105G Western Philosophy
.001 MTH 3:35-4:50PM Fleming, L
This course is 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.
.002 TF 11:20-12:35PM Stam
This course is a selective survey of Western Philosophy based on the reading
of primary texts. It emphasizes the ancient Greeks (especially Plato), early
modern philosophy related to the rise of modern science, and aspects of modern
political-social philosophy from the 17th through the 20th century. The continuing
focus of the course will be on "moderation," though not all readings
will be directly related to that.
.003 MTh 12:45-2:00PM 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.
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 12:45-2:00PM Carr
This beginning course introduces students to the study of formal logic and
its relation to critical thinking and ordinary language. Logic has been an
important part of the Western philosophical tradition at least since the time
of Aristotle, and developments in the Twentieth Century have given us more
powerful logical tools than were ever available before. We will learn to recognize
“arguments” in ordinary language, to distinguish between inductive
and deductive reasoning, to identify informal fallacies, and to determine
the validity of deductive arguments through the use of truth tables, Venn
diagrams, and the construction of formal proofs using both truth-functional
and quantificational notation. The study of logic improves reasoning and analytical
abilities, and provides intellectual skills that are helpful both in the conduct
of daily affairs and as preparation for further study.
PHIL 220/220G Moral Philosophy
.001 TF 9:55-11:10AM Lovering, 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.
.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
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 11:20-12:35PM Reiman, J
This course analyzes traditional western theories of democracy and of rights
(both separately and in relationship to one another) as well as contemporary
approaches, such as Habermasian, post-modern, feminist and critical race theory.
It also considers the East-West debate on 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: Individual Freedom vs. Authority, Work and Community, Western Legal Tradition, Western Philosophy, or Religious Heritage of the West.
PHIL 311/611 Modern European Movements: Kant
.001 W 5:30-8:00PM Reiman, J and Tschemplik,
A
Kant's “Critique of Pure Reason” is a culminating text of modern
philosophy and a founding text of contemporary philosophy. It attempts to
critique and combine empiricism and rationalism, ground scientific knowledge,
and open the way for morality and faith. In this team-taught course, we will
engage in a close reading of this great text.
PHIL 312/612 Recent Contemporary Philosophy: Wittgenstein’s
Later Philosophy
.002 TF 3:35-4:50PM Harré, R
Wittgenstein has emerged as one of the most influential philosophers of the
modern era. His insights have been taken up in fields as diverse as linguistics,
literary theory and religion. In psychology he had the unique role of one
of the originators of computational theories in cognitive science and as a
major source for contemporary discursive psychology, with its emphasis on
language. In this course his early work is covered briefly, while his later
studies of central concepts are investigated in depth, including ‘meaning,’
‘rule-following,’ ‘future directed thought,’ ‘intentions’
and ‘perception.’ Wittgenstein’s aim was as much to free
us from the spell of misunderstandings of our language as to advance positive
claims about meaning, religious faith or cognition.
PHIL 314/614 American Philosophy
.001 W 2:10-4:50PM Rodier, D
This course covers the background and substance of American philosophy since
colonial times; and the role of philosophical ideas, European and indigenous,
in the growth of American culture.
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: Miguel de Unamuno
.001 M 8:10-10:40PM Oliver, A
(Meets 01/31-02/28/05 in Battelle 130.)
Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) was a vitalist thinker and pioneer of existentialism.
His interpretation of Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and
James, in The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), powerfully explored the idea that
"The most tragic problem of philosophy is reconciling intellectual needs
with affective and volitional needs."
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 525 Modern Moral Problems
.001 T 5:30-8:00PM Lovering, R
The central topic for this course is that of moral status, also referred to
as moral standing. To have moral status is to be morally considerable; it
is to be the kind of entity toward which moral agents have, or can have, moral
obligations. We will begin the course by examining various theories of moral
status. We will then apply these theories to three important issues in the
debate on moral status: abortion, the treatment of non-human animals, and
euthanasia. In all of this, we will be reading contemporary works by highly
regarded philosophers. The questions to be considered in this course include:
What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for having moral status?
What kinds of entities have moral status? For those entities that possess
moral status, to what degree do moral agents have moral obligations towards
them? Do human fetuses have moral status? If so, to what degree do they have
it? Do non-human animals have moral status? If so, to what degree do moral
agents have moral obligations towards them? What about humans who are terminally
ill and suffering greatly? What are our moral obligations toward such individuals?
PHIL 693 Global Ethics
.001 Th 5:30-8:00PM Peach, L
Ethical issues of global scope and import are in serious need of systematic
and sophisticated philosophical analysis. This course uses an interdisciplinary
approach to examine a number of ethical issues of global concern, including
human rights abuses, economic globalization and its attendant injustices,
inequitable distribution of the world's resources, the AIDS pandemic, moral
obligations to starving peoples, militarization and peace and conflict resolution,
and environmental degradation.
Although there is considerable overlap between the various topics to be discussed, the outline for the course will covers six basic areas, which will be applied to a specific case study for in-depth consideration and analysis: Global Governance, Subjects or Citizens in the International System, Human Rights, Militarization and Military Intervention, Economic Crises, and The Environment. Assignments will include problems requiring research on the internet as well as more traditional library research and reading and writing assignments.
PHIL 797 Master's Thesis Seminar
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.
RELG 105/105G Religious Heritage of the West
.001 TF 11:20-12:35PM Lovering, R
This course explores the contribution of religion to Western civilization,
the eastern Mediterranean roots of Western religions, the emergence of Christianity
in the Greco-Roman world, the rise of Islam, the mature religious synthesis
of Medieval Europe, and modern secularism’s challenge to this tradition.
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 TF 2:10-3:25PM Taneja, L
Since we live in both the 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 2:10-3:25PM Rodier, D
Hinduism has a very rich tradition of religious stories and symbols which
is over three thousand years old. In this course we shall explore the complex
cosmologies of the Puranas, the main narratives of two of the greatest epic
poems ever written - the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and we shall develop
a visual vocabulary which will help in understanding the rich iconography
of Hindu visual arts and Hindu dance traditions. In all of our work we shall
attempt to fathom the profound religious vision being presented and understand
its relationship to the social and political issues of the present day.
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 MW 8:10-9:25PM Greenberg, G
The history of Christian thought, according to representative thinkers and
essential issues. Thinkers include the Church Fathers (Tertullian, 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 TH 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.
HNRS 300 Persons and Selves
.001H TF 9:55-11:10AM Harré, R
(Open only to students in the University Honors Program.)
The concept of a person is one of the most widely used ideas in all aspects
of life: philosophy, psychiatry, the law, psychology, politics and religion.
Yet, it is one of the most contested concepts in our repertoire. What is it
to be a person? What is it to be just this person? Do other cultures recognize
personhood the way it is recognized in the West? Could there be more than
one person in a single human body? Very closely associated with the concept
of a person yet distinct from it, is the concept or concepts of the self.
How are the concepts of ‘person,’ ‘self,’ and ‘individual’
related? This course explores the history of personhood, and the complex pattern
of relationships with other concepts that are evident in many of our conceptual
practices. We will study philosophical, linguistic, and p