Fall 2002: Philosophy or Religion

Philosophy
PHIL 100 Introduction to Logic
.001 TF 3:35-4:50PM Redding
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 105/105G Western Philosophy
.001 TF 2:10-3:25PM Feder, E
.002 TF 11:20-12:35PM Feder, E
The history of philosophy, like that of humanity, may be read as a history of love and desire. From the famous "Platonic love" that seeks wisdom to the historical desires that make up human consciousness for Hegel, from the medieval passion for God to the postmodern desire for Otherness, love and desire have been central to the philosophical constructions of human identity, moral meaning, and the very project of understanding. In this course we undertake a survey of Western philosophy from the perspective of love and desire, exploring the ways in which these terms have been understood and have in turn formed our philosophical understanding.

.003H MTH 11:20-12:35PM Tschemplik, A
.004 T 5:30-8:00PM Greenberg, G
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 course in the General Education Program, Area II: "Traditions that Shape the Western World".

PHIL 210/210G European Philosophy & American Experiment
.001 MTH 9:55-11:10AM Rodier, D
The course is designed to explore the impact of European philosophy on the foundations of American government, focusing on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We will study some of the more prominent philosophers who influenced these documents such as Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Montesquieu, and Machiavelli. We will also consider the continuing impact of their ideas in shaping constitutional law and contemporary critiques of their ideas from such perspectives as Marxism, feminism, and critical race theory. This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop greater understanding of the influence of philosophy on the foundations of American government and law, and the currency of those ideas today (for example, in controversial Supreme Court cases), and to enhance their skills in critical thinking, writing, and debate.
This is a second-level course in Curricular Area II, "Traditions That Shape the Western World," in the General Education program.
Prerequisite for General Education credit: GOVT-105G or PHIL-105G or HIST-110G.

PHIL 220/220G Moral Philosophy
.001 TF 12:45-2:00PM Sherman-Peterson
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.
Moral Philosophy is a second-level course in General Education Curricular Area II: "Traditions that Shape the Western World".
Prerequisites for General Education credit: Western Philosophy or Western Legal Traditions.

PHIL 225/225G Ethical Issues in Government, Business, & Media
.001 TF 11:20-12:35PM Hamilton, E
This class in applied ethics--designed for students with an interest in public policy, business, government, and media--offers a thought-provoking look at current issues of national and international importance, and shows how philosophy can be a vital, indispensable tool for interactive policy-making. Because of its usefulness, previous classes have been extremely interactive. Students have contributed greatly to discussions by thoroughly covering the reading assignments, which have been selected to put students on the cutting-edge of current issues.

PHIL 230/230G Meaning & Purpose in the Arts
.001 MTH 9:55-11:10AM James, N
This course includes leading theories of the nature, purpose, and meaning of artistic activities and objects examined through writings of philosophers, artists, and critics of ancient and modern times. Both Western and non-Western viewpoints are considered. Student projects apply critical ideas to particular works in an art form familiar to them.
Prerequisites for General Education credit: ARTS-100G or LIT-105G or LIT-135G or PERF-110G.

PHIL 300/600 Ancient & Medieval Philosophy
.001 W 2:10-4:50PM Tschemplik, A
During this course, students will learn about the history of Western philosophy from the earliest period through the sixteenth century, about philosophers and their general cultural milieu, and about the formation of the classical world view and accommodation of this world picture to requirements of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

PHIL 302/602 Nineteenth Century Philosophy
.001 TH 5:30-8:00PM Tschemplik, A
This course explores the fundamental themes of contemporary Western philosophy and their relation to historical developments, such as the Industrial Revolution, and scientific developments such as the Darwinian revolution. We will also cover utilitarianism, pragmatism, Marxism, existentialism, and philosophy of science.

PHIL 386/686 Selected Topics in Philosophy
.001 Kant's Ethics W 5:30-8:00PM Reiman, J
This course will explore Kant's ethics, from his earliest essays on moral topics through the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and the Critique of Practical Reason to later works such as Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone. We will look at the relation between Kant's ethics and the rest of his philosophy, and we will consider challenges to Kantianism from feminism and virtue ethics.

.002 Race & Philosophy M 5:30-8:00PM Feder, E
This course will examine the development of race as an object of philosophy. With particular attention to the American context, we will explore the way in which analysis of race has influenced the development of philosophical discourse, as well as how this analysis has brought, and continues to bring, philosophy into public conversation.

.003 Asian Philosophy & Postmodern Thought MTH 8:10-9:25PM Park, J
Is Asia still a mystery and Asian philosophy all too Greek to us? What if Asian thoughts are found in the postmodern Adams Morgan and Derridean deconstruction? The course examines the meeting point between Asian philosophy and contemporary Western thought in an attempt to create a global philosophy which is neither Eastern nor Western but a story of human beings. Topics include: Buddhist philosophy and Derridean différance; Zen meditation and Julia Kristeva's feminist poetics; Flower-Garland Buddhism and American multiculturalism; Tao of the East and Tao of the West; Chinese Confucianism and Boston Confucianism. Through the comparative study between Eastern and Western thoughts, the course will think about the desire and dreams of human beings in the East and the West and try to apply different perspectives to solve problems in our postmodern world.

PHIL 390/590 Independent Reading Course in Philosophy
Prerequisite: permission of instructor and department chair.

PHIL 391/691 Internship in Philosophy
Tschemplik, A
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

PHIL 392/692 Cooperative Education Field Experience
Prerequisite: permission of department chair and Cooperative Education office.

PHIL 486 Colloquium of Philosophy
.001 Zarathustra Time TBA Tschemplik, A
In this colloquium we will take on the task of coming to grips with what Nietzsche considers his greatest work, in fact the greatest work ever written. In Ecce Homo he characterizes Thus Spoke Zarathustra in the following comparisons: "That a Goethe, a Shakespeare, would be unable to breathe even for a moment in this tremendous passion and height, that Dante is, compared with Zarathustra, merely a believer and not one who first creates truth, a world-governing spirit, a destiny - that the poets of the Veda are priests and not even worthy of tying the shoelaces of a Zarathustra - that is the least thing and gives no idea of the distance, of the azure solitude in which this works lives."
In addition to reading the actual text we will regale ourselves with listening to Strauss' composition "Thus spoke Zarathustra" and examine how both Strauss and Nietzsche are used in Stanley Kubrick's film Space Odyssey 2001.

PHIL 490/690 Independent Study Project in Philosophy
Prerequisite: permission of instructor and department chair.

PHIL 498 Honors Project in Philosophy
Prerequisite: permission of department and University Honors Director.

PHIL 797 Master's Thesis Seminar
Prerequisite: permission of department chair.

back to top

Religion
RELG 105/105G Religious Heritage of the West
.001 TF 2:10-3:25PM Greenberg, G
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.

RELG 185/185G Forms of the Sacred
.001 MTH 3:35-4:50PM Park, J
.002 M 5:30-8:00PM Greenberg, G
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 Area III "International and Intercultural Experience."

RELG 210/210G Asian and African Religious Traditions
.001 MTH 2:10-3:25PM Rodier, D
This course will survey the major religious traditions of South and East Asia. The emphasis will be on the interrelations between the religious traditions and society and on the ways in which indigenous religious traditions respond to the challenge of foreign religions brought by traders, missionaries, and colonizers. Course work will involve trips to local museums and the viewing and analysis of videotaped material. Significant cultural works from novels and epic poems will be among the varieties of religious expressions surveyed in the course.

RELG 371/671 Contemporary Jewish Issues
.001 TF 9:55-11:10AM Friedman, J
American Jews practice their religion inconsistently, intermittently, or not at all; yet Jewish distinctiveness in the U.S. is predicated on religious difference. After surveying the current state of Judaism in America, this course examines images of Jews in American and American Jewish culture and why and how the Holocaust became important in American life.

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.

Students interested in religion may also be interested in the following course taught by philosophy and religion professor Lucinda Peach:

WGST 150/150G Women's Voices Thru Time
.001 MTH 2:10-3:25 Peach, L
.002 MTH 11:20-12:35 Peach, L
The distinctive contributions of women to Western artistic and intellectual traditions. Significant articulations of human experience expressed by women through literature, art, and history; how such traditions became established and how women, despite obstacles, have produced lasting works of ideas and imagination.

back to top