PHIL 103R 01. Ethics and Identity
4.00 credits
Reed, Don
Prerequisite: First year students only
This is an introductory level course in ethics and social identity, exploring the ways our moral principles and ethical ideals are related to our places and identities within concrete social systems. The goals of the course are to teach a method of moral decision-making, to enable students to understand how moral norms are in some sense relative and yet also in some sense objective, to explore ways that we are all to some extent selfish and yet to some extent always already in relations of interdependence and cooperation with others. Primary texts by theorists such as J.S. Mill, Kant, Hume, Butler, Aristotle and Plato are studied. Evaluations will be based on daily quizzes, periodic short tests, and a final exam.
PHIL 103R 02 Ethics and Identity
4.00 credits
Reed, Don
Prerequisite: NONE
This is an introductory level course in ethics and social identity, exploring the ways our moral principles and ethical ideals are related to our places and identities within concrete social systems. The goals of the course are to teach a method of moral decision-making, to enable students to understand how moral norms are in some sense relative and yet also in some sense objective, to explore ways that we are all to some extent selfish and yet to some extent always already in relations of interdependence and cooperation with others. Primary texts by theorists such as J.S. Mill, Kant, Hume, Butler, ;Aristotle, and Plato are studied. Evaluations will be based on daily quizzes periodic short tests, and a final exam.
PHIL 110R 1M. Logic and Critical Reasoning
4.00 credits
McHugh, Nancy
Prerequisite: Math placement of 22.
This course is divided in two parts. The first part of the course considers important aspects of philosophical reasoning in relation to the Aristotelian tradition by way of the study of categorical logic, the analytic tradition by way of the study of prepositional/predicate logic and its different applications. Students will take exams and weekly quizzes to determine their competency during this part of the semester. The second part of the course helps students develop their critical thinking skills Students will study an area of philosophy called the Epistemology of Ignorance. The epistemologies of ignorance ask us to think about how fals knowledge is constructed. We will be reading material in this area on race theory, medical knowledge, gender theory, language, and food production. The second part of the class will be evaluated by weekly quizzes, in-class exercises and a final project.Math reasoning intensive.
PHIL 200R 01. Existentialism: Meaning and Value in Human Existence
4.00 credits
Gilson, Erinn
Prerequisite: None
Existentialism is a school of thought that groups together a disparate set of literary and philosophical figures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries because of its focus on the nature and meaning of human existence. Existentialist inquiry begins from the perspective of the human individual and addresses the events and values that characterize this existence. Studying the ideas of existentialist philosophers from Kierkegaard to deBeauvoir will challenge students to wonder about the meaning and purpose of human existence, to interrogate the roles of faith, beauty, freedom, and responsibility in that existence, to consider the human relationship to religion and God, to reflect upon how our relationship to death defines and shapes our lives, and wonder about how and whether we can live authentically. Students will write four short papers (3 pages) and a final paper.
PHIL 200R 02. Existentialism: Meaning and Value in Human Existence
4.00 credits
Gilson, Erinn
Prerequisite: None
Existentialism is a school of thought that groups together a disparate set of literary and philosophical figures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries because of its focus on the nature and meaning of human existence. Existentialist inquiry begins from the perspective of the human individual and addresses the events and values that characterize this existence. Studying the ideas of existentialist philosophers from Kierkegaard to deBeauvoir will challenge students to wonder about the meaning and purpose of human existence, to interrogate the roles of faith, beauty, freedom, and responsibility in that existence, to consider the human relationship to religion and God, to reflect upon how our relationship to death defines and shapes our lives, and wonder about how and whether we can live authentically. Students will write four short papers (3 pages) and a final paper.
PHIL 310 1W. Ancient Medieval Philosophy
4.00 credits
Reed, Don
Prerequisite: One prior course in PHIL or permission.
This course is an introduction to the historical method of philosophical reflection and an introduction to the philosophers of a particular period and a particular tradition (ancient Greek to medieval European). As part of the first goal, we will observe the historical nature of philosophical thinking, i.e., the way it develops historically, not by accident but by its very nature. We will trace one tradition of answers to questions variously answered by four particular notions (which themselves are reformulated over and over again): (1) the notion that abstractions (like geometrical figures and the periodic table of elements) are the true objects of knowledge, (2) the notion that it is sometimes very difficult if not impossible to do what you know is good and not to do what you know is bad, (3) the notion that to be real and to be excellent are the same, i.e., that being and goodness are identical, and (4) the notion that the soul is immortal and lives on after the body decays and ceases. Students will take a mid-term and a final exam and write four papers.Writing intensive.
PHIL 312 1W. Contemporary Philosophy
4.00 credits
McHugh, Nancy
Prerequisite: PHIL 311 or permission of instructor.
By taking this class, students should 1) gain a basic understanding of philosophical movements in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries 2) gain a greate understanding of the ideas that shaped contemporary philosophy and the context in which those ideas developed 3) gain a greater appreciation of the diverse world around them and a greater understanding of the extent to which the past shapes the present 4) improve their written and oral communication skills, gain greater perspective and hone their critical and analytical skills (such as the ability to distinguish between fact and interpretation) and finally 5) nurture intellectual curiosity and skepticism and enjoy having a supportive audience with which to share ideas. Students will be expected to write weekly reaction papers, one book review, and one final scholarly paper that will have multiple due dates.Writing intensive.
PHIL 380 1W. Gender and Global Justice
4.00 credits
Gilson, Erinn
Prerequisite: One prior course in PHIL or permission of instructor.
This course will consider a diverse set of questions and issues pertaining to global justice with an emphasis on the role and significance of gender in these issues. The course begins with the "problem" of a global feminism, asking whether global or international feminist politics is possible and at what costs. We will consider the recent work of theorists such as Chandra Mohanty, Uma Narayan, and Martha Nussbaum. From there, the course will focus on a growing literature concerned with gender and the environmentalism, and, in particular on the field called "ecofeminism." This field considers gender as a significant variable in the analysis environmental issues, harms, and hazards as well as in the analysis of developmental policies. The course will focus on both theoretical issues (for instance, the problems with our ways of thinking about nature and gender) and practical issues (concrete practices and grass-roots movements), linking the two by reading work by Vandana Shiva, Cynthia Enloe, and a collaborative study issued by the UN's International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. The course will be writing intensive; and evaluation is based on weekly reflection essays, a book review and presentation, and a final research paper.
PHIL 490 00. Independent Study
1.00-4.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
PHIL 491 00 Internship
2.00-12.00 credits
Staff
Prerequisite: Permission required.
PHIL 499 1W. Senior Honors Thesis
1.00-4.00 credits
McHugh, Nancy
Prerequisite: Departmental permission.
