Topics may include skepticism, proofs of God, knowledge of the external world, induction, free-will, the problem of evil, miracles, liberty and equality. CA 1.

Techniques for evaluating inductive and deductive arguments; applications to specific arguments about philosophical topics, for example the mind-body problem or free will vs. determinism. CA 1.

Discussion of selections from such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Hume. CA 1.

Topics may include the nature of the good life, the relation between social morality and individual rights, and practical moral dilemmas. CA 1.

Topics may include proofs of the existence of God, the relation of religious discourse to other types of discourse, and the nature of religious commitment. CA 1.

Classic non-Western texts on such problems as the nature of reality and of our knowledge of it, and the proper requirements of social ethics, along with comparison to classic Western approaches to the same problems. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

Topics concern social ethics and gender, such as gender equality and the impact of gender norms on individual freedom. Specific topics are examined in light of the intersections between gender and race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation. CA 1. CA 4.

Philosophical issues raised by humanity’s interaction with its environment. Topics may include ethical and policy ramifications of the use of non-human animals for food, medicine, and scientific inquiry; whether the natural world has a status calling for its protection or preservation; obligations to future generations; environmental justice; and movements such as deep ecology, ecofeminism, and social ecology. CA 1.

An exploration of existential philosophy from a global, multicultural perspective. Focus will be on existentialists from the Global South in conversation with those in the Global North. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

Philosophical problems raised by, and illuminated in, major works of literature. CA 1.

Theories of ethics, with specific application to ethical issues in modern health care. CA 1.

(Also offered as HRTS 2170W.) Philosophical examination of the ethical and human rights implications of recent advances in the life and biomedical sciences from multiple religious and cultural perspectives. CA 1.

The fundamentals of aesthetics, including an analysis of aesthetic experience and judgment, and a study of aesthetic types, such as the beautiful, tragic, comic and sublime. Recent systematic and experimental findings in relation to major theories of the aesthetic experience.

Theories of knowledge and justification. Topics may include skepticism, induction, confirmation, perception, memory, testimony, a priori knowledge.

Fundamental questions about the nature of things. Topics may include universals and particulars, parts and wholes, space and time, possibility and necessity, persistence and change, causation, persons, free will.

Fundamental questions about the nature of things. Topics may include universals and particulars, parts and wholes, space and time, possibility and necessity, persistence and change, causation, persons, free will.

Systematic analysis of deductive validity; formal languages which mirror the logical structure of portions of English; semantic and syntactic methods of verifying relations of logical consequence for these languages.

Issues concerning the nature and foundations of scientific knowledge, including, for example, issues about scientific objectivity and progress.

Issues concerning the nature and foundations of scientific knowledge, including, for example, issues about scientific objectivity and progress.

Judgments of good and evil, right and justice, the moral 'ought' and freedom; what do such judgments mean, is there any evidence for them, and can they be true?

Judgments of good and evil, right and justice, the moral 'ought' and freedom; what do such judgments mean, is there any evidence for them, and can they be true?

Conceptual, ontological, and normative issues in political life and thought; political obligation; collective responsibility; justice; liberty; equality; community; the nature of rights; the nature of law; the justification of punishment; related doctrines of classic and contemporary theorists such as Plato, Rousseau, John Rawls.

(Also offered as CAMS 3257.) Greek philosophy from its origin in the Pre-Socratics through its influence on early Christianity. Readings from the works of Plato and Aristotle. May include related ancient philosophical traditions.

(Also offered as CAMS 3257W.) Greek philosophy from its origin in the Pre-Socratics through its influence on early Christianity. Readings from the works of Plato and Aristotle. May include related ancient philosophical traditions.

Central philosophical issues as discussed by philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant.

Central philosophical issues as discussed by philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant.

Nature, value and limitations of self-knowledge; introspection, unconscious phenomena, self- deception, affective forecasting, interaction of neurophysiological and psychological explanations of behavior. Western as well as non-Western (specifically Buddhist) perspectives on the self. Readings from classical and contemporary sources. CA 1.

Philosophical dimensions of problems in contemporary life. Topics vary by semester.

Ethical and epistemological questions encountered in collecting, interpreting, inferring from and acting upon data—including when these activities are automated or carried out on large observational data sets. Issues may include data privacy and ownership; informed consent; algorithmic bias, equity, and transparency; the theory-ladenness of data; the logic of scientific inference; corporate and institutional responsibility; and implications for democratic and other social values.

Ethical, epistemological, and conceptual issues raised by global climate change. The nature of scientific inquiry; role of models in scientific explanation; sources of uncertainty in climate projections; objectivity and values in science; decision-making under risk and uncertainty; obligations to future generations; global justice and burden sharing; individual versus collective responsibility for carbon emissions; the ethics of geoengineering.

Logical concepts developed in Philosophy 2211 applied to the study of philosophical issues in the foundations of mathematics.

Ethical questions concerning human interaction with the natural world. Topics may include the moral standing of animals, plants, species, and ecosystems; the value of wilderness and biodiversity; obligations to future generations; environmental racism and justice; ecofeminism and deep ecology; and ethical dimensions of environmental policy.

(Also offered as WGSS 3218.) Philosophical issues in feminist theory. Topics may include the nature of gender difference, the injustice of male domination and its relation to other forms of domination, the social and political theory of women's equality in the home, in the workplace, and in politics.

(Also offered as HRTS 3219W.) What are human rights? Why are they important? Topics may include the philosophical precursors of human rights, the nature and justification of human rights, or contemporary issues bearing on human rights.

(Also offered as HRTS 3220W.) Ontology and epistemology of human rights investigated through contemporary and/or historical texts. CA 1.

Readings from philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Marx and Engels, Bentham, Mill Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard; topics such as the debate between individualism and collectivism in the nineteenth century.

The reaction, after Russell, against formal theories and the belief in an ideal language, and the turn to familiar common-sense "cases" and everyday language in judging philosophical claims. Russell, Moore, Wittgenstein, Ryle and Strawson.

The nature of law; law's relation to morality; law's relation to social facts; the obligation to obey the law; interpreting texts; spheres of law; international law; the justification of state punishment; the good of law; related doctrines of contemporary theorists such as Herbert Hart and Ronald Dworkin.

Doctrines advanced by recent American philosophers.

Various religious absolutes, their meaning and validity, existentialism and religion, the post-modern religious quest.

Philosophical issues raised by language. Topics may include the nature and functions of language; theories of meaning, reference, and truth; speech acts; the evolutionary origin of language; and language's relation to thought, gender, race, and politics.

Conceptual issues in theoretical psychology. Topics may include computational models of mind, the language of thought, connectionism, neuropsychological deficits, and relations between psychological models and the brain.

Contemporary issues in the philosophy of mind. Topics may include the nature of the mental; the mind-body problem, the analysis of sensory experience, the problem of intentionality, and psychological explanation.

Contemporary issues in the philosophy of mind. Topics may include the nature of the mental; the mind-body problem, the analysis of sensory experience, the problem of intentionality, and psychological explanation.

The historical, religious, and philosophical development of Asian systems of thought.

Classical Chinese philosophy, including such works as The Analects of Confucius and the works of Chuang Tzu, and their influence on Chinese culture.

Advanced and individual work.

Special topics taken in a foreign study program. Consent of Department Head required, preferably prior to the student's departure.

Independent study authorization form required.