Philosophy Department

Spring 2008 Courses

Freshmen Seminar - J. Harris
150W/01
TR 11-12:20
BLAIR 142

No prerequisites. 

Freshmen Seminar - Cole
150W/02
MWF 9-9:50
BLAIR 142

No prerequisites.

Intro. to Philosophy - Cole
201/01
MWF 10-10:50
BLR 201

No prerequisites. 

Intro. to Philosophy - Fiedor
201/02
TR 2-3:20
BLR 201

No prerequisites.

Intro. to Philosophy - Fiedor
201/03
TR 3:30-4:50
BLR 201

No prerequisites.  

Intro. To Philosophy - Vaida
201/04
MW 3-4:20
BLR 201

No prerequisites. 

Intro. To Philosophy - Vaida
201/05
MW 4:30-5:50
BLR 201

No prerequisites

Intro. to Philosophy - Haug
201/06
MWF 11-11:50
BLR 201

No prerequisites.  This course provides an introduction to some enduring philosophical questions. These include topics in metaphysics (which is concerned with questions about the nature of reality, such as: Is there a God? How are our minds related to our bodies? What is a person?), epistemology (which concerns if, and how, we can have knowledge about the world), and ethics (which is concerned with questions about norms and values, e.g.: What makes an action good? What is justice? Why should we be moral?). We will examine what thinkers of the past, as well as contemporary philosophers, have had to say about these issues. Along the way, we will also consider questions about the practice of philosophy itself: What makes a question a philosophical one? What are the methods philosophers use to answer such questions?

Intro. to Critical Thinking - Fiedor
210/01
TR 11-12:20
WASH 201

No prerequisities. 

Contemporary Moral Issues - Honeycutt
215/01
TR 2-3:20
BLR 221

No prerequisites.

Contemporary Moral Issues - Honeycutt
215/02
TR 3:30-4:50
BLR 221

No prerequisites.

Greek Philosophy - Lemos
231/01
MWF 10-10:50
BLR 221

No prerequisites.

17th & 18th Century Philosophy - Honeycutt
252/01
TR 9:30-10:50
BLR 221

No prerequisites.

Symbolic Logic - Cole
301/01
MWF 1-1:50
Andrews 101

No prerequisites. 

Ethics - Fuchs
303/01
TR 12:30-1:50
BLR 201

No prerequisites.  

Ethics - Lemos
303/02
MWF 11-11:50
BLR 221

No prerequisites.

Ethics -
303/03
TR 11-12:20 
BLR 201

No prerequisites.

Social & Political Philosophy -
305/01
TR 9:30-10:50
BLR 201

No prerequisites. 

German Critical Thought - Leventhal
306/01
MWF 12-12:50
WASH 308

No prerequisites. 

Philosophy of Law - 
310/01
TR 12:30- -1:50
BLR 221

No prerequisites.

Philosophy of Religion - Ekstrom
311/01
MW 3-4:20
BLR 221

No prerequisites.

Philosophy of Science - Vaida
313/01
TR 11-12:20
BLR 221

Prerequisites:

Advanced Ethics & Social Philosophy - Ekstrom 
403/01
TR 5:30-6:50
BLR 142

Prerequisites: Philosophy 150W or 201 or 303, and three other courses in philosophy, or permission of the instructor. 

Advanced Metaphysics - Haug
415/01
MW 3-4:20
BLR 142

Prerequisites.  Phil. 150 or 201 and three other courses in Philosophy or the consent of the instructor.   This course provides an overview of some important issues in metaphysics and epistemology.
        We will begin by touching on some very general questions about the nature of metaphysics itself: Is it a meaningful enterprise?  What methodology should metaphysicians follow?  What is it to be committed to the existence of certain entities?  We will then turn to the debate between metaphysical realism and anti-realism ? is there a mind-independent world, and if so, how could we have knowledge of it?
        The middle portion of the course will be a survey of a number of core topics in metaphysics that are related to one another: the nature of modality (claims about what is necessary and what is possible), counterfactual claims and the nature of causation, and the nature of explanation.
        Finally, we will use the resources from our earlier discussions to consider debates about explanation and reduction in biology and psychology.  Can biological and psychological explanations be reduced to explanations given in terms of chemistry or physics?  Or are explanations in biology and psychology ?autonomous? in some sense, perhaps providing a different kind of information than physical explanations do?

Advanced Seminar in Philosophy (Religion & Democracy) - J. Harris 
431/01
TR 2-3:20
BLR 142

Prerequisites: Phil. 150 or 201 and three other courses in Philosophy or the consent of the instructor.  This seminar will examine the historical and philosopical connections between religon and democractic political theory.  Attention will focus on some European history preceeding the American revolution, the major figures of the Enlightenment, the positons of the founders of the United States, the debates and controversies surrounding the disestablishment of religion in the original states, and the philosophical and political issues in several important decisions by the Supreme Court.  Finally, some attention will be given to the connections between religion and democracy in various world religions and cultures.

Independent Study - Meyers
441/01
TBA


Honors - Meyers
495/01
TBA