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Phil 110 Introduction to Philosophy - 3 credits |
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Ann Clark |
9:00-9:50 MWF |
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Kevin McDonnell |
11:00-11:50 MWF & 1:00-1:50 MWF |
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George Trey |
9:30-10:45 TR & 11:00-12:15 TR |
Readings and discussions designed to introduce
the student to the major areas and problems of philosophy through
a study of the writings of classical and contemporary thinkers. |
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Phil 110W - 3.5 credits |
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Patricia Sayre |
10:00-10:50 MWF/12:00-12:50 W |
| | tandem with ENLT 106W (Vacca) |
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We live in a world that can dazzle us with beauty but also threaten us with chaos. Even
the most orderly of lives can unexpectedly veer out of control, and the most rational of
activities take on aspects of madness. How are we to make our way in such a world? Is there
some underlying pattern in the mad whirl? Can we find meaning in the mayhem? Questions concerning
life's meaning and purpose lie at the heart of all serious philosophical inquiry; they are also an
integral to all major works of literature. In this tandem we will explore the possibilities for
meaning presented in the masterworks of Western literature in conjunction with the conceptual
frameworks supplied by Western philosophy. Whether we are wrestling with Socrates' response to the
collapse of Athenian democracy or the collapse of a marriage in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, with
the spiteful rantings of Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground or Nietzsche's Beyond
Good and Evil, our concern throughout will be to articulate our own responses to the questions
that matter most.
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Phil 236 American Philosophy - 3 credits |
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Ann Clark |
11:00-12:15 TR |
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"American Philosophies" will begin with explorations of tribal writing from the west coast
and from the Midwest. We will examine early Anglo-English writers with an eye to their attempts
to cope with the unfamiliar environment which met them when they arrived on the east coast. 18th
and 19th century writers will include a representative Latin American philosopher, transcendentalist
writing, and early feminist and Afro-American writing. The course will end with an exploration of Jane
Addams, John Dewey, and W. E. B. DuBois. Two short papers, a midsemester exam, a final exam, and
oral presentations will be required.
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Phil 247 Philosophy of Religion - 3 credits |
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Patricia Sayre |
12:30-1:45 TR |
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Philosophy is the examination of our fundamental beliefs about the nature of reality,
knowledge, and human life. The philosophy of religion examines these beliefs insofar as they
connect up with religion. Does a proper understanding of reality require one to assume the existence
of God? Or is the nature of reality such that there is no room for a divine being with the attributes
that are traditionally assigned to God? Is it possible to rationally justify belief in God? Or is
it the case that even if there is a God, we cannot know there is, for reason has nothing to say on such
matters? What is the role of faith in human life, and how does it relate to our capacity to reason?
Is religion a force for good in human life, or is it something humans need to outgrow? These are the
sorts of questions we will discuss in this course. Students will write one paper (on a topic of their
own devising) in stages throughout the semester and take two exams.
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Phil 255 Medical Ethics and Literature - 3 credits |
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Kevin McDonnell |
3:00-4:15 MW |
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The moral problems raised by modern medical practice are the most lively ethical problems in
contemporary society. They have engaged the interest of the medical profession, of professional
philosophers, and of the general public. The right to live, the right to be left alone, the duties
of professionals to those under their care - all these raise moral problems of great importance. This
course will develop a dialogue between examples of moral problems which arise in medical practice and
approaches to these problems which philosophers have developed. The object of the course is to involve
the student in this dialogue, inviting her both to address today's moral problems and provoking her to
develop a general approach to moral problems - what guidance she can expect, and what answers she should
not expect. An essential course for anyone thinking of a career in the medical profession or
interested in exploring contemporary moral issues.
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Phil 331 Descartes to Skepticism - 3 credits |
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Ann Clark |
1:00-1:50 MWF |
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Called Modern Philosophers (we'll talk about why this is) by those in the know, Descartes, Locke,
Leibniz, Berkeley, and Hume constructed the nest of tricky problems which, in all their permutations
and combinations, have led to present western European outlooks on reality, thinking, community, and
individuality. In this course we will leap into the maelstrom of philosophical knots which have stumped
thinkers around the globe ever since. We will ruminate, twist and turn, perhaps resolve some of these
puzzles, but surely not all. Both lots of fun, and deeply serious, reading these writers will deepen
and refine our logic and our insight into problems of the present as well as the past. Strongly
recommended for humanities students who have an interest in the history of ideas.
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Phil 334 Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas on Law and Virtue - 3 credits |
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Kevin McDonnell |
2:00-3:15 TR |
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For most of the 20th century, Thomas Aquinas's moral theory was understood as an exemplary
version of natural law ethics. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in virtue-based
ethics and a reassessment of Aquinas's thought. This course will begin by examining Aquinas's
theory of natural law and its application to issues of private property and human development. We will
then look at the challenges to law-based theories of morality that led to a renewed interest in the
virtues. The course will conclude with an examination of Aquinas's treatment of the virtues, with special
attention to justice and the common good. In addition to Aquinas, we will read works by Amartya Sen (an
economist) and Alasdair MacIntyre.
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Phil 410 Philosophers of Consequence: Wittgenstein - 3 credits |
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Patricia Sayre |
9:30-10:45 TR |
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A mystical visionary with a strong practical bent, Ludwig Wittgenstein is very likely the
most passionate (and arguably the most important) philosopher of the 20th century. His ideas have
had, and continue to have, an enormous impact on scholarship in a wide range of fields. We will
spend most of the term reading his two master-works, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and
the Philosophical Investigations. The questions of key concern to us in studying both works
are questions of meaning: how do our words get meaning, how do our lives get meaning, and how do these
two sorts of meaning relate? There will be two take-home exams and two short research papers.
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Phil 495 Senior Seminar: The Human Condition in the 21st Century - 3 credits |
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George Trey |
3:30-4:45 TR |
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This year's senior seminar will focus on the work of Hannah Arendt. An iconoclastic thinker,
Arendt has been described by one commentator as an Aristotelian, Kantian, Nietzschean, Heideggerian
Marxist. Her work certainly reflects the influence of all of these philosophers, yet is grounded in a
unique interpretation of history and 20th century politics and culture. We will focus on three of her
most important works: The Human Condition, On Revolution, and Echmann in Jerusalem.
This course is primarily for philosophy majors but advanced students in other disciplines are welcome
also. It will be of particular interest to students of political science, history, and literature.
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Phil 497 Independent Study
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