printer friendly pagePHIL 167C: Associative Theories of Mind and Brain (PHIL 267C)
After a historical survey of associative theories from Hume to William James, current versions will be analyzed including the important early ideas of Karl Lashley. Emphasis will be on the computational power of associative networks and their realization in the brain.
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
PHIL 167D: Philosophy of Neuroscience (PHIL 267D, SYMSYS 206)
Can problems of mind be solved by understanding the brain, or models of the brain? The views of philosophers and neuroscientists who believe so, and others who are skeptical of neurophilosophical approaches to the mind. Historical and recent literature in philosophy and neuroscience. Topics may include perception, memory, neural accounts of consciousness, neurophenomenology, neuroscience and physics, computational models, and eliminativism.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Skokowski, P. (PI)
PHIL 170: Ethical Theory (ETHICSOC 170, PHIL 270)
A more challenging version of
Phil 2 designed primarily for juniors and seniors (may also be appropriate for some freshmen and sophomores - contact professor). Fulfills the Ethical Reasoning requirement. Graduate section (270) will include supplemental readings and discussion, geared for graduate students new to moral philosophy, as well as those with some background who would like more.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 170B: Metaphor (PHIL 270B)
In metaphor we think and talk about two things at once: two different subject matters are mingled to rich and unpredictable effect. A close critical study of the main modern accounts of metaphor's nature and interest, drawing on the work of writers, linguists, philosophers, and literary critics. Attention to how understanding, appreciation, and pleasure connect with one another in the experience of metaphor. Consideration of the possibility that metaphor or something very like it occurs in nonverbal medial: gesture, dance, painting, music.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Hills, D. (PI)
PHIL 170D: Trust and Trustworthiness (PHIL 270D)
An exploration of the place of interpersonal trust in ethical thought. What is it to trust another person? How is trusting related to, though different from, other attitudes we sometimes bear towards others (e.g. justified beliefs we form about others and their conduct; ethically significant expectations we have of others, etc.)? What is involved in acquiring/possessing the virtue of trustworthiness? How should trust (and trustworthiness) figure in our thinking about important ethical activities, for example promising, friendship, or the practice of politics?
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
PHIL 171: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, IPS 208, PHIL 271, POLISCI 3P, POLISCI 136S, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C, PUBLPOL 307)
Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality. Counts as Writing in the Major for PoliSci majors.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Cohen, J. (PI)
PHIL 172: History of Modern Moral Philosophy (PHIL 272)
This course traces the development of moral philosophy in Britain just prior to the nearly simultaneous emergence of Kant's moral philosophy and Bentham's utilitarianism in the 1780's. Emphasis is on the dialogue between empiricists and rationalists on the subject of the relationship between the natural and the normative. Authors include Hobbes, Clarke, Hutcheson, Hume, Smith, Price, and Bentham. Prerequisite: some familiarity with Kant's moral theory and utilitarianism, and demonstrated interest in philosophy.
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 172B: Recent Ethical Theory (PHIL 272B)
Study the works of several prominent contemporary moral philosophers. Possible authors include: Scanlon, Darwall, Nagel, Williams, Blackburn, Gibbard, Korsgaard. Prerequisite: students should have taken an introduction to moral philosophy (Phil. 20, Phil. 170 or equivalent).
Last offered: Winter 2011
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 172N: Prudence and Morality (PHIL 272N)
We sometimes think we should do something just because it will benefit us in the future, even though we don¿t particularly feel like doing it now (e.g. we exercise, go to the dentist for a check-up, or set aside money for retirement). And we sometimes think we should do something for the sake of another person, even when it is inconvenient, costly, or unpleasant (e.g. we stop to help a stranded motorist, donate to charity, or tell someone an embarrassing truth rather than a face-saving lie). When we do the former, we act prudently. When we do the latter, we act morally. This course explores the debate among philosophers about the source of our reasons for acting prudently and morally. Some argue that our reasons to be prudent and moral stem directly from the fact that we are rational ¿ that it is contrary to reason to ignore our own future interests, or the interests of other people. Others disagree, arguing that the source of these reasons must lie elsewhere. Course readings will include work by Thomas Nagel, Bernard Williams, Christine Korsgaard, Derek Parfit, Philippa Foot, and others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors:
Dannenberg, J. (PI)
PHIL 173A: Aesthetics: Metaphor across the Arts
What if a metaphor is an instructively compact work of art, or if finding a metaphor apt is an instructively simple case of finding something aesthetically valuable? What does this reveal about the nature of art and language? Introduction to the philosophical study of art and aesthetic value, organized around metaphor. Contemporary accounts of metaphor as a verbal device. Arguments for the existence of nonverbal metaphor in nonliterary arts. The power and appeal of metaphors drawn from art, art criticism, theoretical inquiry, and everyday life.
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
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