printer friendly pagePHIL 1: Introduction to Philosophy
Is there one truth or many? Does science tell us everything there is to know? Can our minds be purely physical? Do we have free will? Is faith rational? Should we always be rational? What is the meaning of life? Are there moral truths? What are truth, reality, rationality, and knowledge? How can such questions be answered? Intensive introduction to theories and techniques in philosophy from various contemporary traditions. Students must enroll in lecture AND and one of the discussion sections listed.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Hussain, N. (PI)
;
Attwood, A. (TA)
;
Kim, H. (TA)
;
Madigan, T. (TA)
;
McDougal, A. (TA)
PHIL 11N: Skepticism
Preference to freshmen. Historical and contemporary philosophical perspectives on the limits of human knowledge of a mind-independent world and causal laws of nature. The nature and possibility of a priori knowledge. Skepticism regarding religious beliefs..
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
De Pierris, G. (PI)
PHIL 22P: Love, friendship, and social construction
Grad-led tutorial. This course will explore the social dimensions of loving relationships, such as those between romantic partners, siblings, or close friends. In particular, we will explore the idea that such relationships are in important ways the product of one's social situation: that the nature, norms, and standards of friendship, for example, are not just determined by particular friends in particular friendships, but by their broader community. This investigation will broach topics in the philosophy of emotions, metaphysics, ethics, and action theory.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Parmer, W. (PI)
PHIL 60: Introduction to Philosophy of Science (HPS 60)
This course introduces students to tools for the philosophical analysis of science. We will cover issues in observation, experiment, and reasoning, questions about the aims of science, scientific change, and the relations between science and values.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 76: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, INTNLREL 136R, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)
This course provides an overview of core ethical problems in international politics, with special emphasis on the question of what demands justice imposes on institutions and agents acting in a global context. The course is divided into three sections. The first investigates the content of global justice, and comprises of readings from contemporary political theorists and philosophers who write within the liberal contractualist, utilitarian, cosmopolitan, and nationalist traditions. The second part of the course looks at the obligations which global justice generates in relation to a series of real-world issues of international concern: global poverty, human rights, natural resources, climate change, migration, and the well-being of women.. The final section of the course asks whether a democratic international order is necessary for global justice to be realized.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
PHIL 90Z: Punishment, Responsibility, and Incarceration
This course provides an introduction to some of the topics of contemporary analytic philosophy including free-will, moral responsibility, and moral luck through the lens of the US criminal justice system. The course is divided into roughly three sections. In the first, we examine the intersection between action and justice: in particular, the ascription of mens rea (i.e., guilty mind) to individuals accused/convicted of crimes and how these ascriptions are justified. In the second, we explore the topics of free-will and responsibility, topics which are central to many rationales undergirding criminal punishment both in theoretical literature as well as within society more broadly. Finally, in the third section, we will look at various philosophical justifications of punishment and how these relate to legislative policies within the criminal justice system.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Simon, A. (PI)
PHIL 107B: Plato's Later Metaphysics and Epistemology (PHIL 207B)
A close reading of Plato's Theatetus and Parmenides, his two mature dialogues on the topics of knowledge and reality. We will consider various definitions of knowledge, metaphysical problems about the objects of knowledge, and a proposed method for examining and resolving such problems. Some background in ancient Greek philosophy and/or contemporary metaphysics and epistemology is preferred, but not required. Prerequisite:
Phil 80.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Code, A. (PI)
PHIL 118P: Early Modern Ethics
The early modern period in philosophy saw the introduction and development of many of the most powerful and lasting ideas in the history of ethical thought. This course provides an introduction to some of these ideas. Figures to be discussed will likely include Locke, Hume, Hutcheson, Montaigne, Mandeville, Hobbes, Leibniz, and Kant.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Tulipana, P. (PI)
PHIL 120: Leibniz (PHIL 220)
A polymath, Leibniz invented the calculus independently of Newton and made major contributions to virtually every science, including logic and computer science. In this course, we investigate Leibniz's philosophical system and its metaphysics: that God created the best of all possible worlds; that humans freely choose actions that are nevertheless pre-established; that space and time are idealizations and `imaginary'; and that true, fundamental reality consists of minds.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Parker, A. (PI)
PHIL 133S: Heidegger and Mysticism (RELIGST 181)
The new paradigm for understanding Heidegger makes possible a fresh look at his long-standing interest in western mysticism as well as in Daoism. Part One: a radical recasting of Heidegger's thought, including his readings of the Presocratics (6th century BCE). In light of that, Part Two: a reading of selected texts of western mystics as well as Laozi's Dao De Jing / Tao Te Ching (6th century BCE).
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Sheehan, T. (PI)
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