printer friendly pagePHIL 265C: Philosophy of Physics: Probability and Relativity
Conceptual puzzles in formulating probability concepts to be invariant in the sense of the Lorentz transformation of special relativity. Problems arise in both classical and quantum physics.
PHIL 266A: Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (PHIL 166A)
This seminar will concentrate on a variety of probability questions that arise in quantum mechanics, including some from recent experiments. Negative probabilities and nonmonotonic upper probabilities will be emphasized
PHIL 272D: Bernard Williams (PHIL 172D)
An exploration of some central themes from the work of Bernard Williams. Particular attention will be paid to his discussion of the character and identity of the self, his sustained critique of morality and moral philosophy. We will also read several of Williams¿ interlocutors, including Nagel, Parfit, Korsgaard, and Herman.
PHIL 274: Freedom and the Practical Standpoint (PHIL 174)
(Graduate students register for 274.) Confronted with the question of how to act, people think of themselves as freely determining their own conduct. Natural science poses a challenge to this by explaining all events, including human actions, in terms of causal processes. Are people justified in thinking of themselves as free? Major philosophical approaches to this question: incompatibilism, compatibilism, and the two-standpoint view.
PHIL 274D: Moral Luck (PHIL 174D)
We draw a fundamental distinction between what a person voluntarily does, and what is beyond her control. Such a distinction seems central to how we think about what it is to justify our actions (whether to ourselves or to one another), as well as to our practice of holding one another morally responsible for what we do. Yet under pressure, this distinction can appear to collapse ¿ we find that we cannot successfully disentangle what a person controls from what she does not when she acts. This course examines this problem in depth, and considers how we might respond in the face of it: Is it really a problem? If so, does it threaten our moral practices? How should it influence the way in which we make choices, or the way we understand those choices once we¿ve made them?
PHIL 274L: Betrayal and Loyalty, Treason and Trust (ETHICSOC 174L, ETHICSOC 274L, PHIL 174L)
The main topic of the seminar is Betrayal: its meaning as well as its moral, legal and political implications. We shall discuss various notions of betrayal: Political (military) betrayal such as treason, Religious betrayal with Judas as its emblem, but also apostasy (converting one's religion) which is regarded both as a basic human right and also as an act of betrayal, social betrayal - betraying class solidarity as well as Ideological betrayal - betraying a cause. On top of political betrayal we shall deal with personal betrayal, especially in the form of infidelity and in the form of financial betrayal of the kind performed by Madoff. The contrasting notions to betrayal, especially loyalty and trust, will get special consideration so as to shed light or cast shadow, as the case may be, on the idea of betrayal. The seminar will focus not only on the normative aspect of betrayal - moral or legal, but also on the psychological motivations for betraying others. The seminar will revolve around glaring historical examples of betrayal but also use informed fictional novels, plays and movies from Shakespeare and Pinter, to John Le Carre. SAME AS
LAW 520.
PHIL 275M: Two Ethical Theories and Being a Person (PHIL 175M)
The distinction between the ethics of being a person and the ethics of rules as opposed to the distinction between Kantian ethics and utilitarianism or consequentialism consequentialism. Comparison of these two types of ethics with respect to their relationship to agency and being a good person. Relations between Western ethics and those of other continents.
PHIL 276B: The Economic Individual in the Behavioral Sciences (PHIL 176B)
(Graduate students register for 276B.)
PHIL 276C: Religion and Politics: a Latin American Perspective (ETHICSOC 276R, ETHICSOC 376R, PHIL 176C)
Religion has traditionally been banished from politics in some places in Latin America. Religious symbols may not be displayed in public buildings, political discourse is expected to be free from all religious content, and religious ministers are not allowed to run for public office, among other measures. This course examines the political motivation for this kind of policies towards religion taking a comparative perspective with American and French variants of secularism.
PHIL 279S: Moral Psychology, Reasons for Action, and Moral Theory (PHIL 179S)
What sorts of considerations does an ethical agent take to be good reasons for action? Work in moral psychology to illuminate the theory of practical reasons, and the theory of practical reasons to test the prospects for systematic moral theory. Can any systematic moral theory be reconciled with the moral psychology of ordinary, morally respectable agents? Reading include Bernard Williams, Rosalind Hursthouse, Peter Railton, T.M. Scanlon, and Barbara Herman.
Filter Results: