2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024
Browse
by subject...
    Schedule
view...
 

71 - 80 of 499 results for: PHIL

PHIL 60: Introduction to Philosophy of Science (HPS 60)

The nature of scientific knowledge: evidence and confirmation; scientific explanation; models and theories; objectivity; science, society, and values.
Terms: Aut | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

PHIL 61: Philosophy and the Scientific Revolution (HPS 61)

Galileo's defense of the Copernican world-system that initiated the scientific revolution of the 17th century, led to conflict between science and religion, and influenced the development of modern philosophy. Readings focus on Galileo and Descartes.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors: Friedman, M. (PI)

PHIL 61S: A Meaningful Life in a Physical World

Questions about the meaning of life have occupied a central place in philosophical thought throughout its history. However, the scientific view of human beings as essentially complex, evolutionarily-designed biological systems in a purely material world (one governed by fundamental physical laws) seemingly puts pressure on the idea that humans can live a life of genuine meaningfulness. The guiding questions of this course will be: Is there the prospect of our living truly meaningful lives even if we are just complex biological systems? If so, what kind(s) of meaning can we hope to achieve? If not, how should we live our lives? In exploring these questions, we will read works by philosophers (and psychologists) approaching these questions from many different traditions and perspectives. Possible authors will include Plato, Hobbes, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Sigmund Freud, Viktor Frankl, Bertrand Russell, John Searle, Owen Flanagan, Daniel Dennett, and Ruth Millikan.
Last offered: Summer 2012

PHIL 63S: Introduction to Bioethics

In this course we will explore ethical questions that arise in health care and the biological sciences. We will consider the following issues (perhaps together with others): allocation of health-care resources, the responsibilities of doctors to patients, the distinction between killing someone and letting them die, medically-assisted suicide, abortion, and the use of technologies for genetic screening and manipulation. Throughout, our focus will be on moral questions about how decisions in these areas should be made.
Last offered: Summer 2014

PHIL 64S: Introduction to Environmental Philosophy

Environmental problems define and dominate the times. Climate Change threatens to displace and impoverish millions of people, species extinctions promise to reached unprecedented numbers, and sustainability has become a buzzword in discussions of responsible business practices. In this course we will explore some of the most pivotal environmental issues facing us today using the tools of philosophy. Together we¿ll ask questions such as: Are individuals or governments responsible for solving environmental problems? What objects should we care about in the natural world (animals, living things, ecosystems?), and what do we do when environmental problems force us to make tough choices in the face of competing values? Do we have responsibilities to future generations? This course will provide a foundation for thinking about these questions and for facing our environmental problems head on.
Last offered: Summer 2014

PHIL 65S: Technology and the Good Life

Can we engineer our way to happiness? Should we try to? An introduction to select issues in engineering ethics, the course examines various threats to human welfare, environmental catastrophe, social injustice, the limitations of "human nature" that could be amenable to engineering solutions. We consider whether it is ethically permissible to address these threats via engineering (referring to various conceptions of the good life for human beings: hedonism, liberalism, virtue ethics) and what the costs of such solutions are.
Last offered: Summer 2012

PHIL 70: Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism is a conception of justice that takes the value of equality to be of primary political and moral importance. There are many different ways to be an egalitarian - it all depends on what we take to be the currency of egalitarian justice. Are we trying to equalize basic rights and liberties, or resources, opportunities, welfare, capabilities? This class will introduce students to the theory of egalitarian and anti-egalitarian thought by looking both at the history of egalitarian thinking and at contemporary accounts in defense of the value of equality. It will provide an in depth introduction to the concepts that are used when inequalities are discussed by philosophers, economists, scientists and politicians.n nWe will read, for instance, on the Code Noir and the abolitionist movement; we will learn from the 19thcentury debate on racial inequalities to understand how anti-egalitarian discourses are constructed; and we will look into Rousseau¿s conception of social equality in the Second Discourse and the Social Contract. The class will also engage with contemporary egalitarian theories by studying Rawlsian and post-Rawlsian forms of egalitarianism (including discussions of the fair equality of opportunity principle, the difference principle, the luck egalitarianism vs relational egalitarianism debate, etc.) By the end of the class, students will be able to understand and critically assess contemporary inequalities, as well as economic and political discourses on inequalities.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PHIL 71H: Philosophy and the Real World

Introduction to the humanities as an applied discipline; how literary and philosophical ideas illuminate and change how people live their lives as individuals and members of society. Focus is on short texts that illustrate how literary and philosophical ideas arise from social problems and attempt to confront those problems. Methods and approaches: how to read such texts; how to make arguments about them; how such texts shed light on contemporary situations.
Last offered: Summer 2007

PHIL 71Q: Emerging Issues in Neuroethics

What is the mind? Today, most philosophers and neuroscientists believe it is, in one way or another, just the brain. Brain research is progressing at a staggering pace. Neuroimaging technology seems to be closing in on `thought identification¿, i.e. determining an individual¿s thought content merely by scanning the brain. Do we have a right to keep our thoughts private or is it permissible to use imaging technologies, perhaps in judicial settings, to identify someone¿s thoughts? What happens to our concepts of moral responsibility when a brain scan reveals abnormalities in the brain? Do these findings have bearing on our understanding of free will? Commonplace drugs can prevent the forming of memories of painful events. Should we take these drugs to shield ourselves from traumatic memories or is it good for us to remember unpleasant events in order to learn and grow from them? Neurotechnology and pharmacology that enhances cognition is advancing rapidly. Is manipulating our brains into smarter, more efficient ones ethical? These are some of the questions we will consider in this course on the ethics of neuroscience that will allow you to critically assess complicated, cutting edge issues.
Last offered: Spring 2016 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PHIL 72: Contemporary Moral Problems (ETHICSOC 185M, POLISCI 134P)

This course considers some of the moral problems encountered on campus and elsewhere in our lives as citizens and individuals. We will begin with questions that pertain to our own classroom and gradually broaden our scope to include, eventually, questions about terrorism and torture. The primary aims of the course are to encourage students to recognize and address moral questions as they appear in the concrete messiness of life and to help students develop the skills necessary to do this. Questions to be considered include: What would make this a good class and is this very question a moral one? What is education and who is entitled to it? What is the value of equality on campus and beyond? What is institutional discrimination? Are Stanford athletes being exploited? What should count as sexual harassment and is it properly captured by Stanford sexual harassment policies? Should abortions be offered by the Stanford Division of Family Planning? Is it permissible to kill animals for the purpose of scientific experimentation? Should Stanford divest from coal companies? Ought the City of San Francisco allow the homeless to reside in its streets? Who has the standing to condemn acts of terror and how do such acts compare to torture?
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Filter Results:
term offered
updating results...
teaching presence
updating results...
number of units
updating results...
time offered
updating results...
days
updating results...
UG Requirements (GERs)
updating results...
component
updating results...
career
updating results...
© Stanford University | Terms of Use | Copyright Complaints