PHIL 182H: Truth (PHIL 282H)
Philosophical debates about the place in human lives and the value to human beings of truth and its pursuit. The nature and significance of truth-involving virtues such as accuracy, sincerity, and candor. Prerequisite
Phil 80 or permission of the instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2025
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 182J: Theories of Consciousness (SYMSYS 202)
Are fish conscious? Are fetuses? Could we build a conscious computer? Much of the philosophical work on consciousness has focused on whether consciousness is wholly physical, but that question is orthogonal to the more specific questions about consciousness that most of us really care about. To answer those questions, we need a theory of how consciousness works in our world. Philosophers and scientists have put forward a spectrum of different candidates, from very abstract, philosophical theories through theories more informed by cognitive psychology down to neural and even quantum theories. In this seminar, students will learn about the major theories of consciousness as well as conceptual issues that arise on different approaches. Particularly important will be the question of how we might gain empirical evidence for a theory of consciousness.
Last offered: Winter 2024
| Units: 3
PHIL 184: Epistemology (PHIL 284)
Philosophy 184/284 is an introduction to the theory of knowledge, focusing on central contemporary issues. The analysis of knowledge will be our starting point, but our focus will turn quickly to other questions: What does it take for a belief to be justified? What is the right semantic theory of knowledge claims? The final third of the course takes up central issues in social epistemology concerning testimony, disagreement, and polarized belief. Prerequisite (for undergraduates):
PHIL 80 or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Lawlor, K. (PI)
PHIL 184B: Formal Epistemology (PHIL 284B)
Grads enroll in 284B. Prerequisite:
PHIL 80.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| Units: 4
PHIL 184D: Collective Epistemology and Shared Inquiry
This course addresses central questions in collective epistemology, with a special focus on inquiring together. Students will gain familiarity with foundational issues in epistemology and philosophy of action before turning to debates about institutional belief, group assertion, expert deference, joint evidence, and the interaction of the social and epistemic in inquiry. Prerequisite:
PHIL 80. Limited to 12.
Last offered: Spring 2024
| Units: 4
PHIL 184P: Philosophy of Probability (PHIL 284P)
Graduate students enroll in 284P.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Warren, J. (PI)
PHIL 185J: The Philosophy and Science of Perception (SYMSYS 205)
Our senses tell us about our immediate environment, but what exactly do they tell us? Our color experiences tell us that the things around us have color properties, but what in the world are color properties? Do we visually represent absolute size as well as relative size? When we see an apple, do we literally see it as an apple, or do we infer that it's an apple based on its color and shape? Can what we expect to see affect what we actually see? In this seminar we will bring both philosophical and empirical perspectives to bear on these and other issues related to figuring out just how our perceptual experiences represent the world as being. Prerequisite:
PHIL 80 or permission of the instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2024
| Units: 3
PHIL 186: Philosophy of Mind (PHIL 286)
(Graduate students register for 286.) This is an advanced introduction to core topics in the philosophy of mind. Prerequisite:
PHIL 80
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 187: Philosophy of Action (PHIL 287)
This course will explore foundational issues about individual agency, explanation of action, reasons and causes, agency in the natural world, practical rationality, interpretation, teleological explanation, intention and intentional action, agency and time, intention and belief, knowledge of one's own actions, identification and hierarchy, and shared agency. Prerequisite:
Phil 80 and two more Phil course numbered above 100 (all courses taken prior to this term), or PhD student in Philosophy. Must be an MA or PhD student in Philosophy to attend 287.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Bratman, M. (PI)
PHIL 187B: Responsibility and the Criminal Law (PHIL 287B)
In this course, we will bring resources from philosophy of action to bear on questions about who should (or should not) be held criminally liable, and why. The class will be organized in three parts. In the first part of the class, students will gain a basic understanding of the relationship between moral and legal responsibility and of the way in which modern Anglo-American criminal legal doctrine is organized. In the second part of the class, we will concern ourselves with how best to characterize the relation between an individual's mens rea, or "guilty mind," and their performance of an actus reus, or "guilty act," necessary for the justifiable imposition of liability for commission of a crime. In the third part of the class, we will take a social turn. We will consider how relationships between individuals - as aiders to commission of crimes, as members of conspiracies, as members of corporations, and as citizens of states - might support more complicated forms of responsibility a
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In this course, we will bring resources from philosophy of action to bear on questions about who should (or should not) be held criminally liable, and why. The class will be organized in three parts. In the first part of the class, students will gain a basic understanding of the relationship between moral and legal responsibility and of the way in which modern Anglo-American criminal legal doctrine is organized. In the second part of the class, we will concern ourselves with how best to characterize the relation between an individual's mens rea, or "guilty mind," and their performance of an actus reus, or "guilty act," necessary for the justifiable imposition of liability for commission of a crime. In the third part of the class, we will take a social turn. We will consider how relationships between individuals - as aiders to commission of crimes, as members of conspiracies, as members of corporations, and as citizens of states - might support more complicated forms of responsibility and liability. Prerequisites: graduate student standing in philosophy or, for others, prior course work in philosophy that includes Philosophy 80 plus one other course in Philosophy numbered over 99. Undergraduates should enroll in
Phil 187B. Only MA students in Philosophy and PhD students in Philosophy or related PhD programs should enroll in
Phil 287B.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Bratman, M. (PI)
;
Sugarman, E. (PI)