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PHIL 164: Central Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Theory and Evidence (PHIL 264)

(Graduate students register for 264.) Is reductionism opposed to emergence? Are they compatible? If so, how or in what sense? We consider methodological, epistemological, logical and metaphysical dimensions of contemporary discussions of reductionism and emergence in physics, in the ¿sciences of complexity¿, and in philosophy of mind.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II | Repeatable for credit
Instructors: Ryckman, T. (PI)

PHIL 165: Philosophy of Physics (PHIL 265)

Graduate students register for 265.) Central topic alternates annually between space-time theories and philosophical issues in quantum mechanics; the latter in Winter 2013-14. Conceptual problems regarding the uncertainty principle, wave-particle duality, quantum measurement, spin, and their treatment within the 'Copenhagen interpretation' of quantum mechanics, and the related doctrine of complementarity. The issue of quantum entanglement as raised by Einstein and Schrödinger in the 1930s and the famous EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper of 1935. Examination of EPR-type experimental set-ups and a result due to Bell in the 1960s, according to which no "hidden variables" theory satisfying a certain locality condition (apparently assumed by EPR) can reproduce all the predictions of quantum mechanics. Survey of several live interpretive options for standard quantum mechanics: Bohmian mechanics (a.k.a. 'pilot wave theory'), 'spontaneous collapse' theories, and Everett¿s relative-state interpretation. Critical scrutiny of the ¿decoherence¿ program that seeks to explain the classical-to-quantum transition, i.e., the emergence of the world of classical physics and macroscopic objects from quantum physics. May be repeated for credit if content is different.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II | Repeatable for credit
Instructors: Ryckman, T. (PI)

PHIL 167B: Philosophy, Biology, and Behavior (PHIL 267B)

(Graduate Students register for 267B) Philosophical study of key theoretical ideas in biology as deployed in the study of behavior. Topics to include genetic, neurobiological, ecological approaches to behavior; the classification and measurement of behaviors: reductionism, determinism, interactionism. Prerequisites: one PHIL course and either one BIO course or Human Biology core; or equivalent with consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2015 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

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. (Not open to freshmen.)
Terms: Aut | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

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: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum, 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.
Last offered: Winter 2014 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

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 2014 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 172B: Recent Ethical Theory: Moral Obligation (PHIL 272B)

Some moral obligations are "relational," "directional," or "bipolar" in structure: in promising you to act in a certain way, for example, I incur an obligation to you to so act and you acquire a corresponding claim or right against me that I so act. This entails that if I violate my obligation to you, I will not merely be doing something that is morally wrong, but will be wronging you in particular. What does explain this? Do all moral obligations have this structure? We will discuss how different moral theories (consequentialist, deontological, contractualist) try to account for such obligations. Readings include Adams, Anscombe, Darwall, Feinberg, Hart, Parfit, Raz, Scanlon, Skorupski, Thompson, Thomson, Wallace, and Wolf.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: Alonso, F. (PI)

PHIL 173W: Aesthetics (PHIL 273W)

This course will investigate a cluster of varied but related philosophical issues concerning the arts¿music, painting, literature, poetry, photography, theater, film, etc.¿issues most of which are, at the same time, problems in philosophy of mind or language, value theory, or epistemology. We will address questions like the following (though probably not all of them): What, if anything, is distinctive about art and aesthetic experience?, What is aesthetic value, and how do aesthetic values relate to and interact with moral values and values of other kinds?, What is fiction and why are people interested in it?, In what ways are works of art expressive of feelings or emotions? What similarities and differences are there in the expressive qualities of music, literature, painting, poetry? How might we learn from works of art of one or another kind, and how might they work to change people's perspectives or attitudes?, In what ways do artworks serve as vehicles of communication? Are the values of works of art fundamentally different from those of beautiful natural objects? Along the way, we will bump into more specific questions such as: Why and in what ways is photography more (or less) 'realistic' than painting and drawing, or more or less revealing of reality? Does (instrumental) music have cognitive or semantic content? Is music representational in anything like the ways literature and figurative painting are?, Do all literary works have narrators? Is there ever (or always?) anything like narrators in paintings, films, music? Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, or permission of the instructor.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

PHIL 174A: Moral Limits of the Market (ETHICSOC 174A, PHIL 274A, POLISCI 135P)

Morally controversial uses of markets and market reasoning in areas such as organ sales, procreation, education, and child labor. Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient; if it did, would it thereby be justified? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? Readings include Walzer, Arrow, Rawls, Sen, Frey, Titmuss, and empirical cases.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
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