Philosophy
Course
Offerings - Summer 2008
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Phil 3000-01 |
Seminar: Time Travel and other Puzzles
about the Past and Future
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Dixon
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M-R 8:40-11:30 am |
In this course we will
concern ourselves with a myriad of interesting questions concerning the
nature of time. Among these will be:
What is the difference between time travel to the past and to the
future? What do the laws of physics
say about the possibility of each of these types of time travel? Is time travel to the past even a coherent
concept? Is reverse causation
possible? What is the difference
between instantaneous and gradual time travel? Do objects and persons persist through
time, and if so, how? What is the
difference between our moral responsibility for events that happened in the
past and those that will happen in the future? We will be looking at philosophical and
scientific papers as well as literary and cinematic works of the science
fiction genre to clarify these questions and to attempt to answer them. |
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Phil 3000-02 |
Seminar: Sex, Love & Philosophy
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Goodin
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M-R 1:20-4:10 pm |
This course will look at the
nature of love: the role of physical
attraction for love, distinctions among love, sex, infatuation, obsession,
and friendship, gender differences in the conception of love and sex, and the
various views on promiscuity, perversion, marriage, adultery, monogamy, and
homosexuality. The broad topic of philosophy
of sex has been found, in one way or another, throughout the history of
philosophy. From Plato's Symposium, Epictetus' The Discourse and Manual, and Aquinas'
On the Truth of the Catholic Faith,
through Hume, Kant, Bentham, Mill, Marx, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche up to
contemporary feminism and gender studies, sex and love have been discussed,
analyzed, dissected, dismissed, and celebrated. As the authors of Philosophy and Sex point out, if the unexamined life is not worth
living, and if sex and love are an undeniable part of that life, then how can
the philosopher not include them as topics for philosophical scrutiny? |
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Phil 3000-03 |
Destiny, Fate & Free-Will
|
Thompson
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M-R |
In this course, we will examine questions like “Are
we destined?”; “What is the significance of free will?”; “Does education
increase one’s freedom/autonomy?” ; “What can neuroscience tell us, if
anything, regarding free will?” ; “What does quantum mechanics have to do
with free will?” ; “If there is a God, can we be free?” ; “To what extent
might social and environmental factors effect how
free we are?” ; “If we do not have free will, can we be held responsible?” ;
“Is free will a necessary fiction?” While exploring these questions and
others we will look at what various philosophers and intellectuals have
written on the subject of destiny, fate, and free will, including Nietzsche,
Dostoyevsky, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, and others. |
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Phil 3000-04 |
How to Think About Weird Things
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Thompson
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|
M-R |
The class will explore some of the more traditional
forms of beliefs in the supernatural, such as astrology, ghosts, UFO's, and
clairvoyance, and discuss the recent debate between creationism and
evolutionary theory. We will examine the evidence and
arguments for the reasonableness of these beliefs. |
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Phil 3000-05 |
Got Knowledge? What the #@! Do We Know
|
Colter
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M-R |
This is a course on the
scope and limits of human knowledge. What can we know,
if anything? How should we define "knowledge"? Are there different
ways of knowing? Are all viewpoints equally valid? Are "reality" and
"rationality" just social constructions? We'll consider a variety
of answers to these questions. Along the way, we'll reflect on the challenge
raised by philosophical skepticism, the nature of knowledge and
justification, and the spectre of relativism. |
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Phil 3320-01 |
Eastern Thought (Meets Non-Western Certification for A&S)
|
Devlin
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M-R |
Take
a journey to the East and explore the central philosophies and religions of Asia,
as we examine four particular religions – Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism,
Taoism, and Mahayana Buddhism – and focus on the philosophical significance
of these religions. Class discussions will stress analysis of readings and
important philosophical concepts that arise from our Eastern exploration and
how they apply to our lives at home in the West. |
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