Philosophy
Course
Offerings - Fall 2008
|
Phil
1000-01 |
Introduction to Philosophy -
C1, CH
|
Griesmaier
|
|
MW With a discussion session on Fridays (Sections 20-23) |
This course is designed to
introduce you to philosophy by focusing on three major areas of philosophical
research: epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, metaphysics, or the theory of the
ultimate nature of reality, the philosophy of mind, and ethics,
the investigation of the moral permissibility and/or obligatoriness of (types
of) human action. Discussion Sections held on Fridays: |
|
|
Phil
1000-02 |
Introduction to Philosophy – C1,
CH
|
Colter
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|
MW With a discussion session on Fridays (Sections 24-27) |
See description above. Section 2 will hold discussion sections
as follows: Discussion Sections held on Fridays: |
|
|
Phil
1200-01 |
Intellectual Community in Philosophy – I
|
Staff
|
|
MWF |
Philosophy is the critical study of the world in its
most fundamental aspects and of our place therein. In this course we will
explore a number of philosophical issues as they relate to everyday life. |
|
Phil 2420-01
|
Critical
Thinking: Paradoxes/Puzzles – C1, CH
|
Moffett
|
|
MWF |
A paradox is a contradictory, absurd or otherwise
unacceptable conclusion derived from apparently true premises by way of a
seemingly valid line reasoning. In this course we will explore a number
paradoxes with an eye toward coming to a fuller appreciation of exactly what
reasoning (critical thinking) is all about. |
|
Phil
3000-01
|
TP: Ancient Philosophy
|
Colter
|
|
MWF |
Contact instructor for more information. |
|
Phil
3250-01
|
Global Justice - G
|
Sherline
|
|
TR |
This course takes a philosophical approach to
problems of global justice and injustice.
A few topics to be covered will be; skepticism of global justice
(political realism, states as sovereignty), substantive issues of justice and
injustice, the AIDs pandemic, malaria and other global health issues. |
|
Phil
3510-01
|
Introduction to
Epistemology
|
Moffett
|
|
TR 1:20-2:35 |
Epistemology is the philosophical
discipline concerned with the theory of knowledge. While we frequently claim
to know many things in ordinary life, it is not entirely clear on reflection
what knowledge is or how we come to have (or even if we can have it!). Moreover, even though we clearly desire
knowledge, it is not clear why knowledge is more valuable than mere true
belief. These are just a few of the topics we will cover in this course. |
|
Phil
4140-01
|
TP: Scientific Explanation
|
Griesmaier
|
|
T |
One goal of
scientific theorizing is to understand the phenomena we are interested in.
Understanding is achieved by explanation. But how does explanation work? We
will look at the main models of scientific explanation currently in the
offing (the causal, the unificationist, and the pragmatic models), discuss
their shortcomings, and work on a new model on the basis of an analysis of
explanatory relevance. |
|
|
Phil
5030-01 |
Aristotle
|
Colter
|
|
W 3:10 – 5:40 |
Contact instructor for more information. |
|
|
Phil
5300-01 |
Topics in Ethics:
|
Sherline
|
|
R |
We will do a survey of
contemporary metaethics. |
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