Philosophy Schedule Of Classes & Course Descriptions Spring 2005  

GH 101 Contemporary Issues: Social Ethics (CRN: 14380) 3 credit hours. TR 09:30-10:45 RO A-005; S. Kim.  This course introduces students to some of the most interesting and difficult contemporary moral problems. Since there is no better way of introducing topics than getting our hands dirty, we will wrestle with the ethical issues ourselves with the help from contemporary commentaries of Peter Singer and Glenn McGee. The key issues to be tackled in this course include taking life, animal equality, environment, rich and poor, and genetics. This course does not presuppose prior acquaintance with philosophical texts or methods, and is designed to help students acquire basic skills in critical thinking and reasoning. 

PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy (GE’89:A3; GE 2000:LAPS:E) 3 credit hours.  Section 001 TR 12:30-1:45 HH 17; Section 002 MW 2-3:15; J. Grcic.  The nature of philosophy and some of its problems, such as:  how we know, man and nature, the individual and society; religious belief, the nature of reality, the relation of philosophy to life. 

PHIL 105  Introduction to Logic (GE’89:A3; GE 2000:SMS:E) 3 credit hours. Section 001 MWF 11-11:50 HH 116; Section 002 MWF 12-12:50; S. Kim. The purpose of this Gen Ed course is to enable students 1) to understand and evaluate arguments that they encounter in textbooks, lectures, essays, and conversations; and 2) to express their critical reasoning clearly, both orally and in writing.  Section 003 TR 11-12:15; J. Barad.   This General education course is concerned with the development of potential capacities that you have, capacities in that part of your mind known as ‘your intellect.’  To become a critical thinker is to take charge of the ideas that run one’s life.  It is to think deliberately and skillfully of ways that transform oneself.  It is to begin to remake one’s own mind, like an athlete remakes their body. 

PHIL 190 Philosophy of Star Trek (GE’89:C3; GE 2000:LAPS:E) 3 credit hours.  Section 001 M 5-7:45 pm; J. Barad.  This course is an introduction to some classical philosophical theories linked to Star Trek episodes to motivate, illuminate, and elucidate classical philosophical topics.  In this course we will study competing ethical theories, the problem of other minds, mysticism, the relation between religion and ethics, the nature of time, and reality vs. illusion. 

PHIL 201 Ethics and the Good Life (GE’89:B3; GE 2000:SBS:F,E) 3 credit hours.  Section 001 MWF 11-11:50; R. Gennaro.  This is an introduction to major ethical, social, and legal problems, e.g. euthanasia, abortion, animal experimentation, capital punishment, economic justice, and world hunger.  There will also be some discussion of traditional historical ethical perspectives, such as utilitarianism and Kantianism.  We want to investigate what human beings ought to do in various difficult ethical situations, and also how the law and society might reflect those conclusions. 

PHIL 316 Political Philosophy  3 credit hours.  Section 001 TR 3:30-4:45; J. Grcic.  This course will be an in-depth analysis of major political theorists.  Discussion will include Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke. Machiavelli, Hegel, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, Rawls and Nozick.  Learn more about the course.

PHIL 330 Ancient Philosophy  3 credit hours.  Section 001 TR 2-3:15; J. Barad.  This course will study the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  Attention will be given to their ethics, theory of knowledge and metaphysics.  Exposure to these early philosophers will yield such interesting questions as:  Should one risk everything to stand up for what one believes?  What is the nature of justice?  What does it mean to be a virtuous person?  Is there a purpose in nature?  Learn more about the course.

PHIL 344 Analytic Philosophy  3 credit hours.  Section 001 MW 3-4:15; R. Gennaro.  This course covers what is known as “analytic philosophy” of the (late) 19^th and 20^th centuries,  which is perhaps best understood as a method of philosophical analysis which emphasizes breaking down complex problems into constituent parts in order to become clear about what is being said or thought.  Thus, this course focuses on such areas as philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and logic.  We will study the writings of such well-known figures as Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Ayer, Ryle, Austin, Quine, Kripke, and Putnam.    Topics include: the relationship between thought, meaning, and reference; the nature of indexicals and demonstratives, the logical structure of statements; truth and verification; positivism and metaphysics; the relationship between philosophy and science; the relationship between language and the world, and Wittgenstein’s private language argument.  Learn more about the course.

PHIL 405 Symbolic Logic  3 credit hours.  Section 001 TR 12:30-1:45; S. Kim.  Would you like to speak the language of science?  Would you like to speak the language of mathematics?  Would you like to speak the language of Boolean binaries?  In this course, we shall study the language of logic that is the core of these and other languages.  This course -- employing two languages of logic, “Sentential Logic” and “1^st Order Predicate Logic” -- is designed to help students develop some of the skills necessary for thinking (and speaking and writing) clearly, critically, and logically.  Learn more about the course. 

PHIL 490B Philosophical Studies of Science Fiction  3 credit hours.  Section 001 M 5-7:45; J. Barad.  This course will focus on philosophical issues in science fiction films.  It will require much independent study and research, and will hone your pedagogical skills.  Enrollment limited to philosophy majors and minors.