Spring 2022 Upper Level Courses

Existentialism is unique in the Western philosophical tradition in that many of its central thinkers wrote in the narrative form in addition to the conventional philosophical form. Most closely associated with the French philosophers Sartre, Camus, and de Beauvoir, the evolution of existentialism can be traced through earlier works by Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. The fundamental concern that links these thinkers is whether human existence can have any meaning, and, if so, how. This course will examine, through their works, the existentialist themes of authenticity, absurdity, transcendence, self-deception, alienation, truth, choice, freedom, value, and death

This course is a philosophical examination of fundamental psychological concepts such as belief, desire, motive, and intention; and an analysis of psychological explanations, the nature of feelings and emotions, and the relation of folk psychology to the science of psychology. Theories and concepts, such as the unconscious, from the psychoanalytic or Freudian tradition will also be considered. This is the same course as PHI 3035. Students may receive credits for PSY 3035 or PHI 3035, not both.

This course examines philosophical issues raised by computers. Students will study the notions of mind, feeling, consciousness, purpose, creativity, and intelligence in the light of developments in computer science.

Though a science, economics generates intense political, moral, and philosophical controversies. This course studies philosophical and moral questions raised by economic theories, including different accounts of rational choice, the major analyses of the concept of value, the relation between justice and market distributions, the concept of rights and the notion of property, and the moral claims of consumers, shareholders, and workers.

This course studies some ways in which philosophy and science fiction can illuminate each other. Philosophical analysis can clarify the assumptions behind, and the implications of, the speculative futures of science fiction, and science fiction can offer new insights into long-standing philosophical problems. The readings for this course will combine, in roughly equal proportions, philosophical texts, classic and contemporary science fiction, and science journalism.

Essential writings of the medieval philosophers, including Augustine, Avicenna, Anselm, Maimonides, Aquinas, Scotus,and Ockham.

A study of major philosophers of the 19th century, such as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Marx, Comte, Bentham, J.S. Mill, and Nietzsche.

Classical Buddhism explores the theory and practice of Buddhism as it originated in India and spread to Tibet and eastern Asia. In addition to examining the life and teachings of the historical Buddha, the course investigates Indian Buddhism after the turn of the Common Era, as well as the theories and practices of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism.

The course provides a systematic introduction to the philosophical issues underlying environmental and ecological controversies. It will review classical positions on the nature of value and on the status of the human relationship to nature, land, wilderness, and other species. Topics will include such concerns as ozone depletion, global warming, and acid rain, as well as the relation between international justice, poverty, and its effect on the earth’s environment and animals. Non-western views as well as those of Native Americans, and the more recent Ecological Feminism, will be considered.

This course focuses on the nature, justification, and conceptual analysis of crime, social responsibility, criminal responsibility and punishment; Topics may include theories of punishment, justification for limiting freedom, victimless crimes, morals offenses, guilt, insanity pleas, plea bargains, due process, white collar and cyber-crime, capital punishment.

This course provides a philosophical perspective to ethical decision making, especially regarding the specific ethical issues and controversies surrounding modern computer technology. These issues include those relating to privacy, security, identity, copyright, unauthorized use, access for the disabled, gender issues, and the digital divide. Ethical theories to be explored include subjective and cultural relativism, Kantianism, utilitarianism, and social contract theory. This course is cross-listed with CIS 3270. Students will receive credit for either PHI 3270 or CIS 3270. These courses may not substitute for each other with the F-replacement policy.

We often worry that others do not see us as we truly are, that the way they experience us may be biased in various ways. Conversely, we may believe that we know more about ourselves than others do. But is this true? If so, to what extent? If not, why? What can we say about the nature of selfhood and self-knowledge? In this course we will explore these questions, drawing primarily (though not exclusively) from non-Western sources. 

Our belief forming faculties evolved in a very different world than the one we currently inhabit. The forces that affected our ancient mechanisms served us well, but modern life provides new pitfalls for advertising, propaganda, and just plain falsehoods to get a hold. In this course we will focus on models of how humans form, store, and change beliefs, as well as how we should form and change beliefs, and how we might get better at both.