Fall 2025 Philosophy Courses

IMPORTANT NOTICE: 100 and 200-level courses are without prerequisites and open to first year students. 300-level courses presume some previous exposure to philosophy or a related field of study. If there is any question in your mind about whether you have the right background for any particular philosophy course, talk to the instructor before you enroll.

PHIL 101 – Introduction to Philosophical Problems and Arguments
Three sections: TR 10:30-11:45 am – McDaniel; MW 12:00-1:15 pm; 3:00-4:15 pm – Englert
The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to philosophical problems and arguments. But what makes a problem or an argument “philosophical”? That is by no means a simple question, because there has always been widespread, and often deep, disagreement about what philosophy is and about how it should be done. Moreover, this disagreement about what counts as philosophy has historically been infected by ideology and by biases of various kinds. As such, this course proposes to introduce philosophical problems and arguments not by taking a conception of philosophy for granted, but by studying a wide range of ideas about and approaches to philosophy, beginning with Plato and extending to the present day, but with a special emphasis on underrepresented and non- or counter-canonical figures and methods. Coursework will focus on the careful interpretation, analysis, and comparison of primary texts, as well as on the ability to extract and probe arguments and theories from these texts. Potential topics include: the nature of justice, the "mind/body problem", the existence and nature of God, Marxism, racial equality, feminism, and the meaning of life. Satisfies the General Education Requirement in Literary Studies. (1 unit)

PHIL 120 – Contemporary Moral Issues
Two sections: MW 10:30-11:45 am; 1:30-2:45 pm – Annesley
This is an introductory level course concerned with contemporary, controversial, moral issues. We will examine and evaluate a variety of views about such issues as global poverty, immigration, hate speech, affirmative action and reparations. No previous background in philosophy is required, but participants should have an interest in thinking critically about how we live. (1 unit)

PHIL 251 – Elementary Symbolic Logic
Three sections: TR 9:00-10:15 am; 1:30-2:45 pm – McDaniel; MWF 10:30-11:20 am – Goddu
A non-mathematical introduction to symbolic reasoning: translating arguments from English into a symbolic language, and demonstrating which ones are good (valid) and which ones are bad (invalid). Working with truth tables, formal rules of substitution and inference, and simple quantifiers, the course covers both sentence logic (If P then Q, etc.) and class logic (All S are P, etc.). There is frequent written homework, at least two midterm tests and a final examination. Grades will be based on performance. The techniques learned transfer readily to technical tasks such as programming, analyzing contracts, getting ready for the LSAT and debating, and also to everyday tasks such as understanding what one reads, arguing with authority figures, and evaluating editorials, sermons, advertisements and political speeches. Satisfies the General Education Requirement in Symbolic Reasoning. (1 unit)

PHIL 271 – Ancient Greek Philosophy
Two sections: TR 10:30-11:45 am; 12:00-1:15 pm – Schauber
An introduction to ancient Western philosophy, with special attention to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Our aim will be to understand some of the key views and arguments of these philosophers, and to engage critically with them and their historical context. This will require close reading of the ancient texts, and discussion of the issues they raise. Topics may include questions about the nature of knowledge and reality, and about the nature of human action, such as: What is the difference between knowledge and belief? What are definitions? Must someone who understands a notion be able to define it? What sorts of things is it possible for a person to know? What is the connection between virtue and knowledge? How is morality connected to being human? Satisfies the General Education in Historical Analysis and Literary and Textual Analysis (AILT) Requirements. (1 unit)

PHIL 360 – Ethics
TR 1:30-2:45 pm – Lefkowitz
This course will introduce students to central debates in the field of normative ethics; that is, the attempt to provide systematic answers to the questions: What makes an act right or wrong?  What makes an outcome good or bad?  And what makes a person virtuous or vicious?  In the first half of the semester, we will critically examine three frameworks for answering these questions: deontology (which privileges the concepts of duties and rights), consequentialism (which privileges the concept of an outcome or state of affairs) and virtue ethics (which privileges the concept of character).  Our sources will include both historical and contemporary proponents and critics of each of these frameworks.  In the second half of the semester, we will consider a number of questions that are likely to complicate our understanding of, and allegiance to, one or another ethical framework.  For example, if you can rescue the drowning people to your right or the drowning people to your left, but not both, should you consider how many people are drowning on either side of you, or is that morally irrelevant?  Does it make a difference to the moral permissibility of an act (say redirecting a runaway trolley – or not) if you intend to cause someone’s death or only foresee that your action will have that consequence?  Or again, does it make a difference if in turning the trolley you kill someone but in doing nothing you simply let someone die?  If we grant that it is permissible (or even obligatory) to prevent some number of people from total paralysis rather than prevent one person’s death, must we also grant that it is permissible (or even obligatory) to prevent a very large number of people from suffering minor headaches rather than prevent one person’s death?  Finally, is it possible to harm a person by performing an act absent which they would never exist (and if not, then how can our climate emissions wrong future generations)? Prerequisite(s): One previous philosophy course, PPEL 261 or 262, or permission of instructor. (1 unit)

PHIL 369 –Economic Justice
TR 12:00-1:15 pm – Platz
Some of the most vexing political questions of our time are questions of economic justice: Is economic inequality unjust? How should we think about poverty? Should the state regulate the market? Should we tax the rich? To what extent, why, and how? In this course we focus on the philosophical dimensions of these questions and investigate and discuss some of the answers that philosophers have proposed. Prerequisite(s): One previous philosophy course or permission of instructor. (1 unit)

PHIL 370 – Philosophy of Mind
MW 1:30-2:45 pm – Goddu
In this seminar we shall carefully analyze, compare, and evaluate numerous philosophical attempts to determine the nature of mental phenomena such as thinking and consciousness. In the process we shall discuss answers to such questions as: How can we tell if something has a mind or is capable of thinking and not just a mindless zombie? What is thought and consciousness? Do machines think? Do non-human animals have consciousness? What is the relationship between the mental and the physical? Between thought and action? Prerequisite(s): One previous philosophy course or permission of instructor. (1 unit)

PHIL 373 – Epistemology
W 3:00-5:40 pm – McCormick
In this course, we will be working to arrive at a better, deeper understanding of the nature and value of knowledge and rationality, as well as exploring the different ways we evaluate beliefs. The class will begin with a focus on skepticism; one central theoretical concern of contemporary epistemology has been to explain how knowledge is possible despite challenges posed by skepticism, and in so doing various ideas of what counts as knowledge and justification are put forth. After a grounding in these traditional topics we will turn to issues in social and applied epistemology which recognizes that what counts as justified belief and knowledge is partly constituted by our institutions and social practices. Of particular interest will be the notion of epistemic (in)justice, as well as the epistemological issues concerning conspiracy theories and social media. Prerequisite(s): One previous philosophy course or permission of instructor. (1 unit)

PHIL 390 – Independent Study
TBD 
Limited to philosophy majors and minors.  Departmental approval required. (1 unit)