Up to Index Search the Calendar
What is art? We will examine theories of the nature of art together with critiques of each of these theories. The course will then examine some issues specific to particular forms of art, such as literature, drama, film, dance and the visual arts.
A study of philosophical questions raised by the natural sciences.
We shall discuss: alternative conceptions of theory structure; the role of scientific methodology in exploring and predicting phenomena; and the rationality and progress of science.
Exclusion: (BJPC70H)(PHLB71), PHL355, BIOC70H
An examination of various philosophical issues raised by the phenomena of language. Topics include: how we can understand one another and form concepts; how words manage to refer to things; and the explication of the nature of linguistic meaning.
An exploration of some current issues concerning the various forms of art: the role of the museum, the loss of beauty and the death of art.
Prerequisite: Two F.C.E. in PHL or permission of the instructor
What is gender? Gender issues have lately animated a lively and important discussion among feminist philosophers and social scientists, as well as among the public at large. Current approaches vary greatly. However, since ideas about gender differences have historically been used to subordinate or oppress women, the current approaches discussed in this course all share a commitment to social critique. Our text will be Gender, edited by Carol C. Gould.
Prerequisite: This is a senior general interest course for philosophy students and others, with lectures, class discussion, and essays. Students should have completed at least two F.C.E.'s at the B- or C-level in any subject before beginning this course.
An examination of the conceptual and logical aspects of explanation, theory, and model construction in Biology.
The following topics will be covered: the concept of cause and its role in law and causal explanation in biology, the logical structure of the modern synthetic theory of evolution, tempo and mode in evolution (punctuated equilibria and phyletic gradualism), and the rationality of science.
Prerequisite: BIOA03
An examination of current theoretical controversies in evolutionary biology.
The following topics will be covered: the controversy over the units of selection; "Punctuated Equilibria" as a new and general theory of evolution; culture and the evolutionary process; and cladistic versus evolutionary systematics.
Exclusion: (PHLC71)
Prerequisite: (BJPC70)
An investigation and discussion of stoicism, ancient and modern.
Stoicism involves the following principles: 1) living more closely with nature, 2) reducing ones needs to essentials, 3) living "actively" and rationally instead of by feelings and drives, 4) building strength of character and self- mastery, 5) appreciating beauty and accepting pain, 6) not harming other persons or nature, 7) avoiding excessive religion and politics.
We will examine the thought of such ancient Stoic philosophers as Zeno, Cleanthes, Diogenes, Epactetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. Is a new stoicism being developed as a response to contemporary life?
A study principally of attempts by Spinoza and Freud to construct a theory of emotions, but some readings from contemporary authors. We will consider whether the emotions can and should be brought under rational controls, whether a person is always the best judge of her or his own emotions, and whether it makes sense to regard certain emotions (e.g. pity) as good and others (e.g. contempt) as bad.
Prerequisite: Two B-level half-courses in Philosophy
A critical examination from a postcolonial perspective of some aspects of western European philosophy.
How has western European philosophy and religious thought been shaped by western Europe's colonization of other parts of the globe? After 1492, how did western European thinkers perceive and imagine the indigenous peoples of the Americas? How was this connected to European attitudes toward Africa, Asia and the east?
We will examine modern philosophy's ideals of rationality, universality, and progress. Reading will include some primary sources in modern philosophy, and some contemporary works in postcolonial studies.
Prerequisite: Two F.C.E. in Philosophy or permission of the instructor
A detailed description of this course will be available in Spring 1994.
An exploration of the conditions of democracy as a free organization of personal and social life involving processes for resolving differences. Topics include freedom, equality, peace, individuality, education and negotiation. We will discuss philosophical and cultural texts, ancient and modern.
Prerequisite: Two F.C.E. in PHL or permission of the instructor.
An examination of aesthetic issues specific to the various art forms; music, drama, literature, visual and plastic arts, film, and dance. We will conclude with a meta-level examination of the enterprise of theorizing about art in general and of the theoretical enterprise of announcing the death of art in particular.
Prerequisite: Two B-level half-courses in Philosophy
We will read philosophical commentaries and treatises of the early modern period. We study works by Margaret Cavendish, Damaris Cudworth Madsham, Mary Astell and Lady Mary Shepherd in conjunction with Descartes, Leibniz, Locke and Hume.
Prerequisite: Two F.C.E. in PHL or permission of the instructor.
An examination of contemporary developments in theories of the mind, meaning and truth. Contemporary issues will be set up by tracing their development. Our main concern will be the opposition between internalism/externalism and realism/anti-realism in current understanding of mind and meaning.
Prerequisite: One full-course equivalent in philosophy or permission of the instructor
Discussion of the problems of time, personal identity and the nature of consciousness.
Prerequisite: Two F.C.E. in PHL or permission of the instructor.
A study of topics in the Philosophy of David Hume.
The problem of reductionism in psychology and the alternative to reductionism possibly offered by one or another of the relations of supervenience of mind on the physical that philosophers have recently suggested.
Prerequisite: Two B-level half-courses in Philosophy. (PHLB81 is recommended.)
An examination of some central philosophical problems of contemporary political philosophy.
A more detailed description of this course will be available later.
Prerequisite: Two B-level half-courses in Philosophy.
We will study theories of interpretation proposed by such thinkers as Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Hans Georg Gadamer, Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, Michael Foucault, etc. We will examine the relationship between text, interpretation, myth, icon and metaphor, as they apply to nature, art, and human experience.
An examination of recent works by liberal political theorists, together with criticism of them by thinkers from both left and right. In recent years, liberalism's attempt to secure political legitimation by way of abstraction from moral conflict has prompted many philosophers to challenge the liberal view of the self, of rationality, and of moral commitment. These "communitarian" critics charge that liberalism works only at the cost of emptying political life of meaning. We will assess the charge. Authors to be studied include Rawls, Kymlicka, Sandel, Rorty, Lyotard and Taylor.
Prerequisite: PHLB10 or permission of instructor
A philosophical discussion of the question "What is justice?" The question has been with us at least since the time of Plato, but seems to resist definitive answers. This course will examine debates about justice in recent political philosophy. Works discussed may include selections from: John Rawls, A Theory of Justice; Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia; Bruce Ackerman, Social Justice in the Liberal State; Michale Sandel, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice; Iris Young, Justice and the Politics of Difference.
Prerequisite: Two B-level half courses in philosophy, or permission of the instructor.
The topic of this course will be known in the Spring of 1992.
A study of contemporary political thought from France.
Details of this course will be announced at a later date.
An exploration of philosophical problems and theories of consciousness. Topics to be examined may include: the nature of consciousness and "qualitative experience", the existence and nature of animal consciousness, the relation between consciousness and intentionality, as well as various philosophical theories of consciousness.
Prerequisite: Two F.C.E. in PHL including PHLB81 or permission of the instructor
Up to Index Search the Calendar