Phil-P 100: Introduction to Philosophy (3 credits)

TR 24115 10:00-11:15AM JR Shrader
This course is an introduction to both the methods and topics of philosophy. The student will learn to think logically and substantively about many of the questions that have concerned philosophers through the ages. The class will begin with a brief review of philosophical tools—the principles of sound reasoning and argumentation—while studying the work of ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Then we will apply these tools and methods to the in-depth study of five longstanding philosophical questions: (1) Is there any absolute truth to be found, and if so, what can we really know about the world? (2) Who are we as human beings? Are humans just material, or do we have a nonphysical part (a soul) responsible for our thoughts? (3) Do we have free will, or is everything we do determined by some force outside (or even inside) us? (4) Is there an all-powerful and all-good creator? What reasons can be offered for or against this hypothesis? and (5) Is there any standard for what counts as a good life? Other philosophers to be discussed include René Descartes, George Berkeley, David Hume, Blaise Pascal, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Students will write several short (1-2 page) papers and take two exams.

Phil-P 105: Thinking and Reasoning (3 credits)

MW 23963 4:00-5:15PM Matthew Shockey
(Not open to students who have taken P150)
(Course meets General Ed. Critical Thinking Requirement)
This course aims to help students learn how to identify and assess arguments and to improve their reasoning skills in a variety of areas. Students will study the art of precise expression and will learn how to recognize arguments, to analyze their structure, and to detect hidden assumptions or flaws they might contain. We will study a number of common fallacies (mistakes) in reasoning, along with various techniques for detecting them.

TR 24116 1:00-2:15PM Lyle Zynda
MW 31063 2:30-3:45PM Joseph Rabbitt
(Not open to students who have taken P150)
(Course meets General Ed. Critical Thinking Requirement)
This course aims to help students learn how to identify and assess arguments and to improve their reasoning skills in a variety of areas. Students will study the art of precise expression and will learn how to recognize arguments, to analyze their structure, and to detect hidden assumptions or flaws they might contain. We will study a number of common fallacies (mistakes) in reasoning, along with various techniques for detecting them. We will discuss basic deductive reasoning (categorical arguments and elementary propositional logic) and several types of inductive reasoning, such as generalization from samples, reasoning about causes, analogies, and elementary statistical reasoning.

Phil-P 110: Introduction to Philosophy (3 credits)

MW 24204 11:30AM-12:45PM JR Shrader
(Course meets General Ed. Critical Thinking Requirement)
This course is an introduction to the methods of philosophy and several persistent philosophical problems, with a heavy emphasis on critical thinking and analysis of philosophical texts. In the first half of the course, students will study in-depth the principles of good reasoning and critical thinking. These include distinguishing the various roles words and concepts play within a language, analyzing words and concepts to discover their essential meanings, identifying arguments within a text, and critically evaluating arguments. In concert with learning these basic skills, students will read some classic philosophical texts both to gain an appreciation for the history of philosophy and to see how philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Descartes practiced critical thinking. In the second half of the course, students will be introduced to some of the central problems that have concerned philosophers throughout the ages (and that remain relevant today). Topics that will be covered include some of the following: (1) The problem of knowledge. Is there an absolute truth to be found, and if so, what can we really know about the world?, (2) The existence of God. What reasons support theism (belief in God)? What reasons support atheism (denial of belief in God)? (3) The mind/body problem. Are humans just material, or do we have a nonphysical part (a soul) responsible for our thoughts? What is the essential part of each of us? (4) The existential problem. What is life all about? Is there an objective standard for living a good life, or are we on our own in defining our purpose? Students should expect not to be given answers to these questions, but to apply the critical thinking skills they have acquired to reach their own conclusions. Students will be evaluated on the basis of homework assignments, short papers, and two exams.

Phil-P 140: Introduction to Ethics (3 credits)

MW 23537 5:30-6:45PM Hannah Hemphill
This course has three main aims: 1. To improve individual thinking and reasoning about moral issues; 2. To participate constructively in moral debate together; and 3. To learn about the discipline of ethics or moral philosophy. To achieve these aims, we will read and discuss the ideas of classic and contemporary moral philosophers.

TR 23538 11:30AM-12:45PM Mahesh Ananth
This course is designed to introduce students to some of the standard ethical theories (ethical relativism, rights, utilitarianism, deontology, and pluralism), including the strengths and weaknesses of these theories. In addition, special attention is given to applying these theories to specific contemporary moral problems (e.g., torture, euthanasia, capital punishment).

Phil-P 201: Ancient Greek Philosophy (3 credits)

TR 24117 2:30-3:45PM Mahesh Ananth
(LAS: Western Culture 1)
(LAS: Western Culture Before 1800)
This course offers a survey of ancient Greek philosophy, anchored in a study of particular philosophical problems (e.g., What does it mean to be a good person?, What is knowledge?, What is the nature of reality, What is mind? etc.) that are now putatively labeled "traditional." Readings of the Pre-Socratic philosophers, of Plato, and of Aristotle are related to an examination of some of these traditional philosophical problems.

Phil-P 250: Introductory Symbolic Logic (3 credits)

TR 26503 4:00-5:15PM Lyle Zynda
(Course meets General Ed. Critical Thinking Requirement)
(Prerequisite: Math-M 014 or Math placement Level III)
This is an introductory course in symbolic logic. In this course the student is introduced, with the aid of computer programs designed specifically for the purpose, to basic notions of reasoning and to two symbolic languages: propositional calculus and predicate logic. The emphasis of the course will be on developing skills in symbolizing English sentences and arguments and on applying elementary logical techniques to determine the validity or invalidity of arguments and proofs symbolized within the framework of first-order predicate logic.

Phil-P 304: 19th Century Philosophy (3 credits)

MW 26504 11:30AM-12:45PM Matthew Shockey
The 19th century was a tumultuous century politically, socially, scientifically, and economically, and the philosophy of the period reflects this. Rather than trying to survey everything of philosophical interest from this era, we will study works of just six major nineteenth-century thinkers: Karl Marx, Henry David Thoreau, John Stuart Mill, Søren Kierkegaard, Charles Darwin, and Friedrich Nietzsche. The first half of the course will be devoted to the writings of Marx, Thoreau, and Mill on human nature, freedom, labor, and economy. Then we will turn to Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher and theologian, to consider what sort of demands Christian faith places upon the individual in the modern period. Next we will tackle the revolutionary scientist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution by natural selection transformed the intellectual landscape of the 19th century. We will go over the basics of this theory and then consider how Darwin and others began to rethink traditional concepts of human nature and morality in light of it. We will finish the course with a look at Friedrich Nietzsche's (in some ways Darwinian) critique of western ethics and religion.

Phil-P 360: Introduction to Philosophy of Mind (3 credits)

MW 26505 2:30-3:45PM JR Shrader
One of the perennial problems of philosophy is the relationship between the human body and the human mind. No one can doubt that one has a mind (the thing that thinks), but what is the underlying nature of that mind? This class will be an in-depth investigation to that question, examining at least five different philosophical and scientific theories as to what the mind is. Some questions that we will discuss and debate along the way include: (1) Is the mind just the brain, or is it something beyond the physical structure brain (perhaps a soul, or maybe some kind of complicated computer program)? (2) Are minds limited to natural, biological creatures, or could we create an artificial creature—e.g., a computer, or robot—with a mind? (3) Are minds even detectable—how do I know that other people have minds, let alone a computer or a robot? (4) Can reasonable criteria be given for distinguishing things with minds from things without minds? There will be many more questions to consider as well. Students will write three to four short papers, and take two exams.

Phil-T390 Literary & Intellectual Traditions: Nature and Modernity (3 credits)

MW 29451 1:00-2:15PM Matthew Shockey
In this course we will attempt to come to an understanding of how modern science and the technology and industry it has made possible have transformed our understanding of nature and human nature and the way we humans live in nature. Topics will include the 17th century conception of nature as machine-like; the idea that nature has no value until transformed by human labor; the connection of both of these ideas to the natural-resource-intensive, mechanized processes of production of the industrial revolution; criticisms of industrialization for separating humans from nature and for eliminating meaningful labor; the Romantic/Transcendentalist idea of nature as a spiritual resource for humans, rather than an object to be manipulated and exploited; the Darwinian theory of biological evolution by natural selection; and the effect of Darwin's theory on our understanding of human nature. In addition to readings on these topics, students will do research projects that look at contemporary issues in which the central ideas of the course figure, such as biotechnology and industrial agriculture. Readings in the course will include selections from Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Thomas Carlyle, Henry David Thoreau, Karl Marx, John Muir, Wendell Berry, William Paley, Charles Darwin, and others.

Phil-P 393 Biomedical Ethics (3 credits)

TR 23932 4:00-5:15PM Mahesh Ananth
(Applied Health Care Ethics)
(Prerequisite: P100, P105, P110, P140 or P150)
(Contact Philosophy Department for permission to register)
This course is designed to introduce students to some of the standard ethical theories (ethical relativism, rights, utilitarianism, deontology, and pluralism), including the strengths and weaknesses of these theories. In addition, special attention is given to applying these theories to specific issues (e.g., abortion, euthanasia, nursing care ethics, treatment of animals, informed consent, cloning) related to medicine and the clinical setting.

Phil-P 490: Readings In Philosophy (1-3 credits)

ARR 23540 ARR Lyle Zynda
(Consent of instructor required)

Phil-P 495: Senior Proseminar In Philosophy (3-4 credits)

ARR 23541 ARR Lyle Zynda
(LAS: Second Level Writing)
(Consent of instructor required)

Religious Studies Courses

Rel-R 152: Religions of the West (3 credits)

TR 26507 2:30-3:45PM Karen Monique Gregg
(LAS: Western Culture 1)
(LAS: Western Culture Before 1800)
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—How did they begin? How have they developed over time? What do they have in common? In what ways are they unique? In this course, we will begin to look for answers to such questions. We will study the history of the three Abrahamic faiths. We will also attempt to understand what it means to be Jewish, or Christian, or Muslim from "inside" the religion, that is, from the perspective of believers.

Rel-R 210: Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (3 credits)

TR 28613 11:30AM-12:45PM Andrew Rosato
Readings from the Torah, Prophets, and Writings—the three parts of the Hebrew Bible. Primary focus is on careful reading of the texts. Also covered are the historical background to the Hebrew Bible and modern scholarly approaches to it.