SPRING 2007

PHIL 3343 Non-Classical Logics
Dr. Curtis Brown
MWF 11:30-12:20
Chapman 045

Extensions of, and alternatives to, classical logic. Possible topics include modal

logic, intuitionist logic, many-valued logic, and fuzzy logic. Some attention to

connections between these logics and topics in philosophy, computer science, and

other areas

Prerequisite: PHIL 2340 or consent of instructor.

 

PHIL 3333 Philosophy of Language
Dr. Curtis Brown
MWF 2:30-3:45
CGC 045

This course will consider issues involving the important semantic concepts of truth, meaning, and reference, including the following: (1) What is it for a word or sentence to be meaningful? Is it true, as the logical positivists asserted, that any sentence that cannot be empirically verified is meaningless? (2) How do words and sentences acquire meanings? Are they just labels for ideas or thoughts which could exist in precisely the same way without language? Or do our thoughts to some extent acquire their meaning from the words we use? And if the latter, how do those words acquire their meanings? (3) What is the relation between meaning and reference? Can the reference of my words be determined in part by things I am unaware of, or only by my own beliefs and intentions about their reference? In addition to these semantic issues, the course will consider such pragmatic issues as the nature of "speech acts," or the kinds of things we can do with words; the implicit rules that govern conversations; and the nature of metaphor.

Prerequisites: PHIL 1301 or 1354; and 2340.

 

 

PHIL 4381 Seminar on Plato

Dr. John Heil
W 6:45-9:40
Chapman 045

A careful analysis of some of the philosophical writings of Plato.

Prerequisite: 6 upper-division hours.

 

 

PHIL 3322 Classical Modern Philosophy
Dr. Andrew Kania
MWF 11:20-12:35
Chapman 040

A study of the classical modern philosophers, including the Rationalists: Descartes,

Leibniz, and Spinoza; the Empiricists: Locke, Berkeley, and Hume; and the

attempted synthesis of Kant.

Prerequisite: PHIL 1301 or 1354.

 

 

PHIL 3358 Philosophy of Music
Dr. Andrew Kania
M 4:30-7:25
Chapman 045

We all enjoy music of one sort or another, but what exactly is a ‘piece’ of music? One way to get a sense of the peculiar nature of this question is to ask yourself how you would go about destroying such a thing. Some works of art seem to be physical things; to destroy the Mona Lisa it is enough to destroy a particular paint-covered canvas. But how would you destroy Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, or the Beatles’ Abbey Road? Thinking about these issues – issues of musical ontology – raises questions about the similarities and differences between musical works, performances, and recordings, and the various relations that hold between them.

 

 In Spring 2007, the Philosophy Department will be hosting Trinity University’s first  ever Lennox Seminar. Five prominent philosophers of art will be visiting Trinity University to give colloquium presentations on their current research in the musical ontology. These presentations will form the basis of this seminar-style course. The following scholars will be participating in the project: Lee B. Brown (Ohio State University), David Davies (McGill University, Canada), Stephen Davies (University of Auckland, New Zealand), Theodore Gracyk (Minnesota State University), and Jerrold Levinson (University of Maryland). Go to http://www.trinity.edu/departments/philosophy/Lennox%20Seminar.htm for more information.

Pre-requisite:  PHIL 1301 or 1354, or MUSC 1301 or 1403, or consent of instructor.

 

 

PHIL 3329 Continental Philosophy

Dr. Lawrence Kimmel
TR 2:10-3:25
Chapman 045

A close reading of some of the major texts of twentieth-century French and German

philosophy, with some attention to their roots in nineteenth-century philosophy.

Prerequisites: PHIL 1301 or 1354; and 3322.

 

 

PHIL 3339 Epistemology
Dr. Steven Luper
TR 9:55-11:10
CGC 045

In this course we will survey a number of issues in contemporary theory of knowledge. 

Our topics will include:  the nature of knowledge and justified belief, skepticism, externalism,

naturalistic epistemology, a priorism, and epistemic relativism. 

The text will be Essential Knowledge:  Readings in Epistemology (Pearson 2004).

 

 

PHIL 3351 Social and Political Philosophy
Dr. Steven Luper
TR 12:45-2:00
Chapman 045
A critical study of philosophical views about society and politics, with particular

attention to the concepts of sovereignty, obligation, rights, justice, equality, and

liberty.

Prerequisite: PHIL 1301 or 1354.

 

 

PHIL 3356 Marx and Marxism
Dr. Judith Norman
M  6:45-9:40
CGC 040

In this class, students will study the ideas of Karl Marx and the impact they have

had on 20th century thought. The class will have two components: the philosophy of

Marx and the contemporary application of Marxist principles to various problems

and disciplines.

 

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