PHIL-3320 Classical Greek Philosophy

Damian Caluori

A study of the major figures in ancient Greek philosophy from Thales to Aristotle, with a special focus on thinkers of the high classical period: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Prerequisite:  PHIL 1301 or consent of instructor.

 

PHIL-3322  Early Modern Philosophy

Judith Norman

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.
 

 

PHIL-3325  Existentialism

Lawrence Kimmel
The development of existential thought from the writings of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche to more recent work by Heidegger, Sartre, and Camus.

Prerequisites: PHIL 1301 and 3322.

 

PHIL-3328 The Philosophies of China

Jinli He 
A study of the three major indigenous philosophical movements in China: Confucianism, Taoism, and Neo-Confucianism. Special attention will be paid to themes and problems common to all three movements, including: the metaphysics of harmony and conflict, the individual and society, the cultivation of human virtues and human perfectibility, and humankind’s relation to nature.

Prerequisite: PHIL 1301.

 

 

PHIL-3333

Philosophy of Language

Curtis Brown

A critical study of contemporary issues about language, meaning, reference, translation, and interpretation.

Prerequisites: PHIL 1301 and 2340.

 

 

PHIL-3339  Epistemology

Stephen Luper

A critical study of problems in the theory of knowledge, such as: the difference between knowledge and belief; the possibility of knowledge; the conditions under which a belief is rational.

Prerequisites: PHIL 1301 and 3322.

 

 

PHIL-3340  Symbolic Logic II

Curtis Brown

Topics include: Review of first-order logic from a more abstract perspective than that taken in PHIL 2340; introduction to set theory; basic metalogical results including soundness, completeness, compactness, the Löwenheim-Skolem theorem, and Gödel’s incompleteness theorems; connections with issues in computability theory and the foundations of mathematics.

Prerequisite: PHIL 2340 or CSCI 1323 or consent of instructor.

 

 

PHIL-3350  Philosophy of Culture

Lawrence Kimmel
Inquiry into the different forms and forces which shape contemporary life. The value and impact of art, science, and social, economic, and political technology as determinants of an emerging culture in the 21st century.

Prerequisites: PHIL 1301 and either 3320 or 3322.

 

 

PHIL-3357  Philosophy of Film

Andrew Kania

A study of issues in the philosophy of film, through reading the work of historical and contemporary philosophers and critics, and studying films. Topics may include: the nature of film, its status amongst the arts, issues of authorship and narrativity, issues of interpretation, and the nature and ethics of documentary.

Prerequisite: One of PHIL 1301, FILM 1301, 2301.

 

 

PHIL 4001 Senior Experience

Stephen Luper

Philosophy majors may satisfy the Senior Experience requirement of the University’s Common Curriculum by completing this class while enrolled in any upper-division course. Students will write a Senior Essay, reflecting an intensive study of the recent literature on a philosophical topic, under the supervision of a faculty advisor. This is a pass/fail, no-credit course.

Prerequisites: Senior standing and consent of instructor.

 

 

PHIL-4391  Seminar on a Philosophical Problem 

(NEW! Memento and Philosophy Through Film)

Andrew Kania
In this course we will investigate whether film can ‘do philosophy’, and what that claim amounts to. We will focus in part on the contemporary neo-noir film Memento (2000), which raises questions in a variety of philosophical areas, from the philosophy of mind (e.g. the nature of memory) through metaphysics (e.g. personal identity) to aesthetics (e.g. the ontology of Memento).

Prerequisite: 6 upper-division hours or consent of instructor.

 

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