Advent 2001

Note: All 100- and 200-level courses except Logic (Phil. 201) meet the general distribution requirement in Philosophy

PHILOSOPHY 101: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

PHILOSOPHY 101A: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY: CLASSICAL THEORIES AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES (GARLAND)
We will study works by four influential thinkers in the history of Western thought and see how these theories can illuminate contemporary debates on civil disobedience, animal rights, environmental issues, and world hunger. Throughout the course, we will look at various films that have philosophical themes, such as "Being There," "Unforgiven," and "Wall Street." There will be two hour exams, several short papers, a final exam, and weekly journals. There will also be several class debates.

PHILOSOPHY 101B: PHILOSOPHY THROUGH FILM (PETERMAN) (e-syllabus)
We will examine three interrelated philosophical issues as they manifest themselves in film: ethical relativism (the view that there is no objective truth to ethical beliefs; each ethical belief is true to the person who holds it.), skepticism (the view that we cannot know truths about the external world), and the role of nature of honor and integrity, the nature of a good life.  Films we will view and discuss and the issues they illustrate are

• Relativism: The Gods Must be Crazy, Warrior Marks;
• Skepticism: The Crying Game, Blade Runner;
• Honor and Integrity: High Noon, High Plains Drifter, A Question of Silence
• Final Exam: The Fight Club, and Red Cherry.

The last section of the course will be a chance for students to take what they have learned and apply it to one of the following films: Fight Club, or Red Cherry. We will watch and discuss approximately two films every three weeks. Each film will be accompanied by philosophical readings designed to clarify the philosophical significance of the film and the validity of its message. Attention will be given a) to writing clear and rigorous essays that interpret and evaluate the philosophical themes in these films, and b) to articulating and defending a personal philosophy. There will be ongoing short daily writing and discussion, and two formal essays, and a final essay prepared in advance, but written in the final exam period.

PHILOSOPHY 101C & D: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY: GOD, DEATH, AND THE MEANING OF LIFE (CONN) (e-syllabus)
An examination of the existence of God, the finality of death, and the meaning of life. We will begin the substantive portion of the class by examining the traditional, theistic conception of God, and some classical and contemporary versions of (and responses to) the most important arguments for and against the existence of God. We will subsequently take up the question of whether it is reasonable to hope for life after death, which will, in turn, require us to take up the mind/body problem, i.e., the problem of determining what the relationship is between us, our minds, and our bodies. And finally we will examine questions pertaining to the meaning of life (e.g., What, if anything, makes a life meaningful? Is there an objective fact as to whether is a given life is meaningful, or is this relative in some significant way? Is the meaning of life contingent upon the existence of God and an afterlife?). We will examine both theistic and nontheistic approaches to these sorts of questions.

PHILOSOPHY 202: ETHICS (GARLAND)
This course is an introduction to significant alternatives in ethical theory and to the application of these theories to contemporary moral issues. We will read selected works in ethical theory from Aristotle, Kant, and Mill, and then apply these theories to current moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, sexual morality, animal rights, and environmental concerns. Class sessions will incorporate lectures, discussions, and class debates. There will be two hour exams, a term paper, and a final exam, as well as weekly journals on the reading material.

PHILOSOPHY 203: CLASSICAL THOUGHT (PETERS) (e-syllabus)
This course will critically examine ancient thought from Homer to Augustine. We will study ancient philosophical and literary thought in its historical, cultural and religious setting. We will pay special attention to how ancient thinkers understood human life, the order of the universe, and the limits of human knowledge and reason. In our class sessions, we will have three primary goals: 1) to understand ancient philosophers within their historical context.; 2) to understand their arguments; and (3) to evaluate their arguments. Class sessions will be a mixture of lectures, student discussions and class debates. There will be short critical papers, short personal reflections, a midterm and a final exam.

PHILOSOPHY 210. PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES IN CHRISTIANITY (CONN) (e-syllabus)
An examination of recent philosophical work on a number of doctrines that are central to traditional Christian theology. Topics may include, among others, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the Resurrection, as well as the nature of God's goodness and its compatibility with the traditional doctrine of Hell and the ethics of love.

PHILOSOPHY 235: MEDICAL ETHICS (PETERMAN) (e-syllabus)
This course is an introduction to ethical issues in medicine. It presupposes no prior coursework in philosophy. the course changes somewhat each time i teach it. my present plan is to start with episodes of ER. We will learn how contemporary medical ethics addresses the issues that arise in these episodes using doing right: a practical guide to medical trainees and physicians by philip hebert. this text presents the standard approach to medical ethics issues. We will learn how to do medical ethics research on the web. Each student will get to write an analytical essay based on a research topic of his or her own choosing. This section of the course will also serve to prepare students who might wish to pursue medical ethics student internships at hospital ethics committees. We will end the semester with the examination of recent debates about the problems posed for medicine by an aging population and the need to medical rationing. There will be two essays, and a final take-home. in addition, there will be some daily responses to the reading and a group presentation. Above all there will be a great deal of discussion.

PHILOSOPHY 308: METAPHYSICS (GARLAND)
An intensive study of the differences between substance metaphysics and process metaphysics. Readings will be taken from Aristotle, Descartes, James, Whitehead, and Nicholas Rescher. We will meet as a class once during each week and the class will be broken down into small tutorials for the rest of the week. Each week one student will present a paper on some aspect of the readings in each tutorial, and another student will critique the paper in that tutorial. Every member of the class must participate in the tutorials. This course is writing-intensive, work-intensive, thought-intensive, speaking-intensive, and just about any other intensive you can imagine. However, the class could not be said to be "extensive-intensive." Pre-requisite: Philosophy major

PHILOSOPHY 350: ARISTOTLE (PETERS) (e-syllabus)
A critical survey of Aristotle's philosophy. We will seek to understand Aristotle in the context of his own Greek world and assess the viability of Aristotle's insights and theories for the postmodern world. We will read a variety of Aristotle's works in ethics, politics, aesthetics, science and metaphysics. We will also read a contemporary Aristotelian work, Alasdair MacIntyre's Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry, and two of Shakespeare's tragedies, King Lear and Macbeth. Class will be conducted as a seminar with a combination of lectures, student presentations and class discussion. There will be weekly short writing assignments and several medium length essays

PHILOSOPHY 415: NIETZSCHE (PETERMAN) (e-syllabus)
This course will examine the rise and development of Nietzsche's philosophy from The Birth of Tragedy to Beyond Good and Evil. A primary issue we will confront in examining various texts is the question of the nature of Nietzsche's enterprise in these texts. Does he intend the texts to be poetry or a serious philosophical accounts? In the course of raising this general issue, we will examine a variety of issues concerning Nietzsche's claims about reality, knowledge, morality and Christianity. The course will be taught in a seminar format with occasional presentations by students. There will be required daily journal writing and three essays. Required Nietzsche texts are: The Birth of Tragedy, The Gay Science, Beyond Good and Evil. We will also read critiques and commentary by Alasdair Macintyre in his Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry and by Maudemarie Clarke in her Nietzsche on Truth and Philosophy.