The Philosophy Department at University of the South

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: GOD, DEATH, AND THE MEANING OF LIFE (CONN)

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. Since we will spend most of the semester reconstructing and evaluating the arguments of others, and advancing arguments of our own, this course will begin with an introduction to informal logic, which is intended to equip you with the analytical tools which are necessary for these activities.

PHILOSOPHY 101B: TRANSCENDING THE MATRIX (HUTCHINSON)

Transcending the Matrix: The Quest for the True World The recent Matrix series highlights a central philosophical problem, the problem of whether and how we can have access to the real world. This problem has taken many forms throughout history, which can be illustrated through questions which have arisen for some very important philosophers:

In this course, we follow the path and plight of the quest for transcendence in philosophy and this will allow us to understand something about both the importance and limitations of philosophy itself. The course will also allow the student to easily understand the philosophical background of the Matrix films and it will include some readings by Jean Baudrilliard whose texts play a central role in these films.

PHILOSOPHY 101C: WHY BE MORAL? (MOSER)

We typically suppose that there are some things we ought to do, other things we ought not to do; that some people, characters, and actions deserve our praise while others do not; and that some lives are better or more meaningful than others. These are all suppositions about ethical demands and ideals operating in our lives. But what gives these demands and ideals their authority? Why should we take them seriously? In other words, why be moral? We'll look at various ways of making sense of that question, as well as various attempts, classical and contemporary, to address it. Readings will include Plato's Republic, Kant's Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals, and Nietzsche's The Genealogy of Morals. Students will be expected to engage critically with the views we discuss in several short papers and writing assignments.

PHILOSOPHY 101D: LOVE, ROMANCE, AND POWER (PETERS)

This course will examine works of philosophy,literary texts, and films that present engaging accounts of what it means to be human. We will strive to understand the rationality of these diverse accounts and evaluate their distinctive insights into the meaning of human existence. Major authors we will read are Plato, Barbara Defoe Whitehead, Pascal, Phillip Yancey, Wendell Berry, Nietzsche, and Thomas Moran. Students will be asked to think critically and to clarify and defend their own philosophical worldview. There will be short papers and a semester group project.

PHILOSOPHY 204. MODERN PHILOSOPHY FROM DESCRATES TO KANT (CONN)

An introduction to revolutionary forms of thinking developed along with the rise of modern science and its distinctive set of philosophical problems. We will examine works by Rene Descartes, John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume, Thomas Reid and Immanuel Kant. The following themes will be most prominent: the nature of knowledge and perception, the existence and nature of God, the existence and nature of finite entities, the mind-body problem, and problem of personal identity. There will be several short papers, a presentation on a particular figure and problem, and a final take-home exam.

The philosophy of art concerns itself with artistic creation, aesthetic judgment, and the work of art. It questions each of these components in regard to the way in which it contributes to the nature of art itself. The question 'What is art?' can only be properly addressed through considering each of these moments. This course will cultivate the student's capacity to ask this question in a thoughtful way. We will read part one of Kant's Critique of Judgment, selections from Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation, The Birth Of Tragedy and other selected writings by Nietzsche, Heidegger's essay "The Origin of the Work of Art," and two essays from Derrida's The Truth in Painting. These readings will familiarize the student with the method and style of some dominant European understandings of art in the 19th and 20th Centuries, allow them to see a critical and developmental aesthetic dialogue taking place, and initiate them into reading difficult philosophical works. In the process, we will also constantly be using media from visual arts, music, literature, and film in order to serve as objects of investigation. We will attempt not merely to learn about philosophy of art, but also to practice it during the unfolding course.

A philosophical examination of selected environmental issues. We will study opposing views on the ethical significance of nature and investigate the ethical dimensions of consumerism, pollution, the loss of biodiversity, and urban sprawl. There will be a weekly journal, several short papers, and a semester research project.

This course will take up the project of investigating the following questions: 1) how people die in Tennessee andspecifically in Franklin County; and 2) the need in Sewanee in particularfor a program for educating the local community about end of life issues.The goal of the course would be to determine both the need for such aprogram and whether there would be support for its establishment withinexisting local institutions that might co-sponsor it. The focus of the education would be toward educating the local community about the need foradvanced end of life directives. One goal might be to have all adults knowabout the issues surrounding such directives and provide support for those wishing to fill out such directives.

I intend to work with a select group of students who would learn the
rudiments of medical ethics as a springboard to engaging in research that
would produce a report. If time allows we will begin a small pilot educatonal project. Interested students should contact professor peterman about getting permission to enroll in this course.

This course examines the content and context of the philosophical movement known as existentialism. We'll begin by considering some of the philosophical views to which existentialists are reacting, focusing on Plato and Descartes. Then we'll look at the philosophical commitments of the existentialists themselves, beginning with the origins of existentialism in Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and moving on to more recent figures such as Heidegger, Sartre, and Richard Rorty. Finally, we'll look at Alasdair MacIntyre, a recent critic of existentialism.

We will examine selected literary texts and critical essays of Flannery O'Connor, C.S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkein, works which explore the significance of myth,the role of reason and narrative in human thought, and the place of religious faith in human life. We will investigate how story, poetry and philosophy illuminate fundamental religious and philosophical questions. Particular emphasis will be given to the vision of the grotesque in O'Connor, and the place of myth and fantasy in Lewis and Tolkein. This class will be conducted as a seminar with occasional presentations by students. Students will be required to write a weekly journal and a several short essays.

Since the early twentieth century it has been a commonplace of much philosophy that there is a philosophically important distinction to be made between facts and values. Judgments of fact are held to be objective, cognitively meaningful, and amenable to rational discussion, while judgments of value are subjective, have only 'emotive' meaning, and fall outside the sphere of reason. This distinction has been influential outside of philosophy as well, where an aspiration toward scientific objectivity has often led to a dismissal of ethical questions. But is this fact-value distinction, as represented in so much recent philosophy, actually tenable? This is the question we'll be considering. First we'll look at the origins of the fact-value distinction in early twentieth century philosophy of language and its development in the hands of the logical positivists. Then we'll turn to various critics of the distinction, including Ludwig Wittgenstein, John McDowell, and Iris Murdoch.

In this tutorial, senior philosophy majors will undertake to publish a fourth volume of our undergraduate electronic philosophical journal, Interlocutor: The Sewanee Undergraduate Philosophical Review and work on independent senior projects that will attempt to meet criteria of submission to the journal. In the course of the semester, students will review submissions when appropriate, report on their individual research, present early versions of their essays, and comment on the work of their fellow students. The tutorial will conclude with each senior presenting in public a summary of the result of his or her research and with a presentation of the second volume of the journal.

Easter 2004