Graduate Courses for Philosophy (PHIL)
Schedule of Classes:
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
Summer
(Only current and next semester available)
PHIL 407 Gay and Lesbian Philosophy (3 credits)
An examination in historical and social context of personal, cultural,
and political aspects of gay and lesbian life, paying particular
attention to conceptual, ontological, epistemological, and social
justice issues.
PHIL 408 Topics in Contemporary Philosophy (3 credits)
Repeatable if content differs.
An intensive examination of contemporary problems and issues. Source
material will be selected from recent books and articles.
PHIL 412 The Philosophy of Plato (3 credits)
Prerequisite: nine credit hours in philosophy.
A critical study of selected dialogues.
PHIL 414 The Philosophy of Aristotle (3 credits)
Prerequisite: three courses in philosophy.
A critical study of selected portions of Aristotle's writings.
PHIL 416 Medieval Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy.
A study of philosophical thought from the fourth to the fourteenth
centuries. Readings selected from Christian, Islamic, and Jewish
thinkers.
PHIL 417 The Golden Age of Jewish Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: three credit hours in philosophy or permission of
department. Also offered as JWST452. Not open to students who have
completed JWST452. Credit will be granted for only one of the following:
PHIL417 or JWST452.
Jewish philosophy from Maimonides in the 12th century to the expulsion
of the Jews from Spain at the end of the 15th century. Topics include
the limitations of human knowledge, creation of the world, foreknowledge
and free will, and the existence of God.
PHIL 424 The Philosophy of Spinoza (3 credits)
Prerequisite: three courses in philosophy or permission of department.
Also offered as JWST453. Not open to students who have completed
JWST453. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: PHIL424
or JWST453.
An investigation of the metaphysical, ethical and political thought of
the 17th century philosopher Benedict Spinoza.
PHIL 425 Modern Jewish Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy or permission of
department. Also offered as JWST455. Not open to students who have
completed JWST455. Credit will be granted for only one of the following:
JWST455 or PHIL425.
A study of philosophy in the nineteenth century through an examination
of such figures as Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Mill.
PHIL 426 Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Senior standing. Credit will be
granted for only one of the following: PHIL326 or PHIL426. Formerly
PHIL326.
Major issues in twentieth century analytic philosophy examined through
such philosophers as Frege, Russell, Carnap, Moore and Wittgenstein.
PHIL 427 Wittgenstein (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy or permission of
department.
The early and late works of Wittgenstein: atomism, logic, and the
picture theory in the Tractatus; roles, meaning, criteria, and the
nature of mental states in the Philosophical Investigations and other
posthumous writings.
PHIL 428 Topics in the History of Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisites: PHIL310 and PHIL320; or permission of department.
Repeatable if content differs.
PHIL 431 Aesthetic Theory (3 credits)
Prerequisite: nine credits in philosophy or permission of department.
Study of the theory of the aesthetic as a mode of apprehending the
world and of the theory of criticism, its conceptual tools and
intellectual presuppositions.
PHIL 433 Issues in Jewish Ethics and Law (3 credits)
Prerequisite: three credit hours in philosophy or Jewish studies
(excluding Hebrew language), or permission of department. Also offered
as JWST451. Not open to students who have completed JWST451 or HEBR451.
Credit will be granted for only one of the following: PHIL433, HEBR451
or JWST451.
Philosophical and meta-legal questions concerning the nature of
Jewish law and its relation to morality.
PHIL 440 Contemporary Ethical Theory (3 credits)
Prerequisite: PHIL341 or permission of instructor.
Contemporary work on fundamental problems in ethical theory, such as
whether there are moral truths, whether and how our moral claims can be
justified, what exactly makes an act right or wrong, the nature of
moral language, and the role of reason and emotion in moral judgment.
PHIL 445 Contemporary Political Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: three credit hours in philosophy or political theory or
permission of department. Sophomore standing.
Major trends in contemporary political philosophy: liberal, libertarian,
communitarian, socialist, feminist.
PHIL 446 Law, Morality, and War (3 credits)
Prerequisite: GVPT300, GVPT401, PHIL341, or permission of department.
Also offered as GVPT403.
An exploration of fundamental moral and legal issues concerning war.
PHIL 454 Philosophy of Space and Time (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy. Senior standing.
A non-technical investigation of philosophical issues in the foundations
of physics. Topics may include traditional philosophical problems of
space and time, metaphysical issues about the nature of particles and
fields, and philosophical problems associated with the introduction of
probability into physics, such as the problem of irreversibility in
thermodynamics and the problem of objectivity in quantum theory.
PHIL 456 Philosophy of Biology II (3 credits)
Prerequisite: PHIL250 or PHIL256 or a Life Science major or permission
of department.
Questions about concepts, reasoning, explanation, etc., in biology, and
their relations to those of other areas of science. Case studies of
selected aspects of the history of biology, especially in the twentieth
century.
PHIL 458 Topics in the Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Prerequisite: PHIL250 or permission of department; when the topic for a
given semester demands, additional philosophical or scientific
prerequisites may be required by the instructor. Repeatable to 6 credits
if content differs.
A detailed examination of a particular topic or problem in philosophy
of science.
PHIL 470 Logical Theory (3 credits)
Prerequisite: PHIL370 or permission of instructor.
This course will treat a selection of the most important topics in
modern logic: alternative proof-theoretic presentations of logical
systems, completeness proofs for classical propositional and first-order
logic, some basic computability theory, basic limitative results (such
as Godel's incompleteness theorems), and some results concerning
second-order logic. The primary focus of the course is a study of these
fundamental topics, but we will also discuss some of the philosophical
issues they raise.
PHIL 478 Topics in Philosophical Logic (3 credits)
Prerequisite: PHIL370 or permission of instructor. Recommended: PHIL470.
Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
Methods and results of philosophical logic, the application of logical
techniques to the study of concepts or problems of philosophical
interest. Content will vary, either treating a particular logical area
in detail--such as modal logic, conditional logic, deontic logic,
intuitionistic or relevance logic, theories of truth and paradox--or
surveying a number of these different areas.
PHIL 480 Philosophy of Emotion (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy, at least one 300-level or
above; or permission of department.
Philosophic contributions to the debate about the nature of emotions and
their role in rational and moral motivation.
PHIL 481 Philosophy of Psychology: Representation (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy; one of which must be
PHIL280 or PHIL366.
Semantics and representations within computational framework:
intentionality, explicit vs. implicit representation, syntax vs.
semantics of thought, connectionist approaches, images, classical vs.
prototype theories of concepts.
PHIL 482 Philosophy of Psychology: Subjectivity (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy; one of which must be
PHIL280 or PHIL366.
The nature of subjectivity: problems of "point of view," the
"qualities" or "feel" of things, emotions, consciousness - whether
these phenomena can be captured by a computational theory of mind.
PHIL 484 Reason, Self and Will (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy courses, at least one
300-level or above; or permission of department.
Issues in philosophy of mind, ethics, and neighboring areas of
psychology and related fields concerning such topics as: autonomy,
freedom of action, free will; weakness of will and practical reasoning;
the nature of the self or person; the sources of moral motivation.
PHIL 485 Philosophy of Neuroscience (3 credits)
Prerequisite: six credit hours in philosophy, one of which should be
PHIL250, PHIL256, PHIL280, or PHIL366; or permission of department.
Philosophical and methodological issues relating to brain science,
including: the place of neuroscience in cognitive science, the nature
of mental representation and processing in brains, bounded-resonance
models in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.
PHIL 488 Topics in Philosophy of Cognitive Studies (3 credits)
Prerequisite: three credit hours in philosophy or permission of
department. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
Examination of a particular topic or problem in philosophy of cognitive
studies.
PHIL 489 Undergraduate Seminar in Philosophy (3-6 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 6 credits if
content differs.
An intensive examination of a philosophical topic or topics.
PHIL 498 Topical Investigations (1-3 credits)
PHIL 640 Value Theory (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Graduate status in philosophy or permission of department.
A basic course in value theory for beginning graduate students, covering
a number of topics in depth, to provide a springboard for further study
and research in the area.
PHIL 651 Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Graduate status in philosophy or permission of department.
A basic course in philosophy of science for beginning graduate students,
covering a number of topics in depth, to provide a springboard for
further study and research in the area.
PHIL 660 Metaphysics, Mind, and Language (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Graduate status in philosophy or permission of department.
A basic course on selected issues in metaphysics, philosophy of mind,
and philosophy of language for beginning graduate students, covering a
number of topics in depth, to provide a springboard for further study
and research in the area.
PHIL 670 Epistemology (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Graduate status in philosophy or permission of department.
A basic course in epistemology for beginning graduate students, covering
a number of topics in depth, to provide a springboard for further study
and research in the area.
PHIL 688 Selected Problems in Philosophy (1-3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 788 Research in Philosophy (1-6 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of advisor or chair of tutorial-advisory
committee. Repeatable to 6 credits.
PHIL 798 Master's Level Independent Study (1-3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Repeatable to 06 credits if
content differs.
Master's level independent study.
PHIL 799 Master's Thesis Research (1-6 credits)
PHIL 808 Seminar in the Problems of Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 828 Seminar in the History of Philosophy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 838 Seminar in Aesthetics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 848 Seminar in Ethics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 858 Seminar in Logic and Philosophy of Sciences (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 859 Proseminar in the Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Repeatable to 09 credits if
content differs.
Seminar on the core areas of research in philosophy of science, with the
focus on a theme currently generating attention in the field.
PHIL 868 Seminar in Metaphysics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 869 Seminar in the Theory of Knowledge (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
PHIL 878 Seminar in Cognitive Studies (3-9 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 9 credits if
content differs.
Methodology and research in various disciplines involved in cognitive
studies.
PHIL 879 Seminar in Philosophy and Cognitive Studies (3 credits)
Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
PHIL 888 Professional Mentoring for Doctoral Students (1-3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 03 credits if
content differs.
Work with a faculty advisor on various aspects of professional
development.
PHIL 889 Pedagogical Mentoring for Doctoral Students (1-3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 03 credits if
content differs.
Work with a faculty advisor to develop and improve pedagogical skills.
PHIL 898 Pre-Candidacy Research (1-8 credits)
PHIL 899 Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-8 credits)
