Professors: Jennifer Churchb, Jesse
Kalin, Michael H. McCarthy, Mitchell Millera,
Michael E. Murray; Associate Professors: Uma Narayan,
Douglas Winblad (Chair); Assistant Professors:
Giovanna Borradori, Herman Cappelena, Bryan
Van Nordenab.
Requirements for Concentration: 12 units including
Philosophy 101, 102, 125, two of the following four: 220,
222, 224, 226, either 234 or 238, 300-301, and three
differently numbered 300-level seminars.
Senior-Year Requirement: Philosophy 300-301
Recommendations: Individual programs should be
designed, in consultation with a faculty adviser, to give
the student a representative acquaintance with major
traditions in philosophy, competence in the skills of
philosophic investigation and argument, and opportunities
for exploration in areas of special interest. Students
considering a concentration in philosophy are advised to
take Philosophy 101 and 102 early in their careers. German,
French, and Greek are languages of particular importance in
Western philosophy; Chinese will be of special interest to
those taking Philosophy 110, 210, or 350.
Advisers: The department.
Correlate Sequences in Philosophy: The philosophy
department offers five different correlate sequences. In
each sequence a total of 6 units is required. The required
300-level seminar may be taken twice if the topics differ;
students may also petition to count an appropriate
Philosophy 280 as equivalent to a 300-level seminar.
1) Correlate Sequence in Analytic Philosophy:
Philosophy 125 and either 105 or 102; 2 units of Philosophy
220, 222, 224, or 226; two appropriate 300-level seminars,
including Philosophy 310. Advisers: Ms. Church, Mr.
Cappelen, Mr. Winblad.
2) Correlate Sequence in Comparative Philosophy:
Philosophy 110 and one of 101 or 102; Philosophy 210 and
234; two appropriate 300-level seminars, including
Philosophy 350. Adviser: Mr. Van Norden.
3) Correlate Sequence in Continental Philosophy:
Philosophy 101 or 102; 205, 215, and one of Philosophy 240
or 260; two appropriate 300-level seminars, including
Philosophy 340. Advisers: Ms. Borradori, Mr. Murray.
4) Correlate Sequence in Ethics and Social and
Political Philosophy: 1 unit at the introductory level,
either Philosophy 106 or 101 or 110; 3 units at the
intermediate level, including Philosophy 234 and one of 238
or 250; two appropriate 300-level seminars, including
Philosophy 330. Advisers: Mr. Kalin, Mr. McCarthy, Ms.
Narayan.
5) Correlate Sequence in the History of Western
Philosophy: Philosophy 101 and 102; Philosophy 205 and
215; two appropriate 300-level seminars, including
Philosophy 320. Advisers: Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Miller.
Correlate sequences may also be designed for certain
other subfields in philosophyfor instance: aesthetics,
philosophy and gender, philosophy of science, classical
philosophy.
No prerequisites; open to all classes. Any of these
courses is suitable as a first course in philosophy.
101a,b. History of Western Philosophy I (1)
Philosophy from its origins in Greece to the Middle Ages.
Ms. Borradori, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Miller, Mr. Murray.
102b. History of Western Philosophy II (1)
Modern philosophy from the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance through Kant. Ms. Borradori, Mr. McCarthy, Mr.
Murray.
105a, b. Problems of Philosophy (1)
An examination of various philosophical problems, such as
the nature of reality, the limits of human knowledge, the
relation between mind and body, and the basis of moral
values. Mr. Church, Mr. Kalin, Mr. Winblad.
106a, b. Philosophy and Contemporary Issues
(1)
Philosophic investigation of a range of positions on
current issues such as abortion, pornography, affirmative
action, gay rights, the moral use of force, animal rights,
technology, civil disobedience, and freedom of speech. Ms.
Narayan.
110a. Early Chinese Philosophy (1)
An introduction to Chinese philosophy in the period
between (roughly) 500 and 221 b.c., covering Confucians,
Taoists and others. Among the topics discussed by these
philosophers are human nature, methods of ethical education
and self-cultivation, virtues and vices, and the role of
human conventions and institutions in human life. Instructor
to be announced.
Logic is the study of valid inferences, i.e., inferences
where the conclusion follows from the premises. The class
provides an introduction to the two most important systems
of logic. We also examine the foundations of logic and some
of the philosophical applications of logic. Mr.
Cappelen.
Prerequisite for all 200-level courses unless otherwise
specified: 1 unit of philosophy or permission of
instructor.
205b. Nineteenth Century Philosophy (1)
Philosophic movements, such as post-Kantian idealism,
utilitarianism, and positivism; the philosophy of such
figures as Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, and Nietzsche. Mr.
Miller.
210a. Neo-Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism
(1)
Introduction to Neo-Confucianism, one of the most
influential intellectual movements in China and all of East
Asia. Also, some discussion of Theravada and Mahayana
Buddhism. No familiarity with Chinese history, Chinese
philosophy, or Chinese language is assumed. Instructor to be
announced.
215a. Phenomenology and Existential Thought
(1)
The major themes in existential and phenomenological
thought as developed by such figures as Kierkegaard,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, and Levinas.
Ms. Borradori.
220a. Metaphysics and Epistemology (1)
A study of fundamental questions pertaining to the nature
of reality and our knowledge of it, with special attention
to realism, relativism, and skepticism. Mr. Winblad.
222b. Philosophy of Language (1)
An examination of truth, meaning, reference, intentions,
conventions, speech acts, metaphors, and the relation
between language and thought. Mr. Cappelen.
224a. Philosophy of Mind (1)
A study of such topics as the relation of mind to body,
the nature of self-knowledge, the analysis of consciousness,
and the social constitution of the mental. Ms. Church.
226b. Philosophy of Science (1)
A study of the principles of scientific reasoning. Topics
include explanation, justification, scientific rationality,
realism versus instrumentalism, and laws. Mr. Winblad.
Philosophical accounts of the meaning and purpose of
human life, covering thinkers from Plato to MacIntyre;
readings include works of literature as well as philosophy;
topics include the objectivity of moral judgments, our
obligations to other persons, the complementarity of the
right and the good. Mr. McCarthy.
238b. Social and Political Philosophy (1)
An examination of fundamental concepts and issues in
social, political, and legal philosophy. Special emphasis on
rights: various philosophical justifications of natural
rights, or human rights, and different theories about the
social and political usefulness and limitations of rights
discourse. Mr. McCarthy.
240a. Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics (1)
Classical and modern theories of the nature of art, the
experience of art, the creative process, and critical
argument. Mr. Murray.
250b. Feminist Theory (1)
Examination of the theoretical sources and commitments of
different feminist perspectives (including liberal,
socialist, radical, psychoanalytic, and postmodern) and
their bearing on such topics as the body, mothering,
sexuality, racism, relations among First- and Third-World
women. Ms. Narayan.
Prerequisite: 1 unit of philosophy or Women's Studies
130.
260b. Philosophy and the Arts: Architecture
(1)
An examination of twentieth century architecture in light
of contemporary philosophy and current debates in
architectural theory. Readings from Hegel, Nietzsche,
Bergson, Heidegger, Derrida and works by Tschumi, Eisenman,
Koolhaas, and Gehry. Ms. Borradori.
290a or b. Field Work (1/2 or
1)
296a or b. Translation of Philosophical Texts
(1/2 or 1)
Translation of a chosen philosophical text under the
supervision of a member of the department. The
department.
Prerequisite: two years or equivalent in the
language.
298a or b. Independent Work (1/2
or 1)
Prerequisite for all 300-level courses unless otherwise
specified: 1 unit of philosophy at the 200-level or
permission of the instructor.
300a-301b. Senior Thesis
(1/2)
The development of an extended philosophical essay in
consultation with a faculty adviser.
By special permission only.
310a. Seminar in Analytic Philosophy: Thinking and
Feeling (1)
An investigation of the differences, but also the close
connections, between thinking and feeling. Ms. Church.
310b. Seminar in Analytic Philosophy (1)
(Same as Philosophy 340b)
320b. Seminar in the History of Philosophy: Hegel's
Phenomenology of Spirit (1)
330a. Seminar in Ethics and Theory of Value: (1)
Theories of Human Nature
An exploration of philosophical anthropology from the
ancient Greeks to postmodern theorists of authenticity. The
close connection between human nature and the human good
will be emphasized. Readings include literary, scientific,
philosophical and biblical texts. Mr. McCarthy.
330b. Seminar in Ethics and Theory of Value: History,
Historicism
and the Philosophy of History (1)
Is there progress, purposiveness or pattern in history?
We will critically examine philosophical theories of history
and challenges to historicism. Texts by Hegel, Marx,
Spencer, Collingwood, Popper and others. Ms. Narayan.
340a. Seminar in Continental Philosophy: Virtual
Constructions (1)
The seminar explores the philosophical and architectural
meaning of the notion of virtuality. We shall challenge the
current definition of virtuality as a set of technologically
generated events and look at it as an intrinsic component of
perception, which digital technology renders more easily
reproducible. We examine texts from Nietzsche, Bergson,
Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida and Deleuze and discuss
architectural works by Piranesi, Guarini and Boullee. Ms.
Borradori.
340b. Seminar in Analytic and Continental Philosophy
(1)
Seminar on issues that divide and unite analytic and
continental philosophers. We focus on Frege and
Wittgenstein, Husserl, and Heidegger. Mr. Cappelen, Mr.
Murray.
350b. Seminar in Chinese Philosophy: Virtue Ethics and
Confucianism (1)
Confucianism has attracted attention recently as a form
of virtue ethics similar to that of Aristotle. We examine
virtue in Confucianism, focusing on Mencius, and reading
Aristotle by way of comparison. Contemporary approaches to
virtue ethics are also examined. Mr. Perkins.
380a. Nietzsche and His Umbrella: (1)
(Same as College Course 380) This seminar examines the
impact of Nietzsche's work on contemporary thought. Debates
over postmodernism often pivot around the place of Nietzsche
(this is especially true of philosophy, literary theory, and
cultural studies). This course examines the most important
interpretations and appropriations of Nietzsche's work by
thinkers such as Heidegger, Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze, de
Man, and Kofman. Among these key texts are The Birth of
Tragedy, "Truth and Lie in the Extra Moral Sense," "The
Use and Disadvantages of History," the early essays on
rhetoric, The Genealogy of Morals, selections from
The Will Power, and Ecce Homo. We will explore
the conflicts and complementaries among these different
interpretations and assess their importance. Mr.Chang, Mr.
Murray.
399a or b. Senior Independent Work.
(1/2 or 1)
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