PHIL - Philosophy

PHIL408 Topics in Contemporary Philosophy (3 Credits)

An intensive examination of contemporary problems and issues. Source material will be selected from recent books and articles.

Repeatable to: 99 credits if content differs.

PHIL409 Advanced Studies in Contemporary Philosophy (3 Credits)

An in-depth study of a contemporary philosophical problem or issue. Topics will vary, but the course will encourage students to grapple with the primary literature in order to generate sustained critical analyses or proposed resolutions of issues under active consideration in contemporary philosophy.

Prerequisite: 6 credits in PHIL courses.

Repeatable to: 12 credits if content differs.

PHIL412 The Philosophy of Plato (3 Credits)

A critical study of selected dialogues.

Prerequisite: 6 credits in PHIL courses.

PHIL414 The Philosophy of Aristotle (3 Credits)

A critical study of selected portions of Aristotle's writings.

Prerequisite: 6 credits in PHIL courses.

PHIL417 The Golden Age of Jewish Philosophy (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: 3 credits in PHIL courses; or permission of ARHU-Meyerhoff Program & Center for Jewish Studies; or permission of ARHU-Philosophy department. Cross-listed with: JWST452.

Credit Only Granted for: JWST452 or PHIL417.

PHIL418 Topics in Epistemology/Metaphysics (3 Credits)

An intensive examination of contemporary problems and issues in epistemology or metaphysics. Source material will be selected from recent books and articles.

Prerequisite: 2 courses in PHIL.

Repeatable to: 12 credits if content differs.

PHIL428 Topics in the History of Philosophy (3 Credits)

Prerequisite: PHIL310 and PHIL320; or permission of ARHU-Philosophy department.

Repeatable to: 99 credits if content differs.

PHIL438 Topics in Value Theory (3 Credits)

An intensive examination of contemporary problems and issues in ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy and related areas. Source material will be selected from recent books and articles.

Prerequisite: 2 courses in PHIL.

Repeatable to: 12 credits if content differs.

PHIL440 Contemporary Ethical Theory (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: PHIL341; or permission of instructor.

PHIL443 Moral Psychology (3 Credits)

Philosophers often stress reasoning as the appropriate source for practical and moral action. Would a realistic view of human psychology undermine this assumption? This course will examine recent philosophical and empirical work on the relevance of emotion and/or intuition to rationality, moral worth, and moral judgment.

Prerequisite: 2 courses in PHIL.

Recommended: PHIL341 is strongly recommended for background on the historical authors that the readings make reference to.

Credit Only Granted for: PHIL408P or PHIL443.

Formerly: PHIL408P.

PHIL445 Contemporary Political Philosophy (3 Credits)

Major trends in contemporary political philosophy: liberal, libertarian, communitarian, socialist, feminist.

Restriction: Must have completed 3 credits in philosophy or political theory; or permission of ARHU-Philosophy department. And sophomore standing or higher.

PHIL446 Law, Morality, and War (3 Credits)

An exploration of fundamental moral and legal issues concerning war.

PHIL453 Philosophy of Science II (3 Credits)

A comprehensive survey of developments in the main problems of the philosophy of science from logical positivism to the present. The nature of theories, models, laws, and counterfactuals, testing, inductive logic, and confirmation theory, experimental methodology, measurement, explanation, concept formation, growth of scientific knowledge, and scientific realism.

Prerequisite: Students must have completed a minium of two philosophy courses.

PHIL454 Philosophy of Space and Time (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: 6 credits in PHIL courses.

PHIL458 Topics in the Philosophy of Science (3 Credits)

A detailed examination of a particular topic or problem in philosophy of science.

Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.

PHIL469 Study Abroad Special Topics IV (1-6 Credits)

Special topics course taken as part of an approved study abroad program.

Repeatable to: 15 credits if content differs.

PHIL470 Logical Theory II: Incompleteness and Undecidability (3 Credits)

Introduces the formal theory of computation, and then presents the the central limitative results of modern first-order logic: Church's undecidability theorem and Godel's first and second incompleteness theorems. The primary focus of the course is a thorough technical study of these fundamental results, but we will also discuss some of the philosophical issues they raise. Further topics may include second-order logic.

Prerequisite: PHIL370; or permission of instructor.

PHIL478 Topics in Philosophical Logic (3 Credits)

Philosophical logics result from the application of formal techniques to problems of philosophical interest; these logics often have applications in other areas as well, such as AI, linguistics, psychology, economics, and law. This course will either concentrate on a particular family of philosophical logics (such as modal or temporal or defeasible logics) or else survey a number different logical systems.

Prerequisite: PHIL271; or permission of instructor.

Recommended: PHIL470.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

PHIL488 Topics in Philosophy of Cognitive Studies (3 Credits)

Examination of a particular topic or problem in philosophy of cognitive studies.

Prerequisite: 3 credits in PHIL courses; or permission of ARHU-Philosophy department.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

PHIL489 Undergraduate Seminar in Philosophy (3-6 Credits)

An intensive examination of a philosophical topic or topics.

Restriction: Permission of ARHU-Philosophy department.

Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.

PHIL490 The Practice of Philosophy: How To Develop Your Own Work (3 Credits)

Writing philosophical papers, presenting them to an audience, and responding critically and constructively to the papers and talks of others are skills central to the practice of philosophy. This course will help students to enhance those skills in a seminar-style format. Students should come to the course with a paper of their own (likely from another course) that they would like to develop.

Prerequisite: Three upper-level (300- or 400-level) courses in philosophy or permission of the instructor.

Credit Only Granted for: PHIL408R or PHIL490.

Formerly: PHIL408R.

PHIL498 Topical Investigations (1-3 Credits)

PHIL640 Value Theory (3 Credits)

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.

PHIL660 Metaphysics, Mind, and Language (3 Credits)

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.

PHIL688 Selected Problems in Philosophy (1-3 Credits)