Spring 2027
PHIL 1101 - Introduction to Philosophy (multiple sections; online sections available)
Course Description
Introduction to critical exploration of such issues as knowledge, reality, consciousness
and the good life; readings from Plato, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, or more recent
sources.
PHIL 1102 - Introduction to Ethics (multiple sections; online courses available)
Course Description
Introduction to such social and ethical questions as, 鈥淲hat makes a happy life? What
justifies ideas of good and evil? How should we live with others? What is the role
of gender and race in society?鈥� The subjects of justice, racism, and oppression, especially
as they figure into the American context, are highlighted.
PHIL 1311 - Critical Thinking
CRN 31517
MWF
11:30 AM - 12:25 PM
David Gray
Course Description
PHIL 1611-M50 - Elementary Logic
Course Description
Argumentation and debate is an important part of our lives. We might present an argument
for a raise to a boss or argue in the papers we write. We debate in the classroom,
the courthouse, or the halls of congress. While sometimes the goal of arguing is winning,
arguing is best when it helps us get closer to the truth. But arguing well is not easy and many people do not realize that there is a logic to it. This course
is a study of elementary methods of that logic. Through the examination of logical
concepts and the structure of sentences, this course will teach us how to make inferences
and reach conclusions in a way that avoids mistakes. This course will also investigate
common logical fallacies, so we can avoid making them and defend ourselves against
such fallacies. This course will focus on both formal and informal methods of logic.
Required Textbook (M50 online versions; always consult your syllabus or instructor
before purchasing textbooks)
, 1 term Printed Access Card. 2019. ISBN: 9780357419410
PHIL 2000 - AI and its Ethics
CRN 30896
TR
9:40 AM - 11:05 AM
Course Description
PHIL 3002 - History of Modern Philosophy
CRN 12088
TR
09:40 AM - 11:05 AM
Daniel Smith
Course Description
This course will provide students with an overview of the major figures and topics of early modern philosophy. Philosophers in this period were responding to dramatic changes that were taking place in European society and culture stemming from the 鈥渟cientific revolution鈥�, and the main themes and concerns of their work emerge from this context. In the first half of the class, we will discuss topics in metaphysics and epistemology such as the nature of causality, the existence of God, the relation between mind and body, and the problem of evil. Many of the philosophers we will have read in the first half were also influential political theorists. Modern philosophy coincides with the 鈥渁ge of revolutions鈥� in which the world as we know it was formed. The ideas we will study in the second half of the class had a profound impact on social upheavals taking place in England, the United States, France, and Haiti. Alongside canonical writings in political philosophy, we will read key texts from these four revolutions that were directly inspired by them, including manifestoes, constitutions, the declaration of independence, and some famous political speeches.
PHIL 3411-M50 - Contemporary Moral Problems
CRN 21390
Online/Asynchronous
Course Description
This course serves as an introduction to contemporary moral problems. We will begin with a survey of logical arguments and moral theories. Philosophical readings and case studies will prepare students to engage with challenging and controversial topics that are central to today's most pressing ethical problems, such as the existential threats and utopian promises of AI, hate speech regulation, misinformation challenges, climate change, and pandemics.
PHIL 3452 - Feminism(s)
CRN 12091
MW
02:20 PM - 03:45 PM
Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou
Course Description
In this class, we will focus on the intellectual history of black feminists. We will start with nineteenth-century black feminists such as Maria W. Stewart, Sojourner Truth, and Anna Julia Cooper. We will also explore several ideas which characterize black feminism such as Womanism, Womanist Theology, the philosophies of rest and dreaming, misogynoir, Hip Hop feminism, and intersectionality. We will read works by Barbara Smith, Patricia Hill Collins, bell hooks, Tricia Hersey, Gwendolyn Pough, Joan Morgan, and Audre Lorde.
PHIL 3511 - Ethical Theory
CRN 12094
MW
12:40 PM - 02:05 PM
Sean Driscoll
Course Description
What makes an action right or wrong? What does it mean to be a good person? Are moral judgments objectively true, or do they depend on our attitudes, practices, or conventions? This course will examine these and related questions through the study of two major branches of moral philosophy: normative ethics and metaethics. We will learn about the prominent normative theories (consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics) and main metaethical questions (whether moral facts exist, whether moral claims can be objectively justified, what motivates us to act morally, etc.). We will also discuss a wide range of interesting ethical-theoretical problems, such as whether we are truly responsible for our actions, whether a theory of evolution debunks morality, whether all moral claims are systematically false, and whether morality was constructed to dupe us.
PHIL 3514 - Biomedical Ethics (multiple sections; online courses available)
Course Description
Discussion of ethical problems raised by contemporary medical practices and biological
innovations from standpoint of contemporary ethical theories including abortion, euthanasia,
human experimentation and genetic engineering.
Course Description (M50 online versions)
In this course we will begin by learning about moral theory, logic/argumentation,
and concepts related to biomedical ethics such as autonomy, paternalism, informed
consent, and more. We will then explore case studies in the modules that follow. Such
topics include human research, pandemic ethics, abortion, euthanasia, and health care.
You will be expected to apply moral theory to cases studies as well as identify relevant
concepts.
Required Textbooks (M50 online versions; always consult your syllabus or instructor
before purchasing textbooks)
by Lewis Vaughn (multiple editions available)
PHIL 3621 - Formal Logic
CRN 24353
MW
02:20 PM - 03:45 PM
Course Description
This course develops an understanding of formal logical systems, starting with an introduction of sentential (a.k.a. propositional) logic, and then turning to first-order predicate logic. One focus is on how to translate sentences of English into predicate logic and vice-versa. Additionally, this course investigates how to reason by using formal rules and a derivation system. Other possible topics include logical reasoning in LSAT and GRE tests, the psychology of deductive inference, and the completeness and soundness of the formal systems we use.
PHIL 3704 - Philosophy of Nature
CRN 31520
MWF
09:10 AM - 10:05 AM
Course Description
The concept of nature has been perennial in philosophical reflection, but it has played radically different roles in making sense of human鈥檚 place in and knowledge of the universe. Is nature an uncontrollable and irrational force to be in awe of, a mystical higher order to worship, or a stable object of investigation? To what extent are humans part of nature, and to what extent are they beyond nature? Is the human relationship with nature objective, normative, aesthetic, religious, or other? Our emerging understanding of how humans impact our planet through ocean health, climate change, and extinction (to name a few) have prompted a reexamination of our understanding of this central concept. And developments in ethics and social-political philosophy such as ecofeminism and postcolonialism have challenged it to its core. In this course, we will investigate these sorts of questions and critiques.
PHIL 3705 - Evil
CRN 31521
TR
11:20 AM - 12:45 PM
Daniel Smith
Course Description
What is evil? Does it exist, and if so, how should we understand it? Can it refer to natural phenomena like earthquakes or floods, or does it only apply to acts carried out by human beings? When analysing human actions, must we draw a distinction between the merely bad and the properly evil? Can evil be understood at all, and is there a risk that in seeking to make sense of it, we might also justify it? Why do bad things happen to good people? Is it only rare moral monsters who do evil things, or are we all capable of evil? This course will explore these and other philosophical questions raised by this challenging idea. Throughout the class, our discussion will be closely tied to many concrete examples around the world, from the Lisbon earthquake to mass killings in Indonesia, from the Nuremberg trials to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-apartheid South Africa.
PHIL 3723-M50 - Confucianism
CRN 31522
Online-Asynchronous
Kevin Taylor
Course Description
This course will provide an overview of the history of Chinese philosophy with an emphasis on Confucianism. We will focus primarily on the 鈥渃lassical period鈥� of Chinese philosophy which developed during the seminal Warring States Period in Chinese history. This period begins with Confucius and culminates with Han Feizi at the end of the Warring States Period and the beginning of the Qin Dynasty.
Every week we will explore a specific topic related to Confucianism whether that be methodology and historical context or individual figures such as Kongzi (Confucius), Mengzi (Mencius), or Xunzi (Hsun Tzu), or even figures opposed to Confucian thought such as Laozi (Lao Tzu), Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), or Han Feizi (Han Fei Tzu). By the end of the semester, you will be expected to identify the basic traits of Confucian thought, recognize the distinctive traits of competing schools of thought from within the Warring States Period, and understand the relevance of Chinese thought today.
PHIL 4421/6421 - Philosophy of Mind
CRN 21386/21387
TR
02:40 PM - 04:05 PM
Shaun Gallagher
Course Description
The course will cover some of the major issues and debates in recent philosophy of mind and embodied cognition. We鈥檒l begin with some historical background and examine basic concepts and standard cognitivist views including concepts of functionalism, representation, bounded rationality and early views concerning AI. We鈥檒l then introduce more recent 4E (embodied, ecological, enactive and extended) models of the mind and explore implications for a variety of philosophical topics include mental causation, action, habit, free will, notions of self, and the latest AI models.
PHIL 4XXX/6XXX (TBD) - Hegel on Cognition and Knowledge
CRN TBD/TBD
Meeting Times: TBD
S谋la 脰zkara
Course Description
The nature of our minds, our thought processes, and our experiences are often described in terms of cognition. Is the basic structure of cognition always the same, or does it transform as new levels of knowledge are unlocked? If our cognition and knowledge are fundamentally codetermined by what is Other to them, how does building philosophical and scientific systems work? Can we ever really think purely without biases and presuppositions? What would it even mean to think purely? What does it mean to cognize or to truly know something? Can knowledge be absolute? Are ideas real or ideal? What is the best beginning point for philosophy? This course will explore the theory of cognition and knowledge developed by G.W.F. Hegel, one of the most influential philosophers of the past 250 years. Hegel is notably the culminating figure of the German Idealism movement, and in the past decade or so there has been a fresh explosion of interest his work. Building on Kant鈥檚 Copernican revolution (which argued we cannot know things as they are in themselves but only how they appear to us), Hegel challenges traditional ways of distinguishing subject and object, real and ideal, thing and concept. He argues there is a unique dynamism to the structure of cognition and knowledge, which develops through a 鈥渄ialectical鈥� unfolding of ideas. These insights have helped open new avenues of thought in metaphysics, epistemology, and social and political philosophy.
Hegel has had a profound impact on a wide range of philosophers and debates throughout the 19th- and 20th-centuries, as well as in the first decades of our 21st-century. A few such notable figures include Marx, Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Fanon, Merleau-Ponty, Lacan, Derrida, Deleuze, Du Bois, Dewey, Adorno, Butler, Sellars, Brandom, and McDowell. To explore Hegel鈥檚 theory of cognition and knowledge, we will study sections from some of his most famous works, including the Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), the Science of Logic (1831), and the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1817).
PHIL 7030 - Seminar in Continental Philosophy
CRN 12125
Thursday
05:30 PM - 08:30 PM
James Bahoh
PHIL 7301 - Seminar in Modern Philosophy
CRN 18995
Monday
05:30 PM - 08:30 PM
Remy Debes
PHIL 7514 - Cognitive Science Seminar
CRN 30790
PHIL 7541 - Seminar in Social/Political Philosophy
CRN 18167
Wednesday
05:30 PM - 08:30 PM
Jamelia Shorter-Bourhanou & Michael Monahan