Fall 2024 Course Offerings

Course restrictions:

April 1 – 7: restricted to PHI majors only
April 8 -14: restricted to PHI majors and minors
April 15 – until: open to all students

Exception: PHI 367A will follow the above restrictions except on April 8-14 BHM students will be able to register along with PHI majors and PHI minors. 

Course descriptions:

FYS 100 – Sports and Society
MW – 2:00-3:15 – Adam Kadlac

In this course, we will examine a number of ethical questions that arise in the world of sports, ranging from the use of performance enhancing drugs to whether college athletes should be paid.  Along the way, we will think about the role that sports play in shaping our broader cultural norms as well as the ways that our broader cultural norms are reflected in the world of sports.  Assignments will include regular short essays and oral presentations.

FYS 100 – Freedom of Expression, Uncivil Discourse, and Censorship
MWF – 12:00-12:50 – Win-chiat Lee
MWF – 2:00-2:50 – Win-chiat Lee

PHI 111A – Problems of Philosophy
TR – 9:30-10:45 – Justin Jennings

PHI 111B – Problems of Philosophy (FYO)
MWF – 10-10:50 – Christian Miller

This course will be concerned with some of the most challenging and interesting questions in all of human experience. For example, we will consider some of the arguments for the existence of God, whether God would allow evil to exist, whether faith is compatible with reason, whether there is an objective morality, whether we should be moral at the expense of self-interest, whether the death penalty is morally permissible, and what we should do about famine. In each case, we will examine particular questions not only with an aim at arriving at the truth, but also with an aim at determining what relevance these questions have to our ordinary lives. The text will be Joel Feinberg and Russ Shafer-Landau, Reason and Responsibility (Wadsworth Press, most recent edition) and our readings will be drawn from both classic and contemporary sources.

PHI 111C – Problems of Philosophy (FYO)
MWF – 10:00-10:50 – Amanda Corris

This course will serve as an “intellectual workshop” of sorts: a place where we will learn how to use philosophical tools to explore ideas, questions, debates, worries, puzzles, and more. One of our main goals will be to craft our own sophisticated philosophical approaches to some of life’s most fundamental questions, as well as all of the little ones in between. Along the way, we will examine how to evaluate arguments from both classic and contemporary philosophers, how to determine what makes for a good argument in the first place, and how to apply philosophical thought to issues at the individual, community, and societal scale.

PHI 111D – Problems of Philosophy
TR – 11:00-12:15 – Justin Jennings

PHI 111E – Problems of Philosophy
MWF – 1:00-1:50 – Adrian Bardon

PHI 111F – Problems of Philosophy (FYO)
TR – 11:00-12:15 – Matthew Shields

PHI 111G – Problems of Philosophy
TR – 2:00-3:15 – Francisco Gallegos

PHI 111H – Problems of Philosophy
TR – 12:30-1:45 – Bradley Griggs

PHI 111I – Problems of Philosophy
TR – 3:30-4:45 – Bradley Griggs

PHI 113A – Knowledge and Reality
MW – 12:30-1:45 – Jonathan Dixon

PHI 113B – Knowledge and Reality
MW – 2:00-3:15 – Jonathan Dixon

PHI 114A – Philosophy of Human Nature
WF – 9:30-10:45 – Patrick Toner

PHI 161A – Intro to Bioethics
TR – 9:30-10:45 – Adam Kadlac

In this class, we will examine a number of ethical issues that arise in the context of medicine. The questions we will consider include: How do we go about deciding who is a reliable source of medical information? Is vaccine skepticism irrational, and should vaccines be mandated? Is unhappiness a medical problem? What is disability, and does having a disability necessarily make one’s life worse? What obligation do doctors have to simply carry out the wishes of their patients? Assignments will be an assortment of short written reflections, papers, and quizzes.

PHI 161B – Intro to Bioethics
TR – 11:00-12:15 – Adam Kadlac

In this class, we will examine a number of ethical issues that arise in the context of medicine. The questions we will consider include: How do we go about deciding who is a reliable source of medical information? Is vaccine skepticism irrational, and should vaccines be mandated? Is unhappiness a medical problem? What is disability, and does having a disability necessarily make one’s life worse? What obligation do doctors have to simply carry out the wishes of their patients? Assignments will be an assortment of short written reflections, papers, and quizzes.

PHI 161C – Intro to Bioethics
T – 3:30-6:00 – Ana Iltis

PHI 163A – Environmental Ethics
TR – 9:30-10:45 – Alex Hortal

PHI 164A – Contemporary Moral Problems
MW – 12:30-1:45 – Tobias Flattery

PHI 164B – Contemporary Moral Problems
MW – 2:00-3:15 – Tobias Flattery

PHI 164C – Contemporary Moral Problems
TR – 12:30-1:45 – Emily Austin

PHI 220A – Logic
MW – 5:00-6:15 – Jonathan Dixon

PHI 232A – Ancient Greek Philosophy
TR – 9:30-10:45 – Emily Austin

PHI 241A – Modern Philosophy
TR – 3:30-4:45 – Justin Jennings

PHI 360A/660AG– Ethics
MW – 12:30-1:45 – Christian Miller

Ethics is concerned with the way we should live our lives and the type of person we should become.  This course will focus, not on applied topics in ethics like famine relief, abortion, or the death penalty, but rather on ethical theory itself.  We will look at such questions as: Which actions are right and which are wrong?  Which outcomes should we promote?  What kind of character should we attempt to cultivate? Our approach will be both historical and contemporary, and will focus on the four major ethical traditions:

Divine Command Theory, where the commands of a loving and just God are central to ethical theorizing.  Authors will include Robert Adams and Philip Quinn.

Kantian Deontology, where categorical imperatives and respect for others are central to ethical theorizing.  Authors will include Kant, Christine Korsgaard, and Fred Feldman.

Utilitarianism, where maximizing good outcomes is central to ethical theorizing.  Authors will include Mill, Michael Stocker, and Robert Nozick.

Virtue Ethics, where virtuous character traits are central to ethical theorizing.  Authors will include Aristotle, Rosalind Hursthouse, and Robert Louden.

I envision requiring 4 moderately sized papers and no exams.

PHI 361A – Topics in Ethics: Philosophy of Food
WF – 11:00-12:15 – Patrick Toner

PHI 361B – Topics in Ethics: Technology Ethics
TR – 12:30-1:45 – Tobias Flattery

PHI 363A – Philosophy of Law
TR – 12:30-1:45 – Win-chiat Lee

PHI 367A – Philosophical Theories in Bioethics
M – 5:00-7:50 – Ana Iltis

PHI 369A – Philosophy and Psychology
MWF – 2:00-2:50 – Adrian Bardon

PHI 373A/673AG – Philosophy of Science
WF – 2:00-3:15 – Amanda Corris

What does science tell us about the world? What does it aim to tell us about the world? How can we judge whether or not it is successful in its aims? Can science be done in a purely value-neutral manner, or is science “value-laden” by nature? This course will investigate these questions by exploring how the enterprise of science has developed, how philosophical inquiry has shaped scientific inquiry, and how science both influences and is influenced by issues in contemporary society.

We will begin by surveying some of the main themes in the philosophy of science, situated within a historical context. In the second half of the course, we will shift gears to read Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal by philosopher Heather Douglas. We will examine the role of science in policymaking today, and will evaluate arguments for and against the “value-free ideal” in science. Examples will be drawn from the environmental and biomedical sciences. We will conclude by discussing the role of public participants in scientific research.

PHI 380A – Philosophy of Emotion
TR – 11:00-12:15 – Francisco Gallegos

This course examines the nature of emotions and their relationship to meaning, knowledge, morality, and justice. Special focus will be given to the politics of emotions: How do social and political forces shape our emotional lives—for better and for worse? And how, in turn, do emotions sustain or change what is possible from a social and political perspective? Diverse philosophical perspectives on these topics will be considered. Assignments include writing regular reading reflections, participating weekly small group discussions outside of class, a midterm, and a final project in which you craft a piece of public philosophy that applies the course material to real-world issues of your choice.

PHI 385A – Knowledge, Power, and Politics
TR – 2:00-3:15 – Matthew Shields

In recent years, questions about knowledge and truth have moved to the center of our political lives, with many worrying that these crucial concepts no longer play any substantive role in our politics. But are false beliefs, misinformation, and propaganda in fact more widespread than ever? And what is the relationship between power and knowledge exactly? Should we, for example, rely mainly on our own judgment to navigate politics or defer to experts? But what about when experts are compromised? In this course, we will examine these and related questions in-depth. We start by considering philosophers’ contrasting views on how beliefs that are radically at odds with the evidence gain traction and whether this phenomenon is primarily a product of failures of rationality or failures of our political systems. We will consider the crucial role that trust plays in our political lives and how it can be compromised, and we will also consider whether democracy has a unique relationship to truth or whether we should pursue alternative political arrangements. The course’s largest unit will apply these ideas and turn to recent discussions from various researchers on the nature of propaganda, examining this concept in-depth and the unique challenges propaganda poses in a formally open society.