Spring 2025 Course Offerings

FYS 100 – Philosophical Approaches to Social and Political Issues – Adrian Bardon
TR – 12:30-1:45 – Tribble Hall A307

Covers a wide variety of social and political issues. We will use articles, editorials, and visual media to examine various subject areas on a week-to-week basis. Issues discussed may include immigration, genetic engineering, economic inequality, racism, public morality, and conspiracy theories. This seminar-style course emphasizes discussion and active engagement, along with peer review of written work.

PHI 111A – Problems of Philosophy – Amanda Corris
WF – 9:30-10:45 – Tribble Hall A306

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 111B – Problems of Philosophy – Francisco Gallegos
TR – 2:00-3:15 – Tribble Hall A306

PHI 111C – Problems of Philosophy – Win-chiat Lee
TR – 12:30-1:45 – Tribble Hall A304

The problems of philosophy covered by the course include: the foundation of knowledge, the existence of God, the existence of the external world, free will and determinism, the nature of causality, the mind-body problem, the self, the nature of value and moral judgments, right and wrong actions, the relation between the right and the good, the teaching of virtue, the duty to obey the law. The course is divided into three sections:

I. Ancient Greek Philosophy: Socrates and Plato

II. Modern Moral Philosophy: Kant and Mill

III. Early Modern Philosophy (Epistemology and Metaphysics): Descartes and Hume

PHI 111D – Problems of Philosophy – Matthew Shields
TR – 11:00-12:15 – Tribble Hall A304

Are there universal moral truths, or does morality vary from culture to culture? Is there a ‘self’ that persists through time? How do we know that we are free thinkers rather than victims of indoctrination? In this course, students will be introduced to the subject of philosophy through these and m any other questions. We will examine key themes from the history of philosophy and contemporary philosophy in the following areas: ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. Students will learn how to think more carefully and critically about questions of deep theoretical and moral importance. Students will also practice how to construct and analyze sophisticated arguments.

PHI 111 – Problems of Philosophy – Bradley Griggs
Section E – TR – 12:30-1:45 – Tribble Hall A301
Section F – TR – 3:30-4:45 – Tribble Hall A306

What can we know? How should we act? Does God exist? Philosophy considers the answers offered by science, common sense, and religion and tries to push further. If science discovers truths about cause and effect, philosophy asks: what distinguishes causation from mere correlation? If common sense tells us to be good, philosophy asks: which actions are good, and why are they good? If religion says that God exists, philosophy asks: can that be proven, or is it just a matter of faith? This course explores these questions and more by focusing on some of the most powerful, influential, and surprising arguments philosophers have put forward over the centuries.

PHI 113 – Knowledge and Reality – Jonathan Dixon
Section A – MW – 12:30-1:45 – Tribble Hall A306
Section B – MW – 2:00-3:15 – Tribble Hall A306

This course concerns various unresolved mysteries regarding some of the deepest and most difficult questions humanity has ever posed about the nature of reality and knowledge. Regarding the nature of reality, we will consider such questions as: Are there non-physical objects? What are physical objects, really? What makes them what they are? Do they retain their existence through change(s)? What about my existence? What is it, if anything, that makes me the same person through experiencing change(s)? What is consciousness? And do we have free will? Regarding the nature of knowledge, we will consider such questions as: What is knowledge, and can we acquire it? Does science give us knowledge of the world? Do we have (any) knowledge of the external world? Is rational disagreement possible? Are you in, and how bad is it to be in, an epistemic echo chamber or to be indoctrinated? What is, and are you in the grips of, a conspiracy theory? And, what threat to deepfakes pose to your knowledge of the world? The aim of this class is to promote student’s overall critical thinking skills by having them grapple with some of the deepest philosophical questions/issues regarding our (supposed) knowledge of reality.

PHI 114 – Philosophy of Human Nature – Patrick Toner
Section A – TR – 9:30-10:45 – Tribble Hall A306
Section B – TR – 11:00-12:15 – Tribble Hall A306

PHI 115A – Introduction to Philosophy of Religion (FYO) – Christian Miller
MW – 12:30-1:45 – Tribble Hall A304

A study of some central issues in the philosophy of religion, such as arguments for and against the existence of God; faith and reason; the divine attributes; the nature and existence of the soul; the possibility of immortality; and religious diversity.

PHI 161 – Introduction to Bioethics – Ana Iltis
Section A – T – 3:30-6:00 – Tribble Hall A301
Section B – W – 3:00-5:30 – Tribble Hall A304

A study of ethical issues that arise in health care and the life sciences. Topics to be explored include questions about death and organ donation, regenerative medicine, genetic testing and research, and the allocation of healthcare resources, among others.

PHI 163A/PHI 163-A – Environmental Ethics – Alex Hortal
TR – 9:30-10:45 – Tribble Hall A304

PHI 164A – Contemporary Moral Problems – Tobias Flattery
Section A – TR – 2:00-3:15 – Tribble Hall A304
Section B – TR – 3:00-4:45 – Tribble Hall A304
Section C – MW – 2:00-3:15 – Tribble Hall A301

In this course we’ll equip ourselves with some of the tools of moral philosophy, and we’ll investigate several interesting and important moral questions in contemporary life, examples of which might include the following (or other) questions: is it morally ok to kill and eat animals? Is torture ever morally justified? Should we as a society encourage or allow genetic enhancements? Is it wrong for the state to administer the death penalty? How can we communicate via social media in ways that improve rather than erode human flourishing? And so on. We’ll have two main goals in this class: first, of course, we’ll aim to improve our understanding of the central philosophical questions essential for thinking coherently about the particular moral issues we’ll investigate. But second, and ultimately more importantly, we’ll aim to become clearer, more coherent, and more effective moral thinkers and communicators.

PHI 164D – Contemporary Moral Problems (FYO) – Emily Austin
TR – 2:00-3:15 – Tribble Hall A301

PHI 342-A – Topics in Modern Philosophy: Thomas Aquinas & the Moderns – Patrick Toner
TR – 12:30-1:45 – Tribble Hall A306

This class is a study of selected modern philosophers in terms of their connection to the medieval thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.  It isn’t necessary for students to have taken Phi 241.  On the other hand, those who have taken that class will not find this one redundant.  We will begin with an investigation of certain key elements in the philosophy of St. Thomas, with particular emphasis on his quasi-Aristotelian epistemology and some of his metaphysical doctrines.  Then we will examine the corresponding approaches of selected moderns.  We will follow a line of thinking that originated in Descartes (in whom we will be particularly interested), and passed through Malebranche to Berkeley and Hume.  Themes will include God, human nature, and our knowledge of the material world–if, indeed, there is such a thing.  In short, this is a study of some of the most central and deep philosophical questions, which will illuminate some of the ways our thinking is dependent on what has come before us, whether we want it to be or not.

PHI 356A – 20th-Century European Philosophy – Francisco Gallegos
TR – 9:30-10:45 – Tribble Hall A307

Surveys the work of important figures in this period, such as Max Weber, Martin Heidegger, Herbert Marcuse, Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Jurgen Habermas, and Angela Davis, addressing issues such as the ‘disenchantment’ and technological ‘rationalization’ of modernity and the challenges of multiculturalism. P-One PHI course of POI.

PHI 366A – Global Justice – Win-chiat Lee
TR – 3:30-4:45 – Tribble Hall A307

In this course, we are interested in discerning the extent to which national boundaries matter morally. This question has implications for many practical issues that involve the proper scope of humanitarianism and our concern for justice. We will pay special attention to the debate between cosmopolitanism and nationalism regarding whether we owe special duties to our fellow citizens and whether they should take precedence over our general duties toward fellow human beings. The justification and application of universal human rights (in the face of a plurality of cultural norms) will also be discussed. Other topics include national sovereignty and self-determination, Just War Doctrine, humanitarian intervention, international criminal law, global distributive justice, global environmental ethics, immigration and refugees policy.

PHI 370A/670AG–Philosophy and Christianity – Christian Miller
MW – 2:00-3:15 – Tribble Hall A307

This course will examine central claims of the Christian creeds from a philosophical perspective. In particular, we will consider in detail all of the following topics: the trinity, original sin, incarnation, atonement, grace, resurrection and life everlasting, and heaven and hell. Our readings will draw from medieval as well as contemporary analytic authors, with a major focus on work by the latter. Examples of medieval authors include Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas. Examples of contemporary authors include Peter van Inwagen, Trenton Merricks, Philip Quinn, Richard Swinburne, Eleonore Stump, Robert Adams, and Lynne Rudder Baker. Right now I envision 3 papers and a final exam.

PHI 371A – Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art – Amanda Corris
WF – 11:00-12:15 – Tribble Hall A307

Creating representational artifacts—works of art—is an ancient, core human practice. From cave paintings to pop concerts, we as a species delight in expressing ourselves through creative means. But what makes something a work of art in the first place? Can anything be art? What’s the difference between good art and bad art? How do we decide what makes something aesthetically pleasing, or beautiful? What is beauty, anyway?

This course will address some fundamental questions regarding aesthetic appreciation and value regarding works of art. We will begin by discussing two classic works on aesthetic response: Hume’s “Of the Standard of Taste” and Kant’s “Analytic of the Beautiful”. We will then go over several key debates and discussions in aesthetics, such as how aesthetic judgements are formed. After that point we will shift our focus to discuss art as an experience and as a practice. We will talk about the experience of perceiving art and creating art, as well as the fundamental relationship between art and human nature. There will be field trips.

PHI 376A – Epistemology – Matthew Shields
TR – 2:00-3:15 – Tribble Hall A307

What does it mean to know something? And how can we be sure that what we take to be true lines up with how the world in fact is? In this course, we will examine these questions in detail by delving into the philosophical tradition known as epistemology. We begin by surveying some of the main positions in this literature. We consider skeptical and other challenges to the idea that we can have knowledge of the world at all. We look at different ways of responding to these challenges and different accounts of the nature of knowledge. We will look closely at the role that expertise and experts play in generating knowledge of the world. Throughout the course, we will also consider epistemological questions that appear to be especially urgent in our social and political lives. We will look at what epistemologists have said about whether identity shapes knowledge, the nature of fundamental or deep disagreements, and the phenomena of conspiracy theories and fake news.

PHI 378A – Philosophy of Space and Time – Adrian Bardon
MW – 12:30-1:45 – Tribble Hall A307

A broad survey of philosophical thought about space and time, covering the Presocratics to the present. Topics include the reality of the passage of time, paradoxes of change and motion, puzzles about our awareness of time, spacetime and relativity, free will, cosmological questions, and the possibility of time travel. P—One PHI course or POI.

PHI 385A – Seminar: Epicurus and His Critics – Emily Austin
TR – 11:00-12:15 – Tribble Hall A307

PHI 385B/685BG – Seminar: Experimental Philosophy – Jonathan Dixon
MW – 5:00-6:15 – Tribble Hall A307

Experimental philosophy (x-phi) is a relatively new discipline which brings the methods of empirical psychology to bear on philosophical questions, theories, methods, and inquiry. But to what extent can these empirical methods contribute to philosophy? Some experimental philosophers argue that traditional questions and methods of philosophy are fundamentally flawed and/or should be abandoned for more empirical methods. For example, it is widely thought that philosophical inquiry largely involves appealing to thought experiments to “test” certain philosophical theses and theories against our “intuitive” judgments of these cases, e.g. Gettier cases, Frankfurt cases, trolley cases, teletransportation cases, twin-earth cases, etc. This “method of cases” is intended to be roughly analogous to the way that science tests scientific theses and theories against observations of the world (often via laboratory experiments). But proponents of x-phi often argue that intuitive judgments, unlike observations in science, are unreliable because x-phi studies show that many of the most often-cited thought-experiments in philosophy do not illicit the same intuitive judgements from various demographic groups (or that such intuitions are easily manipulated by presentation factors). Opponents of x-phi often argue this pessimism (against the use of intuitions in philosophy) is unwarranted and/or that philosophy cannot be reoriented toward such empirical methods since such methods themselves are seriously flawed. Ultimately, this class will be concerned with how does, and should, philosophical inquiry proceed? Along the way, we will consider such questions as: what are intuitions? To what extent do philosophers rely on them in philosophical inquiry? Can they (like observations in science) really provide evidence for/against philosophical theses? If not, should philosophers abandon using intuitions and the method of cases? What other ways (if any) can distinctively philosophical inquiry legitimately proceed? Does, or can, philosophy make progress? What is “progress” in philosophy?