Courses - Fall 2023
PHIL100
Introduction to Philosophy
An introduction to the literature, problems, and methods of philosophy either through a study of some of the main figures in philosophic thought or through an examination of some of the central and recurring problems of philosophy.
PHIL140
Contemporary Moral Issues
The uses of philosophical analysis in thinking clearly about such widely debated moral issues as abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, pornography, reverse discrimination, the death penalty, business ethics, sexual equality, and economic justice.
PHIL170
Introduction to Symbolic Logic
This course will introduce the basic concepts and techniques of modern symbolic logic, with an emphasis on developing skills in two areas: first, translating between ordinary language and logical notation; second, establishing the validity or invalidity of arguments using the methods of truth tables, deductions, and countermodels. Although the subject of symbolic logic was developed by mathematicians and philosophers for their own special purposes (which we will discuss), logical concepts and techniques have found applications in a variety of disciplines, including computer science, economics, law, linguistics, and psychology. We may also consider some of these applications.
PHIL203
Credit only granted for: PHIL209J or PHIL203.
Formerly: PHIL209J.
Virtually everyone thinks it's permissible to kill people only in special circumstances. But why is killing usually wrong? Is it ever acceptable to kill an innocent human being intentionally? This course raises these and related questions and examines cases such as terrorism, suicide, abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war. Except for a brief discussion of animals, all the controversies considered deal with killing and causing death to human beings.
PHIL220
Credit only granted for: PHIL209A or PHIL220.
Formerly: PHIL209A.
Bioethicists formulate ethical guidelines. They answer questions such as: When life-saving health resources are scarce, who should get them? Should we increase supply of one such resource, kidneys, by buying them from living "donors"? If drug trials in developing countries benefit patients who consent to participate, are the trials ethical, even if the same research would be forbidden in the US? If a sick person aims to hasten her death, how, if at all, might her doctor permissibly help her? In this course, students construct and defend ethical rules in four domains: research ethics, allocation of scarce resources, markets in organs, and physician-assisted dying.
PHIL245
Political and Social Philosophy I
A critical examination of such classical political theories as those of Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and such contemporary theories as those of Hayek, Rawls, and recent Marxist thinkers.
PHIL282
Free Will & Determinism
A study of the main positions and arguments in the free will debate in contemporary analytic philosophy.
PHIL309B
Philosophical Problems; (Anti-) Realism
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
PHIL309K
Philosophical Problems; Political Epistemology
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with PHPE308B. Credit only granted for PHIL309K or PHPE308B.
PHIL310
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy
Prerequisite: Must have completed 6 credits in philosophy or classics.
A study of the origins and development of philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome, focusing on Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, and Stoics.
Cross-listed with PHPE308Y. Credit only granted for PHIL310 or PHPE308Y.
PHIL318G
Studies in Epistemology/Metaphysics; The Philosophy in AI
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
PHIL341
Ethical Theory
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg
Prerequisite: 6 credits in PHIL courses.
A critical examination of classical and contemporary systems of ethics, such as those of Aristotle, Kant, Mill, and Rawls.
Prerequisite: 6 credit hours in philosophy.
PHIL344
Philosophy of Race
Credit only granted for: PHIL344 or PHIL308Y.
Formerly: PHIL308Y.
A survey of philosophical arguments involving race and racism. Guiding questions will include: How have philosophers and scientists conceived of the concept of race? Is race a coherent concept? Does it help us explain differences in performance and behavior? What makes racism, racial prejudice, and discrimination wrong? What is the point of equality? Do we owe reparations to victims of racism?
PHIL364
Metaphysics
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: 6 credits in PHIL courses.
Formerly: PHIL464.
The study of some central metaphysical concepts and issues including the nature and validity of metaphysical thinking, universals, identity, substance, time, God, and reality.
PHIL370
Logical Theory I: Metatheory
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: PHIL271 or CMSC250; or permission of the instructor.
This course is an introduction to logical "metatheory", that is, to logical reasoning about logic systems themselves. Topics include alternative alternative proof-theoretic presentations of logical systems as well as soundness and completeness theorems for propositional and first-order logic. Along the way, we will deepen our understanding of the elementary set-theoretic concepts underlying first order logic. Other topics may include basic results in the semantics of first order logic (such as the Craig interpolation theorem, the Beth definability theorem, or the Lowenhein-Skolem theorem).
PHIL386
Experiential Learning
Credits:
3 - 6
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
Restriction: Permission of ARHU-Philosophy department; and junior standing or higher.
Consult Director of Undergraduate Studies: C. Manekin. Prerequisites: 12 credit hours of philosophy and 3.0 GPA. Carries no credit toward philosophy major.
PHIL408W
Topics in Contemporary Philosophy; Foundations, Paradoxes and Applications of Decision Theory
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with PHPE308. Credit only granted for PHPE308 or PHIL408W.
PHIL438L
Topics in Value Theory; Philosophy and Law
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with PHPE408K. Credit only granted for PHIL438L or PHPE408K.
PHIL445
Contemporary Political Philosophy
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Must have completed 3 credits in philosophy or political theory; or permission of ARHU-Philosophy department. And sophomore standing or higher.
Major trends in contemporary political philosophy: liberal, libertarian, communitarian, socialist, feminist.
PHIL453
Philosophy of Science II
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: Students must have completed a minium of two philosophy courses.
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.
PHIL478V
Topics in Philosophical Logic; Modal Logic
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
PHIL498F
Topical Investigations; Topical Investigation
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite:Two courses in philosophy or permission of the department.
PHIL498G
Topical Investigations; Topical Investigation
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite:Two courses in philosophy or permission of the department.
PHIL660
Metaphysics, Mind, and Language
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
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.
PHIL688F
Selected Problems in Philosophy; Trustworthy Machine Learning
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Cross-listed with CMSC848I. Credit only granted for CMSC848I or PHIL688F.
Introduces concepts of trustworthiness in machine learning, drawn from computer science, systems engineering, human-computer interaction, psychology, and philosophy. Trustworthiness topics include robustness, uncertainty, fairness, transparency, values alignment, AI safety, etc.
Introduces concepts of trustworthiness in machine learning, drawn from computer science, systems engineering, human-computer interaction, psychology, and philosophy. Trustworthiness topics include robustness, uncertainty, fairness, transparency, values alignment, AI safety, etc.
PHIL688V
Selected Problems in Philosophy; Modal Logic
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
PHIL788G
Research in Philosophy; Research in Philosophy
Credits:
1 - 6
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
PHIL788I
Research in Philosophy; Research in Philosophy
Credits:
1 - 6
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
PHIL799
Master's Thesis Research; Masters Thesis Research
Credits:
1 - 6
Grad Meth:
S-F
PHIL808K
Seminar in the Problems of Philosophy
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
PHIL808M
Seminar in the Problems of Philosophy
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
PHIL858F
Seminar in Logic and Philosophy of Sciences; Philosophical Issues
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
PHIL888
Professional Mentoring for Doctoral Students
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
S-F
PHIL889
Pedagogical Mentoring for Doctoral Students
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
S-F
PHIL898
Pre-Candidacy Research
Credits:
1 - 8
Grad Meth:
Reg
PHIL899
Doctoral Dissertation Research; Doctoral Dissertation Research
Credits:
6
Grad Meth:
S-F
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