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Department of Philosophy | |
| Fall 2008 Course Descriptions | ||
| Course
Timetable |
PHIL 002-001 ETHICS RECITATIONS: PHIL 002-201 Friday -- 1:00-2:00 PHIL 002-202 Friday -- 11:00-12:00 PHIL 002-203 Friday -- 1:00-2:00 PHIL 002-204 Friday -- 10:00-11:00
How should we go about morally evaluating our actions? We will read,
discuss, and critique historical and contemporary answers to this
question. Some moral philosophers focus on evaluating our actions in
terms of their consequences,
while others believe the intentions motivating our actions
are of crucial moral importance. Still others recommend that we attend to
the meaning of our actions-what we say by acting as we do. We will also
look at historical and contemporary theories that focus on evaluating
ourselves rather than our actions. Readings in this class will concern
both practical problems (such as cosmetic surgery, abortion, affirmative
action, and war) and theoretical issues.
RECITATIONS: PHIL 003-402 Friday -- 11:00-12:00 PHIL 003-403 Friday -- 11:00-12:00 PHIL 003-404 Friday -- 1:00-2:00 PHIL 003-405 Friday -- 12:00-1:00 This section is for WATU PROGRAM ONLY. Cross Listed w/CLST 103-405 WATU PROGRAM--FULFILLS 1/2 COLLEGE WRITING REQUIREMENT PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR A survey of classical Greek approaches to questions about knowledge, the nature of the world, the soul, ethics and politics. Will focus on Presocratics, Plato and Aristotle. HISTORY AND TRADITION SECTOR (ALL CLASSES)
PHIL 025-201 Friday -- 11:00-12:00 STAFF PHIL 025-202 Friday -- 12:00-1:00 STAFF PHIL 025-203 Friday -- 1:00-2:00 STAFF PHIL 025-204 Friday -- 12:00-1:00 STAFF An introductory course in the history and philosophy of science focused on the development of the modern, scientific view of the world. Starting with ancient Greek science, the course surveys the history of biology, chemistry, and physics examining the origin of concepts such as force, atom, evolution, species, and law of nature. The course also covers key issues in the philosophy of science including the relationship between theory and evidence, the nature of scientific explanation, and scientific realism. Readings will be drawn from the writing of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Descartes, Newton, Boyle, Dalton, Darwin, Mendeleev, and Einstein, as well as secondary sources. NAT SCI & MATH SECTOR (NEW CURR ONLY)
PHIL 026-401 PHILOSOPHY OF SPACE & TIME Monday, Wednesday, Friday -- 11:00-12:00 Zoltan Domotor, zdomotor@sas.upenn.edu CROSS LISTED WITH: STSC 026-401 This course provides an introduction to the philosophy and intellectual history of space-time and cosmological models from ancient to modern times with special emphasis on paradigm shifts, leading to Einstein's theories of special and general relativity and cosmology. Other otpics include Big Bang, black holes stellar structure, the metaphysics of substance, particles, fields, and superstrings, unification and grand unification of modern physical theories. No philosophy of physics background is presupposed. NAT SCI & MATH SECTOR (NEW CURR ONLY)
Virginia Richards How do minds work? This course surveys a wide range of answers to this question from the disciplines ranging from philosophy to neuroscience. The course devotes special attnetion to the use of simple computational and mathematical models. Topics include perception, action, thought, learning, memory and social interaction. FORMAL REASONING COURSE -- ALL CLASSES CROSS LISTED WITH: HSOC 101-401, PPE 072-401 RECITATIONS: PHIL 072-401 Friday -- 12:00-1:00 CROSS LISTED WITH: HSOC 101-401, PPE 072-401 PHIL 072-403 Friday -- 1:00-2:00 CROSS LISTED WITH: HSOC 101-401, PPE 072-401 PHIL 072-404 Friday -- 11:00-12:00 STAFF CROSS LISTED WITH: HSOC 101-401, PPE 072-401 PHIL 072-404 Friday -- 10:00-11:00 STAFF CROSS LISTED WITH: HSOC 101-401, PPE 072-401 A survey of moral problems in medicine and biomedical research. Problems discussed include: gene therapy, genetic manipulation, and genetic enhancement; withdrawing treatment, assisted suicide, and euthanasia; abortion and maternal-fetal conflict; and the allocation of medical resources. The focus throughout is on reasoned argument and critical analysis. PHIL 200-401 PHILOSOPHY IN FILM Monday -- 6:00-8:00 (Films) CROSS LISTED WITH: CINE 200-401 This course serves as an introduction to philosophy by using film as the primary genre. Throughout the course, we will watch a number of classic and contemporary films (supplemented by brief readings) in order to identify and discuss a number of themes central to philosophy. Fiolms we will watch may include (among others): Antz, The Battle of Algiers, Blade Runner, Boyz N the Hood, Ghost in the Shell, I Confess, The Matrix, Memento, La Notte, Rashomon, The Seventh Seal, Twelve Angry Men and Twelve Monkeys. Philosophical themes we will address may include (among others0: the nature of the self and one's identity through time; the nature andmoral worth of persons; human freedom, fate and responsibility; the relationship between the mind and the body; the nature of knowledge and perception; the metaphysics of time and of time travel; what constitutes a just war and just behavior within war; adjudicating the conflict between one's private obligations to oneself and one's professional or public obligations; the political relationship between the individual and the community (including the state); and philosopihcal issues of feminism and of race. We may also spend some time discussing, from a philosophical perspective, the nature of film itself. DIST CRS HIST/TRAD - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR PHIL 211-301 GREEK & ROMAN ETHICS Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00 Susan Meyer, smeyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu The "ethics" of concern to us in this course are not the particular codes of conduct that Greeks or Romans lived by, but a distinctively philosophical inquiry into questions of conduct and value. In the Greek tradition, the central question addressed by such inquiry is "how should I live?". We will survey the tradition of ethical thought first articulated in the dialogues of the Athenian philosopher Plato, and developed over the next several centuries by subsequent Greek philosophers (Aristotle, Epicurus, Zeno, and Chrysippus) and their heirs in the Roman empire (Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius). SOCIETY SECTOR (ALL CLASSES)
PHIL 234-301 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Tuesday, Thursday -- 12:00-1:30 James Ross, jross@sas.upenn.edu Readings, discussions and papers: On the human condition, proofs for the existence of God, the problem of evil, relations of faith to reason, petitionary prayer, ecumenism and truth. Required, besides participation in class, are 5 short papers and one longer final paper (12-15pp). DIST CRS HIST/TRAD - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR
PHIL 243-301 TOPICS IN METAPHYSICS An examination of several metaphysical issues concerning the nature of consciousness: What is the relationship between consciousness and the physical properties of the brain? Is consciousness something non-physical that emerges from the activity of brains? Or does consciousness reduce to properties of the brain? Or should we understand the relationship between consciousness and the brain in terms of some notion of supervenience? In trying to answer thsee questions, we will examine several recent attempts to explain consciousness in broadly naturalistic terms. We will also ask whether the concept of the physical is itself well understood. Readings will be largely contemporary, though we will consider some historical sources as well. PHIL 361-301 ANCIENT PHILOSOPHICAL FIGURES: ARISTOTLE'S METAPHYSICS & EPISTEMOLOGY Tuesday, Thursday -- 1:30-3:00 Susan Meyer, smeyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu We will examine some of Aristotle's main writings on language, reality, knowledge, nature, and psychology. All texts will be read in English translation. No background in Greek philosophy or knowledge of Greek is required, although previous work in philosophy is strongly recommended. Texts to be read include CATEGORIES, POSTERIOR ANALYTICS, PHYSICS, METAPHYSICS and DE ANIMA. Course requirements include two papers, class presentation, and a comprehensive final examination. DIST CRS HIST/TRAD - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR PHILOSOPHY MAJORS ONLY
PHIL 362-301 EARLY MODERN FIGURES: DESCARTES Descartes played a central role in one of Western history's most intellectually turbulent periods -- the seventeenth century. In this course, we will study Descartes' ideas in method, epistemology, metaphysics, natural philosophy, the emotions, and ethics to gain an overall understanding of Descartes' philosophy and its place in early modern history. In the first half of the course, we will read some of Descartes' key texts in order to develop general knowledge of Descartes' philosophy and how it developed throughout his lifetime. In the latter half of the course, we will turn to two more specific topics, namely, Descartes' philosophy of the life sciences, and Descartes' role in the history of feminism. With respect to the second of these special topics, we will read some of his correspondences with women philosophers of his time, and consider how his philosophy has been received by women and by feminists from his own time through to the present. DIST CRS HIST/TRAD - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR PHILOSOPHY MAJORS ONLY
PHIL 376-301 JUSTICE Wednesday -- 2:00-5:00 Samuel Freeman, sfreeman@sas.upenn.edu This semester the course will focus on recent works on democrary, distributive justice, human rights, and global justice. Readings from works by Ronald Dworkin, John Rawls, Thomas Nagel, Joshua Cohen and others. DIST CRS SOCIETY - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR PHILOSOPHY MAJORS ONLY
PHIL 412-401 TOPICS IN LOGIC Monday, Wednesday -- 2:00-3:30 Scott Weinstein, weinstei@cis.upenn.edu CROSS LISTED WITH: CIS 518-401, LGIC 499-401 Topics will be drawn from model theory, proof theory, recursion theory, and set theory. Connections between logic and algebra, analysis, combinatorics, computer science, and the foundations of mathematics will be emphasized.
PHIL 430-301 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND: MINDS, MACHINES AND PERSONS In this class we survey a host of central philosophical issues in philosophy of mind. We shall begin by asking: what is the fundamental nature of consciousness? And what is it to say that mental properties, or minds, are physical? Is the physical/non-physical distinction even plausible? We shall then pursue the related issue: how can thought be computational? Here, we shall consider the language of thought program, as well as the connectionist (neural network) approach to the computational basis of thought. (Here, we shall also touch on the important issues of innateness, concepts and modularity). We shall then apply our knowledge of the computational basis of thought to the importnat new topic of "neuroethics", examining ethical dimensions of the computational mind. Throughout the course we shall emphasize how these issues connect with the important topic of the nature of persons.
PHIL 441-301 METAPHYSICS: WHAT EXISTS? Tuesday, Thursday -- 1:30-3:00 Susan Schneider, sls@phil.upenn.edu In this class we shall aim to devise a list of entities that are metaphysically fundamental -- no small taks. Our route in will be via examining, and reacting to, a very mainstream ontology: the ontology of the proponents of "Humean Supervenience", (e.g., David Lewis), a doctrine that says that all that exists supervenes on the mosaic of property instantiations thorughout spacetime. This project takes "nomic" entities, such as laws, causation and dispositions, to be non-basic, being determined by the distribution of non-nomic properties across spacetime. In assessing this ontology, we will encounter the following issues (among others): how contemporary string theory informs ontology, whether there really is a meaningful physical/non-physical distinction, whether property natures are really non-nomic, and why we should even try to devise an ontology that is economical, or parsimonious. Perhaps the universe is ornate.
PHIL 448-301 19th CENTURY PHILOSOPHY: KANT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF GERMAN IDEALISM Tuesday, Thursday -- 3:00-4:30 Rolf Horstmann, rolf.horstmann@rz.hu-berlin.de The purpose of the course is to give a survey of the development of German idealistic thought from Kant to the early Schelling. It will deal mainly with the metaphysical and the epistemological aspects of this movement and focus primarily on those aspects that are related to Kant's theoretical philosophy. Topics that are dealth with include: (1) Kant's criticism of metaphysics and his epistemological program, (2) reactions to Kant's approach by F.H. Jacobi, K.L. Reinhold and G.E. Schulze, (3) Fichte's 'subjective' idealism, (4) Schelling's search for 'lacking premisses'. DIST CRS HIST/TRAD - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR
PHIL 464-301 BRITISH MORAL PHILOSOPHY Tuesday, Thursday -- 1:30-3:00 Paul Guyer, pguyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu This course will examine British moral philosophy in the eighteenth century, especially the "moral sense" school, as the response to the egoism of Thomas Hobbes and as part of the background to Kant's ethics at the end of the century. After a brief look at Hobbes, we will examine works of Richard Cumberland; Anthony Ashley Cooper, the third Earl of Shaftesbury; Francis Hutcheson; Bishop Joseph Butler; David Hume; and Adam Smith. Written work for the course will include one intermediate paper and one term paper. Students planning to take Philosophy 466, Kant's Practical Philosophy, in Spring 2009 are strongly encouraged to take this course in preparation. DIST CRS SOCIETY - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR
PHIL 480-401 -- TOPICS IN AESTHETICS Wednesday -- 2:00-5:00 Paul Guyer, pguyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu CROSS LISTED WITH: COML-582-401, GRMN 580-401 Topics in aesthetics this semester will focus on classics in twentieth-century aesthetics from both the "continental" and "analytic" traditions. Authors to be studied will include John Dewey, R.G. Collingwood, Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Frank Sibley, Theodor W. Adorno, Nelson Goodman, Arthur Danto, Stanley Cavell, and Richard Wollheim. Topics will include the cognitive, emotional, moral, and political significance of aesthetic experience, and the ontological, semantic, and historical character of art. Written work for the course will consist of one short paper and one term paper. DIST CRS ARTS & LETTERS - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR
GRADUATE COURSES PHIL 506-401 FORMAL LOGIC II Propositional logic: semantics, formal deductions, resolution method. First order logic: validity, models, formal deductions; Goedel's completeness theorem, Loewenheim-Skolem theorem: cut-elimination, Herbrand's theorem, resolution method. Computability: finite automata, Turing machines, Goedel's incompleteness theorems. Algorithmically unsolvable problems in mathematics. PHIL 509-301 MIDDLE PLATO A careful reading of major Platonic dialogues, from the Apology to the Republic, with attention to both the development of philosophical doctrine and the mode of literary explosition. DIST CRS HIST/TRAD - CL OF 09 AND PRIOR
PHIL 579-301 TOPICS IN GLOBAL JUSTICE Tuesday -- 3:00-6:00 Kok-Chor Tan, kctan@sas.upenn.edu This seminar will look at current developments in the philosophical literature on global justice. The emphasis will be on recent books and papers on this subject, though we will begin by discussing some key contemporary writings for background. Issues to be discussed include human rights, state sovereignty, the problem of world poverty, the possibility of global distributive justice and others. Authors we will read include Rawls, Nagel, Scheffler, Freeman, Nussbaum, Beitz, Pogge, David Miller and others. UNDERGRADUATES NEED PERMISSION
PHIL 600-301 PROSEMINAR An intensive seminar for first-year doctoral students. Readings will be drawn from key works of 20th and 21st century metaphysics and epistemology, with special emphasis on the aims and methods of philosophical analysis. Assignments will emphasize the development of philosophical research, writing, and oral presentation skills. PHIL 700-301 DISSERTATION WORKSHOP PHIL 001-601 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY STAFF
An introduction to such topics as our knowledge of the material world, the relation of mind and body, the existence of God, and the nature of morality. Readings from both historical and contemporary sources.
PHIL 004-601 HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY Theories of knowledge, mind, and reality in early modern philosophy from Descartes through Kant or Hegel.
PHIL 055-601 EXISTENTIALISM The course will start with a brief examination of the basic philosophical tenets of existentialism. We will in particular focus on notions such as anxiety, freedom, meaning, commitment, and absurdity.
PHIL 225-601 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE A study of the historical introduction to the philosophy of science from ancient Greek "First Scientific Programs" to modern
Since the publication of Rene Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy nearly 400 years ago, Western philosophers have been occupied with the mind/body problem. Recently, some philosophers have questioned the notion that there is a distinction between mind and body and in so doing have suggested new ways to approach the mind/body problem. In this course, we will evaluate the prospects for developing a solution to the mind/body problem in light of the recent attemtps to cast aside this Cartesian legacy. Some of the questions we will consider are as follows: Do we have to believe that a mind is an immaterial substance in order to believe that there is a mind/body problem to solve? What is the relationship between minds and bodies? Does recent work in cognitive science, or other sciences, shed any light on the mind/body problem? Is this a solvable problem? No prior course work in philosophy is required and no familiarity with the issues we discuss in the course is assumed. We will read primary texts with the goal of gaining an understanding of some trends within the philosophy of mind.
PHIL 527-640 PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOANALYSIS: FREUD AND THE INTERPRETATION OF CULTURE Wednesday -- 6:30-9:10 Stephen Steinberg, sps@pobox.upenn.edu
More than a century after Sigmund Freud transformed -- for better or worse -- our understanding of what it means to be human, Freudian psychoanalysis still exerts a profound influence in our culture. This seminar course is an exploration of the philosophical issues raised by Freudian psychoanalysis as a theory of mind and culture. After a close reading of Freud's theoretical writings on the nature of the mind and human behavior, we will explore why Freud's theories -- despite decades of criticism -- remain highly influential as a framework for the interpretation of art, literature, religion, society, politics, and history. Readings from Freud's "meta-psychological," cultural, and social writings, Paul Ricoeur's Freud and Philosophy, and other contemporary authors in philosophy, psychoanalysis, and other fields. No previous knowledge of psychoanalysis or philosophy required.
LOGIC, INFORMATION AND COMPUTATION LGIC 210-401 APPLIED MATHEMATICS OF INFORMATION AND COMPUTATION I
LGIC 310-401 LOGIC I Propositional logic: semantics, formal deductions, resolution method. First order logic: validity, models, formal deductions; Goedel's completeness theorem, Loewenheim-Skolem theorem: cut-elimination, Herbrand's theorem, resolution method. Computability: finite automata, turing machines, Goedel's incompleteness theorems. Algorithmically unsolvable problems in mathematics.
LGIC 499-401 TOPICS IN LOGIC Monday, Wednesday -- 2:00-3:30 Scott Weinstein, weinstei@cis.upenn.edu CROSS LISTED WITH: PHIL 412-401 Topics will be drawn from model theory, proof theory, recursion theory, and set theory. Connections between logic and algebra, analysis, combinatorics, computer science, and the foundations of mathematics will be emphasized.
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August 30, 2007 |
  
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