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PHIL 001-301 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
(FRESHMEN SEMINAR)
Tuesday, Thursday -- 3:00-4:30
Daniel Corbett
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.
ENROLLMENT RESTRICTED TO FRESHMEN
GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY & TRADITION
PHIL 001-302 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
(FRESHMEN SEMINAR)
Tuesday, Thursday -- 1:30-3:00
Elisabeth Herschbach, elhersch@sas.upenn.edu
An introductory survey of some central philosophical
issues, including: Is there a God? What is the
relationship between the mind and the body? Are free
will and determinism incompatible? Are there objective
moral standards? Readings will be taken from both
contemporary and historical sources.
ENROLLMENT RESTRICTED TO FRESHMEN
GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY &
TRADITION
PHIL 001-001 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Monday, Wednesday -- 10:00-11:00
Karen Detlefsen, detlefse@nous.phil.upenn.edu
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR LECTURE AND RECITATION
RECITATIONS:
PHIL 001-201 Friday - 10:00-11:00
Joanna Tamburino, jotamb@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 001-202 Friday - 11:00-12:00
Joanna Tamburino, jotamb@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 001-203 Friday - 11:00-12:00
Douglas Paletta, paletta@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 001-204 Friday - 10:00-11:00
Douglas Paletta, paletta@sas.upenn.edu
This course is an introduction to philosophical themes and methods through
the investigation of four topics that many of us find central to our lives:
God, freedom, education, and sex. We will grapple with questions such
as the following. Do we have proof for God's existence? How can we believe
that God exists in the face of evil and suffering? If we cannot prove
conclusively that God exists, then do we in fact have a right to believe
in his existence, or must we suspend our belief? Are humans free to do
other than as we do, or are we determined (sometimes by forces beyond
our knowledge) to act exactly as we do? If we are determined, then what
is the point of punishing people for transgressions? Should education
satisfy the desires of the individual, or should it produce citizens that
will be useful for the state, e.g. for the growth of a nation's economy?
Are parents allowed to educate their children in any way they see fit,
or are there limits on parental rights with regard to their children's
education? Should education change in times of war to produce, for example,
an especially patriotic citizenry? How should we think of sex: as an expression
of love for another? as satisfying an appetite? as a leisure activity?
as a means to procreation and nothing else? Are all sexual acts between
consenting adults normal, or are some irredeemably perverse? If there
are perverse sexual acts between consenting adults, then what makes them
so? What makes rape wrong?
We will draw on historical and contemporary philosophical works in order
to grapple with these and other questions, and we will spend some time
learning the methods of philosophy such as various forms of philosophical
argument and what makes a philosophical argument good or bad. The course
will include two lecture sessions per week, and one recitation section
during which small groups, under the guidance of a recitation leader,
will have the opportunity to discuss the material covered in lectures.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY & TRADITION
PHIL 002-001 ETHICS
Monday, Wednesday -- 1:00-2:00
Susan Meyer, smeyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR LECTURE AND
RECITATION
RECITATIONS:
PHIL 002-201 Friday - 1:00-2:00
Ryan Muldoon, rmuldoon@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 002-202 Friday - 1:00-2:00
David Caswell, dcaswell@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 002-203 Friday - 1:00-2:00
Daniel Munoz-Hutchinson, dmunoz@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 002-204 Friday - 10:00-11:00
David Caswell, dcaswell@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 002-205 Friday - 11:00-12:00
Danny Munoz-Hutchinson, dmunoz@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 002-206 Friday - 12:00-1:00
Ryan Muldon, rmuldoon@sas.upenn.edu
An investigation of some of the central questions about
the nature of morality: Are moral judgments objective
and justifiable? Can moral disagreements be resolved
rationally? How are we to understand the idea of a good
life, and what is the relationship between a good life and
morality? Readings will be from both contemporary and
historical sources, and will concern both practical
problems (e.g. abortion, euthanasia, or resource
conservation) and theoretical issues.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT I: SOCIETY
PHIL 002-301 ETHICS
FRESHMEN SEMINAR
Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00
Milton Meyer, mwmeyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu
Four sorts of questions belong to the study of ethics in the analytic
tradition. Practical ethics discusses specific moral problems, often those
we find most contested (e.g. abortion). Moral theory tries to develop
systematic answers to moral problems, looking for general principles that
explain moral judgments and rules (e.g. consequentialism, contractarianism).
Meta-ethics investigates questions about the nature of moral theories
and their subject matter (e.g. are they subjective or objective, relative
or non-relative?). Finally, there are questions about why any of this
does, or should matter to us (e.g. why be moral?). We will investigate
all four of these types of questions during the course, but a disproportionate
part of the course will be focussed on discussing two moral problems:
abortion and terrorism. The central aim of the required readings and discussion
is to develop each question s deeply and sharply enough for us to really
feel its troublesome character. We will focus on how to read complex philosophical
prose in order to outline and evaluate the arguments embedded within it.
This will provide the basis for writing argumentative prose.
ENROLLMENT RESTRICTED TO FRESHMEN
GENERAL REQUIREMENT I: SOCIETY
PHIL 003-401 HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Monday, Wednesday -- 11:00-12:00
Susan Meyer, smeyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR LECTURE AND
RECITATION
CROSS LISTED WITH: CLST 103-401
WATU CREDIT OPTIONAL -- SEE INSTRUCTOR
RECITATIONS:
PHIL 003-402 Friday - 11:00-12:00
Keith Harris, kwharris@sas.upenn.edu
WATU CREDIT OPTIONAL--SEE INSTRUCTOR
Cross Listed w/CLST 103-402
PHIL 003-403 Friday - 11:00-12:00
Jason Rheins, jrheins@sas.upenn.edu
WATU CREDIT OPTIONAL--SEE INSTRUCTOR
Cross Listed w/CLST 103-403
PHIL 003-404 Friday - 1:00-2:00
Jason Rheins, jrheins@sas.upenn.edu
Cross Listed w/CLST 103-404
PHIL 003-405 Friday - 12:00-1:00
Keith Harris, kwharris@sas.upenn.edu
Cross Listed w/CLST 103-405
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.
FULFILLS GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY AND TRADITION
PHIL 006-401 FORMAL LOGIC II
Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00
Scott Weinstein, weinstei@cis.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: LGIC 310, MATH570, PHIL 506
This course will treat the fundamental results and
techniques of mathematical logic. Connections between logic and algebra,
analysis, combinatorics, computer science, and the foundations of mathematics
will be emphasized.
PHIL 009 WRITING ABOUT MORAL ISSUES
FRESHMEN SEMINARS
302 - Monday, Wednesday -- 3:00-4:30
Steven Jauss, sjauss@sas.upenn.edu
303 - Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00
Susan Mills, smills@sas.upenn.edu
Discussion of several contemporary ethical topics such
as limitations on freedom of expression, civil
disobedience, affirmative action, privacy rights,
treatment of animals, euthanasia, health care
distribution, informed consent, and obligations to future
generations.
ENROLLMENT RESTRICTED TO FRESHMEN
MAY NOT BE COUNTED TOWARD A PHILOSOPHY MAJOR
FULFILLS THE COLLEGE WRITING REQUIREMENT
PHIL 010-301 TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY I
Monday, Wednesday -- 2:00-3:30
Matt Lister, mlister@sas.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: PPE 210-301
Selected topics in Philosophy offered jointly with the PPE program.
PHIL 026-401 PHILOSOPHY OF SPACE AND TIME
Monday, Wednesday, Friday -- 11:00-12:00
Zoltan Domotor, zdomotor@sas.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: HSSC 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 topics 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.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT VII: SCIENCE STUDIES
PHIL 044-401 INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE SCIENCE
Tuesday, Thursday -- 1:30-3:00
Lyle Ungar
CROSS LISTED WITH: COGS 001-401, CSE 140-401, LING 105-401, PSYC
107-401
Cognitive Science is founded on the realization that many problems in
the analysis of human and artificial intelligence require an interdisciplinary
approach. The course is intended to introduce undergraduates from many
areas to the problems and characteristic concepts of Cognitive Science,
drawing on formal and empirical approaches from the parent disciplines
of computer science, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy and psychology.
The topics covered include Perception, Action, Learning, Language, Knowledge
Representation and Inference, and the relations and interactions between
such modules. The course shows how the different views from the parent
disciplines interact, and identifies some common themes among the theories
that have been proposed. The course pays particular attention to the distinctive
role of computation in such theories, and provides an introduction to
some of the main directions of current research in the field.
It is a requirement for the BAS in Computer and Cognitive Science,
the minor in Cognitive Science, and recommended for students taking the
dual degree in Computer and Cognitive Science.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT IV: FORMAL REASONING & ANALYSIS
PHIL 050-401 INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Monday, Wednesday -- 3:00-4:00
Staff
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR LECTURE AND
RECITATION
CROSS LISTED WITH: SAST 103-401, RELS 155-401
RECITATION:
PHIL 050-402 Friday -- 1:00-2:00 Staff
Cross Listed w/SAST 103-401, RELS 155-401
The fundaments of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, the
main patterns of Western response to it, and some basic
questions of "comparative philosophy". Selected
readings from classical Indian texts in English
translation.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY & TRADITION
PHIL 080-001 AESTHETICS
Monday, Wednesday -- 2:00-3:00
Susan Feagin
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR LECTURE AND RECITATION
RECITATIONS:
PHIL 067-201 Friday -- 1:00-2:00
Anna Cremaldi, cremaldi@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 067-202 Friday -- 2:00-3:00
Anna Cremaldi, cremaldi@sas.upenn.edu
Aesthetics is concerned with the philosophical questions that arise when
we reflect on the nature of art and our experience of it. What makes something
a work of art? What is the relationship between artists and their artworks?
Can we give reasons for our judgments about artworks, or are our claims
about art mere expressions of our preferences? What role does art play
in our lives? These are some of the questions that we will consider in
this course.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT III: ARTS & LETTERS
PHIL 226-401 PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY
Monday, Wednesday -- 3:00-4:30
Michael Weisberg, weisberg@phil.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: HSSC 266-401
This course consists of a detailed examination of evolutionary theory
and its philosophical foundations. The course begins with a consideration
of Darwin's formulation of evolutionary theory and the main influences
on Darwin. We will then consider two contemporary presentations of the
theory--Richard Dawkins' and Richard Lewontin's. The remainder of the
course will deal with a number of foundational issues and may include
discussions of adaptation, what constitutes a species, whether there is
evolutionary progress, and the concept of fitness. We will also discuss
the units of selection, the alleged reduction of classical genetics to
molecular genetics, and the possibility of grounding ethics in evolutionary
theory.
PHIL 242-301 FREEDOM OF THE WILL
Tuesday, Thursday -- 3:00-4:30
Morgan Wallhagen, morganw@nous.phil.upenn.edu
A discussion of various challenges to our self-understanding that arise
from thinking about persons and their actions as part of the order of
nature. Questions to be considered include: what it is to be a free agent
and what it means to have a free will, the degree to which our beliefs
about physical causality undermine our beliefs about agency, the nature
and importance of moral responsibility, and the relationship between freedom
and responsibility. Readings are drawn from both historical and contemporary
sources.
DISTRIBUTION I: SOCIETY
PHIL 244-001 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
Monday, Wednesday -- 12:00-1:00
Morgan Wallhagen, morganw@nous.phil.upenn.edu
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR LECTURE AND RECITATION
RECITATIONS:
PHIL 244-201 Friday -- 12:00-1:00
Paul Franco, pfranco@sas.upenn.edu
PHIL 244-201 Friday -- 1:00-2:00
Paul Franco, pfranco@sas.upenn.edu
This call will survey major positions and topics in contemporary philosophy
of mind. Questions to be addressed include: Is the mind identical to the
brain? Can there be a science of consciousness? What is a "representation"?
Are mental explanations like physical explanations? Are our minds computers?
Could advances in neuroscience give us reason to think that beliefs and
desires don't really exist?
DISTRIBUTION II: HISTORY & TRADITION
PHIL 272-301 ETHICS AND THE PROFESSIONS
Monday, Wednesday -- 3:00-4:30
Kok-Chor Tan, kctan@sas.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: PPE 272-301
This course will examine the ethical issues and dilemmas that commonly
arise in the professions, such as the law, medicine and healthcare, journalism,
business, public and civil service, and ethnographical and archaelogical
research. The aim of this course is to introduce students to the moral
issues and challenges that practitioners in different professions encounter
and to study how moral reasoning can help us understand and confront these
challenges. Some of the central organizing philosophical issues we will
examine include that of collective responsibility, and the questions of
special or role obligation.
PREREQUISITE: AT LEAST ONE OF: PHIL 002, PHIL 009, PHIL 008 OR EQUIVALENT
PHILOSOPHY MAJORS ONLY
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PHIL 329-301 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Tuesday, Thursday -- 12:00-1:30
James Ross, jross@sas.upenn.edu
Critical and historical examination of the medieval Christian philosophers:
Augustine, Anselm and Aquinas, and of their intellectual environment between
350 and 1300ad. Seminar is primarily for majors in philosophy and related
fields. Course involves individual assignments, regular class reports,
a mid-term paper and a final paper.
PHILOSOPHY MAJORS ONLY
PHIL 331-301 EPISTMOLOGY
Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00
Daniel Corbett
The topic of this course will be Naturalized Epistemology. While there
is no single agreed upon definition of "naturalized epistemology",
it is typically seen as a rejection of foundations for human knowledge
(something definite and certain that we can base all of our other knowledge
upon) or a rejection of a priori knowledge (knowledge that is not based
in experience). We will explore the general question of whether foundations
for human knowledge are possible. In particular, we will examine how this
question arises for two types of knowledge: scientific knowledge and knowledge
gained through perception. Also, what is a priori knowledge and do we
have any of it? What role could such knowledge play in inquiry or perception?
PHILOSOPHY MAJORS ONLY
PHIL 362-301 LEIBNIZ
Monday, Wednesday -- 3:00-4:30
Karen Detlefsen, detlefse@nous.phil.upenn.edu
Leibniz was one of the most brilliant minds of the seventeenth century.
Besides entering into a priority dispute with Newton over the creation
of calculus, designing royal gardens, working on producing a universal
language, designing (though never actually making) some shock absorbers
for his carriage, and developing an "idea about fast getaways on
shoes with springs"(!), Leibniz devoted a great deal of thought to
metaphysical and epistemological issues central to seventeenth-century
philosophy. We will study Leibniz's philosophical system by looking carefully
at four of these issues: (a) causation (both among created substances,
and between God and his creation); (b) individuation (including questions
about individual identity through time, and questions about the differences
among metaphysical, personal, and moral identity); (c) freedom (both human's
and God's, with an eye to dealing with evil in light of God's supposed
goodness); and (d) the status and nature of body (given Leibniz's supposed
immaterialism). After setting Leibniz's ideas in the context of some key
predecessors and contemporaries, we will deal with these four themes by
noting the evolution of Leibniz's thought on them throughout his lifetime
as he tried both to deal with problems internal to his philosophy and
to incorporate ongoing developments in sciences such as physics and the
life sciences. We will also pay considerable attention to the influence
that Leibniz had on thinkers who came after him.
PHILOSOPHY MAJORS ONLY
DISTRIBUTION II: HISTORY & TRADITION
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PHIL 414-301 PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS
Tuesday, Thursday -- 12:00-1:30
William Ewald, wewald@law.upenn.edu
The seminar will read contributions to the philosophy of mathematics by
modern authors such as Charles Parsons, Bill Tait, Solomon Feferman, and
others.
PHIL 425-301 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Monday -- 3:00-6:00
Zoltan Domotor, zdomotor@sas.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: HSSC 425-401
Historically oriented survey and contemporary analysis of the basic concepts
and arguments in philosophy of science. An in-depth examination of the
nature of scientific theories, their confirmation and theory-world relations,
laws of nature and their role in unification and explanation, causation,
and teleology, reductionism and supervenience, values and objectivity.
Additional topics covered include arguments concerning scientific realism,
the ontological status of theoretical entities, the Quine-Duhem thesis,
Kuhn's paradigm shifts, Bayesianism, and the success of science.
PREREQUISITE: BACKGROUND IN ELEMENTARY LOGIC AND SOME RUDIMENTS OF SCIENCE
PHIL 432-401 GAME THEORY
Tuesday, Thursday -- 1:30-3:00
Cristina Bicchieri, cb36@sas.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: PPE 432-401
The course will introduce students to non-cooperative game theory and
experimental games. The first part of the course will focus on the basic
elements of non-cooperative game theory. The second part will cover the
experimental literature on social dilemmas, trust and ultimatum games.
The format will consist of lectures, student presentations, and discussions.
PHIL 475-401 SELF INTEREST & RATIONAL
Tuesday, Thursday -- 12:00-1:30
Waldemar Hanasz, whanasz@sas.upenne.du
CROSS LISTED WITH: PPE 475-401
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GRADUATE COURSES
PHIL 506-401 FORMAL LOGIC II
Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00
Scott Weinstein, weinstei@cis.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: PHIL 006-401, MATH 570-401
This course will treat the fundamental results and techniques of mathematical
logic. Connections between logic and algebra, analysis, combinatorics,
computer science, and the foundations of mathematics will be emphasized.
UNDERGRADUATES NEED PERMISSION
PHIL 525-401 TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE: NATURALISM & SCIENTIFIC
CHANGE
Tuesday -- 3:00-6:00
Michael Weisberg, weisberg@phil.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: HSSC 527-401, COML 525-401
This seminar concerns scientific change and will address issues concerning
rationality, progress, and confirmation. Starting with Hempel's accounts
of these issues, we will consider historical, sociological, and philosophical
challenges to logical empiricist doctrines. The primary readings will
be drawn from Hempel, Kuhn, Lakatos, Laudan, Kitcher, and Friedman. Towards
the end of the seminar, we will turn to the relationship between theories
of scientific change and accounts of naturalism. We will primarily focus
on the debate between Kitcher and Friedman about naturalism and the a
priori, but we will also have the opportunity to discuss the Quine/Carnap
debate.
UNDERGRADUATES NEED PERMISSION
PHIL 536-301 STOICISM
Wednesday -- 3:00-6:00
Susan Meyer, smeyer@nous.phil.upenn.edu
A survey of the major topics in stoicism: logic, ethics and physics.
UNDERGRADUATES NEED PERMISSION
PHIL 578-301 TOPICS IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Tuesday -- 9:00-12:00
Kok-Chor Tan, kctan@sas.upenn.edu
We will examine the question of social and economic equality and distributive
justice in this course, centering our examination around these three questions:
(i) "Equality of What?" or what is it the inequality of which
we should want to minimize? Wealth and income? Welfare? Resources? Capability?
Opportunities? (ii) "What is the point of Equality?", or what
is the purpose of equality? Why is inequality an injustice? Is the aim
of distributive justice to eliminate the effects of involuntary disadvantages
or bad luck? Or is it to further the ends of liberal democracy/ And (iii)
"What are the demands of equality?" What does equality demand
of our community and of ourselves? For instance, does egalitarian justice
require that we act on egalitarian principles in all of our choices and
actions? We will read Rawls, Amartya Sen, G.A. Cohen, Ronald Dworkin,
Elizabeth Anderson and other contemporary authors.
UNDERGRADUATES NEED PERMISSION
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PHIL 600-301 PROSEMINAR
Thursday -- 3:00-6:00
James Ross, jross@sas.upenn.edu
This seminar is restricted to first-year doctoral students only. Material
is chiefly reading. Weekly writing and discussion of some classical papers
in recent philosophy and some current books and papers in metaphysics/epistemology
(broadly construed).
PHIL 700-301 DISSERTATION WORKSHOP
Tuesday -- 6:00-9:00
Charles Kahn, chkahn@sas.upenn.edu
Registration required for all third-year doctoral students.
Fourth year students and beyond attend and present their
work. From time to time, topics pertaining to
professional development and dissertation writing will
be discussed.
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COLLEGE OF GENERAL STUDIES
PHIL 001-601 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Tuesday -- 6:30-9:30
Daniel Corbett
An introduction to such topics as our knowledge of the
material world, the relation of mind and body, the
existence of God, the nature of morality. Readings from
historical and contemporary sources.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY AND
TRADITION
PHIL 004-601 HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Monday -- 6:30-9:30
Staff
Theories of knowledge, mind, and reality in early
modern philosophy from Descartes through Kant or
Hegel.
FULFILLS GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY AND TRADITION
PHIL 055-601 EXISTENTIALISM
Wednesday -- 6:30-9:30
Elisabeth Herschbach, elhersch@sas.upenn.edu
A critical examination of existentialist views of the
nature of the moral life. Readings from both classical
(Kierkegaard and Nietzsche) and modern existentialism
(Sartre). Readings also include related literary works.
Attention will be given to the conceptions of the self; the
visions of personal ideals; and the treatment of the
relation among different kinds of practical ideals.
GENERAL REQUIREMENT II: HISTORY AND
TRADITION
PHIL 225-601 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Monday, Wednesday -- 5:30-7:00
Murad Akhundov, akhundov@sas.upenn.edu
A study of the historical introduction to the philosophy
of science from ancient Greek "First Scientific
Programs" to modern conceptions. We will especially
focus on Aristotle's philosophy of science and on the
development of cosmology from Aristotle-Ptolemy to
Copernicus. Then we will study the seventeen-century
attacks on Aristotelian philosophy and the development
of a new world view: J. Kepler, F. Bacon, G. Galilei. We
will discuss the Newton's mechanical picture of the world. Particular
attention will be devoted to Rationalism, Empiricism and Critical Idealism
(R. Descartes, J. Mill, I. Kant). Some lectures will be devoted to the
Crisis of the Mechanical Worldview and the origin of the Modern Science:
Philosophical problems of theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.
We will investigate very interesting topics: "The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions" and "Science and values" (T. Kuhn, I. Lakatos,
D. Bloor).
GENERAL REQUIREMENT VII: SCIENCE STUDIES
PHIL 488-640 THE IDEA OF NATIONALISM
Monday -- 6:30-9:10
Stephen Steinberg, sps@pobox.upenn.edu
This course will explore--from a philosophical perspective--the nature
of national and group identity, the alleged right of every group to national
self-determination, and the contemporary moral and ethnopolitical conflicts
that these ideas shape. We will examine the beliefs of a variety of nationalist
movements, both contemporary and historical, such as American, German,
Jewish, Palestinian, Irish, and a variety of Third World nationalisms,
to get a clearer idea of what the idea of nationalism is and why it so
often gives rise to seemingly irresolvable conflicts. In the process,
we will explore such questions as: What is a nation or ethnic group? How
are claims to national self-determination to be justified and evaluated?
How do nations differ from states, peoples, groups, communities, or citizenries?
Does every identifiable ethnic or national group have a valid claim to
a nation-state of its own, to cultural autonomy, to territory, or to recognition
by others? How does nationalism relate to notions of "chosenness"
or ethnic and cultural superiority? Is national self-determination compatible
with our commitments to individualism, rationality, and universalism?
Does the recognition of claims to national or ethinic identity confer
special rights, responsibilities or privileges? How are such claims to
be viewed in the light of contemporary phenomena such as mass migration,
ethnopolitical conflict, genocide, apartheid, civil war, and terrorism?
Nationalism has been the most important geo-political phenomenon of the
past two hundred years. Its continuing power has been amply demonstrated
by recent events in the United States, the Balkans, the former Soviet
Union, Africa, and on the Indian subcontinent. This course will help us
gain a clearer understanding of the meaning, philosophical foundations,
and moral implications of these ubiquitous claims to group and national
self-determination.
PHIL 525-640 EVOLUTION, ALTRUISM & HUMAN NATURE
Tuesday -- 6:00-9:00
Michael Weisberg, weisberg@phil.upenn.edu
This course is a survey of topics in philosophy of biology, with a special
emphasis on conceptual issues in evolutionary theory, the evolution of
altruism, and biological accounts of human nature. The course begins with
an analysis of Darwin's formulation of evolutionary theory, his main influences,
and the scientific methods he employed. We will go on to consider a number
of conceptual issues debated in the current literature including adaptation,
fitness, the unit of selection, and the nature of species. In the second
half of the course, we will look at competing evolutionary accounts of
altruism, then conclude by considering what biology tells us about progress,
contingency, and human nature.
LOGIC, INFORMATION AND COMPUTATION
LGIC 210-401 APPLIED MATHEMATICS OF INFORMATION AND COMPUTATION I
Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00
Jim Haglund, jhaglund@math.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: MATH 340-401
This course is designed to introduce students to a range of mathematical
subjects useful in computer science. Topics will be chosen from probability
theory, linear algebra, combinatories, graph theory, recursion theory
and number theory.
LGIC 310-401 LOGIC I
Tuesday, Thursday -- 10:30-12:00
Scott Weinstein, weinstei@cis.upenn.edu
CROSS LISTED WITH: PHIL 006, MATH 570
This course will treat the fundamental results and techniques of mathematical
logic. Connections between logic and algebra, analysis, combinatorics,
computer science, and the foundations of mathematics will be emphasized.
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