Fall 2009 Courses

101-1 Introduction to Philosophy
11:00-12:15 TR
Gibson

The aim of this course is to introduce the student to philosophy.  We will study some different areas in philosophy and the problems and questions addressed in those areas.  But we will also study how philosophers go about answering these questions – what kinds of arguments they give, what reasons led them to their views.  And we will evaluate whether their arguments are good ones.  These are the different areas of philosophy that we will study: Epistemology or the theory of knowledge which is concerned with questions about the nature and extent of knowledge: Philosophy of Religion, where we will understand and evaluate arguments that try to prove God exists; Ethics, where we will be concerned with whether there really is such a thing as right or wrong, and if so, what makes something right or wrong: and finally, in the last section of the course, we will examine whether it makes sense to think that human beings have Free Will if their behavior I a part of the natural, causal order.

101-2 Introduction to Philosophy
1:00-2:15 TR
Gibson

The aim of this course is to introduce the student to philosophy.  We will study some different areas in philosophy and the problems and questions addressed in those areas.  But we will also study how philosophers go about answering these questions – what kinds of arguments they give, what reasons led them to their views.  And we will evaluate whether their arguments are good ones.  These are the different areas of philosophy that we will study: Epistemology or the theory of knowledge which is concerned with questions about the nature and extent of knowledge: Philosophy of Religion, where we will understand and evaluate arguments that try to prove God exists; Ethics, where we will be concerned with whether there really is such a thing as right or wrong, and if so, what makes something right or wrong: and finally, in the last section of the course, we will examine whether it makes sense to think that human beings have Free Will if their behavior I a part of the natural, causal order.

101-3 Introduction to Philosophy
9:30-10:45 TR
Sidelle

Philosophy is both an area, with its own questions and history of discussion of these questions – What is knowledge? What goes into making an action right or wrong? What is it to live a happy (good/worthwhile) life?  What is it to act rationally?  Can we ever be responsible for our behavior?  What is it for a sign to have meaning?  Is having a mind the same thing as having a brain? – and a certain critical way of looking at things, approaching issues, clarifying concepts, and evaluating positions and arguments.  The methods philosophers use in generating and conducting investigation in their own particular subject matter, as well as many of the issues philosophers concern themselves with, can be relevant to all sorts of subject matters, which are not, of themselves, particularly philosophical.  Drawing distinctions, identifying underlying assumptions, generating puzzles, coming up with arguments and evaluating them, seeing what a disagreement is really about, distinguishing the letter from the spirit of positions, are among the many tools of philosophy, which can be used in other areas not only in critical evaluation, but in seeing possible issues and questions to raise.  In this course, we will look at some quite general and fundamental philosophical issues in some central areas of philosophy; it is important to realize that there are many other areas of philosophy, many other topics within these areas, and that even of the more particular issues we look at, we will only be making a start.  We will be particularly concerned to bring out various sorts of philosophical tools and distinctions, relevant not only to philosophy, but to philosophical reflection or consideration about other areas, and also to see how philosophical assumptions or claims may be present even when one is not ‘doing philosophy’.  By the end of the course, the hope is that you will have both an interest in and ability to think interestingly, critically and productively about not only the issues we discuss, but most anything .

101-4 Introduction to Philosophy
1:00-2:15 TR
Soll

Some of the topics we will discuss in this course are: What is philosophy? What is virtue? What is the appropriate attitude toward death?  Could all of our beliefs be false? What is knowledge?  What can we know with certainty? Does God exist?  What makes actions right or wrong?  What makes some statements meaningful and others non-sensical?

101-5 Introduction to Philosophy
9:55 MWF
Shapiro

The goal of this class is to teach you how to think critically about fundamental issues. The issues we will discuss concern the justification for our claims to knowledge, the distinction between believing something for a reason and believing something on faith, the nature of mind and the possibility of free will and moral responsibility, and, finally, topics in political and ethical theory, including justice and euthanasia.  Assignments include six short papers and two exams.  Class attendance is mandatory.

104-1  Special Topics in Philosophy for Freshmen: (Topic: Evil)
1:00-3:30 W
Card

The topic of Philosophy 104 this Fall is evil, approached as an ethical concept and from secular points of view. The first half of the semester examines works that deal theoretically with the concept of evil. The second half examines more specific issues regarding torture, terrorism, and genocide, tying them to Abu Ghraib, the 9/11 bombings, and the Holocaust. Readings include classical and contemporary work by such thinkers as Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, Arendt, Jean Amery, Primo Levi, and some you may not have heard of. Written assignments will consist of three short essays in the first half of the course and one slightly more extended essay in the second half, focusing on an issue regarding torture, terrorism, or genocide. This is a Writing Intensive Course, and two Writing Fellows will also work with  us. There is a required mid-term essay exam on core readings. The final exam is required only of those who did not do papers on time and get a B average on papers & midterm.  The class, limited to 20 students, meets this Fall as a seminar for a long period on Wednesday afternoons. Attendance is very important, as is participation in discussions. Since this is a FIG (First Year Interest Groups) course, everyone enrolled will also enroll in two companion courses: Political Science 103 “International Relations” and English 100 “English Composition.”

104-2  Special Topics in Philosophy for Freshmen: (Topic: The Meaning of Life)
2:30-3:45 TR
Shafer-Landau

This course will consider several of the questions about the meaning of life, including, importantly, what it means to ask about life’s meaning.  We will consider whether God is essential for life’s meaning: whether there are objective moral values that can guide us in our pursuits; and what sorts of things (pleasure? Knowledge? Beauty? Etc.) might be worth pursuing for their own sake.

210-1 Reason in Communication
11:00-12:15 TR
Forster

This course is about critical thinking.  Some forms of reasoning are more persuasive than
others, but many persuasive forms of reasoning are fallacious.  We will critically examine
various patterns of reasoning (arguments) commonly used in newspaper editorials, political
speeches, classrooms, courtrooms, and advertisements with the aim of discerning the difference
between good and bad reasoning.  This skill in critical thinking may also improve your
argumentative writing.  This is not a course in formal, or symbolic logic like 211 although there
will be some very elementary symbolic logic.  We will look at simple examples of causal and
statistical reasoning as well.  For more information, browse through the required text: Critical thinking, 6th edition, by B.N. Moore and R. Parker, Mayfield Publishing Company.

210-2 Reason in Communication
11:00 MWF
Lecturer

No description available

210-3 Reason in Communication
7:30-8:45 MW
Lecturer

No description available

211-1 Elementary Logic
12:05 MWF
Vranas

A hotel manager put up a sign reading: “No one is permitted on these premises unless accompanied by a registered guest”. Apparently the manager failed to realize that from he statement on the sign it follows that no unaccompanied registered guest is permitted on the premises! In general, the question of which statements follow from other statements is quite tricky. This course addresses this tricky question by (1) introducing a symbolic language into which one can translate a great many ordinary English sentences and almost all mathematical sentences, and by (2) using an automated proof procedure to show that
certain sentences follow from other sentences.

211-2 Elementary Logic
11:00 MWF
Lecturer

No description available.

211-3 Elementary Logic
9:55 MWF
Titelbaum

Suppose I say, “The cheese was in the fridge when you left.  If no one removed the cheese, it’s still in the fridge.  I’m the only one who could’ve removed the cheese, and I didn’t.  So the cheese is still in the fridge.”  This argument concerning the whereabouts of the cheese contains some premises followed by a conclusion.  The argument is structured so that if the premises are true, the conclusion is true as well.

In this course we will represent arguments in symbols to reveal their structure, then study argumentative structures that guarantee a true conclusion from true premises.  We will also learn how to prove that an argument with a particular structure is valid.  The techniques we will learn are necessary for every area of contemporary philosophy, and are relevant to areas of economics, mathematics, computer science, rhetoric, and the law.

241-1 Introductory Ethics (Satisfies category B for the major)
1-2:15 TR
Card

This course introduces students to ethical theory through key works by four of the most influential philosophers in the history of moral philosophy: John Stuart Mill (19thC), Immanuel Kant (18th C.), Aristotle (4th C. BCE), and Nietzsche (19th C.) with brief selections from such lesser lights as Jeremy Bentham and Bishop Joseph Butler and some contemporary reflections from feminist and African American philosophers.  Questions addressed by these writers range from “What is the good life?” and “What is the difference between right and wrong?” to “Is everyone basically selfish?” and “What is the importance of ethics, anyhow?” Course objectives are to offer a solid foundation in ethical theory for students who may wish to do further work in this or a related area and to develop skills in ethical reasoning for everyone who takes the course.  No prior philosophy is presupposed.  There will be three bluebook essay exams (review questions distributed in advance).

241-2 Introductory Ethics (Satisfies category B for the major)
7:30-8:45 TR
Lecturer

No description available.

241-3 Introductory Ethics (Satisfies category B for the major).
11:00 MWF
Lecturer

No description available.

241-4 Introductory Ethics (Satisfies category B for the major).
12:05 MWF
Lecturer

No description available.

253 – Philosophy of the Arts (Satisfies category B for the major)
12:05 MWF
Anderson

This course investigates a set of basic questions about the nature of art: What is art? Can it be defined?  If not, why not?  In addition, we will investigate a related set of questions concerning the nature of aesthetic appreciation: Is art appreciation merely a matter of taste?  Or, is there some objectivity involved in matters of aesthetic judgment?  We will read the works of important historical figures such as Plato, Tolstoy, Hume, Collingwood and Bell as well as the work of some contemporary philosophers.  There will be two short papers,, a midterm exam, and a final exam.

261 – Philosophy of Religion
9:55 MWF
Yandell

In a lecture-discussion format, we will consider the following questions: (i) what properties is God supposed to have, and can anything have them?  (ii) what arguments are there for the existence Of God, and how should they be assessed?  (iii) what arguments are there against the existence of God, and how should they be assessed?  – here we will be most concerned about arguments from evil (iv) is divine foreknowledge compatible with human freedom?  (v) what view of being a person Best fits monotheistic religion, what competing views are there, and how should these competing Views be assessed?  There will be two in-class essay exams during the semester taken from study Questions passed out in advance, and a final exam held at the time the timetable indicates, also taken From study questions passed out in advance.

(W)341-1 Contemporary Moral Issues
9:30-10:45 TR
Hausman

This course will address four contemporary moral issues:  surrogate motherhood, abortion, capital punishment and affirmative action.  In addition, to provide some rigor and structure, there will be some discussion of the nature of logical argument and of moral philosophy. The texts will consist of a course reader and an anthology on affirmative action.  Assessment will be based on 10 quizzes and a final examination.

341-2 Contemporary Moral Issues
9:30-10:45 TR
Shafer-Landau

This course, which presupposes no prior philosophical background, seeks to provide students with the tools needed to carefully analyze issues in five areas of topical ethical interest: euthanasia, the death penalty, war and terrorism, sexuality and marriage, and animal rights.  The emphasis throughout will be on respectfully and sensitively appreciating the complexity and the argumentative structure of the various positions on these issues, allowing students to decide for themselves where they stand on these important matters.

341-3 Contemporary Moral Issues
12:05 MWF
Hunt

When are we justified in forcing people to do things that they might not want to do?  In the first five weeks of this course, we will critically examine several “liberty-limiting principles” -ideas which, if they are true, will tell us when it is right to use force.  during the remainder of the course, we will apply these principles to contemporary issues in which the use of coercion is involved, including: abortion, gun ownership, legalizing drugs, the redistribution
of wealth, and censoring hate speech.  The point of the course will be to help the student to do his or her own thinking on these issues.

341-4 Contemporary Moral Issues
11-12:15 TR
Brighouse

The purpose of 341 is to acquaint students with rigorous forms of reasoning concerning live contemporary moral issues, and to help them develop the skills necessary to evaluate and intervene in public debates in a way that is intellectually honest and well-informed. This section of 341 focuses mainly on issues relating to childhood, family life, and education; among the issues we discuss are the morality of abortion; the permissible regulation of parenthood; cloning human beings for reproductive purposes; the morality of school choice; the morality of educational inequality, and whether parents should enroll their children in sports leagues(!). Attendance of discussion section is mandatory. Assessment of students’ work will be by papers, essay exams, and some short tests.

341-5 Contemporary Moral Issues
1:00-3:00 W
Brighouse

This class is open only to those students who took Philosophy 104 Children Marriage and The Family in Fall 2007. The class will focus on a series of moral issues concerning children, childhood, and family life, including:

The morality of abortion
The legitimacy of parental licensing
The moral issues concerning same-sex marriage
Parental religion and children’s upbringings
Cloning human beings for reproductive purposes

We shall also revisit some of the literature we read in 104; in particular, we shall read Neil Postman, The Disappearance of Childhood, and Annette Lareau, Unequal Childhoods. Assessment will be in the form of essays, and in-class presentations. Because the class will be quite small, there will be ample space for discussion and argument, but I shall be in full control.

430 History of Ancient Philosophy
9:55 MWF
Gottlieb

Metaphysics and Epistemology in Ancient Greek Philosophy
We’ll be studying in depth, and with close attention to the texts, ancient Greek philosophers’ attempts to answer the following questions:  What sorts of things are there in the world?  Is a world of change consistent with a world of substances?  What would be a satisfactory account of unity and diversity? What sort of knowledge, if any, can we have of the world in which we live?  Why are reason and logic important?  Why become a philosopher, and what’s the difference between the philosopher and the sophist?

There will be three tutorials.

432 History of Modern Philosophy
11:00 MWF
Yandell

“Modern” Philosophy has come to designate the period also described as “Descartes through Kant.”  The central focus is on Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.

The course deals with the metaphysics and epistemology (including philosophy of religion, mind, and language) of these philosophers.  Their views set much of the agenda for contemporary philosophy, both by way of development of, and revolt against, earlier perspectives.  There is a long tradition of Greco-European philosophy that runs from the pre-Socratics, Plato, and Aristotle, through Medieval philosophy, into Modern philosophy, and on to contemporary Anglo-American analytic philosophy, and the Modern period is of enormous importance in its development.  Among the issues discussed are the 3existence and nature of God, the freedom of the will, the nature of persons, what causality amounts to, the nature and sources of knowledge, theories of concepts and of meaning, individuation or what thought independently distinguishes one thing from another, perception, introspection, the nature of logic, necessity, possibility, and contingency, memory, what sorts of things are basic or primitive, skepticism, miracles, and laws of nature.  The ethics and political philosophy of the period are dealt with in other courses the Department offers.

Nature and Scope of the Course
This is a philosophy course, not a history course and not a history of ideas course. We will examine the views of the modern philosophers.  In philosophy, you really understand a view to the degree that you understand the arguments for and against it.  Since the course is intended to bring you to the point that you do to some considerable degree understand the views of the Modern philosophers, we will consider the arguments that they offer.  The philosophers of this period were typically systematizers, and we will endeavor to see how their views, at least in intent, fit together into a coherent system.  There are lots of interpretations on offer of the views of each of the Modern philosophers, and you will be given a reading list of books containing these interpretations.  But our focus will be on the writings of the philosophers themselves.

Readings:
We will read major works of the philosophers of the Modern period, in translation where they were not originally written in English.  There will also be some strictly recommended reading fro those who wish to do it.  By the time the course is over, you will have read some of the most important texts in the history of philosophy.

Exams
There will be three in-class essay exams, one around week five, one around week ten, and the final at the time designated in the timetable.  You will be given a week or so before each exam a set of questions from which the actual exam will be taken.  The exams are thus a sort of half-way house between a paper and an essay exam without questions passed out in advance.

We will also look at some of the ideas and arguments of some more “minor” figures when doing so will aid in our understanding and assessment of the view of Descartes through Kant.

435 – Jewish Philos: Antiquity-17th Ce.
9:55 MWF
Nadler

In this course, we will consider some classical Jewish philosophers, particularly those in the rationalist tradition, and their approach to two different sets of issues:  1.  Providence, Theodicy, and the  Problem of Evil, and 2. The Law:  its origin, justification, and  rationality.  Readings include the Book of Job, Philo of Alexandria, Saadya ben Joseph, Maimonides, Gersonides, and Spinoza.

464 – Classical Philosophers: Schopenhauer
2:30-3:45 TR
Soll

Schopenhauer
In this course we shall undertake a study and critical assessment of the work of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), the German philosopher, who was one of the most influential philosophers in the world from the about 1850 to the first World War. Recently, after a period in which he was neglected in academic circles, he is enjoying a renaissance of attention even there. Schopenhauer, who is one of the most readable of the major German philosophers, produced a complete system of philosophy, containing a metaphysics (a theory about the true nature of existence), an epistemology (a theory about the nature and limits of human knowledge), an aesthetics (a theory about the nature and value of art and aesthetic experience), an ethics, and, perhaps most importantly, a philosophy of life (which addresses such questions as whether life is worth living, how we can best live our lives,  and what is the significance of death). We shall study his major work, The World as Will and Representation, which contains this complete philosophical system

It is Schopenhauer’s accessible and urbane writing style and the fact that he deals with issues affecting all of our lives, in particular his pessimism regarding life, that has won him an extraordinarily wide audience, not only among philosophers, such as Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, upon whom he had a great influence, but also among writers, artists, and intellectuals in other fields, as well as among all sorts of other people just  seeking understanding and guidance.

Since Schopenhauer is not one of those terribly obscure German thinkers whose prose is nearly impenetrable, we shall not have to spend all of our time and energy just figuring out what he is saying. We should be able to move on to a critical assessment of his ideas, and thus to a philosophical consideration of the problems that occupied him.

There will be one in-class exam, one take-home exam, and a final essay.

481 Classical Philosophers:
9:55 MWF
Nadler

See 435 for description

482 Classical Philosophers: Phil. Mind
2:30-3:45TR
Soll

See 464 for description

512 – Methods of Logic
11:00 MWF
Vranas

If mathematicians are necessarily rational but cyclists are not, is an individual who is both a mathematician and a cyclist necessarily rational or not? This is just one of the numerous puzzles associated with the notions of necessity and possibility, the notions that form the subject of modal logic. This course is a continuation of Philosophy 211 (Elementary Logic) and presupposes thorough familiarity with 211. The main object of the course is to enable students to (1) translate into logical notation English arguments involving the notions of necessity and possibility, and to (2) easily determine whether the translated arguments are valid or not. There is also a lot of philosophical discussion of issues related to modal logic. Detailed information about the course is available at http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/vranas/web/teaching.htm

516 – Language and Meaning (Satisfies category A for the major)
9:30-10:45 TR
Gibson

Philosophy of Language was the dominant philosophical movement in 20th Century Philosophy. It is widely thought that what is distinctive about humans beings is their representational capacity, their thought and language. Thoughts are private and are not physically accessible. Language is neither. Language is a publicly and physically accessible subject through which to understand the distinctive nature of human representation. Accounts of the semantic properties of language focus on such questions as these: What makes one thing a representation of another? How are thoughts and sentences different from other representations in nature, such as paw prints or stratified deposits’? How do words make reference to objects and properties? Do words have both a meaning and a reference? Is the meaning of a sentence dependent upon the context of its use? Aside from the particular things referred to by the various parts of the sentence, how is the sentence as a whole ‘unified’ in such a way as to say some single thing? We will study work by Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Strawson, Austin, Grice, as well as that of some more contemporary figures.

520 – Philosophy of Natural Sciences (Satisfies category A for the major)
2:30-3:45 TR
Forster

The aim of this course is to address a simple question: What is the difference between good and bad science?  We can point to examples of good science, like Newton’s laws of motion.  And we can point to astrology as bad examples of science, to the extent that they count as science at all.  However, the task of philosophy of science is more ambitious than agreeing on examples of good and bad science.  The aim is to tell the difference between good and bad science in general terms, which apply across many examples of science, in a way that could help us judge examples of new science.  Science has produced theories about things we cannot see (like electrons) on the basis of what we do see (like television pictures).  Another example is the theory of evolution, which makes assertions about common ancestries based on the fossil record and other observational evidence.  Another example is the atomic theory, which is based on observed regularities in the behavior of gases and the results of chemical reactions.  Do we have good reason to believe that these theories are true, approximately true, in what they assert to exist, or are they merely accurate in their predictions?  Is there an objective way in which we judge the true, approximate truth, or the predictively accuracy of scientific theories?  If not, then our faith in science may in many instances depend on prejudice, bias, or even fashion.  Perhaps science is like religion—relying more on faith than reason.

521 – Philosophy of Social Sciences
11:00-12:15 TR
Hausman

This course will focus on a small number of central problems facing the social sciences, and it will trace both the problems and ways of conceiving and addressing them to founding figures in the social sciences, particularly Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber.  Problems to be addressed may include the relations between causes and reasons, the role of unintended consequences, collective action problems, the nature of social norms, and the proper ontology of the social sciences.

541 – Modern Ethical Theories (Satisfies category B for the major)
1:00-2:15 TR
Streiffer

This course is for upper-level undergraduates. It is an in-depth study of modern ethical theory, with a focus on the following specific topics: (1) the status of morality (emotivism, relativism, subjectivism, realism); (2) why should we be moral?; (3) value theory; (4) theories of moral standing; (5) consequentialism; (6) deontology; (7) contractualism; and (8) moral particularism. We will be using Russ Shafer-Landau’s Blackwell anthology, “Ethical Theory”.

550 – Philosophy of Moral Education
4:00-7:00 W
Pekarsky

No description available.

553 – Special Topic: Aesthetics of Film (Satisfies Category B requirement)
2:25 MWF; 7-9:30 M
Hunt

In this course we will discuss a broad range of philosophical issues raised by film, mainly working out of an anthology of readings, Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures, ed. By Noel Carroll and Jinhee Choi (Blackwell?s, 2005). We will focus on fundamental issues about the definition of film, whether it is actually possible for films to be art, and the nature of film as an art form (supposing that is what it is), as well as the contribution (if any) that fiction film might make toward the improvement of human character and understanding. We will also view several classic films in the class, mainly as illustrations of the philosophical essays we will be reading. We will be asking students to keep the time slot of Monday, 7:00-10:00 pm open for this purpose.  Required work for the course will include three short papers (which will focus either on discussing philosophical issues or on interpreting films) and a final exam (on the assigned readings for the course).

560 Metaphysics (Issues in Identity & Modality) (Satisfies Category A requirement)
1:00-2:15 TR
Sidelle

ESSENCE AND PERSONS
In this course, we will look at some traditional metaphysical issues in contemporary garb.  In the first part of the class (‘Essence’), we will study the ‘new essentialism’ as presented in Saul Kripke’s Naming and Necessity.  While Philosophy has often been identified with the study of the essences – the necessary properties of things – for most of the 20th century, all claims about >essences= were viewed as either misleading ways of talking about the definitions of words, or as simply mistaken.  But Kripke=s work completely reoriented this thought with his seeming discovery of necessary a posteriori truths. Are there truths about the essences of things, and other necessary truths, which are not simply true by definition? We will look at some candidates, and think about the nature of necessity and essence.  In the second part of the class, we will look at the problem of personal identity through time – Each of you was once in the first grade:
What makes it true that that first grader has persisted, is not dead?  Under what conditions does a person continue, or cease, to exist?  Various things of importance seem to hinge on facts about personal identity: desert or punishment for some earlier deed seems to require that you – not someone else – performed that deed.  We seem to have special concern for our own future selves, but not necessarily for others.  It seems to be irrational for me to do things that will make things worse for myself later on, like gambling away my retirement money, but if I do this with your money, it seems not irrational, but instead immoral. We will focus on theories of personal identity, and then move to Derek Parfit’s recent work which challenges the tie between personal identity and these other matters that seem to depend upon it.  We will look at Eric Olsen’s recent work, which argues, against prevalent psychological views, that persons are essentially animals.

581 Philosophy and Literature
2:25 MWF
Hunt

See 516 for description

582 Great Moral Philosophers
1:20 MWF
Sartorio

See 512 for description

830 – Advanced History of Philosophy (Aristotle’s Philosophy of Mind)
1:15-3:15 F
Gottlieb

Aristotle’s De Anima is generally considered his major treatise in the philosophy of mind.  We’ll read the text carefully with an eye to answering the following questions: How does Aristotle conceive of the relationship between soul and/or mind and body?  Is he a materialist, a dualist, a functionalist or none of the above? Does Aristotle have a unified theory of sense-perception?  Does he think that, for example, colors and sounds are objective? Could there be fool’s golden on Aristotle’s account?  On Aristotle’s view, what is the difference between perceptual representation and belief?  What difference does it make that Aristotle addresses these issues in the context of his general views about biology?

Further questions will depend on the interests of the participants.  At least half of each session will be devoted to discussion.  There will be tutorials.

903 – Epistemology (Inductive Reasoning)
4:00-6:00 M
Titelbaum

Every undergraduate philosophy major learns formal systems for assessing the validity of deductive arguments.  Yet as Hume famously showed, the inferences that guide our lives go well beyond deductive entailment.  We will study philosophical efforts over the course of the twentieth century to characterize “good” non-deductive inferences; our primary (though not exclusive) focus will be on probability-based, “Bayesian” accounts.  While these accounts were in many cases developed for applications in decision theory and the philosophy of science, we will also be interested in their implications for broader epistemology.  So we will ask questions like:

  1. What makes deductive reasoning different from inductive reasoning?
  2. What general features should we expect non-deductive reasoning to have?
  3. What advantages do probability-based accounts have over rival accounts of such reasoning?
  4. Why might we believe that probability-based accounts reflect normative requirements on reasoners?
  5. What can we learn from probability-based accounts about such contemporary epistemological issues as evidentialism, disagreement between epistemic peers, the confirmation relation, etc.?
  6. How in general do formal models relate to rules for reasoning?

Readings will come from Carnap, Goodman, Harman, Hempel, Lewis, Ramsey, Stroud and others.  No previous exposure to probability theory is expected, nor any other technical background beyond introductory logic and high school-level algebra.

920 – Seminar: Philosophy of Science (Philosophy of Biology)
1:15-3:15 W
Sober

This seminar will address several topics concerning the philosophy of evolutionary theory that have relevance for fields outside of philosophy of biology.  These include the evolution of altruism and units of selection, reductionism, and the meaning of fitness and the interpretation of  probability.  The course will be narrower than a survey course but somewhat broader than a typical research seminar.

951 – Seminar: Philosophy of Mind (Philosophy of Mind Survey)
1:15-3:15 M
Shapiro

This course will survey some of the central concerns in philosophy of mind and philosophy of psychology of the past few decades.  Among the topics that will receive our attention are the identity theory, functionalism, mental representation, multiple realization, mental causation, externalism, reductionism and, perhaps, qualia.

955 – Social & Political Philosophy (Putting Equality into Place)
1:00-3:00 R
Brighouse

Egalitarians are pluralists; they believe that equality is only one value among several, including, for example, equality of opportunity, the value of deep intimate relationships, various important liberties, and giving priority to the interests of the least-advantaged. This seminar explores how valuable equality is (and what it is) relative to these and other values in real world circumstances, by exploring the structure of particular goods, organized in familiar policy-related sectors. We shall explore the goods of health, education, the interestingness and rewardingness of jobs, as well as specific dimensions of inequality such as racial inequality and gender inequality. The seminar will meet with Sociology 915 taught by Erik Olin Wright, which will enable us better to explore the practical dimensions of inequality. It will also be taught in conjunction with a Havens Center Visiting Scholars series – at this time confirmed visitors include Ingrid Robeyns (Rotterdam); Stuart White (Oxford) and Charles Mills (Northwestern).