Immanuel Kant's philosophy set off a revolution that reverberated throughout 19th-century Europe. That revolution was grounded in Kant's radical claim that our own reason, not God or nature, is the original source of all moral principles, freedom, and even goodness itself. Why is this radical? Because it is counterintuitive. Our individual freedom is not curbed by morality. Rather, so Kant suggests, it is precisely what commits us to being part of the moral community.
(Offered as PHIL 335 and EDST 335) This is a course on epistemology, the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Consider two parallel scenarios. In both cases you ask a passer-by for directions to the store. In the Good Case, the passer-by happens to be an employee of the store. In the Bad Case, they simply take a confident guess. In either case the passer-by gives you identical directions. From your perspective, the testimonies are indistinguishable, and in both cases you form a true belief.
(Offered as ASLC-XXX, PHIL-XXX, RELI-245) What is ultimately real? Does God exist? Is there such a thing as a soul? How do we know? What is beauty? What is the ideal political state? When, if ever, is violence legitimate? This course introduces systems of metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, philosophy of language, philosophy of religion, and political philosophy in ancient India, along with modern Indian interpreters.
States are made up of individuals. Yet states have powers that no individuals have. They collect taxes, put us in jail, draft us into the army, and tell us what we can and cannot own.
Philosophy and Physics have been closely linked in our attempts to understand the fundamental nature of reality. The philosopher, Aristotle, articulated a detailed physics, and the physicist, Newton, considered himself a natural philosopher. In this course, we will explore how the combined resources of these two disciplines have been brought to bear on our understanding of space and time. We will consider the physical, and the metaphysical views of such thinkers as Zeno, Aristotle, Augustine, Nagarjuna, Leibniz, Newton, Kant, McTaggart, and Einstein.
"All philosophers are wise and Socrates is a philosopher; therefore, Socrates is wise." Our topic is this mysterious "therefore." We shall expose the hidden structure of everyday statements on which the correctness of our reasoning turns. To aid us, we shall develop a logical language that makes this underlying structure more perspicuous. We shall also examine fundamental concepts of logic and use them to explore the logical properties of statements and the logical relations between them.
"All philosophers are wise and Socrates is a philosopher; therefore, Socrates is wise." Our topic is this mysterious "therefore." We shall expose the hidden structure of everyday statements on which the correctness of our reasoning turns. To aid us, we shall develop a logical language that makes this underlying structure more perspicuous. We shall also examine fundamental concepts of logic and use them to explore the logical properties of statements and the logical relations between them.
"All philosophers are wise and Socrates is a philosopher; therefore, Socrates is wise." Our topic is this mysterious "therefore." We shall expose the hidden structure of everyday statements on which the correctness of our reasoning turns. To aid us, we shall develop a logical language that makes this underlying structure more perspicuous. We shall also examine fundamental concepts of logic and use them to explore the logical properties of statements and the logical relations between them.
This is an introduction to philosophy that explores a range of issues pertaining to religious conviction, knowledge, mind, freedom, ethics, and value. This exploration will take place through critical engagement, via reflection, writing, and conversation, with written work – some classical, some contemporary – in the philosophical tradition.
Limited to 20 students. Fall semester: TBD. Spring semester: Professors Alexander George (section 01) and Nishiten Shah (section 02). (T or V).
Research in an area relevant to neuroscience, under the direction of a faculty member, and preparation of a thesis based upon the research.
Fall semester. The Committee.
How to handle overenrollment: null
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on independent research and writing.
