Spring 2025

PHIL 1101 - Introduction to Philosophy (multiple sections)

Course Description 
Introduction to critical exploration of such issues as knowledge, reality, consciousness and the good life; readings from Plato, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, or more recent sources.

PHIL 1102 - Introduction to Ethics (multiple sections; online courses available)

Course Description
Introduction to such social and ethical questions as, “What makes a happy life? What justifies ideas of good and evil? How should we live with others? What is the role of gender and race in society?” The subjects of justice, racism, and oppression, especially as they figure into the American context, are highlighted. 

PHIL 1611 - Elementary Logic (multiple sections; online courses available)

Course Description
In this course we will cover topics in both formal and informal logic. Studying logic trains the mind to reason well. Logic has played a foundational role in education for over two thousand years because reasoning well is essential to any intellectual endeavor, whether it be in the sciences, the arts, or the humanities. We will explore everyday uses of logic, historical systems of formal reasoning, and some modern formal logic.

Required Textbook (M50 online versions; always consult your syllabus or instructor before purchasing textbooks)
MindTapV2.0 for Hurley/Watson's A Concise Introduction Logic, 1 term Printed Access Card. 2019. ISBN: 9780357419410 

PHIL 3002 - History of Modern Philosophy
CRN 12088
TR 
11:20 - 12:45am
Daniel Smith

Course Description
This course will provide students with an overview of the major figures and topics of early modern philosophy. Philosophers in this period were responding to dramatic changes that were taking place in European society and culture stemming from the “scientific revolution”, and the main themes and concerns of their work emerge from this context. In the first half of the class, we will discuss topics in metaphysics and epistemology such as the nature of causality, the existence of God, the relation between mind and body, and the problem of evil.  

Many of the philosophers we will have read in the first half were also influential political theorists. Modern philosophy coincides with the “age of revolutions” in which the modern political world as we know it was formed. The ideas we will study in the second half of the class had a profound impact on social upheavals taking place in England, the United States, France, and Haiti. Alongside canonical writings in political philosophy, we will read key texts from these four revolutions that were directly inspired by them, including manifestoes, constitutions, declarations of independence, and some famous political speeches.

PHIL 3411-M50 - Contemporary Moral Problems
CRN 21390
Online
Salman Khawaja

Course Description

Discussion of ethical problems that arise from the interaction between contemporary societal concerns, political movements, and technological advancements.

This course will include some of today's most pressing ethical problems such as the existential threats and utopian promises of AI, hate speech regulation, misinformation challenges, the politics of climate change, and pandemics.

PHIL 3514 - Biomedical Ethics (multiple sections; online courses available)

Course Description
Discussion of ethical problems raised by contemporary medical practices and biological innovations from standpoint of contemporary ethical theories including abortion, euthanasia, human experimentation and genetic engineering.

Course Description (M50 online versions)
In this course we will begin by learning about moral theory, logic/argumentation, and concepts related to biomedical ethics such as autonomy, paternalism, informed consent, and more. We will then explore case studies in the modules that follow. Such topics include human research, pandemic ethics, abortion, euthanasia, and health care. You will be expected to apply moral theory to cases studies as well as identify relevant concepts.

Required Textbooks (M50 online versions; always consult your syllabus or instructor before purchasing textbooks)
Bioethics: Principles, Issues, and Cases by Lewis Vaughn (multiple editions available)

PHIL 3515 - Climate Change, Ethics, and Environment
CRN 22050
ONLINE

Course Description
Most agree that we should treat people with respect and concern. In other words, we should treat people ethically. But why should this ethical treatment extend to non-human features of our world like oceans, forests, and non-human animals? This course will investigate the sources of our ethical commitments to the environment with a special focus on the effects of climate change and our obligations to reduce global warming. Attention will also be paid to distinct ethical problems like those concerning animals, biodiversity, sustainable energy, and environmental racism.

PHIL 3621 - Formal Logic
CRN 24353
TR
9:40-11:05am
Sıla Özkara

Course Description
This course develops an understanding of formal logical systems, starting with an introduction of sentential (a.k.a. propositional) logic, and then turning to first-order predicate logic. One focus is on how to translate sentences of English into predicate logic and vice-versa. Additionally, this course investigates how to reason by using formal rules and a derivation system. Other possible topics include logical reasoning in LSAT and GRE tests, the psychology of deductive inference, and the completeness and soundness of the formal systems we use. While there are no prerequisites for this course, some training in, or familiarity with the use of formal reasoning as taught in elementary logic, computer science, or mathematics has proven helpful to students.

PHIL 3722 - Buddhist Philosophy
CRN 30080
TR
9:40-11:05am
Kevin Taylor

Course Description

This course will explore Buddhist philosophy in its Indian origins of no-self and the role of mindfulness in the eightfold path and in Buddhist meditation, Zen developments with an attention to emptiness and mindfulness meditations, and contemporary approaches to the popularization of mindfulness.

Figures to be studied include Siddhartha Gautama, Nagarjuna, Huineng, Linji, Saigyō, Dōgen, Takuan Sōhō, and Hakuin Ekaku.

PHIL 3781 - Philosophy and Film
CRN 12105
Wednesday
2:30-5:30pm
David Gray

Course Description

TBA

PHIL 3806-M50 - The Ethics of AI and Big Data
CRN 29402
ONLINE
Sarah Lee

Course Description
As unregulated data collection threatens to compromise our privacy online and offline, "data pollution" further threatens make the information available to us online less reliable. Misinformation, social media, and recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) pose seemingly endless moral questions about the future of "Big Data". This course will address central issues in AI Ethics and Big Data. Issues such as bias and fairness in the development of algorithms, privacy and surveillance concerning intelligent technology, as well as self-driving cars and AI-driven robots will be among the topics considered.

PHIL 4801 – Special Topics in Philosophy: Radical Evil

CRN 30319
Monday
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Daniel Smith

Course Description
An exploration of the concept of evil in Kant, Fichte, Hegel and Schelling. Additional readings may include Luther, Spinoza, and Leibniz, and commentary by Heidegger, Hamilton Grant, and Žižek

PHIL 4421/6421 – Philosophy of Mind (prerequisite PHIL 1101, 1102, or 1611)
CRN 21386
Thursday
2:30-5:30pm
Shaun Gallagher

PHIL 6421 - Philosophy of Mind
CRN 21386
Thursday
2:30-5:30pm
Shaun Gallagher

PHIL 7301 - Seminar in Modern Philosophy
CRN 18995
Monday
2:30-5:30pm
Michael Monahan

PHIL 7414 - Seminar in Metaphysics
CRN 12127
Tuesday
6:00-9:00pm

PHIL 7514 - Cognitive Science Seminar 
CRN 21695
Wednesday
2:30-5:30pm

PHIL 7541 - Social/Political Philosophy
CRN 18167
Tuesday
2:30-5:30pm
Lindsey Stewart