"Sheep don't show how much they ate by throwing up their food ... but they digest their food within and outside produce wool and milk. You too, then, don't display your thoughts, ... but the deeds that result from thoughts digested."
Epictetus, Enchiridion 46

PHIL 1001 Introduction to Logic

Professor Antigone Nounou

LEC 001 9:05 am--9:55 am MWF                                    

(Meets CLE req of Mathematical Thinking Core)

Have you ever heard an argument that you knew wasn't any good, but you didn't have the tools you needed to show what was wrong with it? This course will give you those tools. We will look at many different kinds of arguments and we will identify the patterns of good and bad arguments. You will learn a method for describing and analyzing these patterns so that you will be able to evaluate even very complicated arguments in a straightforward way. Armed with these abilities you will be able to diagnose the problems with faulty arguments and you will be better equipped to come up with excellent arguments of your own. Your writing will become clearer, better argued, and more forceful. And most of all, your will become a clearer and more reasonable thinker. Logic cannot teach you what to think, but it will teach you how to think, and thinking logically is a crucial skill for you as a student and a citizen.

PHIL 1002W/1002V Honors:   Introduction to Philosophy

Professor Roy Cook

LEC 001 9:05 am - 9:55 am MWF

(Meets CLE req of Other Humanities Core; CLE req of Writing Intensive; HON req of Honors)

This course will present a historically motivated introduction to philosophy in three parts. The first part will concentrate on philosophy in the ancient world, focusing on Plato's "Republic". The second section of the course will concentrate on important trends that developed in the Seventeenth Century, and our primary readings will be from Rene Descartes "Meditations on First Philosophy". Finally, we will examine a number of paradoxes, and our target here will be determining how these puzzles motivated and shaped philosophical thought throughout history.

PHIL 1003W Introduction to Ethics

Professor Michelle Mason

Lec 001 9:45 am - 11:00 am TTh

(Meets CLE req of Other Humanities Core; meets CLE req of Writing Intensive)

Are all human actions selfish and only selfish? What response should we make when people act badly? Are forgiveness and mercy genuine moral virtues? What is the moral value of personal attachments such as love and friendship? In this course you learn what ethics is by exploring these and related questions. You also become acquainted with such standard ethical theories as act and rule utilitarianism and Kantianism.

PHIL 1004W Introduction to Political Philosophy

Professor Michael Root

LEC 001 10:10 am - 11:00 am MWF

(Meets CLE req of Citizenship/Publ Ethics Theme; CLE req of Other Humanities Core; CLE req of Writing Intensive)

This course considers two questions: first, what do citizens owe their government and, second, what does a government owe them in return? We will look at the different answers philosophers have given to these two questions and give special attention to the arguments they have used to support them. Students registered for 1004 can also register for a practicum, Phil 1007; it carries 1 additional credit and requires at least two hours a week of community service or 26 hours over the semester. Approved opportunities for community service can be arranged through the Career and Community Learning Center, 345 Fraser Hall, 626-2044 (email: cclc@adv.cla.umn.edu) (Monica Siems, 624-6574, msiems@class.cla.umn.edu). All students taking 1007 must take 1004, but not all students in 1004 need to take 1007.

PHIL 1006W Philosophy and Cultural Diversity

Professor Douglas Lewis

LEC 001 11:15 am - 12:30 pm TTh                                 

(Meets CLE req of Cultural Diversity Theme; meets CLE req of Other Humanities Core; meets CLE req of Writing Intensive)

Incorporating both lecture and discussion, this course will introduce you to philosophy through culturally diverse texts. We will explore such traditional philosophic questions as the nature of the self, human beings in relation to each other, and human beings in relation to the nonhuman world and such central themes of cultural diversity as gender, ethnicity, and race. Authors include: Anzaldua, Camus, Descartes, DuBois, Haley, Locke, Lorde, Neihardt, and Plato. You are required to integrate analytical and experiential approaches and do a variety of types of writing, including outlines, in-class writing, and formal papers. The course satisfies an arts and humanities diversified core requirement, a cultural diversity designated themes requirement, and is writing intensive. All interested students are welcome.

PHIL 1007 Introduction to Political Philosophy Practicum

Professor Michael Root

Students must also be registered for Phil 1004. The course is designed to tie issues studied in Phil 1004 to the needs of people in the Twin Cities through community service. At least 26 hours of community service for the semester is required. Students in Phil 1007 attend classes for Phil 1004 and write 5 (2-page) biweekly papers, as well as give a presentation in Phil 1004.

PHIL 1905 Freshman Seminar: Socrates and His Philosophy

Professor Sandra Peterson

(A-F only; prereq Fr or max 30 cr)

Lec 001 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm W                         

The execution of Socrates in 399 BC for corrupting the youth of Athens is considered a founding event of Western philosophy. We will study Socrates as depicted in Plato's dialogues, since Socrates himself wrote nothing. We will read (i) Plato's depiction of Socrates' defense speech at his trial, (ii) Plato's depiction of conversation between Socrates and some adolescent interlocutors, and (iii) Plato's depiction of conversation between Socrates and some professional educators of Athenian youth. We will attempt to understand what Socrates meant when, in reaction to the Delphic oracle's pronouncement that no one was wiser than Socrates, Socrates said that he knew nothing important. We will attempt to understand why those who convicted Socrates thought he was corrupting young people, and to understand why reflecting on Socrates might improve us today. Course readings will include Plato's Apology, Lysis, Hippias Minor, Gorgias, and part of Plato's Republic.

PHIL 1905 Freshman Seminar: Fossils and Philosophy: Historical Knowledge

Professor Alan Love

(A-F only; prereq Fr or max 30 cr)

Lec 001 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm T                      

Almost everyone is familiar with fossils and reconstructing past life using computer animation is big business. But how do we know about past forms of life, such as dinosaurs, which are now extinct? We only have trace remains of their existence in fossils. These require tremendous knowledge and interpretation to understand their meaning. From the perspective of historical sciences (such as geology or paleontology), how does the 'scientific method' operate when you cannot go back and observe or experiment on what you are trying to explain? How can we be confident that our understanding of the past ('historical knowledge'), whether it be rocks, fossils or human history, is correct (even in part)? How do historical sciences generate knowledge? These philosophical questions will occupy us in this course as we attempt to achieve three objectives: (1) identify the philosophical issues surrounding historical science explanations; (2) comprehend how these philosophical issues play a role in both the interpretation of fossils and their use as evidence; and, (3) recognize the relevance of philosophy of science to ongoing scientific investigation. No prior experience with the topic is necessary to take the course and freshmen from all colleges and/or majors are welcome.

PHIL 3005W General History of Philosophy: Modern Period

Professor Peter Hanks

Lec 001 12:20 pm - 1:10 pm MWF

(Meets CLE req of Other Humanities Core; meets CLE req of Writing Intensive)

The modern period in philosophy, stretching roughly from the late 16th century through the early 18th century, was inaugurated by the scientific revolution of Galileo and Newton, in which the ancient world-view of Aristotle and the medieval philosophers was overthrown by a new, mechanistic conception of the world. Some of the greatest philosophers of all time lived and wrote during this period, including Rene Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz, John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. In this course we will study the central texts of these philosophers. Our main goal will be to understand their views about the nature of reality (metaphysics) and the extent of our knowledge of reality (epistemology). One of the great benefits of studying these philosophers is that it leads to a deep and historically informed understanding of our own contemporary conception of ourselves and our position in the world.

Phil 3234 Knowledge and Society

Professor Naomi Scheman

Sem 001 11:15 am - 12:05 pm MWF

(Meets CLE req of Cultural Diversity Theme)

Critical discussion of concepts such as knowledge, objectivity, justification, rationality, evidence, authority, expertise, and trust in relation to the norms and privileges of gender, race, class, sexuality, and other social categories. We will be concerned both to explore how these concepts function in their natural habitat (the world in which we form, question, and argue about beliefs, and in which we depend on other people for much of what we need to know) and to relate what we learn to questions and topics in mainstream epistemology (theory of knowledge), which doesn?t typically address these issues. Readings will be drawn from a newly published anthology, Just Methods: A Reader in Feminist Epistemology, edited by Alison Jaggar. A ?key theme running through the readings is the complex inter-relationship between social power and inequality, on the one hand, and the production of knowledge, on the other. A second and related theme is the inseparability of research projects and methodologies from ethical and political values.? In addition, students will work in small groups to prepare a presentation to the class exploring questions of trust and trustworthiness concerning knowledge claims in some area of particular interest. (Some past projects have looked at Wikipedia, at the safety of childhood vaccinations, and at controversies about evolution and intelligent design.) The course is suitable for both philosophy majors and non-majors and will be most exciting if students bring a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and interests to the course. Course format will emphasize small group, full class, and web-based discussion; there will be about 50-75 pp. of (pretty dense) reading a week; writing assignments will be frequent and relatively short; and there will be no examinations.

Phil 3302W Moral Problems of Contemporary Society

Professor Brian Bix

Lec 001 11:15 am - 12:05 pm MWF

(Meets CLE req of Citizenship/Publ Ethics Theme; meets CLE req of Other Humanities Core; meets CLE req of Writing Intensive)

From the major public issues like terrorism, abortion, and capital punishment, to the more personal and day-to-day matters relating to lying, vegetarianism, and sexual morality, ethical questions pervade our lives. This course will investigate the various approaches to ethical questions, and analyze, rigorously, the arguments on both sides of a large variety of contemporary moral problems. The course will include two analysis and advocacy papers (one of which students will have to revise after receiving comments), and a closed book, final essay examination. All readings will be from texts available on-line. On the positive side, this means that no course-books need to be purchased. On the negative side, this means that students should not take this course unless they have regular access to a computer and the Internet (and can either read the articles on-line, or can print them out).

PHIL 3304 Law and Morality

Professor Sarah Holtman

Lec 001 12:20 pm - 1:10 pm MWF

(Meets CLE req of Citizenship/Publ Ethics Theme)

We will take up traditional issues in philosophy of law and related moral questions. Among the topics we will consider are: the debate between natural law theory and legal positivsim; the appropriate place of morality in the law; competing accounts of judicial reasoning. Authors will include: Thomas Aquinas; John Austin; H.L.A. Hart; J.S, Mill; Ronald Dworkin. We will supplement philosophical sources with legal cases.

PHIL 3305 Medical Ethics

Professor Jasper Hopkins

LEC 001 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Th

The course deals with a number of typical problems encountered in the area of medical ethics--problems related to brain death, the persistent vegetative state, partial-birth abortion, informed consent, confidentiality, organ donation and retrieval, patients' rights, physician-assisted suicide, medical futility, human and animal research, medical errors, health-care rationing, managed care, involuntary commitment, forcible treatment, cloning, genetic enhancement, and so on. Attendance is required. There will be three examinations, each covering a different part of the course.

PHIL 3308 Social Justice and Community Service

Professor John Walace

LEC 001 9:45 - 11:00 am TTh

This is the second course in a sequence of two courses in which students explore social justice and community service. The present course is designed to stand alone. Students who are entering the sequence at this point should feel--because they are--perfectly welcome and on an equal footing. All students in the course are required to be involved in some ongoing work in the community ("community service") for at least two hours per week. The guiding theme for the course is "going home, or going some other place, and digging in." We will be exploring what this means, what supports it, what prevents it. This theme, and the "going home and digging in" language to describe it, is drawn from the first book we will read, Wes Jackson's Becoming Native to This Place. In the context of the guiding theme, the course places a strong emphasis on diversity. Home is going to be a diverse place; and digging in requires building common ground with people who are different from ourselves in many ways. Through reading, discussion, and writing, and through interviews with members of our families and communities, we will seek to deepen our understanding of diversity and, especially, to understand some of the challenges, possibilities, and rewards of building common ground among diverse persons.

PHIL 3311W Introduction to Ethical Theory

Instructor Jovana Davidovic

LET 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm W

(Meets CLE req of Writing Intensive)

This course will provide an introduction to ethical theory by giving an indication of the breadth of topics that an adequate ethical must cover. The course will be divided into four parts. First, it will look at a threat to ethical theory as it is ordinarily practiced, a threat raised by psychological hedonism, a form of psychological egoism. It will then investigate part of what is needed to understand how one ought to respond to wrongdoing by looking at the nature and proposed justifications for punishment. The third part of the course will examine the extent to which it can be virtuous to show mercy in certain legal contexts and the extent to which it is virtuous to forgive those who have wronged you. Finally, the course will consider how to account for the moral value, if any, of developing and acting on such pesonal attachments as love and friendship. In the course of these discussions students will become familiar with various types of ethical theory, including two forms of utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, and virtue ethics. Readings for the course will be from a course packet prepared specifically for the course. The intended audience for the course are undergraduates, whether philosophy majors or not, who have some interest in what goes on in ethical theory. No background in philosophy will be presupposed, although some students in the course will have taken some philosophy courses.

PHIL 3502W Introduction to Aesthetics

Instructor Christopher Moore

Lec 001 2:30 pm - 3:20 pm MWF

(Meets CLE req of Other Humanities Core; meets CLE req of Writing Intensive)

This course in aesthetics studies interpretation and judgment, the moral effect of artworks, the use of narrative, and the relationship between pleasure, beauty, and excellence. Understanding our engagement with the social practice of art?as judges, producers, and audience?helps us understand ourselves as political animals. Our goal is to see how reflecting on art can bring a person to self-knowledge, critique, and reform. We will work mainly with performed literary works of ancient Greece: stories read by parents, poems sung by rhapsodists, dramas performed by actors, dialogues read by lectors. Constraining ourselves to Homer, Aesop, Sappho, Pindar, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, and Longinus aids us in seeing relations between genres and between genres and the people and societies responsible for them. We read literature philosophically and philosophical works literarily. This course has very frequent writing exercises, 30pp of reading per class, several off-campus activities, two 50-min. midterms, and a final ?email conversation.? You may read some or all of the _Iliad_ (any verse translation) by the first week of the semester for extra-credit.

PHIL 3601W Scientific Thought

Professor Antigone Nounou

Lec 001 11:15 am - 12:05 pm MWF

(Prereq One course in philosophy or natural science; meets CLE req of Other Humanities Core; meets CLE req of Writing Intensive)

One may say that on one level there is nature. On another, there are scientists studying nature. On yet another, there are Science Studies folk, philosophers, historians and sociologists of science, who study scientists studying nature. The Science Studies folk try to understand and explain, on one the hand, how science and technology came to be dominant forces in modern society, and, on the other, how society affects the scientific enterprise. Science and its applications, which are regarded by many as the foremost achievements of human intellect, play a leading role in modern society ever since the 17th century scientific revolution. Technological applications have obvious and major effects on our everyday life, while scientific thought has a major impact, probably less conspicuous yet equally, if not more, important, on our views of nature, of the place of humankind in it, and of knowledge as distinct from belief. At the same time, the societies in which scientists live and work affect their scientific inquiry in both obvious and subtle ways. In this course we will investigate the nature of scientific thought, we will explore its influence on society, and we will touch on the impact of society on science using studies of historians and philosophers of science. Our journey will span four centuries of scientific activity, from the 17th century scientific revolution, to the 19th century Darwinian revolution, to the 20th century revolution in physics, molecular biology and painting!

Phil 3607 Philosophy of Psychology

Professor Joseph Owens

LEC 001 11:15 am - 12:30 pm

(Prereq: one course in philosophy or psychology)

Mental phenomena present the philosopher with a number of deep but inescapable challenges. We tend to suppose that we know what it is to have a mind, to have beliefs, desires, etc., All of this is surely amazing; indeed it verges on the outrageous. We admit to not knowing the makeup of the simplest structures, to not knowing how to explain the behavior of the simplest organisms--we leave such issues to scientific investigators--and at the same time we think we know how to explain the behavior of this most complex of systems; we know how to do it, and we know what we are talking about when we explain behavior by citing the relevant beliefs, desires, etc. Strange indeed. We start our investigation with a brief look at Descartes, who is usually supposed to have expressed our shared intuitive conception of mind. For our purposes, Descartes' vision is best viewed as posing the central problems rather than answering them.The body of the course is then taken up with investigating current and recent theories of mind and psychology. Special attention will be given to cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence approaches--contemporary theories that attempt to understand intelligent systems as programmed systems.