More than 500 federally-recognized Native tribes and many more who are not federally recognized live within the borders of the United States. Each of these communities has its own history, identity, traditions, relationship to the land, and story of survivance. This First-Year Seminar examines the views of Indigenous communities on topics such as truth, knowledge, identity and the self, causation, and ethics. It also investigates contemporary American Indian thought as it relates to colonialism and anti-colonialism, land, futurity, sovereignty, and resistance. Students will hear from guest lecturers working at the forefront of the discipline and enrich their learning through a trip to the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Connolly, Patrick
• Room: Gilman 134
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 0/12
• PosTag(s): CES-LE

An introduction to philosophy through several central problems. This year’s topics are free will, death, time, and race.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 313
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 1/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

An introduction to philosophy through several central problems. This year’s topics are free will, death, time, and race.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 313
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 6/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

An introduction to philosophy through several central problems. This year’s topics are free will, death, time, and race.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room: Gilman 132; Shriver Hall 001
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

An introduction to philosophy through several central problems. This year’s topics are free will, death, time, and race.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room: Gilman 132; Bloomberg 276
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Philosophy helps us form consistent beliefs. Science helps us learn about the world and our relationship to it. Philosophy of science, then, sits at the interface—helping us form consistent beliefs about the world and our relationship to it. How do we construct a narrative of (our) reality from scientific theories (i.e., the scientific image)? How do we conceptualize the worldly backers of scientific explanations, such as natural laws and causation? Philosophy of science also treats science itself as a subject of philosophical inquiry. What counts as science, and why is it considered a privileged source of knowledge? Are there shared methods across the sciences? Does science transcend—or reflect—social, political, and economic forces? Throughout this course, we will explore these questions by engaging with contemporary works in the metaphysics of science, social epistemology, and the philosophy of specific sciences—from physics to the social sciences.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Dulani, Saakshi
• Room: Hodson 213; Hodson 203
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND, ARCH-RELATE, CES-TI

Philosophy helps us form consistent beliefs. Science helps us learn about the world and our relationship to it. Philosophy of science, then, sits at the interface—helping us form consistent beliefs about the world and our relationship to it. How do we construct a narrative of (our) reality from scientific theories (i.e., the scientific image)? How do we conceptualize the worldly backers of scientific explanations, such as natural laws and causation? Philosophy of science also treats science itself as a subject of philosophical inquiry. What counts as science, and why is it considered a privileged source of knowledge? Are there shared methods across the sciences? Does science transcend—or reflect—social, political, and economic forces? Throughout this course, we will explore these questions by engaging with contemporary works in the metaphysics of science, social epistemology, and the philosophy of specific sciences—from physics to the social sciences.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Dulani, Saakshi
• Room: Hodson 213; Hodson 315
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND, ARCH-RELATE, CES-TI

Philosophy helps us form consistent beliefs. Science helps us learn about the world and our relationship to it. Philosophy of science, then, sits at the interface—helping us form consistent beliefs about the world and our relationship to it. How do we construct a narrative of (our) reality from scientific theories (i.e., the scientific image)? How do we conceptualize the worldly backers of scientific explanations, such as natural laws and causation? Philosophy of science also treats science itself as a subject of philosophical inquiry. What counts as science, and why is it considered a privileged source of knowledge? Are there shared methods across the sciences? Does science transcend—or reflect—social, political, and economic forces? Throughout this course, we will explore these questions by engaging with contemporary works in the metaphysics of science, social epistemology, and the philosophy of specific sciences—from physics to the social sciences.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Dulani, Saakshi
• Room: Hodson 213; Maryland 202
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 4/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND, ARCH-RELATE, CES-TI

Philosophy helps us form consistent beliefs. Science helps us learn about the world and our relationship to it. Philosophy of science, then, sits at the interface—helping us form consistent beliefs about the world and our relationship to it. How do we construct a narrative of (our) reality from scientific theories (i.e., the scientific image)? How do we conceptualize the worldly backers of scientific explanations, such as natural laws and causation? Philosophy of science also treats science itself as a subject of philosophical inquiry. What counts as science, and why is it considered a privileged source of knowledge? Are there shared methods across the sciences? Does science transcend—or reflect—social, political, and economic forces? Throughout this course, we will explore these questions by engaging with contemporary works in the metaphysics of science, social epistemology, and the philosophy of specific sciences—from physics to the social sciences.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Dulani, Saakshi
• Room: Hodson 213; Maryland 104
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 9/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND, ARCH-RELATE, CES-TI

A survey of the earlier phase of Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be discussed, as well as two groups of thinkers who preceded them, usually known as the pre-Socratics and the Sophists.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room: Ames 218; Maryland 114
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 4/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN

A survey of the earlier phase of Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be discussed, as well as two groups of thinkers who preceded them, usually known as the pre-Socratics and the Sophists.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room: Ames 218; Krieger 180
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 15/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN

While stopping just short of the broadest philosophical question, “What is the meaning of life?”, some ethical theories start with a question almost as large: “What is the best way to live?” Others ask, more narrowly, “How must we treat other people, in the world that we share?” Still others examine the nature of moral requirement: when we say that doing or failing to do something would be immoral, or that something is morally required, what exactly are we saying? What is morality, that we should care about it? This course will examine various conflicting answers to these questions before utilizing them in answering a few narrower moral questions. Throughout, we will engage in the practice of philosophy: expositing, criticizing, and constructing arguments. Students will be asked to think through these issues in written assigments and through participation in lecture, sections, and working groups.

• Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:20PM, F 4:30PM - 5:20PM
• Instructor: Hieronymi, Pamela Darlene
• Room: Gilman 50; Gilman 186
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 11/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT, COGS-PHLMND

While stopping just short of the broadest philosophical question, “What is the meaning of life?”, some ethical theories start with a question almost as large: “What is the best way to live?” Others ask, more narrowly, “How must we treat other people, in the world that we share?” Still others examine the nature of moral requirement: when we say that doing or failing to do something would be immoral, or that something is morally required, what exactly are we saying? What is morality, that we should care about it? This course will examine various conflicting answers to these questions before utilizing them in answering a few narrower moral questions. Throughout, we will engage in the practice of philosophy: expositing, criticizing, and constructing arguments. Students will be asked to think through these issues in written assigments and through participation in lecture, sections, and working groups.

• Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:20PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: Hieronymi, Pamela Darlene
• Room: Gilman 50; Gilman 186
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 12/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT, COGS-PHLMND

While stopping just short of the broadest philosophical question, “What is the meaning of life?”, some ethical theories start with a question almost as large: “What is the best way to live?” Others ask, more narrowly, “How must we treat other people, in the world that we share?” Still others examine the nature of moral requirement: when we say that doing or failing to do something would be immoral, or that something is morally required, what exactly are we saying? What is morality, that we should care about it? This course will examine various conflicting answers to these questions before utilizing them in answering a few narrower moral questions. Throughout, we will engage in the practice of philosophy: expositing, criticizing, and constructing arguments. Students will be asked to think through these issues in written assigments and through participation in lecture, sections, and working groups.

• Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:20PM, F 4:30PM - 5:20PM
• Instructor: Hieronymi, Pamela Darlene
• Room: Gilman 50; Gilman 134
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 10/16
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT, COGS-PHLMND

While stopping just short of the broadest philosophical question, “What is the meaning of life?”, some ethical theories start with a question almost as large: “What is the best way to live?” Others ask, more narrowly, “How must we treat other people, in the world that we share?” Still others examine the nature of moral requirement: when we say that doing or failing to do something would be immoral, or that something is morally required, what exactly are we saying? What is morality, that we should care about it? This course will examine various conflicting answers to these questions before utilizing them in answering a few narrower moral questions. Throughout, we will engage in the practice of philosophy: expositing, criticizing, and constructing arguments. Students will be asked to think through these issues in written assigments and through participation in lecture, sections, and working groups.

• Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:20PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: Hieronymi, Pamela Darlene
• Room: Gilman 50; Krieger 307
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 10/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT, COGS-PHLMND

This course begins by reviewing canonical texts in modern political philosophy beginning with Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and ends by exploring classic questions in contemporary debates in race, gender, and identity.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room: Ames 218; Maryland 202
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 6/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-GI, CES-RI, CES-LSO, INST-PT

This course begins by reviewing canonical texts in modern political philosophy beginning with Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and ends by exploring classic questions in contemporary debates in race, gender, and identity.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room: Ames 218; Krieger 307
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 8/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-GI, CES-RI, CES-LSO, INST-PT

Philosophers have been famously hostile to democracy as a form of government, yet in more recent times philosophers have generally sought to justify liberal democracy. This course examines why, historically, philosophy has been opposed to democratic government, and what, in the present, the prospects are of philosophy bolstering the cause of democracy. Readings will include Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Nietzsche and Dewey.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room: Gilman 50; Krieger Laverty
• Status: Canceled
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-LSO, AGRI-ELECT

Philosophers have been famously hostile to democracy as a form of government, yet in more recent times philosophers have generally sought to justify liberal democracy. This course examines why, historically, philosophy has been opposed to democratic government, and what, in the present, the prospects are of philosophy bolstering the cause of democracy. Readings will include Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Nietzsche and Dewey.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room: Gilman 50; Bloomberg 276
• Status: Canceled
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-LSO, AGRI-ELECT

Philosophers have been famously hostile to democracy as a form of government, yet in more recent times philosophers have generally sought to justify liberal democracy. This course examines why, historically, philosophy has been opposed to democratic government, and what, in the present, the prospects are of philosophy bolstering the cause of democracy. Readings will include Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Nietzsche and Dewey.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 4:30PM - 5:20PM
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room: Gilman 50; Maryland 217
• Status: Canceled
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-LSO, AGRI-ELECT

Philosophers have been famously hostile to democracy as a form of government, yet in more recent times philosophers have generally sought to justify liberal democracy. This course examines why, historically, philosophy has been opposed to democratic government, and what, in the present, the prospects are of philosophy bolstering the cause of democracy. Readings will include Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Nietzsche and Dewey.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 4:30PM - 5:20PM
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room: Gilman 50; Bloomberg 276
• Status: Canceled
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-LSO, AGRI-ELECT

Prometheus is Johns Hopkins' undergraduate philosophical society. The society organizes a conference and publishes a journal each year and more generally provides a community for philosophically-minded students. The Prometheus workshop facilitates this through open philosophical discussion; interaction with faculty, graduate students, and other members of the Philosophy Department; and other activities. For more information, please visit . Prerequisite: MUST have taken one philosophy course

• Days/Times: W 7:15PM - 8:05PM
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 1/25
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this course, we will examine philosophical debates concerning the moral permissibility of developing, distributing, and/or using certain controversial technologies. Candidate technologies for consideration include, but are not limited to, nootropics (smart drugs), moral bioenhancement, so-called “ultraviolent” video games, memory-alteration technologies, the development of drugs that aim to create, sustain, or eliminate love, and AI intended to function as therapists, romantic interests, or interactive representations of deceased loved ones

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Wonderly, Monique Lisa
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 0/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, PHIL-BIOETH

Mathematical Logic I (H,Q) is the first semester of a year long course studying the logical methods used in mathematical reasoning. The first semester explores the construction of formal languages in which to cast mathematical discourse, introduces systems of proof for deriving propositions from assumptions, and develops a formal semantics that provides a precise criterion of logical consequence. We expect a system of proof to allow the derivation only of propositions that are logical consequences of the assumptions (soundness). A principal result establishes the converse: these systems of proof are such that any logical consequence is derivable (completeness). This provides us with a purely mathematical characterization of logic within which mathematical theories can be formulated and their properties studied (decidability, axiomatizability, consistency, completeness), a pursuit commonly known as metamathematics.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert Alan
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Canceled
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI

This course will consider philosophical topics in the foundations of physics, with an emphasis on cosmological issues. Entropy and the arrow of time -- why time has a direction, whether it can be explained in terms of entropy, and what role the arrow of time plays in causation and emergence. Anthropics and indexical uncertainty -- approaches to probability, reference classes, the cosmological multiverse, Boltzmann brains, simulation and doomsday arguments. Foundations of quantum mechanics -- the measurement problem, many-worlds, probability and structure, alternative approaches.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Carroll, Sean Michael
• Room: Ames 234
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 29/60
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM

Catastrophe Ethics explores the question, “how do you live a morally decent life in an era of massive, structural catastrophes?” Most of what we do contributes to harm and injustice as a result of climate change, ecological devastation, child labor and exploitation in the global supply chain, the spread of infectious diseases like Covid-19, animal welfare issues, and much more. And yet, as individuals with incredibly little power, most of us can’t make a difference to any of these problems no matter what we choose. So our actions seem to matter morally (Recycle! Boycott bad companies! Go vegan!), and yet also to matter not at all (You don’t make a difference!). In attempting to address this problem—the puzzle of individual responsibility amidst collective threats—this course takes students on a tour of both traditional moral philosophy, and newer, disruptive moral concepts. By the end of the semester, students will be provided with tools to think more clearly about living in our chaotic world and hopefully, to do better and feel better about the mark that they’re leaving on the planet and on society.

• Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 55
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 0/23
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, CES-LC, MSCH-HUM

This course explores philosophical issues raised by developments in Artificial Intelligence. For example, can a machine be conscious? (What is consciousness?) Who is responsible for a bad decision made by AI? What light, if any, do developments in AI shed on age-old debates about nature vs. nurture?

• Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Gross, Steven
• Room: Bloomberg 139
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 1/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND, CES-TI, COGS-PHLMND

In this course we will do a close reading of Locke's Essay along with Leibniz's New Essays, which is a point-by-point critique of the former. The aim of this course is to clarify the main differences between the two philosophers and how they relate to the two philosophical systems as a whole. Since Locke and Leibniz are widely regarded as champions of empiricism and rationalism respectively, this course will give the students a deep grasp of pre-Kantian European philosophy.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Connolly, Patrick; Dong, Hao
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 9/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN

The seminar is a study of Hasdai Crescas' major work: The Light of the Lord. Topics to be discussed include: Crescas' defense of actual infinity; determinism; plurality of (possible) worlds; the nature of belief; the infinity of God's attributes; Crescas' influence on Spinoza.

• Days/Times: W 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 10/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN

The seminar will focus on Spinoza's philosophy of mind and pyschology (Ethics, Parts II-III) Topics to be discussed include: the nature of the mind; mind-body parallelism; imagination and temporality; the three kinds of cognition; the conatus doctrine; emotions. No previous knowledge will be assumed.

• Days/Times: M 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 4/16
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Allais, Lucy
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Pickard, Hanna
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Gross, Steven
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert Alan
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Dong, Hao
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Williams, Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bledin, Justin
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Phillips, Ian B
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Holguín, Ben
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Ismael, Jenann T
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Carroll, Sean Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Velleman, James David
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Connolly, Patrick
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Kraus, Katharina Teresa
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Goodman, Jeremy
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Green, E. J.
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Individual study of special topics, under regular supervision of a faculty member. Special permission is required.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Wonderly, Monique Lisa
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Allais, Lucy
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Pickard, Hanna
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Gross, Steven
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert Alan
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bok, Hilary
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Williams, Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bledin, Justin
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

See departmental major adviser.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Goodman, Jeremy
• Room:  
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

One of the greatest works of literature of all times, the Divine Comedy leads us down into the torture-pits of Hell, up the steep mountain terrain of Purgatory, through the “virtual” space of Paradise, and then back to where we began: our own earthly lives. We accompany Dante on his journey, building along the way knowledge of medieval Italian history, literature, philosophy, politics, and religion. The course also focuses on the arts of reading deeply, asking questions of a text, and interpreting literary and scholarly works through discussion and critical writing. Conducted in English. For undergraduate students only.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Saiber, Arielle
• Room: Gilman 119
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 7/30
• PosTag(s): MLL-PITAL

Knowing who or what counts as a person seems straightforward, until we consider the many kinds of creatures, objects, and artificial beings that have been granted—or demanded or denied—that status. This course explores recent debates on being a person in culture, law, and philosophy. Questions examined will include: Should trees have standing? Can corporations have religious beliefs? Could a robot sign a contract? Materials examined will be wide-ranging, including essays, philosophy, novels, science fiction, television, film. No special background is required.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Siraganian, Lisa
• Room: Gilman 208
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 3/19
• PosTag(s): CES-LSO, CES-ELECT, MSCH-HUM

This introductory course will explore the intersections between literary texts, scientific discoveries, and art. We will study Geometry, Calculus, Probability Theory, Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Physics, Medicine, and Ecology in Russian Literature. We will read novels, poems, and plays by Goethe, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Akhmatova, and Nabokov, among others, with relevant chapters from Hegel, Literature, and the Problem of Agency by Allen Speight; The Mathematical Mind of F. M. Dostoevsky: Imaginary Numbers, Non-Euclidean Geometry, and Infinity by Michael Marsh-Soloway; Russian Literature and Cognitive Science edited by Tom Dolack, “which applies the newest insights from cognitive psychology to the study of Russian literature;” Medical Storyworlds: Health, Illness, and Bodies in Russian and European Literature at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Elena Fratto; Jeff Love’s studies on Tolstoy’s use of calculus for the development of his philosophy of history, “Tolstoy’s Integration Metaphor from War and Peace” by Stephen T. Ahearn as well as other scientific studies that engage with literature such as Yuri Manin’s Mathematics as Metaphor, Sarah Hart’s Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature, and Carlo Rovelli’s Seven Brief Lessons in Physics. In addition to the reading materials, assignments will include expository writings as well as philosophical games and illustrations of the connections between science and art, mind and matter. We will also have guest lecturers from the departments of philosophy, mathematics, and cognitive science as we consider philosophy as science and science as art and explore multidisciplinarity and the many ways in which sciences can transform our understanding of art and literature and vice versa. No prerequisites either in humanities or sciences.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Juharyan, Victoria
• Room: Krieger 180
• Status: Closed
• Seats Available: 26/48
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course will serve as an introduction to alchemy and its development into modern chemistry beginning with its Greco-Egyptian origins. A strong emphasis of the course will be placed on understanding the philosophy and practice of notable alchemists, such as through their synthesis and pursuit of the mythical ‘philosopher’s stone.’ We will analyze how alchemists of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, like Basil Valentine, Paracelsus, and Isaac Newton, sought to understand the natural world through alchemical theories, experimental methods, symbolic representation, and metaphysical reflections. We will explore the philosophical underpinnings of these alchemical theories, with a focus on the Aristotelian, Neoplatonic, and Hermetic influences. Through writing assignments, students will engage critically with texts and alchemical iconography. Finally, the course includes a laboratory component in which we will reproduce alchemical procedures and analyze the products using modern solid-state characterization techniques. This course is intended for students of all majors and backgrounds.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Bassen, Gregory Neil
• Room: Bloomberg 172
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

The course introduces students to philosophy by critically examining selected texts in the Western philosophical tradition. Philosophers whose ideas will be examined include Plato, Boethius, Descartes, and Astell.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Connolly, Patrick
• Room: Krieger 180; Gilman 119
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-MODERN

The course introduces students to philosophy by critically examining selected texts in the Western philosophical tradition. Philosophers whose ideas will be examined include Plato, Boethius, Descartes, and Astell.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
• Instructor: Connolly, Patrick
• Room: Krieger 180; Gilman 119
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-MODERN

An introduction to symbolic logic and probability. In the first two parts of the course we study formal ways of determining whether a conclusion of an argument follows from its premises. Included are truth-functional logic and predicate logic. In the third part we study the basic rules of probability, and learn how to make probability calculations and decisions in life.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
• Room: Gilman 132; Krieger 306
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND

An introduction to symbolic logic and probability. In the first two parts of the course we study formal ways of determining whether a conclusion of an argument follows from its premises. Included are truth-functional logic and predicate logic. In the third part we study the basic rules of probability, and learn how to make probability calculations and decisions in life.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 55
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND

This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Holguín, Ben
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 313
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS

This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Holguín, Ben
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 277
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS

This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Holguín, Ben
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 277
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS

This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Holguín, Ben
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 217
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to the philosophy of mind with special emphasis on the relationship between human minds and artificial machines. Questions to be discussed include: Is the mind the brain, or something over and above it? Can computers think, and if so, do they think the way we do? How do our thoughts get to be about things in the external world? What is the nature of conscious experience?

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Green, E. J.
• Room: Gilman 132; Krieger Laverty
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND

Introduction to the philosophy of mind with special emphasis on the relationship between human minds and artificial machines. Questions to be discussed include: Is the mind the brain, or something over and above it? Can computers think, and if so, do they think the way we do? How do our thoughts get to be about things in the external world? What is the nature of conscious experience?

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Green, E. J.
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 313
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 14/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND

Introduction to the philosophy of mind with special emphasis on the relationship between human minds and artificial machines. Questions to be discussed include: Is the mind the brain, or something over and above it? Can computers think, and if so, do they think the way we do? How do our thoughts get to be about things in the external world? What is the nature of conscious experience?

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Green, E. J.
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 381
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND

Introduction to the philosophy of mind with special emphasis on the relationship between human minds and artificial machines. Questions to be discussed include: Is the mind the brain, or something over and above it? Can computers think, and if so, do they think the way we do? How do our thoughts get to be about things in the external world? What is the nature of conscious experience?

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Green, E. J.
• Room: Gilman 132; Gilman 413
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND

An overview of philosophical thought in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We shall focus on fundamental questions in epistemology (knowledge, how we acquire it, its scope and limits), metaphysics (the ultimate nature of reality, the relation of mind and body, free will), and theology (the existence and nature of God, God’s relation to the world, whether knowledge of such things is possible): all questions that arose in dramatic ways as a result of the rise of modern science. The principal philosophers to be discussed are Descartes, Locke, Hume and Kant, though we shall also make the acquaintance of Spinoza, Leibniz and Berkeley.

• Days/Times: MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room: Krieger 180; Gilman 55
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, INST-PT, PHIL-MODERN, MSCH-HUM

An overview of philosophical thought in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We shall focus on fundamental questions in epistemology (knowledge, how we acquire it, its scope and limits), metaphysics (the ultimate nature of reality, the relation of mind and body, free will), and theology (the existence and nature of God, God’s relation to the world, whether knowledge of such things is possible): all questions that arose in dramatic ways as a result of the rise of modern science. The principal philosophers to be discussed are Descartes, Locke, Hume and Kant, though we shall also make the acquaintance of Spinoza, Leibniz and Berkeley.

• Days/Times: MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room: Krieger 180; Gilman 17
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, INST-PT, PHIL-MODERN, MSCH-HUM

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Gilman 277
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Krieger Laverty
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Gilman 217
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Shaffer 302
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 14/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Gilman 134
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Bloomberg 172
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Shaffer 305
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Rieder, Travis N
• Room: Gilman 50; Bloomberg 276
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS

For better or for worse (and we think better), during the last century or so, philosophy has become infused with logic. Logic informs nearly every area of philosophy; it is part of our shared language and knowledge base. Vast segments of literature, especially in contemporary analytic philosophy, presuppose basic competence in logic and a familiarity with associated formal methods, particularly set theoretical. The standard philosophy curriculum should therefore guarantee a minimum level of logic literacy, thus enabling students to read the literature without it seeming like an impenetrable foreign tongue. This course is an introductory survey of the formal methods that a contemporary philosopher should be familiar with. It is not mathematically demanding in the way that more advanced courses in metalogic and specialized topics may be. The emphasis is on basic comprehension, not on mathematical virtuosity. The course is offered at two levels: a 200-level version and a more advanced 400/600-level option. All students will attend the same lectures and engage with the same core material, but the assignments and exams at the 400/600 level will be more challenging.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Bledin, Justin
• Room: Ames 218
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI

This is a survey of the main philosophers and philosophical schools in China from the classical age to the early modern age. Special focus is given to three historical periods: the pre-Qin era, the Wei-Jin era, and the Song-Ming era. We will see how Chinese philosophers tackled important questions such as what the world is like, are human beings special, how we should live our lives, and how we should construct a political community. Some of the philosophers surveyed are Confucius (Kongzi), Laozi, Mencius (Mengzi), Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Guo Xiang, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming..

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: Dong, Hao
• Room: Ames 234; Krieger 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN

This is a survey of the main philosophers and philosophical schools in China from the classical age to the early modern age. Special focus is given to three historical periods: the pre-Qin era, the Wei-Jin era, and the Song-Ming era. We will see how Chinese philosophers tackled important questions such as what the world is like, are human beings special, how we should live our lives, and how we should construct a political community. Some of the philosophers surveyed are Confucius (Kongzi), Laozi, Mencius (Mengzi), Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Guo Xiang, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming..

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 3:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Dong, Hao
• Room: Ames 234; Gilman 186
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN

Prometheus is Johns Hopkins' undergraduate philosophical society. The society organizes a conference and publishes a journal each year and more generally provides a community for philosophically-minded students. The Prometheus workshop facilitates this through open philosophical discussion; interaction with faculty, graduate students, and other members of the Philosophy Department; and other activities. For more information, please visit . Prerequisite: MUST have taken one philosophy course

• Days/Times: W 7:15PM - 8:05PM
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 24/25
• PosTag(s): n/a

The topic for this Majors Seminar is ancient Greek ethics. We will look at a variety of texts from a range of historical periods, beginning with Plato and ending with Sextus Empiricus. Among the central goals of the course will be to see how far the ancient Greek philosophers share a common approach to ethics and, to the extent that they do, how this may differ from typical approaches to the subject at other times and places – including today, but we needn’t confine ourselves to the here and now. A few recurring themes that will be important are: a) the idea of a highest good; b) the orientation towards “happiness” (eudaimonia); and c) the importance given to “care of the soul” and related notions.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 14/15
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-SEM

This course provides an introduction to current, ongoing debates around the use of AI in healthcare, as well as relevant philosophical problems. No prior knowledge in AI, healthcare, or philosophy required.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Christy, Rooke
• Room: Gilman 400
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 17/18
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, PHIL-BIOETH

A study of pre-Socratic philosophers, especially those to whom Plato reacted; also an examination of major dialogues of Plato with emphasis upon his principal theses and characteristic methods. Cross-listed with Classics.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN

An examination of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, with emphasis on The Critique of Pure Reason.

• Days/Times: W 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Allais, Lucy
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN

Is space an entity that exists independently of matter (substantivalism), or is it only an abstraction from spatial relations between bodies (relationism)? Is there a lapse of time even when nothing changes, or is time only a measure of motion? Are motion and rest contrary properties or states of a body, or are there only changes in the positions of bodies relative to one another? Philosophers and physicists have disputed these questions from antiquity to the present day. We survey the arguments and attempt to find a resolution. But there are further questions. What is the significance of incongruent counterparts (left hands vs. right hands)? Is there a fact of the matter as to the geometry of space (flat, hyperbolic or elliptical), or as to whether space-like separated events occur at the same time? What is the principle of relativity? Does Einstein’s theory have consequences for the substantivalist/relationist debate? What is the status of spacetime in current physics and cosmology? Why does time but not space have a “direction”? Are past, present and future objective features of reality, or are they merely “stubborn illusions”? Does time flow? If not, how do we account for our sense of the passage of time?

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert Alan
• Room: Gilman 288
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI

For better or for worse (and we think better), during the last century or so, philosophy has become infused with logic. Logic informs nearly every area of philosophy; it is part of our shared language and knowledge base. Vast segments of literature, especially in contemporary analytic philosophy, presuppose basic competence in logic and a familiarity with associated formal methods, particularly set theoretical. The standard philosophy curriculum should therefore guarantee a minimum level of logic literacy, thus enabling students to read the literature without it seeming like an impenetrable foreign tongue. This course is an introductory survey of the formal methods that a contemporary philosopher should be familiar with. It is not mathematically demanding in the way that more advanced courses in metalogic and specialized topics may be. The emphasis is on basic comprehension, not on mathematical virtuosity. The course is offered at two levels: a 200-level version and a more advanced 400/600-level option. All students will attend the same lectures and engage with the same core material, but the assignments and exams at the 400/600 level will be more challenging.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Bledin, Justin
• Room: Ames 218
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI

Eating is an essential human activity: we need to eat to survive. But how should we eat? In this course, we consider such ethical questions as: Is it morally wrong to make animals suffer and to kill them in order to eat them? What is the extent of hunger and food insecurity, in this country and globally, and what should we as individuals do about it? Should the government try to influence our food choices, to make them healthier?

• Days/Times: M 5:30PM - 8:00PM
• Instructor: Barnhill, Anne
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, PHIL-BIOETH, CES-LE

This course explores the role of imagination and communication in ethics through a combination of readings and D&D roleplaying.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room: Shriver Hall Board Room
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS

Is there a purpose to history? Under what descriptions does history make sense? This course will examine the idea of philosophy of history as it arose in classic German philosophy (esp. Kant and Hegel) and was transformed by radical thinkers in reaction to that original program (Marx, Nietzsche). The last part of the course will examine twentieth century philosophies of history, including those of Spengler, Toynbee, Koselleck, and Fukuyama.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room: Gilman 55
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN, PHIL-ETHICS, CES-LSO

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Allais, Lucy
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Pickard, Hanna
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Gross, Steven
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert Alan
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Dong, Hao
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Williams, Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bledin, Justin
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Phillips, Ian B
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Holguín, Ben
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Ismael, Jenann T
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Carroll, Sean Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Velleman, James David
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Connolly, Patrick
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Kraus, Katharina Teresa
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Goodman, Jeremy
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Green, E. J.
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Wonderly, Monique Lisa
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Allais, Lucy
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Pickard, Hanna
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Gross, Steven
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Moyar, Dean
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert Alan
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Dong, Hao
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bett, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Williams, Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bledin, Justin
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Taylor, Elanor Jane
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Phillips, Ian B
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 1/1
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Holguín, Ben
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Ismael, Jenann T
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Carroll, Sean Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Velleman, James David
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Connolly, Patrick
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Goodman, Jeremy
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Kraus, Katharina Teresa
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Green, E. J.
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

By special arrangement, at the discretion of the Instructor.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Wonderly, Monique Lisa
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

The advent of artificial intelligence has brought to the fore how much we have taken the idea of thinking for granted in the past fifty years. This course will trace the development of the notion of mind in ancient Greece through the exploration of consciousness in eighteenth-century German thought and physiological explanations of thought beginning with Nietzsche in the nineteenth century. We will compare these historical accounts to the statistical models and neural network theories that dominate today. We will also read a selection of short(er) literary works in which the question of who, or what, is speaking brings the traditional aesthetic concept of mimesis into contact with mimetic theory in machine learning.

• Days/Times: WF 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Tobias, Rochelle
• Room: SNF Agora 107
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course focuses on a powerful current in theater and thought from ancient works to the modern day: plays that self-consciously use the means of theater, such as a play-within-the-play, to represent the world. This type of play, along with its close relative, the Dream Play, traces its origin more to Plato and his motif of the Theatrum Mundi (the theater of the world/the world as theater) than to Aristotelian mimesis (the imitation of reality), and poses an alternative to the realist tradition. An ancient, alternate modality, this non-realistic line is also a modern one, recurring throughout history. By the 20th century, this “secret smuggler’s path” becomes a dominant language for theater itself, posing an alternate dialectics, an alternate metaphysics, an alternate hermeneutics for our ability to understand reality as well as illusion. This course—which lies at the intersection of both disciplines—will be cross listed between Theatre Arts and Philosophy. We will read plays from across histories as well as philosophical and theoretical texts, unearthing surprising correspondences in the two overlapping (Shakespeare would say "undistinguishable") fields.

• Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Lichtenberg, Drew
• Room: Krieger Laverty
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course is a study of philosophy of history and science primarily through a reading of Leo Tolstoy’s works and his epic War and Peace (1863-69). Over seven years, Tolstoy wrote a massive work that he refused to call a novel—but what was it? War and philosophy are more vital to it than peace or love stories. We entertain the idea that Tolstoy's radical ideas on narrative have a counterpart in his radical ideas on history, causation, freedom and necessity, catastrophe, commitment, and the formation of a moral self. To frame War and Peace and our discussions of philosophy, we will read Jeff Love’s studies on Tolstoy’s use of calculus for the development of his philosophy of history, “Tolstoy’s Integration Metaphor from War and Peace” by Stephen T. Ahearn as well as excerpts from philosophers like Plato, Kant, and Hegel that Tolstoy addresses in his writings. We will also study shorter works by Tolstoy, fictional and non-fictional, written before and after War and Peace, which attempt to answer huge questions with succinct definitions free of irony or reservation: What is war? courage? human experience? family? love? art? faith? death? freedom? Before War and Peace, Tolstoy poses these questions covertly and searchingly. After 1880 he answers them overtly and categorically—so much so that no authoritative text was safe. In this context, we will also read Tolstoy’s philosophical works Confession (1882), On Life (1888), and Isaiah Berlin’s The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy's View of History.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Juharyan, Victoria
• Room: Krieger 180
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 46/48
• PosTag(s): n/a