To see a complete list of courses offered and their descriptions, visit the online course catalog.
The courses listed below are provided by Student Information Services (SIS). This listing provides a snapshot of immediately available courses within this department and may not be complete. Course registration information can be found at https://sis.jhu.edu/classes.
Column one has the course number and section. Other columns show the course title, days offered, instructor's name, room number, if the course is cross-referenced with another program, and a option to view additional course information in a pop-up window.
Course # (Section)
Title
Day/Times
Instructor
Room
PosTag(s)
Info
AS.150.111 (01)
Philosophic Classics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Moyar, Dean
Levering Arellano
Philosophic Classics AS.150.111 (01)
The course introduces students to philosophy by critically examining selected texts in the Western philosophical tradition. Philosophers whose ideas will be examined include Plato, Descartes, Rousseau and Nietzsche.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Moyar, Dean
Room: Levering Arellano
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.111 (03)
Philosophic Classics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Moyar, Dean
Levering Arellano
Philosophic Classics AS.150.111 (03)
The course introduces students to philosophy by critically examining selected texts in the Western philosophical tradition. Philosophers whose ideas will be examined include Plato, Descartes, Rousseau and Nietzsche.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Moyar, Dean
Room: Levering Arellano
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.111 (02)
Philosophic Classics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Moyar, Dean
Levering Arellano
Philosophic Classics AS.150.111 (02)
The course introduces students to philosophy by critically examining selected texts in the Western philosophical tradition. Philosophers whose ideas will be examined include Plato, Descartes, Rousseau and Nietzsche.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Moyar, Dean
Room: Levering Arellano
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.111 (04)
Philosophic Classics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Moyar, Dean
Levering Arellano
Philosophic Classics AS.150.111 (04)
The course introduces students to philosophy by critically examining selected texts in the Western philosophical tradition. Philosophers whose ideas will be examined include Plato, Descartes, Rousseau and Nietzsche.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Moyar, Dean
Room: Levering Arellano
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.136 (01)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (01)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/21
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
AS.150.136 (02)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (02)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/20
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
AS.150.136 (03)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (03)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/21
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
AS.150.136 (04)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (04)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 16/20
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI
AS.150.194 (01)
Freshman Seminar: Skepticism Ancient and Modern
M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Williams, Michael
Gilman 413
PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-MODERN
Freshman Seminar: Skepticism Ancient and Modern AS.150.194 (01)
Can we gain knowledge of reality, or is everything a matter of opinion? Does it matter? Why do we want (or need) knowledge anyway? Questions like this have been the stock in trade of philosophical skeptics throughout the entire history of our Western philosophical tradition. This class will involve close readings of some classic works on the topic of skepticism with a view to understanding some of the main arguments for (and against) skepticism: how they work and how they may have changed over time. Readings include selections from Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Hume and Wittgenstein.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Williams, Michael
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-MODERN
AS.150.196 (01)
Freshman Seminar: Being A Good Person
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Shriver Hall 001
PHIL-ETHICS
Freshman Seminar: Being A Good Person AS.150.196 (01)
In this seminar we explore the virtue ethics tradition and its pursuit to figure out what it means to be a good person. We creatively read the canonical tradition as well as less familiar texts in race & gender studies as well as fiction.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Room: Shriver Hall 001
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.219 (01)
Intro to Bioethics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Remsen Hall 1
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, BEHB-SOCSCI, MSCH-HUM
Intro to Bioethics AS.150.219 (01)
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 1:30PM - 2:20PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 2:00PM - 2:50PM
An examination of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, with emphasis on The Critique of Pure Reason.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Forster, Eckart
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.219 (05)
Intro to Bioethics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Remsen Hall 1
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, BEHB-SOCSCI, MSCH-HUM
Intro to Bioethics AS.150.219 (05)
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 2:00PM - 2:50PM
Mathematical Logic I (H,Q) is the first semester of a year long course. It introduces the two notions of validity and provability for both sentential logic and first-order predicate logic, showing in each case that there is a system of derivation such that any argument is valid if and only if the conclusion is provable from the premises. The result is non-trivial since validity is a semantic notion involving the preservation of truth, while a proof is a finite syntactic object whose correctness can be effectively decided. The goal of the course, however, is to learn how to formulate mathematical theories in first-order logic and to explore various of their properties (or lack thereof) such as completeness, decidability, axiomatizability, finite axiomatizability, and consistency. The course concludes with a brief introduction to model theory and the interpretability of one theory in another, which is the basis for relative consistency proofs in mathematics.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert
Room: Gilman 77
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.219 (07)
Intro to Bioethics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 2:00PM - 2:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Remsen Hall 1
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, BEHB-SOCSCI, MSCH-HUM
Intro to Bioethics AS.150.219 (07)
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 2:00PM - 2:50PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 2:00PM - 2:50PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Bledin, Justin
Room: Gilman 132
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/30
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.219 (11)
Intro to Bioethics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Remsen Hall 1
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, BEHB-SOCSCI, MSCH-HUM
Intro to Bioethics AS.150.219 (11)
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
This course will explore a range of philosophical issues in cognitive psychology. Topics include the nature of psychological explanation, the computational theory of mind, the relationship between psychology and neuroscience, consciousness, intentionality, nativism/empiricism, and mental architecture. This course is intended for both philosophy students and any student interested in the mind-brain sciences.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Gunderson, Palmer Jon
Room: Shriver Hall 001
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/18
PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.418 (01)
Hermeneutics and Critrical Theory
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Forster, Eckart
Gilman 288
Hermeneutics and Critrical Theory AS.150.418 (01)
An introduction to two of the most important and influential schools in twentieth-century German philosophy. This course examines the works of four leading representatives of these schools, i.e. Heidegger, Gadamer, Horkheimer, and Habermas.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Forster, Eckart
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.219 (06)
Intro to Bioethics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Bok, Hilary
Remsen Hall 1
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, BEHB-SOCSCI, MSCH-HUM
Intro to Bioethics AS.150.219 (06)
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 2:00PM - 2:50PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 2:00PM - 2:50PM
A philosophical exploration of the nature of truth, looking at different theories of truth and related questions about science, morality, logic and rational disagreement.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Taylor, Elanor J.
Room: Krieger 306
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-SEM
AS.150.219 (13)
Intro to Bioethics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Bok, Hilary
Remsen Hall 1
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, BEHB-SOCSCI, MSCH-HUM
Intro to Bioethics AS.150.219 (13)
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Descartes and Spinoza are two of the leading philosophers of the modern period. In the class we will study the works of both figures. Special attention will be assigned to Spinoza’s early works.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 10:00AM - 12:30PM
Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN
AS.150.483 (01)
Evidence, Foundations of Probability, and Speculation
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 288
PHIL-LOGSCI
Evidence, Foundations of Probability, and Speculation AS.150.483 (01)
The course examines major theories about the meaning of evidence and probability, and in terms of these provides answers to the questions “What is a scientific speculation?” and “When, if at all, is speculating important or even legitimate in science?” No preview study of evidence or probability is required.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI
AS.150.433 (01)
Philosophy of Space & Time
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Rynasiewicz, Robert
Gilman 313
Philosophy of Space & Time AS.150.433 (01)
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?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert
Room: Gilman 313
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.464 (01)
Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Moyar, Dean
Krieger 180
PHIL-ETHICS, INST-PT
Hegel’s Philosophy of Right AS.150.464 (01)
This course will be a close reading of G.W.F. Hegel's Philosophy of Right. Some of the main topics for discussion will be the relation of law and morality, the dependence of the political philosophy on Hegel's Logic, and the relation of individual and social conceptions of freedom.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Moyar, Dean
Room: Krieger 180
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, INST-PT
AS.150.481 (01)
Hobbes' Leviathan
Th 10:30AM - 1:00PM
Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
Gilman 288
PHIL-MODERN, INST-PT
Hobbes' Leviathan AS.150.481 (01)
Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan is a masterpiece of modern political philosophy. This class is an in-depth study of that work.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: Th 10:30AM - 1:00PM
Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN, INST-PT
AS.150.463 (01)
The Value of Humanity and Nature
W 4:15PM - 6:45PM
Powell, Kevin Matthew
Gilman 288
PHIL-ETHICS
The Value of Humanity and Nature AS.150.463 (01)
We start by posing a question: who, or what, has standing in the moral community? First we consider an appealing answer--humanity--then we consider whether moral status extends to nonhuman animals and the environment. We will focus on the notion of being valuable, and how it relates to moral considerability. No background in philosophy is required.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 4:15PM - 6:45PM
Instructor: Powell, Kevin Matthew
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/18
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.211.265 (01)
Panorama of German Thought
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Dornbach, Marton
Gilman 313
GRLL-ENGL, GRLL-GERM, INST-PT
Panorama of German Thought AS.211.265 (01)
This course explores the rich terrain of German literature and philosophical thought, from the Enlightenment to today. At each meeting, we will investigate canonical texts of the German intellectual tradition, with an eye to establishing their well-deserved place in wider, global discourses. In this way, we will learn to think critically with these important literary and philosophical texts from German-speaking lands as a means of viewing and appreciating the full panorama of German thought. Authors discussed may include Kant, Goethe, Schiller, Hegel, Kleist, Heine, Fontane, Nietzsche, Freud, Kafka, Heidegger, Mann and Bernhard. Readings and discussion will be in English. German is appreciated but not required. Students have the option of an additional hour of German discussion (to be scheduled at a mutually agreed time) and doing all the assignments in German for German-language credit (3+1) towards the major or minor. Students interested in that option should register for section 2.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Dornbach, Marton
Room: Gilman 313
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/12
PosTag(s): GRLL-ENGL, GRLL-GERM, INST-PT
AS.150.434 (01)
Formal Methods of Philosophy
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Bledin, Justin
Gilman 132
PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
Formal Methods of Philosophy AS.150.434 (01)
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. Co-taught with AS.150.223 Formal Methods of Philosophy.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Bledin, Justin
Room: Gilman 132
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
AS.213.374 (01)
Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Hodson 216
GRLL-ENGL
Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy AS.213.374 (01)
This course explores the themes of existentialism, including the meaning of existence, the nature of the self, authenticity and inauthenticity, the inescapability of death, the experience of time, anxiety, freedom and responsibility to others, in literary and philosophical works. It will be examined why these philosophical ideas often seem to demand literary expression, or bear a close relation to literary works. Readings may include writings by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Heidegger, Rilke, Kafka, Simmel, Jaspers, Buber, Sartre, de Beauvoir, and Camus.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Room: Hodson 216
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): GRLL-ENGL
AS.211.265 (02)
Panorama of German Thought
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM, W 5:00PM - 6:00PM
Dornbach, Marton
Gilman 313
GRLL-ENGL, GRLL-GERM, INST-PT
Panorama of German Thought AS.211.265 (02)
This course explores the rich terrain of German literature and philosophical thought, from the Enlightenment to today. At each meeting, we will investigate canonical texts of the German intellectual tradition, with an eye to establishing their well-deserved place in wider, global discourses. In this way, we will learn to think critically with these important literary and philosophical texts from German-speaking lands as a means of viewing and appreciating the full panorama of German thought. Authors discussed may include Kant, Goethe, Schiller, Hegel, Kleist, Heine, Fontane, Nietzsche, Freud, Kafka, Heidegger, Mann and Bernhard. Readings and discussion will be in English. German is appreciated but not required. Students have the option of an additional hour of German discussion (to be scheduled at a mutually agreed time) and doing all the assignments in German for German-language credit (3+1) towards the major or minor. Students interested in that option should register for section 2.
Credits: 4.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM, W 5:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Dornbach, Marton
Room: Gilman 313
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/4
PosTag(s): GRLL-ENGL, GRLL-GERM, INST-PT
AS.214.479 (01)
Dante Visits the Afterlife: The Divine Comedy
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Stephens, Walter E
Hodson 216
ENGL-PR1800
Dante Visits the Afterlife: The Divine Comedy AS.214.479 (01)
Dante’s Divina commedia is the greatest long poem of the Middle Ages; some say the greatest poem of all time. We will study the Commedia critically to find: (1) What it reveals about the worldview of late-medieval Europe; (2) how it works as poetry; (3) its relation to the intellectual cultures of pagan antiquity and Latin (Catholic) Christianity; (4) its presentation of political and social issues; (5) its influence on intellectual history, in Italy and elsewhere; (6) the challenges it presents to modern readers and translators; (7) what it reveals about Dante’s understanding of cosmology, world history and culture. We will read and discuss the Commedia in English, but students will be expected to familiarize themselves with key Italian terms and concepts. Students taking section 02 (for 4 credits) will spend an additional hour working in Italian at a time to be mutually decided upon by students and professor.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Stephens, Walter E
Room: Hodson 216
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): ENGL-PR1800
AS.300.309 (01)
The Contemporary Philosophical Novel
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Levi, Jacob Ezra
Smokler Center Library
The Contemporary Philosophical Novel AS.300.309 (01)
What can literature offer to philosophical reflection? Can literature address experiences that evade theoretical philosophy? Or, does fictional writing conflict with rigorous philosophical inquiry? The long-standing separation of philosophy and literature begins when Plato bans poetry and tragedy from the ideal city in the Republic. This seminar focuses on nineteenth and twentieth century thinkers that challenge the predisposition against literature through different attempts to write the “philosophical novel.” In this seminar, we will take seriously the philosophical stakes of literary texts, and investigate how and why literature offers a unique perspective for philosophical reflection. We will read texts by Plato, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Iris Murdoch, and David Foster-Wallace.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Levi, Jacob Ezra
Room: Smokler Center Library
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/18
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.214.479 (02)
Dante Visits the Afterlife: The Divine Comedy
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM, Th 11:00AM - 11:59AM
Stephens, Walter E
Hodson 216
ENGL-PR1800
Dante Visits the Afterlife: The Divine Comedy AS.214.479 (02)
Dante’s Divina commedia is the greatest long poem of the Middle Ages; some say the greatest poem of all time. We will study the Commedia critically to find: (1) What it reveals about the worldview of late-medieval Europe; (2) how it works as poetry; (3) its relation to the intellectual cultures of pagan antiquity and Latin (Catholic) Christianity; (4) its presentation of political and social issues; (5) its influence on intellectual history, in Italy and elsewhere; (6) the challenges it presents to modern readers and translators; (7) what it reveals about Dante’s understanding of cosmology, world history and culture. We will read and discuss the Commedia in English, but students will be expected to familiarize themselves with key Italian terms and concepts. Students taking section 02 (for 4 credits) will spend an additional hour working in Italian at a time to be mutually decided upon by students and professor.
Philosophical Conceptions of the Infinite AS.300.315 (01)
What is the infinite? Can we comprehend it? Can we experience it? In this course we will explore various ways in which philosophers in the western tradition have answered questions such as these. In the first half of the semester, we will examine theoretical treatments of the infinite that inform how we understand the fabric of our world, from the ordinary objects around us to more sublime concepts of God, space, time, and mathematics. In the second half, we will turn to arguments in aesthetics and ethics that reveal an interplay between infinity and finitude occurring before our very eyes. Philosophers we will cover include Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Kant, Hegel, Russell, Levinas, and Arendt. Throughout, we will ask such fundamental questions as, what is the starting point of philosophy? what is its methodology? what can it achieve in terms of knowledge? and in terms of practice?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Host, Alexander Stoltzfus
Room: Gilman 208
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/15
PosTag(s): INST-PT
AS.150.491 (01)
American Philosophy: Pragmatism
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Williams, Michael
Gilman 288
PHIL-LOGSCI
American Philosophy: Pragmatism AS.150.491 (01)
Studies of major figures in the history of American philosophy beginning with the 19th century. The course focuses on the development of pragmatism in the work Peirce, James and Dewey. Other philosophers, such as Royce and Mead, may also be studied.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Williams, Michael
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Open
Seats Available: 11/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI
AS.300.203 (01)
Freshman Seminar: How Literature Works: Narrative Imagination from Ancient to Modern Times
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Sirin, Hale
Mattin Center 161
Freshman Seminar: How Literature Works: Narrative Imagination from Ancient to Modern Times AS.300.203 (01)
Is storytelling part of human nature? Do myths and legends have a universal structure? As a bridge between experience and language, narratives inform the way we understand history, gender, politics, emotion, cognition and much more. This course will explore how narratives are composed, how they are experienced, and eventually, how they evolve throughout history. We will be reading a diverse selection of ancient and modern texts, including selections from Plato and Aristotle, the Odyssey, the Hebrew Bible, as well as 19th-and-20th-century authors such as the Brothers Grimm, Gustave Flaubert, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. The second part of the course focuses on philosophical and critical approaches to narrative in arts and media, concluding with the evolving concept of narrative in the digital age. Theoretical readings include selections from Karl Marx, Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida and Judith Butler. All readings will be in English.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Sirin, Hale
Room: Mattin Center 161
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/12
PosTag(s): n/a
Column one has the course number and section. Other columns show the course title, days offered, instructor's name, room number, if the course is cross-referenced with another program, and a option to view additional course information in a pop-up window.
Course # (Section)
Title
Day/Times
Instructor
Room
PosTag(s)
Info
AS.100.295 (02)
American Intellectual History since the Civil War
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Burgin, Angus
Gilman 50
HIST-US
American Intellectual History since the Civil War AS.100.295 (02)
Readings in American social thought since 1865, ranging across developments in philosophy, literature, law, economics, and political theory.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Burgin, Angus
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/15
PosTag(s): HIST-US
AS.150.118 (03)
Introduction to Formal Logic
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
Introduction to Formal Logic AS.150.118 (03)
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. Co-listed with AS.150.632 (for graduate students) (01-F 11:00-11:50am).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/17
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
AS.100.295 (01)
American Intellectual History since the Civil War
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Burgin, Angus
Gilman 50
HIST-US
American Intellectual History since the Civil War AS.100.295 (01)
Readings in American social thought since 1865, ranging across developments in philosophy, literature, law, economics, and political theory.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Burgin, Angus
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): HIST-US
AS.100.295 (03)
American Intellectual History since the Civil War
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Burgin, Angus
Gilman 50
HIST-US
American Intellectual History since the Civil War AS.100.295 (03)
Readings in American social thought since 1865, ranging across developments in philosophy, literature, law, economics, and political theory.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Burgin, Angus
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): HIST-US
AS.100.295 (04)
American Intellectual History since the Civil War
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Burgin, Angus
Gilman 50
HIST-US
American Intellectual History since the Civil War AS.100.295 (04)
Readings in American social thought since 1865, ranging across developments in philosophy, literature, law, economics, and political theory.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Burgin, Angus
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): HIST-US
AS.150.118 (01)
Introduction to Formal Logic
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
Introduction to Formal Logic AS.150.118 (01)
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. Co-listed with AS.150.632 (for graduate students) (01-F 11:00-11:50am).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/17
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.118 (02)
Introduction to Formal Logic
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
Introduction to Formal Logic AS.150.118 (02)
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. Co-listed with AS.150.632 (for graduate students) (01-F 11:00-11:50am).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/17
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.118 (04)
Introduction to Formal Logic
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50
PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
Introduction to Formal Logic AS.150.118 (04)
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. Co-listed with AS.150.632 (for graduate students) (01-F 11:00-11:50am).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/17
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.193 (01)
Philosophy of Language Seminar: Proper Names and Definite Descriptions
F 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Bledin, Justin
Gilman 288
COGS-PHLMND
Philosophy of Language Seminar: Proper Names and Definite Descriptions AS.150.193 (01)
In talking with each other, we often use proper names like 'Juliet' and definite descriptions like 'The most beautiful fresco in Italy' to pick out persons and objects in our world. But what do these expressions mean exactly? In this seminar, we'll slowly and carefully work through some classic philosophical texts that address this issue. These texts will provide an introduction to the philosophy of language, and to analytic philosophy in general.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: F 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Instructor: Bledin, Justin
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.205 (01)
Introduction to the History of Modern Philosophy
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Williams, Michael
Levering Arellano
PHIL-MODERN, MSCH-HUM, INST-GLOBAL, INST-PT
Introduction to the History of Modern Philosophy AS.150.205 (01)
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
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.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
The class will serve as a high level introduction to moral philosophy. No background in philosophy is required. We examine three classic theories in normative ethics (virtue ethics, Kantian moral philosophy, and consequentialism), and challenges to those theories. We also cover topics in meta-ethics (with a focus on reasons and values).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 4:00PM - 4:50PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.220 (02)
Introduction to Moral Philosophy
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Gilman 50
PHIL-ETHICS
Introduction to Moral Philosophy AS.150.220 (02)
The class will serve as a high level introduction to moral philosophy. No background in philosophy is required. We examine three classic theories in normative ethics (virtue ethics, Kantian moral philosophy, and consequentialism), and challenges to those theories. We also cover topics in meta-ethics (with a focus on reasons and values).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.220 (04)
Introduction to Moral Philosophy
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Gilman 50
PHIL-ETHICS
Introduction to Moral Philosophy AS.150.220 (04)
The class will serve as a high level introduction to moral philosophy. No background in philosophy is required. We examine three classic theories in normative ethics (virtue ethics, Kantian moral philosophy, and consequentialism), and challenges to those theories. We also cover topics in meta-ethics (with a focus on reasons and values).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 1/10
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.220 (03)
Introduction to Moral Philosophy
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Gilman 50
PHIL-ETHICS
Introduction to Moral Philosophy AS.150.220 (03)
The class will serve as a high level introduction to moral philosophy. No background in philosophy is required. We examine three classic theories in normative ethics (virtue ethics, Kantian moral philosophy, and consequentialism), and challenges to those theories. We also cover topics in meta-ethics (with a focus on reasons and values).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.220 (01)
Introduction to Moral Philosophy
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Gilman 50
PHIL-ETHICS
Introduction to Moral Philosophy AS.150.220 (01)
The class will serve as a high level introduction to moral philosophy. No background in philosophy is required. We examine three classic theories in normative ethics (virtue ethics, Kantian moral philosophy, and consequentialism), and challenges to those theories. We also cover topics in meta-ethics (with a focus on reasons and values).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.220 (06)
Introduction to Moral Philosophy
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Bok, Hilary
Gilman 50
PHIL-ETHICS
Introduction to Moral Philosophy AS.150.220 (06)
The class will serve as a high level introduction to moral philosophy. No background in philosophy is required. We examine three classic theories in normative ethics (virtue ethics, Kantian moral philosophy, and consequentialism), and challenges to those theories. We also cover topics in meta-ethics (with a focus on reasons and values).
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 50
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/10
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.260 (01)
Introduction to Metaphysics
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Taylor, Elanor J.
Gilman 17
PHIL-MIND
Introduction to Metaphysics AS.150.260 (01)
Metaphysics addresses fundamental questions about the nature and structure of reality. This course will offer an introduction to metaphysics, and a survey of metaphysical debates about topics including time, causation, personal identity, God and free will.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Taylor, Elanor J.
Room: Gilman 17
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND
AS.150.458 (01)
The Biggest Hits in Philosophy of Science (20th and 21st Centuries)
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 132
PHIL-MODERN
The Biggest Hits in Philosophy of Science (20th and 21st Centuries) AS.150.458 (01)
Readings from Duhem, Carnap, Hempel, Popper, Quine, Kuhn, Feyerabend, van Fraassen, and others who got us where we are in the field today. Quine said: Philosophy of science is philosophy enough. Is it?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 132
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/12
PosTag(s): PHIL-MODERN
AS.150.436 (01)
Philosophy of Gender
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Taylor, Elanor J.
Gilman 288
PHIL-MIND
Philosophy of Gender AS.150.436 (01)
In this class we will examine philosophical questions about gender, and about the intersections between gender and other social categories including race, class and sexuality. We will focus specifically on questions about the metaphysics of gender and other social categories.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Taylor, Elanor J.
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND
AS.150.330 (01)
Decisions, Games & Social Choice
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Bledin, Justin
Gilman 17
COGS-PHLMND
Decisions, Games & Social Choice AS.150.330 (01)
We investigate rational decision making at the individual and group level. In the first section of the course on decision theory, we consider how a single rational agent will act in a choice situation given her knowledge, or lack thereof, about the world and her particular risk profile. In the second section on game theory, we explore different kinds of competitive and cooperative strategic interactions between agents, and we define different kinds of solutions, or equilibria, of these games. We also apply game theory to the study of morality, convention, and the social contract. In the final section of the course on social choice theory, we turn to group decision making with a focus on the impossibility results of Arrow and Sen.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Bledin, Justin
Room: Gilman 17
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/40
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.260 (02)
Introduction to Metaphysics
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Taylor, Elanor J.
Gilman 17
PHIL-MIND
Introduction to Metaphysics AS.150.260 (02)
Metaphysics addresses fundamental questions about the nature and structure of reality. This course will offer an introduction to metaphysics, and a survey of metaphysical debates about topics including time, causation, personal identity, God and free will.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Taylor, Elanor J.
Room: Gilman 17
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND
AS.150.404 (01)
The Idea of Power
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Maryland 202
INST-PT, PHIL-ETHICS
The Idea of Power AS.150.404 (01)
The Idea of Power surveys seminal texts in the history of political thought on the nature, promise, and dangers of political and social power; it also critically engages contemporary texts on race and gender power relations
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Room: Maryland 202
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): INST-PT, PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.300 (01)
Prometheus Editorial Workshop
T 7:00PM - 8:00PM
Heath, Austin E
Gilman 288
Prometheus Editorial Workshop AS.150.300 (01)
Prometheus is an international undergraduate philosophy journal published by students at Johns Hopkins University. The purpose of the journal is to promote philosophic discourse of the highest standard by offering students an opportunity to engage in open discussion, participate in the production and publication of an academic journal, and establish a community of aspiring philosophers. Students enrolled in this workshop will act as the staff readers for the journal. For more information, please visit www.prometheus-journal.com.
Prerequisite: MUST have taken one philosophy course.
Credits: 1.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 7:00PM - 8:00PM
Instructor: Heath, Austin E
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/20
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.194.401 (01)
Themes in Medieval Islamic Thought
W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Ferrario, Gabriele
Gilman 300
ISLM-ISLMST
Themes in Medieval Islamic Thought AS.194.401 (01)
This seminar examines medieval Muslim thinkers who addressed themes at the intersection of theology, philosophy, science, and ethics: the definition of the nature of God’s attributes, His uniqueness, transcendence and omnipotence; human freewill and the limits of human knowledge; the nature of the world; and the relationship among reason, religion, and science. The course will look at how these and other crucial themes were addressed by major medieval philosophers and philosophical schools not only in Islam, but also in Judaism and Christianity, and highlight similarities and differences among the three major monotheistic faiths.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Ferrario, Gabriele
Room: Gilman 300
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): ISLM-ISLMST
AS.150.492 (01)
Plato's Republic
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Moyar, Dean
Gilman 400
INST-PT
Plato's Republic AS.150.492 (01)
This course will be a close reading of Plato's Republic, with special attention to the parallel of city and soul, the relevance of metaphysics to politics, and the relation of aristocracy, democracy and tyranny.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Moyar, Dean
Room: Gilman 400
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): INST-PT
AS.225.328 (01)
The Existential Drama: Philosophy and Theatre of the Absurd
M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Martin, Joseph H
Merrick 105
The Existential Drama: Philosophy and Theatre of the Absurd AS.225.328 (01)
Existentialism, a powerful movement in modern drama and theatre, has had a profound influence on contemporary political thought, ethics, and psychology, and has transformed our very notion of how to stage a play. Selected readings and lectures on the philosophy of Kierkegaard, Nietszche, Camus and Sartre -- and discussion of works for the stage by Sartre, Ionesco, Genet, Beckett, Albee, Pinter, Athol Fugard (with Nkani & Nshone), Heiner Müller and the late plays of Caryl Churchill. Opportunities for projects on Dürrenmatt, Frisch, Havel, Witkiewicz, and Mrozek.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Martin, Joseph H
Room: Merrick 105
Status: Open
Seats Available: 6/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.430 (01)
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit
Th 9:00AM - 11:30AM
Forster, Eckart
Gilman 288
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit AS.150.430 (01)
An in-depth study of Hegel's masterpiece, the Phenomenology of Spirit. We will be concentrating on the first half of the text.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: Th 9:00AM - 11:30AM
Instructor: Forster, Eckart
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.486 (01)
Moral Imagination
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Wolman MPR
PHIL-ETHICS
Moral Imagination AS.150.486 (01)
This course explores the relationship between moral principles and how we use imagination to put or fail to put principles to work. We will read widely and eclectically in exploring this relationship.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Room: Wolman MPR
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS
AS.150.421 (01)
Mathematical Logic II
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Rynasiewicz, Robert
Shaffer 303
Mathematical Logic II AS.150.421 (01)
Gödel's two incompleteness theorems regarding, first the Euclid set a precedent for the codification of mathematics by axiomatizing the set of geometric truths. An obvious question that
arises is whether all branches of mathematics are axiomatizable, especially fundamental ones, such as arithmetic. In the late nineteenth century, what became known as Peano arithmetic was proposed as an axiomatization. The essential feature of an axiomatization is that, although one might have an infinite number of axioms, as does Peano arithmetic, one must have a decision
procedure for determining whether a given proposition is or is not an axiom. In 1931, Gödel proved the astounding result that, not only is Peano arithmetic incomplete in the sense that it does not entail all arithmetic truths, but any attempted axiomatization of arithmetic is incomplete, and thus the set of arithmetic truths must be undecidable. Subsequently, Alfred Tarski showed the set of arithmetic truths is not even definable. Also, by finding a finitely axiomatizable undecidable subtheory of Peano arithmetic, Alonzo Church was able to show that there is not even an effective procedure for determining whether a given sentence is a logical truth.
Finally, in his 1931 paper, Gödel argued a second incompleteness theorem, viz., that any theory strong enough to express its own consistency, as he showed Peano arithmetic to be, cannot prove its own consistency unless it is inconsistent. We will cover these and other results that have had a profound effect on the foundations of mathematics. It remains an open question whether so basic a theory as Peano arithmetic is consistent.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Rynasiewicz, Robert
Room: Shaffer 303
Status: Open
Seats Available: 12/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.300.402 (01)
What is a Person? Humans, Corporations, Robots, Trees
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Siraganian, Lisa Michele
Gilman 208
What is a Person? Humans, Corporations, Robots, Trees AS.300.402 (01)
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 investigates recent debates about being a person in literature and law. Questions examined will include: Should trees have standing? Can corporations have religious beliefs? Could a robot sign a contract? Although our explorations will be focused on these questions, the genre of materials examined will be wide-ranging (including legal essays, philosophy, contemporary novels, and film). Texts will include novels by William Gibson and Lydia Millet, essays by John Dewey and Daniel Dennett, and films such as Ex Machinaand Her.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Siraganian, Lisa Michele
Room: Gilman 208
Status: Open
Seats Available: 14/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.480 (01)
Death and Dying
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Bok, Hilary
Gilman 288
Death and Dying AS.150.480 (01)
What is death? How should we think about death? How should we think about it? How should we treat those who are dying including ourselves? This course will examine these and other philosophical questions.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.482 (01)
Food Ethics
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Barnhill, Anne Elizabeth
Gilman 288
ENVS-MAJOR, ENVS-MINOR
Food Ethics AS.150.482 (01)
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?
