The course introduces the student to some main topics and methods of philosophy. We will take up a few central philosophical issues and critically investigate several philosophical perspectives on each of them. The emphasis will be on gaining a clear understanding of the philosophy and how it is evaluated.

Location

Hylan Building Room 202 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Philosophers ask questions about a vast variety of topics, including what really exists, what we can know, how we should live, how we should treat each other, whether there is a God or a life after this one, how can we have free choices, and what it means to be a human with a particular identity.  Philosophers seek answers to such questions by thinking carefully about them, using experience, reason and argumentation, and taking into account contributions of the sciences, literature, and other fields. This course will introduce students to some of the most interesting and exciting parts of philosophy.

Location

Lattimore Room 201 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This course is an introduction to basic issues in the philosophical investigation of ethics. Topics include general theories of the nature of right and wrong and theories of the functions of ethical language. Classes are in the lecture and question format. The text is Russ Schaffer-Landau's The Findamentals of Ethics, fifth edition, and there will readings that will be available electronically.  Assignments are readings from these sources

Location

Gavett Hall Room 202 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

An introduction to moral philosophy as applied to current topics. Some questions to be explored: What sorts of socioeconomic principles are morally justifiable? Does the history of racial injustice in the U.S. create a moral demand for reparations, and if so, what is the best argument for this? What is the relation, if any, between morality and religion? Do animals have moral rights? How should we understand the meaning and value of human life and death? Can abortion sometimes be justified, and if so, how? Is it okay to destroy embryos for stem cell research? Is active euthanasia ever permissible? Is capital punishment justifiable in principle? In practice? Is torture morally permissible in the fight against terrorism? How far does our moral duty to aid distant strangers extend? We will also explore related general questions: Is it always possible for a good enough end to justify bad means? Are there objective facts about right or wrong, or is morality ultimately relative to cultures or times? Are there situations in which every available action is wrong? Can we be morally assessed even for some things that are largely a matter of luck?

Location

Dewey Room 2162 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This course will provide you with the essential skills you need to distinguish good arguments from bad arguments, and to approach any given subject matter in a rational, systematic manner.           In order to decide what to believe and what to do, we have to reason: we have to start with some initial beliefs or assumptions, and then draw conclusions from these starting points. For instance, you might wonder whether taking this course will be useful to you. You might reason as follows: “It would certainly be useful for me to be able to tell whether someone is giving me good reason to believe something, or whether they are only trying to trick me into believing something by appealing to my emotions. PHIL 105 will help me develop these skills. So, taking PHIL 105 will be useful for me!” 

We can often make our reasoning processes explicit and express them in language, like in the case of your hypothetical reasoning above. Arguments are what we get when we make reasoning explicit. More precisely, an argument is a set of claims or statements, one of which is the conclusion, and some of which are the premises supposed to support the conclusion. Your hypothetical reasoning above was thus an argument for the claim that this course is useful for you. Was it a good one? That’s the kind of question you will learn to answer in this course. More generally, the goal of this course is to teach you how to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments made by others, and to construct arguments of your own in order to decide what to believe and what to do about what matters to you. You will learn basic rules to follow when reasoning about any topic whatsoever, and common mistakes to avoid. You will also learn strategies to avoid being misled by falsehoods, including falsehoods that come from the media and from online sources. The skills you will learn in this course are essential to help you get at the truth, and to make good decisions in all aspects of your life. 

Location

Meliora Room 221 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Logic is the study of valid forms of argument. This course is an introduction to symbolic logic, a modern theory of logic that involves the construction of an artificial symbolic language within which the logical forms of sentences can be expressed and the validity of arguments can be proven. Students will learn two logical systems, Sentence Logic and Predicate Logic. In addition to translating English arguments into symbolic form, and constructing interpretations to demonstrate the invalidity of arguments, students will also learn how to prove that an argument is valid using a set of rigorously defined implication rules for each logical system.

Location

Harkness Room 115 (MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This course is an introduction to the ethics of human beings’ interactions with the environment and the impact of those interactions on other human beings, other species, and ecosystems. It addresses basic questions about the nature of ethics itself, alternative ethical theories and considerations, and the value of individual human beings, individuals of other species, species as such, and ecosystems.  Topics will include the interests of future generations, animal rights, the concept of nature, climate change, sustainability, and population and consumption.

Location

Meliora Room 221 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This is a course about understanding the methodologies and styles of reasoning employed in the sciences. The course will provide insight into testing of hypotheses as well as inductive and probabilistic reasoning and their applications in science and in everyday life. We will discuss case studies in the history of science as well as contemporary examples that raise the question of how we should apply reasoning to scientific questions, such as how to assess research carried out by private corporations, or how to weigh expert testimony in support of conspiracy theories.  Topics may also include the distinction between science and non-science, whether science makes progress, what the role of values are in science, and the relationship between science and religious belief. 

Location

Gavett Hall Room 312 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Often regarded as generating many of our contemporary philosophical questions and resources, the philosophy of 17th and 18th century Europe was shaped by the new science of Galileo, Descartes and Newton, geopolitical developments like the Thirty Years War and exploration and colonization of non-European places, and debates about religious and political freedom and toleration. Readings from among Montaigne, Descartes, Cavendish, Leibniz, Conway, Spinoza, Newton, Du Chatelet, Berkeley and Hume on methodology, motion, space and time, causality, perception, the mind-body problem, toleration and knowledge.

Location

Gavett Hall Room 301 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

(Previous course in Philosophy required. PHIL 110 Recommended.)

This course is an introduction to metalogic. Topics covered include basic elements of set theory, and the model-theoretic treatment of sentential and first-order logic (completeness, compactness, and Lwenheim-Skolem theorems).

Location

Morey Room 502 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Prerequisite - At least one previous course in Philosophy

Twentieth century classics on questions of moral theory: What makes some acts morally right? How could we ever know what has value and what we morally ought to do? Are there any universally applicable ethical norms, or is morality subjective or otherwise relative?

Location

Wilmot Room 116 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Prerequisite - at least 1 prior course in Philosophy

Particularly in n an election year, we should think carefully about the meaning and justification of the American Republic. In this course, we will study the founding of the United States by examining the political theory which sparked the revolution itself and which lay behind the writing of the Constitution. We will look at some of the key works that were read by the Founders, particularly the works of John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu, and David Hume.  But we will also look at important works that from the period surrounding the revolution and the writing of the Constitution, like those by Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, and we also look at writers that were sometimes ignored at the time, like those from Black authors and women.  

The eighteenth century was a time of remarkable intellectual activity in the West, and the Americans played a central role in it, both reflecting the thought in Europe and influencing the course of thoughts and events there. Although it was over 200 years ago, the eighteenth century was a modern period:  their concerns are largely our concerns. But since they come from a different background, they approach these concerns in a different and (I hope) illuminating way.  So we want to examine these ideas in their context, but we also want to see what these thinkers can tell us about the role and nature of government and of society.

Location

Dewey Room 2110D (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Prerequisite - at least 1 prior course in Philosophy

The W versions of 200-level courses all count toward the upper-level writing requirement for the major. The course descriptions for the W versions are the same as for the standard version, the only difference being that the W version requires additional written work including a component of revision of at least one assignment. 

Particularly in n an election year, we should think carefully about the meaning and justification of the American Republic. In this course, we will study the founding of the United States by examining the political theory which sparked the revolution itself and which lay behind the writing of the Constitution. We will look at some of the key works that were read by the Founders, particularly the works of John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu, and David Hume.  But we will also look at important works that from the period surrounding the revolution and the writing of the Constitution, like those by Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, and we also look at writers that were sometimes ignored at the time, like those from Black authors and women.  

The eighteenth century was a time of remarkable intellectual activity in the West, and the Americans played a central role in it, both reflecting the thought in Europe and influencing the course of thoughts and events there. Although it was over 200 years ago, the eighteenth century was a modern period:  their concerns are largely our concerns. But since they come from a different background, they approach these concerns in a different and (I hope) illuminating way.  So we want to examine these ideas in their context, but we also want to see what these thinkers can tell us about the role and nature of government and of society.

Location

Dewey Room 2110D (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

PREREQUISITE:  At least one prior course in Philosophy

We do social and political philosophy to better understand how our social and political communities should be structured. We’ll use both classic and contemporary works of political philosophy to explore how we might best balance two aims of political community: Freedom and Equality. While both of these aims are central to a just society, they also seem to be in deep tension with one another.

Location

Gavett Hall Room 202 (MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

PREREQUISITE:  At least one prior course in Philosophy

We do social and political philosophy to better understand how our social and political communities should be structured. We’ll use both classic and contemporary works of political philosophy to explore how we might best balance two aims of political community: Freedom and Equality. While both of these aims are central to a just society, they also seem to be in deep tension with one another.

Location

Gavett Hall Room 202 (MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Prerequisite - At least 1 prior course in Philosophy

Difficult questions about meaning in life are of perennial concern to philosophers and many other reflective people. The course looks closely and critically at these questions and traditional and contemporary answers.

Location

Lattimore Room 210 (TR 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy] 

Most health care ethics focuses on the individual decisions about health care, but many ethical questions have implications for society at large. The demands that individual health decisions make on the system may create collective problems, and conversely, the needs of society may limit the freedoms that individuals think they should have. Public health ethics then, lie at the intersection of medicine, political philosophy, and public policy. This course will examine the values of health, social needs, and freedom through a systematic examination of situations in which these conflicts arise.

Location

Goergen Hall Room 108 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy] 

Most health care ethics focuses on the individual decisions about health care, but many ethical questions have implications for society at large. The demands that individual health decisions make on the system may create collective problems, and conversely, the needs of society may limit the freedoms that individuals think they should have. Public health ethics then, lie at the intersection of medicine, political philosophy, and public policy. This course will examine the values of health, social needs, and freedom through a systematic examination of situations in which these conflicts arise.

Location

Goergen Hall Room 108 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Prerequisite - at least one prior course in Philosophy

In this course, we will explore several main questions: What are race and gender? What do we want race and gender to be? How might our treatment of applied issues in race- and gender-related areas change if we reimagined the concepts? When we look at the world around us, it seems clear that race and gender are real categories – after all, some people are obviously disadvantaged by their race or gender, and other people are obviously advantaged. But just how should we think about these categories? Are they biological realities? Are they “mere” social realities? Or are we mistaken, and do they not meaningfully exist at all? In this course, we will explore the roles that these concepts play in the real world and how these concepts could be reimagined as effective tools for changing our world for the better. 

Location

Morey Room 525 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Prerequisite - At least 1 course in Philosophy

Moral psychology is a subfield of philosophy that addresses ethically significant states, aspects, and attributes of human beings and their lives, such as conscious agency, motivation, meaning in life, moral perception and judgment, relationships between reasoning and emotion, responsibility, virtues, valuing, well-being, happiness, friendship, and love. It is a very active arena of research in which philosophers and psychologists influence each other’s work and sometimes collaborate. We will read both traditional philosophical works and cutting-edge research at the interface of philosophy and psychology.

Location

Wilmot Room 116 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy] No prior courses in science required.

Investigates topics in contemporary metaphysics, including questions about the existence and persistence conditions of abstract and material objects; the nature of space and time; the possibility of time travel; the status of quantum mechanics.

Location

Morey Room 525 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy]

The course addresses major questions in epistemology using a textbook, Richard Feldman's Epistemology, and recent philosophical readings. The questions include: What is knowledge? Do context or practical concerns affect what we know?  Do we really know anything about the world around us? What makes a belief justified? When is disagreement rational?

Location

Lechase Room 104 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy]

The W versions of 200-level courses all count toward the upper-level writing requirement for the major. 

The course addresses major questions in epistemology using a textbook, Richard Feldman's Epistemology, and recent philosophical readings. The questions include: What is knowledge? Do context or practical concerns affect what we know?  Do we really know anything about the world around us? What makes a belief justified? When is disagreement rational?

Location

Lechase Room 104 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy.  PHIL 110 is recommended] 

General nature of language and specific puzzles about language: the nature of truth and meaning, speech acts, reference, propositional attitudes, metaphor, understanding, interpretation, indeterminacy, etc.

Location

Dewey Room 2110E (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy.  PHIL 110 is recommended] 

General nature of language and specific puzzles about language: the nature of truth and meaning, speech acts, reference, propositional attitudes, metaphor, understanding, interpretation, indeterminacy, etc.

Location

Dewey Room 2110E (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Many people believe that very soon, artificial intelligence is going to be everywhere. Artificial systems will steer cars, ships, and planes, care for the sick, fight fires and fight wars for us, organize our schedules, order our food, etc. But what exactly is an artificial intelligence? And can there be artificial systems that truly think, or feel? In this course, we will address questions like these from a philosophical perspective. In doing so, we will encounter some of the most fundamental issues in the philosophy of mind‹for example, what are thoughts and feelings, and how might they relate to physical states of our brains, or to computational states? We will then examine how artificial systems, such as artificial neural networks, function, and discuss what they might teach us about the mind in general and about human minds in particular. Finally, we will consider the consequences that the development and application of artificial intelligence might have for humanity.

PREREQUISITE:  At least one prior course in Philosophy

Location

Meliora Room 221 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Many people believe that very soon, artificial intelligence is going to be everywhere. Artificial systems will steer cars, ships, and planes, care for the sick, fight fires and fight wars for us, organize our schedules, order our food, etc. But what exactly is an artificial intelligence? And can there be artificial systems that truly think, or feel? In this course, we will address questions like these from a philosophical perspective. In doing so, we will encounter some of the most fundamental issues in the philosophy of mind‹for example, what are thoughts and feelings, and how might they relate to physical states of our brains, or to computational states? We will then examine how artificial systems, such as artificial neural networks, function, and discuss what they might teach us about the mind in general and about human minds in particular. Finally, we will consider the consequences that the development and application of artificial intelligence might have for humanity.

PREREQUISITE:  At least one prior course in Philosophy

Location

Meliora Room 221 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

The reading of philosophical literature under guidance, for seniors majoring in philosophy.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

In consultation with the thesis adviser, the student will assemble a list of relevant texts in the area of thesis research and read through the materials, meeting regularly with the adviser throughout the semester to discuss the texts and to hone the thesis topic and plan.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Students with philosophy concentration or minor pursue 1:1 guided research proj. under direction of a full-time Phil Dept. faculty sponsor. With a paper written for another course, student seeks sponsor w/relevant expertise. Student will develop the paper through research, analysis, and refinement of thesis and argument, to present to Phil. Council or Department. Submission for publication in an undergraduate philosophy journal and conference presentation is encouraged.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Those wishing to pursue an Honors thesis track must first confirm with the Undergraduate Adviser that they meet the eligibility requirements, discuss how the other Honors requirements will be met, and secure the agreement of a Philosophy faculty member to serve as the thesis adviser. Then, in consultation with the thesis adviser (typically at the end of junior year), they will assemble a list of relevant texts in the area of thesis research and begin reading through the materials in the summer before senior year. In fall of senior year, they will enroll in PHIL 396, for which they will meet regularly with the adviser throughout the semester to discuss the texts and to hone the thesis topic and outline. (Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.)

https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/forms/independent-study-form.php

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Those wishing to pursue an Honors thesis track must first confirm with the Undergraduate Adviser that they meet the eligibility requirements, discuss how the other Honors requirements will be met, and secure the agreement of a Philosophy faculty member to serve as the thesis adviser. Then, in consultation with the thesis adviser (typically at the end of junior year), they will assemble a list of relevant texts in the area of thesis research and begin reading through the materials in the summer before senior year. In fall of senior year, they will enroll in PHIL 396, for which they will meet regularly with the adviser throughout the semester to discuss the texts and to hone the thesis topic and outline. (Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.)

https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/forms/independent-study-form.php

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

After taking PHIL 396 to conduct research on the thesis topic, Honors thesis students enroll in PHIL 399 to continue the project, completing the writing of the thesis and then taking an oral examination (conducted by the thesis adviser and a second faculty reader) at least two weeks after submission of the final version of the thesis. (Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.)

https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/forms/independent-study-form.php

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)