Philosophy

An introduction to moral philosphy. We will analyze the meanings of moral concepts such as virtue and vice, good and evil, and moral obligation, and consider historical attempts (mostly Western) to determine what, if any, moral system is true. Our aim will be to sustain and strengthen our capacity for the making of moral decisions.

This is an excellent course for students looking to enhance their own argument skills generally and especially for those planning to take the standardized tests for law or graduate school. Students will learn to understand and evaluate formal and informal arguments, the principles that support their logical forms, and how to apply these principles in the construction of arguments. Students will learn to distinguish arguments from other forms of language (e.g. descriptive or imperative uses of language) as well as develop the ability to recognize good and bad reasoning. This will include general examinations of common fallacies, valid and invalid deductive and strong and weak inductive arguments, standards of reasoning and the principles that sustain these standards in professional fields.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This course will examine the origin of western philosophy in ancient Greece and trace the development of philosophical thought from the received wisdom prior to Plato, through the works of Plato, Artistotle, representative Stoics, Skeptics, and the new Platonism that culminates classical thinking. Topics include but are not limited to: questions about the origin of democracy and community, the character of the divine, ancient concepts of nature, the concepts of the soul, the scope of human knowledge, the conditions for rationality, and the good life.

This course will examine the philosophical tradition as manifested in the works of the more prominent Christian, Jewish and/or Islamic philosophers from the 5th century into the 14th century. Selections from the works of the following major figures may be studied: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus and/or William of Ockham in the Christian tradition; Alfarabi, Avicenna and/or Averroes in the Islamic tradition; and Saadia, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and/or Maimonides in the Jewish tradition. Topics may include but are not limited to: the roles of faith and reason in belief formation, the nature and existence of God, the nature of human beings, the conflict between human freedom and Divine foreknowledge, and the nature of virtue and sin.

This course will examine the western philosophical tradition as manifested in the works of prominent European and/or American philosophers of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Philosophers who may be included are Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Pierce among others. Topics may include but are not limited to: issues such as the existence and nature of God, responses to whether or not the mind (or soul) can exist separately from the body, skepticism and doubt, the nature of the self, and the relation of the individual to society.

This course will examine the western philosophical tradition as manifested in the works of prominent European and/or American philosophers of the 20th century. Philosophers such as Ryle, Dewey, Heidegger, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Habermas, Foucault, Derrida, and Irigaray may be included among others. Topics may include but are not limited to: the concept and practice of power, who and what counts as human, the conditions for human freedom, the character of language and interpretation, the construction of meaning.