Descriptions of all courses, from the Graduate Bulletin

FALL 2008 GRADUATE COURSES (4 credits each):

PHI 505 - Philosophical and Ethical Issues in Public Policy Analysis

#8859, TH 245-535, SS-117

Instructor: K. Hessler

This course will address philosophical issues in environmental ethics and policy.We will examine whether our we have duties to animals, ecosystems, and/or species that require re-thinking traditional moral theory.We will also study more policy-oriented issues, such as preserving wilderness and wildlife, combatting climate change, and reducing resource consumption.

PHI 515 - Philosophy of Language

#8857, TTH 1145-105, HU-20

Instructor: B. Armour-Garb

Shared Resource with PHI 415

This course is an introduction to the philosophy of language. Philosophy of language concerns quite a large number of topics, including meaning, truth, content, reference, the syntax and semantics of various linguistic constructions, the nature and role of presupposition in communicative interchange, speech acts, figurative uses of language, questions about the ontology of languages, the epistemology of language understanding and language learning, the mental/psychological basis of linguistic understanding and use, and so on. Since we canÕt possibly study all of these topics, weÕll focus our energy on topics that are most central in recent philosophical work on language, and that have far-reaching consequences for other topics in philosophy of language and other areas of philosophy.

In particular, weÕll be concentrating on philosophical attempts to understand reference and meaning.

PHI 524 - 17-19^th Century Ethical Theory

#8858, TTH 115-235, SL-12

Instructor: J. Mandle

Undergraduate Prerequisites: senior class standing; permission of instructor

This course will survey several major ethical theories from the 17th-19th centuries. We will consider both primary and secondary material. Authors may include Hobbes, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Mill, and Nietzsche.

PHI 546 - The Continental Rationalists

#8860, W 245-535, HU-116

Instructor: R. Meyers

The course will deal with the major writings of Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz: Descartes' Meditations and the Replies to the Objections, Spinoza's Ethics, and Leibniz' Discourse on Metaphysics, Monadology and the Correspondence with Arnauld.

Topics will include: Descartes' attack on empiricism and refutation of skepticism, Spinoza's alternative to the Christian world view, Leibniz' defense of Christianity in the light of Spinoza's view, Descartes on the mind-body problem, the ontological argument, Leibniz' defense of free will, Leibniz and Locke on innate ideas.

Readings: the readings of the three major figures required on the reading list for the Ph.D. In addition, selections from Malebranche may be assigned.

Requirements: three short papers and attendance at seminar meetings

PHI 554 - Kant and Continental Idealism

#8861, T 245-535, ED-123

Instructor: R. Howell

Undergraduate Prerequisites: senior class standing; permission of course instructor

The course provides a grounding in nineteenth century idealism through an intensive study of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

The course will be conducted through lectures and discussion in seminar format.

Work and Basis of Grading: three short papers analyzing the text.