Philosophy

Instructor: Gene Witmer

The proseminar, required of all new graduate students, is intended to ensure students have the fundamental skills needed for the successful advanced study of philosophy. This iteration of the course will be split into two parts. In the first part, we will discuss some material from each of three important areas — epistemology, ethics, and metaphysics — where students are required either to write a short paper or prepare a handout for presentation every week. At the end of this period students are required to produce a longer paper built atop some of the work they’ve already done. In the second part, students will be grouped into pairs of people with similar interests to select a specific question they’re interested in and locate two readings on that question which (pending my approval) will be assigned to the whole class for discussion. Following such discussion each student devises a plan for a final paper and makes a presentation on that paper in progress in the last few sessions of the class. The proseminar is graded on a pass/fail basis.

Syllabus

Instructor: Greg Ray

In this seminar we will combine a study of topics in logic with work on the philosophical foundations of logic. For the logic portion, we will look at selected topics beyond the level of PHI 5135. These will be somewhat determined by student interest, but include a careful treatment of Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, the use of transfinite induction, and select moments from model theory. The aim of this portion of the course is to gain an understanding of some important results in logic — and to practice again the joy of proving things. (Those who have completed PHI 5135 have all they need by way of preparation for this course.)

Of course, we are also philosophers, so in the foundations thread of the course, we will broach questions about the conceptual foundations of (modern) logic — why it is just as it is, why it is supposed to accomplish what it does, and why it doesn’t do more. I have lots of questions and only some answers. We will be supported in our study by some historical and critical readings. I hope to share, by way of example, some recent work I have been doing in this area — which may also serve to show how one can do philosophical work by doing logic.

Instructor: Amber Ross

There may be nothing more familiar to a person than their own mind, but what is it that makes one’s mind a mind at all? And just how much variation is there between different the minds that exist (or might exist) in our world? Dolphins, dogs, and elephants all seem to have their own “kind” of mind; what about worms, honeybees, or plants that form and retain memories? Could there be artificial minds? On what grounds do we (or should we) attribute minds to other entities, and in what ways might these minds be substantially different from each other?

This class will explore the variety of minds that exist (or might exist) in our world from both a conceptual and empirical perspective. Which specific features of the mind we focus on in this course will be in part directed by student interest, but are likely to include topics such as the complex quality we call “consciousness”, thought, awareness, agency, communicative intent, selfhood and self-awareness, sociality, perception, and emotion. Our source material integrate philosophy, psychology, cognitive ethology, biology and neuroscience, as well as recent developments in AI.

Instructor: John Palmer

This course provides an in-depth introduction to the philosophy of Plato through the reading and discussion of several major dialogues and modern interpretive essays. The course will concentrate on the development of Plato’s ethics and moral psychology while still devoting some attention to his epistemology and metaphysics.

Syllabus

Instructor: Chris Dorst
Instructor’s description forthcoming. Catalog description: Propositional calculus, quantificational logic through completeness, and an introduction to modal logic.

Instructor: Molly Gardner
Instructor’s description forthcoming. Catalog description: Advanced survey of central issues in ethical theory, such as consequentialism and deontology, theories of justice, and moral skepticism.

Instructor: Robert Beddor
Instructor’s description forthcoming. Catalog description: Advanced study of particular topics in epistemology, such as epistemic justification, skepticism, or foundationalism.

Instructor: David Grant
Instructor’s description forthcoming. Catalog description: Provides a foundation for addressing ethical issues arising from technological advances in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, with a focus on the social value and liabilities of these technologies.

Instructor: John Biro
Instructor’s description forthcoming. Catalog description: Advanced study of the work of one or more, usually pre-twentieth century, thinkers. S/U option available if student admitted to Ph.D. candidacy.