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THE FACULTY

Ashok Gangadean The Emily Judson Baugh Gest and John Marshall Gest Professor;

Professor of Philosophy

Danielle Macbeth T. Wistar Brown Professor of Philosophy

Qrescent Mali Mason Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Jerry Miller Associate Professor of Philosophy

Joel Yurdin Associate Professor of Philosophy; Department Chair

Jill Stauffer (Affilliated)

Associate Professor; Director of Peace, Justice,

& Human Rights Program; Faculty Director of

Center for Peace and Global Citizenship

THE PHILOSOPHY MAJOR PROGRAM

The Philosophy major aims to provide students with a strong foundation both in major works of philosophy across diverse traditions and in the practice of philosophy. Students are expected to become familiar with the various main subfields of philosophy as well as with at least some historically important figures, and to become proficient in some particular area (e.g., a subfield, historical period, or methodology). In order to help students achieve their goals, various requirements must be satisfied for completion of the major.


THE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS* 1. One philosophy course at the 100-level (or Bryn Mawr PHIL 101, 102, or the

equivalent elsewhere). 2. Five philosophy courses at the 200-level, at least four of which must be

completed by the end of junior year. 3. Three philosophy courses at the 300-level. 4. Senior seminar (PHIL 399A and 399B).

The eight courses at the 200- and 300-level must satisfy the following requirements: 1. Historical: One course must be from among those that deal with the history of

European philosophy prior to Kant (PK). 2. Topical Breadth: (i) one course must be from among those that deal with value

theory (VT) including ethics, aesthetics, or social and political philosophy. (ii) One course must be from among those that deal with metaphysics and epistemology (ME), including ontology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, or philosophy of action. (iii) One course must be from among those that deal with logic, the philosophy of literature, and/or the philosophy of language (LL).

3. Systematic Coherence: Four of these courses, two at the 200-level and two at the 300-level, must exhibit some systematic coherence in theme or subject satisfactory to the major advisor and department.

4. Courses at Haverford: Senior Seminar works best when students and faculty already know each other well through previous courses. For this reason, at least three of each major’s 200-level courses and two of the 300-level courses must be taken in the Haverford Philosophy Department. The Department considers exceptions to this rule following a written petition by the student explaining why the exception is warranted. To become effective starting with the class of ’22.

5. Acceptance into the Major: Acceptance into the philosophy major is contingent on the student a) having a combined GPA of 2.7 or above in completed philosophy courses; b) successfully completing a minimum of one 200-level course by spring semester sophomore year (or semester of major declaration). If the student is enrolled in that 200-level course during the

*N.B.: Courses taught by Gest Professor of Global Philosophy Ashok Gangadean, though listed in the department, do not count towards the major/minor but are conceived to meet more general college requirements.


semester of major declaration then acceptance into the major is conditional upon the student retaining a combined 2.7 GPA upon completion of that course. Students who do not meet these conditions may appeal to the department for probationary acceptance into the major. The decision for acceptance into the major under these circumstances rests with the philosophy department faculty.

Senior seminar: PHIL 399 is a year-long, 2-credit course (1 credit per semester). It includes the writing and oral presentation of a Senior Thesis on a topic of the student’s choice, participation in our Distinguished Visitors Series, and participation in the annual Roland Altherr Memorial Symposium. Double Majors: The expectation of those who major in philosophy and another discipline is that they write a separate thesis for each major. In the experience of the department, theses written expressly for the major are of significantly higher quality than those written to satisfy two disciplines. Moreover, the writing of separate (if related) theses is in keeping with the spirit of the “double” major. Any student who wishes to write a combined thesis therefore should contact the department chair no later than the first few weeks of senior year. The decision to allow a combined thesis rests with the philosophy department faculty. Discussion Leaders: Senior majors are welcome to be Discussion Leaders for an introductory course. Discussion leaders attend all classes and meet with a small group of intro students one hour per week throughout the term. To be a discussion leader, the student will need to have the permission of the course instructor, then register for the 400-level course that complements the relevant introductory course (e.g., PHIL 405 is the discussion leader course for PHIL 105). Students receive a ½ (0.5) credit for each course and are graded on a pass/fail basis; no letter grade is given. Students may be a discussion leader for both semesters of their senior year. Course credit received as a discussion leader does not count towards the philosophy major.


THE MINOR REQUIREMENTS The minor in Philosophy requires one philosophy course at the 100-level (or Bryn Mawr 101 or 102, or the equivalent elsewhere), three philosophy courses at the 200-level, and two philosophy courses at the 300-level. Among the 200- and 300-level courses: one must be in value theory (VT; see above), one must be in metaphysics and epistemology (ME; see above), and one must be concerned with philosophical texts written before the twentieth century. This third requirement can be satisfied concurrently with either of the other two (e.g., by taking a course in ancient ethics, or in Descartes’ metaphysics), or can be satisfied separately from the other two.


THE SENIOR THESIS PROJECT The senior thesis in Philosophy is an opportunity for senior majors to pursue a substantive independent research project in their own philosophical area of interest. It is a full-year project with two major components:

A. In the fall, students are required to write and submit a twenty-page paper that formulates in some detail their particular research question. This first paper is to provide a thoughtful and knowledgeable introduction to the literature on the topic in which important views and arguments are outlined and tentative responses to those positions offered by the student. In the spring, students further develop and hone their thesis argument, pursue deeper critical analyses of relevant primary and secondary readings, and refine the structure and prose of their thesis. A draft is submitted in March, and the final thirty-page thesis is completed by the end of April.

B. Throughout the year students give presentations of their work-in-progress: one at the end of the fall semester, one after submitting their thesis draft in March, and one final, public presentation during exam week in May.

In writing a senior thesis over the course of the academic year, students will learn to: 1. Formulate a major research question and explain its interest and significance; 2. Find relevant literature on their topic and critically assess its contribution; 3. Develop a cogent and extended argument in defense of their position; 4. Recognize and evaluate plausible critical responses to their views; 5. Write a clear, persuasive, and interesting article-length essay developing and

defending their philosophical thesis.

In presenting their thesis work and responding to other presentations, students will learn to: 1. Deliver a clear, dynamic, and engaging summary of their claims and

arguments; 2. Partake in focused and extemporaneous discussion of their work; 3. Respond maturely and thoughtfully to feedback; 4. Articulate constructive and reasoned criticisms of ideas under discussion; 5. Develop considered questions on presentations in the philosophical subfields of

other majors.


COURSE OFFERINGS AND SCHEDULE: ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-2020

Fall 2019

PHIL 103 Global Ethics* T/Th 2:30-4:00 Gangadean

PHIL 107 Happiness, Virtue, and the Good Life T/Th 10:00-11:30 Yurdin

PHIL 110 Mind and World M/W 2:15-3:45 Macbeth

PHIL 212 Aristotle (ME/PK) T/Th 1:00-2:30 Yurdin

PHIL 252 Philosophy of Logic and Language* T/Th 11:30-1:00 Gangadean

PHIL 215 Phenomenologies of the Body (VT) T/Th 2:30-4:00 Mali Mason

PHIL 259 Structuralism and Post-Structuralism (LL) M/W 12:45-2:15 Miller

PHIL 260 Historical Introduction to Logic (LL) M/W 11:15-12:45 Macbeth

PHIL 370 Topics in Ethics: Inheritance (VT) M/W 2:15-3:45 Miller

PHIL 399 Senior Seminar F 1:30-4:00

Macbeth, Mason, Miller,

Yurdin

*Courses indicated with an asterisk (*) do not count towards the major/minor.



Spring 2020

PHIL 111 The Wicked and the Worthy M/W 12:45-2:15 Miller

PHIL 117 Representing Difference T/Th 2:30-4:00 Mali Mason

PHIL 216 Sex and the Polis: Feminist Philosophical Encounters with Western Political Philosophy

T/Th 11:30-1:00 Mali Mason

PHIL 241 Hindu Philosophy* T/Th 2:30-4:00 Gangadean

PHIL 251 Philosophy of Mind (ME) M/W 11:15-12:45 Macbeth

PHIL 261 Experience, Know-How, and Skilled Coping (ME) T/Th 10:00-11:30 Yurdin

PHIL 350 Topics in the Philosophy of Mathematics (LL or ME)

M/W 2:15-3:45 Macbeth

PHIL 360 Topics in Philosophical Psychology: Perception and Imagination (ME)

T/Th 1:00-2:30 Yurdin

PHIL 352 Topics in Philosophy of Language: Metaphor, Meaning and the Dialogical Mind*

T/Th 11:30-1:00 Gangadean

PHIL 399 Senior Seminar F 1:30-4:00

Macbeth, Mason,

Miller, Yurdin

*Courses indicated with an asterisk (*) do not count towards the major/minor.


BRYN MAWR COLLEGE


Spring 2020

PHIL 101 Happiness and Reality in Ancient Thought T/Th 11:25-12:45 Fugo

PHIL 102 Science and Morality in Modernity T/Th 2:25-3:45 Fugo

PHIL 103- 001 Introduction to Logic T/Th

9:55-11:15 Prettyman

PHIL 103- 002 Introduction to Logic T/Th

12:55-2:15 Prettyman

PHIL 211 Theory of Knowledge T/Th 12:55-2:15 Rice

PHIL 212 Metaphysics M/W 1:10-2:30 Prettyman

PHIL 238 Science, Technology, and the Good Life T/Th 2:25-3:45 Dostal

PHIL 252 Feminist Theory M/W 2:45-4:00 Bell

PHIL 305 Topics in Value Theory M 7:10-10:00 Bell

PHIL 343 Philosophy of Biology M/W 10:10-11:30 Rice


TENTATIVE COURSE OFFERINGS: ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-2021

Tentative, Fall 2020

PHIL 104 Global Wisdom* Gangadean

PHIL 107 Happiness, Virtue, and the Good Life Yurdin

PHIL 110 Mind and World Macbeth

PHIL 210 Plato (ME/PK) Yurdin

PHIL 242 Buddhist Philosophy in a Global Context* Gangadean

PHIL 243 20th Century Continental Philosophy (VT) Mali Mason

PHIL 255 Virtue Epistemology (ME) Macbeth

PHIL 301 Topics in Philosophy of Literature (LL) Miller

PHIL 370 Topics in Ethics: Philosophy and Intersectionality (VT) Mali Mason

PHIL 399 Senior Seminar Macbeth, Mason, Miller, Yurdin

Tentative, Spring 2021

PHIL 111 The Wicked and the Worthy Miller

PHIL 1XX TBD TBD

PHIL 214 Feminism (VT) Mali Mason

PHIL 222 Persons, Colors, and Causes: Problems from Locke, Berkeley, and Hume (ME/PK) Yurdin

PHIL 265 Value Theory (VT) Miller

PHIL 253 Analytic Philosophy of Language (LL) Macbeth

PHIL 254 Metaphysics: Global Ontology* Gangadean

PHIL 310 Topics in Greek Philosophy: Memory, Imagination, and Madness (ME/PK) Yurdin

PHIL 342 Zen Thought in a Global Context* Gangadean

PHIL 354 Topics in Metaphysics: The Philosophy of John McDowell (ME) Macbeth

PHIL 399 Senior Seminar Macbeth, Mason, Miller, Yurdin


Global Ethics PHIL 103

Instructor: Ashok Gangadean [email protected]

Fall 2019 T/Th 2:30pm-4:00pm Enrollment Limited to 25 (5 freshmen) - This course is offered every-other year Prerequisite: None This is a course in Global Philosophy which seeks to cultivate global philosophical literacy for all students and designed for all majors. Course Description: An exploration of selected texts on ethics in a global context. This course seeks to develop a global perspective on human values through a critical exploration of vital texts on ethics across diverse philosophical traditions. A central focus is on the challenge of articulating global ethics and global values across cultures, worldviews and traditions. Are there global norms valid for diverse worldviews? Is there a global foundation for ethics? Are there universal human rights? How do we think critically across and between diverse worldviews and perspectives?

• One short three-page paper in 6th week • Midterm review questions with written responses with small group midterm conference • Final paper- you choose the topic- (approximately 12 pages) due at the end of exam period • Final comprehensive questions on “Global Ethics” to be incorporated into the final paper

Requirements: Overview of structure of the course: orientation to philosophy in a global context; six sessions on the Aristotle’s Ethics six sessions on Bhagavadgita; midterm review; six sessions on Kant’s Fundamental Principles; six sessions on Buddhist Ethics - Dhamapada; concluding week bringing the texts together in global dialogue. Along with these four main focal texts we will discuss other traditions of ethics as well. This is not a survey course, but an exploration in a new global frontier in philosophy and ethics. Is there a foundation to Global Ethics and Global (Universal) Values for all humans across all borders, worldviews, perspectives and orientations? SELECTED CLASICAL TEXTS IN GLOBAL ETHICS: Over time different combinations of classical tests will be presented

Required Readings:

Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics Dhamapada Bhagavad-gita Kant: Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals Sample alternating texts:

Lao Tsu: Tao Te Ching- Confucius: The Analects Conversations with Ogotemmeli


Happiness, Virtue, and the Good Life PHIL 107

Instructor: Joel Yurdin [email protected]

Fall 2019 T/TH 10:00-11:30 Prerequisite: None Course Description: Happiness is something that we all want, but what exactly is it? Perhaps happiness is or involves pleasure. What, then, is pleasure, and what role does it play in a happy life? Perhaps virtuous states of character are also important for happiness. What are the natures of the virtues, and how are they related? Moral value also seems important for happiness. What does it contribute to a happy life, and how is it related to other forms of value? Readings from classic and contemporary sources, including Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Mill, Kant, Nagel, and Wolf. Course Requirements:

• In-class exam • First paper (5 pgs.) • Revised first paper (5-6 pgs.) • Oral presentation • Final paper (5-7 pgs.)

Course Outline:

WEEK READING TOPIC One Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics The concept of happiness Two Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus” and “Principal

Doctrines”; Mill, Utilitarianism Pain, pleasure, and psychological states

Three Nozick, “The Experience Machine”; Griffin, “Utilitarian Accounts: State of Mind or State of the World”

Pain, pleasure, and psychological states

Four Plato, Protagoras The unity of the virtues Five Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics The natures of the

virtues Six Plato, Republic; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Virtue and happiness Seven Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals Moral value Eight Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals Morality and happiness Nine Raz, “The Central Conflict: Morality and Self-Interest” Moral values and other

values Ten Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”; Wolf, “Moral

Saints” Moral values and other values

Eleven Nagel, “The Absurd”; Taylor, “The Meaning of Life” Meaningfulness Twelve Russell, “The Value of Philosophy” Philosophy and

happiness Thirteen Presentations


Mind and World PHIL 110

Instructor: Danielle Macbeth [email protected]

Fall 2019 M/W 2:15-3:45 Prerequisite: None Course Description: Our aim in this course is to understand some of the most significant developments in Western philosophy concerning the question of the nature of reality, both of ourselves and of the world around us, and of our knowledge of that world. Students are expected to engage critically and reflectively with the readings and are encouraged to come to reasoned views of their own regarding the questions under discussion. Required Texts:

• Aristotle (384-322 BC), Introductory Readings (Hackett) • Descartes (1592-1650), Meditations on First Philosophy (Cambridge UP) • Hume (1711-1776), Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (Hackett) • Kant (1724-1804), Critique of Pure Reason (Cambridge UP)

Course Requirements:

• Two presentations of your work-in-progress and two midterm papers (five and six pages long). Drafts and rewrites required.

• Final essay, 10 pages, topic to be assigned. (Grade based on an average of the 3 essay grades.) Course Outline and Readings:

WEEK READING TOPIC One Physics Book I Aristotle on World and Mind Two Physics Book II Three De Anima Four Presentations Five Meditations, Meditations 1 and 2 Descartes’ Invention of the Modern

Mind Six Meditations, Meditations 3 and 4 Seven Meditations, Meditations 5 and 6 Eight Presentations Nine Enquiry §§ I-V Part I Hume’s Skeptical Doubts Ten Critique B Preface and Introduction Kant’s Copernican Revolution Eleven Critique Transcendental Aesthetic Twelve Critique Transcendental Logic,

Introduction and beginning Analytic

Thirteen Critique Transcendental Analytic Fourteen Concluding discussion; final essay question set


The Wicked and the Worthy

PHIL 111 Instructor: Jerry Miller

[email protected] Spring 2020 M/W 12:45-2:15 Prerequisite: None Course Description: An introduction to the study of ethics through close examination and critique of canonical approaches to theories and systems of value. The class will familiarize students with the general lexicon and methodology of philosophical inquiry, placing emphasis on central terms and concepts common to traditional ethical study. Required Texts:

• Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals • Bentham and Mill, The Classical Utilitarians • Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil • Foucault, The Foucault Reader

Course Requirements:

• One five-minute presentation • Two 4-5 page papers • Final exam

Course Outline:

WEEK TOPIC One Introduction Two-Four Consequentialism Five-Eight Deontology Nine-Eleven Metaethics Twelve-Thirteen Modernity and Normativity Fourteen Review


Aristotle PHIL 212


Fall 2019 T/TH 1:00-2:30 Prerequisite: One 100-level course in Philosophy or instructor approval. Course Description: What is the nature of a thing, and how do the natures of things figure in scientific knowledge? What is the good life for a human being? What are our psychological capacities, and how do they interact in producing the various forms of human cognition? In this course we will consider these and related questions, working through some of Aristotle’s most influential discussions in ethics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind. Our focus throughout will be on close reading and careful philosophical analysis of short stretches of text. Required Texts:

• Ackrill, J. L. (1988). A New Aristotle Reader. Princeton University Press: Princeton. • Code, A. (forthcoming). The Philosophy of Aristotle.

Assignments:

• Two 5 page papers • One oral presentation • One 10-15 page paper

Course Outline:

WEEK READING TOPIC One Physics The 4 “becauses”; nature and natures Two Categories Essence and accident Three Posterior Analytics The structure of scientific knowledge, I Four Posterior Analytics The structure ofscientific knowledge, II Five Metaphysics Potentiality and actuality Six Nicomachean Ethics Ethics and human nature Seven Nicomachean Ethics Intellectual virtues Eight Nicomachean Ethics Weakness of will Nine De Anima The predecessors’ views of the soul Ten De Anima Psychological hylomorphism Eleven De Anima Perception and imagination Twelve De Anima Thought; the explanation of action Thirteen Review


Hindu Thought in a Global Context PHIL 241

Instructor: Ashok Gangadean [email protected]

Spring 2020 T/ Th 2:30-4:00 Enrollment Limited to 35 Prerequisite: One course in Philosophy or instructor approval. This is a course in Global Philosophy which seeks to cultivate global philosophical literacy for all students and designed for all majors. Course Description:

A critical exploration of classical Hindu thought (Vedanta) in a global and comparative context. Special focus on selected Principal Upanisads, a close meditative reading of the Bhagavad Gita and an in-depth exploration of Shankara’s Brahmasutra Commentary. Exploration of Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga.

This course explores fundamental philosophical themes in classical Hindu thought. The course opens with a study of selected texts from the Upanisads. The first part of the course is an intensive study of the Bhagavadgita. This is developed in a global context of philosophy with critical comparison with classical texts in the European traditions - Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Descartes and others. The student is oriented in the methods and dialectics of meditative thinking which is rigorously and systematically developed in classical Hindu thought. This introduction to meditative life is developed through direct participation, performance and experimentation, and brings out the inherent limitations in egocentric thinking showing why such conduct of mind produces existential suffering and disorders.

The second part of this course is an intensive study of the great commentary by Sankara (7th Century, A.D., who developed Advaita “non-dual” Vedanta) on the Brahmasutras. Our journey concludes with encounter of Aurobindo. In this advanced text in the phenomenology of meditative discourse the student enters into a powerful critique of dual thinking and experiences the foundations of natural reason in the non-dual (Advaita) methods of conducting the mind. This course seeks to cultivate the deepest understanding of the meditative teachings through a direct encounter with meditative thought. Course Requirements:

• A short (three page) paper on an assigned topic from the text just before midterm • An intensive oral midterm conference (four students, one-and-a-half hour) based on detailed midterm

review questions and a preliminary written draft response • A comprehensive final paper (approx. 15 pages, in lieu of exam) on a topic chosen in consultation with the

instructor, and due at the end of exam period • Class attendance required and participation is central

Readings:

• Bhagavadgita (Selected chapters of Deutsch’s translation also on Blackboard) • Advaita Vedanta by Deutsch • Brahmasutra Commentary by Sankara • Optional: Meditations of Global First Philosophy by Gangadean • Optional The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali • The Essential Aurobindo


Philosophy of Mind PHIL 251


Spring 2019 M/W 11:15am-12:45pm Prerequisite: One 100-level course in Philosophy or instructor approval. Course Description: Although our everyday, untutored experience of ourselves is of ourselves as free, self-conscious, and rational beings responsible for what we think and do, it can be very hard for us to understand how we can be that. It can seem in particular that advances in the empirical sciences have shown that we are not free but causally determined, mere mechanisms, or if not that then that we are biologically determined just as other, non-rational, animals are. Our concern in this course is to examine such an “empiricist” conception of our being in the world. We will focus on two works. The first, originally published in 1956, aims primarily to show that the “scientific” conception we have of ourselves (if conceived as the whole account of who and what we are) is profoundly flawed and ultimately incoherent. Sellars also sketches some important positive ideas that are intended to be fully consistent with the findings of the natural sciences. The second, first published in English in 1953 (completed by 1945), addresses many of the same concerns, together with philosophical reflections on many other (related) topics. What Wittgenstein is after (among other things) is a better understanding of our nature as minded. We read the two works in reverse chronological order in hopes that the more focused and sustained philosophical argument we get from Sellars will help us better to understand Wittgenstein. Required Texts:

• Sellars, Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind (Harvard) • Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations

Course Requirements: • Two essays, drafts and rewrites required • Two presentations of work-in-progress • Midterm paper, six to eight pages, worth 40% of the final grade • Final term paper, ten to twelve pages, worth the remaining 60%

WEEK READING/TOPIC The Argument of Empiricism and Philosophy of Mind One Sellars, EPM §§1-9 Two Sellars, EPM §§10-20

Three Sellars, EPM §§21-29 Four Sellars, EPM §§30-38 Five Sellars, EPM §§39-52 Six Sellars, EPM §§53-end Seven Presentations Wittgenstein’s Account of the Nature of the Mind Eight PI §§1-59 Nine PI §§ 60-90 Ten PI §§ 91-184 Eleven PI §§ 185-241 Twelve PI §§ 242-405 Thirteen Presentations


Phenomenologies of the Body PHIL 215

Professor: Qrescent Mali Mason [email protected]

Fall 2019 T/Th 2:30-4 Prerequisite: One 100-level course in Philosophy or instructor approval. Course description: What does phenomenology teach us about the body? How did phenomenological methodology come to be used to think about the body? How do different experiences of embodiment affect our being-in-the world? Starting with foundational texts in phenomenology, this course will explore how phenomenology has come to be applied to differing approaches to the body. Inspired by recent work in “critical phenomenology,” the course will begin with an overview of the history of phenomenology, and then quickly move into the work of philosophers and theorists who have used phenomenology to describe and analyze embodied difference. In this way, we will focus specifically on phenomenologies of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and ability in order to answer the question: What does phenomenology tell us about the difference difference makes? Required Texts

• Maurice Merleau-Ponty, The Phenomenology of Perception • Sara Ahmed, Queer Phenomenology, The Phenomenology of Whiteness • Gayle Salamon, The Life and Death of Latisha King • All other readings will be available on Moodle.

Course Requirements

• Attendance, Participation, Discussion Presentations, and a Phenomenology Portfolio Project are required.

• The Portfolio Project (40% of the total grade) will be composed of writing assignments that will increase in length and complexity throughout the semester. In sum, the Portfolio will require students to write narratively, conduct research, develop a philosophical argument, and reflect on the readings and discussion throughout the semester.

Course Outline

WEEK TOPIC 1-3 Foundations of Phenomenology (Hegel, Husserl, and Heidegger 4-5 Merleau-Ponty’s Perceptual Turn 6-7 Existential Phenomenologists Turn to Gender and Race (Beauvoir and

Fanon) 7-8 20th Century Feminist Phenomenologies (Young, Ortega, Lee) 9 Racial/Ethnic Embodiment (Alcoff, Ahmed) 10-11 Queer Phenomenology (Salamon) 12 Critical Theory and the Phenomenology of Disability (Mladenov, Cole) 13 The Future of (Critical) Phenomenology 14 Phenomenology Portfolios


Structuralism and Post-Structuralism PHIL 259

Instructor: Jerry Miller [email protected]

Fall 2019 M/W 12:45-2:15 Prerequisite: One 100-level course in Philosophy or instructor approval. Course Description: An introduction to key readings in 20th century continental philosophy in the areas of semiotics and critical theory. Of primary importance will be issues of language, relation, and value. Readings include Barthes, Althusser, Foucault, Derrida, Kristeva, and Jameson. Texts:

• Roland Barthes, Mythologies • Jacques Derrida, A Derrida Reader: Between the Blinds • Michel Foucault, The Foucault Reader (optional) • Sean Hall, This Means This, This Means That: A User's Guide to Semiotics • Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition • Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics (optional)

Additional Readings on Moodle Course Requirements:

• Two 4-5 page papers • Presentation • Final exam • Diligent course participation

Course Outline:

WEEK TOPIC One Introduction Two Saussure/Levi-Strauss Three-Four Barthes Five Kristeva/Althusser Six-Seven Foucault Eight-nine Derrida Ten Lyotard Eleven Jameson Twelve Baudrillard Thirteen de Lauretis/Moretti


Historical Introduction to Logic PHIL 260


Fall 2019 M/W 11:15-12:45 Prerequisite: One 100-level Philosophy course or instructor approval. Course Description: Our aim in this course is to understand both the long history of logic, and the lessons of the modern era in logic beginning with the publication, in 1879, of Frege’s Begriffsschrift. We focus on Aristotle, Kant, Frege, and Wittgenstein, and will be concerned with various forms of reasoning, with special interest in possible differences between reasoning in natural language and reasoning in the languages of mathematics. Required Texts:

• Aristotle, Prior Analytics • Kant, Logic • Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus • Frege, Begriffsschrift

Requirements:

• Three midterm exams. These exams may include both conceptual questions to test your understanding of key terms and ideas, and problems to test your skill at doing logic, that is, translations and proofs in various systems studied. Midterm exams are weighted equally and together make up 60% of the final grade.

• Final paper, ten to twelve pages. This paper, which should meet all standards of academic writing, will discuss the similarities and differences between the different systems of logic we study, and reflect on the significances of those similarities and differences. The paper is worth the remaining 40% of the final grade.

• There will also be various homework problem sets to help prepare students for the midterms. Course Outline:

WEEK READING/TOPIC(S) Aristotle’s Logic One-Two Aristotle’s Prior Analytics /Syllogistic logic Quantificational Logic I: The Beginnings in Kant Three-Five Kant’s Logic/The monadic predicate calculas Quantificational Logic II: Truth and Meaning in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Six-Eight Wittgenstein’s Tractatus/Picture theory, polyadic predicate calculus Frege’s Concept-script Nine-Thirteen Frege’s Begriffsschrift/ Axiomatic logic, reasoning from definitions


Experience, Know How, and Skilled Coping PHIL 261


Spring 2020 T/Th 10:00-11:30 Prerequisites: One 100-level Philosophy course or instructor approval. Course Description: If you need to have surgery, you want a surgeon who has performed many operations of the relevant kind and who continues to does so. You don’t want someone who doesn’t spend much time in the operating room, even if he or she is a famous lecturer on the procedure. You want someone with the relevant surgical experience or know how or skill. But consideration of experience, know how, or skill raises a variety of philosophical questions.

• How is experience related to craft knowledge or scientific knowledge? Is the expert craftsperson or scientist better than the experienced practitioner at doing anything, or only at explaining?

• The experienced person knows how to do things, but what kind of knowledge is that? Such knowledge doesn’t seem like factual knowledge, but what exactly is the relation between know how and knowledge of facts? Does either depend on the other?

• What does it feel like to perform a task in which one is skilled? Does skill change the character of one’s perception—does the approaching groundstroke look different to Roger Federer? How does self-consciousness relate to skilled performance? Is self-consciousness simply absent from skilled performance? If so, is intellect also absent?

Readings: Drawn from ancient and contemporary authors, including Aristotle, Gilbert Ryle, and Hubert Dreyfus. Course Outline:

UNIT WEEK TOPICS Experience 1-2 The predecessors and Plato: empiricism and rationalism;

ancient intellectualism 3-4 Aristotle on experience: experience, art, and scientific knowledge 4-5 Aristotle on experience: experience and ethics

Know how 6 Ryle on knowing how and knowing that: anti-intellectualism 7-9 Ryle’s critics and recent debate: intellectualism defended;

the primacy question Skilled coping 10 Dreyfus on the phenomenal character of skilled coping 11-12 Skilled coping, reflexive awareness, and intellectual

capacities 13-14 Relations between the three debates


Topics in the Philosophy of Mathematics PHIL 350


Spring 2020 M/W 2:15-3:45 Prerequisite: One 100-level Philosophy course or instructor approval. Course Description: Mathematics has always mattered to philosophy, and according to many the knowledge that is gained in mathematics is a paradigm of knowledge. But how does mathematics work? How can one come to know things—if one can—by engaging in the sort of practice that mathematicians engage in? And if the practice of mathematics does yield knowledge, knowledge of what? What can mathematics teach us about our philosophical concerns more broadly conceived? Our focus in this course is mathematics as it has been practiced throughout its two and one half millennial history, and the impacts that revolutions in mathematics have had on the rest of the intellectual culture. Required Text:

• Macbeth, Realizing Reason Oxford University Press 2014 (RR). Requirements:

• Two papers (8-10 pages, and 12-15 pages) • Drafts, presentations, and rewrites required

Course Outline and Readings:

WEEK TOPIC(S) One Introduction and Overview Two Where we begin (RR Chapter 1) Three/Four Diagrammatic Practice in Euclid’s Elements (RR Chapter 2) Four/Five Mathematics Transformed:

Descartes’ Mathesis Universalis (RR Chapter 3) Six/Seven Kant’s Philosophy of Mathematics (RR Chapter 4) Eight Presentations Nine Mathematics Transformed Again: 19th c Mathematics (RR Chapter 5) Ten Problems for the Received View (RR Chapter 6) Eleven Frege’s Concept-script (RR Chapter 7) Twelve Ampliative Deductive Proof in Contemporary Mathematical Practice

(RR Chapter 8) Thirteen More on Ampliative Deductive Proof Fourteen Presentations


Topics in Philosophical Psychology: Perception and Imagination

PHIL 360 Instructor: Joel Yurdin

[email protected] Spring 2020 T/Th 1:00-2:30 Prerequisite: One 100-level Philosophy course or instructor approval. Course Description: This course examines central problems in the philosophy of perception and their treatment by rival theories of perceptual awareness, including the sense datum theory, the Intentional theory, and the naïve realist (or relational) theory. Topics to be considered include illusion, hallucination, the phenomenal character of perceptual awareness, and the disjunctive theory of sense-experience. Readings from contemporary authors, including J.L. Austin, M.G.F. Martin, S. Siegel, and P. Snowdon. Required Texts:

• Austin, J.L. Sense and Sensibilia (1962, Oxford). ISBN-13: 978-0195003079

• Byrne, A. and Logue, H. (eds.). Disjunctivism: Contemporary Readings (2009, MIT). ISBN 13: 978-0262524902

Course Outline:

WEEK TOPICS 1-2 The Argument from Illusion 3-4 The Sense Datum Theory and its Critics 5 What It’s Like to Perceive; Blindsight 6 The Intentional Theory 7 The Naïve Realist Theory 8 The Argument from Hallucination; What Hallucination is Really Like 9-10 Disjunctivist Responses to the Argument from Hallucination 11-12 Perception and Action: Action-Oriented Theories 13 Disjunctive Accounts of Reasons for Action


Topics in Ethical Theory: Inheritance PHIL 370

Instructor: Jerry Miller [email protected]

Fall 2020 M/W 2:15-3:45 Prerequisite: One 100-level Philosophy course or instructor approval. Course Description: This course examines the concept of inheritance as a transfer of physical, social, linguistic, economic and behavioral resources. Inheritance is unique, as Kant notes, as a transfer or gift that typically cannot be refused. Despite being involuntary recipients of our inheritances we nevertheless conceive ourselves and others as having intentionally developed and earned them, whether advantageous or disadvantageous. By examining theories of how inheritances proceed across and through individuals and groups, especially through relations conventionally proscribed from inheritable transfers (race and queerness), we will contemplate these movements as ethical genealogies, that is, as historical transfers of value (economic, social, dispositional) that configure recognition of our embodied selves. Possible Texts:

• Lee Edelman, No Future • Jean-Paul Sartre, Anti-Semite and Jew • Jacques Derrida, The Gift of Death • J. Reid Miller, Stain Removal: Ethics and Race

Additional Readings on Moodle Course Requirements:

• Several short papers • Class presentation • Final project

Course Outline:

WEEK TOPICS 1-2 Anna Julia Cooper/Booker T.

Washington/W.E.B DuBois 3 Alain Locke/Kelly Miller 4 Althusser 5 Anti-Semite and Jew 6 Stuart Hall/Selected essays 7 Selected essays 8 No Future 9-10 Gift of Death 11-12 Stain Removal 13-14 Project presentations

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