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Philosophy Department
Fall 2000 Electives

PL 193 01 Chinese Classical Philosophy
Francis Soo
TTh @ 10:30*
Level 1
Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement
Starting from the general introduction to Chinese philosophy as a whole, the course will focus on three of the most important philosophical schools: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Emphasizing social harmony and order, Confucianism deals mainly with human relationships and human virtues. Centered on the harmony between nature, man and society, Taoism teaches the most natural way to achieve this harmony, Tao. Synthesized as soon as it arrived in China, Buddhism reveals that the ultimate reality both transcends all being, names, and forms and remains empty and quiet in its nature.

PL 205 01 Housing: A Guide for the Perplexed
Harry Gottschalk
W 3-5
Level 1
This course is an in-depth analysis of urban housing conditions that views housing sites within the city and involves research into the causes of historical, architectural, governmental, financial and neighborhood action to maintain and/or create alleviation of the deepening housing crisis in our society.
Requirements: A reflection paper is required on each lecture and class discussion, which will be due the following class. A final paper will be required at the termination of the semester. There will be a tour of the city of Boston neighborhoods for all the students at the close of this course.
Readings: Jacobs, Jane, The Death and Life of Great American Cities; Doxiadis, C.A., Anthropolis: City for Human Development; Sennett, Richard, The Uses of Disorder

PL 233 01 Values in Social Services and Health Care
David Manzo
Th 4:30-7
Level 1
"But you know, there are no children here. They've seen too much to be children."
                LaJoe Rivers, There Are No Children Here
"Homelessness in America begins at home."
                Kathleen Hirsch, Songs From the Alley
"When a patient thinks his or her doctor is wrong and insists on a different, perhaps unwise, course of treatment, what should a physiciando?"
                Fred Friendly, Ethics in America
"We can degrade people by caring for them; and we can degrade people by not caring for them."
                Steven Marcus, Doing Good
"That's not fair!"
                Probably your first moral judgment, Age 3
Through readings, lectures, discussions, and written work, we will pursue some of the questions raised by the facts, philosophies, and statements listed above. We hope to do more, too. Among the objectives for Values in Social Services and Health Care are: to communication understanding of the health care and social services delivery system; to explore ethical problems of allocations of limited resources, regulations, experimentation, the press, the homeless, the provider-patient relationship, and the responsibility for the dependent person; to consider possibilities for positive changes in the social service and health care system.
Requirements: PULSE Students: Field Placement 40%, Journal 15%, Exam 30%, Class Participation, Discussion Group 15%, Non-PULSE Students: Final Paper 45%, Presentation of Final Paper, Exam 35%, Class Participation,
Discussion Group 15%
Readings: Doing Good: The Limits of Benevolence, Willard Gaylin, et. al; There Are No Children Here, Alex Kotlowitz; Songs From the Alley, Kathleen Hirsch; Ethics in America, Source Reader, Lisa H. Newton; Ethics in America, Study Guide, LisaH. Newton. Selected readings will be distributed in class.

PL 259 01 Perspectives on War and Aggression
Rein Uritam
TTh @ 10:30
Level 1
This course is the result of work by faculty and students interested in developing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Peace and Warat Boston College. The Boston College Program for Study of Peace and War sponsors this course as its introductory offering in Peace Studies at the university.   This course is centered around analyses of the causes of war and conflict in contemporary society.
Requirements: take-home mid-term examination; conventional final examination
Reading: David P. Barash, Approaches to Peace; BrianE. Fogarty, Peace and the Social Order

PL 264 01 Logic
Stuart Martin
MWF @ 11
Level 1
Logic is the science of correct reasoning. The study of this science aims at perfecting the students practical ability for critical analysis and precise argumentation. This course will emphasize the elements of traditional logic but will also introduce the student to the field of modern symbolic notation.
Requirements: Working exercises are supplied for each unit of study, and class participation is encouraged. There will be two tests during the semester as well as a final examination.
Readings: Robert J. Kreyche, Logic for Undergraduates

PL 264 02 Logic
Thomas Hibbs
MWF @ 12
Level 1
An introduction to symbolic logic with some attention given to informal fallacies and syllogistic reasoning.
Requirements: 4 exams, regular homework assignments, and occasional quizzes

PL 264 03 Logic
Debby Hutchins
MWF @ 2
Level 1
The purpose of this course is to give students a comprehensive introduction to modern propositional and predicate logic. Topics covered includes: validity, soundness, practical applications of logic, and direct and indirect truth tables. Upon completion of the courses, the student will be able to recognize and identify standard argument forms and to construct propositional predicate.
Requirements: There will be three exams. The final will not be cumulative, but will presuppose work done in the first part of the course.
Readings:   Patrick J. Hurley, A Concise Introductionto Logic

PL 268 01 History and Development of Racism
                   Cross Listed with BK 268/SC 268
Horace Seldon
T 3-5:30
Level 1
Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement
This course concerns the interrelationships of individual and institutional forms of racism. The course will survey historical forms of racism in the United States and will identify past and present methods of opposing racism.
Requirements: Attendance and participation in class discussions and home groups, which meet during the class hours, is crucial. Weekly journals, one book reflection paper, a major paper are also required, and a final exam.
Readings: Autobiography of Malcolm X,Haley;AmericaIs in the Heart, Bulosan; Before the Mayflower, Bennett; Lies My Teacher Told Me, Loewen

PL 275 01 Philosophy in Literature
Peter Kreeft
TTh @ 1:30
Level 1
Exploration of such philosophical themes as self-identity, happiness, death, morality, love, truth, fate, God, friendship, violence, hope, and community in two great epics of very diverse form yet surprisingly similar content: Tolkien's, The Lord of the Rings (recently voted the greatest book of the 20th century by two worldwide polls) and Dostoyevsky's, The Brothers Karamazov (recently selected the greatest novel ever writtenby a Time magazine poll of living writers).
Requirements: mid-semester and final; original essays recommendedfor extra credit
Readings: Dostoyevski, The Brothers Karamazov; Tolkien,TheLord of the Rings

PL 291 01 Philosophyof Community I
David McMenamin
T 4:30-6:15
Level 1
Prerequisites: Limited to members of the PULSE Council
This is the second half of a year-long seminar in which we will studythe community, its structure, power and change. The dynamics of communitywill be examined by sharing impressions and insights with various teachersand community workers. Specific theoretical models of analysis will bestudied and critiqued. The purpose of the course is to begin developingnew approaches for learning about social change and for building new visionsfor the direction that a PULSE student's responsibility toward social changemight take.

PL 312 01 Nihilismand Pop Culture
Thomas Hibbs
MWF @ 10
Level 1
The course will alternate between reading philosophical and literarytreatments of nihilism and an analysis of contemporary film, TV, and music. The task is to determine what nihilism is, to what extent and in what waysnihilism is operative in our popular culture, and what resources, if any,there are to overcome it.
Requirements: mid-term, final, and a few short papers
Readings: Will be selected from among the following authors: Hannah Arendt, Ellison, John Paul II, Nietzsche, Walker Percy, Tocqueville,and Cornell West.

PL 313 01 Angelsand Demons
Peter Kreeft
TTh @ 10:30
Level 1
A serious philosophical study of the questions of the reality of thesupernatural, miracles, angels, demons, exorcisms, Heaven and Hell. A serious, logical, and objective philosophical and theological study ofthe evidences (or reasons) and the consequences (or corollaries) of thesespectacular and important ingredients in the premodern world view whichno longer form an operative part of the modern one.
Requirements: mid-semester and final; optional extra-credit original essays recommended.
Readings: C.S. Lewis, Miracles, The Great Divorce,The Screwtape Letters; Mortimer Adler, The Angels and Us; Joan WebsterAnderson, Where Angels Walk; William Peter Blatty,The Exorcist;Peter Kreeft, Angels and Demons; Charles Williams,Descent IntoHell

PL 338 01 Heidegger Project I
Thomas Owens
TTh @ 1:30
Level 1

This is a course designed to allow undergraduates an opportunity towork closely with some major texts of Martin Heidegger, one of the leadingtwentieth-century philosophers. Students will be expected to participatein assessing Heidegger's relevance to contemporary issues and in developingtheir own philosophical views vis-a-vis Heidegger's. Some knowledgeof traditional philosophy (e.g. Aristotle, Descartes, etc.) would be helpful,but is not an absolute prerequisite.
Requirements: Class presentations and oral examination.
Readings: Being and Time by Martin Heidegger, translatedby Macquarrie and Robinson, Harper & Co.
N.B. This is the only translation usable in this class. The Joan Stambaugh version is not.

PL 346 01 Surveyof 20th Century Ethics
Jorge Garcia
TTh @12
Level 1
Using lectures and discussion, this course explores some of the principalphilosophical works and movements on the language, epistemology, and ontologyof morals as discussed especially by British and American writers of thelast century. Articles and chapters from such thinkers as Moore,Russell, Prichard, Ross, Stevenson, Ayer, Hare, Geach, Foot, Harman, Rawls,Scanlon, and Thomson will be treated.
Requirements: Assignments include two take-home examinations.

PL 392 01 & 02God and Science: Developing Spiritualitiesfor the 21st Century
Ronald Anderson, S.J.
Section 01    TTh @ 10:30
Section 02    TTh @   1:30
Level 1
We live in an age of dramatic scientific discoveries with deep implicationsfor religious perspectives on the world and human existence. This intentof this course is to explore ways in which these discoveries can providenew perspectives and contexts for thinking about human existence and itsplace in nature as well as God's nature and relationship to and actionin the world. Three areas within contemporary science will concernus: the origin and evolution of the universe, the evolution of life on earth, and the functioning of the human brain and its role in generating consciousness.These explorations will be the context for considering ways in which humanexistence can acquire a religious meaning that is structured by and infull accord with the features of the world as revealed by science. Thequest for such a meaning is in essence the project of developing a spiritualvision of the universe and our place within it, a vision replete with consequencesfor action.
The topics in the course lie in the general area of well-establishedstudies on the nature and history of the interaction between science andreligion but with a focus on the growing number of recent studies of thisinteraction. The spiritual traditions we will engage with in the courseare Christianity and Buddhism (to a lesser extent) as the latter is representedby a tradition that has become known in the U.S. as Insight Meditation.
No particular prior knowledge of the scientific fields considered willbe required.
Requirements: A series of short informal 1-2 page reflectionpapers due each week; a mid-term exercise consisting of a review of articles from journals devoted to science and religion topics; a finalwritten assignment consisting of three short essays.
Readings: 1) J.C. Polkinghorne, "Science and Theology:an Introduction" (Fortress Press, 1998); 2) J. Goldstein and J. Kornfield,"Seeking the Heart of Wisdom" (Boston: Shambhala, 1987); 3) I. N. Marshall, Danah Zohar, F. David Peat, "Who's Afraid of Schrodinger's Cat: An A-To-Z Guide to All the New Science Ideas You Need to Keep Up With the New Thinking" (William Morrow & Co, 1998); 4) Coursepack of readings
Further details at: http://www2.bc.edu/~anderso/courses/gs.html

PL 405 01 GreekPhilosophy
John Cleary
MWF @ 1
Level 1
This course will explore the history of ancient Greek philosophy fromthe 6th to 4th centuries B.C. with particular attention to Plato and Aristotle. It will trace the emergence of natural philosophy with the Milesians, thebeginnings of metaphysics with Heraclitus and Parmenides, along with thestirrings of political reflection among the Sophists. Finally, itwill consider these seeds as coming to fruition in the multifaceted dialoguesof Plato and the complex treatises of Aristotle, both of whom laid thegroundwork for the subsequent development of philosophy. Thus thecourse will provide the student with a comprehensive grounding in Greekphilosophy that will lay foundations for further study in the history ofphilosophy.
Requirements: Active class participation, including briefpresentations; mid-term and final examinations (essay questions); 1 researchpaper (10 pages approx.)
Readings: S. Marc Cohen, P. Curd, and C.D.C. Reeve (eds.);Readingsin Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Aristotle (Hackett)

PL 406 01 ModernPhilosophy
Robert Miner
MWF @ 2
Level 1
This course in modern philosophy will not pit the unreal abstractionsof "rationalism" and "empiricism" against one another. Itsapproach, rather, is to understand modern philosophy as a series of problemsand debates that grow
out of the Scientific Revolution. We will begin near the beginning,with Galileo and Bacon, asking just what the Scientific Revolution is andwhat it is revolting against. Then we will take up three debatesthat arise for heirs of
the revolution. These are: (1) Are there two substances, thoughtand extension, or only one? Here the authors to be read are Descartesand Spinoza; (2) Do the methods and presuppositions of scientific inquiryconfirm the view
that we bring ideas of our own to investigations of nature, or do theyforce upon us the belief that all of our concepts are acquired from theoutside through "experience"? Here the authors to be read are Lockeand Leibniz; (3)
If the world is what the new science says it is, what happens to "traditional"concepts that fit uneasily into this disenchanted world, if they fit atall? Two such concepts are God and moral obligation. On God,we will read Leibniz, Pascal and Hume. On moral obligation, we willconsider Hobbes and Kant.
If followed diligently, the result of the course will be to givestudents a sense of the sweep and salient concerns of modern European thought.
This course is not restricted to philosophy majors. Serious studentsin other disciplines are welcome. Majors in the natural sciences,history, English, foreign languages, political science, and theology arelikely to find, in
proportion to their acuity, issues relevant to their own fields addressedby the course.
Requirements: Two papers, two exams, class attendance andparticipation in discussion.
Readings: Galileo, The Assayer; Bacon, Novum Organum; Descartes,Principles of Philosophy; Spinoza, Ethics; Locke, Essay Concerning HumanUnderstanding; Leibniz, New Essays Concerning Human Understanding; Pascal,Pensees; Hume, Dialogues on Natural Religion; Hobbes, Leviathan; Kant,Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals

PL 429 01 Freud andPhilosophy
Vanessa Rumble
TTh @ 12
Level 1
A reading of Freud's principal works will show how psychoanalytic theoryhas altered our self-understanding. The
interpretation of dreams and pathological behavior leads to new theoriesof symbolic expression in work, play, humor
and art. The analysis of sexuality culminates in controversial viewson guilt, violence, the status of women, and religious
faith.

PL 434 01 & 02 Capstone: Ethics in the Professions
                                   UN 508 01 & UN 508 02
Richard Spinello
Section 01    T 4:30-6:45
Section 02    Th 4:30-6:45
Level 1
This course deals with two distinct but complementary approaches toethics. It will consider programmatic moral analysis which involvesworking through and resolving vexing moral dilemmas that arise in fourmajor professions: law, business, journalism, and medicine. For example,we will explore cases that raise controversial questions such as the following:How can the media balance the right to privacy with the publicâsright to know? Is the lawyer in the adversary system a pure legaladvocate or a moral agent? What are the limits of zealous advocacy? When is it legitimate to restrict patient autonomy? Should physicianassisted suicide be legalized? Is there a prima facie right to privacyin the workplace?
In addition to this sort of analysis, the course also seeks to provokethe moral imagination by raising larger moral questions÷how do youhold on to your spiritual and religious values in a competitive, secularsociety? How do you strike the right balance between career obligationsand obligations to oneâs family and friends? What happens whenyou compromise certain moral principles? Is virtue really its ownreward? We will rely on a philosophical essay, a movie, and severalshort readings as a basis for discussing these issues.
Requirements: reflection papers and case analyses; finalexam
Readings: The Consolation of Philosophy (Boethius); CaseStudies in Information Ethics (Spinello); Package of cases and readings(availableat BC Bookstore)

PL 455 01 Kierkegaardand Nietzsche
Stuart Martin
MWF @ 2
Level 1
Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are two of the most important thinkers ofthe nineteenth century, as well as powerful influences on modern-day society. This course will study their lives and the dominant themes of their teachingalong the lines of Christian belief and Atheistic Humanist. The classwill include lectures, student reports, and analyses of some of Kierkegaard'sand Nietzsche's most revealing and influential writings.
Requirements: Two conference reports, one paper, two testsduring the semester, a final examination.
Readings: Class notes prepared by the teacher. FriedrichNietzsche: The Portable Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard: Fearand Trembling, The Sickness Unto Death.

PL 474 01 Laughter,Humor and Satire
Gerard O'Brien, S.J.
MWF @ 1
Level 1
This course involves studying a considerable sampling of the great worksof satire and comedy from all ages, from the ancient Greeks to the contemporaryperiod. The focus is on what light philosophy throws on the natureof humor and satire and what satire and laughter tell us about ourselvesas wondering, rational, risible animals. The views of Kant, Bergson,Chesterton and others will be discussed in some detail, but there willalso be an attempt to appreciate each work of art in its individuality,and the personal perspective each one brings to his/her appreciation.
Requirements: one course paper, one finalexam, short written and oral class presentations
Reading List: Aristophanes, The Clouds; John Morreal,ThePhilosophy of Laughter and Humor; F. Kiley & J.M. Shuttleworth,Satirefrom Aesop to Buchwald; Plautus, The Pot of Gold; James Thurber,Fablesfor Our Times; Voltaire, Candide; Oscar Wilde, The Importanceof Being Earnest; Dustin Griffin, Satire: A Critical Reintroduction;Moliere, Tartuffe and other Plays

PL 482 01 PoliticalPhilosophy from Hobbes to Hegel
Jacques Taminiaux
TTh @ 3 & W 4:30-6:15
Level 1
Through an analysis of the basic political concepts of major thinkerslike Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Hegel, this lecture courseaims at an introduction--both historical and philosophical--to currentissues like technocracy, consumerism, the private and the public, politicaljudgment, freedom of expression, etc.
Requirements: A willingness to read, and interest in thehistorical roots of our world.
Reading List: Hobbes, Leviathan; Spinoza, Tractatustheologico-politicus; Locke, Two Treatises of Government; Rousseau,SecondDiscourse; Kant's, Political Writings, Cambridge, 1971; Hegel,Reasonin History

PL 500 01 Philosophyof Law
David Rasmussen
TTh @ 1:30
Level 3
This course is intended for both pre-law students and those interestedin the contemporary interface of philosophy, politics, and law. Thecourse will cover the following four topics: (2) a brief overview of thehistory of interrelation between law and philosophy (Hobbes, Rousseau,Kant, and Hegel); (2) constitutional legal theory (Dworkin, Ackerman, Michelman,Hart); (3) critical legal studies (David Kennedy, Duncan Kennedy, and RobertoUnger); (4) law and violence (Nietzsche, Derrida, Foucault, and Rorty).
The course is intended both to provide an overview of these variouspositions and to enable students to take a critical stance toward currentdebates.

PL 511 01 ScientificSearch for New Understanding
Brian Braman
MW @ 4:30
Level 3
A True liberal arts education is grounded in both the humanities andscience. This course will introduce students to one of these twomain pursuits; namely, science. We will combine core elements ofScience and Mathematics in order to help us reflect upon the set of assumptionsembodied in the work of mathematicians and natural scientists. Wewill be concerned with these assumptions as they regard the kind of intelligibilitythe world does or does not possess.
The approach to the class will be historical. We will read importanttexts in the history of math and science so that we can gain a grater appreciationof the changes that have taken place in scientific understanding.
Requirements: mid-term, final, 2 observation papers, 3-4page papers
Readings: photocopied reader

PL 524 01 Ethics:An Introduction
Arthur Madigan, S.J.
MWF @ 1
Level 3
Ethics, properly understood, is a practical discipline, i.e., an intellectuallyrigorous study with implications for personal and social life. Thiscourse will introduce students to the standard issues of contemporary Anglo-Americanethics, but also to a broader selection of issues addressed in classicaland contemporary philosophy. The goal is to develop a more adequateunderstanding of what it means to be practically reasonable, and of howpractical reasonableness can be embodied in personal and social life.
Requirements: careful study of assigned readings (the threebooks listed below, plus a number of briefer selections from classicaland contemporary sources); active participation in class discussions; thewritten assignments listed below under Grading Formula:
10% Precis of William K. Frankena, Ethics (3-5 pages).
10% Critical analysis of an ethical argument (3-5 pages).
40% Precis and critical analysis of a book in ethics (list tobe distributed)
(8-10 pages).
40% Final examination (short answers and essays).
Grades may be adjusted to reflect class participation.
Students should secure the following: William K. Frankena, Ethics;The MacIntyre Reader, ed. Kelvin Knight;
Mortimer J. Adler, The Time of Our Lives.

PL 528 01 Metaphysics
Gary Gurtler, S.J.
MW @ 3
Level 3
The course begins with the classical modern problems and method in metaphysics. The problems concern the relation of mind and body, the possibility ofobjective knowledge, and cause and effect. The method is that of science,combining both empirical and logical elements. This position continuesto have strong influence in contemporary Western culture, especially aschallenging whether metaphysics is possible at all. After examiningthese modern thinkers, which give the assumptions of our own culture, wewill turn to an examination of Ancient and Medieval philosophers. Their problems concern the relation of spirit and matter, the analogy ofbeing and truth, and causal explanation. Their method is one of dialogue,including both other philosophers and the world itself. With thisdifferent set of problems and method, we will be able to evaluate the relativestrengths of these different philosophical positions.
Requirements: class summaries, short papers on each philosopherand final exam. Class attendance and participation are an integralpart of the course.
Readings: Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy(Hackett).ISBN 0-915144-57-3; Kant. Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics(Hackett). ISBN 0-915144-25-5; Plato, Phaedrus (tr. Hackforth; Cambridge).ISBN 0-521-09703-7; Aristotle,. Metaphysics (tr. Richard Hope; AnnArbor Pbk) ISBN 0-472-06042-2; Aquinas, On Being and Essence(PIMS), ISBN 0-88844-250-5

PL 529 01 Philosophyof Action
Oliva Blanchette
MW @ 4:30
Level 1
A study of the concrete approach to transcendence through human actionas found in Maurice Blondel's science of practice and its relation to practicalscience. The course will insist especially on the point of departurefor this transcendence in human experience, the way it encompasses theentire universe of action, and the ultimate option it places before usin the face of the totally transcendent Being to say "yes" with God orto use the power He gives us to say "no" to Him.
Requirements: participation in lecture/discussion sessions,reflection papers, final oral examination
Readings: Maurice Blondel, Action (l983), Universityof Notre Dame Press.

PL 562 01 Art and ItsSignificance
Ingrid Scheibler
TTh @12
Level 3
This course will look at the relation between philosophy and art froma number of perspectives. We will consider a range of philosophers'views on the function and value of art (illusion, imitation, delight, instruction)and some recent systematic theories which look more closely at the natureof art itself. We will also use the writings and manifestoes of artiststhemselves to illuminate questions about the interpretation of works ofart and their ontological status.
Requirements: Undergraduates: midterm & finalexam, paper. Graduates: research paper
Readings: The Philosophy of the Visual Arts (ed.Philop Alperson), Oxford University Press, 1992. Art and Its Significance: An Anthology of Aesthetic Theory (ed. Stephen David Ross), 1984.

PL 593 01 Philosophyof Science
Ronald Anderson, S.J.
T 4:30-7
Level 3
The intent of this course is to provide an introduction to the mainthemes, movements, and thinkers of 20th century philosophy of science. The important role for the history of science in understanding the natureof science will be explored as well as the recent studies of science thatexamine the roles of cultural, gender, and social factors and experimentalpractices in the formation of scientific knowledge. One of the underlyingprojects of the course will be to explore the reasons why the enterpriseof science is remarkably successful in providing us with reliable knowledgeof the world.
Requirements: A short informal commentary (1-2) on the readingsdue for each topic; a mid-term, consisting of a review of 1 or 2 contemporaryarticles in a philosophy of science journal that touch on the themes ofthe course; a final written assignment consisting of three short essays based onissues that have emerged during the class.
Readings: A.F. Chalmers, "What is This Thing Called Science?"(3rd edition, 1999); A coursepack of readings.
Further details at: http://www2.bc.edu/~anderso/courses/ps.html

PL 595 01 Kant'sCritique
Ronald Tacelli, S.J.
MW @ 3
Level 3
Prerequisite: PL 070-071 or equivalent
This course is an analysis of the major theme of Kant's philosophy asexpressed in his first critique, including a study of its antecedents andconsequences in the history of philosophy.

PL 620 01 Aristotle'sPolitics
John Cleary
MW @ 3
Level 3
This course will involve a careful reading of Aristotleâs Politicsfrom two different but related perspectives. First, from the ancientperspective, we will study it as a paradigmatic text for the traditionof Greek political thought, which includes not only Plato and Thucydidesbut the whole Sophistic tradition of reflection on mankind within the polis. Secondly, from our unavoidable modern perspective, we will examine Aristotleâsviews on such questions as justice, rights, and slavery. As a pointof departure, we will use the modern debate between liberalism and communitarianismin order to reorient ourselves for the very different approach to politicswithin the context of the Greek polis.
Requirements: 1 assigned mid-term paper (10 pages approx.); 1research paper (20 pages approx.)
Reading: Aristotle's Politics (tr. C.D.C. Reeve), Hackett(paperback), 1998

PL 649 01 Philosophyof Being I
Oliva Blanchette
MW @ 3
Level 3
After metaphysics, there remains the task of thinking being. Thereis no true deconstruction without a reconstruction. Starting froma deconstruction of the metaphysical tradition, this course will attempta systematic reconstruction in the philosophy of being. It will beginwith a re-opening of the question of being, leading into a discussion ofthe analogy and the transcendental properties of being as a way into anunderstanding of the structure of being as it presents itself in experience.
Requirements: regular class participation, 2 or 3 reflectionpapers, term paper based on individualized reading, final oral exam.
Readings: lecture notes, individualized reading list foreach student

PL 686 01 CityAs Political Forum
Pierre Manent
MWF 4-6
Level 3
Description not available at this time.

PL 710 01 Nations,States, Republics
Richard Kearney
W 6:15-8
Level - Graduate
This course will explore the philosophical genesis and genealogy ofour modern understanding of nations and nationalisms. Beginning withCicero's Res Publica, it will trace the evolution of the respectiveconcepts of nation, state and republic up to their modern reformulationin the French, American and Irish Revolutions. There will be specialfocus on the political themes of sovereignty outlined by Kant and Rousseau. It will conclude with a discussion of the contemporary debate on nationalism-cosmopolitanismfeaturing such thinkers as Ricoeur, Arendt, Habermas, Derrida and Kristeva.
Requirements and Readings: will be distributed in class.

PL 716 01 PhilosophicalDebate
Peter Kreeft
T 3-5
Level - Graduate
This is a seminar in which students prepare, and the professor moderates,formal debates on 12 controversial issues they have chosen from the historyof philosophy, using a modified version of the medieval "Scholastic Disputation,"confining all terminology to mutually agreed and defined terms, all argumentsto hose that serve to prove or disapprove the single thesis under debate,and all retorts to finding an ambiguous term, a false premise, or a logicalfallacy. These "confinements" will be found to be artificial at first(like all technique and technologies), but eventually freeing and empowering. They will be found to be surprisingly difficult and surpassingly rewarding.
Medieval "Scholastic Disputations" did not just "happen" or "evolve";they were created by a deliberate contract to adhere to the stricturesof Aristotelian logic in enacting Socratic dialectic. These debateswere as popular among both students and magisters than as Monday NightFootball is now. Each "article" in a Summa is an abbreviated summaryof such a debate, and a "Disputed Question" is a longer one. I seeno reason why, if the same contractual choice is made today, without thelong, Latin formalisms, this would not transform our "bull sessions," whichonly "air opinions" and get nowhere, into exercises of real progress inclarifying, demonstrating, and even convincing.
I have never heard of such a course. Despite all the attentionto method since Descartes, surprisingly little practical attention hasbeen paid to the art of live argument. Perhaps this is because todayphilosophers argue in private with a piece of paper that cannot talk back,rather than in public with other philosophers who can.
Students will choose 12 theses, 12 philosophers, and 12 key tests toargue about. Most of the texts will come from the required readinglist for graduate comprehensive exams. all students will read thetexts and prepare one argument or objection to contribute to teach debate. The two debaters will prepare very short position papers to be definedagainst each other, and then against objections from the class. Some possibleexamples of arguable theses include: "Evil is ignorance" (Socrates), "Injusticecannot be more profitable than justice" (Plato), "There is an unmoved mover"(Aristotle), "Bad things never happen to good people" (Boethius), "God'sexistence is self-evident" (Anselm), "Man has free will" (Aquinas). "I exist" (Descartes), "Metaphysics is impossible" (Hume), "The categoricalimperative is morally self-evident" (Kant), "Universals are concrete" (Hegel),"There is a teleological suspension of the ethical" (Kierkegaard), "Hellis other people" (Sartre), "We believe what we will to believe" (James).
Requirements: at least one argument contribution to each live debate;"on the hot seat" for one live debate; very short (1/2 page) position papersummarizing (2); 1-2-page Summa-style article expanding (3); longer 5-10-page)"Disputed Question" expanding (4).
No final exam, no required textbooks.

PL 735 01 Jurisprudenceand Philosophy
David Rasmussen
Th 4:30-6:15
Level - Graduate
The 1996 English translation of Jürgen Habermas' BetweenFacts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracymarks a milestone not only in the discourse on jurisprudence and philosophythat began with the publication of Hobbesâ Leviathan, butalso in Habermas' own work. In my judgment, the book belongs to the greatGerman theoretical discourses on law authored by Hegel (The Philosophyof Right) and Weber (Economy and Society) respectively.This course will place Habermasâ new and original contribution inthe context of contemporary discussions of law and philosophy offered byDworkin, Rawls, and others.
Requirements: A research paper on a topic relevant to thecourse and selected with the approval of the professor will be due at theend of the semester.
Readings: Jürgen Habermas, Between Facts and Norms:Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy (Cambridge,MA: MIT Press, 1996)

PL 768 01 Insight
Patrick Byrne
TTh @ 3
Level - Graduate
This is a two-semester course exploring the basic themes and methodof Lonergan's Insight, through a close textual reading.

PL 796 01 Topicsin Ancient Philosophy
Arthur Madigan, S.J.
M 3-5
Level - Graduate
Texts studied in this course will vary from year to year. In fall2000 the course will focus on a series of Aristotelian texts concernedwith dialectical reasoning, with the relationship between dialectical reasoningand other aspects of Aristotle's theory of knowledge, and with Aristotle'sactual practice in several of the treatises handed down to us. Thegoal of the course will be to arrive at an accurate and differentiatedcharacterization of Aristotle's dialectical method or methods.
The course is not an introduction to Aristotle. It will presupposefamiliarity with Aristotle's most important philosophical views, as wellas a certain facility in reading Aristotelian texts. Taking for granteda basic understanding of Aristotle's views on a number of different issues,the course will focus on the method or methods that he uses to addressthe issues and the procedures whereby he arrives at his views. Inbrief, the course will be less about what Aristotle thinks and more abouthow Aristotle thinks.
Two thirds of the grade for the course will be based on a term essayof 20-30 pages on a topic relevant to the course and agreed on betweenstudent and instructor. One third of the grade will be based on amemorandum of 10-15
pages conveying the student's reflections on the primary texts, secondaryliterature, class meetings, and other aspects of the course. Integralto these assignments is a discussion of both with the instructor duringthe week of final examinations.
Participants will be expected to read with care the primary texts andsecondary literature assigned for each meeting, to attend regularly, andto contribute to class discussion. Grades may be modified in thelight of contributions to class meetings.
The instructor does not foresee assigning Incomplete grades.
All the primary texts for the course may be found in The CompleteWorks of Aristotle, ed. Jonathan Barnes (2 volumes, PrincetonUniversity Press), which students should secure.
A reserve shelf containing the most important items of secondary literaturewill be set up in O'Neill Library.

PL 819 01 Kantand Hegel on Art
Jacques Taminiaux
T 4:30-6:15
Level - Graduate
Textual examination of Kantâs Third Critique and its influenceon Hegelâs Philosophy of Art.

PL 822 01 Foucault,Religion and the Holocaust
James Bernauer, S.J.
W 4:30-6:15
Level - Graduate
This seminar will explore how Foucault's late work fashions tools foran analysis of religion as a cultural force and how its operation in thetwentieth century contributed to the emergence of fascism as a politicaltechnology and a specific form of criminality.
Requirements: seminar participation, research paper.
Readings: Foucault, Disipline and Punish, History of SexualityI & II, Religion and Culture, 1984 lectures at the College de France

PL 832 01 Philosophyand Theology in Aquinas
Oliva Blanchette
M 6:30-8:15
Level -Graduate
A study of how Aquinas comes to understand theology as a scientificdiscipline that has to use philosophy to make the truth of Revelation manifest. Special attention will be given to methodological discussions at the beginningof the various parts of the Summa Theologiae and the Summa ContraGentiles as well as to the order of both theology and philosophy ashe understood them. An attempt will be made to show how the commentarieson Aristotle, in which he is most properly himself a philosopher, are anessential part of his being a theologian.
Requirements: Term paper, final oral examination
Reading List: Aquinas: Summa Theologiae, SummaContra Gentiles, In Boethium De Trinitate; etc.

PL 835 01 RecentVirtue Ethics
Jorge Garcia
T 4:30-6:15
Level - Graduate
This seminar examines the resurgence of interest in the moral virtuesand their place in moral theory that occurred within English-language philosophyduring the second half of the last century.
Requirements: Students will present one critical report orallyin class, and write one ortwo analytical papers.
Readings: Works to be read will be drawn from thinkers includingAnscombe, Foot, Hampshire, Hursthouse, Slote, Statman, Zagzebski, and MacIntyre.

PL 855 01 Seminar:Heidegger 1
Thomas Owens
W 3-4:30
Level - Graduate
This course is a close textual analysis of Being and Time, focusingon Heidegger's epochal insights on man, world, time, and being. Itis intended for those who have not previously read this work.
Requirements: class presentations and oral examination.
Reading: Being and Time by Martin Heidegger, translatedby Macquarrie and Robinson, Harper & Co.
N.B. The Macquarrie version is the only translation usable inclass. The Joan Stambaugh version is not.

PL 900 01 Husserl'sLogicalInvestigation
Richard Cobb-Stevens
W 4:30-6:15
Level -Graduate
This is a critical examination of the principal themes from Edmund Husserl'sgreatest work: his critique of psychologism and of British empiricism,his theory of meaning and reference, his account of the relationship betweenjudgment and truth, and his revitalization of Aristotle's theories of substanceand essence. An effort will be made to relate Husserl to Frege, Wittgenstein,and the contemporary analytic tradition.
Requirements: A research paper.
Readings: Husserl, Logical Investigations, trans.John Findlay; Robert Sokolowski, Introduction to Phenomenology,Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000

PL 990 01 TeachingSeminar
Richard Cobb-Stevens
F 4:30-6:15
Level - Graduate
This course is required of all first- and second-year doctoral candidates.This course includes discussion of teaching techniques, planning of curricula,and careful analysis of various ways of presenting major philosophicaltexts.