|
FALL
2007 -
PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT ELECTIVES |
||||
|
PL16001 |
3 |
CHALLENGE
OF JUSTICE |
M W 3* |
MULLANE |
|
*ALTID |
3 |
TH16001:
CHALLENGE OF JUSTICE |
M W 3* |
MULLANE |
|
PL16002 |
3 |
CHALLENGE
OF JUSTICE |
T TH 10
30* |
POPE |
|
*ALTID |
3 |
TH16002:
CHALLENGE OF JUSTICE |
T TH 10
30* |
POPE |
|
PL19301 |
3 |
CHINESE
CLASSICAL PHILOS |
T TH 10
30* |
SOO |
|
|
|
|
CULTURAL
DIVERSITY |
|
|
PL23301 |
3 |
VALUES/SOC
SERV/HLTH CARE |
TH 4 30-6
50 |
MANZO |
|
PL25901 |
3 |
PERSP:WAR/AGGRESSION |
T TH 12* |
MULLANE |
|
|
|
|
TH 3 |
|
|
PL26101 |
3 |
TELLING
TRUTHS I |
W 3-4 50 |
HIRSCH |
|
PL26401 |
3 |
LOGIC |
M W F 11 |
MARTIN |
|
PL26402 |
3 |
LOGIC |
M W F 9 |
BOHORQUEZ |
|
PL26403 |
3 |
LOGIC |
M W F 3 |
PURCELL |
|
PL26801 |
3 |
HIST AND
DEVEL OF RACISM |
T 3-6 30 |
MARCUS |
|
PL28101 |
3 |
PHIL OF
HUMAN EXISTNCE I |
M W 3* |
BLANCHETTE |
|
PL29301 |
3 |
CULTURE/SOCIAL
STRUCT/I |
T 4 30-6
15 |
MC MENAMIN |
|
PL29301 |
3 |
CULTURE/SOCIAL
STRUCT/I |
T 4 30-6
15 |
FLANAGAN |
|
PL33801 |
3 |
HEIDEGGER
PROJECT I |
T TH 1 30* |
OWENS |
|
PL35801 |
3 |
CONFESSIONS/ST
AUGUSTINE |
M W F 1 |
O'BRIEN |
|
PL39601 |
3 |
PERSPECTIVES
SEMINAR |
F 4-5 30 |
FLANAGAN |
|
PL40501 |
3 |
GREEK
PHILOSOPHY |
M W F 2 |
CLEARY |
|
PL40601 |
3 |
MODERN
PHILOSOPHY |
T TH 12* |
SOLERE |
|
PL42901 |
3 |
FREUD
& PHILOSOPHY |
T TH 10
30* |
RUMBLE |
|
PL43901 |
3 |
EXISTENTIALISM&LITERATURE |
T TH 10
30* |
KREEFT |
|
PL45201 |
3 |
SCIENCE&RELIGION |
T TH 1 30* |
BYRNE |
|
PL45501 |
3 |
KIERKEGAARD/NIETZSCHE |
M W F 2 |
MARTIN |
|
PL45601 |
3 |
HOLOCAUST:MORAL
HISTORY |
T TH 3* |
BERNAUER |
|
PL50801 |
3 |
DANTE'S
DIVINE COM/TRANS |
W 3-5 20 |
SHEPARD |
|
*ALTID |
3 |
TH55901:
DANTE'S DIVINE COM/TRANS |
W 3-5 20 |
SHEPARD |
|
PL51501 |
3 |
LOVE&FRIEND
ANCIENT WORLD |
M W F 9 |
MC COY |
|
PL51801 |
3 |
PHILOSOPHY
OF IMAGINATION |
T TH 3* |
|
|
PL55001 |
3 |
CAPSTONE:BUILDING
A LIFE |
M 3-5 20 |
MC MENAMIN |
|
*ALTID |
3 |
UN55001:
CAPSTONE:BUILDING A LIFE |
M 3-5 20 |
MC MENAMIN |
|
PL57701 |
3 |
SYMBOLIC
LOGIC |
T TH 1 30* |
|
|
PL58401 |
3 |
C.S. LEWIS |
T TH 3* |
KREEFT |
|
PL59301 |
3 |
PHILOSOPHY
OF SCIENCE |
T 4 30-6
50 |
|
|
PL59501 |
3 |
KANT'S
CRITIQUE |
M W 3* |
TACELLI |
|
PL61101 |
3 |
GLOBAL
JUSTICE&HUM RIGHTS |
T TH 1 30* |
RASMUSSEN |
|
PL61601 |
3 |
ARISTOTLE
ETHICS/PAIDEIA |
M W 4 30* |
CLEARY |
|
PL62501 |
3 |
PROBLEM OF
SELF-KNOWLEDGE |
M W 4 30* |
FLANAGAN |
|
PL67001 |
3 |
TECHNOLOGY
& CULTURE |
W 4 30-6
50 |
|
|
PL70601 |
3 |
ADVANCED
MEDIEVAL PHILOS |
M W 2* |
SOLERE |
|
PL70701 |
3 |
HABERMAS:LAW&POLITICS |
TH 4 30-6
15 |
RASMUSSEN |
|
PL72301 |
3 |
FOUCAULT:HIS
COURSES |
W 4 30-6
15 |
BERNAUER |
|
PL73301 |
3 |
LEVINAS |
M 2-3 50 |
BLOECHL |
|
PL74501 |
3 |
HERMENEUTICS
OF DESIRE |
T 6 30-8
15 |
|
|
PL74801 |
3 |
VALUES AND
THE GOOD |
T 4 30-6
20 |
GARCIA |
|
PL76501 |
3 |
MACHIAVELLI
AND HOBBES |
M 4 30-6
15 |
COBB-STEVENS |
|
PL82001 |
3 |
HEGEL,KIERKEGAARD,BLONDEL |
M 6 30-8
15 |
BLANCHETTE |
|
PL85501 |
3 |
SEM:HEIDEGGER
I |
W 3-4 30 |
OWENS |
|
PL99001 |
0 |
TEACHING
SEMINAR |
F 4 30-6 |
COBB-STEVENS |
PL 160 01 Challenge of Justice
PL 160 02
Matthew Mullane M W 3*
Stephen Pope T Th 10:30*
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
This course introduces the student to the principal understandings of
justice that have developed in the Western philosophical and theological
traditions. Care is taken to relate the theories to concrete, practical and
political problems, and to develop good reasons for choosing one way of justice
rather than another. The relationship of justice to the complementary notion of
peace will also be examined. Special attention is paid to the contribution of
Catholic theology in the contemporary public conversation about justice and
peace. Select problems may include human rights, hunger and poverty, and
ecological justice.
PL 193 01 Chinese Classical Philosophy: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism
Frank Soo T Th 10:30*
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement
Description:
Starting from the general introduction to
Chinese culture & philosophy as a whole, the course will focus on three of
the most important Chinese classical philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and
Buddhism. Emphasizing social harmony and order, Confucianism deals mainly with
human relationships and human virtues. Centered on the balance and
harmony among Nature, man, and society, Taoism teaches the most natural way to
achieve this balance and harmony: Tao. Synthesized as soon as it arrived
in
Requirements:
[a]
Class attendance (obligatory)
[b]
Group discussions
[c]
Meditations
[d]
Group-Project, etc.
[1] Chan W.T, A Source of Chinese
Philosophy
[2] Confucius, The Analects
[3] Lao Tzu, The Tao Te-ching
[4] John Koller and Patricia Koller, Asian Philosophies
[5] Carole Cusack, The Essence of Buddhism
[6] Christmas Humphreys, A Western Approach to Zen
PL 233 01 Values in Social Services and Health Care
David Manzo Th 4:30-6:50
Level 1 –
Undergraduate Elective
Description:
"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
Kathleen Hirsch, Songs From
The Alley
"We can degrade people by caring for them; and
we can degrade people by not caring for them."
Steven Marcus, Doing Good
Through readings, lectures, discussions, field
placements 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: (l)
communicate an understanding of the social services and health care delivery
systems and introduce you to experts who work in these fields; (2) explore
ethical problems of allocations of limited resources; (3) discuss topics that
include, violence prevention, gangs, homelessness, mental illness, innovative
nursing initiatives, economic inequality, community wealth ventures, and the
law; (4) consider possibilities for positive changes in the social service and
health care system.
Students may take this course with 2 grading options. Option A includes an
8-hour per week field placement with PULSE.
Option B includes a 4-hour per week placement with 4Boston or a similar
commitment.
Matthew Mullane T Th 12*
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
This
course is the result of work by faculty and students interested in developing
an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Peace and War at
Requirements: Take-home mid-term examination; conventional final
examination.
PL 261 01 Telling
Truths: Writing for the Cause of Justice
Kathleen Hirsch W 3-4:50
Level 1 –
Undergraduate Elective
Description:
This PULSE elective will
explore writing as a tool for social change.
Students will read and experiment with a variety of written forms –
fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and journalism – to tell the “truth” as
they experience it in their own direct encounters with social injustice. This workshop is intended to provide a
comprehensive introduction to the range of literary strategies that social
prophets and witnesses have used, and are using today, to promote the cause of
justice.
Requirements: A PULSE,
4-Boston or other voluntary involvement strongly recommended.
PL 264 01 Logic
Stuart Martin MWF 11
Logic is the science of correct
reasoning. The study of this science aims at perfecting the student’s 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.
PL
268 01 History and Development of Racism
Paul Marcus T 3-6 30
Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core
Requirement
Description:
This
course includes a discussion of major forces that have contributed to the
development of racism in the
Requirements:
Five
personal journals; two “directed” journals, one Book Reflection, an
individual project paper, a final exam
Autobiography
of Malcolm X, Haley; Lies My Teacher Taught Me, Loewen; Hard Road to
Freedom, Horton; The Debt, Robinson; Selected articles
PL 281
01 Philosophy
of Human Existence I
Oliva Blanchette MW 3*
Level - Core
Description:
A systematic reflection
on the nature of human existence starting from an analysis of the body/soul
structure and of community, with special attention given to the question of
immortality and the questions of knowledge and freedom. The method will require personal
reflection primarily, along with a research project on a particular theme or a
particular author relevant to the subject matter of the course.
Requirements: bi-weekly reflection papers,
research project and term paper, final oral exam
PL 293
01 Cultural
and Social Structure I
Joseph Flanagan, S.J. T 4:30-6:15
David McMenamin
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Prerequisites: Limited to members of the PULSE Council
Description:
This course is one in the four semester
cycle of courses designed for members of the Boston College PULSE
Council. In this course we attempt to lay a foundation for understanding
contemporary ways in which people choose to structure -- literally and
figuratively -- the way they live together. Our study centers on
questions about how our cultural and social structures are the concrete
expression of what we value, of the things we consider meaningful and
important.
The texts we have chosen to guide us in
this pursuit will lead us to raise these questions in a way that will direct
our focus somewhat to western, particularly North American ways of creating these
cultural and social structures.
As the late Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives, that distinguished
Accordingly, we have selected texts from
what might appear to be a broad range of disciplines. As usual for this
seminar, some may initially appear to have little to do with what you think of
when you hear the word ”philosophy." They
all, however, have a great deal to do with what you might need to think about
when trying to answer such questions as: "Is there a philosophy behind
what it means to be a citizen of a particular country?" or "What does
it mean to be a member of a particular society?"
PL 338 01 Heidegger Project I
Thomas Owens T Th 1:30*
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
This is a course designed to allow undergraduates an
opportunity to work closely with the major texts of Martin Heidegger, one of
the leading twentieth century philosophers. Students will be expected to
participate in assessing Heidegger's relevance to contemporary issues and in
developing their own philosophical views vis-a-vis
Heidegger's. Some knowledge of traditional philosophy (Aristotle, Descartes,
etc.) would be helpful, but is not an absolute prerequisite.
Requirements: Class participations,
oral exam
PL 358 01 The Confessions of
Gerard O’Brien, S.J. MWF 1
This
course will consist of a careful reading of Augustine's great spiritual
classic, with a stress on the communication of Augustine's religious experience
and the relation of his thought to Neoplatonic philosophy. Along with the
text of Augustine, we will read selections from the Enneads of Plotinus and the conversion stories of two 20th
century thinkers--C. S. Lewis and Thomas Merton-- relating these to Augustine's
text.
Requirements: Classes will be partly lecture, partly
discussion. There will be a take-home mid-term, a course paper, an essay final exam. Class participation counts
positively toward the course grade.
PL 405 01 Greek
Philosophy
John Cleary MWF 2
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
This course will explore the
history of ancient Greek philosophy from the 6th to 4th centuries B.C. with
particular attention to Plato and Aristotle.
It will trace the emergence of natural philosophy with the Milesians, the beginnings of metaphysics with Heraclitus
and Parmenides, along with the stirrings of political reflection among the
Sophists. Finally, it will consider
these seeds as coming to fruition in the multifaceted dialogues of Plato and
the complex treatises of Aristotle, both of whom laid the groundwork for the
subsequent development of philosophy.
Thus the course will provide the student with a comprehensive
grounding in Greek philosophy that will lay foundations for
further study in the history of philosophy.
Requirements: Active class participation, including
brief presentations; mid-term and final examinations (essay questions); 1
research paper (10 pages approx.)
S. Marc Cohen, P. Curd, and C.D.C. Reeve (eds.)
·
From Thales to Aristotle (Hackett)
PL 406 01 Modern
Philosophy
Jean-Luc Solere T Th 12*
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
From Descartes to Kant, we
will study the main philosophies which have punctuated the rise of the modern
mind: a period where a conquering rationality affirmed its autonomy and led to
the idea of Enlightenment, but at the same time reflected on its own limits. In
relation with the development of scientific knowledge and the transformations
of Western societies, the metaphysical, epistemological, ethical and political
aspects of modern thought will be thoroughly considered.
Syllabus on http://www2.bc.edu/~solere/pl406.html
Requirements:
3 synthesis papers: 2 midterms
and 1 final
R. Ariew and E. Watkins: Modern Philosophy. An Anthology of Primary Sources plus J.-J. Rousseau’s
On the Social Contract and I. Kant’s Groundings for the Metaphysics of Morals.
Photocopies of some other texts will be provided.
PL 429 01 Freud and Philosophy
Vanessa Rumble T Th 10:30*
Level 1
- Undergraduate Elective
Description:
The first half of the semester will be dedicated to a
chronological reading of Freudian texts. We will examine (1) Freud's and
Breuer's first formulation of the nature and etiology of hysteria (Studies on Hysteria), (2) Freud's groundbreaking
work in dream interpretation and the nature of unconscious processes (The Interpretation of Dreams and Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis),
(3) Freud's attempt to apply his novel theory of unconscious mechanisms to
cultural anthropology as well as individual psychology (Totem and Taboo), and (4) the
implications of the ongoing revisions in Freud's classification of the
instincts (The Ego and the Id, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Civilization and Its Discontents).
In the second half of the semester, we will survey
the developments which have taken place in psychoanalytic theory and practice
since Freud's day, including some of the more creative and philosophically
fruitful readings of Freud. We will work with primary sources selected from the
following: Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, David Winnicott,
Heinz Kohut, Herbert Marcuse, Paul Ricoeur, Jacques Lacan, Rene
Girard, and Julia Kristeva.
Requirements:
Mid-term examination, five reflection papers--two
pages, typed--final paper, 8-10 pages, final exam
Sigmund
Freud, selections from Studies on Hysteria,
"Screen Memories" "The Psychical Mechanism of
Forgetfulness," selections from Introductory
Lectures on Psychoanalysis; Totem
and Taboo; Mourning and
Melancholia; Beyond the
Pleasure Principle; Civilization
and Its Discontents
Anna Freud, The
Ego and The Mechanisms of
Defense articles, essays, or chapters by Klein, Winnicott,
Kohut, Ricoeur, Marcuse, Lacan, and Girard
PL 439 01 Existentialism and Literature
Peter
Kreeft T
Th 10:30*
Level
1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
Nearly all existentialist
philosophers have produces great literature (Kierkegaard, Sartre, Marcel,
Camus, Beckett, Dostoyevski, Tolstoi), especially short pieces that invite
philosophical analysis. Existentialism
is simply philosophy grappling with human existence concretely. That is also what great literature does. The “fit” is perfect.
Requirements: Midsemester, final, short
original essays.
(Alas, Nietzsche and Heidegger were too serious to write fiction)
PL 452 01 Science
and Religion
Patrick Byrne T Th
1:30*
Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
Conflicts between scientific and religious claims
have been a perennial source of tension. This course will look at these
conflicts and show how they can be overcome. We will critically examine the
nature of both religion and scientific knowledge. We will look carefully at
Galileo’s trial and the ongoing controversies between Darwinian evolution and
religious accounts of creation, as well as several other episodes. We will
examine the works of several writers across a spectrum, from those who see
science as refuting religion, religion as condemning science, and those who see
some forms of reconciliation.
Requirements:
Midterm and
final exams, 15-page term paper
Byrne,
The Dialogue between Science and Religion
Dawkins, River Out of
Eliade, The Sacred and the
Profane
Galileo,”Letter
to the Grand Duchess Christina”
John Paul II,
“Lessons of the Galileo Case,” & “Message to the
Miller, Finding
Sobel, Galileo’s
Daughter
PL 455 01 Kierkegaard and Nietzsche
Stuart Martin MWF
2
Level 1 -
Undergraduate Elective
Description:
Kierkegaard
and Nietzsche are two of the most important thinkers of the nineteenth century,
and two leading influences on contemporary thought. This course will study
their lives and the dominant themes of their thought along the lines of
Christian belief and Atheistic Humanism. The class will include lectures,
student reports, and analyses of some of their important and influential
writings.
Requirements: Assigned readings,
2 tests during the semester, 2 conferences, a written
report.
Nierzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra and The AntiChrist, plus other selections from The Portable
Nietzsche, as well as readings from The Birth of Tragedy.
PL 456 01 The Holocaust: A Moral History
James Bernauer, S.J. T Th 3*
Level
1 – Undergraduate Elective
Description:
The purpose of this course is to explore the issues of good
and evil and how human beings succeed or fail to meet the challenge such issues
pose. The Holocaust, the tragic series of events which ruptured modern western
morality, will be examined from a variety of perspectives (literary, cinematic,
philosophical, theological, and political). We shall study the testimony of
both its victims and its perpetrators. The special emphasis of the course will
be devoted to a consideration of the intellectual and moral factors which
motivated resistance or excused indifference. This consideration will be
performed by a cooperative investigation into the ethical life-histories of
representative individuals from this period. What part of themselves did they
think of as primarily concerned with moral conduct? What form of obligation did
they think of as specifically ethical? To what training did they commit
themselves in order to develop as ethical beings? Why did they desire to be
moral or why did they find it untroubling to be
immoral? We shall conclude the course with an interpretation of the Holocaust
for contemporary morality and of its theological significance for Christians
and Jews.
Requirements: The major requirement
of the course will be one's work on the analysis of the ethical formation and
viewpoint of a selected figure who will serve as a paradigm of a specific group
(German or Jew, Nazi or resister, intellectual or laborer, morally outraged or
indifferent, etc.). Projects will be determined near the beginning of the
semester and the materials for the investigations identified (court cases,
memoirs, interviews, etc.) This will amount to 50% of the grade. In addition,
there will be one exam on the common historical books (Dawidowicz)
that will count 20 % of the grade. The
student will have a choice of options, to be identified at the beginning of the
course, for the
final 30% of the grade. This Finally, the grade may be
lowered or raised one full grade on the basis of one’s participation in class
discussion. Attendance at all classes is expected but, if an absence is
necessary, the professor should be informed before or immediately after. Should we be unable to finish the student
presentations by the end of the semester, there will be a final marathon session
of the course on Wednesday, December 12, beginning at 10 AM.
1. L. Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews
2. L. Dawidowicz, A
Holocaust Reader
3. C. Lanzmann, Shoah:
An Oral History of the Holocaust
4. H. Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
5. M. Mayer, They Thought They Were Free
6. C. Browning, Ordinary Men
PL 508 01 Dante's
Divine Comedy
Laurie Shepard W 3-5:20
Level 3 – Undergraduate/Graduate Elective
Description:
An
introduction to and critical reading of the Divine
Comedy (in English translation), one of the world's greatest epic poems, a
literary achievement to be compared to "nothing but the entire
dramatic work of Shakespeare" (T.S. Eliot) produced by "the chief
imagination of Christendom" (W.B. Yeats).
The
medieval poet's journey through Hell, Purgatory and
The
compendium of an entire epoch of European civilization, the Comedy will
also be interrogated for its responses to the fundamental questions of human
existence: God, the Cosmos, the Self, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, Suffering
and Happiness.
Open
to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students.
"Dante and Shakespeare share the
world. There is no third."
(T.S. Eliot)
PL 515 01 Love
and Friendship in the Ancient World
Marina B. McCoy MWF
9
Level 1 –
Undergraduate Elective
Description:
In
this course we will explore the ideas of a variety of ancient authors on love
and friendship. We will explore
romantic love, friendship, marital love, love of self, and love of God. The
course will be focused around the question, "what is love?" and the
nature of human desire.
Requirements:
Active
participation in class discussion
Several
short papers
Final
examination
PL 518 01 Philosophy
of Imagination
Richard Kearney T Th 3*
Level 3 – Undergraduate/Graduate Elective
Description:
Beginning
with Biblical and Greek accounts of images and image-making, this course will
explore three main paradigm shifts in the western history of imagination: (1)
the ancient paradigm of the Mirror (Plato to Augustine); (2) the modern
paradigm of the Lamp (Kant to Sartre); (3) the postmodern paradigm of the
circular Looking Glass (Lacan to Derrida). The course
will conclude with a critical evaluation of the political and ethical functions
of imagination in our contemporary civilization of cyber fantasy, simulation
and spectacle.
Requirements & Readings: to be explained in class.
PL 577 01 Symbolic
Logic: Theory and Practices
Ronald Anderson, S.J. T Th 1:30*
Description:
The intent of the
course is to introduce the ways abstract symbolic structures may be used to
analyze the logical forms that constitute and are woven into deductive
reasoning. The study of these structures
is important for exploring the Anglo-American analytic philosophical tradition
as well as a range of diverse disciplines that form significant parts of the
contemporary intellectual landscape such as the foundations of mathematics,
computer science, and linguistics. The
course will also explore philosophically interesting properties about logical
systems related to the theory of logic - the project of "meta-logic"
- including the task of proving if a logical system is complete and
consistent.
A number of
foundational topics of 20th century logic will be briefly considered such as
set theory, Russell's paradox and the main ideas of Gödel's theorems and the
associated philosophical issue of whether the procedures of symbolic logic when
computerized can capture the full range of human reasoning. The nature of
foundations in human knowing forms one of the contested and exciting topics in
our contemporary intellectual culture: the implications of logic for exploring
this topic will form a background theme to the course. Moreover the course
provides resources for understanding the nature of effective reasoning.
Requirements: A number of short take-home assignments during the
semester
and open book mid-semester and final exams. The course will require a preparedness
to deal with the analysis and manipulation of symbolic structures and for it to
work, a commitment to steady practice of techniques between classes. Some prior
courses in mathematics or logic then would be an asset, but are not essential
as no prior knowledge of logic will be presupposed and the course is an
introductory one in that sense.
PL 584 01 C.S. Lewis
Peter J. Kreeft T
Th 3*
Level 3 –
Undergraduate/Graduate Elective
Description:
Lewis wrote
poetry, literary criticism, science fiction, fantasy, philosophy, theology,
religion, literary history, epics, children's stories, historical novels, short
stories, psychology, and politics. He was a rationalist and a romanticist, a
classicist and an existentialist, a conservative and a radical, a pagan and a
Christian. No writer of our century had more strings to his bow, and no one
excels him at once in clarity, in moral force, and in imagination: the true,
the good, and the beautiful. We will consider a sampling of Lewis' fiction and
non-fiction.
Let me
begin on a personal note: I have learned more from C.S. Lewis than from any
other writer. In reading everything I
could get my hands on (some 30-40 published titles) I came to appreciate both
his value as an author and the value of a course that studies a single such
commodious mind in depth (a thing 'survey' courses miss).
But why Lewis? Why do so many, like me, find
him valuable and fascinating? (1)
Because of his unique variety: a master of essays, poetry, theology,
autobiography, science fiction, fantasy, philosophy, practical psychology,
children's stories, literary criticism, literary history, religious psychology,
apologetics, historical novel, debate, educational philosophy, and many other
unclassifiable things; (2) because of his unique blend of "the true, the
good and the beautiful," "rationalism, religion, and
romanticism" (all three labels subtly misleading), clarity, faith and
imagination, the ability to move the intellect, will and emotions--no one
excels him in all three departments at once; (3) because for so many people he
makes New Testament Christianity intellectually respectable, daily livable and
above all imaginatively attractive and interesting; (4) and most of all for an
almost indefinable quality about everything he wrote: a combination of wonder, joy, surprise, the
shock of recognition, the sharp, bracing challenge of waking up, and the demand
for simple, uncompromising honesty with a delightful yet uncomfortable absence
of vagueness and abstraction.
We will
read a sampling from his many works, emphasizing the fiction, the philosophy,
and the religion.
Requirements: mid-semester and final; optional
extra-credit essays or papers.
PL 593 01 Philosophy of
Science
Ronald
Anderson, S.J. T 4:30-6:50
Level 3 –
Undergraduate/Graduate Elective
Description:
The intent of
this course is to provide an introduction to the main themes and issues of 20th
century philosophy of science as well as the current issues within the
discipline. Philosophy of science
flourished during last century, largely as a result of remarkable discoveries
in the natural sciences that led to a transformed understanding of the nature
of science and the traditional studies within philosophy associated with the
nature of physical reality.
Following the
historical development of the discipline the components of science knowledge
and practice such as observation, induction, theory formation that dominated
20th century philosophy of science will be considered first. This will be followed by tracing the
transformation of the discipline in the 1960s that arose by the increased
attention to the history of science. The
work of Kuhn dominated this transformation and helped unravel the earlier
epistemologically driven philosophy of science.
Since then other
voices have considerably enriched the study of science such as the increased
attention to the sociology of scientific knowledge and studies that have
explored the role played by culture, power, and institutional contexts in the
formation and construction of scientific knowledge. Of particular significance has been the focus
on the material aspects of science such as experimentation and the role of
scientific texts in the practice of science. Together these studies have made
philosophy of science one of the most exciting areas of modern philosophy. They
will figure prominently in the course as well as the more systematic issue as
to how science is remarkably successful in providing us with knowledge of the
structure of the world.
Requirements: A short weekly summary (1-2 pages) on the readings of each topic; a
mid-term project consisting of an exploration of one of the course topics; a
final written assignment consisting of two or three short essays based on
issues that have emerged during the class.
2) Thomas Kuhn, Structure of Scientific Revolutions
(University of Chicago, 3rd edition, 1996)
3) A selection of readings
PL 595 01 Kant’s
Critique
Ronald Tacelli, S.J. MW 3*
Level 3 – Undergraduate/Graduate Elective
Description:
This
course is an analysis of the major theme of Kant's philosophy as expressed in
his first critique, including a study of its antecedents and consequences in
the history of philosophy.
Requirements:
PL 611 01 Global Justice and Human
Rights
David Rasmussen T Th 1:30*
Level 3 – Graduate/Undergraduate Elective
Description:
This course will the history of the idea of global
justice from its early inception in Stoic law; to its formulation in social
contract theory in Hobbes and Locke; through Kant’s idea of cosmopolitan
justice; to its contemporary reconstruction in John Rawls, David Held, Jürgen Habermas and Thomas Pogge (and others). In the context of examining the status
of global justice we will consider the problem of world poverty and how human
rights can be defended in a global context with ever increasing problems
associated with homelessness on a world scale.
John Cleary M
W 4:30*
Level 3 –
Undergraduate/Graduate Elective
Description:
This
seminar will study Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
from the point of view of civic education (paideia)
within the context of the ancient polis.
With reference to important civic virtues such as justice and
temperance, the seminar will explore central Aristotelian concepts like happiness
(eudaimonia), practical wisdom (phronesis),
and friendship.
Requirements: Active
Participation
Mid-term paper (10 pages)
Final term paper (15 pages)
PL 625 01 The Problem of Self-Knowledge
Joseph Flanagan, S.J. M W 4:30*
Level 3 -
Undergraduate/Graduate
Description:
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
Socrates' proclamation forms the basic assumption of this course. However,
important developments in Western culture have made the approach to
self-knowledge both more difficult and more essential. During the first two
weeks, we shall examine the history of self-knowledge and especially how post-Nietzschean philosophers have challenged traditional
solutions of this problem. After this historical survey, we will begin the
journey into your own self-knowing, choosing and loving.
Requirements: A mid-term and final exam, 12-15
page paper
PL 706 01 Advanced topics in Medieval Philosophy: Theories of Knowledge
Jean-Luc Solère M 2-3:15, W 2-3:15
Graduate
Description:
We will deal with the main theories of knowledge in the 13th and 14th centuries, roughly from Aquinas to Scotus and Ockham, including sources such as St. Augustine, Avicenna and Averroes. This class will offer the opportunity to study central issues of philosophy in the Middle Ages: perception and the species, the process of abstraction, the nature of the intellect, the relations between universals and individuals, etc. It is especially designed for giving graduate students a strong and in-depth presentation of an essential moment of the development of medieval thought.
Requirements:
Class participation and presentations; final paper.
Readings:
Among others: Aristotle, On the Soul bk. II and III, Avicenna and Averroes, selections; Aquinas, Sum of Theology, 1st p., q.54-58, 78-89; Scotus and Ockham, selections.
PL 707 01 Habermas: Law and Politics
David Rasmussen Th 4:30-6:15
Level – Graduate
Description:
Between Facts and Norms, the extraordinary recent
work by Jürgen Habermas, is
thought by some to be one of the most comprehensive works in political
philosophy and law in recent decades. The book with its original thesis about
the co-relation between private and public autonomy can be read in the great
tradition of the philosophy of law inaugurated by Kant and continued by Fichte,
Hegel and Weber. In recent times Habermas has written
essays on religion and politics, globalization and human rights,
cosmopolitanism and international law. In this seminar we will read key
chapters of Between Facts and Norms and explore the significant more recent
writings of Habermas on law and politics.
PL 723 01 Foucault: His Courses
James Bernauer,
S.J. W 4:30-6:15
Level – Graduate
Description:
This graduate seminar will study the recently published
courses that Michel Foucault presented at the Collège
de France and that have been translated into English. Included are
"Abnormal," "Psychiatric Power," "Society Must Be
Defended," and "The Hermeneutics of the Subject."
PL 733 01 The Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas
Jeffrey Bloechl M 2-350
Description:
This course analyzes and
evaluates Levinas’s claim that “ethics is first
philosophy.” This will require a close
reading of Totality and Infinity with
frequent reference to Husserl, Sartre and especially Heidegger’s Being and Time. Themes will include intersubjectivity,
concrete relations, being and alterity, the human
face, and responsibility for oneself and for other people. Levinas’s claims,
and his general position in contemporary philosophy, will be addressed against
the background of, e.g., Nietzsche’s proclamation of the death of God,
Heidegger’s conception of “onto-theology,” and some criticism of theodicy
arising in response to the Holocaust.
PL 745 01 Hermeneutics
of Desire
Richard Kearney T
6:30-8:15
Level - Graduate
Description:
This seminar begins with a
reading of two of the most formative texts on eros in
western thought – Plato’s Symposium and
The Song of Songs. It will then examine the hermeneutic
controversies surroundings these texts through a number of Patristic and
Medieval authors culminating in a detailed exploration of the modern
hermeneutics of desire randing from Hegel’s Phenomenology and Kierkegaard’s In Vino Veritas to such contemporary continental thinkers as Sartre,
Lacan, Levinas, Girard and
Derrida.
.
Requirements & Readings: to be explained in class.
PL 748 01 Values and the Good
Jorge Garcia T 4:30-6:20
Level – Graduate
Description:
This
course examines recent treatments of fundamental questions in value theory,
including those of the existence and nature of intrinsic value, the logical
structure of value judgments, the types of value,
so-called "organic unities," the relation of value to virtue and
duty, and the connections among valuation, meaning, and emotion.
Requirements: Assignments comprise an oral presentation in
class and a term paper.
PL 765 01 Machiavelli and Hobbes
Richard Cobb-Stevens M 4 30-6 15
Level – Graduate
Description:
Machiavelli and Hobbes are the principal
architects of the political form of modernity, the "universal and
homogeneous state" (Kojève). This course
explores the relationship between their political and moral philosophies.
Emphasis will be placed on the following themes: the critique of altruism, war
as a natural condition, a revolutionary account of reason and the passions.
Requirements:
Research paper.
Niccolo Machiavelli, The
Prince (translated by David Wooten, Hackett Publishing, 1995)
Niccolo Machiavelli, Discourses
on Livy. (translated
by Harvey Mansfield & Nathan Tarcov,
Thomas
Hobbes, Leviathan (edited by Edwin Curley, Hackett Publishing, 1994)
Oliva Blanchette M 6:30-8:15
Level G – Graduate
Description:
Starting from an examination
of how infinity presents itself in each of these
authors, the seminar will study how each proceeds in
philosophy of religion
and in the question of the relation between reason and
faith.
PL 855 01 Seminar: Heidegger I
Thomas Owens W 3-4:30
Level
– Graduate
Description:
This course is a close textual
analysis of Being and Time,
focusing on Heidegger's epochal insights on man, world, time and being.
Requirements: class presentations, oral exam
PL 990 01 Teaching Seminar
Richard
Cobb-Stevens F
Level – Graduate
Description:
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 philosophical texts.