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*

KEARNEY

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*

ANDERSON

PL58401

3

C.S. LEWIS

T TH 3*

KREEFT

PL59301

3

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

T 4 30-6 50

ANDERSON

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

GRIFFITH

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

KEARNEY

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 China from India, Chinese Buddhism teaches that there is “Buddha-hood” in every one of us, and that the Buddhist Way is to have “infinite compassion” towards others.

Requirements:

 

  • Midterm
  • Final
  • One paper (and 5-6 small written assignments)
  • Participation that includes:

[a]         Class attendance  (obligatory)

[b]         Group discussions

[c]         Meditations

[d]         Group-Project, etc.

 

Reading:

[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 America begins at home." 

                            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.

         

       

 

  PL 259 01                Perspectives on War and Aggression

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 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; Brian E. Fogarty, Peace and the Social Order

 

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.

 

Readings:    Selected works of contemporary fiction, urban poetry, rap music, oral history, memoir, and non-fiction.

 

PL 264 01                Logic

Stuart Martin           MWF 11

 

Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective

Description:

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.

Reading: Robert J. Kreyche, Logic for Undergraduates.

 


PL 268 01                History and Development of Racism

 

Paul Marcus           T 3-6 30

Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective 

Satisfies Cultural Diversity Core Requirement

Description:

This course includes a discussion of major forces that have contributed to the development of racism in the United States, including Exploration & Evangelization, Anglo Attitudes, Colonial Laws, views of the Founding Fathers, the US Constitution, and African Enslavement.  Periods of history which are explored will include the Abolition Movement and more modern movements of the twentieth century.

Requirements: 

 

Five personal journals; two “directed” journals, one Book Reflection, an
individual project paper, a final exam

Reading

 

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

Readings: special course notes, individualized reading list to be worked out with the professor for research project

 


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 Boston College alumnus whose name adorns our library, Thomas P. O’Neill was fond of saying:  "All politics is local."  No doubt he derived that from his reading of Aristotle's Ethics.  Understanding that as a sort of underlying theme of all four semesters of this course, we  hope to look closely at the origins and development of some of the guiding themes and ideas that ground those local politics:  the structuring of the culture in which we find ourselves today.

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?"

Readings:  Christian Norberg-Schulz, Genius Loci; Leo Marx, The Machine in the Garden; Jane Jacobs, The Economy of CitiesA Gospel to be determined.

 

 

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


Reading:  Being and Time, (Macquarrie and Robinson translation)

 

 

 

PL 358 01                The Confessions of St. Augustine

Gerard O’Brien, S.J.               MWF 1

Level 1 – Undergraduate Elective

Description: 

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.)

 

Reading: 

S. Marc Cohen, P. Curd, and C.D.C. Reeve (eds.)

·        Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy:

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

Reading:  

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


Reading:

 

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.

Readings:    Short fiction and nonfiction from all the authors named above
(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

Readings: 

Byrne, The Dialogue between Science and Religion

Darwin, The Origin of Species

Dawkins, River Out of Eden

Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane

Galileo,”Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina”

John Paul II, “Lessons of the Galileo Case,” & “Message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Evolution

Miller, Finding Darwin’s God

Ruse, Can a Darwinian Be Christian?

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.

Reading:  Kierkegaard’s Sickness Unto Death and Fear and Trembling, plus selection from his Journals and other writings.

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.

 

 

Readings:

 

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 

In Translation

 

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 Paradise will be analyzed at its multiple levels of interpretation, literal and allegorical, theological, political, philosophical and literary.

 

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.

 

Readings will include lyric poetry, Homer, and other Greek literary works, Plato, Aristotle, selections from the Bible, Ovid, the Stoics, and Augustine.   Specific editions TBA.

 

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*   

Level  3  -  Undergraduate/Graduate

 

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.

Readings: 1) The Logic Book with CD solutions, 4th edition. M. Bergmann, J. Moor, and J. Nelson (McGraw-Hill);   2) Gödel's Proof Nagel & Newman, Douglas R. Hofstadter (W. W. Norton ); 3) Various course handouts.

 

 

 

 

 

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.  Opportunity to branch out into his literary criticism and other areas will be offered on an individual basis.

 

Requirements: mid-semester and final; optional extra-credit essays or papers.

 

Reading:  Surprised by Joy, Till We Have Faces, Perelandra, Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, The Abolition of Man, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, A Grief Observed, God in the Dock, The Four Loves

 

 

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.

Readings:  1) Peter Godfrey-Smith, Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (University of Chicago, 2003)

                    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:

 

 

 

Readings:

 

 

 

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.

   

 

 

 

 

 PL 616 01                        Aristotle’s Ethics as Paideia  

 

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)

 

Reading:  Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (trs. S. Broadie & C. Rowe). Oxford, 2002

 

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

 

Readings:  Quest for Self Knowledge, Joseph Flanagan; Foundations of Philosophy, Brian Cronin; selected readings.

 

 

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.

Readings: Selected from the works by F. Brentano, G.E. Moore, P.T. Geach, Z. Vendler, R. Chisholm, R. Nozick, J. Raz, M. Zimmerman, J.J. Thomson, and T. Hurka, among others.

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.

Readings:

 

Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (translated by David Wooten, Hackett Publishing, 1995)

 

Niccolo Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy. (translated by Harvey Mansfield & Nathan Tarcov, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1996)

 

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (edited by Edwin Curley, Hackett Publishing, 1994)

   

 

 PL 820 01                        Reason and Faith in Hegel, Kierkegaard, Blondel

 

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

 

Readings:  Being and Time (Macquarrie and Robinson translation only)

 

 

 

PL 990 01                                Teaching Seminar

Richard Cobb-Stevens          F 4:30-6

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.