Fall 2008 Courses

Philosophy 1101. Introduction to Philosophy (Hum, 4cr)

Collier, Tu&Th 2:00- 3:40 and 4:00-5:40 (Hum 205)

How should we live our lives? What happens after death? What is the relationship between the mind and body? Does God exist?  Why do bad things happen to good people? In this course, we will examine classical works in philosophy that address these "big questions" about human nature and its place in the universe.  Authors include: Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Lucretius, Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, and Hume.  We will also work on the development of philosophical writing, reading, and speaking skills.

SYLLABUS

Requirements: Evaluation will be based upon class participation, attendance, quizzes, two short papers, a midterm exam, and a final exam. Texts for this course will be available at the UMM bookstore.

Phil 2101. Introduction to Symbolic Logic (M/SR, 4 cr)

Garavaso, MWF 10:30-11:35 or 11:45- 12:50 (Hum 5)

The study of logic develops our ability to evaluate reasoning, i.e., our own arguments as well as those of others. Symbolic logic is a very useful tool in evaluating more complex forms of reasoning, i.e., those inferences which are better expressed with symbols because their expression in everyday language might render their evaluation more difficult, time consuming, or impossible.

In this course, our approach to symbolic language and reasoning is gradual. At the beginning, we take a look at how arguments are expressed in everyday language and learn to recognize them. In the middle of the course, we introduce some symbolic tools which belong to a quite ancient type of logic, i.e. Aristotelian logic. In the final part of the course, we will learn to translate arguments expressed in ordinary language into a fully symbolic language, to use truth tables, and to evaluate arguments by means of a theory of deduction. In all three parts of the course, we apply some of the techniques we study to samples of writings such as political speeches, newspaper articles, or philosophical essays.
Past students have told us that this course has been quite useful in preparing for LSAT exams. If you enjoy thinking clearly, this is a good course for you. If you know you can think but are scared of symbols, this is again a good course for you!

Requirements: Three in-class exams, a comprehensive final, three short papers in which you will analyze in more depth an argument extracted from one of the readings or exercises; daily homework, attendance and participation. The course may include a Service Learning Requirement.

Phil 2112. Professional Ethics. (E/CR; 4 cr)

Lemke, Tu&Th, 10:00-11:40 (Sci 1030)

This course will introduce students to various ethical views and theories with emphases on their application to business and management issues. We will have also some planned guest speakers with areas of expertise or experience in this area. Classes will be a combination of lecture and discussion. Readings from an assigned text will be required. Grades will be determined by a variety of in class exams and short papers, as well as classroom participation.

Phil 3151: History of Ancient Philosophy. (Hist; 4 cr; prereq 1101 or 2101 or 2111 or instructor permission).

Collier, Tu&Th, 10:00-11:40 (IH 217)

This course serves as a broad introductory survey of Ancient Philosophy, from the Pre-Socratics to the Romans.

SYLLABUS

Course Texts:

Early Greek Philosophy (Barnes, ed.)
Plato: Meno (Grube, ed.)
Plato: Parmenides (Gill, ed.)
Plato: Gorgias (Zeyl, ed.)
Aristotle: Introductory Readings (Irwin and Fine, eds.)
Hellenistic Philosophy: Introductory Readings (Inwood and Gerson, eds.)
Cicero: The Nature of the Gods (McKirahan, ed.)
Cicero: On Academic Skepticism (Brittain, ed.)
Cicero: On Moral Ends (Annas, ed.)

Requirements: Three in-class exams, one final paper (8 pages), attendance and participation. Texts for this course will be available at the UMM bookstore.

Phil 4002. Existentialism. (Hist; 4 cr; prereq any 1xxx or 2xxx or instr consent)

Lemke, MWF, 2:15-3:20 (IH 203)

Existentialism is seen as a particularly interesting philosophical movement in its criticism of more traditional approaches in philosophy and its relevance to everyday life. We will read excerpts from major works by Soren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean–Paul Sartre in order to understand their views in the context of philosophical history. Also, we will read a variety of smaller texts and novels - and view at least 4 full length movies outside of class time - throughout the semester in order to better understand what “existentialism” has to say about how we live our lives.

Philosophy 4901. Senior Philosophical Defense