Philosophy (PHIL)

PHIL 10100 Introduction to Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

A general introduction to philosophy, with emphasis on perennial problems such as the existence of God, human freedom, and moral obligation. The course is also intended to sharpen the student's skills of critical thinking.

Corequisites: PHIL 12100

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10101 Introduction to Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

A general introduction to philosophy, which may cover introductory topics in either topically or historically, with a focus on introducing students to some of the perennial problems and texts of philosophy. Specific course content varies by semester and by instructor. See https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/1st-courses-in-philosophy/ for further details of specific sections offered this semester.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10102 Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy and Religion (3 Credit Hours)

This course will be an introduction to philosophy with a special focus on issues at the intersection of philosophy and religion and in the philosophy of religion. Topics to be discussed may include the nature and existence of God, faith and reason, religious experience, divine hiddenness, and the implications of belief in God for our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10103 Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy and Science (3 Credit Hours)

This course will be an introduction to philosophy with a special focus on issues at the intersection of philosophy and science and in the philosophy of science. Topics to be discussed may include the nature and limits of scientific knowledge and the scientific method, the metaphysical foundations of science, puzzles to do with quantum mechanics and relativity theory, science and values, and the place of science in society and culture. For information about the current semester, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/1st-courses-in-philosophy/introduction-to-philosophy-philosophy-science/

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10104 Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy and Mathematics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will be an introduction to philosophy with a special focus on issues at the intersection of philosophy and mathematics and in the philosophy of mathematics. Topics to be discussed may include the role that mathematics has played in the history of philosophy and the role philosophy has played in the history of mathematics, the nature of the infinite, the relationship between mathematics and science, and the role of beauty in mathematics.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10105 Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics and Politics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will be an introduction to philosophy with a special focus on issues in moral and political philosophy. Topics to be discussed may include justice, the nature of the good, eudaemonic and hedonic conceptions of happiness, virtue, ethical theory, moral relativism, feminist ethics, liberty, equality, and the foundations of rights, as well as particular applied topics in moral and political philosophy (such as economic justice and the ethics of war).

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10106 Introduction to Philosophy: Metaphysics and Epistemology (3 Credit Hours)

An introduction to philosophy focusing on questions and topics of metaphysics and epistemology, such as freedom, personal identity, the nature of mind, the existence of God, the nature of knowledge, skepticism, faith and reason, rationality, and evidence.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10107 Introduction to Philosophy: Aesthetics (3 Credit Hours)

This course is a survey of the philosophy of art. We will explore questions such as: What is the meaning of a work of art and what does it mean to say that a work of art represents some subject "out there" in the world? What is the value of painterly representation? Can music be said to be representational in this way, or should we rather think of it as "expressive"? What is the value of music? What is the relationship between the medium of a work of art (e.g. the marked canvas of a painting) and the subject of that painting? How is "beauty" (and aesthetic value) related to our ethical judgment and sensibilities? Over the duration of the course, students will become familiar with central themes in the philosophy of painting, the philosophy of literature, and the philosophy of music. Our philosophical reflection will be motivated by the study of examples: for instance, in painting, we will focus on the Italian Quattrocento and Cinquecento; in literature, on the novels of Jane Austen; and in music, on a selection of pieces from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. In the last part of the class, we will discuss two big picture topics: (i) the extent to which technology transforms our aesthetic sensibilities (as when one performs Bach on a piano instead of a harpsichord); and (ii) whether the kind of aesthetic cognition we discussed in the case of art has an analog in the case of science.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10108 Introduction to Philosophy: Political Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Critical introduction to philosophy via a selection of fundamental works, problems, and arguments within political philosophy. Specific course content varies by semester; see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/1st-courses-in-philosophy/ for description of specific sections.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10109 Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy and Literature (3 Credit Hours)

In this course, we will be considering philosophical issues raised both in and through literature. We will treat topics such as the communicative potential of metaphor, the translation of literature from one language to another, the relevance of authorial intention to interpretation, the ethical potential of literature, the nature of literary fictions, and the capacity of literature to afford knowledge or insight. We will also engage in depth with several works of literature, with an eye to considering whether philosophical reflection might be undertaken through literature, and if so, how.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10110 Introduction to Philosophy: Logic and Paradox (3 Credit Hours)

This class has two components: a logic component and a paradoxes component. In logic, we study deductively valid arguments. An argument is said to be deductively valid if the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion. But how do we tell whether an argument meets this condition? The first component of this course will examine a formal system that will allow us to determine mechanically whether an argument is valid or not. We will examine how to translate sentences of natural language into logical notation and vice versa. The system we'll study makes significant contact with mathematics, computer science, linguistics, psychology, cognitive science and, of course, philosophy. The second component of the course is about paradoxes. A paradox, as we'll understand the term, is an argument that begins from premises that seem clearly true... proceeds by reasoning that seems deductively valid... and arrives at a conclusion that seems clearly false. While paradoxes are fun to think about, they have also historically been associated with revolutionary advances in thought. This class will examine several of the most interesting philosophical, mathematical, and moral paradoxes, virtually all of which are regarded by practicing philosophers as unsolved. We will try our best to solve them together. Ultimately, the hope is that our study of logic will inform our study of paradox, and vice versa, and that together the combination will serve as a lively and memorable introduction to philosophy.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10111 Introduction to Philosophy: God and the Good Life (3 Credit Hours)

In God and the Good Life (GGL), you'll explore the big questions about how to live a meaningful life: what justifies your beliefs, whether you should practice a religion, what sacrifices you should make for others, and more. You’ll learn what the greats like Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes have to say on issues like these, and will work with your classmates in small, intensive dialogue groups to apply their insights to your own life today. By the end of the course, you'll have formed close intellectual friendships with your classmates, strong analytical skills, and most of all, a vision for what the good life can be.

Corequisites: PHIL 12111

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 10112 Introduction to Philosophy: Language & Paradox (3 Credit Hours)

This course explores some paradoxes that arise in natural language (e.g., liar paradox, truth-teller paradox, Curry paradox, validity paradox, property paradox, and more). Alfred Tarski suggested that some paradoxes arise in natural languages because of the "universality" of such languages. What the universality of natural language amounts to is a topic that we'll discuss. Some familiarity with formal logic and formal languages will be useful though not presupposed from the start.

PHIL 12100 Introduction to Philosophy Discussion (0 Credit Hours)

Discussion for PHIL 10100.

Corequisites: PHIL 10100

PHIL 12110 GGL Sustained Dialogue - Tuesday Nights (0 Credit Hours)

This is the master course for GGL Sustained Dialogue: all students must enroll in one master course (Tuesday or Wednesday), and will be assigned a Sustained Dialogue section during the first week of the semester, based on students' interests and philosophical background.

Corequisites: PHIL 10111

PHIL 12111 God and the Good Life Sustained Dialogue Section (0 Credit Hours)

GGL students are required to enroll in (and actively participate in) a weekly Sustained Dialogue group. These groups meet weekly on Tues or Weds evening from 8:00-9:00pm. Groups will be created the first week of the semester, based on students' interests and philosophical background. You must be available from 8:00-9:00pm on the night of the section you register for. A portion of your GGL grade will be determined by the quality of your work in your SD group.

Corequisites: PHIL 10111

PHIL 13185 Philosophy University Seminar (3 Credit Hours)

A general introduction to philosophy, taught in a seminar format, with emphasis on perennial problems such as the existence of God, human freedom, and moral obligation. The course is also intended to sharpen the student's skills of critical thinking.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: USEM - University Seminar, WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

Students in the Holy Cross College or St. Mary's College colleges may not enroll.

PHIL 13190 Scholars Seminar (3 Credit Hours)

This course provides a themed introduction to Philosophy. Themes and content vary by semester. See https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/1st-courses-in-philosophy/ for details regarding this semester's offerings.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 13195 Honors Philosophy Seminar (3 Credit Hours)

A general introduction to philosophy, taught in a seminar format for students in the science and arts and letters honors program, with emphasis on perennial problems such as the existence of God, human freedom, and moral obligation. The course is also intended to sharpen the student's skills of critical thinking.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 20100 Introduction to Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Corequisites: PHIL 22100

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 20101 Introduction to Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 20105 Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics and Politics (3 Credit Hours)

Aristotle wrote that an effect of law is to make people good. In this course, we will examine the relationship between the good of individual persons and the goodness of societies. Readings will range from Plato and Aristotle, through Aquinas, and into the Enlightenment and important 20th-century figures. Course requirements will be four short papers and a final project.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 20111 God and the Good Life (3 Credit Hours)

Should you practice a religion? What do you owe other people? What would it take for your life to be meaningful?And how should you decide what to believe when it comes to big questions like these?In God and the Good Life, we're searching for answers. We'll read the best philosophical arguments addressing these questions. We'll share our reactions to the proposals in blogs and social media editorials. We'll come together as a large group to debate real world case studies that bear on these questions, hearing periodically from guest speakers making headlines in current debates about religion, morality and meaning. And we'll meet in small Sustained Dialogue groups to discuss our religious and moral identities and develop virtuous friendships (to borrow Aristotle's terminology). If you are excited about developing philosophical skills in an intense, creative community format---this is the course for you. Learn more about GGL at our course website: godandgoodlife.org. Or watch our course trailer: https://youtu.be/EMKbtSC3-2I This course fulfills the first philosophy requirement. The 20111 sections are restricted to sophomores and higher.

Corequisites: PHIL 22111

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKFP - Core 1st Philosophy

PHIL 20201 Philosophy of Human Nature (3 Credit Hours)

In our age, the nature of the human person has become increasingly important theme in philosophical anthropology. Is there a difference between being a member of the species homo sapiens and being a person? If a person is an animal with an inner life, can members of other species be considered as persons? Or must we say that contemporary sciences have shown that personhood is a kind of subjectivist illusion, that we are basically organic machines? Is there a spiritual 'self', and if so what must this be like? We will consider the nature of the human person in the light of contemporary challenges such as scientific materialism, Cartesian dualism, and political totalitarianism. Texts will be drawn from the Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, Karol Wojtyła Love and Responsibility, Adrian J. Reimers The Soul of the Person, Jacques Maritain The Person and the Common Good, and a course packet of readings. Course requirements: four or five quizzes, one term paper, and a final exam.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or MI 13185 or PHIL 20105 or PHIL 10105 or PLS 20301 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 14101

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20202 Existentialist Themes (3 Credit Hours)

Existentialism is one of the most important European philosophical movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. In this class, we will aim to understand the progression and evolution of claims and arguments in the existentialist tradition, reading authors such Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Marcel, Camus, and Sartre, paying close attention to their persuasiveness and implications for our lives. Through a close study of important existentialist texts, we will pose and attempt to answer such questions as: Which concepts can help us understand the meaning of everyday experience? What are the sources of value in life, and what are their limits? Who am I? What can I hope for? Can I be free?

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 14102 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 14101

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20204 Philosophy for Life (3 Credit Hours)

In the contemporary teachings of philosophy, philosophy has become very much related to the philosophical concepts as well as the philosophical systems of the great thinkers argued in a sophisticated philosophical language. In other words, one might say that philosophy has become so much "technical." Naturally, it has become quite difficult to relate the philosophical concepts and the systems of the great thinkers to life itself. This course introduces the basic philosophical themes in relation to life, without heavily relying on philosophical concepts as well the history of philosophical thought. We will present, for instance, philosophical themes such as values, human, society, the idea of absolute, knowledge, being, truth, the nature of philosophical thinking, philosophy and science in regard to the personal existence of an individual. We will examine these philosophical issues under the guidance of two thinkers: A Polish Dominican logician Josef Maria Bochenski and a German existentialist philosopher Karl Theodor Jaspers. Each offers a different perspective on the same issue. Emphasis will be placed on attentive reading and discussion of the important points underlined in the class discussion and an in-depth understanding and evaluation of philosophical problems. We will also try to relate these philosophical problems to some current modern issues and daily life.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20205 Theories of Sexual Difference (3 Credit Hours)

An examination of the following questions: What kind of differences separate men and women? Are these differences natural or are they socially produced, and are these differences beneficial to us or are they limiting? What does equality mean for people characterized by such differences?

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20206 Augustine's Confessions (3 Credit Hours)

An in-depth examination of the philosophical themes, ideas, and arguments in Augustine's classic Confessions, with attention to historical, theological, and literary context.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20207 Philosophy of Education: A Community Engaged Introduction (3 Credit Hours)

In this community-engaged course, you will journey through an active, experiential, and reflective introduction to the Philosophy of Education. We won't just learn content -- we will experience it and reflect on it in real time. We will critically examine historical and contemporary debates, with an emphasis on ethical, political, and social questions like: What is the purpose of education? What makes for a good or just educational system? What are the features of inclusive teaching? In this course, you will learn by doing--both in the classroom community we create, as well as in the broader South Bend community in which you will volunteer. Classtime will be active and engaging: you will work in small groups, discuss, and reflect on your own educational experiences, ideals, and aspirations. By the end of the course, you will articulate your own vision of the value of education and defend it by means of clear, careful, and sound argumentation. In addition, you will apply your personal philosophy of education to your own life by setting educational goals for yourself that align with your vision. This is a community-engaged, service learning course. As part of the course requirements, you will apply what you are learning in the classroom to experiences in the broader South Bend community by volunteering two hours a week as a tutor at Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC).

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20208 Minds, Brains, and Persons (3 Credit Hours)

This course will treat some central issues in the philosophy of mind, such as freedom of the will, personal identity, and the relationship between mind and body.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20105 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 10111

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20209 Introduction to Metaphysics (3 Credit Hours)

We'd like to know what there is in the world -- for philosophical reasons, and for practical reasons, and also out of good old-fashioned curiosity. This class will focus on one way to think rigorously about how to think about what there is. We'll discuss key introductory questions in metaphysics: questions about the existence and nature of causation, dispositions, possibility, objective truth, and fundamentality. And we'll think about answers to those questions which are entailed by valid arguments with plausible premises. Thus, we'll think about simple arguments for and against counterfactual theories of the phenomena above; simple arguments for and against skepticism about the existence of all those entities; simple arguments for and against primitivism about all those entities; and so on. Along the way we'll introduce some basic logical vocabulary which will make evaluating the soundness of those arguments easier. The goal for this class is to improve your ability to reason clearly about what there is, or might be.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20210 The Philosophy of Simone Weil (3 Credit Hours)

Simone Weil (1909-1943) was one of the most radical and uncompromising philosophers and persons of the 20th century. Her life was, from the very beginning to the very end, dedicated to the suffering of others (or “affliction,” as she came to call it), always in such a way that that dedication cost her personally as much as possible. Through it all, she was a philosopher, trying to make sense of her ethical and political commitments, her readings of ancient Greeks, and so on. This life and these thoughts led her to a surprising place – to the Catholic Church, or at least right up to the edge of it, since she never formally joined. Many of her last and most powerful pieces of writing – essays, letters, notebooks – deal with the relationship of humans to God, of what it means to be obedient to God. In this course, we will read a wide range of her writings, along with excerpts from the great texts of Greek and Christian thought that influenced her most profoundly. Among the topics to be discussed: what does it mean to be oppressed? What makes work dignified, or not? Why does God allow us to suffer, and what obligations does the suffering of others place on us? Is membership in a particular church community necessary for a full relationship with God? All the while, we’ll also ask: who was Simone Weil, and how does the way she lived speak to the challenges we face now in the 21st century?

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20211 The Stained Imagination: Adventures in Catholic Aesthetics (3 Credit Hours)

Art and literature in the last two centuries have raised with special intensity old questions about beauty, both its enchantments and its temptations. This course will consider these questions anew, drawing from two giants of modern Catholic thought, the French philosopher Jacques Maritain, an explicit follower of St. Thomas Aquinas, and the English novelist J.R.R. Tolkien, an implicit follower of St. John Henry Newman. Among the artists likely to be considered are Plato, Dante, Shakespeare, Richard Wagner, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, and Flannery O'Connor.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20213 The Fragmented Self: Philosophy of Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Disability (3 Credit Hours)

This course, cross-listed between the philosophy department and the gender studies program, invites students into an in-depth theoretical exploration of the self as seen through the intersections of gender, race, sexuality and disability. Engaging with the foundational texts in queer studies by philosophers such as Judith Butler, Jack Halberstam, Eve Sedgwick, Hortense Spillers, Sara Ahmed, and José Esteban Muñoz, etc., the course is designed to challenge and expand students' philosophical understanding of the self by introducing essential theoretical tools such as intersectionality, body, affect, disidentification, gender performativity and queer temporality, etc.. This course welcomes all students from historically underrepresented, minoritarian, marginalized groups.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20215 Death and Immortality (3 Credit Hours)

This course examines philosophical perspectives on death and immortality from antiquity to the contemporary era. We begin with Plato’s Phaedo, which presents foundational arguments for the soul’s immortality. We then turn to Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura and Seneca’s Stoic writings, which challenge the fear of death through materialist and rationalist perspectives. In Christian thought, Augustine (Confessions, City of God) integrates Platonic and biblical views on the afterlife. Modern existentialists, including Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Edith Stein, explore death’s role in human existence and its philosophical significance. Throughout the course, students will also be invited to consider this topic through selected works of art, from prehistoric funerary art to modern reflections on (im)mortality. By engaging with both philosophical texts and artistic expressions, this course encourages students to reflect on the meaning of death and the possibility of immortality.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20216 Knowledge and Immortality from Plato to Aquinas (3 Credit Hours)

Can we ever be certain of any of our beliefs? Do we experience the world around us, or do we just experience chemical reactions in our brains? Is there life after death? When people claim to see or experience God, should we take these claims seriously? Ancient and medieval philosophers thought the answers to these questions could be acquired through an adequate understanding of the human soul. This class will explore how Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Avicenna, Averroes, Albert the Great, and Thomas Aquinas used their theories of soul to address these issues. Attention will be given both to the religious and historical background of various thinkers and to their relevance today.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20217 Plato's Euthyphro and Meno (3 Credit Hours)

Purpose: An introduction to some of the main themes in the ethics and metaphysics in Plato’s earlier dialogues Outline: The Euthyphro, an early dialogue of Plato, is concerned with the question ‘What is it to be holy?’ The answer that gets most thoroughly discussed is that to be holy is to be loved by all the gods. This answer raises the problem of whether what is religiously appropriate is determined by what a divinity likes or by some other characteristic. The Meno, also a rather early dialogue, addresses the more general question ‘What is virtue?’ with the aim of establishing whether virtue is acquired by being taught or by some other means. The course will focus on some arguments offered in these two dialogues. It will be concerned with the introduction of the theory of forms in Plato’s early work and with different characterizations of virtue. There will also be a brief discussion of some texts of the Republic to show how some of the ethical themes of the earlier dialogues are addressed in the metaphysical setting of the theory of forms.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20219 Dialogues of the Enlightened: Modern Philosophy in Conversations (3 Credit Hours)

This course delves into the history of modern philosophy, taking a unique approach that goes beyond traditional narratives. While we will explore the contributions of canonical men philosophers, we will also shine a light on the often-overlooked women philosophers of this period who significantly advanced Enlightenment thought. By putting these men and women philosophers into dialogue, we will examine their philosophical developments not just through their seminal works but also through their correspondences and interactions. We will engage with actual historical discourses and create new interactions based on their philosophical ideas. This method allows us to explore the most important topics in modern philosophy from multiple perspectives, understanding what these philosophers’ views are and how they communicated them. By reading different kinds of materials, we will aim to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the intellectual exchanges that shaped the philosophical landscape of the Enlightenment.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20220 Freedom and Nature: Introduction to German Philosophy from Kant to Hegel (3 Credit Hours)

This course will examine the work that arose out of one of the most important periods in the history of philosophy, typically dubbed “German idealism.” These thinkers were obsessed with freedom: freedom of thought and religion, freedom in politics, and going so far to say that human beings are, in their very essence, free. And true to their commitment to the freedom of thought, they imagined humankind rising out of its immaturity, putting aside all traditional metaphysics that was detached from reality, and finally achieving sturdy and reasonable self-assurance of the workings of nature and society. However, in this, a great problem arose: if the world was absolutely determined in some scientifically demonstrable shape, how could humanity, which is a part of that fixed picture, be free? Freedom seems to suggest that a complete science is impossible, and a complete science risks abolishing human freedom. This is the question we will be examining through four important philosophers: Immanuel Kant, J. G. Fichte, F. W. J. Schelling, and G. W. F. Hegel. They each took a novel approach to solving this problem of freedom and nature, and we will examine them in turn. Kant decided reason, a faculty of the mind, had to hold itself back from making any claims about how the world really is in itself, thus making room for freedom. Fichte insisted that a philosophical system of freedom can only be rooted on the self's absolutely free self-relation. Schelling saw the world as one of basic polarity, and against the human subject was the freely developing process of nature, and each limits and intertwines with the other, seeking harmony. Hegel believed that freedom itself has developed through human cultural history and only in recent history has freedom reached its highest phase of development. In examining these thinkers, we will consider their historical context and take a close look at the debates they all had with one another. Each of them was at time a collaborators with another before philosophical disagreements forced them apart. We will draw out these arguments and examine their strengths and weaknesses. By the end, we will consider whether their debates and arguments remain relevant to current manifestations of the freedom-nature debate.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20221 Philosophy of Love (3 Credit Hours)

This course is an exploration of the nature of love and its place in a good life. We'll start by asking what love is: is it a union (or at least a desire for union) with another, or a special kind of concern for another, or a way of seeing another's value? We'll then turn to a central debate about what justifies loving someone: is love justified by a person’s qualities, by the shared history of a relationship, by the value of persons themselves, or is love ultimately beyond such justification? Then, we'll turn to love's ethical significance. We'll consider whether love for particular others is in tension with the ethical ideals of fairness and impartiality, as well as the possibility of love being at the center of all ethics. We'll explore a few different kinds of love (romantic, familial, and friendship), reflect on ways love can sometimes go wrong, and ask whether love is essential to living a meaningful life.

PHIL 20223 Metaphysics of Ordinary Things (3 Credit Hours)

This course explores the unfamiliar sides of familiar things we encounter in life, e.g., time, physical objects, artifacrs, from a philosophical viewpoint. Over the course of the class, we will raise fundamental questions about what metaphysical elements underwrite and explain the most ordinary parts of our daily life, such as how a physical object retains its identity over time, whether time really flows or the passage of time is just an illusion, and what is the basis of similarities in colors, size, etc., among different things. Students will read introductory books on these topics along with some representative articles selected from the philosophical literature.

PHIL 20224 Truth, Proof, and Paradox (3 Credit Hours)

The mathematician Andre Weil famously declared that "God exists because mathematics is consistent, but the Devil exists because we cannot prove it." This course will examine the discovery that prompted Weil's declaration: Gödel's incompleteness theorems. The incompleteness theorems are a pair of puzzling results on the limits of what can be mathematically proven. They raise fundamental questions about the limits of mathematical knowledge and the relation between truth and proof. They are also intimately connected to two topics at the heart of modern computer science and logic: Alan Turing's theory of computation and Alfred Tarski's work on the indefinability of truth. This course will discuss the foundational results of Gödel, Tarski, and Turing, and explore some of their consequences for philosophy, mathematics, computer science, and artificial intelligence.

PHIL 20226 Eastern Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

This course provides a general introduction to texts and topics from Asian philosophical traditions, such as Confucianism, Taoism and the various philosophical schools arising in Hindu and Buddhist contexts.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20229 Paradoxes (3 Credit Hours)

Tensions in our understanding of our concepts and the world can often give rise to paradoxes: situations where we are led from considerations we accept and may even find obvious to conclusions which we find very surprising or even ridiculous. This course examines a variety of paradoxes, both ancient and contemporary, with a view to working out how to deal with them. As well as the interest of the paradoxes themselves, we will also think a bit about the issues that come up for dealing with puzzling arguments: when should we follow an argument where it leads, and when should we think the argument must have a mistake in it?

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 14100 or MI 13185 or PLS 20301 or PHIL 20105

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20235 The Meaning of Life (3 Credit Hours)

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of it all? Though many philosophers, especially for a better part of the twentieth century were suspicious of the question, and despite the fact that it is often the subject of parody in pop culture, the question of life's meaning remains of deep and abiding human concern. In this course, we will tackle the question head on. To do so, we will explore a number of interconnected themes including intelligibility, purpose, significance, futility, naturalism, God, death, pessimism, and hope to name several. We will begin by considering thorny interpretive issues about how best to understand the question. In the heart of the course, we will compare theories of meaning grouped under the following broad categories: (1) Naturalistic Pessimism, (2) Theistic Optimism, and (3) Naturalistic Optimism. We will conclude by discussing a cluster of topics surrounding death, futility, and hope, weaving these themes back into earlier material. Along the way we will discuss questions like: Does the question of life's meaning make sense? Are we cosmically significant? Does life have a purpose(s)? Is God necessary for a meaningful life? Is leading a meaningful life about fulfilling your strongest desires? Can you be wrong about what constitutes a meaningful life? Can an immoral life still be a meaningful life? How can I avoid a midlife crisis? How do circumstances, like being locked in solitary confinement for long periods, threaten meaningful life? Is death good news or bad news for life's meaning? Is an afterlife necessary for a meaningful life? We will not limit ourselves to philosophy. Given that this is humanity's question, others from both within and outside of the Academy have as much to say. We will expand our exploration of the topic beyond the written medium to include film as we carefully listen to the diversity of voices speaking on life's grandest question.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20239 Language, Mind and Culture (3 Credit Hours)

In this course, we'll explore a number of questions concerning the nature of the human mind, human language and human culture and how they relate to one another. Topics that will be addressed include whether any of our knowledge is innate, to what extent the language a person speaks influences how they experience the world, and the relative importance of a person's genetic endowment and their culture for determining the character of the language they speak. We will take an interdisciplinary approach to these issues, drawing on work in fields such as philosophy, linguistics, psychology and anthropology.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20244 Reality: The Big Questions (3 Credit Hours)

This course focuses on the most puzzling questions about the world and our place in it, such as existence, the nature of space and time, the relationship between body and mind, the problem of causation, the nature of possibility, impossibility, and necessity, and the freedom of the will.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or MI 13185 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 14101 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20245 Buddhist Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

In this course we will survey influential figures and ideas from the Buddhist philosophical tradition, especially as embodied in the work of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophers. We will focus in particular on formulating and evaluating four distinctively Buddhist philosophical theses: no-self, impermanence, dependent origination, and emptiness.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or MI 13185 or PHIL 14101 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20249 Systematic Thinking: God, Identity, and the Moderns (3 Credit Hours)

A critical exploration of philosophical systems developed in the early modern period (from Descartes to Kant), exploring such themes as mechanism, mind, God, ideas, etc.

Prerequisites: MI 13185 or PLS 20301 or PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20251 Persuasion and the Truth (3 Credit Hours)

The history of humanity is riddled with leaders - from Adolf Hitler and Robert Mugabe to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln - who have used skilled oratory and rhetoric to convince. Yet, as these very examples show, the ability to persuade is distinct from the ability to convey the truth. Indeed, in the battle for public opinion, the truth wins only incidentally - it defeats falsehood only if the truth-tellers happen to be the most persuasive. As the Scottish philosopher David Hume put it, "'tis not reason, which carries the prize, but eloquence; and no man needs ever despair of gaining proselytes to the most extravagant hypothesis, who has art enough to represent it in any favourable colours." In the age of social media, cable news, and reality shows, snake oil is selling better than ever. As a consequence, knowing how to discern the unvarnished truth from a heaping mound of you-know-what is extremely valuable. By pairing the study of the abstract philosophical science of truth with the art of engaging and lively persuasion, this course will be part of your lifelong quest to acquire and hone this skill. This course will help you learn how to represent the truth in "favourable colours" of your own. You will practice arguing for your philosophical views through activities, projects, debates, and papers. You will work closely with your peers, relying on their insight and feedback to sharpen your argumentation skills and helping them refine theirs. Along the way, you will learn to cut quickly and easily through the drivel, hogwash, baloney, and poppycock of politicians to the substance of their arguments - if there is any. Topics covered will range from immigration to theism, affirmative action, and abortion. Figures studied will range from Sojourner Truth to Cicero, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Judith Jarvis Thomson.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20253 Productive Disagreement: Gender (3 Credit Hours)

Why are gender and sexuality such contentious moral issues? How ought we navigate disagreement about such issues in an increasingly polarized and pluralistic environment? What obstacles interfere with our ability to do so well, and how might we address them? This philosophy course will equip you to address these complex social realities. You'll hone your analytical skills via careful examination of arguments in films, news articles, and academic essays. By interviewing community leaders with different perspectives on these issues, you will gain insight into what shapes people's moral convictions and how to foster more productive civil and personal conversations among those who disagree. Upon successful completion of this course you will be better equipped to articulate a rationale for your understanding of gender and sexuality.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20254 The Soul (3 Credit Hours)

This course provides a critical philosophical articulation and examination of various conceptions of the soul, such as developed by Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Descartes, etc. Content varies by semester. See https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/ for a description of content specific to this semester.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20255 Work, Meaning, and Happiness (3 Credit Hours)

Work plays a deeply important role in our lives. Finding good work -- which, for many of us, means getting a meaningful job you're passionate about -- can seem like the crucial factor in determining whether your life goes well or poorly, and whether you end up happy and fulfilled or miserable and empty. But things aren't nearly so simple. What kind of work is available to anyone in particular is largely determined by factors outside of our control. And when it comes to work, we're notoriously bad at predicting what aspects of a job we'll find meaningful and fulfilling, and which will drain us of life and energy. In this course, we will focus on the most urgent questions facing anyone trying to discern what their life's work will be, such as: - What causes alienation, anxiety, and burnout at work, and are these things that can be avoided with foresight and careful planning? - What is "leisure" (as contrasted with "time off") and what role should it play if we want to be healthy, flourishing persons? Is there such a thing as "work-life balance"? - Do we live in a genuine meritocracy? And, if so, is this a good thing or a bad thing? How should we think about equity and equality in the workplace? - Is it dangerous (or perhaps wise) to see your work purely as an instrument of financial gain? Does work have the power to nurture (or destroy) your soul? The course will be organized by topic, and we'll read a broad range of thinkers from St. Benedict to Karl Marx and Max Weber to more contemporary thinkers like Alasdair MacIntyre, Michael Sandel, and David Graeber (author of the provocative book "Bullshit Jobs"). We'll also watch a lot of the TV show " Survivor." Students will leave the course with their own "philosophy of work," captured in a living document that details their core beliefs about the role of work in living a good life.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20401 Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will examine principal questions and debates in ethics, such as the nature of the good, different ethical frameworks (virtue, consequentialism, deontology), the nature of moral motivation, and particular universal or contemporary moral problems. For details about specific sections in a particular semester, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 10111

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20402 Moral Problems (3 Credit Hours)

An introduction to the field of moral philosophy, with major emphasis on contemporary moral issues.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20403 Virtues and Vices (3 Credit Hours)

This great books-style, discussion-based seminar introduces students to some of the most influential philosophical perspectives on what makes for true human flourishing. Students will read great works of fiction along philosophical texts as they wrestle with the nature of human flourishing in general as well the nature of specific virtues and vices. Feel free to email the professor for more information.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20404 Moral Luck (3 Credit Hours)

Luck is a constant in human existence: serendipitous meetings, one-in-a-million accidents, lottery winnings, surprise inheritances. At times it feels as though one's life is just a series of rolls of the dice. But just what is luck, and what should we make of its ubiquity? Are we only responsible for what we control? Do we only deserve what we have gained through skill or virtue? Or is our possession of skills and virtues, too, a matter of luck? Can we know things that could easily have been different? Are we justified in believing things that unluckily turn out to be false? Are we morally better than the people we might have been if we'd been born in a different time or place? As we consider these questions, we will investigate some foundational philosophical issues that turn out to have surprising (or not so surprising) connections to luck.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20405 Ethics of Space Exploration (3 Credit Hours)

The aim of this course is to explore the ethical and political issues surrounding space exploration and consider how past and present realities constrain our future in space. We will first survey the present state of space exploration. This will include the privatization of space travel, military investment in the space industry, space policy and law, and the state of modern space science. Then, we will look to our future in space and consider questions such as: Does climate change justify/ necessitate colonizing other worlds? What are the ethics of terraforming? What types of extraterrestrial life are worthy of ethical consideration? Will space travel replicate or exacerbate existing structural oppression, and should we pursue ‘anti-colonial' space travel? Ultimately, students should be able to place space exploration in its social context and articulate a vision of space exploration that they believe best serves society.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20406 Social and Moral Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

This course surveys key issues in social and moral philosophy, with a particular focus on issues pertinent to marginalized groups. We will typically begin with an introduction to the general philosophical theories and then examine their implications for marginalised groups who may not straightforwardly fit within those theories, before finally considering how those theories may need to be adjusted to accommodate them. The topics we will cover include: Moral status: Why do we as persons matter morally? What is it to be a bearer of rights? Wellbeing: What does wellbeing consist in? Is what is good for us wholly self-determined? Is disability in itself bad for its bearer? Care ethics: How should our moral theories adjust to accommodate the vulnerable and dependent? Social Epistemology: What is it to take something on testimony? What should we make of testimony from a minority group that runs counter to general intuition? What is epistemic injustice? Social Ontology: What is a social group? What is race? What is gender? What is a team?

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20407 Classics of Political and Constitutional Theory (3 Credit Hours)

An examination of a number of the fundamental texts in political and constitutional theory, with an emphasis on works of special importance to the British and American political systems.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 10100 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PHIL 14101

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20408 Philosophy of Law (3 Credit Hours)

This course explores theoretical and practical issues arising in law. Topics will include some of the following: laws regulating speech; drug laws, the limits of the criminal sanction, and the debate about over-criminalization; self-defense; the foundations of criminal procedure. In class mid-term and short paper for each of the 3 class units. Regular attendance and participation in required Friday class discussion section.

Prerequisites: PHIL 13195 or PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 14100 or PHIL 20105 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185

Corequisites: PHIL 22408

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20409 Black Political Thought (3 Credit Hours)

This course will focus on the writings of Black political thinkers in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Through critical examination of the conditions against, and contexts within, which the political theories of these thinkers are situated, this course hopes to arrive at some understanding of the principles, goals, and strategies developed to contest and redefine notions/concepts of citizenship (vis-a-vis the imperatives of race/racism and the global colonial formations), humanity, justice, equality, development, democracy, and freedom.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20410 Plato's Republic (3 Credit Hours)

An historically and philosophically informed close reading of one of the most important texts in the history of philosophy, Plato's Republic.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20411 Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art (3 Credit Hours)

An introductory course in the application of philosophical methods to questions of aesthetics and art. Specific texts, themes, and problems discussed vary from semester to semester. See https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/ for details about current sections.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20412 Data Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

Philosophical exploration of ethical issues involved in data science.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20413 Research Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

Introduction and critical survey of representative theories, problems, and positions within research ethics. Content varies by semester. For current semester, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20414 Introduction to Marx (3 Credit Hours)

In this course, we will examine the philosophical ideas of Karl Marx, including his views on work, human nature, and freedom. We will focus on reading primary texts, from Marx's early manuscripts to excerpts from Capital. Additional readings will include philosophical responses to Marx's ideas from other thinkers.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20415 Meat, Markets, Medicine, and Other Moral Issues (3 Credit Hours)

This course introduces students to important concepts, positions, and debates in applied ethics. The course begins with a primer on normative ethics. Students are introduced to two major views in normative ethics: consequentialism and deontology. These positions reflect two contrasting answers to the question as to what makes our actions right or wrong, and what we owe to one another, morally speaking. The remainder of the course tackles real-world ethical issues, and proceeds in four parts. PART I: We engage with questions concerning the ethics of eating meat. Given the huge amounts of animal suffering found in the meat industry, are we morally required to become vegans? PART II: We critically consider the moral problems raised by certain kinds of markets, including the black market in human organs, and the use of surrogacy, and sweatshops. PART III: In the third part of the course, we investigate core issues in the ethics of medicine. One such issue concerns the shape that a state’s organ donation system ought to take; should such systems be opt-in, or opt-out? PART IV: The course concludes by examining matters of justice; for example, issues of global justice raised by widespread poverty, and justice in the distribution of educational opportunities.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20417 Social and Political Philosophy in a Changing World (3 Credit Hours)

The topic of ethics of AI has received much due attention. However, there is much to be explored on the social and political implications of increasing AI integration. This course will grapple with questions concerning the use of AI in politics and government (domestically and internationally), in achieving collective social goals, and in preparing for future generations. Using tools from social and political philosophy, we will engage in thoughtful discussion of how AI is changing our world.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20418 The Nature of Morality: Introduction to Metaethics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will introduce and explore fundamental questions about the natures of ethics and morality. To be clear: We will not be concerned to investigate which acts, behaviors, states of affairs, or general ways of living are right or wrong, good or bad, virtuous or vicious, and so on. The foregoing are questions one asks when doing ethics. But we will not (primarily) be doing ethics in this course. Rather, we will be taking a step back, or going a layer deeper, by asking questions about what it is we are doing when doing ethics. In other words, we will be asking questions of meta-ethics. More specifically, we will be asking: (i) Whether it is an aim of ethical thought and discourse to apprehend moral facts and properties (i.e., morality); and, if so, (ii) Whether there is such a thing as morality; and, if so, (iii) What morality is.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20419 Ethics in Society (3 Credit Hours)

This course brings philosophical reflection to bear on some of the most pressing ethical issues facing modern society. Topics include technology ethics, environmental ethics, racial justice, and poverty. How much can you rely on AI before it compromises your autonomy? What, if anything, is lost when caregiving is outsourced to robots? What are the rights of future generations? Is it wrong to only have friends of the same race as yourself? How does lived experience confer authority? What do we owe the global poor? We’ll explore all these questions, and more, in this discussion-based seminar.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20420 Urban Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

What are cities, and how do they work? How do present (and how will future) societies respond to the challenges of pollution, sustainable development, exploitation of natural resources, equal access to infrastructure, education and welfare, human rights, food production and distribution, and energy consumption? This course welcomes students to reflect on these questions and respond to these challenges through the emerging field of urban ethics. Through lectures and readings, we will ask: 1.) Can we define an “ancient urban ethics?" 2.) Which disciplines are involved in urban ethics, and what strategies—from environmental to social ethics—should inform it? 3.) What policies, planning documents, and environmental and information technologies from the past and present can we avail from around the world to understand urban ethics? To ground our discussions, we will read excerpts from classical literature, philosophy, and cross-disciplinary works. We will also engage resources including maps, drawings, art, photographs, and videos. As we will discover through discussion and participation, urban ethics is a field in which everyone is involved.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20421 Natural Goodness & Natural Law (3 Credit Hours)

Natural goodness, the idea that something is good insofar as it fulfills its proper function or purpose, has deep roots in moral philosophy. The course begins with Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, which provides the foundational framework for this concept. We then explore Aquinas's development of Aristotle's view, especially how he integrates it with a theistic understanding of God's creative purposes and commands. Nowadays, we refer to this synthesis as 'Natural Law'. The second half of the course turns to the resurgence of interest in Aristotelian and Thomistic ethics since the 1950s, led by thinkers such as Elizabeth Anscombe, Alasdair MacIntyre, C.S. Lewis, Philippa Foot, and John Finnis. Through close engagement with contemporary texts, students will assess whether these recent appropriations represent a faithful evolution of the classical tradition originating in Aristotle, or a more problematic devolution of it. Crucial questions to be addressed: What is goodness? What grounds goodness facts, if anything? What is obligation? What makes something obligatory? Can we explain goodness and obligation apart from God?

PHIL 20423 Self and Society (3 Credit Hours)

A survey of leading ideas in political and social philosophy primarily from the 18th - 20th Centuries. Problems considered will be: the relation of individual to society, the relation of society to state, liberalism, the relation of economics to politics, versions of socialism, etc.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PHIL 14101

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20425 Leadership & Virtue (3 Credit Hours)

What is effective leadership? What insights might philosophical texts and the experience of seasoned leaders give us? In this course, we will read and discuss the writings of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas on ethics and virtue. As a counterpoint, we will read Machiavelli’s The Prince, which seems to have been written in reaction to a virtue-centered approach to leadership. A key component of the course will be to hear from accomplished leaders in various fields—business, education, the military, and non-profit organizations—to test our philosophical reflections against the actual experiences of successful leaders. Students will be asked to read the assigned texts thoughtfully, engage in class discussion, and write several short reflection papers and one longer paper.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20426 Topics in Moral Psychology: Philosophy of Hope and Aspiration (3 Credit Hours)

This course is an introduction to the contemporary philosophical literature on hope and aspiration. The first half of the course will examine the nature and normativity of hope, with special attention to the role of hope in structuring human agency, building moral relationships, and facilitating social or political progress. The second half of the course will turn to aspiration in the context of pursuing strenuous, long-term personal goals. In particular, we will examine whether it is rational to make transformative choices, persevere against the odds, honor sunk costs, and make backup plans to safeguard potential failures.

PHIL 20427 Virtue and Emotion (3 Credit Hours)

Emotions are ubiquitous. Everyone has them. Everyone wants more of some kinds and less of others. Sometimes they help us act in line with our plans and intentions. Sometimes they interfere. Every day we make decisions (sometimes split second and unconscious ones) about whether to trust our feelings or to doubt and plow past them. Is this ever done in a principled way? We make decisions and judgments all the time about our emotions but how often are we able to articulate explicitly why we might trust our emotions in one situation but not another? Different virtue traditions offer conflicting perspectives on how we ought to govern our emotions such as cultivating emotions to be in harmony with one’s practical judgment as Aristotle thought or repressed because they tend to interfere with reasoning as the Stoics thought. These longstanding debates touch every aspect of daily life, yet there is still a surprising amount of disagreement over what emotions tell us and how we should manage them. This course serves as an introduction to virtue ethics with a special focus on various emotions and their role in evaluative reasoning and well-being. Core questions guiding our inquiry will be: * What are emotions? * How do they affect our attention and judgment? * How ought the virtuous person rely on their emotions? * What value do different emotions have?

PHIL 20428 Business Ethics-Practice and Norm: Corporate Respnsibility, Sustainability and Global Commerce (3 Credit Hours)

This course is a comprehensive introduction to business ethics with a special focus on issues and representative cases drawn from business in recent years. Central questions concern the responsibilities of corporations, especially in regard to their stakeholders and the environment. These concerns range from questions about hiring, firing, and promotion, to executive compensation, to marketing ethics, to financial representation, and to religion in the workplace. The globalization of business is also a main focus, involving such issues as outsourcing (domestic and international), bribery, child labor, and the treatment of women in and beyond the company's home country. The work will consist in readings from texts and cases, short papers, and likely one or two or at most three short essay exams. The aim is both to advance understanding of business ethics and to help students make better decisions both in business practice in particular and in ethical matters generally.

PHIL 20432 Ethics of Food (3 Credit Hours)

Students will develop a detailed understanding of the applied ethics of eating, engaging with questions about animal welfare, duties to the environment, the exploitation of workers, eco-feminism, and the value of cultural traditions. This will involve discussion of actual, current conditions in our food supply chain. But we will be focusing on the application of broader ethical and metaethical questions they may have touched on in an introductory class, thereby deepening their understanding of the theoretical questions too. For example, are there objective moral facts about how we should eat, or only cultural norms? Does a consequentialist, welfarist view really support Singer-style veganism? Would Kant want us to eat fair trade, for the sake of human dignity? Are there distinct environmental virtues, or feminist reasons to (not) be vegan? The intention is to connect applied and theoretical ethics around a subject that will be engaging for students. They will be required to state and argue for the moral permissibility of their own eating intentions.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20438 Ancient Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

A critical survey of important texts and authors in Ancient Philosophy.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20440 Philosophy and Film (3 Credit Hours)

Film and philosophy can be studied together. On the one hand, films give rise to philosophical questions, for example, is justice simply the advantage of the stronger? On the other hand, if we have compelling philosophical categories, for example, on the nature of tragedy, we can ask richer questions of films. The course juxtaposes films with philosophical works. Our goal is three-fold: (1) to interpret the films as films; (2) to weigh philosophical arguments; and (3) to enrich our understanding of both realms, film and philosophy, by bringing the two spheres into conversation with one another.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PHIL 14101

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKAL - Core Art & Literature, WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20441 Political Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

A critical examination (either historical or topical) of central works and topics in political philosophy. For information on the works and topics covered in a specific section, please consult https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20442 Ethics of International Relations and War (3 Credit Hours)

War belongs to the ugly reality of human history, and it would be naive to believe that this will change soon. The course addresses the specifically ethical dimensions involved with warfare - the question of legitimate reasons for going to war, the moral limits to warfare, and the moral challenges after the end of a war. We will proceed "inductively," starting with concrete issues, developing more general categories, and finally trying to find moral foundations. We will first read two dramas by Shakespeare and Schiller on two leaders in two of the bloodiest wars of European history, the Hundred Years' War and the Thirty Years' War, Henry V and Wallenstein, then study Michael Walzer's classical work Just and Unjust Wars and the recent book on post-war justice, a topic ignored by Walzer, by David Chwon Kwon: Justice After War. We will finally read the first and the third parts of my own book Morals and Politics, which lays out both foundations for ethics and moral strategies for dealing with some of the greatest political challenges of our time.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20443 Rationality and Action (3 Credit Hours)

A critical introduction to attempts to understand rationality and rational decision-making, including the way that moral considerations enter into those deliberations. Topics may include: utility-maximization theory, introductory game theory, consequentialism, deontic reasoning, and the function of the good in practical reason, as well as the limitations of rationality.

Prerequisites: MI 13185 or PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 14101 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20447 Ancient & Medieval Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Critical survey of important authors, topics, and texts in ancient and medieval philosophy.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20448 Social Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

I get it. Philosophy can be dry, inapplicable, and even boring. In Social Philosophy, we dive into topics that are current, in the news, and relevant to you. Social Philosophy takes philosophical theories and shows how they apply to topics like immigration, sports, feminism, and gender. The course will be divided into three sections. We will start with social metaphysics and talk about what groups are, whether groups can be responsible for things, gender, and disability. Then, we will do social epistemology and talk about testimony, epistemic injustice, the relationship between testimony and faith, and how we should respond when people disagree with us. The biggest part of the course will be on social ethics, where we will cover topics like our duties to help the poor/give to charity, immigration, war, sports, social media, and abortion. The class will be discussion based. There will be two papers, and each will require a rough draft or outline. There will also be a final evaluation of some sort (i.e. exam or project).

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20449 Foundations of Modern Social Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Course description: This is an advanced introductory survey of foundational texts in the history of modern European social philosophy. Readings from among: Smith, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Lukács, Freud, and Weber.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 14100 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 20101 or MI 13185 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20451 Citizenship: Voting, Representation, and Parties (3 Credit Hours)

This class is dedicated to helping you develop your views on some of the ethical issues related to citizenship in sovereign/territorial states. Our focus will be on representative democracies like the United States, but many of the issues we will analyze and discuss have broad application. We will have five debates, each focused on one of the following questions: 1. Should citizens vote? 2. Should it be relatively easy to become a citizen? 3. Are political parties good? 4. Which voting procedure should representative democracies deploy in their legislatures? 5. Should only public funds be used for political campaigns? Much of the class will be dedicated to exploring different answers to these questions. Since many great philosophers of the past give persuasive answers to these questions, and our current thinking is indebted to them in many ways, we will spend some of our time studying their views. For instance, we will consider the views of James Madison on the influence of political parties. Nonetheless, our focus will not be on history for its own sake.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20452 Philosophy & Narrative (3 Credit Hours)

In this class we will examine the relationship of philosophy and narrative and the impact of narrative on change in ourselves and in the outside world. Although western philosophy is seen as the primary apologist of pure rationality, it had a close relationship to literature throughout times, beginning with Plato and his dialogues. However, there has often been (and still is until today) a fight between philosophers engaging in literary style (think for example of Rousseau) and those who condemned this form of writing as a "pseudo-science" (as did Voltaire, Rousseau's arch-rival). Our goal is to take a close look at this quarrel, the different ways of philosophizing and the arguments around it, asking ourselves how knowledge comes about and what makes a rational argument different from a literary, especially narrative, form of discovery. During this journey we will discuss the how, what-for, and why of philosophy and of literature. For this we will take on an interdisciplinary perspective, which will include not only philosophical thinking but also psychology and literature itself. Students with a love of literature, prospective philosophers interested in the intersection of literature and narrative, and prospective majors in English, foreign languages and literatures, and psychology might find the course especially attractive.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20454 Ancient Platonism (3 Credit Hours)

This course will explore the rich philosophical tradition inspired by the works of Plato, which was the source of a distinctive and highly influential set of interrelated ideas about God, human nature, the structure of reality, and happiness. We will explore Plato’s treatment of these topics in dialogues like the Phaedo, Republic, and Timaeus, in connection with relevant background material from Plato’s philosophical predecessors (particularly from the Pythagorean movement and from Parmenides of Elea). We will then trace the impact of Plato’s ideas in the centuries following his death, with attention to their development by later “Neo-Platonic” philosophers like Plotinus and Iamblichus, by Christian thinkers like Origen of Alexandria and Gregory of Nyssa, and within lesser-known philosophical and religious movements from antiquity. Like all ancient philosophical traditions, Platonism was not just a collection of abstract doctrines, but a way of life aimed at leading its adherents to happiness and flourishing. Accordingly, we will seek to understand not just what Platonist philosophers believed, but how they actually lived their lives. In addition to in-depth reading and discussion of primary texts, this will involve trying out for ourselves some of the lived practices central to the Platonist tradition.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20455 Race and Violence (3 Credit Hours)

Departing from Michel Foucault's controversial theory of "race war", this class will examine the historical relations between the idea of race and material practices of violence. To do this we will focus on a selection of "debates about race" from across the Americas that in many ways define American modernity. These might include: Las Casas and Sepúlveda on the humanity of indigenous Americans; slavery and the formation of American nation-states; nineteenth-century race science, eugenics, and their rejection; the race-and-culture debates (e.g. Boas, Dubois, Freyre, against the race scientists); the so-called "problema indígena" debates in Latin America; race and rights struggles in the post-WWII era; immigration and migrant labor; Negro Sim (Brazil), Black Lives Matter (USA), and related protest movements worldwide; social media and the consolidation of white supremacist paramilitarism. Which selection of these topics we pursue will be guided by student interest. Language of instruction is Spanish and English. Comparative work is encouraged. This course can count for the Modern Latin-American area requirement for Spanish Major/Supplementary Major.

PHIL 20499 Literature and Narrative (3 Credit Hours)

PHIL 20601 Measuring Nature, Measuring Humanity (3 Credit Hours)

Measurement is a fundamental activity in modern science, both the natural and social sciences. While measurement is often considered as the hallmark of science that makes an activity “scientific,” there is little consensus among philosophers about how to define measurement, what kinds of things are measurable, or which conditions make measurement possible. By engaging with texts that build on concrete practices of measurement in historical and contemporary case studies, we will collectively explore questions such as: How do we know that an instrument, such as a thermometer, measures the quantity it is intended to measure? How are measurement units established, and how do they vary across different fields of science and culture? What does it mean to measure human attributes, such as feeling, if possible at all? Our journey begins with in-depth discussions on accuracy and precision, calibration, and standardization—the foundational concepts that make measurement possible. We then navigate the diverse landscape of philosophical viewpoints on measurement, encompassing operationalism, conventionalism, and realism. With these concepts and perspectives in mind, we will explore more case studies across various scientific domains, ranging from the physical and biological sciences to clinical medicine and social sciences, where you will discover issues more closely related to your own field of study. In the course, you will bring and elaborate your own case study related to your specific interests or fields of study. This case study serves as a focal point for actively applying concepts and approaches learned throughout the course, which will eventually crystallize into your final paper. From the course, you will come to see measurement not merely as a technical process but as a complex epistemic activity that demands critical examination, from experimental design to data interpretation. No prior background in specialized sciences is necessary to enroll in this course.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20602 Medical Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

An exploration from the point of view of ethical theory of a number of ethical problems in contemporary biomedicine. Topics discussed will include euthanasia, abortion, the allocation of scarce medical resources, truth-telling in the doctor-patient relationship, the right to medical care and informed consent, and human experimentation.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or PHIL 14102 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 14100 or PHIL 14101 or MI 13185

Corequisites: PHIL 22602

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20603 Environmental Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

This course will focus on the philosophical, ethical, and political dimensions of topics of environmental concern. Specific topics vary by semester. For more detailed information regarding current and upcoming offerings, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20604 Modern Physics and Moral Responsibility (3 Credit Hours)

An examination of such questions as: What are the moral responsibilities of the scientist? Should the scientist be held accountable for what might be done with the results of his or her scientific research? Does the scientist have any special role to play, as a citizen, in public debate about science policy? Should the scientist sometimes simply refuse to engage in some kinds of research because of moral concern about the consequences of research of that area? No special background in physics will be assumed.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20605 The Scientific World (3 Credit Hours)

The aim of this course is to introduce and explore two rival conceptions of the world --- each of which claims, as its source of legitimacy, unprecedented progress achieved throughout the recent history of modern science. The first conception, coming out of fundamental physics research, is often extolled for its elegant simplicity, and enjoys considerable popular acclaim: our entire universe, including all of space and time around us, has evolved over the past 13.8 billion years --- approximately uniformly expanding ever since initial conditions were set by the ‘Big Bang' (a topic that is, itself, a central focus of ongoing fundamental physics research). Meanwhile, the second conception is an ecological one: the world is a mess of unfettered complexity, but a mess that we try to shape into a patchwork reality in order to better navigate. Although garnering less popular acclaim, it is this ecological conception, and not the fundamental conception, that is closely allied with science-based approaches to public policy --- e.g. in response to anthropogenic climate change, or biosecurity in an era of pandemic --- and is therefore no less relevant to society. At the end of the course, we will ask and answer an outstanding question: how can it be that we embrace each of these conceptions of the world, simultaneously, as consequences of the role we entrust to modern science in society?

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20607 Infinity (3 Credit Hours)

Philosophical exploration of the concept of infinity. Content varies by semester

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20608 Philosophy of Technology (3 Credit Hours)

Philosophy of Technology considers the nature of technology and its relationship to social values, economics, the natural environment, human values and science, among other things. It considers questions such as how the existing social context affects the development and adoption of technology, how technology affects the evolution of society, and to what extent we control our technology and to what extent our technology controls us. Specific themes and and questions vary from term to term.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20610 Fundamentals of Technology, Ethics, and Society (3 Credit Hours)

This course will introduce students to fundamental ethical and social issues related to the design, development, and use of technology. Students will develop an understanding of philosophical ethical theories as a resource for analyzing how technology impacts both individual and collective civil, political, and human rights and issues related to autonomy, privacy, and identity, as well as how it reinforces power dynamics in society and its impacts on equity, justice, and fairness. Specific topics will include bias and fairness in algorithms, privacy, data governance and civil liberties, surveillance and power, social media, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.

PHIL 20611 Ethics and Artificial Intelligence (3 Credit Hours)

Not so long ago, an engineer at Google claimed that a chatbot called LaMDA has achieved consciousness. While it may be doubtful whether this chatbot actually achieved consciousness, the chorus of technologists who believe artificial intelligence models may not be far off from achieving consciousness is getting bolder. The most recent iteration of a chatbot called ChatGPT was able to pass exams from law and business schools. It took ChatGPT no less than 2 months to reach 100 million users. (For comparison, reaching 100 million users took the mobile phone 16 years, Facebook 4 years, and TikTok a year.) Truly, we are witnessing a revolution in time lapse that increasingly confuses the boundary between reality and science fiction. In this class, we shall embark on an adventure exploring the maybe not so fictional idea of an emerging consciousness in artificial intelligence and investigate the opportunity and risk potential of using AI for our society at large. Come to class and have a conversation with the future!

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20613 Philosophy of Computability (3 Credit Hours)

We shall study the philosophy of computability, following various philosophical issues and debates through history to contemporary times. Turing’s seminal 1936 paper greatly clarified the meaning of computability, introducing Turing machines, the halting problem, universal computers, and the concept of computable real numbers. His resolution of the Entsheidungsproblem provided a simple computability-based proof of the Gödel incompleteness phenomenon, challenging Hilbert’s program. His ideas on oracle computation lead to the hierarchy of Turing degrees, and the hierarchy of computational complexity similarly grows out of the P vs NP problem. Kolmogorov complexity reveals inherent limitations of our ability to gauge computational difficulty. The latter part of the course will focus on the philosophy of artificial intelligence, from classical treatments of the Turing test to the astonishing contemporary developments in artificial intelligence, which we shall explore with various student experiments using the latest AI services.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20614 Philosophy of Biology (3 Credit Hours)

Critical survey of epistemology, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological sciences. Possible topics include taxonomy, biological explanation, species, teleology and function, chance, selection, and reductionism. Content varies by semester; for current offerings, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20615 Philosophy and Logic of Games (3 Credit Hours)

Shall we have a game? The course will explore the philosophy and logic of games, exploring all things games. We shall begin with some elementary game theory and decision theory, including elementary probability theory, covering mixed strategies, Nash equilibria, the prisoner's dilemma, and Tit-for-Tat, and then eventually the fundamental theorem of finite games, game trees, the hypergame paradox, and many examples of finite games and their strategies, such as Nim and other games. The latter part of the course will delve into infinitary issues, including determinacy and nondeterminacy, connections with the philosophy of mathematics, Conway games, and the surreal numbers as games. It will be a highlight of the class to cover the analysis of various infinite games, including infinite chess, infinite draughts, infinite Hex, infinite Wordle, infinite Sudoku, and more.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20616 Philosophical Issues in AI (3 Credit Hours)

This course introduces some epistemological and ethical issues broadly related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. The course begins with an introduction to the historical development and the technical basis of some contemporary AI technology. Topics may include: basics of linear algebra; machine learning; neural network; examples of contemporary AI systems. The second part of the course discusses some epistemological issues related to AI. Topics may include: the problem of induction, AI assisted scientific research; transparency and interpretability. The final part of the course discusses the interaction between AI and the human society. Topics may include: the meaningfulness of various human activities when AI's ability on them supersedes human; algorithmic fairness; predictive policing; digital labor.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20617 Philosophy of Science (3 Credit Hours)

Critical survey of selected topics, themes, positions, and arguments in the philosophy of science. Content varies by semester. For current semester, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20618 Technology Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will cover topics in the growing field of technology ethics. Content varies by semester. For current semester, check https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20619 Mind, Brain, and Machine (3 Credit Hours)

In this course, we will ask a series of questions about the human mind. Is the mind just the brain? Or is it more than the brain? In what way? How do we come to have minds? Can other animals have minds? Can computers have minds? We will look for answers to these questions from a wide range of philosophical and empirical studies.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20621 Probability (3 Credit Hours)

Probabilistic methods are in use in a number of subfields in philosophy—and the influence of these methods, especially over the last couple of decades or so, appears to be growing. In this course we'll aim to develop a broad-ranging understanding of probabilistic reasoning in philosophy. We'll examine, in particular, how probabilistic methods have recently been applied to tackle some thorny philosophical problems. A self-contained introduction to formal and then philosophical aspects of probability will be followed by an exploration of how probabilistic methods have been used to address, inter alia, epistemological puzzles, as well as puzzles in the sciences (such as puzzles related to fine-tuning). (Note that only very minimal background in mathematics and in the sciences will be assumed---the course is indeed designed to be largely self-contained.)

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20622 Calling BS: Whom and What to Believe (3 Credit Hours)

We live in a fast-paced world where we are constantly bombarded with all sorts of information at any one point in time. Much of it, unfortunately, turns out to simply be BS. Just which of these information should we actually believe, then? “The one that is true, of course!” one might be quick to say. But assessing the truth of a belief or, indeed, even the reliability and trustworthiness of our sources of information is notoriously difficult, especially in light of so-called misinformation, disinformation, and “alternative facts” floating around. Knowing which sources to trust and what to believe, then, isn’t as straightforward as it might have initially seemed. What makes the matter worse is that it seems like in many instances, we are not only in the epistemic hook for believing the wrong things, but if the wrong things that we believe in happen to weigh in on a certain moral matter, we might become appropriate targets of moral blame as well. So, how can we avoid becoming both morally and epistemically blameworthy? In this seminar, we will read recent works on a broad range of contemporary social issues that are, at their core, epistemological in nature in the hope that these readings could inch us towards a satisfactory answer to the pressing question of what we should actually believe. We begin the seminar by examining the following two fundamental questions in traditional epistemology: (i) how should one respond to disagreement with people who seem to be just as smart and well-informed as they are, and (ii) whether factors that influence one’s beliefs without any regard for truth should have a debunking effect. We will then use these concepts to explore a whole host of topics in contemporary applied epistemology including (and among others) fake news, echo chambers, distrusting scientists, implicit bias, responsibility for one’s own and others’ ignorance, and gaslighting.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20623 Mathematics, Language, and Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

This course will provide an introduction to topics at the intersection of mathematics, language, and philosophy. Our focus will be the examination of cross-disciplinary work undertaken by mathematicians and philosophers at the turn of the 20th century. This work largely focused on the reciprocal relationship between mathematics and language. On the one hand, philosophers like Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein used ideas from mathematics to understand the nature of meaning in natural language; on the other hand, mathematicians like Gödel, Tarski, and Turing used insights gleaned from thinking about mathematics as a kind of language to prove famous results in the foundations of math and computer science. Exploring this dual relationship will be the focus of this course.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20624 Ethics of Climate Change (3 Credit Hours)

Climate change is a “moral storm” requiring swift and unprecedented human cooperation at both local and global levels to solve it. This pressing global crisis is pregnant with many interesting philosophical/ethical issues such as the responsibilities we have to address the climate problem, how climate change affects human rights and well-being, geoengineering, carbon capture and other greenhouse gas removal technologies and their ethical implications, climate refugees, indigenous people and their unique situation in a warming globe, what current generations owe future generations, what ethical concerns need to feature in a climate change policy etc. This course will draw from ethics, political philosophy, social justice, and other relevant philosophical sources to comprehensively explore these and other important ethical issues.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20627 Science and Catholicism (3 Credit Hours)

A historical and philosophical examination of the relations, if there are any, between science and religion with particular reference to the Catholic intellectual tradition. Through the use of historical materials the course will attempt to isolate and examine philosophical difficulties that might be thought to obtain between the claims made by Christian revelation and various scientific theories about features of the world. Emphasis will be placed upon distinctive ways in which the intellectual tradition of the Catholic church has faced the issues raised. Figures to be considered may include Augustine, Aquinas, Galileo, Bellarmine, Darwin, Huxley, Dawkins, Newman, Leroy, Zahm, LeMaitre, and Hawking, as well as others. Topics to be discussed are Language, Meaning, and Revelation, the Nature of Science, Theory, and Hypothesis, Evolution, the Big Bang, Soul and Body, Creation versus Making, Providence and Chance.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20628 The Ethics of Emerging Weapons Technology (3 Credit Hours)

This course explores the ethical challenges posed by the ongoing revolution in the technology of war. After learning about some general, philosophical approaches to ethical decision making, we will examine a wide range of new weapons technologies, from "smart" bombs, drones, and robots to em (electromagnetic) weapons, cyberwar, and bio-enhancement, asking the question whether the existing framework of Just War Theory and the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) are adequate for war as it will be fought in the 21st century.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20632 Robot Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

Robots or "autonomous systems" play an ever-increasing role in many areas, from weapons systems and driverless cars to health care and consumer services. As a result, it is ever more important to ask whether it makes any sense to speak of such systems' behaving ethically and how we can build into their programming what some call "ethics modules." After a brief technical introduction to the field, this course will approach these questions through contemporary philosophical literature on robot ethics and through popular media, including science fiction text and video.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10106 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20105 or PHIL 14101

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20635 Theory of Knowledge (3 Credit Hours)

The aim of this class is to provide an understanding of the fundamental issues and positions in the contemporary theory of knowledge.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 14102

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20638 Philosophy and Biology (3 Credit Hours)

This course surveys some of the main ways that philosophy and biology intersect. Possible topics include the nature of life, arguments from biological complexity to intelligent design, implications of Darwinian evolution for views about the nature of value, personhood, and freedom, and analysis of central biological concepts (e.g., natural selection, adaptation, function, development, and species) via philosophical methods.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20640 Philosophy of Mental Health and Disorder (3 Credit Hours)

Mental illness is an increasingly important yet sadly misunderstood topic in our society. This course is designed to help students analyze the phenomenon of mental illness in a philosophical way. Topics vary by semester. For the current semester, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKIN - Core Integration, WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy, WRIT - Writing Intensive

PHIL 20641 Ethics of Sustainability (3 Credit Hours)

This course introduces philosophical ethics through an engagement with sustainability issues, which are at the intersection of environmentalism, social justice, and economic equality. We will cover issues such as the value of the environment, non-human animal welfare, food ethics, environmental justice, sustainable economy, and human-made global climate change. There are two central goals of this course. First, to engage students into ethical reflection regarding environmental and sustainability issues, and how these issues intersect with their lives and local communities. Second, to provide students with a sophisticated conceptual vocabulary to evaluate and generate ethical arguments both in general and applied to specific situations. This course will be heavily based on student participation, with an emphasis on class discussions. Students will also develop specific projects targeted to apply the conceptual tools presented in the course to specific issues salient in the local community. No prior experience with philosophy or environmental science is required.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20643 Ethics & Ecology (3 Credit Hours)

Climate change and other environmental crises have prompted calls to expand justice beyond the spheres of duties to individuals and political communities. Not only animals but ecosystems could then be seen as objects of ethical and political concern. This course investigates these controversial claims and their conceptual foundations. We begin by investigating what ecosystems are, and then turn to how they might be said to have inherent value. Finally, drawing on recent work in the social sciences as well as philosophy, we will consider how individual agents could fit into such accounts of the world.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20644 Feminist Philosophy and Science Fiction (3 Credit Hours)

In this course we will examine some central feminist themes and issues by way of a philosophical examination of science fiction texts. Readings will include short science fiction stories, two or more science fiction novels, and a variety of texts in feminist philosophy and philosophy of gender.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 14100 or PHIL 20201 or MI 13185 or PLS 20301

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20649 Philosophical Questions in Medical Science (3 Credit Hours)

Loss of health is a part of life. Medicine is one means by which this part of life is addressed, negotiated with, or battled against. In this course, we will explore the questions surrounding the nature and use of medicine in a variety of historical and social contexts. These questions will include, but are not limited to, the following: What is medicine, exactly? Is it a science or an art? How has the answer to this question evolved over the course of certain histories? Are diseases and medical causes, as typically conceived, mind-independent entities or human constructions? How do our worldviews and philosophical commitments affect what we observe and what we count as evidence? What kinds of medical epistemology are possible? Which ways of knowing should be granted authority? If medicine is defined as the practice of alleviating suffering, whose suffering should be alleviated and whose suffering is justified by the acquisition of further medical knowledge? What does it mean, existentially, to lose one's health? Finally, what should the aims of medical practice be? We will explore these questions in a philosophical manner using a variety of intellectual resources from philosophy, history, sociology, and contemporary medical science.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20650 (Un)Sustainable Philosophies (3 Credit Hours)

The aim of this course is to ask how our ways of thinking about nature, material things, and ourselves supports and/or obstructs our ability to engage in more sustainable environmental practices. Our questions will include, but are not limited to: What is nature and how are humans connected to, distinct from, or part of this nature? What does it mean to be sustainable? If our aim is to exist more sustainably, how should we think about nature to help achieve this end? What is waste, exactly? Whose way of life is being preserved by our present sustainability efforts in the West? How does gender, race, and culture shape how one is affected by (un)sustainable practices? To what extent are the formal structures of oppression conserved across sexism, racism, and environmental destruction? This course will draw heavily on ecofeminist philosophy to help answer these important questions.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20651 Phil of Scient. Disagreement (3 Credit Hours)

Disagreement, especially about matters of empirical fact, is often seen as an impediment to rational discourse and the pursuit of truth. And yet, in the sciences, our primary source of knowledge about the world, disagreement is not only par for the course but, arguably, an essential feature of "the scientific method". In this course, we will engage in a philosophical analysis of the roots and resolution of disagreements between scientists in order to (1) better understand why experts come to disagree, and (2) gain a more nuanced picture of the everyday practice of science. Drawing on insights from the history, philosophy, and sociology of science, we will first consider some potential sources of disagreement, paying special attention to the contextual nature of evidence, scientists' diverse reasoning styles, and psychological bias. Then, we will put these conceptual tools to the test analyzing an assortment of in-depth case studies drawn from across the experimental and historical sciences, including: the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event (or, what really killed the dinosaurs?), John Snow and the cholera epidemic of 1854, spontaneous generation, ritualistic cannibalism, and the (first) detection of gravitational waves. In addition to greater familiarity with actual science in action, students will come away from the course with the tools to be more critically engaged with the beliefs of others as well as their own, especially regarding, though not limited to, scientific claims. No previous background in philosophy and/or the sciences is required.

PHIL 20652 Game Theory (3 Credit Hours)

Critical introduction to the main theories and applications of Game Theory

Corequisites: PHIL 22652

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20653 Epistemology in Practice (3 Credit Hours)

Critical examination of topics within epistemology applied to various practical areas of life. This semester focuses in Skepticism, Fake News, and the Ethics of Belief.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20654 Topics in the Philosophy of Relativity Theory and Quantum Mechanics (3 Credit Hours)

This course is designed for students with little prior familiarity with modern physics; formal mathematics will be kept to a minimum. The lectures start with an outline of Newton's laws of classical mechanics, and the problem Newton faced in distinguishing between absolute and relative motion of bodies. The question arises whether space and time are substances in their own right (Newton) or merely kinds of relations between bodies (Leibniz). The key concept that emerges is that of inertial frames of reference and how different such frames are related to each other. We discuss the fable of Albert Keinstein, who in 1705 anticipated part of Albert Einstein's discussion of this relation two hundred years later. This leads to a discussion of how Einstein came up with his theory of special relativity, which predicts the subtle phenomena of length contraction of "fast" moving rigid bodies and time dilation of "fast" moving clocks, as well as the relativity of simultaneity. Emphasis will be put on the debt Einstein owed to the so-called ether theorists of the 19th century, who were grappling with conceptual issues related to electromagnetism and in particular the behaviour of light. A philosophical debate has arisen in recent years as to how to understand the mentioned relativistic effects: are they the result of novel geometric properties of space-time, or special properties of the forces of cohesion that hold in rigid bodies and clocks? We will look at the arguments on both sides of the debate. Some simple physical arguments due to Einstein will then be examined which led him to his general theory of relativity of 1915: his revolutionary theory of gravity. An intuitive way of understanding the role "space-time curvature" plays in the theory will be discussed, as well as the way in which special relativity emerges from general relativity in the appropriate conditions. The final quarter of the course will concern the role of probability in quantum mechanics. Does this theory require us to change our notion of what probability means? A sketch of the different interpretations of quantum mechanics will be given, and the role of probability in each of them will be examined.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20655 Tech and Innovation Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will closely consider the ethical responsibilities inherent in the process of technological innovation from the perspective of the innovator. Innovation is here broadly framed as ethical and social intervention in the life of users and society rather than merely technical invention. Topics covered include the nature of responsibility, values in design, the roles of regulation and of business models, and cases from social media, AI, and robotics.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20656 Methods of Reasoning (3 Credit Hours)

Arguably the most important philosophical skill is the ability to reason and formulate arguments. Sound arguments and good reasoning methods allow us to effectively search for the truth of any philosophical question. In this class, we will consider the reasoning methods used in everyday language, mathematics, and the sciences. We will consider how successful these methods are and how they are able to produce knowledge and understanding. We will discuss the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning, common argument forms, mathematical proof, the role of rigor and intuition in mathematics, the aim of the sciences, and methods for prediction and experimentation in the sciences.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20657 Climate and Culture (3 Credit Hours)

By now, it is no secret that the effects of global climate change could, within the next two centuries or so, cause cultures around the world - including the cultures of the affluent nations - to collapse. Those who would experience such cultural collapse, were it to occur, would be forced to live in ways radically different from their pre-collapse precursors. This course will invite students to think both imaginatively and philosophically about such a possibility. Our guiding questions for the course will be: (i) What is cultural collapse, and how might climate change bring it about? and (ii) How do the participants in a cultural tradition weather well the collapse of their own tradition? To lay the philosophical groundwork for the course, we will read from the work of L.A. Paul, Jonathan Lear, and Alasdair MacIntyre (among others). The semester will then culminate with readings from Lakota, Kiowa, Pueblo, and Navajo writers (among others) who have not only experienced cultural collapse first hand (to varying degrees) but have also written about it in an insightful way.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20658 Image, Embodiment and the Imagination (3 Credit Hours)

This is a course on the philosophy of representation in art and science. We will begin our investigation by pondering a puzzle about scientific representation that originates in an epistolary exchange between Einstein, Felix Klein and that august prophet of the power of "symmetry," Amelie Noether. To resolve our aporia, we will then embark on a journey that will take us from a discussion of "images" in Plato and the neo-Platonic tradition, to the exploration of the concepts of "idealization" and "embodiment" in a series of case studies (including the work of Giotto, Donatello, Veronese and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood) and culminating in a study of the appeal to the physical imagination that Galileo was trying to make in his famous "ship" thought experiment. We will conclude by discussing the aesthetics of scientific representation more generally.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20801 Philosophy of Religion (3 Credit Hours)

This course will examine principal questions in the philosophy of religion relating to the nature and existence of God, religious beliefs, religious experience, divine hiddenness, religious pluralism and exclusivism, immortality, the relationship between God and ethics, and other questions. For details about specific sections in a particular semester, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Prerequisites: PHIL 13195 or PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 10102 or PHIL 10103 or PHIL 10104 or PHIL 10105 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 10111 or PHIL 14101 or PHIL 20101 or PHIL 20102 or PHIL 20103 or PHIL 20104 or PHIL 20105 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20803 Aquinas & Scotus (3 Credit Hours)

This course will investigate the thought of arguably the two greatest medieval philosophers and Catholic philosophers--St. Thomas Aquinas and Bl. John Duns Scotus. They will be our guides for investigating questions concerning such topics as the possibility of change, the metaphysical structure of the world, whether natures are common (e.g., do all humans share one human nature?), the existence of God and His attributes, and the value of their thought today. We will pay attention to their points of agreement and disagreement, evaluating their arguments and positions.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20804 Descartes and Pascal: Early Modern French Philosophy before 1700 (3 Credit Hours)

The primary goal of the course is to introduce students to some of the central thinkers and historical controversies animating the French intellectual scene between the Reformation and the height of the enlightenment in the eighteenth century. Central authors include Montaigne, Descartes, and Pascal; topics to be addressed include skepticism, natural philosophy, and rationalism, and the relationship of these to questions of morals, culture, and religious belief, including divine grace and the role of religious institutions.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20805 Thought of Aquinas (3 Credit Hours)

G.K. Chesterton once said of St. Thomas Aquinas that "his philosophy, like his theology, is that of common sense." Chesterton may be right about that, but it's one thing for a philosophy to be common-sensical; it's another thing for it to be easy. The goal of this course is to enable student students to read Aquinas by focusing on a limited set of topics and helping students to learn about these topics while seeing their place in Aquinas's big picture. Possible topics include faith and reason; human nature, including the soul, the body, and the image of God; law and virtue; nature and grace; the "five ways"; and other topics drawn from his natural, ethical, and metaphysical thinking. For details about specific sections in a particular semester, see https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/2nd-courses-in-philosophy/.

Prerequisites: PHIL 10100 or PHIL 10101 or PHIL 13185 or PHIL 13195 or PHIL 20101 or PLS 20301 or MI 13185 or PHIL 14102

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20806 Ethics and Religion (3 Credit Hours)

From the beginning of the Abrahamic faiths and of Greek philosophy, religion and morality have been closely intertwined. In this class, we explore to what extent a secular ethical theory is possible. Readings range from antiquity to modernity, including Plato, Kant, Maimonides, Heidegger, and Simone Weil. These authors will help us answering questions, such as, ‘Do I need God’s assistance to become a good person?’, ‘Does the normative power of the moral law require God’s existence?’ ‘Does God need to reveal the moral law in order for me to know it?’

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20808 Aquinas and Bonaventure (3 Credit Hours)

Is there a God—and if there is, how do natural things point to God’s existence? Do humans possess an innate awareness of God’s existence, or must God’s existence be demonstrated by reason? Is human knowledge possible without special assistance from God? This course explores these questions through the philosophies of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventure, two of the greatest medieval thinkers. Topics covered include the metaphysics of natural objects, arguments for (and against) God’s existence, the innate knowledge of God, and the theory of divine illumination. We will compare, contrast, and critically assess each thinker’s arguments and consider how their thought remains relevant today.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20815 Philosophical History of God (3 Credit Hours)

Historical survey of and introduction to different philosophical conceptions of God from Plato to today

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20816 The Death of God: Atheism in Modern European Culture and Thought (3 Credit Hours)

Over the last decade or so, there has been a new and prominent wave of "New Atheism," often promoted in popular books that reach a wide and, apparently, appreciative audience. Yet, atheism is as old as religion itself, and in the Western tradition has roots that extend into the earliest recorded history. In this class we will consider atheism on its own merits - its arguments, values, and intentions - but also as a historical phenomenon, tracing its original expressions and especially its rise during the "modern" period beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries. We will thus focus on Spinoza, Hume, d'Holback, Ludwig Feuerbach, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and among the "New Atheists" Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchins.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 20817 Philosophy in Early Islam (3 Credit Hours)

In line with the stated rationale of the University's "Second Philosophy" core of courses for students to provide them with "a chance to explore philosophical issues which may have been raised in their first philosophy course in more depth", this course will aim specifically at exposing students to a philosophical tradition in a religious culture (Islam) where issues in ethics, metaphysics and the reach of Reason were discussed in ways that may resonate with their discussion in other cultures and periods, but where these discussions nonetheless retain a culture-specific flavor. The course will first, acquaint students with important philosophical and intellectual figures and themes from early Islam (8th.century-14th). Making use of English translations of primary sources as well as of modern sources and critiques, the course will enable students to interact critically with the some of the major ideas that occupied the philosophical minds of that period. Second, however, the texts and themes that will be dealt with will be used as a means to develop students' abilities to navigate critically through arguments of major concern, such as on the infinity of time and space, the meaning of God, animal rights, the reach of reason in the search for unquantifiable answers, or as a cross-cultural language.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 22100 Introduction to Philosophy Discussion Section (0 Credit Hours)

Discussion section for PHIL 20101.

Corequisites: PHIL 20100

PHIL 22110 GGL Sustained Dialogue (0 Credit Hours)

This is the master course for GGL Sustained Dialogue: all students must enroll in one master course (Monday or Tuesday) and will be assigned a Sustained Dialogue section during the first week of the semester.

Corequisites: PHIL 20111

PHIL 22111 God and the Good Life Sustained Dialogue Section (0 Credit Hours)

GGL students are required to enroll in (and actively participate in) a weekly Sustained Dialogue group. These groups meet weekly on Tues or Weds evening from 8:00-9:00pm. You must be available from 8:00-9:00pm on the night of the section you register for. A portion of your GGL grade will be determined by the quality of your work in your SD group.

Corequisites: PHIL 20111

PHIL 22408 Philosophy of Law Discussion (0 Credit Hours)

Discussion section for PHIL 20408 Philosophy of Law

Corequisites: PHIL 20408

PHIL 22602 Medical Ethics Discussion (0 Credit Hours)

Discussion for PHIL 20602.

Corequisites: PHIL 20602

PHIL 22652 Game Theory Discussion (0 Credit Hours)

Discussion for PHIL 20652 Game Theory

Corequisites: PHIL 20652

PHIL 30301 Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

This course will concentrate on major figures and persistent themes. A balance will be sought between scope and depth, the latter ensured by a close reading of selected texts.

Prerequisites: ALHN 13950 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 30302 History of Modern Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

This course examines the sweeping transformations of philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries by exploring some of the leading philosophers of that era. Topics include innovations in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophical theology, and the natural sciences, many of which continue to shape the agenda in contemporary philosophy.

Prerequisites: ALHN 13950

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 30304 Philosophy Gateway Seminar (3 Credit Hours)

Gateway Seminar for new and prospective majors and minors in Philosophy

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 30305 The Examined Life (3 Credit Hours)

Offered in the Spring term. Admission to the course only by instructor permission; limited to successful alumni of PHIL 10111 God and the Good Life. This course has three components. (i) Students will receive training to be a peer dialogue facilitator for God and the Good Life, learning how to lead GGL students in probative dialogue and self-reflection. (ii) Students will do intensive reading and discussion of approaches to living "the philosophical life." We will study the genre of philosophical apologies (including Socrates, Augustine, Cardinal Newman, Tolstoy and Friedrich Nietzsche). And We will look at radical proposals for living philosophically from Sextus Empiricus, St. Benedict, and the American pragmatists. (iii) Students will design and lead a practical philosophy immersion experience for seminar-mates. The expectation is that students in this course will serve at least one semester as a GGL fellow. Participation in this course is by invitation.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 30310 Business and the Common Good (3 Credit Hours)

This gateway seminar for the Minor in Business and the Common Good will be limited to 24 Mendoza College students, with priority given to students intending to pursue the Minor. The seminar focuses on the place of wealth and commerce in a well-ordered life, both for the individual and the community. Among other topics, the course takes a special interest in the rich Catholic tradition of reflection on these topics, especially the Catholic social teaching relevant to business that has emerged in the last two centuries.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKIN - Core Integration, WRIT - Writing Intensive

PHIL 30313 Formal Logic (3 Credit Hours)

An introduction to the fundamentals and techniques of logic for majors.

Prerequisites: ALHN 13950

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKQR- Core Quantitat Reasoning, WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 30329 Core Seminar in Philosophy, Science, and Mathematics (3 Credit Hours)

Gateway course for the minor in Philosophy, Science, and Mathematics. Offered annually in the Fall semester, covering topics falling in the intersection between these three disciplines.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 30330 Tech., Ethics, & Imagination (3 Credit Hours)

Science fiction has long been a vehicle for reflecting on the ethical and humanistic dimensions of technological advances. Fiction can offer ethical arguments for or against uses of technology. It can enable us to see threats, puzzles, and opportunities for moral progress that were previously unappreciated. Fiction can help us uncover inconsistencies in our reasoning about what is technologically possible. And reflection on the possibilities technology offers can help us appreciate dimensions of our humanity that were previously obscure to us. In this course, we'll consider how contemporary science fiction authors play these roles in our thinking about technology and ethics. We'll conduct a close study of writing from Ted Chiang, arguably one of the most important authors in this genre. Chiang will join us for 2-3 class sessions to offer masterclasses on his process of engaging with these ethical questions as a speculative fiction writer. We'll study recent technological developments, philosophical theories, and policy debates that these stories engage with. And we'll learn how to craft rigorous ethical arguments in three formats: philosophical analysis, policy brief, and narrative.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 30409 American Political Thought (3 Credit Hours)

Coming to grips with American political thought is at once an historical and a philosophical task. Students in this course will take on that task under the guidance of one faculty member from the Department of History and one from the Department of Philosophy. The guiding questions of the course are: How have ideas about freedom, equality and the social contract played out in the history of American political thought? When have we realized those ideas and when have we failed? Do those ideas provide us adequate guidance? The exploration of American political thought will be divided into six periods: The Founding, the Civil War era, the late 19th-century, the New Deal to the 1960s, the 1960s to the 1990s, and the 1990s to the present. The course has no prerequisites, though students wishing to count it toward the Philosophy requirement must previously have taken "Introduction to Philosophy."

Corequisites: PHIL 32409

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History, WKIN - Core Integration, WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 30602 Topics in the Philosophy of Relativity Theory and Quantum Mechanics (3 Credit Hours)

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 32409 American Political Thought Discussion Section (0 Credit Hours)

Discussion section for PHIL 30409 American Political Thought

PHIL 33799 Cercle d’Études (1 Credit Hour)

This fall, the Maritain Center is pleased to sponsor a discussion group, the “Cercle d'études.” This title is meant to evoke a long-running discussion group hosted by the great 20th century Catholic thinkers Jacques and Raissa Maritain, devoted to open-ended explorations of vital philosophical and social issues. In that spirit, this discussion group will offer students a weekly opportunity to engage one another and faculty speakers on specific questions of deep interest, to be chosen by the student participants. Structure and organization: The Notre Dame Cercle d'études is meant to provide an opportunity for sustained discussion, and it is open to any undergraduate student from Notre Dame, St. Mary’s, or Holy Cross. It is offered as a one-credit course, but it is not necessary to enroll in the course in order to participate in the weekly discussions. In either case, there will be no outside preparation, and those who are taking the course for credit will be graded on a Pass/fail basis. Each week, we will welcome a guest faculty presenter, who will begin our conversation with a few remarks, no more than fifteen minutes in length. We will then open the floor for questions and discussions, in the spirit of a free-wheeling quodlibetal session in which the guest speaker will be invited to expand upon and defend their views. The session will conclude with fellowship, coffee, and snacks. In order to receive credit for this course, you will be required to attend the sessions and participate in the discussion. You may miss three sessions over the course of the semester, including university excused absences. If you are forced to miss more sessions due to extreme, unforeseen circumstances, come and discuss the situation with the faculty moderator. Beyond that, we confidently expect that all participants will exhibit the standards of courtesy and open-mindedness that are typical of Notre Dame students.

PHIL 34622 Ethics of Emerging Technologies (3 Credit Hours)

Computer algorithms ,and machines that operate on the basis of such algorithms, play increasingly significant roles in our lives. For instance, algorithms help us decide which partner to pick, what movies to watch, or who is eligible for life-saving resources. Moreover, smart machines (e.g., self-driving cars) are increasingly used to perform tasks and functions whose performance was traditionally reserved for humans alone. In this course, we will consider questions such as: How can we use machines and algorithms in ethically responsible ways? When is it (im)permissible to treat people in certain ways on the basis of statistical information alone? How do we generate just algorithms given that there is much disagreement about which moral theory is correct? Does yielding many decisions to smart, automated processes diminish our agency? In answering these questions, we will mainly draw on the work of philosophers, but, on occasion, consider the work of social scientists, and legal scholars.

PHIL 42926 Game Theory Discussion (0 Credit Hours)

Discussion for Game Theory

Corequisites: PHIL 43926

PHIL 43101 Plato (3 Credit Hours)

A detailed and systematic reading, in translation, of the fragments of the pre-Socratics and of the following Platonic dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Protagoras, Phaedo, Republic, Phaedrus, Symposium, and Theaetetus.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43103 Ancient Theories of the Soul (3 Credit Hours)

The aim of the course is to render the students familiar with the most complex theories of the soul that were developed in antiquity and help them to study the validity and the soundness of the arguments developed in favor of them. While ancient philosophy did not yet grasp the radical difference between first-person and third-person approaches to the life of the mind, its attempts to understand the nature of the soul are very rich and at variance with each other. We will gain an overview of the theories of the soul by probably the three greatest ancient philosophers, Plato's, Aristotle's and Augustine's (while we will ignore the materialist conceptions of the Epicureans and the Stoics, Aristotle will teach us much about pre-Socratic notions). We will first read Plato's Phaedo, a dialogue in which Socrates, shortly before his execution, discusses arguments for and against the immortality of the soul. In this context, his theory of the Forms plays a crucial role. We will also have to discuss the difficult hermeneutic question of how Plato’s own opinions can be traced based on those of his dialogue’s interlocutors. For he himself does not appear in the Phaedo or in any of his dialogues. We will spend most of the semester with Aristotle's treatise On the Soul and his so-called Parva naturalia, a collection of short essays dealing with mental phenomena such as sensation, memory, dreaming etc. An important difference between Plato and Aristotle is that the latter develops his philosophical psychology in accordance with his philosophical biology and thus connects the various types and activities of the soul with different organic functions. He furthermore uses basic concepts from his new metaphysics to elucidate the nature of the soul. Finally, we will see how two short treatises by the young Augustine try to combine Platonic ideas with the new Christian beliefs.

PHIL 43129 Chinese Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

A critical introduction to one or more strands of Chinese Philosophy, historical or contemporary. Content varies semester by semester. For information about the current semester, see philosophy.nd.edu/courses/majors-minors-courses/

PHIL 43134 History of Medieval Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

The course offers a survey of medieval philosophical thought from Augustine to William of Ockham, although emphasis will be given to the principal figures of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The development of medieval thought will be treated within the institutional and historical framework of the period, including the reception of Greek and Arabic thought, the educational programs of universities and religious orders, and the role of ecclesiastical censure.

PHIL 43135 St. Anselm's Philosophy/Theology (3 Credit Hours)

An examination of the major philosophical and theological writings of St. Anselm. His Monologion, Proslogion, and Cur Deus Homo will be of central concern, but several lesser known texts will also be read. Topics discussed in these writings include arguments for the existence of God, the divine nature, the Trinity, the Incarnation, freedom (and its compatibility with divine foreknowledge), and truth.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43136 Maimonides (3 Credit Hours)

Students embark on a journey into medieval rabbinic theology through a close study of The Book of Knowledge. This canonical work, composed in twelfth-century Cairo by the Andalusian emigre Moses Maimonides, distills the vast domain of rabbinic theology into a concise legal code. The book treats central topics of religion—divinity, prophecy, cosmology, angelology, moral character, physical regimen, education, idolatry, repentance, and eschatology—in a philosophical vein. Students not only gain access to these central topics in medieval Jewish theology, but also consider the codification of these topics within the evolution of rabbinic thought, and its broader intellectual context within the medieval Islamic world. Maimonides (who was studied by a host of Christian scholastics) is of central importance for students of medieval theology and philosophy, and similarly relevant for students of comparative theology, systematic theology, as well as those researching the cultural history of the medieval Mediterranean. *Course contains a graduated study component to accommodate students learning at the advanced undergraduate level, graduate students, and any developing proficiency in medieval Hebrew.

PHIL 43138 Dante and Aristotle (3 Credit Hours)

In this course, we will be reading Dante's Commedia as well as works by Aristotle and various ancient and medieval philosophers. Our aim will be to understand the way an Aristotelian worldview informs the Commedia. We will look at the cosmology of the work and how it responds to ancient and medieval theories of the cosmos. We will also investigate the ethics of Dante's famous journey to hell, purgatory, and heaven with a view to identifying its Aristotelian elements. For instance, what is the role of pleasure in the ethical life? What is the highest good of the human being? How should human beings live in such a way as to achieve their highest end? All readings will be in translation.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43141 Aquinas on Justice, Pardon, and Mercy (3 Credit Hours)

An examination of Thomas Aquinas' analyses of justice, pardon, and mercy. The course aims at understanding these virtues in Aquinas against the background of classical thought, examining both continuities with ancient Greek and Roman figures, like Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, and Cicero, as well as discontinuities. Central to the course will be delineating the role of compassion if any in the expression of these virtues.

PHIL 43142 Aquinas on the Soul (3 Credit Hours)

Critical introduction to Aquinas's philosophical writings on the soul in the Summa Theologiae and other writings.

PHIL 43149 Aquinas' Philosophical Theology (3 Credit Hours)

A close examination of the philosophical arguments within the first thirteen questions of Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, including arguments about the distinction between philosophy and Sacred Theology, the existence of a god, divine simplicity, divine perfection, divine goodness, divine infinity, divine immutability, divine eternity, divine unity, how God is known by us, and how God is spoken about by us.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43151 Aquinas on Human Nature (3 Credit Hours)

Advanced survey of Aquinas's philosophical writings on human nature, such as The Treatise on Human Nature (Summa Theologiae 1a 75-89), his Commentary on Aristotle's De Anima, and Disputed Questions on the Soul.

PHIL 43170 Hegel (3 Credit Hours)

An intensive reading of Hegel's Phenomonology of the Spirit. Issues discussed will be Hegel's conception of self and society, his treatment of culture, art, and religion, the nature of dialectic, his views on systematic holism and critique, etc.

Prerequisites: ALHN 13950

PHIL 43171 Kierkegaard (3 Credit Hours)

A comprehensive consideration of the major themes in Kierkegaard's thought, including: the relation of art, ethics, and religion to life, knowledge and morality, the nature of subjectivity, what constitutes effective philosophical communication, etc. Main texts vary, but include the following (in whole or in part): Either/Or, Philosophical Fragments, The Concept of Anxiety, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Fear and Trembling, and Sickness unto Death.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43181 Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (3 Credit Hours)

This course is on Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, his attempt to confront our finite minds with reason’s infinite demands. We will examine why Kant thinks reality depends partly on our minds and how this makes possible metaphysical knowledge about the general structure of space, time, quantity, quality, relation, and modality. We will consider why Kant denies such knowledge about the soul, the world, and God, thereby making room for rational faith within ethics and science. We will also ask whether metaphysics can stand as a science separate from physics and mathematics, and what it means to critique reason itself. No prior knowledge of Kant is required. We will read the text closely and discuss it critically, aiming to grasp its main arguments, its architectonic, and its mind-bending ambition.

PHIL 43188 Neoplatonism (3 Credit Hours)

Many of the deepest ideas about God, the mind, the soul, the nature of embodiment, and beauty spring from the highly influential but understudied school of philosophy often referred to as Neoplatonism. Neoplatonists took themselves to be the philosophical heirs of Plato, but also sought to reconcile Plato's doctrines with Aristotle's as well as bring systematicity to Plato's famously unsystematic dialogues. Neoplatonists were system-builders interested in the connections among connecting metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, philosophical anthropology, and natural theology. The course will explore how neoplatonists approach these philosophical sub-disciplines are shaped in light of their foundational principles such as the priority of unity over multiplicity, the priority of intelligibile (mental) being over material being, the inherent link between beauty and desire, and that all caused things act as images or expressions of that which causes them. Much of the Neoplatonic tradition was explicitly and proudly monotheistic, and partly for this reason, was highly influential in the intellectual development of Judiaism, Christianity, and Islam. In fact, Neoplatonic representatives can be found in each of the major monotheistic religions (and course readings will reflect the diversity of religious traditions in which neoplatonic thought flourished).

PHIL 43189 Wagner and Nietzsche (3 Credit Hours)

The topic of this team-taught graduate seminar (crosslisted for qualified advanced undergraduates) will be the thought and work of Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche and their complex relationship. Neither figure needs an introduction: they both exerted extraordinary influence in their respective realms, reaching far into the twentieth century and beyond, and both left legacies that became entangled in some of the worst developments of the past one hundred years. We plan to focus, however, on the works themselves: Wagner's operas, particularly Der Ring des Nibelungen, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal; some of Wagner's musicological and cultural-critical writings, such as Opera and Drama and Religion and Art; Nietzsche's own books, beginning with his very first one, The Birth of Tragedy out of the Spirit of Music (1871), which was inspired by and dedicated to Wagner, and concluding with the scathing denunciation of him in The Case of Wagner, written in 1888, the last frenzied year before Nietzsche's mental breakdown. The course materials will all be in English. We will also offer a one-credit companion reading course on selected texts in the original German, discussing them with particular emphasis on their grammatical and stylistic qualities. This reading is intended to help students who already know some German to develop their capacities and to encourage those who have not yet begun studying German to do so.

PHIL 43190 Islamic Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

An introduction to some of the most important thinkers and issues in the Arabic-Islamic philosophical tradition. Some emphasis will be placed on the high classical period (9th to 12th centuries) (e.g., Ibn Sina [Avicenna], al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd [Averroes]), though we will also cover some significant post-classical, modern, and contemporary thought (e.g., jihad and feminism). Other broad topics to be addressed include the existence and attributes of God, the nature and order of the cosmos (including causality), human nature, the relation between religious revelation and philosophical reasoning, and the proper ethical ordering of human life and of the political state. We will discuss these ideas as they operate within the Islamic world and also how they interact with the Western philosophical tradition.

PHIL 43202 Phenomenology (3 Credit Hours)

An introduction to the arguments and themes of phenomenology, a school of philosophy based on the description of lived experience that had a broad impact on 20th-century philosophy.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43203 Heidegger and his Phenomenological Forebears (3 Credit Hours)

This seminar will provide an overview of the early Heidegger's engagement with Phenomenology, broadly construed. Among figures to be included will be Husserl, Scheler, Jaspers, Cassirer, Carnap.

PHIL 43204 German Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (3 Credit Hours)

An intensive survey of the two main strands of German philosophical thought in the twentieth century: phenomenology and critical theory. Readings from: Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer, Lukács, Benjamin, Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas. Topics include: the future of the idea of subjectivity, the relation of self to society, the role of art in self-understanding, the importance of history to philosophy, and the nature of the philosophical enterprise.

PHIL 43210 Proust and the Philosophers (3 Credit Hours)

Marcel Proust's À la Recherche Du Temps Perdue (In Search of Lost Time) has been called the most important novel of the twentieth century. Previous to its final inception, its author was uncertain of the work's status. "Must I make of it a novel, a philosophical study, am I a novelist?" (Notebook of 1908). Recent research has revealed the extent to which Proust himself was substantially trained in philosophy (for example, the metaphysics of Schopenhauer or the aesthetics of Hegel and Schelling). Perhaps even more significant is the extent of the influence of The Search on philosophers after it. Among others, Proust's work played an essential role in the arguments of Adorno or Benjamin, Merleau-Ponty and Ricoeur, Kristeva and Deleuze, or Nussbaum, Pippin, and Taylor. This seminar will begin by reading extensive parts of this multivolume work in translation and considering the philosophical positions it transforms. We will then examine Proust's influence in a number of areas of philosophy. This in turn will allow us to confront the relationship between philosophy and literature more particularly. Requirements: Midterm, Research Paper, Seminar Presentation.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43224 Merleau-Ponty (3 Credit Hours)

This seminar will involve an extended investigation of Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s treatment of embodied experience in his Phenomenology of Perception. We will also examine his modifications of Husserl and Heidegger’s classical accounts of phenomenology. Further, some time will be spent comparing Merleau-Ponty’s treatment with similar formulations in Sartre’s Being and Nothingness. Finally, in consultation with students’ varying interests, we will discuss subsequent challenges and developments to the account, including Merleau-Ponty‘s own later work.

PHIL 43225 Foucault (3 Credit Hours)

An advanced introduction to the thought of Michel Foucault. Readings and discussions from four works: The Order of Things, Archeology of Knowledge, Discipline and Punish, and the first volume of History of Sexuality. Focus is on the nature of power, transgressive experience, self-transformation, the invention of the concept of the subject, and social ontology.

PHIL 43226 The Philosophy of Edith Stein (3 Credit Hours)

This course will provide an introduction to the philosophy of Edith Stein. Edith Stein was an important member of the phenomenological movement: she was Husserl's first assistant (Heidegger followed after) and wrote important works in this tradition. She was also a scholar of scholastic philosophy. One of her last works is a treatise on systematic metaphysics that integrates insights from phenomenology, neo-Kantianism, and scholastic metaphysics. We'll begin by discussing the general philosophical and contextual background to Edith Stein's early works. We'll then discuss portions of several of her works, ranging from her first book The Problem of Empathy up to Finite and Eternal Being.

PHIL 43227 Foucault and Politics (3 Credit Hours)

The first third of the seminar is devoted to gaining the necessary background to discussing Foucault's lectures at the Collège de France of the late-1970s. The principal background text is Discipline and Punish. We then turn to three, consecutive sets of lectures: Society Must Be Defended (1975-6), Security, Territory, Population (1977-8), and The Birth of Biopolitics (1978-9). The works will be read in English translation and discussion is in English. French is always a plus, however.

PHIL 43228 Recent Continental Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Critical introduction to and examination of recent work in Continental Philosophy

PHIL 43301 Ethical Theory: Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Thought Experiments (3 Credit Hours)

The most significant work in philosophical ethics in recent decades has been carried out as a project of retrieval from the large scale normative theories scattered throughout the history of philosophy. In this course we will examine four of these historically significant bodies of ethical theory. We will do close readings of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Kant's Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Mill's essays on Coleridge and on Bentham, and Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals. These texts will be read in light of some of the contemporary disputes within ethical theory for which they provide a background. Our primary goal, however, will be to understand the texts themselves. The class will be run as a seminar. Students will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the reading for the day. Course requirements will include three short papers (5-7 pages) and a take-home final. There are no specific prerequisites for the course, but students will be expected to have the skills and the motivation to engage critically with challenging philosophical work.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43303 The Stained Imagination: Adventures in Catholic Aesthetics (3 Credit Hours)

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 43304 Ethics of Climate Change (3 Credit Hours)

Critical introduction to the ethics of climate change.

PHIL 43305 History of Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

Advanced survey of significant authors and primary texts in the history of ethics. Specific authors and texts vary by semester. Examples of possible authors include Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Zhuangzi, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, Diderot, Rousseau, Smith, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Bentham, Mill, Anscombe, and Foot.

PHIL 43306 Philosophy of Art and Creativity (3 Credit Hours)

How can we understand the process of artistic creation? What is creative inspiration? Are there rules that govern artistic genius? Is creativity uniquely human, or can a computer be truly creative? Through readings including selections from Aristotle’s Poetics, Kant’s writings on Genius, contemporary literature on human-AI interactions in artistic production, and more, this course examines the intertwined concepts of art and creativity using examples from music, painting, theater, dance, photography, and poetry.

PHIL 43312 Aesthetics (3 Credit Hours)

This is a hybrid lecture/seminar course in which we consider several of the main topics in aesthetics and the philosophy of art: what beauty might be, what makes something a work of art, the nature of aesthetic representation, the nature of artistic expression, the function of criticism in the reception of art, the relation of art to morality and to politics. Readings are approximately divided equally from the history of philosophy and art criticism and more contemporary materials. Both materials from Anglo-American and more European perspectives are considered. Close attention to and analysis of art works (i.e. painting, poetry, film, music) will be undertaken in order to "test" the theories we consider. Readings from: Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Tolstoy, R.G. Collingwood, Nelson Goodman, Richard Wollheim, Arthur Danto, Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin and others.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43313 Philosophy of Music (3 Credit Hours)

What is the nature of music? What is its meaning and value? Is it representational or expressive (or both), and how does it stand in relation to paradigmatically representational art forms such as painting? What role does tonality play in imparting meaning to music? These are some of the questions that we will explore in the course. We will consider various examples, including some drawn from Baroque music and (classically-inspired) jazz. The ability to read music is a prerequisite for this course, and some competence with an instrument will be extremely helpful.

PHIL 43318 Philosophy, Gender & Feminism (3 Credit Hours)

This course will survey a variety of philosophical issues pertaining to gender and feminism. Topics we expect to cover include the metaphysics of gender (e.g., the sex-gender distinction, the nature of masculinity and femininity, gender essentialism vs. gender constructivism); implicit bias and hermeneutic injustice; sexual harassment, violence, and the nature of consent; gender, feminism, and religion; and intersectionality.

Prerequisites: ALHN 13950

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43319 Love Beauty & Objectification (3 Credit Hours)

This class will take an interdisciplinary approach to addressing interconnected issues in feminist philosophy on the topics of love, beauty, and (sexual) objectification. Likely topics include (i) the nature of sexual objectification and its relationship to the phenomenon of dehumanization, (ii) objectifying and non-objectifying modes of "loving" others, with special attention to the role of empathy in this distinction, (iii) the idea that beauty norms function as global ethical ideals, (iv) the idea that norms of feminine bodily comportment are shaped both by the prevalence of sexual objectification and the threat of sexual assault, and (v) some of the consequences of various ways in which these different issues (especially iii and iv) are intertwined.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 43333 Philosophy and Film (3 Credit Hours)

The course will investigate some of the main debates in contemporary philosophical approaches to the aesthetics of film. Of particular concern will be questions that orbit the experience of fictional film. What is the relation between subjective and objective camera shots and point of view? What are points of view in film? What is the difference between fictional narrative film and photography? Theatrical drama? Painting? Other questions posed and discussed: What is the importance of genre to film? What is a genre? Can films be moral or immoral? If so, does that affect our aesthetic experience of film? What is non-narrative film? What is documentary? The class involves both philosophical and film theoretical readings and out-of-class screenings of films to sharpen discussion of the issues.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43335 Metaethics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will deal with a range of core issues in contemporary meta-ethics. Topics covered will include the question of whether our moral judgements truly describe some feature of our decisions, actions and character; the objectivity of moral judgements; whether our ordinary moral judgements might be radically mistaken; and what methods are appropriate for moral inquiry.

Prerequisites: ALHN 13950

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43336 Contemporary Ethics (3 Credit Hours)

This course will begin by considering three challenges to a reason-based morality: 1) It’s all relative, 2) It’s better to be an egoist, 3) Morality is determined by religion not reason. Assuming we can overcome these challenges - if we can’t, we will stop the course right here - but if we can, we will then evaluate three traditional moral perspectives: 1) Kantian morality (It is all about doing your duty), 2) Utilitarian morality (It is all about maximizing utility) and 3) Aristotelian morality (It is all about being virtuous) to see if one of them is better than the others. That accomplished, we will then take up three challenges to a traditional conception of morality: 1) the Feminist challenge (Traditional morality is biased against women), 2) the Environmental challenge (Traditional morality is biased against nonhuman living beings), and 3) the Multicultural challenge (Traditional morality is biased against non-Western cultures). Assuming we think some defensible form of morality survives these challenges (We will take a vote), we will then go on to apply that morality to the solution of the following problems: the Distribution of Income and Wealth, Distant Peoples and Future Generations, Work and Family Responsibilities, Women’s and Men’s Roles, and Institutional Racism with a particular focus on the Ethics of Climate Change. Requirements: Three papers 7-10 pages (2100-3000 words) e-mail comments on all readings, and participation in class discussions.

PHIL 43339 Feminist Food (3 Credit Hours)

The goal of this class is to help students think philosophically about ways in which social structures and norms involving gender, race and class affect our personal decisions about what and how much to eat, contribute to disordered eating, impact the environment and workers in the industries that produce our food, and impinge on a variety of other concerns that have been the focus of feminist theorizing.

PHIL 43400 Democracy & Virtue (3 Credit Hours)

“Democracy & Virtue?” investigates a simple question: Does democracy foster virtue? The class will approach this question, first, through a philosophical investigation of the nature of political regimes, including democratic regimes. This investigation will take place via a careful reading of and discussions about Plato’s Republic. The class will then turn to an examination of America as a modern constitutional democracy. Our primary text for this part of class will be Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. Additional readings from Montesquieu, The Federalist, and Catholic writers will also be introduced. Students should expect to read carefully and deliberately and to participate extensively in class, which will be conducted as a seminar conversation.

PHIL 43401 Rawls and His Critics (3 Credit Hours)

The influence of John Rawls’s work on academic political and moral theorizing, especially on the academic disciplines of political and moral philosophy, would be difficult to overstate. The theoretical ambitions and the clear normative implications of his book A Theory of Justice showed the academy how much could still be accomplished in political philosophy. The book’s systematicity and clarity showed that these accomplishments could be won without loss of rigor. Its obvious connections to Kant and the social contract tradition did much to revive philosophers’ interest in the history of liberal thought. This seminar will begin with a careful study of parts of Rawls’s A Theory of Justice and of some of his later works. Rawls's theory has attracted criticism from a number of quarters. Some of the most interesting criticisms have come from the late Gerald Gaus and his students, who have argued for a quite different and anti-Rawlsian way of reasoning about fundamental political questions, and who have questioned Rawls's focus on what he called a well-ordered society. The latter part of the seminar will be spent reading and assessing some of their criticisms.

PHIL 43403 Philosophy of Law (3 Credit Hours)

An overview of central topics in philosophy of law, followed by consideration of a range of theoretical issues in general criminal law.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43404 Justice Seminar (3 Credit Hours)

An examination of major theories of justice, both ancient and modern. Readings include representatives of liberal theorists of right, such as John Rawls, as well as perfectionist alternatives. The course also serves as the core seminar for the philosophy, politics, and economics concentration.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKIN - Core Integration, WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 43426 Islamic Political Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

A critical survey of thinkers, ideas, and works in Islamic political philosophy.

PHIL 43427 Commercial Society and the Common Good: Classic Texts (3 Credit Hours)

The last three centuries have seen the worldwide rise of Commercial Society and Democracy, creating the distinctively modern culture we now inhabit, and that inhabits us. This distinctive modernity has inspired both celebration and critique, the subjects of this seminar. The seminar emphasizes depth over breadth, exploring with intensity and leisure a very few works of deep cultural significance. The works chosen will vary from semester to semester to reflect faculty and student interests. Possible choices range from economic and social analysis to works of outstanding aesthetic distinction. For fall 2024, the seminar will focus on Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, and Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina.

PHIL 43429 Radical Politics: Socialism and Anarchism (3 Credit Hours)

This seminar treats one line of thought in modern political philosophy that poses a direct challenge from the Left to liberal theories of democracy: anarchism. Issues covered: anti-Statism, the relation of civil society to politics, conceptions of work, theory of property, nature of revolution, and anarchism's view of socialism and communism. Selected readings from: William Godwin, Joseph-Pierre Proudhon, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Gustav Landauer, Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker, and David Graeber.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43431 Politics and Conscience (3 Credit Hours)

Against a backdrop of large-scale society, mass movements, and technological bureaucracy, the invocation of "conscience" recalls the individual human person as a meaningful actor in the political sphere. But what is conscience, and what are its rights and responsibilities? What is it about conscience that ought to command governmental respect? Are there limits to its autonomy? What role should conscience play in questions of war and peace, law-abidingness and civil disobedience, citizenship and political leadership? And how does the notion of conscience relate to concepts of natural law and natural rights, rationality and prudence, religion and toleration? This course engages such questions through readings from the Catholic intellectual tradition (Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas More, Fransisco de Vitoria, Desiderius Erasmus, John Henry Newman, Karol Wojty'a/John Paul II, and Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI) and other writers of the history of ethical-political thought (Cicero, Seneca, John Locke, Mahatma Ghandi, Jan Pato'ka, and Alexandr Solzhenitsyn). We consider also various contemporary reflections on conscience expressed in films, essays, letters, plays, short stories, speeches, and declarations, beginning with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Václav Havel's speech "Politics and Conscience." This class serves as both the capstone course for the interdisciplinary minor Philosophy in the Catholic Tradition and an upper-level elective for Political Science majors and Peace Studies minors. Its format combines lecture and seminar-style discussion.

PHIL 43433 Philosophy of Race (3 Credit Hours)

An exploration of philosophical issues concerning race. Possible topics include the existence and nature of race, the science of race, race as social construct, and various social and policy issues concerning race.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43443 Contemp Political Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

This course will provide a critical evaluation of the most compelling contemporary political perspectives along with their foundations and practical requirements.

PHIL 43444 Metaphysics of Social World (3 Credit Hours)

This class will examine the natures of a wide range of social entities and phenomena. Topics discussed will include the metaphysics of social kinds, including gender, race, and disability; the metaphysics of social groups (like baseball teams and the Beatles) and social entities (like restaurants); and the metaphysics of food. We will end by discussing the metaphysics of collective responsibility.

PHIL 43501 Metaphysics (3 Credit Hours)

An examination of the nature of metaphysics and of those metaphysical issues that have proved central in Western philosophical tradition. Topics discussed will include mind-body problem, freedom of will, universals, substance, time, categories and God.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43503 Philosophy of Action (3 Credit Hours)

An upper level survey of philosophical problems in the philosophy of action or a focused exploration of a particular problem or theme in philosophy of action. Content varies by semester.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43505 The Metaphysics of Time and Time Travel (3 Credit Hours)

Could the type of time travel that you see in movies and read about in books actually happen? In this seminar, students will learn how to think carefully and thoroughly about this and related questions about the metaphysics of time. For example: does time really exist, or is it a mere human construct? Is the present metaphysically privileged in some way, or is the present just like the past and the future? Are pastness, presentness, and futurity objective properties of reality or human projections? Is time like space? Does time actually "pass"? Does time have an intrinsic direction? What must time be like in order for time travel to be possible? Is it possible to go back in time and kill a version of your past self? This seminar will explore central questions about the metaphysics of time and time travel through advanced metaphysics and science fiction.

PHIL 43507 Metaphysics and the Mind-Body Problem (3 Credit Hours)

What is Matter? The seventeenth century mathematician and philosopher René Descartes had an elegant answer to this question: the essence of matter is extension—extension in length, breadth, and depth. And since Descartes also held that the mind is indivisible while everything extended is divisible, the classic mind-body problem was born: How are we to find a place for the mind in a material world? But the material world has changed fundamentally since the seventeenth century, or at least our conception of it has, and we no longer have an elegant answer to the question, "what is matter?" if we have an answer to it at all. This course grapples with the difficulty of understanding the concept of matter (as well as its close relative, the physical) and explores some implications of "the thinning of matter" for our philosophical theorizing about mind and meaning in a post-physical world.

PHIL 43508 The Philosophy of David Lewis (3 Credit Hours)

David Lewis was a very influential philosopher of the late twentieth century, and his work still plays a central role in setting the agenda in areas of philosophy including metaphysics, philosophy of language and philosophy of mind. This course will consist of engaging with over a dozen of Lewis's most influential papers and chapters, together with readings from subsequent philosophers which engage with the arguments Lewis offers. Topics include the nature of the mind, the nature of experience, possibility and necessity, causation, the role of context in language and epistemology, the nature of value, and a reflection on Lewis's philosophical method.

PHIL 43601 Epistemology (3 Credit Hours)

The aim of this class is to provide an understanding of the fundamental issues and positions in the contemporary theory of knowledge.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43602 Belief and Meaning (3 Credit Hours)

Advanced introduction to topics in epistemology and the philosophy of mind related to the nature and rationality of belief and the nature of meaning and intentionality.

PHIL 43605 Pragmatism (3 Credit Hours)

This upper division course will be an introduction to American Pragmatism ranging over the classical texts of Pierce, James and Dewey to the contemporary texts of Putnam and Rorty.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43701 Philosophy of Science (3 Credit Hours)

A detailed consideration of the central methodological and epistemological questions bearing on science.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 43702 Philosophy of Statistics (3 Credit Hours)

This course is an introduction to some of the foundational questions about probability from a "statistics first" point of view. We will begin with an elementary review of statistical inference, hypothesis testing and asymptotics, which will provide a background context for our discussion of why probability is empirically relevant, and what we should think probabilities are (on the basis of being empirically relevant in this way). By way of illustration, we will discuss these philosophical questions about probability in the context of simple examples drawn from physics and economics. The assessment will include several problem sets, a midterm exam and a final exam.

PHIL 43703 Mastering Life: Biology Meets the Physical Sciences (3 Credit Hours)

This course will explore the efforts to reduce biological phenomena to physical explanations in the modern and recent period in the efforts to gain a physical understanding of life. The course will be divided into 5 sections: (1) Early Modern discussions (Harvey, Descartes, Newton); (2) The development of “organic” physics around 1800 (Lavoisier, German biophysics); (3) The debates over mechanism, vitalism and holism in the early 20 th century and the impact of the “new” physics (Loeb, Driesch, Niels Bohr, Schrödinger); (4) the foundations of “molecular” biology (Jacob, Monod, Delbrück, Watson and Crick; systems theory); (5) Toward a “Phenomenology” of Life (Husserl, Hans Jonas, Robert Sokolowski). Students will be asked to complete two take-home midterm examinations and a written final.

PHIL 43704 Science and Social Values (3 Credit Hours)

Science and social values? The established wisdom has it that science offers us the truth about the empirical world - what is rather than what ought to be - and that social values have little to do with it. How else explain the fact that science can be used for both good and ill and that the results of science are (or at least should be) accepted as authoritative by people of widely different ethical and political persuasions? According to this view, in short, science is, or at least ought to be, "value-free" or "value-neutral." In this course we shall explore how recent research in history and sociology as well as philosophy of science has raised serious questions regarding this established wisdom and how such notions as scientific objectivity and autonomy and the role of science in a democratic society has had to be revised accordingly. Since this is a seminar course, students will lead class discussions, present the results of their individual research projects to the group, and have the opportunity to further develop these projects using the feedback from the group. The aim, of course, will be for students to develop fully informed and defensible responses to the controversial terrain we shall be exploring.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43705 Probabilistic Reasoning in Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Probabilistic methods are in use in a number of subfields in philosophy---and the influence of these methods, especially over the last couple of decades or so, appears to be growing. In this course we'll aim to develop a broad-ranging understanding of probabilistic reasoning in philosophy. We'll examine, in particular, how probabilistic methods have recently been applied to tackle some thorny philosophical problems. A self-contained introduction to more formal aspects of probability will be followed by an exploration of how probabilistic methods have been used to address, inter alia, various epistemological puzzles, as well as puzzles in the sciences (such as puzzles related to fine-tuning). (Note that only very minimal background in mathematics and in the sciences will be assumed---the course is indeed designed to be largely self-contained.)

PHIL 43717 Forbidden Knowledge: The Social Construction and Management of Ignorance (3 Credit Hours)

Within the last 10 years historians of science such as Robert Proctor, Londa Schiebinger, Peter Galison, and Naomi Oreskes, have been promoting a new area of enquiry - Proctor calls it agnotology, the study of ignorance - which they suggest is of as much relevance to philosophers and social scientists and others as it is to historians. Indeed, the suggestion is that agnotology offers a new approach to the study of knowledge, an approach at least as complex and important as its more established sister, epistemology. In this course we shall focus especially on socially constructed ignorance - the kind exemplified by governmental secrecy and censorship, or industry-engineered confusion (think of the tobacco industry or the pharmaceutical industry), or the 'virtuous ignorance' that would ensue if certain kinds of research (think of race- and gender-related cognitive differences research) were no longer supported. This will lead us to consider the kinds of freedom of research and other social structures that need to be in place to support the legitimate quest for knowledge, and thence to the recognition that agnotological/epistemological questions are also, ultimately, political questions.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43721 The Science-Gender Connection (3 Credit Hours)

Through much of its history, academia has been gendered in a particular way -male dominated, focused on men's interests, and privileging those interests -and much of it still is. In response, the area of enquiry known as women's studies or gender studies emerged in the 1970s as part of the feminist movement. In this course we will explore gender, the concept that lies at the heart of this area of enquiry. We will find that this concept is as complex and multi-faceted as the diverse disciplines from which it now draws and as political as its feminist origins suggest. We will also find that it is fraught with controversy. Though the disciplines that contribute to the idea of gender comprise nearly all of academia, we will concentrate on the sciences, from which the concept of gender first emerged. We will start with the gendered origins of the concept - the gender of science - and then proceed to the science that developed as a result - the science of gender; and we will conclude with some questions concerning the connection between the two - the gender of science and the science of gender. No particular scientific background will be presupposed, and visits from science faculty will be organized to help us understand the terrain we will be covering. The rest of the time the course will be run as a seminar. Students will lead class discussions, present the results of individual research projects to the group, and have the opportunity to further develop those projects using feedback from the group. Throughout, our aim will be for each student to develop a fully informed and defensible response to the controversial terrain we will be exploring.

Prerequisites: ALHN 13950 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43722 Ethics and Policy in Technology Management (3 Credit Hours)

New technologies reshape our lives and our world at an ever-accelerating pace, often for the better, but sometimes for the worse. Anxiety grows ever more acute that we have passed a tipping point beyond which intentional, human control of technology development is impossible. But we must assert such control as we can. An emerging body of philosophical literature proposes different mechanisms for doing that. Starting from deep philosophical reflection on the nature of technology, itself, and the manner of its social and cultural embedding, this literature moves on to assay the many urgent ethical questions posed by such technologies as synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, robots, autonomous systems, and nano-scale engineering. Contributors to this literature often conclude with proposed, general policy-making frameworks and specific policy advice. This course will survey the most important such literature. The course is designed for advanced undergraduates and selected graduate students. It assumes no specific background, beyond a good undergraduate preparation in philosophy, with, perhaps, some focus on ethics and some ability to digest a modest amount of technical information.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43724 Technology and Human Persons (3 Credit Hours)

Technological innovation often outpaces critical reflection. In this upper-level seminar, we will explore a variety of metaphysical and ethical issues raised by some of these more recent innovations. Although the underlying questions are not novel, developments in artificial intelligence, bio-engineering, robotics, virtual worlds, and social media have raised important philosophical questions about the nature and value of human persons and social structures. In this course, we will explore accounts of persons and values and see how they apply to current debates surrounding some of these newer digital technologies. We will also look at how technological developments might, in turn, shed light on traditional philosophical questions about persons and values (e.g. computational theories of mind and rational choice theory). We will also explore the arguments of some prominent anti-technology movements. Towards the end of the semester, we will turn to very concrete cases, such as social media usage, digital distraction, and privacy issues, to consider how we might apply some of our philosophical conclusions to our everyday practices. This is a majors-level philosophy seminar. Before taking this course, students must have completed a minimum of two other philosophy courses, including PHIL 30302. Class expectations include regular contributions to discussion, outside class exercises, several shorter writing assignments throughout the term, and a longer, research-based seminar paper.

PHIL 43725 Philosophy of Cosmology (3 Credit Hours)

This course will explore the philosophical bases of modern physics and cosmology

PHIL 43726 Mathematics in Science (3 Credit Hours)

This course will provide an advanced survey of current work on the role of mathematics in scientific theories and practice and associated philosophical questions.

PHIL 43801 Joint Seminar in Philosophy and Theology (3 Credit Hours)

Knowing is central to Thomas Aquinas’s thought. It not only serves to differentiate human beings from other material beings but renders humans members of a community of intellectual beings who are all ordered to a participation in divine knowing. This course explores cases of extraordinary knowing in Aquinas. After studying the groundwork that Aquinas lays in his broader theory of Divine, angelic, and human knowledge, we will examine special cases such as that of Adam, Christ, the separated soul, prophets, rapture, faith, and the beatific vision.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43803 Religious Epistemology (3 Credit Hours)

Should you believe in God? Are the arguments/evidence for God any good? And what would it take for belief (or faith) in God to be reasonable? Can we know God exists? This course will have two main parts. First, we'll explore some of the evidence and arguments bearing on (particular forms of) theism, evaluating their probative force. In this part of the class, we'll talk about, e.g., religious or mystical experiences and the problem of evil. In the second part of the class, we'll explore questions about what would need to be true in order for us to have epistemically proper faith or belief in God. We'll talk about, e.g., the nature of faith, intellectual virtue, and externalism in the theory of knowledge.

PHIL 43806 Aquinas on God (3 Credit Hours)

A close reading of the first 43 questions of the first book of the Summa Theologiae. These questions, which deal both with the divine essence and with the three divine persons, provide a comprehensive survey of St. Thomas's Metaphysics.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

PHIL 43821 Codifying Jewish Theology in the Medieval Islamic World (3 Credit Hours)

This course provides an introduction to medieval rabbinic theology through the close study of The Book of Knowledge, a canonical work that defines the curriculum of Jewish thought. This foremost work, composed in twelfth-century Cairo by the Andalusian emigre Moses Maimonides, distills the vast domain of rabbinic theology into a concise legal code. The book treats central topics of religion - divinity, prophecy, cosmology, angelology, character formation, education, idolatry, and repentance (among others) - in a philosophical vein. Students will not only gain access to these central topics in medieval Jewish theology, but also study Maimonides's codification of these topics within the evolution of rabbinic thought, and its broader intellectual context within the medieval Islamic world. Maimonides (who was studied by a host of Christian scholastics) is of central importance for students of medieval theology and philosophy, and similarly relevant for students of comparative theology, systematic theology, as well as those researching the cultural history of the medieval Mediterranean.

PHIL 43901 Philosophy of Mind (3 Credit Hours)

Dualist and reductionist emphases in recent analyses of mind. Topics covered will include identity of mind and body, intentionality, actions and their explanation and problems about other minds.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43902 Philosophy of Language (3 Credit Hours)

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the field. Major topics include the relation between truth and meaning; truth-conditional semantics; the meaning of sentences, proper names, definite descriptions, general terms and indexicals; the relations between expressing a belief, making a statement, and uttering a sentence.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43903 Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence (3 Credit Hours)

This course examines a range of metaphysical, ethical, and social questions about artificial intelligence. Questions to be addressed include: Could a computer be conscious? Is there anything the human mind can do that a machine couldn't be programmed to do? What are the similarities and differences between human and artificial intelligence? What are the likely cultural and economic effects of AI? What moral principles should guide our use of AI? Is it likely that we'll create AGI (artificial general intelligence), and would this pose an existential threat to humanity?

PHIL 43905 Topics in Philosophy and Logic (3 Credit Hours)

Prerequisite: PHIL 30313 Formal Logic This course is an introduction to various philosophical issues that have motivated work in non-classical logic. Topics may include truth, falsity, necessity, moral obligation, "future contingents" (e.g., it will be true that you take this course), negated existence claims (e.g., it's false that Mickey Mouse exists), and more. We will discuss both the philosophical ideas and the target logical frameworks, focusing on how to construct your own "logic" for philosophically perplexing phenomena.

PHIL 43906 Philosophy of Mathematics (3 Credit Hours)

A survey of central issues in the philosophy of mathematics.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30301 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30302 (may be taken concurrently) or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43907 Intermediate Logic (3 Credit Hours)

This course is an introduction to the metatheory of first-order logic, the central system of logic for both philosophical and mathematical purposes. We begin with the basics of set theory, and then move on to first-order logic proper, covering the completeness theorem and associated results. This material is essential for those who want to understand elementary philosophical debates about the use and the significance of logic, the history of logic, and the connection between languages and models. Prerequisite: for graduate students: Formal logic or equivalent; contact the professor if you are unsure about your preparation. Prerequisite for undergrads: Philosophy or philosophy-associated major or minor + formal logic or instructor approval.

Prerequisites: PHIL 30313 or MATH 10130

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKQR- Core Quantitat Reasoning

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43910 Philosophy of Set Theory (3 Credit Hours)

This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts and results of mathematical logic and set theory.

PHIL 43911 Truth: Its Nature (3 Credit Hours)

Advanced introduction to the philosophical investigation of the nature of truth.

PHIL 43913 Modal Logic (3 Credit Hours)

This course covers topics in the metatheory of modal logic. We will start with some basic correspondence theory, and then move on to discuss completeness and the finite model property. If we have time, we'll also cover some recent work on the relationship between modal logic and classical logic.

Prerequisites: MATH 10130 or PHIL 30313 (may be taken concurrently)

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43922 Topics in Mathematical Logic (3 Credit Hours)

Mathematical proofs are the cornerstone of truth. Proofs verify medical devices and spacecraft work properly. They help establish guilt or innocence. The theme of this class is to explore the notion of proof with certain logical systems with the motivation of understanding mathematical proofs or reasoning. We will study proofs in extended syllogistic logics, propositional logic, other logical systems close to natural language, and first-order logic. We will show some of these systems are complete (every true statement is provable) and decidable (there is an algorithm for deciding truth) and others are not. We will explore what this means. Along the way we will hopefully learn more about how people reason.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43923 Infinity in Philosophy (3 Credit Hours)

Thinking about infinity has been part of philosophy since its earliest days, and mathematical advances in the theory of infinity mean it remains an important area for philosophy today. This course will examine some ancient and early modern puzzles about infinity as well as contemporary philosophical issues. Issues to be discussed will include puzzles about infinite divisibility of space and time; paradoxes of infinite decision theory; infinite regress arguments; and paradoxes associated with the "absolute infinite" in mathematics.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43924 Gödel's Theory (3 Credit Hours)

This course looks at some of the famous incompleteness and undecidability results from the first half of the twentieth century. We'll start by discussing the notion of computability and then use this notion to examine the limitations of (even ideal) computers. We'll then move on to look at Goedel's first and second incompleteness theorems, the undecidability of arithmetic and of second-order logic, and the undefinability of truth. Finally, if there's time, we will discuss some of the technical and philosophical ramifications of this material.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Philosophy, Philosophy or Philosophy and Theology.

PHIL 43926 Game Theory (3 Credit Hours)

This course will discuss how to analyze and evaluate strategic decision making.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy

PHIL 43927 Truth, Paradox, and Logic (3 Credit Hours)

This course will provide a leisurely but rigorous-enough walk through issues at the intersection of the topics of truth, paradox, and logic. PHIL 30313 or equivalent required.

PHIL 43928 Self and Identity (3 Credit Hours)

This course explores advanced questions related to selfhood and personality identity. Course focus varies by semester. Information on a specific semester can be found at philosophy.nd.edu/courses/majors-minors-courses/

PHIL 43929 Decision Theory (3 Credit Hours)

A critical examination of current work being done in decision theory, analyzing the rational structure of agents' choices.

PHIL 46497 Directed Readings (1-10 Credit Hours)

With consent of instructor and approval of department, advanced students are permitted to take a tutorial with a faculty member. Readings will be assigned in a particular area and writing assignments required.

Course may be repeated.

PHIL 46498 Directed Readings (1-10 Credit Hours)

Course may be repeated.

PHIL 48499 Senior Thesis (3 Credit Hours)

An opportunity for senior philosophy majors to work on a sustained piece of research in a one-to- one relationship with a faculty member.

Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WRIT - Writing Intensive

Course may be repeated.