SPRING 2021 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
>PHL 100
Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191 (Honors Introduction to Philosophy).
- (FA) PHL 100.001 – TR 9:30am-10:45am, Dr. Timothy Butzer
(FA) PHL 100.002 – TR 11:00am-12:15pm, Dr. Timothy Butzer
(HY) PHL 100.003 – MWF 11:00am-11:50am, Dr. Adam Arico
(HY) PHL 100.004 – MWF 2:00pm-2:50pm, Dr. Adam Arico
(HY) PHL 100.005 – TR 2:00pm-3:15pm, Dr. Mark Pickering
(HY) PHL 100.006 – TR 3:30pm-4:45pm, Dr. Mark Pickering
PHL 100.001 & 100.002 Course Description: This course will be an introduction to a series of philosophical puzzles. We will ask questions like: does God exist? If God does exist, why does God allow us to suffer? Can we be certain of anything? Can we trust our senses? Can we exist beyond the death of our physical body? While we may not find definite answers to any of these questions, we will be discussing some of the most influential positions and arguments about these questions that have been offered in the history of Western Philosophy.
PHL 100.003 & 100.004 Course Description: Survey of the main areas of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. Topics of discussion often include reality, truth and knowledge, the mind, free will, personal identity, and the nature of right and wrong. Offered in the fall and spring semesters.
PHL 100.005 & 100.006 Course Description: In this course, you will learn about what philosophy is and how philosophers apply logic to philosophical problems. You will explore a variety of areas, including philosophy of religion, theories of knowledge, philosophy of mind, personal identity, freedom of the will, and ethics.
Prerequisites: None
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
>PHL 100.900(M) & 901(D) – Dr. Torin Alter
Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191(Honors Introduction to Philosophy).
- (IN) PHL 100.900 – ONLINE (Main Campus)
(IN) PHL 100.901 – ONLINE (Distance Learning)
Course Description: This course introduces students to the basic concepts, methods, and problems of philosophy. Students will learn about philosophical approaches to issues such as the existence or nonexistence of God, the relationship between the mind and body, the freedom of the will, and the nature of right and wrong.
Prerequisites: None.
Requirements: Seven module exams, comprehensive final. All work done on-line.
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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CRITICAL THINKING
>PHL 104 – Dr. Adam Arico
- (AV) PHL 104.001 – MWF 1:00pm-1:50pm, Dr. Adam Arico
Course Description: Thinking critically does not come naturally to most of us; in fact, it is often contrary to our natural inclinations. In this course, we begin by looking at how human cognition typically operates, and why our psychology can often interfere with rational, critical thought. We will explore the basic features of human learning, memory, and reasoning, including common predispositions that often lead us to draw faulty conclusions, to arrive at mistaken judgments, and to make bad decisions.
Having identified some of the obstacles to and difficulties in behaving rationally and thinking critically, we will move on to the larger goal of the course: to better understand the structure of arguments and know how to critically assess them. This portion of the course will cover both inductive and deductive reasoning, as well as basic features of arguments, and will instruct you in identifying major fallacies, including ad hominem arguments, straw man arguments, appeal to irrelevant reasons, false dilemmas, etc. (see schedule for class meetings for more topics to be covered). Acquiring these skills will help you both better assess others’ arguments and better construct your own.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements (tentative): (a) three in-class exams; (b) homework and writing assignments (d) a course participation grade. Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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HONORS PHILOSOPHICAL INTRODUCTION TO DEDUCTIVE LOGIC
>PHL 106.001 – Dr. Torin Alter
- (AV) PHL 106.001 – MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Dr. Torin Alter
Course Description: What is the difference between a good argument and a bad one? This course focuses on tools developed by philosophers and mathematicians for answering that question. In it, you will learn to use analytical methods such as the construction of proofs and countermodels to evaluate arguments. Along the way, you will explore and analyze influential arguments from the history of philosophy, including some concerning questions of value, ethics, and aesthetics. Philosophical arguments examined in this course may include Aquinas’s arguments for the existence of God, Parmenidean arguments that change is impossible, Berkeley’s argument for idealism, Descartes’ Cogito argument, John Stuart Mill’s “proof” of Utilitarianism, Kant’s argument for the Categorical Imperative, Singer’s argument for animal rights, the Stoics’ argument that death is not to be feared, and more. The formal tools used in this class include the notation of sentential and predicate logic (with identity), truth tables, a natural deduction proof system, and the use of semantic countermodels.
Prerequisite: C- or better in MATH 100, or equivalent. Admission to UA Honors or a 28 ACT.
Requirements: The course is divided into seven modules, and students grades are determined primarily by how many modules they master by the end of the term.
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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PHILOSOPHICAL INTRODUCTION TO DEDUCTIVE LOGIC
>PHL 195 – Dr. Torin Alter
- (AV) PHL 195.001 – MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Dr. Torin Alter
Course Description: What is the difference between a good argument and a bad one? This course focuses on tools developed by philosophers and mathematicians for answering that question. In it, you will learn to use analytical methods such as the construction of proofs and countermodels to evaluate arguments. Along the way, you will explore and analyze influential arguments from the history of philosophy, including some concerning questions of value, ethics, and aesthetics. Philosophical arguments examined in this course may include Aquinas’s arguments for the existence of God, Parmenidean arguments that change is impossible, Berkeley’s argument for idealism, Descartes’ Cogito argument, John Stuart Mill’s “proof” of Utilitarianism, Kant’s argument for the Categorical Imperative, Singer’s argument for animal rights, the Stoics’ argument that death is not to be feared, and more. The formal tools used in this class include the notation of sentential and predicate logic, truth tables, a natural deduction proofsystem, and the use of semantic countermodels.
Prerequisite: C- or better in MATH 100, or equivalent.
Requirements: The course is divided into six modules, and students grades are determined primarily by how many modules they master by the end of the term.
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
>PHL 195.900(D)/901(M) – Dr. Chase Wrenn
- (IN) PHL 195.900 – ONLINE (MAIN CAMPUS), Dr. Chase Wrenn
(IN) PHL 195.901 – ONLINE (DISTANCE LEARNING), Dr. Chase Wrenn
Course Description: What is the difference between a good argument and a bad one? This course focuses on tools developed by philosophers and mathematicians for answering that question. In it, you will learn to use analytical methods such as the construction of proofs and countermodels to evaluate arguments. Along the way, you will explore and analyze influential arguments from the history of philosophy, including some concerning questions of value, ethics, and aesthetics.
Philosophical arguments examined in this course may include Aquinas’s arguments for the existence of God, Parmenidean arguments that change is impossible, Berkeley’s argument for idealism, Descartes’ Cogito argument, John Stuart Mill’s “proof” of Utilitarianism, Kant’s argument for the Categorical Imperative, Singer’s argument for animal rights, the Stoics’ argument that death is not to be feared, and more.
The formal tools used in this class include the notation of sentential and predicate logic, truth tables, a natural deduction proof system, and the use of semantic countermodels.
Prerequisite: C- or better in MATH 100, or equivalent.
Requirements: This course is self-paced. The course is divided into six modules, and students grades are determined primarily by how many modules they master by the end of the term.
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
>PHL 212 – Dr. Seth Bordner
- (HY) PHL 212.001 – MWF 9:00am-9:50am, Dr. Seth Bordner
Course Description: This course will look at the main figures and intellectual developments of the early Modern period of philosophy. We will proceed chronologically, starting with Descartes’s seminal Meditations on First Philosophy and tracing two very different branches of influence from there to what are often called the Rationalist and Empiricist schools. Other figures of note will be Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements: There will be three exams throughout the course; two mid-term exams and one final exam
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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HONORS INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
>PHL 221.001 – DR. STUART RACHELS
Open to Honors students only. Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 292 (Introduction to Ethics).
- (HY) PHL 221.001 – MWF 11:00am-11:50am, Dr. Stuart Rachels
Course Description: This course will focus on a dozen or so matters of personal and social importance. Topics include abortion, pornography, famine relief, affirmative action, gay rights, and the death penalty. We will concentrate on the reasons that bear on these issues. Our approach to these issues will serve as a model for critical thinking in general. Our texts will be The Elements of Moral Philosophy (9th ed.) and The Right Thing to Do (8th edition)
Prerequisites: None.
Requirements: Grades will be based on four exams. Attendance will be taken each class, and an attendance policy will be enforced.
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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MEDICAL ETHICS
>PHL 223.001 – Dr. Stuart Rachels
- (HY) PHL 223.001 – MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Dr. Stuart Rachels
Course Description: This course is an introduction to some of the ethical issues involved in medicine. Topics include: physician-assisted dying; the allocation of organs and other scarce resources; abortion; stem cell research; and patient autonomy. Our main text will be Lewis Vaughn, Bioethics: Principles, Issues, and Cases (4th ed.) (Oxford University Press, 2020).
Prerequisites: None
Requirements: There will be three exams. Students will be required to attend every class meeting.
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
>PHL 223.900(M)/901(D) – Dr. Timothy Butzer (online)
- PHL 223.900 – ONLINE (MAIN CAMPUS)
PHL 223.901 – ONLINE (DISTANCE LEARNING)
Course Description: This class provides an introduction to the philosophical study of applied ethics by way of a discussion of topics related to the practice of medical and biological science. Topics of discussion will include abortion, stem cell research, cloning, the allocation of scarce or limited resources, animal experimentation, and patient autonomy, among others. Along the way, other important topics in moral philosophy will be discussed.
Prerequisites: None
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
>PHL 230
- (AV) PHL 230.001 – TR 9:30am-10:45am, Dr. Rekha Nath
(AV) PHL 230.002 – TR 11:00am-12:15pm, Dr. Rekha Nath
(FA) PHL 230.003 – MWF 8:00am-8:50am, Dr. Luke Hunt
Course description This course serves as an introduction to central debates in political philosophy. The major questions we explore are the following: How can the coercive authority the government exercises over its citizens be justified? What does justice require in our society today? What role do democracy, freedom, rights and equality play in our understanding of a just society? Through the study of both historical and contemporary texts, we investigate these topics. We also consider how these issues bear upon debates in the contemporary American context concerning the following: restrictions on free speech, participation in the democratic process, homelessness, education and socioeconomic inequality.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements (tentative): Exams and homework
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT
>PHL 256 – Dr. Seth Bordner
- (HY) PHL 256.001 – MWF 11:00am-11:50am, Dr. Seth Bordner
Course Description: This course will examine some of the major themes in the burgeoning field of philosophy of sport, paying special attention to a number of important ethical issues. We will look at the nature of sports (and games more generally), sportsmanship and fairness, the role of officials, gender equity, racism, and issues surrounding the use of performance-enhancing drugs. This course is reading intensive. Prior exposure to philosophy is welcome but not required.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements (tentative): Exams and class participation
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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MIND AND NATURE
>PHL 260 – Dr. Chase Wrenn
- (AV) PHL 260.001 – MWF 11:00am-11:50am, Dr. Chase Wrenn
Course Description: Though studied for millennia, consciousness remains a mystery. In this course, we take a critical look at philosophical and scientific attempts to account for the mind and consciousness, giving an emphasis to cognitive neuroscientific approaches. Among the topics covered are the mind-body problem, consciousness research in psychology, and contemporary theories of consciousness. The course starts by tracing the arc of both philosophical and scientific approaches to studying the mind, and culminates with an examination of how these two approaches have recently become entwined in present-day studies of consciousness.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements: TBA
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
This course is part of the Mind – Brain concentration and Philosophy and Medicine specializations.
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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
>PHL 292
Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 221 (Honors Introduction to Ethics).
- (FA) PHL 292.001 – MWF 2:00pm-2:50pm, Dr. Stuart Rachels
(FA) PHL 292.002 – MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Dr. Seth Bordner
(FA) PHL 292.003 – TR 8:00am-9:15am, Dr. Holly Kantin
(HY) PHL 292.004 – TR 12:30pm-1:45pm, Dr. Stephen Davey
(FA) PHL 292.005 – TR 3:30pm-4:45pm, Dr. Stephen Davey
Course Description: This course is designed to give the students a broad introduction to the field of philosophical ethics. The primary aim is to acquaint students with the basic subject matter of ethics as it is studied within philosophy, a few central authorities and positions, and a feel for how philosophers engage with contemporary ethical issues in light of some of the historical influences on the discipline. We will read a variety of texts ranging from historical works on ethics generally to contemporary works focusing on specific moral issues. The hope is that students will develop an understanding and appreciation of how different ethical theories apply to particular cases, and how they might begin to engage in genuine ethical debates.
*PHL 292.001 Course Description: This course will focus on a dozen or so matters of personal and social importance. Topics include abortion, pornography, famine relief, affirmative action, gay rights, and the death penalty. We will concentrate on the reasons that bear on these issues. Our approach to these issues will serve as a model for critical thinking in general. Our texts will be The Elements of Moral Philosophy (9th ed.) and The Right Thing to Do (8th edition). This course is not limited to honors students but students cannot have previously taken PHL 221.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements: There will be three exams throughout the course; two mid-term exams and one final exam. In addition, there will be periodic, unannounced quizzes given in class to test your comprehension of the readings. These quizzes will be graded on a High Pass/Low Pass/Fail scale.
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation. This course is included in the Jurisprudence and Philosophy and Medicine specializations.
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BUSINESS ETHICS
>PHL 294.001 – Dr. Stephen Davey
- (HY) PHL 294.001 – TR 2:00pm-3:15pm, Dr. Stephen Davey
Course Description: “Doing business” is something that permeates much of our lives. As customers, as members of a community, as employees, and perhaps as employers and regulators, we constantly stand in business-relevant relations to others for which it is important to ask, “Am I doing this well?” In this course, we will learn about the major theories in normative ethics, and consider how each might be brought to bear on a variety of moral questions that we must answer in the course of doing business. We will evaluate in turn the moral relationships between the company and its (i) consumers, (ii) employees, and (iii) community. Topics will include: fiduciary duties to shareholders, corporate social responsibility, deception and manipulation in advertising, the limits of markets, consumer privacy and data security, at-will employment, fair hiring practices and fair pay, the importance of meaningful work, sweat shop labor, representation in advertising, and corporate political activity.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements:
Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.
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LAW AND MORALITY
>PHL 341.001 – Dr. Luke Hunt
- (HY) PHL 341.001 – MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Dr. Luke Hunt
Course Description: This course explores the philosophical underpinnings of four fundamental areas in the law school curriculum: Contract, Property, Tort, and Criminal Law. Landmark cases from each area will be examined, focusing upon philosophical analysis and moral evaluation of the law. Course readings will consist primarily of legal case opinions.
Prerequisite(s): One prior PHL class with a B or better.
Requirements: Writing proficiency within this discipline is required for a passing grade in this course.
Core Curriculum: This course carries a W designation.
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LEGAL REASONING
>PHL 349.001 – Dr. Mark Pickering
- (HY) PHL 349.001 – TR 11:00am-12:15pm, Dr. Mark Pickering
Course Description: This course covers the kind of reasoning peculiar to the law from a philosophical perspective. Understanding legal reasoning is important not only to aspiring lawyers, but also to anyone wishing to understand, evaluate, and challenge the claims lawyers, judges, and legislators make. Topics may include rules, precedent, authority, analogy, the common law, legal realism, statutory interpretation, judicial opinions, and burdens of proof.
Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of one PHL class with at least a B.
Requirements:
Core Curriculum:
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EPISTEMOLOGY
>PHL 370.001 – Dr. Chase Wrenn
- (HY) PHL 370.001 – MWF 1:00pm-1:50pm, Dr. Chase Wrenn
Course Description: This course surveys issues in the philosophical study of knowledge. Typical questions addressed include: What is the nature of knowledge? What are the limits of what we can know? When is a belief justified? What can science tell us about the nature of knowledge or rational thought? This semester, we’ll pay special attention to problems about knowledge, rationality, justice and virtue. We’ll consider the moral implications of the ways we rely on one another for information, and we’ll consider how matters of justice are involved in deciding whom to trust. Must have taken Introduction to Deductive Logic (PHL 195 or PHL 106) and one other philosophy course, or have instructor’s permission.
Prerequisite(s): PHL 195 or PHL 106 and one other philosophy course, or have instructor’s permission.
Requirements: Writing proficiency within this discipline is required for a passing grade in this course.
Core Curriculum: This course carries a W designation.
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SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHL (WRITING INTENSIVE) UNCERTAIN REASONING
>PHL 392.001 – Dr. Ted Poston
- (HY) PHL 392.001 – TR 2:00pm-3:15pm, Dr. Ted Poston
Course Description: Uncertainty is a fundamental—and unavoidable—feature of daily life. Agents must reason and act in an uncertain world. In order to do so intelligently, they need to deal with and reason about this uncertainty. This course discusses modeling and reasoning about uncertainty, going from purely qualitative notions (an event is either possible or it is not) to quantitative notions such as probability (an event has probability .8), with some consideration of in-between notions of plausibility (such as Dempster-Shafer belief functions, possibility measures, and ranking functions). We consider various logics of reasoning about uncertainty, both propositional and first-order, and discuss the subtleties they reveal. Finally, we discuss how our approaches give us tools to understand and analyze central problems in the literature, including nonmonotonic reasoning, belief change, counterfactual reasoning, and problems of statistical inference, particularly that of going from statistical information to degrees of belief. Although many of the examples will be drawn from the AI literature, the material is also relevant to distributed systems, philosophy, statistics, and game theory; I will try to make connections to work in all these areas.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements:
Core Curriculum: This course carries a W designation.
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NEUROETHICS
PHL 422.001 – Dr. Benjamin Kozuch
- (HY) PHL 422.001 – R 7:00pm-9:30pm, Dr. Benjamin Kozuch
Course Description: Due to advances in psychopharmacology and brain imaging, scenarios resembling those of science fiction may soon be upon us: Medications that enhance our memory, cognitive abilities, or happiness could be widely available in the near future, and advances in neuroimaging promise to allow the detection of lying, mental illness, or even level of intelligence. Technologies like these bring a host of ethical questions in their wake, ones pertaining to privacy, justice, and authenticity to self. Issues such as these are what compose the field of Neuroethics, and will be what we look at in this class. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.
Prerequisites: At least two prior philosophy courses, though the instructor waives this requirement under certain circumstances.
Requirements:
Core Curriculum: This course carries a W designation.
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SEMINAR IN MEDICAL ETHICS
>PHL 423.001 – Dr. Holly Kantin
- (HY) PHL 423.001 – TR 9:30am-10:45am, Dr. Holly Kantin
Course Description: This writing intensive course provides an in-depth examination of some of the central ethical issues encountered by physicians and other medical professionals. Students will acquire breadth in the field of medical ethics as well as engage in an in-depth examination of specific issues. Possible topics include: the prescription opioid epidemic, the physician-patient relationship, the role of physicians and other medical professionals, end-of-life decision-making (e.g., advance directives, do not resuscitate orders, palliative care, the definition of death), beginning of life decision-making (e.g., the ethics of abortion, genetic counseling, prenatal screening), and the ethics of clinical research.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements:
Core Curriculum: This course carries a W designation.
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PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICINE
>PHL 489.001–Dr. Richard Richards
- (HY) PHL 489.001 – MW 3:00pm-4:15pm, Dr. Richard Richards
Course Description: It is difficult to overstate the significance of medicine, in that it affects each of us from birth through death; or the complexity of medicine, in that it involves scientific, conceptual, economic, ethical and philosophical issues. We will here look at some of these issues from a philosophical standpoint: 1) the ways that we conceptualize health and disease and why that matters; 2) the patterns of reasoning associated with medical thinking, including evidence base medicine and consensus conferences; 3) the challenge posed by evolution to how we think about medicine, health and disease. 4) We will also look at some of the philosophical issues raised by the COVID pandemic, including the use of epidemiological models in public policy. Writing proficiency within this discipline is required for a passing grade in this course.
Prerequisites: None
Requirements: There will be reaction notes, two 5-7 page papers, a midterm exam and a final exam, each worth 20% of the final grade. Writing proficiency within this discipline is required for a passing grade.
Core Curriculum: This course carries a W designation.