Fall 2018 Course Descriptions

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PHL 100.002 & 003 Introduction to Philosophy

DR. CHRISTOPHER NICHOLSON

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191 (Honors Introduction to Philosophy).

The course offers an introduction to philosophical methodology by way of studying several classic philosophical problems. The problems to be studied will likely include the following: (1) should we be anarchists? Or is there justification for government rule? If so, what type of government is justified? (2) Are there objective facts about right and wrong, or is the moral status of homosexuality or abortion merely a matter of opinion? If there are objective moral facts, then what makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? (3) Do you have free will, or are your actions all causally determined by your genetic predisposition, biochemistry, and various environmental stimuli? (4) What sort of conscious being are you? Are you a nonphysical substance that inhabits your body? Are you instead identical with your brain? (5) Is there compelling evidence that God exists? Or, does the existence of evil imply that God does not exist?

Prerequisites: None

Requirements (tentative): Four examinations.

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 100.005 & 006 Introduction to Philosophy

STAFF

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191 (Honors Introduction to Philosophy).

Prerequisites: None Requirements (tentative): Four examinations.

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 100.007 Introduction to Philosophy

DR. TIMOTHY BUTZER

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191(Honors Introduction to Philosophy).

In this course, you will learn about what philosophy is and how philosophers apply the tools of logic and reason to philosophical problems. We will explore a variety of issues, including (but not limited to) the question of God’s existence, the relationship between mind and body, and skepticism about the external world.

Prerequisites: None.

Course Requirements (tentative): attendance , pop quizzes, and four exams

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 100.008, 009, & 010 Introduction to Philosophy

DR. TRIG JOHNSON

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191(Honors Introduction to Philosophy) and is open only to freshmen and sophomores.

In this course, you will learn about what philosophy is and how philosophers apply the tools of logic and reason to Philosophical problems. You will explore a variety of issues, including (but not limited to) the question of God’s existence, the relationship between mind and body, and the nature of right and wrong.

Prerequisites: None.

Requirements (tentative): four exams

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 100.011 Introduction to Philosophy

DR. TORIN ALTER

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191(Honors Introduction to Philosophy) and is open only to freshmen and sophomores.

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 (tentative): ): Seven module exams, comprehensive final, regular in-class exercises. Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation. PHL 100.900 & 990 – DR. TORIN ALTER Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 191(Honors Introduction to Philosophy). 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 is done online.

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 104.002 Critical Thinking

DR. ADAM ARICO

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.

This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 106.001 Honors Philosophical Introduction to Deductive Logic

DR. CHASE WRENN

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: This course is self-paced, but regular class attendance is required until you have completed all the course work. 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.

PHL 195.001 Philosophical Introduction to Deductive Logic

DR. CHASE WRENN

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, but regular class attendance is required until you have completed all the course work. 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 Philosophical Introduction to Deductive Logic

DR. CHASE WRENN

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.

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 211.001 Ancient Philosophy

DR. S. SETH BORDNER

This course will focus on the major themes of ancient Greek philosophy, from the earliest pre-Socratic philosophers, through Plato and Aristotle, to the later Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics. We will proceed chronologically and pay special attention to the systematic connections between metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics in each school of thought, as well as the development of later views in light of criticisms of earlier ones. The aim of this course is to provide students a reasonably comprehensive introduction to the main areas of Western analytic philosophy through an examination of some of the earliest systematic philosophies.

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.

PHL 221.001 Honors Introduction to Ethics

DR. STUART RACHELS

Open to Honors students only. Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 292 (Introduction to Ethics).

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’ll concentrate on the reasons that bear on these issues. Our approach to these issues will serve as a model for critical thinking in general.

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.

PHL 223.001 Medical Ethics

DR. STUART RACHELS

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 (Oxford University Press, 2013).

Schedule: This is a large lecture course that meets three days per week.

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 243.001 Philosophical Issues in Constitutional Law

DR. CHRISTOPHER NICHOLSON

What does justice require in our society today? With a focus on contemporary social and political issues, we seek to answer this question by looking at different dimensions of justice. We start out by examining the problem of political authority: What, if anything, can give the government legitimate authority over citizens? We then consider how the ideals of democracy, freedom, rights, and equality inform our understanding of a just society.

Prerequisites: None

Requirements (tentative): Exams and class participation

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 260.001 Mind and Nature

DR. BENJAMIN KOZUCH

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 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.

PHL 291.001 Aesthetics

DR. TRIG JOHNSON

The arts are important to us. We listen to music, watch movies, see plays, attend dance concerts and go to art museums. But unless some controversy about art engages us, we rarely think about the nature of art. In this course, we will be introduced to some of the most fundamental concerns about art: What is distinctive, if anything, about the experience of artworks? Why do we identify anything as a work of art? How do we, or should we interpret an artwork? On what grounds can we criticize an artwork?

Prerequisites: None

Requirements: Four exams. Attendance and participation in discussion will be expected.

Core Curriculum: This course carries an FA (Fine Arts) designation.

PHL 292.001 Introduction to Ethics

DR. HOLLY KANTIN

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 221 (Honors Introduction to Ethics).

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a general introduction to philosophical ethics. Students will become familiar with the main issues in ethical theory and learn how different theoretical approaches bear on specific ethical controversies. In the first few sections of the course we will discuss varying answers to the following theoretical questions: Are there moral facts and if so, what grounds these facts? How should we understand and respond to moral disagreements? What makes an action right or wrong? What does it mean to live well and have a good life? In the final section of the course, we will discuss several specific ethical controversies including the debate over capital punishment and the ethics of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

Prerequisites: None

Requirements: TBA

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 292.002 Introduction to Ethics

DR. S. SETH BORDNER

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 221 (Honors Introduction to Ethics).

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.

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.

PHL 292.004 Introduction to Ethics

STAFF

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 221 (Honors Introduction to Ethics).

Prerequisites: None

Requirements: TBA

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 292.005 & 007 Introduction to Ethics

DR. TIMOTHY BUTZER

Not open to anyone who has taken PHL 221 (Honors Introduction to Ethics).

We care not only about how the world actually is, but how it ought to be. We think it is wrong when someone kills, assaults or otherwise harms another without sufficient cause. We think highly of selfless acts that benefit others. In other words, we care about the moral status of our actions. Ethics, or moral philosophy, is the study of morality. Of primary importance in ethics is the question of what makes an act right or wrong. It is this question that will be the focus of this introductory course. We will survey some of the most influential theories of what makes an action morally right or wrong: utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics. In addition, we will also explore whether there are objective moral facts, whether actions are only moral/immoral relative to a culture, the role of religion in morality, and difficult moral issues surrounding world hunger and abortion.

Prerequisites: None

Requirements: TBA

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 292.008 & 009 Introduction to Ethics

DR. ADAM ARICO

What is the nature of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, ‘good’ and ‘bad’? What are the principles or guidelines for behaving morally? What sort of life should live, and what sort of person should I be? How do I figure out what to do and which action is morally correct? Introduction to Ethics engages with all of these questions and surveys the various ways that influential philosophers have attempted to answer those questions. The course will introduce students to the fundamental concepts of ethics, as well as the major ethical theories. The course begins by discussing basic metaethical questions about moral realism, moral relativism, and moral skepticism, as well as the relationship (or lack thereof) between religion and morality. In the second portion of the course, students are introduced to the historically-significant ethical theories: Virtue Ethics, Deontology, and Consequentialism. The third portion of the course expounds on the implications of those ethical theories for various contemporary ethical issues—including abortion, animal rights, capital punishment, etc.

Prerequisites: None

Requirements: Attendance and participation are not required but are strongly encouraged. There will usually be a group work/discussion period during each class. There will be three in-class exams; one (optional) final exam; quizzes; and writing assignments.

Core Curriculum: This course carries an HU designation.

PHL 362.001 Mind, Language, and Reality

DR. TORIN ALTER

This course concerns the nature of linguistic reference, meaning, and their connection to metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. We will study classic works by Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Saul Kripke, and others. We will also study more recent works by David Chalmers, Amie Thomasson, Jennifer Saul, and others.

Prerequisites: Philosophical Introduction to Deductive logic (PHL 195 or 106 or equivalent) and one other philosophy course, or instructor’s permission.

Requirements (tentative): two five-to-ten page papers, at least one additional short writing assignment, regular reading quizzes, and a final.

Core Curriculum: This course carries a W designation. Writing proficiency in philosophy is required for a passing grade in this course.

PHL 387.001 Philosophy and Evolution

DR. RICHARD RICHARDS

The “Darwinian Revolution” – the acceptance and development of evolutionary theory – is one of the most significant intellectual events in recent human history. It is significant partly because it has changed the way we understand the world and the processes that operate within it. This ultimately has implications for our conception of human nature and our understanding of human psychological, social, cultural and conceptual processes, as well as knowledge, ethics and the arts.

Prerequisites: None, although previous courses in philosophy or fields associated with evolution will be helpful. Two papers, reading quizzes, a final, and possibly a few brief presentations

Core Curriculum: Two exams (30% each), two 5-7 page papers (15% each), and attendance and participation (10%).

Requirements: Two midterm exams and a final; attendance and class participation expected. Writing proficiency within this discipline is required for a passing grade in this course.

PHL 440.001 Seminar on Law

STAFF

In this course, we will be introduced to some of the basic issues in philosophy of science: What distinguishes science from pseudo-science? Is there a scientific method? If so, what is that method? What constitutes a scientific explanation? How are theory and observation related? How do hypotheses get confirmed? How do values function in science? What constitutes scientific progress? We will then apply the philosophical principles to actual scientific debates: the use of alternative medicines, the acceptance of “the fat hypothesis” and evidence relative to climate change hypotheses.

Prerequisites: None

Requirements: Two midterm exams and a final; attendance and class participation expected.

PHL 488.001 Philosophy of Mental Health

DR. HOLLY KANTIN

In this course we will look at a variety of philosophical questions concerning mental health, mental disorder, and how we should think about mental health in the context of medical practice more generally. Topics may include: Ontology and classification: What makes a disorder mental as opposed to physical? When does a mental condition qualify as pathological (and so, get classified as an “illness” or “disorder”) and what are the implications of classifying something as a disorder with respect to how we think about and treat it? Agency, autonomy, and identity: When is a mental disorder autonomy subverting in the sense of undermining a person’s ability to make informed, voluntary decisions? Moral responsibility: When are people with mental disorders responsible for symptomatic behavior? Stigma and mental disorder: In what ways are mental disorders stigmatized and why? Research on mental disorders: What special challenges arise in studying mental disorders? The ethics of euthanasia: Should people diagnosed with “treatment resistant” mental disorders ever be eligible for euthanasia on the grounds that they are suffering unbearably?

Prerequisites: None