University
of Wisconsin Oshkosh
PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT
Course
Descriptions and Course Syllabi
for
Fall 2008
(Want
to plan ahead? To see what upper division courses will be offered in Spring
2009, click here.)
Lower Division Courses
PHIL
101 (Section 1): Elementary Logic (Prof. Gilboa)
The first part of the course will be spent on deductive logic. Specifically,
we will study the logic of categorical syllogisms and the logic of propositions.
The second part of the course will be devoted to inductive logic, mainly probability
and rational decision theory, and, if time permits, to the logic of scientific
research.
PHIL
105 (Sections 1 and 4): Ethics (Prof. Cordero)
An examination of morality, the Good Life, and the meaning of basic ethical
terms. The required text is Ethics: Selections from Classical and Contemporary
Writers. Theories by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Epictetus, St. Augustine,
St. Thomas, Hobbes, Butler, Hume, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, Marx, Moore, Ayer,
Sartre, and Rawls will be discussed. Good note taking in class is a must. Up
to seven hours of study time per week outside of class may be necessary. Grades
will come from cumulative multiple-choice tests.
PHIL
105 (Section 2): Ethics (Prof. Herzberg)
In this class we will examine several influential moral theories. In a philosophical
moral theory, principles of right and wrong action are not simply asserted as
commands, as they might be in a legal system or a religion. Rather, philosophers
attempt to logically justify the moral principles they hold to be true. All
of the philosophers that we will be studying in this class - including Thomas
Hobbes, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Immanuel Kant - have tried to
find a rational or a natural (as opposed to a supernatural) basis for morality,
arguing that at least some rules of behavior are as objectively true as the
fundamental principles of science or mathematics. In this class, strengths and
weaknesses of each theory will be discussed, and you will be encouraged to think
about how your own moral theory resembles (or differs from) the ones we have
studied.
PHIL
105 (Section 3, and Interim Session): Ethics (Prof. Kyburg)
This course addresses age-old questions in ethics: What makes something right
and wrong? Does morality vary from culture to culture? Is right and wrong just
a matter of personal opinion? Is it morally permissible to consider your own
interests or the interests of your loved ones as more valuable than the interests
of others? You will learn some of the different ways philosophers have answered
these questions. The course also addresses ethical questions related to such
topics as the treatment of animals, the treatment of environment, censorship
and abortion. Emphasis is placed on developing the skills required to evaluate
different points of view -- not on teaching you a particular point of view.
By the end of the semester, you should have an appreciation for the complexity
of ethical issues. You might also better develop you own view of right and wrong.
More generally, you will learn to distinguish precisely how your point of view
differs from those of other people, a skill that can help you in problem solving
and communication.
PHIL 105 (Section 5): Ethics (Prof. Gilboa)
After explaining the notion of an objective basis for ethics, we will study
the moral theory of John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism. We will next study the
moral theory of Immanuel Kant, and the Social Contract theory of Morals of Thomas
Hobbes. To demonstrate the usefulness of ethical theory, we will discuss along
the way questions of applied ethics. If time permits, we will take a look at
the modification of Hobbes' theory by Dr. Gilboa.
PHIL
106 (Section 1): Honors Ethics (Prof. Kyburg)
This
course addresses age-old questions in ethics: What makes something right or
wrong? Does morality vary from culture to culture? Is right and wrong just a
matter of personal opinion? Is it morally permissible to consider your own interests
or the interests of your loved ones as more valuable than the interests of others?
You will learn some of the different ways philosophers have answered these questions.
The course also addresses ethical questions related to such topics as the treatment
of animals, the treatment of environment, censorship and abortion. Emphasis
is placed on developing the skills required to evaluate different points of
view -- not on teaching you a particular point of view. By the end of the semester,
you should have an appreciation for the complexity of ethical issues. You might
also better develop you own view of right and wrong. More generally, you will
learn to distinguish precisely how your point of view differs from those of
other people, a skill that can help you in problem solving and communication.
This course is run as a seminar and requires significant class reading, participation
and many short papers.
PHIL
109 (Section 1): Introduction to Philosophy (Prof. John Burr)
The general goal of this course is to stimulate students to grow in Socratic
wisdom so that they no longer think they know what they do not know. To this
end, students will scrutinize some philosophical analyses and solutions to such
questions as: Is anyone or no one morally responsible? Does God exist? Is it
rational to obey the law? Is any knowledge possible? Does human life have any
meaning? Only when one has forged one’s own answers to these and similar
questions does he or she cease being the mere echo of other voices and, instead,
speak freely and independently and achieve genuine freedom of thought.
PHIL
109 (Sections 2 and 3): Introduction to Philosophy (Prof. Carlin)
This course is designed to introduce students to a number of philosophical issues
that have fascinated humankind for centuries. We will ask such questions
as: Is it reasonable to believe in the existence of God? Do human
beings have freedom of the will, or are all their actions determined?
What, if any, knowledge do we have? What is the relationship between the
mind and the body? What makes certain actions right (moral) and others
wrong (immoral)? Is the death penalty morally acceptable? To what
extent may government rightfully restrict the behavior of its citizens?
We will critically examine answers that have been offered to these, and other
questions. Course
Website with Syllabus
PHIL
109 (Sections 4 and 5): Introduction to Philosophy (Prof. Ponesse)
A survey of some of the perennial problems of the human enterprise; the nature
of reality, of truth, of beauty, of ideal political and social relationships,
and of the good life; solutions to these problems offered by the best known
Greek, medieval, modern and contemporary philosophers will be scrutinized critically.
Upper Division Courses
PHIL
202: Symbolic Logic (Prof. Carlin) [MWF 12:40 - 1:40 PM]
In
this course, we will learn contemporary methods and formal systems employed
by logicians. The purpose of learning these methods and systems is to enable
us to distinguish correct from incorrect forms of argument, to make ambiguous
English assertions more precise, and in general to distinguish between good
and bad patterns of reasoning. This will require knowledge of how to translate
back and forth between a symbolic language and English, and knowledge of how
to use our symbolic language in order to determine the validity of many kinds
of argument. We will finish the course by addressing questions in the philosophy
of logic pertaining to the limits and usefulness of the formal system.
PHIL
309: Contemporary Philosophy (Prof. Herzberg) [MW 3-4:30 PM]
The twentieth century was an incredibly fertile period in philosophy. Dissatisfied
with most of the traditional approaches to seemingly intractable problems, some
philosophers early in the century attempted to re-invent their discipline. We
will begin by reading perhaps the most radical of these attempts, A. J. Ayer’s
“Language, Truth, and Logic”, where he argues that most traditional
philosophical problems - especially metaphysical ones - are quite literally
nonsense. Then, by reading Saul Kripke’s “Naming and Necessity”,
we will see how certain metaphysical problems became respectable again in the
second half of the century. Other readings showing a similar return to traditional
problems in other areas of philosophy (such as ethics, epistemology, or the
philosophy of mind) will be discussed as time permits.
PHIL
316: Introduction to Cognitive Science (Prof. Kyburg) [TTh
1:20-2:50 PM]
Cognitive Science is the multi-disciplinary study of the mind. The mind is not
something that can be touched, measured, recorded, etc. Yet, cognitive psychologists,
psycholinguistics, neuroscientists, neurologists, and others have done experiments
that lead them to conclude things about the mind. In this course, we shall look
at some of these findings and evaluate them. Do the results of these experiments
justify the conclusions the scientists make? What implications do they have
for non-human minds? We shall look at how philosophers have answered these questions
and some alternative conclusions that they have drawn by means of their own
methodologies. Finally, we shall look at the implications of these findings
for artificial intelligence. Readings will include difficult philosophical readings
as well as scientific readings. Tests will be in-class essay exams. There will
be a term paper assigned. Psychology and computer science majors and neuro science
minors are encouraged to take this course along with those interested in philosophy.
PHIL
325: Social and Political Philosophy (Prof. Cordero) [TR 1:20-2:50]
This course covers the meanings of certain terms basic to social-political discourse;
arguments for and against living in society; theories about who ought to rule;
theories about the sort of laws that people ought to have; questions of authority,
obedience, and disobedience; and theories of long-range patterns in history.
The required text is Social and Political Philosophy (Somerville and Santoni).
Study time outside of class should be about seven hours per week. Grades will
come from a combination of essay tests and cumulative multiple-choice tests.
PHIL
345: Philosophy of Law (Prof. Gilboa) [TR 3:00-4:30]
The first part of the course will be devoted to the study of several influential
types of legal philosophy: classical natural law, positivism, constructivism
and consequentialism. The second part of the course will be devoted to analysis
of legal cases in statutory interpretation, contract law, tort law and public
law in which we find the influence of legal philosophy of one type or another.
The grade will be based on a midterm, final and a paper.
Upper
Division Courses for Spring 2009
(Sections of PHIL 101, 105 and 109 are offered every semester)
PHIL
215: Philosophy of Art (Prof. Burr) [MWF 10:20-11:20 AM]
PHIL 305: History of Modern Philosophy (Prof. Carlin) [MWF 12:40-1:40 PM]
PHIL 319: Theory of Knowledge (Prof. Herzberg) [MW 3:00-4:30 PM]
PHIL 329: Contemporary Ethical Problems (Prof. Ponesse) [W 6:00-9:00 PM]
PHIL 422: Philosophy of Language (Prof. Kyburg) [TR 9:40-11:10 AM]
To return to the Fall 2008 schedule, click here.
Last Updated:4-15-08