Schedule of Classes and Course Descriptions for Fall 2013
101 Introduction to Philosophy
| 101.001 | Kelly Becker | MWF 10:00-10:50 | MITCH-101 |
Can we know that God exists? If God exists, then why is there evil in the world? What is the relation between mind and body? Since I am not able to see your thoughts, how do I know that you have a mind? Can science explain consciousness? Can a computer be a mind? What kind of thing is a person? How am I the same person that ‘I’ was in my childhood? (I don’t look or behave like that child.) Does free will exist? Is it compatible with a scientific view of the world? Are there any grounds for morality? We’ll take this kind of topical approach to some of the most difficult and interesting questions in philosophy.
Required Text: Perry and Bratman, eds., Introduction to Philosophy, 6th ed.
| 101.003 | Phillip Schoenberg | TR 9:30-10:45 | ASM-1068 |
Description forthcoming.
| 101.004 | Michael Candelaria | MWF 12:00-12:50 | DSH-120 |
This course examines philosophical problems through a study of classical and contemporary philosophical literature from the ancient Greeks to contemporary American philosophers. The problems that we examine include the mind-body problem, the problem of free will and determinism, the problem of morality and relativism, the problem of knowledge and skepticism, and the problem of evil and the existence of God. We will begin with a brief introduction to logic and argumentation.
| 101.005 | Elly Van Mil | TR 5:30-6:45 | DSH-329 |
This course will introduce students to some of the major issues of philosophy and several approaches that philosophers take to address them. These include questions of knowledge, truth, the nature of reality, personal identity and the mind/body problem, moral responsibility, freedom and justice, and the meaning of life. The readings will include traditional and contemporary philosophers. A fundamental aim of the course is to improve one’s ability to think critically and rationally and to make sound judgments. Students will learn how to read, reflect on and write about philosophical issues during this semester.
| 101.006 | Phillip Schoenberg | TR 11:00-12:15 | CAST-51 |
Description forthcoming.
| 101.007 | Lisa Gerber | MWF 9:00-9:50 | DSH-233 |
This course covers classical and contemporary issues in philosophy. We will explore questions about the existence of god, the problem of evil, the relationship between the body and mind, the tension between free-will and determinism, the nature of political philosophy, and the making of a good life. Following the Socratic tradition, this course will center on questions and discussion.
Reading material: 1. Robert C. Solomon, Introducing Philosophy 2. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World 3. Various essays available electronically and on webct
| 101.008 | Krupa Patel | TR 12:30-1:45 | MITCH-220 |
Description forthcoming.
| 101.010 | Joachim Oberst | MWF 2:00-2:50 | DSH-234 |
This course takes an historical and topical approach to the basic questions of philosophy. Classic texts of philosophy will guide us to examine the fundamental questions that define the subfields of philosophy: ontology and metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and morality, political philosophy and theology. Among the basic questions we will discuss are the most obvious and most illusive, to which everyone deems to have an answer, and, when pressed, no definite solution. What is philosophy? What is truth? What is knowledge? What is (the meaning of) being? Who and what is the divine in the religious and secular age? What is justice? What conditions the possibility of justice? What is freedom? What conditions the possibility of freedom? What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of death? What is reality?
Much of the learning in this course happens in the classroom. Students complete daily and weekly readings prior to attending class to be prepared to engage with the ideas promoted in those texts while in the classroom. In other words, students will be trained in exegetical reading to prepare them for participation in group and class discussions.
| 101.011 | Mary Domski | TR 9:30-10:45 | EDUC-104 |
In this course, we will survey several problems that continue to motivate philosophical discussion and philosophical worry. Such problems will include: the problem of evil, the nature of the human soul, the existence of God, the scope of moral responsibility, the possibility and extent of human knowledge, and perhaps most importantly, what it means to lead a good life. The goal of this course is to illuminate fruitful ways of engaging with these philosophical problems, and the bulk of our time will be spent wrestling with difficult questions that rarely offer neat and tidy solutions. Be prepared to READ, REFLECT, and WRITE throughout the semester. On average, you should expect to dedicate 4-5 hours each week to complete the required assignments for this course.
| 101.013 | Jaime Denison | MW 1:00-1:50 | MITCH-211 |
Description forthcoming.
| 101.015 | Krupa Patel | Online | Online |
This on-line course is designed to introduce students to some of the major issues of philosophy through reading a variety of texts selected from diverse periods and places in the history of philosophical thought. Questions concerning the nature of reality, the possibility and nature of human knowledge, and ethics will be included. In addition to providing a basic familiarity with the practice of philosophy, a fundamental aim of the course is to improve each student’s ability to think critically and to make rational judgments. In order to achieve this end, students will critically engage with the philosophical texts we will be reading, as well as with each other, in weekly on-line discussions. There will also be periodic paper assignments to give students the opportunity to critically assess the view of the various authors we will read. We will not only be reading philosophy in this course, we will also be doing philosophy!
156 Reasoning & Critical Thinking
| 156.001 | Justin Messmore | TR 9:30-10:45 | MITCH-220 |
| 156.002 | Kaity Creasy | MWF 9:00-9:50 | ORTG-153 |
In the first component of this course, students will learn how to recognize, construct, and evaluate arguments. Students will learn how to differentiate between various forms of argumentation and recognize qualities of both strong and weak arguments. For the second component of the course, we will apply the critical reasoning skills learned in the first component to various topics of interest. We will first discuss philosophical conceptions of “the good life” as presented in the works of Plato, Jeremy Bentham, Robert Nozick, Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, Julia Annas, Friedrich Nietzsche, and William James. Then, we will investigate the proper role of death as presented by Thomas Nagel, Leo Tolstoy, and Martin Heidegger. Lastly, we will fix our notion of love through an analysis of love poetry from Sappho to Neruda and ask about the proper role of love as presented by Martha Nussbaum, Erich Fromm, Simone de Beauvoir, and Iain Thomson.
| 156.003 | Joe Spencer | MWF 10:00-10:50 | DSH-233 |
As the title suggests, this course will focus on reasoning and critical thinking. In the first half of the semester, students will acquire the grammatical and logical skills necessary for analyzing and constructing philosophical arguments. The second half of the semester will provide an opportunity to put these skills to use in responding to a work of philosophy, Jacques Ranciere's The Ignorant Schoolmaster. Grading will be based on attendance, some shorter assignments, three short papers, and two exams.
Required texts: (1) William Hughes, Jonathan Lavery, & Katheryn Doran, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills (6th Edition); (2) Jacques Ranciere, The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation.
| 156.004 | Will Barnes | TR 9:30-10:45 | DSH-223 |
In this course we will learn how to analyze, criticize, and construct arguments. Most intellectual endeavors involve argumentation, from short letters to complex philosophical essays, from simple everyday actions and discussions to sophisticated debates, arguments are used to support or criticize points of view and serve as the basis for education and civil co-operation. Throughout the semester we will work to develop the skills that will help us to judge the arguments of others and to argue effectively ourselves. The course material is organized into two main parts. The first part is an introductory survey of important linguistic and logical concepts that we need for argument analysis. In the second part we will use those concepts to engage in an in-depth examination of a range of philosophical issues such within ontology, epistemology, ethics and the good life, religion, art and cultural analysis. Assessment will be in class quizzes and several 4 – 6 page argumentative papers. Attendance and in-class participation will be both graded and strictly enforced.
| 156.005 | Jim Bodington | MWF 12:00-12:50 | MITCH-220 |
This course will focus on developing the skills necessary to critically analyze arguments. In the first half of the course, working from Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills, students will be introduced to the logical and linguistic tools and concepts necessary to analyze and construct philosophical arguments. In the second half of the course we will apply these skills to texts in philosophy, both historical and contemporary.
In particular, we will be looking at questions of human nature. What is death, and what does it mean to die? What is life, and what does it mean to live? Is there such a thing as the soul? What is a human being? What separates humans from non-humans? Is there an innate human nature? We will be looking at philosophical attempts to formulate and answer these questions by, e.g. Plato, Aristotle, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nell Noddings, Peter Singer, Thomas Nagel, and “transhumanist” Nick Bostrom.
Grading will be based on attendance and participation, two tests, bi-weekly homework assignments/response papers and a final term paper.
Required texts: 1) William Hughes, Jonathan Lavery, & Katheryn Doran, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills (6th Edition). 2) Lewis Vaughn, Writing Philosophy: A Student’s Guide to Writing Philosophy Essays. 3) Thomas Nagel, Mortal Questions. 4) Plato, Five Dialogues (2nd Edition, Trans. Grube). 5) Other short readings will be posted on Blackboard.
| 156.006 | Charles Kalm | TR 2:00-3:15 | MITCH-220 |
My Reasoning and Critical Thinking course is based on the components of a theory of argument. Our focus is on the tools for understanding, forming, and analyzing informal arguments; the central aim of which is to provoke introspection and intellectual growth by developing your critical thinking abilities. Basic concepts we cover include: identifying premise and conclusion, forming declarative sentences, deduction, induction, validity, soundness, inductive strength, cogency, basic informal logic, and general rules to ensure good thinking. These topics involve philosophical issues in epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of science. However, the course centrally applies critical thinking skills to controversial issues from your daily life, as well as the human existence and condition in general. This is a core writing class, thus we work to diagnose problems in our own thinking and writing as we explore critical thinking. Developing good prose and solid thinking are paramount goals.
| 156.007 | Justin Messmore | TR 11:00-12:15 | BANDE-105 |
| 156.008 | Will Barnes | TR 12:30-1:45 | DSH-223 |
In this course we will learn how to analyze, criticize, and construct arguments. Most intellectual endeavors involve argumentation, from short letters to complex philosophical essays, from simple everyday actions and discussions to sophisticated debates, arguments are used to support or criticize points of view and serve as the basis for education and civil co-operation. Throughout the semester we will work to develop the skills that will help us to judge the arguments of others and to argue effectively ourselves. The course material is organized into two main parts. The first part is an introductory survey of important linguistic and logical concepts that we need for argument analysis. In the second part we will use those concepts to engage in an in-depth examination of a range of philosophical issues such within ontology, epistemology, ethics and the good life, religion, art and cultural analysis. Assessment will be in class quizzes and several 4 – 6 page argumentative papers. Attendance and in-class participation will be both graded and strictly enforced.
| 156.009 | Dan Briggs | TR 11:00-12:15 | DSH-328 |
After an introduction to deductive and inductive logic, we will read texts by Aristotle, Bacon, Frege, and Heidegger. There are two required texts: Lewis Vaughn’s Writing Philosophy and Aristotle: Selections (ed. Terrence Irwin and Gail Fine); all other readings will be made available online via UNM Learn.
| 156.010 | Dimitry Shevchenko | MWF 11:00-11:50 | DSH-334 |
The aim of this course is to familiarize the student with assessing arguments. In the first half of the course, the students will learn how to analyze, evaluate and construct arguments. The second half of the course will be dedicated to applying these skills to different philosophical texts investigating the concept of equality. Issues of gender, race and power will be approached critically and discussed in the classroom and developed in your papers.
Required Text: William Hughes, Jonathan Laver & Katheryn Doran, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills (6th edition).
Recommended Text: William Strunk & E. B. White, The Elements of Style (4th edition
| 156.011 | Jaime Denison | MWF 2:00-2:50 | MITCH-211 |
Description Forthcoming.
| 156.012 | Charles Kalm | TBA | TBA |
My Reasoning and Critical Thinking course is based on the components of a theory of argument. Our focus is on the tools for understanding, forming, and analyzing informal arguments; the central aim of which is to provoke introspection and intellectual growth by developing your critical thinking abilities. Basic concepts we cover include: identifying premise and conclusion, forming declarative sentences, deduction, induction, validity, soundness, inductive strength, cogency, basic informal logic, and general rules to ensure good thinking. These topics involve philosophical issues in epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of science. However, the course centrally applies critical thinking skills to controversial issues from your daily life, as well as the human existence and condition in general. This is a core writing class, thus we work to diagnose problems in our own thinking and writing as we explore critical thinking. Developing good prose and solid thinking are paramount goals.
201 Greek Thought
| 201.003 | Brent Kalar | TR 11:00-12:15 | DSH-327 |
Description forthcoming.
202 Descartes to Kant
| 202.001 | Barbara Hannan-Cooke | TR 9:30-10:45 | DSH-132 |
The Early Modern period in philosophy is characterized by two great epistemological traditions, Rationalism (represented by Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza) and Empiricism (represented by Locke, Hume, and Berkeley). Each of these philosophers also has a metaphysical theory to complement his epistemology. In this course we will read selections from all of these central figures in the history of Western thought, as well as selections from associated figures such as Montaigne, Bacon, Galileo, Pascal, Hobbes, Malebranche, Newton, Boyle, and Reid. The course will culminate in a brief look at the transcendental idealism of Immanuel Kant.
Recommended prerequisite: Phil. 201 (Greek Thought) or Phil. 211 (Ancient Greek Philosophy).
Text: Roger Ariew and Eric Watkins, editors, Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources, Second Edition (Hackett, 2009).
| 202.002 | Staff | TR 12:30-1:45 | DSH-128 |
The modern period was a time of great intellectual and cultural ferment. It was a time marked by great religious, cultural, and political disagreements of the reformation, and by great scientific advancements and controversies. In this course, we will examine how this general revolutionary spirit manifest itself in three central central areas of philosophy: epistemology, metaphysics, and political philosophy. In epistemology, we will study the development of new methods for scientific inquiry, and consider the fruits of renewed interest in explaining what we can know, and how we can know it. In metaphysics, we will consider debates tied to contemporary developments in astronomy and physics concerning the constitution of the universe (e.g. whether everything that exists is material) and the nature of space. In political philosophy, we will consider groundbreaking new theories of justice and political obligation, and the role that these played in shaping new political institutions of the day. In studying these topics, we will examine major works by Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant, as well as related scientific and political works of the period. We will conduct our inquiries with an eye toward seeing how the central philosophical themes of the modern period both influenced and were informed by scientific and social/political revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The following book is required for this course. Ariew and Watkins (eds.) "Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources", Second Edition (2009), Hackett Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-87220-978-7. (NB: The first edition (1998, ISBN: 978-0-87220-440-9) is also acceptable.)
211 Greek Philosophy
| 211.002 | Carolyn Thomas | Online | Online |
Phil 211, ‘Greek Philosophy,’ is an online course and introduction to great thinkers of Ancient Greece, including the Pre-Socratics (Parmenides and Heraclitus), Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and, briefly, the Stoics. Along the way, we’ll consider fundamental questions, such as: Is anything stable and permanent, or is reality always changing? What are poetry/myth, philosophy, and logos? What is justice? What is virtue, and can it be taught? What are being and non-being? Required work includes substantial readings (approx. 35 pages each week), online lectures, weekly online discussion thread posts, online writings prepared individually (about 12 pages total), midterm exam, and final exam. Online discussions are “asynchronous,” so you can participate and post at your convenience during the week. Required work will be due twice each week, at midnight on Thursday and Sunday nights. Consistent internet access required, but no other special equipment.
Textbook: Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy (4th ed.), Cohen, Curd, and Reeve (Hackett Publishing, 2011)--$48/paperback.
244 Introduction to Existentialism
| 244.002 | Carolyn Thomas | Online | Online |
An online course, ‘Introduction to Existentialism’ provides an in-depth introduction to existential thinking. Existentialism is sometimes called “life philosophy,” because it is especially concerned with how individuals realize meaning and purpose in their lives. We’ll work together to understand and relate to our own lives a number of existentialism’s recurrent themes, including death, meaningful being, faith, societal alienation, passion, freedom, choice and responsibility, atheism, nothingness, and absurdity.
Required work includes substantial readings by Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and Camus, online lectures, weekly online discussion thread posts, online writings prepared individually (about 12 pages total), midterm exam, and final exam. Weekly online discussions are “asynchronous,” so you can participate and post at your convenience during the week. Required work will be due twice each week, at midnight on Thursday and Sunday nights.
Textbooks: 1) Existentialism: Basic Writings (2nd ed), Guignon and Pereboom, eds. (Hackett, 2001)—$25/paperback; 2) Basic Writings of Existentialism, Gordon Marino, ed. (Penguin, 2004)—$18/paperback.
245 Professional Ethics
| 245.005 | Tara Kennedy | Online | Online |
This course focuses on some of the ethical issues that arise in the professional life. In order to adequately explore these issues, we must first examine what both ethics and professions in general. How should people act? Are there any rules about what is right and wrong? If so, what are they? What are the major ethical theories? What attributes set professions apart from mere “jobs”? What is the difference between a “client” and a “customer”? How should we understand the relationship between the professional and the client? Keeping these questions in mind throughout the semester, we will then focus on the professions of business, engineering, journalism, law, and medicine. While each of these professions may present unique challenges to the moral agent, we will find common themes that underlie many of the particular ethical dilemmas we will discuss. Therefore, in each section of the course, the student should be sensitive to the ways in which the following issues, among others, play a role in defining the moral life of the professional: codes of ethics, confidentiality, honesty, objectivity, informed consent, paternalism, autonomy, whistle blowing, responsibility and supererogation. This is a fully online course. Students will be required to do weekly readings, listen to weekly lectures, complete short weekly assignments, participate in small group online discussions, and write papers. Required textbook: Professions In Ethical Focus: An Anthology, Fritz Allhoff and Anand J. Vaidya, editors (ISBN-13: 978-1-55111-699-0 / ISBN-10: 1-55111-699-5). Additional readings provided.
341.001 T: Queer Theory
| 341.001 | Rachel Levitt | TR 11:00-12:15 | HUM-428 |
Description forthcoming.
343.001 Contemporary Continental Philosophy
| 343.001 | Adrian Johnston | MWF 9:00-9:50 | MITCH-219 |
The aim of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the main figures and movements of twentieth-century Continental philosophy (i.e., twentieth-century European philosophy situated primarily in France and Germany). Many of the philosophical approaches and orientations informing work done in various sectors of the theoretical humanities today are linked to the Continental philosophical tradition. A shared tendency generally found throughout the figures and movements of this tradition is an emphasis on such factors as history, ideology, language, and sexuality as overwhelmingly important influences shaping who we are and how we experience ourselves and the world around us. The course will begin with Edmund Husserl and end with Jacques Derrida, covering a wide range of figures in-between. The movements covered include: phenomenology, existentialism, Marxism, structuralism, post-structuralism, psychoanalysis, feminist theory, and deconstruction.
352 Theory of Knowledge
| 352.001 | John Taber | MWF 11:00-11:50 | DSH-233 |
This course is a survey of basic issues in contemporary epistemology: skepticism, the nature and structure of epistemic justification (including the debates about foundationalism and internalism vs. externalism), naturalized epistemology, the status of a priori knowledge, philosophy of perception, and contextualism. Text: Ernest Sosa et al. (eds.), Epistemology: An Anthology, 2nd ed. (Blackwell). Requirements: a paper, a take-home mid-term, and a take-home final.
354 Metaphysics
| 354.001 | Barbara Hannan-Cooke | TR 12:30-1:45 | ASM-1068 |
Aristotle saw metaphysics as the attempt to identify the fundamental categories of being: what kinds of things are there? This inquiry (called ontology) is still arguably central to philosophy, even though an anti-metaphysical trend runs through twentieth-century philosophy. In the twentieth century, it was popular to substitute questions about language (how do we talk about reality?) for questions about reality itself. Fortunately, that trend has now expired, and more and more philosophers are returning to the view that metaphysics in general, and ontology in particular, lie at the center of philosophical inquiry. In this course we will study fundamental ontological issues, such as the nature of substances and properties. We will also investigate necessity and possibility, causation, time and space, change, identity, mind and body, freedom of the will, the place of value and teleology in reality, and whether science and religion are compatible.
Suggested prerequisites: Philosophy 201 (Greek Thought) or Philosophy 211 (Ancient Greek Philosophy), and Philosophy 202 (Descartes to Kant).
Texts: John Heil, The Universe As We Find It (Oxford, 2012); Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False (Oxford, 2012); Leszek Kolakowski, Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? 23 Questions from Great Philosophers (Basic Books, 2007).
356 Symbolic Logic
| 356.001 | Staff | MWF 10:00-11:10 | MITCH-122 |
Our topic in this course is logic, the study of correct reasoning. Most articulated reasoning employs only natural language (e.g. English), but unfortunately, evaluation of natural language arguments is not always a precise affair, owing mostly to the imprecision of the language in which they are stated. The dream of the logician-philosopher is to obviate this difficulty by developing two tools. The first is a precise, unambiguous, symbolic notation in which all logically relevant detail can be expressed (hence 'symbolic' in our course title). The second is a technique for calculating on these symbolic expressions; a technique for definitively proving or refuting any argument that can be expressed in the symbolic notation (hence 'logic' in our course title). To a significant extent, we will realize this dream in this course. We will develop languages of symbolic logic and employ them in articulating and evaluating arguments in a precise and unambiguous way. To render these languages useful, we will discuss methods for paraphrasing and symbolizing natural language idioms – such as the English 'if, then, 'or', 'not', and 'all' – in our symbolic notation system. And, we will cover several techniques for evaluating expressions and arguments formulated in our symbolic language, including truth tables and a method of formal proof. We will also touch on philosophical issues regarding the scope, limits, and applicability of the tools that we develop. Required textbook: Deduction: Introductory Symbolic Logic (2nd Edition), by Daniel Bonevac. Blackwell, 2003, ISBN: 0-631-22713-X.
| 356.002 | Staff | MWF 1:00-2:10 | SSCO-1111 |
Our topic in this course is logic, the study of correct reasoning. Most articulated reasoning employs only natural language (e.g. English), but unfortunately, evaluation of natural language arguments is not always a precise affair, owing mostly to the imprecision of the language in which they are stated. The dream of the logician-philosopher is to obviate this difficulty by developing two tools. The first is a precise, unambiguous, symbolic notation in which all logically relevant detail can be expressed (hence 'symbolic' in our course title). The second is a technique for calculating on these symbolic expressions; a technique for definitively proving or refuting any argument that can be expressed in the symbolic notation (hence 'logic' in our course title). To a significant extent, we will realize this dream in this course. We will develop languages of symbolic logic and employ them in articulating and evaluating arguments in a precise and unambiguous way. To render these languages useful, we will discuss methods for paraphrasing and symbolizing natural language idioms – such as the English 'if, then, 'or', 'not', and 'all' – in our symbolic notation system. And, we will cover several techniques for evaluating expressions and arguments formulated in our symbolic language, including truth tables and a method of formal proof. We will also touch on philosophical issues regarding the scope, limits, and applicability of the tools that we develop. Required textbook: Deduction: Introductory Symbolic Logic (2nd Edition), by Daniel Bonevac. Blackwell, 2003, ISBN: 0-631-22713-X.
358 Ethical Theory
| 358.001 | Ann Murphy | TR 8:00-9:15 | MITCH-120 |
This course introduces the student to the main moral frameworks in normative ethics: utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, via an analysis of texts by John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, and Aristotle. We will also engage more contemporary literature that situates itself both critically and sympathetically in relation to these foundational historical texts. While the main texts under examination will be largely historical, one guiding aim of the course is to understand the contemporary relevance of these authors through the application of their theories to topics such as free speech, abortion, friendship, forgiveness, truth-telling, and punishment. The course aims to cultivate an awareness of the differences between the major theoretical paradigms in normative ethics, as well as an attunement to the contemporary relevance of these theories.
361 Modern Christian Thought
| 361.001 | Joachin Oberst | W 4:00-6:30 | DSH-127 |
Karl Marx’s judgment that religion is “an opium of the people” is confirmed by many social and political movements, religious communities and philosophical convictions of the 20th century. Likewise, Feuerbach’s definition of theology as anthropology can be observed in the religious practice and theological reflections of modern congregations. Nietzsche’s proclamation that “God is dead” heavily resonates with today’s empty churches in Europe as well as the overflowing mega-churches of a new evangelicalism that is spreading in North America. Tolstoy’s and Kierkegaard’s impassioned condemnation of the practice of orthodox and popular faith continues to call the theological traditions of today’s religious communities into question. How are these critical voices to be understood?
The study of 20th century theology must be done in the context of the 19th century critique of Christianity to which it responds. The theology of the 19th century was infected with the glorious promise of humanity’s unstoppable progress toward ever-greater technological and scientific achievements, even though the side effects of the industrial revolution with its deadly exploitation, oppressive poverty, and wide-spread pollution were as prevalent and visible as they are today. Thus 20th century theology promises to inform the 21st century of its religious-philosophical and political shortcomings.
When the boundless optimism of liberal theology shattered under the catastrophe of World War I, theologians responded with new conceptions of the human-god relationship. Karl Barth re-envisioned god as the wholly other in his dialectical theology. Dietrich Bonhoeffer searched for a genuinely Christian response to the crimes of a terror regime and chose Christian resistance with the likely prospect of self-sacrifice (martyrdom) as the only act of faith possible in the wake of dictatorship and imperial or hegemonial wars. Rudolf Bultmann sought to bring the message of Christianity closer to its believers with his program of demythologization. Paul Tillich explores urgency and relevance of the Christian promise of a new being in a world of corruption and destruction. In the face of overwhelming suffering Dorothee Sölle explores the possibility of faith. In a world that is addicted to killing god, believing in god may only be possible atheistically.
We will explore the tenets of the theologies of each of these and other thinkers in selections of their writings. Curiosity, open-mindedness, a willingness to engage in exegetical reading, and a readiness to engage in class discussions are prerequisites for this course.
363 Environmental Ethics
| 363.001 | Lisa Gerber | MWF 11:00-11:50 | ASM-1068 |
This discussion-based course explores some of the main issues in environmental ethics. We will be looking at our relation with non-human nature and evaluating the underlying aesthetic, intrinsic, utilitarian, ecological, and personal values. We explore how these values do and should shape our discussion of environmental problems. We apply these values to current issues such as climate, endangered species, animal rights, water pollution, and ecological restoration.
Reading material: 1. Environmental Ethics: An Anthology, edited by Andrew Light and Holmes Rolston III. 2. A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold 3. Various authors on webct including Albert Borgmann, Martin Heidegger, and Ed Abbey.
365 Philosophy of Religion
| 365.001 | Brent Kalar | TR 2:00-3:15 | EDUC-101 |
Description forthcoming.
381 Philosophy of Law
| 381.001 | Charles Kalm | TR 12:30-1:45 | MITCH-221 |
This course presents reading, theories, and concepts which aid in understanding the problematic nature of Law when philosophically examined. We will ponder the nature and purpose of Law, the possible sources of Law’s authority and its role in society, and examine moral content, rights, obligations, disobedience, and punishment. We will questions the diverse theoretical justifications for our legal rules, systems, and practices. Thinking along with classical and contemporary philosophers and practitioners, we will question the relationships between law, authority, society and morality.
Moral or Ethical Theory is a recommended prerequisite. This is an upper division course; philosophical maturity, heavy reading, attendance, and participation are required.
Text: Jurisprudence, JG Riddall
*411 Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit
| *411.001 | Adrian Johnston | M 1:00-3:30 | DSH-128 |
Situated at the beginning of the nineteenth century as the next towering giant of the history of philosophy after Immanuel Kant, G.W.F. Hegel has had an enormous impact on the past two centuries of philosophical reflection in the Continental European tradition (more recently, he has even begun to attract enthusiastic attention and interest from certain contemporary Anglo-American Analytic philosophers too). Hegel’s thought is a key condition of possibility for such subsequent developments as existentialism, Marxism, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, structuralism, and deconstruction. His revolutionary notion of “dialectics” and unprecedented manner of historicizing philosophical frameworks previously treated as ahistorical radically transform philosophy’s very conception of itself and its place in the world, with this transformation continuing to affect philosophy and other disciplines up through the present day. This seminar will focus on Hegel’s first major work: the 1807 Phenomenology of Spirit.
*441.001 T: Applied Ethics
| *441.001 | Anne Baril | TR 3:30-4:45 | DSH-234 |
This course provides students with the opportunity for an in-depth examination of applied ethical issues from a philosophical perspective. Upon enrolling for the course, students are expected to have experience with: 1) understanding and analyzing ethical arguments and positions, 2) identifying what makes for a good or bad argument, and 3) formulating good, well-reasoned arguments. Upon completion of the course, students will have developed their skills in these three areas, in the context of contemporary ethics.
The course comprises four overlapping sections: 1) Clinical ethics, focusing on issues that arise in clinical and health-care settings; 2) Medical research ethics, focusing on issues that arise in conducting research for medical purposes (on humans and on animals), 3) Dietary ethics, focusing on vegetarianism and other issues that arise in the production and consumption of food (e.g. genetically modified foods and the ‘localvore’ movement), and 4) Environmental ethics, focusing on our relationship to the natural world.
Required readings (Books will also be available on reserve at the library): Medical ethics: Accounts of groundbreaking cases. Gregory E. Pence. ISBN-13: 978-0073407494 The ethics of animal research: Exploring the Controversy. Ed. Jeremy R. Garrett. ISBN-13: 978-0262516914 Animal rights: current debates and new directions. Ed. Cass R. Sunstein, Martha C. Nussbaum. ISBN-13: 978-0195305104 The Philosophy of Food. Ed. David M. Kaplan. ISBN-13: 978-0520269347
*441.002 T: Jewish Thought
*441.004 T: Philosophy of Gender
| *441.004 | Ann Murphy | TR 9:30-10:45 | CENT-1026 |
This course is designed as a survey of some of the most important literature in the philosophy of sex and gender from the Second World War to the present, particularly from within the Continental philosophical tradition. Some of the guiding themes of the course will be: What is the relationship between the sexed body and gender identity? To what degree, and how, is the “truth” of gender available to others? Is there a way to reconcile existential and phenomenological approaches to gender identity with poststructuralist approaches? What are the most effective philosophical models through which to think the relationship between gender, race, and sexuality? And finally, what do various philosophies of sex and gender imply for a model of social justice? Among the authors under consideration will be: Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Gayle Salamon, Linda Alcoff, and Donna-Dale Marcano.
*454/554 Sem: Anti-Individualism
| *454/554.001 | Kelly Becker | W 1:00-3:30 | DSH-128 |
A version of externalism in the philosophy of language, due to Putnam, holds that linguistic meaning and reference depend on the (nature of the) natural kinds in one’s “home” environment. (The thesis was extended by others to names and demonstratives and by Putnam (more controversially) to artifactual kinds.) While this view has become orthodox, it was novel at the time because it constituted an important competitor (some might say “correction”) to the dominant description theory of meaning and reference. However, it left open the possibility that thoughts and mental states relevant to psychological explanation are individuated individualistically, i.e. solely by reference to states of the individual.
Another version of externalism that is intended to apply to thought contents and psychological states, due to Davidson, holds that (most empirical) content individuation depends on the actual, historical, external causes of thoughts. This is so because content individuation depends on one’s being interpreted, which in turn depends on the interpreter’s citing the relevant causes. But it’s unclear that his kind of externalism implies the thesis that forms the heart of our seminar—anti-individualism—because even though content depends on relations to the thinker’s external environment, it’s really only the causal history of the thinker that matters.
Anti-individualism goes further. It says that content is not individuated solely by reference to causal impacts on the individual, but depends also on the nature of social and physical environmental factors whose relations to the individual are less direct. Surely, contents must be grounded in causal relations to the environment, but it’s not only the thinker’s causal history that matters. The story is more complex. Burge’s famous ‘arthritis’ case makes this clear. What’s that? Enroll and find out. Why? Because the implications of this view are significant. To cite just a few: Thinking a thought with a particular content does not require full understanding of that content; possessing a concept does not require complete grasp of its application conditions; reductionist views of content, except perhaps a very broad kind of supervenience, are false.
Requirements: two papers. Pre-requisites (on your honor, but this class will be tough): for undergraduates, either a course in philosophy of language or philosophy of mind, or excellent grades; for graduates, willingness to work very hard. Text: Burge, Foundations of Mind, plus additional readings.
*457/557 Sem: Plato
| *457/557.001 | John Bussanich | R 2:00-4:30 |
DSH-128 |
The seminar will investigate a central problem or set of problems in Plato’s thought by extensive reading of primary texts and secondary sources. The problems and topics to be investigated will be determined at the first meeting of the seminar. Students are asked to think about which topics and readings you would like the seminar to address. Here are some possibilities:
• Plato’s Metaphysics and Epistemology. Readings: Phaedo, Republic, Theaetetus, Timaeus, Sophist, and Parmenides. • The Early Socratic Dialogues and the “philosophy of Socrates.” Readings: Apology, Crito, some aporetic dialogues, Gorgias, and Protagoras. Writings by other Socratic writers, e.g. Xenophon and Aristophanes. • Plato’s Ethics. Readings: selections from aporetic dialogues, Protagoras, Republic, Symposium, and Philebus. • Love and Friendship - as a separate topic or as part of the preceding: Readings: Lysis, Symposium, and Phaedrus.
Required Text: Plato: Complete Works, ed. John Cooper, Hackett Publishing. Students should acquire this book before the seminar begins. Copies will NOT be ordered for the UNM bookstore.
679 Vedānta
| 679.001 | John Taber | T 4:00-6:30 |
DSH-334 |
A survey of major themes of the Vedānta tradition of Brahmanical thought, based on a study of texts of the two leading schools, Advaita and Viśiṣṭa Advaita: Vedānta metaphysics and epistemology (the relation of the world to Brahman, māyā and avidyā, Brahman and God (īśvara)), Vedānta practice (Vedānta and Yoga), Vedānta and other Indian philosophical traditions (esp. Buddhism). The seminar is open to all graduate students; knowledge of Sanskrit is not required (the readings will be in translation). However, for Sanskrit students there will be a separate tutorial at a time to be arranged.
Texts: selections from G. Thibaut translations of the Brahmasūtra commentaries of Śaṅkara and Rāmānuja (Sacred Books of the East series).
Requirements: For non-Sanskritists, a final paper; for Sanskritists, grade based on participation in the tutorial.
* - Indicates courses that can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit. However, graduate students may wish to consult their graduate advisors as these courses will not count toward the 500 level graduation requirements.
