Philosophy 200 Course Descriptions
The central theme for each Philosophical Perspectives course is chosen by the faculty teaching that section. This list of themes from courses taught recently gives a sense of the wide variety of approaches different professors take in the course. Explore Current Philosophical Perspectives Course Themes and Offerings
Fall 2024 PHIL 200 COURSES:
Faith, Reason, and Science
In this course we will discuss ancient Greek, Christian, and modern scientific approaches to questions about faith, reason, knowledge, and God. We will explore questions about the existential dilemmas of belief and unbelief that face us in our day by reading and discussing primary texts in the history of philosophy. Using Descartes’ Discourse on Method as the key text of the course we will discuss the rise of modern science and technology in the 17th century and beyond and address questions such as: Are humans unique in the universe? Is there any meaning to life? Does a God exist and what is God’s nature? How can we reconcile the existence of a divine being with the presence of evil and suffering in the world? What is the value of thoughtfulness, self-reflection, and dialogue, especially with respect to a possible relation to the divine? Along the way we will develop critical thinking skills by evaluating and developing philosophical arguments in speech and in writing.
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DWYER |
TR |
8:30-9:45 |
92999 |
200-01 |
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DWYER |
TR |
11:30-12:45 |
93001 |
200-03 |
Humans, Animals, and Machines
Philosophers have often looked to our fellow creatures and our technological creations in order to shed light on what, if anything, might be special about we human animals. Are we truly unique in the natural world? Are we really so different from machines or artificial intelligence? Answering these questions and looking to the natural and technological spheres have led to some of the most profound questions about who and what humans are. Considering early scientific discussions of our animal passions, mechanical theories of nature and human life, the rise of evolutionary thought, growing intimacy with animals as pets, computational theories of minds, and now artificial intelligence, we will examine the attempts to identify or dispute the uniquely human. This course attempts to chart the development of some of these philosophical questions and how they are shaped by advances in science and technology. In addition to Descartes, this course will examine works by Hobbes, Diderot, La Mettrie, Darwin, William James, Mary Midgley, Donna Haraway, John Searle, Vicki Hearne, and David Chalmers. Our readings will raise questions such as: What makes humans humans, animals animals, machines machines?, Is there something unique in the category of “persons”?, Is there a difference between mind and matter?, What is person?, Are we simply complicated machines?, Could artificial intelligence ever achieve the status of “person”?, Do animals or computers have beliefs, desires, experiences?
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DIANDA |
TR |
1:00-2:15 |
93000 |
200-02 |
|
DIANDA |
TR |
2:30-3:45 |
93004 |
200-06 |
Modernity & God
This course will explore the questions modern philosophy has asked about God and the questions God might ask about modernity. We will survey modern philosophy of God from, among others, Descartes and Pascal to Marx and Dostoyevsky to Freud and Stein. Students will emerge from the course with a clearer understanding of how the porous boundary between faith and reason was drawn and who has policed its borders.
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ZURCHER |
MWF |
10:00-10:50 |
93002 |
200-07 |
Self Knowledge
A study of self-knowledge divisible into the following questions: Is self-knowledge direct or indirect, immediate or mediated? What are the roles of the material world, friends, and God in self-knowledge. We will apply these questions to texts from Augustine, Aquinas, and Descartes.
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SWEENEY |
MWF |
8:00-8:50 |
93003 |
200-04 |
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SWEENEY |
MWF |
10:00-10:50 |
93006 |
200-05H |
Theory of Knowledge
Ancient and modern philosophers will help us reflect, analyze, and understand some fundamental questions about knowledge, or as it is formally called, epistemology. What does it mean to know something? Is it the case that what we observe actuality represents reality? Is there an independent reality beyond perception or opinion? What exactly is an opinion? Is there any absolute, objective truth? We will not settle these questions, but you will become more aware of them and will explore, criticize, and defend some possible answers. In this way, you may become more thoughtful and articulate. We will examine each philosopher’s theory of knowledge, and you will have a chance to reflect upon many of the current debates in epistemology (the study of knowledge)
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ONLINE, 2nd session accelerated course/APEX |
96164 |
200-21D |