f20 phil course packet 20200313 - home // purdue college ......phil courses that are cross-listed...
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LOVE WISDOM.
Department of Philosophy Course DescriptionsFall 2020
Sp2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 2
PHIL Fall 2020 Courses Meeting UCC Requirements
Below is a list of PHIL courses that are being taught in the Spring 2020 semester, and which meet
University Core Curriculum requirements. The abbreviation for the UCC Foundational Outcomes
these courses satisfy are:
HUM = Human Cultures: Humanities
IL = Information Literacy
QR = Quantitative Reasoning
STS = Science, Technology & Society
WC = Written Communication
*NOTE: PHIL 260 (Philosophy and Law) satisfies both the Information Literacy and the Written
Communication UCC requirement.
Course Number Course Title Cr Hrs UCC Requirement
PHIL 11000 The Big Questions: Introduction to Philosophy 3 HUM
PHIL 11100 Introduction to Ethics 3 HUM
PHIL 11400 Global Moral Issues 3 HUM
PHIL 12000 Critical Thinking 3 IL
PHIL 15000 Principles of Logic 3 QR
PHIL 20600 Philosophy of Religion 3 HUM
PHIL 21900 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life 3 HUM
PHIL 22300 Fate and Free Will 3 HUM
PHIL 22500 Philosophy and Gender 3 HUM
PHIL 23000 Religions of the East 3 HUM
PHIL 23100 Religions of the West 3 HUM
PHIL 24200 Philosophy, Culture, and the African American Experience 3 HUM
PHIL 26000 Philosophy and Law 3 IL, WC
PHIL 27500 Philosophy of Art 3 HUM
PHIL 28000 Ethics and Animals 3 HUM
PHIL 30100 History of Ancient Philosophy 3 HUM
PHIL 30200 History of Medieval Philosophy 3 HUM
PHIL 30300 History of Modern Philosophy 3 HUM
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 3
FALL 2020 Department of Philosophy Course Descriptions
Listed below are the PHIL courses being offered at Purdue University in Fall 2020. The courses are listed
by their five-digit course number and course title, followed by a brief description. The tables below each
description also include information on the course type (mainly lectures, marked ‘LEC’), the enrolment
limit of the course, the day(s)/time of the course or each section of it, the classroom in which the course
will be taught, and the instructor(s) for the course. Courses that include a recitation section are marked in
the tables below as type ‘LEC/REC’. Details of the recitation sections are not listed. Type ‘DIS’ indicates
a distance learning section. ‘Grad’ indicates that a graduate student will be the instructor of record. PHIL
courses that are cross-listed with other courses are marked as such (e.g., ‘c/l DEPT 10000’).
100 LEVEL COURSES
11000 The Big Questions: Introduction to Philosophy The basic problems and types of philosophy, with special emphasis on the problems of knowledge and the
nature of reality.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 11000 LEC/REC 150 TR 9:30-10:20 WTHR 172 SMITH
PHIL 11000 LEC 35 TR 10:30-11:45 BRNG 1268 DAVIS
PHIL 11000 LEC 35 TR 12:00-1:15 BRNG 1268 DAVIS
PHIL 11000 DIS 100 Grad
w/ DAVIS: TR 10:30 – 11:45am, or 12:00 – 1:15pm
This course has two primary aims:
(1) Provide exposure to a sample of philosophical issues and debates
(2) Develop skills in formulating arguments and writing essays
The topics discussed include such questions as: Does God exist? What are the limits of scientific
explanation? What is knowledge, and do we have any? Do human beings ever act freely, or does
determinism show that free will is just an illusion? Is the mind just the brain, or is there more to it? The
course will help you to formulate your own answers to such questions, by critically examining the answers
previous philosophers have given. No prior experience with philosophy is necessary.
Regarding the other aim: Logical reasoning and argumentation make up the basic methodology of
philosophy, so learning to do philosophy means learning to develop clear and convincing arguments—even
about difficult and abstract topics. Since defending a thesis is just providing an argument, these skills will
also prove useful for writing essays in other university courses. More generally, the ability to persuade
others of the truth of one’s views (at least, when they are true) is extremely useful outside the classroom.
Thus, the benefits of developing skills in argumentation, critical thinking and writing extend far beyond the
scope of the philosophical issues we’ll discuss.
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 4
11100 Introduction to Ethics A study of the nature of moral value and obligation. Topics such as the following will be considered:
different conceptions of the good life and standards of right conduct; the relation of nonmoral and moral
goodness; determinism, free will, and the problem of moral responsibility; the political and social
dimensions of ethics; the principles and methods of moral judgment. Readings will be drawn both from
contemporary sources and from the works of such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Butler, Hume,
Kant, and J. S. Mill.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 11100 LEC 35 MWF 8:30-9:20 BRNG 1268 Grad
PHIL 11100 LEC 35 MWF 12:30-1:20 BRNG B268 Grad
PHIL 11100 LEC 35 MWF 2:30-3:20 BRNG 1230 BERNSTEIN
PHIL 11100 LEC/REC 150 TR 10:30-11:20 WTHR 172 FRANK
w/ FRANK: TR 10:30 – 11:20am
Why be moral? Is it to your advantage to be moral? Are you moral if you help a poor person grudgingly,
from duty? What if that poor person requests a dollar and Bill Gates cruises by having lost his wallet and
needs a dollar to get to the bank to transfer millions for Africa relief work—to whom do you give the dollar,
assuming you have only one dollar to give? Asking and pondering such questions requires no prerequisites,
just a curious mind, like yours. We will read and discuss the thoughts of great moral philosophers like Plato,
Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Mill, and Nietzsche, as we struggle to answer the aforementioned questions. We’ll
also do some political philosophy in this course.
The course will proceed by lecture and discussion, and two (2) in-class essay examinations will determine
the grade.
11400 Global Moral Issues A systematic and representative examination of significant contemporary moral problems with a focus on
global issues such as international justice, poverty and foreign aid, nationalism and patriotism, just war,
population and the environment, human rights, gender equality, and national self-determination.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 11400 LEC 35 MWF 9:30-10:20 BRNG 1268 Grad
PHIL 11400 LEC 35 MWF 2:30-3:20 BRNG 1268 Grad PHIL 11400 LEC 35 MWF 3:30-4:20 BRNG 1268 Grad PHIL 11400 DIS 100 Grad
12000 Critical Thinking This course is designed to develop reasoning skills and analytic abilities, based on an understanding of the
rules or forms as well as the content of good reasoning. This course will cover moral and scientific
reasoning, in addition to ordinary problem solving. This course is intended primarily for students with
nontechnical backgrounds.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 12000 LEC 35 MWF 3:30-4:20 BRNG 1230 Grad
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 5
15000 Principles of Logic A first course in formal deductive logic; mechanical and other procedures for distinguishing good
arguments from bad. Truth-tables and proofs for sentential (Boolean) connectives, followed by
quantificational logic with relations. Although metatheoretic topics are treated, the emphasis is on methods.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 15000 LEC 40 MWF 10:30-11:20 BRNG 1268 Grad
200 LEVEL COURSES
20600 Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion The course will be divided into three parts. The first part of the course will deal with a question that has
loomed large in the philosophical history of western monotheism (Judaism, Christianity and Islam): is belief
in God rational? The focus here will be on arguments for God’s existence (such as the argument from the
fact that the universe seems to have been designed), on arguments against God’s existence (e.g., the
argument that a perfect God wouldn’t permit terrible things to happen and yet they happen), and on whether
belief in God can be rational if it isn’t supported by argument. The second part of the course will focus on
the fact that there are many different religions in the world, most of which claim to be the only religion that
is right about the most important truths. Our question here will be whether, in the face of this plurality of
religions, it can be rational to think that one’s own religion is right and that other religions incompatible
with it are mistaken. The third part of the course will focus on some questions in philosophical theology—
questions such as: Can we be free if God foreknows what we will do? Does it make sense to make requests
of God in prayer given that, whether we pray or not, a perfect being would know what we want and would
do what is best? The course requirements will include several short quizzes, a midterm exam, and a final
exam.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 20600 LEC/REC 75 TR 10:30-11:20 BRWN 1154 BERGMANN
20800 Ethics of Data Science As applications of data science permeate more aspects of our lives, new and important ethical issues are
arising. However, especially because we’re entering uncharted territory, reasoning clearly about the ethical
implications of data science isn’t easy. This course provides students with the tools for doing so, including
a conceptual framework for ethical reasoning in professional settings, as well as a procedure for case-study
analysis that allows students to practice employing this conceptual framework. Together, these components
help prepare students to be ethical professionals and responsible global citizens.
This course has 3 primary components:
1. Grounding students in philosophical ethics, broadly speaking, including systems of normative
ethics and traditional problems in the field.
2. Surveying contemporary literature in data ethics, specifically.
3. Examining contemporary cases/issues in big data for their ethical implications.
Assignments include a midterm case analysis, two in-class exams, and a final case analysis.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 20800 LEC 100 TR 1:30-2:45 WALC B074 KROLL
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 6
21900 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life Should we agree with Shakespeare’s Macbeth that life is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing?” Or can we give a coherent account of how and why what we do, and our lives as a
whole, should matter to ourselves and others? Do our lives have a purpose, and if so, what is it? In this class
we will study these questions, mainly through the writings of existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche,
Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre, but the writings of some contemporary analytic philosophers will be
explored as well.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 21900 LEC 35 MWF 11:30-12:20 BRNG 1268 MARIÑA
22300 Fate and Free Will This course encourages critical reflection on the nature and possibility of human freedom in a world like
ours that appears to be determined by unchanging causal and physical laws. Topics include the
compatibility of free will and determinism, the possibility of moral responsibility without free will, and the
incentives (if any) for future planning if our future fate is already sealed.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 22300 LEC 35 MWF 1:30-2:20 BRNG 1268 AUGUSTIN
22500 Philosophy and Gender An examination of the beliefs, assumptions, and values found in traditional and contemporary philosophical
analyses of women. A range of feminist approaches to knowledge, values, and social issues will be
introduced.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 22500 LEC 35 MWF 2:30-3:20 BRNG B268 Grad
23000 Religions of the East (c/l REL 230) A study of the history, teachings, and present institutions of the religions of India, Southeast Asia, China,
and Japan. This will include Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism,
and Zoroastrianism.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 23000 LEC 38 TR 12:00-1:15 WALC 1132 PURPURA
(REL 23000) 37
23100 Religions of the West (c/l REL 231) A comparative study of the origins, institutions, and theologies of the three major Western religions,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 23100 LEC 18 MWF 12:30-1:20 BRNG 1268 RYBA
(REL 23100) 17
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 7
24200 Philosophy, Culture, and the African American Experience The purpose of this course is to consider African American based or inspired conceptions of Western
philosophy and new visions of what it is to do philosophy sensitive to culturally rooted diversity.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 24200 LEC 35 TR 10:30-11:45 BRNG 1230 HARRIS
26000 Philosophy and Law We’ll examine some of the central questions of philosophy of law. How ought judicial decisions be
decided? What are laws? What’s the relation between law and morality? Under what conditions do laws
have authority over us? To what extent is it proper for laws to limit freedom? What constitutes a just
system of punishment? There will be two short papers, one a legal brief and the other a philosophy paper.
There will be two research exercises leading up to the papers. Students will also be required to write a
question or comment on the reading for most classes.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 26000 LEC/REC 150 TR 3:30-4:20 LILY 1105 PARRISH
27500 Philosophy of Art An introductory philosophy course on the nature, function, and value of art, with special emphasis on visual
art (e.g., painting).
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 27500 LEC 35 TR 1:30-2:45 BRNG 1230 COVER
28000 Ethics and Animals An exploration through the study of major historical and contemporary philosophical writings of basic
moral issues as they apply to our treatment of animals. Rational understanding of the general philosophical
problems raised by practices such as experimentation on animals or meat-eating will be emphasized.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 28000 LEC 90 MWF 12:30-1:20 SC 239 BERNSTEIN
300 LEVEL COURSES
30100 History of Ancient Philosophy This is a first course in the history of philosophy in antiquity, covering a period of almost a thousand years.
The course divides into three main parts. We begin at the beginning (where else?) when philosophy
emerged from non-philosophical modes of thought in the 6th century BCE. We will trace the intellectual
paths blazed by the first philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, and
Parmenides. Thanks to them, we became skeptical about the nature, even the reality and value, of the world
around us, no longer confident that what we perceive maps on to what there really is, and that what seems
good to us really has value. With such skepticism in the air we turn to the giants of philosophy in antiquity,
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who, each in his own way, attempts to respond to the fear that knowledge
about the sensible world is unattainable and that the reality of a realm of values is a vain imagining. Finally,
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 8
we will spend some time on philosophy after Aristotle, a very rich intellectual period that saw the rise of
Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism--competing schools of philosophy, indeed ways of life. The post-
Aristotelian philosophical movements developed through discussions and disagreements with each other,
but they will be presented here as a set of intelligent responses to Aristotle and his views about the nature
of human well-being.
The course will proceed by lecture and discussion, and two (2) in-class essay examinations will determine
the grade.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 30100 LEC 35 TR 1:30-2:45 BRNG 1268 FRANK
30200 History of Medieval Philosophy A survey of the main trends and figures of medieval philosophy, with an emphasis on metaphysics,
epistemology, and ethics. Readings (in English translation) may include Augustine, Boethius, Avicenna,
Anselm, Abelard, Maimonides, Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham and Suarez.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 30200 LEC 35 TR 3:00-4:15 BRNG 1268 Grad
30300 History of Modern Philosophy The history of philosophy, like logic and ethics and epistemology and metaphysics, is a traditional area of
academic philosophy with a history of its own. As practiced in the past, and as we’ll pursue it in this course,
it isn’t history (of a certain subject) but philosophy (with a certain focus). The focus is the content of
historically important philosophical texts. The contents of texts we examine will be approached not out of
special respect for the past, nor for the purpose of uncovering broad social currents influencing the central
figures of early modern philosophy, but simply out of a desire to discover fundamental truths about the
world. That is what philosophy is, according to those thinkers most influential in European philosophical
thought during the so-called early modern period (roughly 1600-1800). They made claims about how the
world is; these claims are either true or false – true if the world is the way they claimed it to be, false if the
world isn’t the way they claimed it to be. Of these influential thinkers we shall, time permitting, examine
selected writings of five: Descartes, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Readings and lectures will focus
primarily on metaphysical and epistemological topics, since those are the philosophical topics of central
concern to these thinkers. It's all cool stuff: a bit of history and philosophy of science, a bit of reflection
about God, some issues about what it takes to know something, some stuff about the nature of minds (from
our arm-chairs without doing any neuro-physiology), a bit more about God, a surprising treatment of “What
is a physical object?” with two hard-nosed answers guaranteed to make you feel like you’ve lived your life
up ‘till now in utter blindness, some knotty thoughts about causation and knowledge (again) that is not
guaranteed to make you nervous about planning ahead for October-break, a few reflections on the un-
rewarding game of backgammon, and more.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 30300 LEC 35 TR 9:00-10:15 BRNG 1268 COVER
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 9
35000 Philosophy and Probability
The aim of this course is to use mathematical probability to explicate the concept of (supporting) evidence
or "confirmation" and then use that explication to address a variety of foundational problems in the
philosophy of science. Topics include:
1. the rules of mathematical probability;
2. the concept of epistemic probability and theories of intrinsic probability;
3. the "relevance theory" of confirmation;
4. the structure of scientific reasoning;
5. the raven paradox: why do positive instances confirm universal generalizations to such different
degrees?
6. the asymmetry question: why does strong or conclusive evidence against a scientific theory seem
so much easier to come by than strong or conclusive evidence for it?
7. what's wrong with statistical significance testing?
8. the problem of simplicity: what is simplicity and why are simpler theories not just easier to use, but
more likely to be true?
9. Goodman's paradox and the new riddle of induction: how can one theory be more likely to be true
than all competing theories even though that theory fits the data no better or even worse than some
of those competing theories?
10. Hume's problem of induction: is it possible to justify induction?
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 35000 LEC 35 TR 9:00-10:15 BRNG 1230 DRAPER
400 LEVEL COURSES
40600 Intermediate Philosophy of Religion The course explores four closely related topics: the nature of mystical experience, the nature of numinous
experience, the cognitive or evidential value of religious experience, and the challenge of religious
diversity. Readings will include extended passages from the autobiography of the famous Christian mystic,
Saint Teresa of Avila; the first nine chapters of Rudolf Otto's classic book, The Idea of the Holy; and Robert
McKim's 2012 book, On Religious Diversity. Two exams and two papers are required.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 40600 LEC 35 TR 12:00-1:15 BRNG 1230 DRAPER
500 LEVEL COURSES
50200 Studies in Medieval Philosophy: Aquinas’s Ontology of Space This course is intended to provide a systematic introduction to Aquinas’s ontology of space and will be
divided into three parts:
Part I. Locomotion. This part will examine Aquinas’s views about locomotion, as well as the theory of
spatial location that underlies them. We will begin by focusing on what Aquinas says about bodily
locomotion, which appears to commit him to a standard Aristotelian theory of spatial location. We will then
examine Aquinas’s defense of the possibility of angelic locomotion, which requires some striking
modifications to the theory of spatial location that he develops in connection with bodies.
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Part II. Place. This part will examine Aquinas’s views about the nature of place and its connection to what
we would nowadays call ‘regions of space’. The focus here will be on what Aquinas says about the different
types of place had by different types of being, including (a) God and the physical universe (which are both
said to have “ubiquitous location” or be omnipresent in different senses), (b) angels and immaterial souls
(which are both said to have “definitive location” or to be present as “a whole in the whole, and as a whole
in each part” of their places), and (c) bodies (which are said to have “circumscriptive location” or to be
present as “a whole in the whole, and a part in each part” of their places).
III. Spatial Location. This part will examine Aquinas’s views about spatial location, with special attention
to his understanding of (a) distance relations, (b) the nature of occupation, and (c) the possibility of co-
location, multi-location, and empty space. Although the focus here will be on what Aquinas himself says
about each of these topics, we will also examine some representative late-medieval debates to which
Aquinas’s views give rise shortly after his death, especially in the wake of the Condemnation of 1277,
which explicitly censure some of his most distinctive theses about spatial location.
Assigned readings for the course will include a variety of primary texts (all in English translation) and a
sampling of the relevant secondary literature, as well as some important contributions to related debates in
contemporary analytic metaphysics. In addition to assigned readings, the course requirements will include
two papers (3000 words each) and short weekly writing assignments.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 50200 LEC 20 W 2:30-5:20 BRNG 1248 BROWER
51000 Phenomenology This course offers a careful examination of central texts in phenomenology, with special attention to
hermeneutics. Our main concern in this course will be to examine the insights of phenomenology in relation
to questions of the constitution of consciousness, temporality, understanding, interpretation, their relation
to the life project, and how they define our Being with others. As such, a central aim of the course is the
examination of interpretation in relation to ethical concerns. Readings from Husserl will include chunks
from Ideas and other essays, as well as the entirety of the Cartesian Meditations. Heidegger’s Being and
Time, and Sartre’s Being and Nothingness will be examined in relation to both Husserl’s foundations and
the issues delineated above. Comparison of the development of these issues by these three thinkers will be
a fundamental goal.
The class requires a significant amount of reading of the primary texts. These are difficult, but as
we move along we will be doing close textual analysis of key passages that will help you to uncover the
fundamental ideas behind each text.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 51000 LEC 20 M 2:30-5:20 BRNG 1248 MARIÑA
52500 Studies in Metaphysics This course in analytic metaphysics will be divided into four parts:
First, we’ll consider several topics related to human freedom (such as fatalism, agent vs. event
causation, and freedom’s relation to causal determinism, moral responsibility, and
foreknowledge).
Second, we’ll examine some traditional debates associated with universals and particulars (such as
realism vs. nominalism, bundle vs. substratum theory, constituent vs. relational ontology).
Fall 2020 PHIL Course Descriptions | 11
Third, we’ll have a look at some hotly disputed questions concerning the metaphysics of material
objects (such as the nature of change, persistence, composition, and material constitution).
Fourth and finally, we’ll investigate some important topics connected with the metaphysics of
modality (such as the nature of possible worlds, essential vs. accidental properties, counterpart
theory, and possible but nonexistent objects).
The course requirements will include two papers and weekly short writing assignments. There will be no
final exam.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 52500 LEC 20 TR 1:30-2:45 BRNG 1248 BERGMANN and BROWER
58000 Philosophy of Race Designed primarily for majors in philosophy who have already successfully completed six hours in
philosophy. Other students may be admitted to the course with the special consent of the instructor in
charge. Topic to be selected by the department.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 58000 LEC 20 TR 9:00-10:15 BRNG 1248 HARRIS
600 LEVEL COURSES
68000 19th Century German Social and Political Philosophy
This seminar will go through the central texts of classical German social and political philosophy from Kant
through Hegel. Focusing on Kant, Fichte and Hegel, we will explore both foundational issues, such as the
validity of law, and specific issues regarding property rights and other social institutions. The course is
organized topically rather than chronologically. Course requirements include a presentation, regular
participation, one 3000 word paper, and one 1500 word response to another student's paper.
Course Type Enrolment Time Bldg/Rm Instructor
PHIL 68000 LEC 20 W 11:30-2:20 BRNG 1248 YEOMANS