Spring 2007 Course Descriptions
Phil 100.01
Zachary Vanderveen
Intro to Philosophy
MWF: 9:10-10:00
This class will provide an introduction to a few common philosophical questions. Readings will be short and will cover a number of themes, but we will tie them together through the following questions: How do we know anything? How do we know ourselves? What is ethics? What is democracy? What is art? and What is the meaning of life? Philosophers will include: Kant, William James, Hume, W.E.B. DuBois, Plato, Nietzsche, Hobbes, Aristotle, Camus, Marx, Spike Lee, Sidney Hook, and Descartes.
Expected reading load is 20-30 pages a week. There will be three 4-5 page papers and a few short writing assignments.
Phil 100.02
Introduction to Philosophy
Sarah Hansen
MWF 11:10-12:00
This course is an introduction to the history of Western philosophy, its
development, major texts, themes and questions. We will read texts by
Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Nietzsche, Sartre, Beauvoir, DuBois
and
Foucault. Some major concerns we will address: What is philosophy? What
is
the relationship between the mind and the body? What is the relationship
between philosophy and politics? How do we act ethically? What
constitutes
the "self"? What is happiness? Is philosophy relevant today?
Several objectives will guide our questioning: (1) to gain an understanding of major movements in philosophy and their historical/intellectual context. (2) to develop skills of argumentation and productive communication. (3) to assess the extent to which philosophical questions affect our everyday lives, on Vanderbilt's campus and beyond.
Phil 100.03
Dom Eggert
Intro to Philosophy
MWF: 2:10-3:00
Who am I? What is the meaning of life? Where do human beings come from? How do I know what's right? What makes a society good and just? Do we have free will? Is there a God? What should I do with my life?
In Philosophy 100.04, we tackle the BIG questions, the ones that really matter. We'll read selections from modern novelists, scientists, ministers, and political leaders, in addition to classical texts from Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein, among others.
Even though we won't attain ultimate solutions to the major problems of human existence, we may just find that the search for answers offers its own rewards...
Phil 100.05
Introduction to Philosophy
James Grady
MWF 2:10-3:00
What is philosophy? This section of Introduction to Philosophy will
explore this question historically, examining some of the major texts in
the history of western thought in order to explore how the subject of
philosophy has been variously conceived by major figures. Reading works
by Plato, Aristotle, selections of great Jewish, Christian, and Islamic
thinkers of the medieval period, Descartes, Kant, and others, we will
delve into the methods of philosophical discourse and follow the
development of major metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical themes:
What is the nature of existence; why are we here; what is meaning; what
is just/moral; etc?
Daily readings will be kept relatively short, to allow for close
reading; grades will be taken from short journal entries, reading
assignments, attendance/participation, and exams (midterm and final).
Phil 100.06
Introduction to Philosophy
Jeff Edmonds
TR 1:10-2:25
Is truth possible? What is the best form of the state? Where do our
thoughts come from? Does God exist? How do we give our lives meaning?
What is the purpose of education? What is the difference between right
and wrong? Where do these questions come from? And what do they mean
today?
We'll explore these questions by reading a variety of ancient, modern,
and contemporary texts in the history of philosophy. Excerpts will be
taken from Sun Tzu, Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Descartes, Hume,
Nietzsche, James, Heidegger, and Foucault among others.
Phil 100.07
Introduction to Philosophy
Steve Hammontree
MWF 10:10-11:0
This course will provide a historical survey of canonical figures and traditions in philosophy from ancient, medieval, modern and postmodern periods. Focus will be given to enduring questions of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and of human significance, such as: Is there a God; are eternal truths knowable; what determines moral and immoral behavior; and is there a purpose for human existence? A wide variety of perspectives will be considered, ranging from the most optimistic views of human progress and worth to those of the most pessimistic views of alienation and despair. Perennial controversies will be discussed, such as those of realism vs. anti-realism, absolutism vs. relativism, determinism vs. free will, and the mind-body problem. Consideration will be given to such epistemological questions as: What demands does reason place upon us; what makes for a valid argument; what can be known with certainty (if anything); and what various faculties of reason might be appealed to in answering philosophical questions? The course will conclude with an overview of contemporary findings from logic, mathematics and science, and of how these findings impact on traditional questions of philosophy. For instance, why is quantum mechanics weird, how does it compromise strong determinism, and how does it influence the debate concerning free will? Or again, how does the Heisenberg uncertainty principle apply to the debate of certainty and skepticism? The goals of the course are to make the student critically aware of a wide range of basic philosophical issues, to inspire the student to ponder the profound questions of philosophy, and to equip the student in forming a coherent, and perhaps meaningful, worldview.
Phil 100w-02
Introduction to Philosophy
J. Aaron Simmons
MWF 11:10-12:00
In this course we will explore what it means to do philosophy by asking some of the truly “big” questions. For example: “What does it mean to be a self?” “Can the existence of God be proven?” “Do I have an ethical duty to other people?” and “What is the relationship between belief, knowledge, and truth?” In order to wrestle with these questions we will be reading selections from Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Nietzsche, Freud, Rorty, and Kierkegaard. Although this material is meant to provide an historical introduction to the broad movements of western philosophy, the course will be primarily devoted to learning to think critically and write analytically. Rather than merely observing what philosophers down through the years have done, we will attempt to actually enter the philosophical conversation itself by adding our voices to the debates. The class will depend heavily upon in-class discussion, require careful reading and emphasize successful writing skills.
PHIL 102.01
General Logic
J. Caleb Clanton
MWF 1:10-2:00
This course is an inquiry into the very process of reasoning itself. The aim of the course is to enable students to be able to distinguish good reasoning from bad reasoning, particularly within the political domain. Combining elements of propositional logic with informal logic, this course will proceed by addressing the following themes: different forms of arguments; deduction and induction; fallacies; impediments to cogent reasoning; rhetorical strategies used by politicians, advertisements, and media; argument evaluation; causality and probability; theories of truth. We will also supplement the course by applying the rules and techniques of good reasoning to matters concerning the ethics of belief and the ethics of democratic citizenship and public deliberation.
Phil 102.02
General Logic
Josh Crites
TR 11:00-12:15
A study of the uses of language, definition, informal fallacies,
the theory of the syllogism, the basic operations of modern
symbolic logic, selected issues in inductive logic, and legal,
scientific, religious, and moral reasoning. Emphasis is placed on
the ambiguities and pitfalls of ordinary usage, argument analysis,
and on techniques for translating ordinary arguments into formal
logic.
PHIL 102.03
General Logic
MWF 11:10-12:00
Scott Aikin
We will survey the basic features of propositional, categorical, and
informal logic. We will also ask some philosophical questions about the
nature of logic along the way.
Phil 115
Freshman Seminar: Humans and Their Others
J. Aaron Simmons
MWF 9:10-10:00
In this course we will investigate many different ways in which humans stand in relation to others. The big question is exactly what counts as an “other.” So, we will consider ways in which otherness exists within human society (race, gender, sexuality, etc.) and also whether we should consider animals and the environment to also be our others. Additionally, even if we know who our others are, how ought to we relate to them? Are we ethically responsible? Politically obligated? Pragmatically committed? This course will deal with contemporary debates in ethical theory, applied ethics, and political philosophy. Since it is a seminar, it will be primarily discussion based and there will be three papers over the course of the semester.
PHIL 212.01
Modern Philosophy
Scott Aikin
MWF 10:10-11:00
This course is a survey of the main thinkers of the modern period of European philosophy. We will read work from Descartes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. The principal focus of the course will be the methodological differences between these thinkers. The reading load for this course will be heavy. Classes will be primarily lecture with open invitation for questions and challenges. Writing requirements: two ten page papers and one short-answer mid-term.
Phil 226.01
Phenomenology
J. Aaron Simmons
MWF 1:10-2:00
This course will provide an introduction to one of the main philosophical movements of the twentieth century – phenomenology. We will begin by looking at the way in which phenomenology emerged in the work of Edmund Husserl as an appropriation of Brentano and in response to criticisms by Frege. The main text that we will be reading is Ideas I. We will then move on to see how Martin Heidegger deepened and expanded Husserlian philosophy by looking at The Basic Problems of Phenomenology. We will focus primarily on Heidegger’s early work, but we will also read a few essays that represent his later thought – in particular “The Origin of the Work of Art” and “The Thing.” Then, we will move on to consider an inheritor of Husserl and Heidegger and yet a critic of both – Emmanuel Levinas. We will read some of Totality and Infinity and substantive portions of Otherwise than Being. In conclusion, we will read Dominique Janicaud’s infamous essay about the “theological turn” in phenomenology and briefly look to the so-called “new” phenomenology that has developed in France over the past two decades.
Phil 249
Philosophy of Music
Jonathan Neufeld
MWF 11:10-12:00
This course will confront core topics in the philosophy of music: meaning, form, content, expression, music and language, emotion in music, ontology of musical works, and the nature of musical performance. We will focus primarily on arguments of the 19th and 20th centuries including those of Schopenhauer, Hanslick, Wagner, Nietzsche, Langer, Adorno, Cage, Dahlhaus, Goodman, Kivy, Goehr, and others. You will be required to write three papers for the course.
PHIL 228
19th C. Philosophy
John Lachs
TR 1:10-2:25
The Nineteenth Century saw a remarkable flowering of interest in how to reconcile science with religion and freedom with the social good. In this course, we'll read representative works of Hegel, Mill, Kierkegaard and William James, among others, in order to determine how the wisdom of that previous century can be of orienting help to us today.
PHIL 241
Modernist Aesthetics
Gregg Horowitz
TR 1:10-2:25
Modernist aesthetics is the study of the changes in art from, roughly, the mid-nineteenth to the late-twentieth century: its development to new forms, its tense relationship to artistic traditions, its antipathy to beauty, its commitment to avant-garde practices, and its tendency to abstract from familiar modes of experience. Our overall aim is to understand whether and in what ways modernist art can be understood as an essential expression of modern times. We will approach this question with the help of three central conceptual distinctions: ‘traditional’ vs. ‘avant-garde,’ ‘modern art’ vs. ‘contemporary art,’ and ‘abstract form’ vs. ‘familiar form.’ Readings will include Charles Baudelaire, T.S. Eliot, Clement Greenberg, Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Peter Bürger, John Ashbery, and Arthur Danto.
Phil 260
20th C Continental Philosophy
David Wood
TR 2:35-3:50
Man in the technological age is ... challenged forth into revealing ... nature, above all, as the chief storehouse of the standing energy reserve. Modern science's way of representing pursues and entraps nature as a calculable coherence of forces. (Heidegger, The Question Concerning Technology)
I sank down on the bench, stupefied, stunned by profusion of being without origin: everywhere blossomings, hatchings out, ... my ears buzzed with existence, my very flesh throbbed and opened, abandoned itself to the universal burgeoning. It was repugnant, ... What good are so many duplicates of trees? (Sartre, Nausea)
Nature is the primordial - that is, the non-constructed... It is our soil - not what is in front of us, facing us, but rather, that which carries us. (Merleau-Ponty, Nature) The absolute present, Nature, that which words like 'real mother' name, have always already escaped, have never existed; ? what opens meaning and language is writing as the disappearance of natural presence. (Derrida, Of Grammatology)
[Under patriarchy] one has to kill in order to eat, subjugate nature more and more to live, or live on, to go and look on the most distant stars for what no longer exists here and now, defend by any means whatsoever one's corner of exploitation. (Irigaray, Sexes and Genealogies)
Twentieth century continental philosophers have often had a troubled relation to nature. For some it has been a source of disgust (Sartre), for others (Camus, Merleau-Ponty) an object of reverence and a source of delight. Heidegger, Irigaray, and critical theorists like Adorno have drawn attention to the material and metaphysical dangers of our attempts at the technological domination of nature. In different ways, Foucault, Baudrillard and Derrida insist that Nature, whatever else it is, is a cultural construct - that we do not have direct access to it. These various struggles are fought out over various bodies - of animals, of women, of the earth itself, and raise the most profound questions about the meaning and value of life. The major environmental challenges of our time bring all these issues to a head in what has been called an 'objectively apocalyptic moment'. This course attempts to explore these questions in a systematic, if selective way, dealing with the work of those philosophers mentioned above, and others.
Philosophy 272
Ethics and Law
Kevin Davis
TR 9:35-10:50
This course will look at moral problems encountered by lawyers in the
practice of their profession. We begin by discussing how philosophers
have attempted to apply moral theory to professional roles, including
the lawyer's role, and then we test their conclusions by reading factual
accounts of lawyers engaged in moral decision making.
To this end we look at the moral status of the lawyer's relationship
with a client and also examine several issues that arise within that
relationship, including confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and the
business terms of a lawyer-client relationship. We read cases of how
attorneys serving as corporate counsel, criminal defense lawyers, and
prosecutors have faced moral decisions involving conflicting values and
interests. Finally, we ask what professional practice tells us about the
applicability of moral theory and in what way theories can be useful in
evaluating the moral actions of those in professional legal roles.
The class will be primarily a seminar-style discussion course. Students
write 4 papers (no exams) and represent, in brief hearings, hypothetical
clients who are lawyers accused of morally questionable actions.
PHIL 294b/AADS 294b
African American Philosophy: "Radically Rethinking Democracy, Oppression, and Liberation"
Kathryn Gines
TR 9:35-10:50
The topic of this course in African American Philosophy is "Radically Rethinking Democracy, Oppression, and Liberation." We will focus on the problem of inequality (namely race, gender, and class inequality) within social and political philosophical traditions including social contract theory, democratic theory, and Marxism. The objective of the course is to analyze the limits of these theories as they relate to race, class, and gender "difference." To do this, we will examine writings within the African American philosophical tradition including Boxill, McGary, Mills, Outlaw, and West.
Phil 353
Socrates
Robert Talisse
W 4:10-6:00
This seminar will focus on Plato’s Socrates, with particular emphasis on those dialogues surrounding Socrates’s trial and death (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Pheado). Along the way, we’ll have occasion to discuss major issues in so-called Socratic philosophy and Plato interpretation. Some of these include: Does Socrates have a method? What is Socratic irony and what is its role in the dialogues? Does Socrates believe in Forms? What is the relation of Philosophy to rhetoric? Why did Plato write dialogues? In addition to primary sources, we will examine influential secondary work by Vlastos, Benson, Brickhouse and Smith, and Roochnik.
PHIL 335
Twentieth Century Philosophy: John Dewey: Experience and
Nature
John Stuhr
T 4:10-6:00pm
Through in-depth study of John Dewey's Experience and Nature, this graduate seminar will examine critically: the ontology of pragmatism; the ways in which this ontology informs pragmatic accounts of politics, ethics, art, religion, education, science (including psychology and accounts of body and mind), and logic; and the relation between this ontology and pragmatic commitments to radical empiricism and experimental method, pluralism, meliorism, and democracy. This course does not presuppose prior familiarity with Dewey, pragmatism, or American philosophy, and will begin by situating Dewey's philosophy in the context of movements in 19th and 20th century American and European thought; it will conclude by examining links between Dewey's work and contemporary philosophy in multiple traditions. The focus of the seminar, however, will be Experience and Nature, and a week will be devoted to each of its 10 chapters. Course requirements will include a short analytical discussion essay and a final seminar paper.
PHIL 352
Democracy and Conviction
Dr. Robert Talisse
M 7:00-9:00
It seems that a core commitment of liberal democracy is that a government owes to each of its citizens justifications for its actions, policies, and institutions. It also seems that justifications for governmental action must be justifications in a very specific sense: Where citizens are deeply divided over, say, religion, a government that offers reasons for its actions that are couched in the language of a particular religious tradition fails to justify its actions; the justification it offers is such that those citizens who do not subscribe to that particular religious tradition cannot see the proposed justification as actually providing reasons for the action in question. If the government is to successfully justify its actions, then, it must provide reasons that all citizens can recognize as justificatory. If this is correct, then it looks as if political justification must avoid reference to controversial commitments, including controversial moral and religious convictions. That is, political justifications in a democratic society must be formulated in terms of publicly accessible reasons only, what Rawls called “public reasons.”
Yet there are difficulties. Given that governmental action, institutions, and policies often have an ineliminable moral component, certain political questions inevitably raise deep moral questions. The obvious case is abortion, but the same can be said of policies and laws concerning taxation, scientific research, economic activity, and the environment (to name only a few). The liberal democratic hope is that the government can settle the legal issues of, say, abortion without getting entangled in deep moral and religious controversies. But this seems implausible: the very claim that government must try to avoid such entanglement is itself a controversial moral commitment. This has led some theorists to question the very idea of a public reason; some have even called for a politics more overtly invested in certain moral and religious commitments.
In this seminar, we will explore these and related issues. Along the way, we shall be helped by visitors from outside Vanderbilt. Each guest will lead a session of our seminar, and, in addition, deliver a public lecture on a topic related to the seminar. Our guests are:
February 26: Stephen Macedo (Princeton, Center for Human Values)
March 19: Michael Perry (Emory Law)
April 9: Seyla Benhabib (Yale, Politics and Philosophy)
April 16: Roger Scruton
Tentative Reading
John Rawls, “The Idea of Public Reason Revisited” (and related essays by Nagel, Gaus, Weithman, Greenawalt, Elshtain, Sandel, Gutmann, George, Young, Ackerman, etc.)
Robert Audi and Nicholas Wolterstorff, Religion in the Public Square
Christopher Eberle, Religious Conviction in Liberal Politics
Lucas Swaine, The Liberal Conscience
Ronald Dworkin, Is Democracy Possible Here?
