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This course is an intro-level course aimed at providing an introduction to several main topics and issues in philosophy. To guide this survey, the course will ask and investigate four main questions about human life and its limits (set out by Kant): what can I know?; what must I do?; what may I hope?; and what is a human?. To answer these questions, we will cover important figures in the western philosophical tradition from across history – from Plato and Aristotle in the 3rd-4th century BCE, to Sartre and Beauvoir in the early 20th century, to contemporary figures of our day. In addition to investigating these core questions, the course will ensure that students are able to see their relevance to current issues and investigations and facilitate students’ ability to draw from this material in their future endeavors (be they philosophical or not).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

This course is an intro-level course aimed at providing an introduction to several main topics and issues in philosophy. To guide this survey, the course will ask and investigate four main questions about human life and its limits (set out by Kant): what can I know?; what must I do?; what may I hope?; and what is a human?. To answer these questions, we will cover important figures in the western philosophical tradition from across history – from Plato and Aristotle in the 3rd-4th century BCE, to Sartre and Beauvoir in the early 20th century, to contemporary figures of our day. In addition to investigating these core questions, the course will ensure that students are able to see their relevance to current issues and investigations and facilitate students’ ability to draw from this material in their future endeavors (be they philosophical or not).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

What matters in life?  Is pleasure the only thing that matters?  If so, whose pleasure should I pursue-just my own, my family's, or everyone's? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me-say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away?  If things in life other than pleasure matter too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it's wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt.  Are they right?  Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent?  Why?  When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be?  Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy?  If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick?  In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

What matters in life?  Is pleasure the only thing that matters?  If so, whose pleasure should I pursue-just my own, my family's, or everyone's? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me-say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away?  If things in life other than pleasure matter too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it's wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt.  Are they right?  Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent?  Why?  When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be?  Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy?  If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick?  In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

This course explores the historical development of Buddhist thought and practice across Asia by tracing how communities of monks, scholars, and philosophers sought to understand and embody the path to liberation. Including studies of major schools and figures in Buddhism, including Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, and Buddhaghosa, students examine how diverse Buddhist traditions emerged from shared questions about mind, self, causality, and the nature of awakening.Along the way, the course cultivates key academic skills in textual interpretation, argumentation, and historical contextualization. Students learn to analyze philosophical ideas within their religious and cultural settings, compare perspectives across regions and time periods, and engage critically with both primary sources and modern scholarship.By combining close reading with cross-cultural inquiry and philosophical reasoning, students gain insight not only into the development of Buddhism but also into the broader processes by which ideas travel, transform, and shape worlds. The course provides both newcomers and those with prior background a rigorous and rewarding foundation for further study in religion, philosophy, or intellectual history.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Is there a distinct American worldview, or merely a confluence of intellectual traditions originating beyond and before the USA? This course explores the diverse intellectual strains that have contributed to the development of American philosophy in the last three centuries, including influences that have been somewhat neglected: the American Indian thought of Arthur Parker and Zit Kala Za (Gertie Bonnin); the puritan theology of Jonathan Edwards; the political theory of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson; the African American philosophy of W.E.B. DuBois and Alain Locke; the transcendentalism of R. W. Emerson and H.D. Thoreau; the 'classical' pragmatism of C.S. Peirce and William James; the 'radical' pragmatism of John Dewey and Jane Adams. Special attention will be given to American conceptions of justice, freedom, democracy, religiosity, nature, pragmatism, progress and self-reliance.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Many aspects of cognition, perception, and action have been studied from a number of different angles across a variety of different fields: philosophy of mind, epistemology, psychology, cognitive science and others. This course highlights the intersection of study between philosophy and psychology as it relates to the possession of skill (in particular, the notions of automaticity and cognitive control in skill). How does one acquire skill? how does one deploy it once one has it? what does it mean to be in a flow state? how much is one actively thinking when performing skillfully? To answer these questions, we will begin by examining classic conceptions of the acquisition of skill and how those relate to basic intellectualist and non-intellectualist conceptions. From there, we will examine hybrid positions and some of the difficulties they face. Finally, we will end by considering the distinction between skill and habit. All the while, we will be examining empirical research that helps substantiate the various conceptual claims being made, and discuss how said research should influence the conceptual landscape.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

This course studies how different aspects of the world fit together. The world appears to have layers of deep structure beyond what we can directly see: a table, say, is composed of molecules, atoms, elementary particles, and so on. Does that mean the table is nothing more than a swarm of particles? What about trees or cats? Do the same laws apply to everything—from galaxies to human minds? Or do new patterns or properties emerge as systems get bigger and more complex? These questions fall under the topic of reduction and emergence, which cuts across philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and philosophy of physics. We will also ask: Can consciousness, life, or social behavior be explained in purely physical terms? How do chemistry and biology intersect with physics? Is the direction of time also an emergent phenomenon?

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

We consent to all kinds of things: medical procedures, sexual interactions, business contracts, governmental authority, and more. And in today's day and age, people talk about consent all the time. But as soon as you get past the surface-level, numerous controversies immediately arise. Must consent always be explicit, or can it ever be tacit? Exactly how much information do you need to consent to something? Can kids not consent to anything, or are there things that they can consent to? To what extent does intoxication make you unable to consent? What kinds of coercive pressures undermine your consent, and what kinds of coercive pressures can you be expected to resist against? What role should consent have in the law? And conceptually speaking, what even is consent? The list goes on. In this course, we will investigate such controversies about consent, across the domains of medicine, sex, business, and governance. Not only will we talk about the fundamental philosophical questions underlying these controversies, but we will also talk about the real-world problems that make these controversies so high-stakes.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Science, and the technologies it fuels, are at the heart of modern society. It shapes how we see and interact with the world. But what is science, really? How does it work, and just how seriously should we take its discoveries? This course dives into the questions behind the sciences we often take for granted. More specifically, we will discuss: What is the line between science and pseudo-science? Should we accept as true the weird and wonderful things that modern science seems to be telling us about the Universe—quarks, DNA molecules, distant galaxies, parallel universes—or are scientific theories our most handy tools to navigate the world we observe with our senses? We will also explore how alternative perspectives, such as feminist philosophy of science, challenge the traditional idea that science is objective and value-free, and how the practice of science has been influenced by its social and historical contexts? No prerequisites in sciences. While this class is in a longer time slot, it will meet for the normal three hours per week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Metaphysics - the investigation of the fundamental categories of being - is as old as philosophy itself. This class is devoted to the most important and intriguing metaphysical theories and problems of contemporary philosophy. Specific topics will vary from year to year depending on student and faculty interest but will likely include: time and space, freedom and determinism, infinity, identity, causality, death, the origin and demise of the universe, abstract and fictional objects, necessity and possibility, human nature and transhumanism, and the categories of race and gender. We will also be concerned with the relationship between metaphysics and other domains within and beyond philosophy, such as literature and natural science. Classes will be seminar-style, focused on discussion of readings and student work. Prerequisite(s): A 100- or 200- level Philosophy course.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

How should we organize and live our lives together? This is the central question that social and political philosophers ask. In this course, we'll tackle this high-stakes question, with a focus on contemporary texts. To do this, we'll investigate a number of real-world social and political phenomena, tentatively including: the state; the modern workplace; the institution of marriage; the prison system; political partisanship; voting; and protest movements. And we'll explore the philosophical questions that underlie our investigation of these phenomena - questions about authority, freedom, equality, oppression, sociality, knowledge, trust, identity, respect, and much more. By the end, you'll walk away with a deeper appreciation of the complexities of living life with and alongside each other.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

The Philosopher Aristotle said "without friends no one would choose to live, though they had all other goods". (Nicomachean Ethics, 1055a 5-7). It is not clear exactly what Aristotle means by this, but the high value he gives to friendship and love is shared by many other ancient Greek and Chinese Philosophers, such as Plato, Epicurus, and Confucius. This class will begin with an overview of central themes in ancient and contemporary philosophy -- epistemology, metaphysics and ethics -- and then undertake a detailed investigation of friendship and love: Why are friendship and love valuable? How do we become friends, and when should we break off friendships? With whom can we be friends: family members? pets? on-line friends? AI? Is ’romantic’ love real or merely a social construction? Should we love only one other, or many, or everyone? Could it be good for us to have no friends, or should we have as many friends as possible? How should we think philosophically about polyamory and asexuality? What role, if any, does gender play in four conceptions of friendship and love? What, if anything, do we owe to our friends and lovers? We will consider texts by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Sappho, Confucius, Montaigne, Kant, Emerson, de Beauvoir, Sartre, bell hooks, as well as several contemporary philosophical perspectives on friendship and love. We will also read works of literature, such as Shakespeare’s Sonnets, and love poems of Emily Dickinson, and view together several films, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Her. Your grade will be based on three short papers, two ’take-home’ examinations, reading responses (’convos’), and attendance/participation.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

The Philosopher Aristotle said "without friends no one would choose to live, though they had all other goods". (Nicomachean Ethics, 1055a 5-7). It is not clear exactly what Aristotle means by this, but the high value he gives to friendship and love is shared by many other ancient Greek and Chinese Philosophers, such as Plato, Epicurus, and Confucius. This class will begin with an overview of central themes in ancient and contemporary philosophy -- epistemology, metaphysics and ethics -- and then undertake a detailed investigation of friendship and love: Why are friendship and love valuable? How do we become friends, and when should we break off friendships? With whom can we be friends: family members? pets? on-line friends? AI? Is ’romantic’ love real or merely a social construction? Should we love only one other, or many, or everyone? Could it be good for us to have no friends, or should we have as many friends as possible? How should we think philosophically about polyamory and asexuality? What role, if any, does gender play in four conceptions of friendship and love? What, if anything, do we owe to our friends and lovers? We will consider texts by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Sappho, Confucius, Montaigne, Kant, Emerson, de Beauvoir, Sartre, bell hooks, as well as several contemporary philosophical perspectives on friendship and love. We will also read works of literature, such as Shakespeare’s Sonnets, and love poems of Emily Dickinson, and view together several films, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Her. Your grade will be based on three short papers, two ’take-home’ examinations, reading responses (’convos’), and attendance/participation.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

What matters in life? Is happiness the only thing that matters? If so, whose happiness should I care about? Just my own? My family’s? Or everyone else’s, too? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me-say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away? If things in life other than happiness matter, too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it’s wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt. Are they right? Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent? Why? When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be? Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy? If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick? In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

What matters in life? Is happiness the only thing that matters? If so, whose happiness should I care about? Just my own? My family’s? Or everyone else’s, too? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me-say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away? If things in life other than happiness matter, too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it’s wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt. Are they right? Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent? Why? When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be? Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy? If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick? In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Did Confucius really say all those things? What does it mean to call something "zen"? The popularity of mindfulness and meditation made "Eastern Philosophy" fashionable, but what exactly does that entail? This class will be an introduction to classical Chinese philosophy, focusing on Confucianism and its rivals (Daoism, Mohism, Buddhism). Many schools of thought in East Asia offered competing views on how to live a good life; we will explore these views and chart how they responded to each other. We'll also see how Chinese thoughts were received and developed by Korean and Japanese philosophers and assess ongoing influences of these philosophies in East Asia and beyond. Texts with English translations.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

What is the relationship between our conscious experience and the physical world? This question is one way of articulating the “mind-body problem”, which is arguably the central question of the philosophy of mind. This course provides a survey of the most influential historical and contemporary answers to the mind-body problem, including dualism, behaviorism, identity theory, and functionalism. Toward the end of the term, we will likely also cover topics such as panpsychism, the Simulation Argument, the puzzle of personal identity, and the question of whether a machine could ever be conscious. Students will leave the course with a firm foundation in the philosophy of mind and with a sharper perspective on what it means to be a thinking being.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

For Marx, "philosophy" is really not a thing, since the world of ideas has no independent existence. And nevertheless, all Marx ever did was to write things, to do theory. In this course, we will come to know Marx’s theory as something that cannot be separated from the texts he wrote, texts that continue to challenge us in questioning the way we make sense of the world. We will read selections from Marx’s early writings on religion and alienation through the theory of ideology and commodity fetishism in tandem with texts by 20th-century thinkers and activists who critiqued and further developed Marx’s thought (Gramsci, Luxemburg, Du Bois, Angela Davis, Adorno). Requirements: Reading responses, problem sets, one short and one long paper. Core course for the Critical Theory Concentration. Taught in English.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

The field of environmental ethics sparks a rich line of philosophical inquiry largely focused on the moral status of the natural world and the non-human entities within it. What reasons do we have to give moral consideration to the environment? And what do we mean when we say we have a moral duty toward the environment? Do we have moral duties to individuals within a species, or to species themselves, or to ecosystems, or to...? This course will invite you to reflect on key philosophical works that engage these and related questions. This course relies heavily on scholarship in Indigenous Environmental Justice and depending on the semester, may also include the debate over the ethics of wilderness preservation; global climate change and resource sustainability; rights of water and other so-called 'natural objects' such as trees, plants, and rocks.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Artificial Intelligence is one of the most exciting and fastest-moving technological fields today. This course examines philosophical questions related to AI. We will explore big-picture questions such as whether AIs can be conscious, whether we can control them, whether there might be an intelligence explosion. What, if anything, distinguishes intelligence from computation, prediction, or pattern recognition? How should we think about AI agency, autonomy, and responsibility? We will also consider ethical and social issues involving large language models, transparency and explainability, the ethical status of robots, and the ethics of deploying AI in high-stakes domains. No programming experience required.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

There are over 5000 nations of Indigenous peoples globally, including over 574 Native American tribal nations in what we now call the United States. This discussion-based course engages the rich diversity of thought in the tradition of Native American and Indigenous philosophy from both a historical as well as contemporary perspective. We will read from Indigenous philosophers on topics such as land, relations, being, and sovereignty to pose questions such as: What does it mean to be alive? What is the best way to know?, and, How do we live a good life in agreement with our surroundings?

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

In what sense are mental illnesses genuine illnesses, and how do they differ from other bodily ailments? Is a psychiatric diagnosis the discovery of a natural biological fact, or is it a social judgment cloaked in the language of science? This course provides an overview of the philosophical study of mental disorder from a variety of angles, including the scientific, the ontological, and the sociopolitical. Throughout the term we will engage with interdisciplinary work in order to evaluate the scientific and normative status of mental disorder classifications. We will also examine the power dynamics between the institutions that employ these labels and the individuals affected by them. Students will develop the analytical tools necessary to navigate the complex intersection of science and values that is modern psychiatry. While the course will deal with sophisticated concepts, no specific philosophical background is required, and interested students from a variety of backgrounds are encouraged to enroll.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

A capstone experience in philosophy for senior majors. Each participant in the seminar will be expected to write an essay reflective of scholarly standards within the discipline on a question of their own choosing, within a collaborative and supportive environment. Participants in the seminar will help one another develop their capstone papers and prepare to present them publicly at the end of the semester. Readings may be assigned as appropriate with regard to student-identified topics. Prerequisite(s): Philosophy major and senior status, or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities