Philosophy
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Daniel Brudney, G-B
504, 702-7546, dbrudney@midway.uchicago.edu
Secretary for Undergraduate Philosophy: Evada L. Waller, Cl 17, 702-8513,
e-waller@uchicago.edu
Program of Study
Philosophy covers a wide range of historical periods and fields. The Bachelor of Arts program with concentration in philosophy is intended to acquaint students with some of the classic texts of the discipline and with the different areas of inquiry, and to train them in rigorous methods of argument. In addition to its standard concentration program, the department offers two sub-concentration options. The intensive concentration option is for qualified students interested in small group discussions of major philosophical problems and texts. The option in philosophy and allied fields is designed for students who wish to pursue an interdisciplinary program involving philosophy and some other field. All three options are described in the next section.
The course offerings described include both 200-level courses (which are normally restricted to College students) and 300-level courses (which are open to graduate students and advanced College students). There is room for a good deal of flexibility in individual planning of programs; most of the requirements allow some choice among options, course prerequisites may be relaxed with the consent of the instructor, and College students may take 400- and 500-level courses (which are normally restricted to graduate students) under special circumstances. (Consult the quarterly Time Schedules for additional course listings.) Students should work out their program under the guidance of the director of undergraduate studies.
Program Requirements
The Standard Concentration. There are four basic requirements for the standard concentration in philosophy. They are intended to constitute a core philosophy curriculum and to provide some structure within an extremely varied collection of course offerings that changes from year to year.
1. Introduction: The History of Philosophy. The Department of Philosophy offers a three-quarter sequence in the history of philosophy (Philosophy 250, 260, and 270), which begins in the first quarter with ancient Greek philosophy and ends in the third quarter with nineteenth-century philosophy. Students concentrating in philosophy are required to take two courses from this sequence (any two are acceptable) and are encouraged to take all three. Students are also encouraged to take these courses early in their program because they make an appropriate introduction to more advanced courses.
2. Elementary Logic (Philosophy 300). Students may elect to bypass this for a more advanced course if they can satisfy the instructor that they are qualified to begin at a higher level.
3. Field Distribution. At least one course in each of the three following fields: (I) value theory (including ethics, social and political philosophy, and aesthetics); (II) philosophy of science and mathematics; and (III) metaphysics and epistemology. Courses that may be counted toward these requirements are marked by the appropriate numerals in the course descriptions. Other courses may not be used to satisfy field distribution requirements.
4. Ten Graded Courses. Philosophy concentrators must take ten graded courses within the department, distributed so as to meet the preceding three requirements.
Summary of Requirements:
Standard Concentration|
2 |
from Philos 250, 260, and 270 |
|
1 |
Philos 300 or approved alternative course in logic |
|
3 |
one each from fields I, II, and III |
|
4 |
additional courses in philosophy |
|
10 |
The Intensive Concentration. The intensive concentration is designed to acquaint students with the problems and methods of philosophy in more depth than is possible for students in the standard concentration. It differs from the standard program mainly by offering students the opportunity to meet in very small discussion groups open only to students in the intensive concentration program. These discussion groups are as follows:
| a junior seminar in the autumn quarter of the junior year (Philosophy 296) | |
| a junior tutorial (Philosophy 292) | |
| a senior tutorial (Philosophy 293) |
In addition, students in the intensive track must write a senior essay. The junior seminar and two tutorials replace two of the four additional courses in philosophy mentioned in the summary of requirements for the standard concentration. The requirements for the intensive concentration are:
Summary of Requirements:
Intensive Concentration|
2 |
from Philos 250, 260, and 270 |
|
1 |
Philos 300 or approved alternative course in logic |
|
3 |
one each from fields I, II, and III |
|
1 |
Philos 296 (junior seminar) |
|
1 |
Philos 292 (junior tutorial) |
|
1 |
Philos 293 (senior tutorial) |
|
2 |
Philos 297 and 298 (preparation for senior essay) |
|
2 |
additional courses in philosophy |
|
13 |
Admission to the intensive track requires an application to the undergraduate program committee, which should be made by the middle of the spring quarter of a student's sophomore year. Students interested in the program should consult with the director of undergraduate studies before applying.
Philosophy and Allied Fields. This variant of the concentration is intended for students who wish to create a coherent interdisciplinary program involving philosophy and some other field of study. Students in this program must satisfy the first three of the basic requirements for the standard concentration (a total of six courses) and take six additional courses that together constitute a coherent program; at least one of these six additional courses must be in the Department of Philosophy. Students must receive approval for the specific courses they choose to be used as the allied fields courses. Admission to philosophy and allied fields requires an application to the undergraduate program committee, which should be made by the middle of the spring quarter of a student's sophomore year. To apply, students must submit both a statement of purpose that explains why they want to enter and a sample program of courses, and they must have the agreement of a member of the Department of Philosophy to serve as their sponsor in the program. Students interested in this program should consult with the director of undergraduate studies before applying.
Summary of Requirements:
Philosophy and Allied Fields|
2 |
from Philos 250, 260, and 270 |
|
1 |
Philos 300 or approved alternative course in logic |
|
3 |
one each from fields I, II, and III |
|
6 |
additional courses, at least one of which must be in the Department of Philosophy |
|
12 |
The Senior Essay. This essay is written by all students in the intensive concentration, and by other students whose application to write the essay is approved by the undergraduate program committee. The senior essay is one of the requirements for students who have been admitted to the intensive concentration. Students who are not in the intensive concentration but who wish to write a senior essay, should apply to do so by early in the third quarter of their junior year. Application forms are available in the departmental office; completed forms should be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies. Students are advised to formulate plans for their essays in consultation with a faculty adviser and the director of undergraduate studies.
After a proposal is approved, a student should preregister for Philosophy 297 in the autumn (or winter) quarter and for Philosophy 298 in the spring (or winter) quarter of his or her senior year. (These two courses are among the requirements for the Intensive Concentration. For the Standard Concentration and for Allied Fields, these courses together count for one elective course.)
Honors. The main requirement for honors is a senior essay of distinction. A grade point average of 3.0 or better is also usually required. General philosophy course work, including performance in the Senior Seminar, is also taken into consideration.
Transfer Students. Requirements for students transferring to the University of Chicago are the same as for other students, with the stipulation that at least seven of the ten courses required for the concentration must be taken in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago.
Advising. Questions concerning program plans, honors, or any other matters should be directed to the director of undergraduate studies. All students planning to graduate in spring quarter 1999 must have their programs approved by the director of undergraduate studies at the beginning of autumn quarter 1998.
Faculty
MURAT AYDEDE, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and the College
DANIEL BRUDNEY, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and the College; Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Philosophy
TED COHEN, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committees on the Visual Arts and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
ARNOLD I. DAVIDSON, Professor, Department of Philosophy, the Divinity School, Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science, and the College
MICHAEL FORSTER, Professor, Department of Philosophy and the College; Chairman, Department of Philosophy
DANIEL GARBER, Lawrence Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science, and the College
CHARLES LARMORE, Professor, Political Science, Department of Philosophy, and the College
JONATHAN LEAR, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on Social Thought, and the College
DAVID MALAMENT, David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science, and the College; Chairman, Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science
IAN B. MUELLER, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science, and the College
MARTHA C. NUSSBAUM, Professor, the Law School, the Divinity School, Department of Philosophy, and the College
ROBERT B. PIPPIN, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on Social Thought, and the College
ROBERT J. RICHARDS, Professor, Departments of History, Philosophy, and Psychology, Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science, and the College; Director, Program in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HiPSS)
HOWARD STEIN, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science
JOSEF STERN, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, and the College
WILLIAM TAIT, Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy
CANDACE VOGLER, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
WILLIAM WIMSATT, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committees on the Conceptual Foundations of Science and Evolutionary Biology, Morris Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine, and the College
Courses
The following courses are designed for College students.
210. Introduction to Ethics (=GS Hum 292, HiPSS 210, Philos 210). The major portion of this course consists of an examination of the most influential types of ethical theory. After studying these theories, we turn to their practical applications. Special attention is given to the implications of different theories for ethical problems in medicine. A. Davidson. Autumn. (I)
217. Practical Philosophy. Contemporary moral philosophy is roughly divided into arguments about what an ethical consideration is (meta-ethics), and what is ethically acceptable or obligatory (applied ethics). We read the work of figures such as G. E. M. Anscombe, Cora Diamond, Philippa Foot, John Stuart Mill, and Peter Singer to look at the ways in which philosophical considerations might be brought to bear on real-world ethical questions. Our central cases are connected with taking life and range over the topics of abortion, euthanasia, vegetarianism, and war. L. Tillinghast. Spring.
235. Philosophy of Mind (=HiPSS 204, Philos 235). After a brief look at Cartesian dualism and some of the historical responses to it, we tun to contemporary proposals to solve the Mind-Body Problem. The focus is on metaphysical issues about the status of the mind and its relation to the body or matter. We read original articles from Behaviorists, Identity Theorists, and Functionalists and look at the modern cognitive science resources on consciousness and intentionality. M. Aydede. Winter. (III)
250. History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy. PQ: Common Core humanities sequence. This course studies the central figures of early Greek philosophy with a focus on Plato and Aristotle and including Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Socrates. I. Mueller. Autumn.
260. History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy. PQ: Common Core humanities sequence; Philos 250 helpful. This course surveys the history of philosophy from the late medievals to Hume. Staff. Winter.
270. History of Philosophy III: Kant and the Nineteenth Century. PQ: Common Core humanities sequence. This course studies a number of important moral and political philosophers of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Kant, Bentham, Hegel, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, and others may be read. D. Brudney. Spring.
292-1,-2. Junior Tutorial I, II. PQ: Open only to third-year students who have been admitted to the intensive concentration program. Staff. Winter, Spring.
293-1,-2. Senior Tutorial I, II. PQ: Open only to fourth-year students who have been admitted to the intensive concentration program. Staff. Winter, Spring.
296. Junior Seminar. PQ: Open only to third-year students who have been admitted to the intensive concentration program. This course provides directed close reading and discussion, with weekly papers and presentations, of classical texts and contemporary papers on a central topic such as free will, self-knowledge, or the problem of evil. J. Stern. Autumn.
297. The Senior Essay I. PQ: Consent of director of undergraduate studies. Students who are writing a senior essay must register for this course either in the autumn quarter or the winter quarter of the senior year (and for Philos 298 in either the winter quarter or the spring quarter of the senior year). D. Brudney. Autumn, Winter.
298. The Senior Essay II. PQ: Consent of director of undergraduate studies. Students who are writing a senior essay must register for this course in either the winter quarter or the spring quarter of the senior year (and for Philos 297 in the autumn quarter or the winter quarter of the senior year). D. Brudney. Winter, Spring.
299. Reading Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and director of undergraduate studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
The following courses are designed for College students and graduate students.
300. Elementary Logic (=CFS 335, HiPSS 207, Philos 300). Course not for field credit. This course is an introduction to formal logic. Formal languages for sentential and predicate logic are introduced, together with the semantics for these languages (that is, the notions of "interpretation," "truth," and "validity"). The relation of these languages to ordinary English is discussed (that is, the logical structure of English), and techniques for determining the validity of arguments are explained. Time permitting, the course ends with an informal discussion of more advanced topics in logic (in particular, the Church undecidability theorem and the Gödel incompleteness theorem) and their relevance to issues in the philosophy of mathematics. T. Cohen. Autumn.
311. Political Philosophy. This course begins by examining John Rawls's recent book, Political Liberalism. We then look at important recent work in political philosophy by G. A. Cohen, Joshua Cohen, Avishai Margalit, Thomas Nagel, and others. D. Brudney. Winter. (I)
313. Aesthetics and Theory of Criticism (=COVA 251, GS Hum 305, Philos 313). This course is an introduction to problems in the philosophy of art with both traditional and contemporary texts. Topics include the definition of art, representation, expression, metaphor, and taste. T. Cohen. Spring. (I)
316. Human Rights I (=Hist 293/393, Law 412, Philos 316, PolSci 339). This course addressed the philosophical and historical basis of human rights, the concept of human rights, and the main types of human rights, the controversies surrounding these and the methods of justifying them. There is a special focus on the moral and legal importance of human rights and their relations to other moral and legal values. A. Gewirth. Autumn. (I)
317. Civic Republicanism (=Philos 317, PolSci 252/332). This course looks at civic republicanism as a distinctive form of political thought (examining its ideas of freedom, rights, and self-rule) and exploring in general its possible points of divergence from the liberal tradition. Some attention is given to classical authors (such as Machiavelli), but the focus is on contemporary writers (such as J. G. A. Pocock, Q. Skinner, C. Sunstein, and P. Pettit). C. Larmore. Spring. (I)
318. History of Sexuality after Foucault (=CFS 326, HiPSS 231, Philos 318). This course studies Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality, as well as responses to and criticisms of his work. Attention is given to issues in both the history and philosophy of science, and moral and political philosophy. A. Davidson. Autumn. (I)
319. Human Rights and Natural Law (=GendSt 319, GS Hum 301, Philos 319). PQ: Prior course in ethics, political or social philosophy, or philosophy of law; or consent of instructor. Crimes by peoples against peoples form some of the most urgent cases of human rights abuses in the twentieth century. But this sort of human rights abuse and many of the remedies proposed in response to it are notoriously hard to theorize from a liberal perspective. In this course, we turn to the natural law tradition, concentrating on work by Aquinas and by contemporary Thomistic thinkers, to consider whether or not natural law provides the theoretical resources needed to think about and address human rights abuses involving whole peoples. C. Vogler. Autumn. (I)
321. Philosophical Issues of Mathematical and Physical Geometry (=CFS 334, HiPSS 224, Philos 321). We consider questions about the source and the content of "geometrical knowledge," and how understanding of these issues has been transformed by the nineteenth- and twentieth-century development of mathematics and physics. H. Stein. Spring. (II)
327. Philosophy of Biology (=CFS 376, HiPSS 227, Philos 327). This course explores topics in the history of evolution and genetics from 1859 to the present, illustrating conceptual and methodological issues in the nature of scientific change, problem-solving, mechanistic explanation, and strategies of model-building. Case studies include: (1) the development of genetics and its competitor theories from Mendel through the classical period (ca. 1926); (2) the units of selection controversy in modern evolutionary biology; (3) theories of the role of development in evolution from Haeckel to the present (Buss, Kauffman, Gould, Arthur, and Raff), and the instructor's research. A computer simulation lab is two hours a week in addition to scheduled class time to give hands-on experience with model building, and to teach relevant classical and population genetics. W. Wimsatt. Spring. (II)
332. Rationalism (=CFS 365, Philos 332). Staff. Spring. (III)
335. Meaning, Knowing, and Understanding. Lectures focus on certain ideas about these notions deriving from Wittgenstein's investigations and taking some account of the more contemporary literature concerning them. W. Tait. Spring. (III)
337. Austin and Grice: Selected Readings (=GS Hum 302, Philos 337). PQ: Prior philosophy classes, including at least elementary logic, helpful. Readings include Austin's "Other Minds," "A Plea for Excuses," and How to do Things with Words, and Grice's "Logic and Conversation." If time permits, we also read related work by Wisdom, Derrida, and Cavell. T. Cohen. Winter. (III)
341. First Philosophy by Descartes and Spinoza (=Philos 341, SocTh 361). The attempt to re-establish a first philosophy by Descartes relies on the ego, a finite principle. Spinoza reshapes this endeavor by focusing on an infinite principle, the substantia. Parallel readings of Descartes' Principia Philosophiae 1 and Spinoza's Ethica 1. J.-L. Marion. Spring. (III)
345. Sigmund Freud: Psyche and Society (=German 370, HiPSS 245, Philos 345, SocTh 308). PQ: Advanced standing. This course is an introduction to Freud through an examination of his major works on culture and society. The course examines the dynamic interactions between the individual psyche and society, and it explores the possibility of extending psychoanalytic ideas to the analysis of social, political, and religious experience. Texts include Totem and Taboo, the Schreber Case, Civilization and Its Discontents, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, and Moses and Monotheism. J. Lear, E. Santner. Winter. (III)
348. Kant's Theory of Freedom. This course examines the answers Kant gave, after the inauguration of his critical philosophy in the Critique of Pure Reason, to the following questions: What is human freedom? Is human freedom possible? How important is human freedom and why should it be important? We read and discuss sections of the Critique of Pure Reason (the "Third Antimony"), the Groundwork, the Critique of Practical Reason, the Metaphysics of Morals (the "Doctrine of Right"), and Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone. R. Pippin. Winter. (III)
357. Cynics and Stoics. This course investigates the ethical thought and practices of the ancient Cynic movement, and an introduction to ancient Stoic moral theory with an emphasis on Cynic influences. Readings include Diogenes Laertius Books 6 and 7, and Epictetus on the Cynic calling. We may also glance at Cynic themes in modern philosophy, particularly Nietzsche. R. Barney. Spring. (IV)
358. Seneca (=DivRE 332, Latin 250/350, Philos 358). In this class we study Seneca, the Roman politician and Stoic philosopher who was one of the most complex and influential thinkers of the Roman world. We place him in the context of both the Claudian and the Neronian courts and the history of Stoic philosophy, by reading On Anger (selections), selected Moral Epistles, and one tragedy, probably Hercules Furens. Texts in Latin. M. Nussbaum. Autumn. (IV)
360. Medieval Philosophy (=JewStd 360, Philos 360). PQ: Philos 250. This course involves a study of the development of philosophy in the West in the first thirteen centuries of the common era with focus on Neoplatonism, Early Christian philosophy, Islamic Kalam, Jewish philosophy, and Christian philosophical theology. Philosophers read include Plotinus, Augustine, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Maimonides, Averroes, and Thomas Aquinas. J. Stern. Winter. (IV)
363. Philosophy of History: Dilthey and Collingwood (=CFS 393, Fndmtl 286, Hist 255/355, HiPSS 263, Philos 363). This lecture/discussion course explores the philosophical foundations of the kind of cultural history Wilhelm Dilthey and R. G. Collingwood proposed. We investigate the kinds of philosophical assumptions that Dilthey and Collingwood made and consider their viability for historical explanation. Texts include Dilthey's Introduction to the Human Sciences and Collingwood's The Idea of History. R. Richards. Winter. (IV)
364. Metaphysics and Natural Philosophy in the Seventeenth Century I (=CFS 380, HiPSS 260, Philos 364). This two-quarter sequence examines issues concerning the nature of knowledge, methods of attaining knowledge, and the fundamental character of the world, in relation to the developing science of physics in the seventeenth century. Writers studied include Galileo, Descartes, Huygens, Newton, Locke, and Leibniz. H. Stein. Autumn. (IV)
368. Metaphysics and Natural Philosophy in the Seventeenth Century II (=CFS 381, HiPSS 261, Philos 368). PQ: Philos 364. H. Stein. Winter. (IV)
372. Carnap and Logical Empiricism (=CFS 341, HiPSS 241, Philos 372). A study of the philosophy of logical empiricism, with emphasis on Carnap as its central figure. H. Stein. Winter. (IV)
375. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (=Fndmtl 278, German 475, Philos 375). PQ: Prior philosophy course. This course begins with a general investigation of the nature of Kant's critical enterprise as revealed in the Critique of Pure Reason and other texts. We then examine selected parts of the Critique of Pure Reason with a view to achieving a fuller understanding of the work. M. Forster. Autumn. (IV)
379. Romantic Idealism: Fichte, Schelling, and Schlegel (=CFS 374, German 481, Hist 254/354, HiPSS 274, Philos 379). Knowledge of German helpful. This lecture/discussion course investigates the relationship of the philosophies of Fichte and Schelling to that of Kant and to each other. The intention is to discover what role these philosophical systems might have played in the formation of German Romanticism, as represented by Friedrich Schlegel. Texts include Fichte's Science of Knowledge (1794) and Schellings's System of Transcendental Idealism. R. Richards. Autumn. (IV)