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

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 the 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.

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 meet 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.

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), and

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.

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 meet 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.

The Senior Essay. The senior 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 senior essays in consultation with a faculty adviser and the director of undergraduate studies.

After a proposal is approved, a student should preregister for Philosophy 298 in the autumn (or winter) quarter and for Philosophy 299 in the winter (or spring) 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 the spring quarter must have their programs approved by the director of undergraduate studies at the beginning of the previous autumn quarter.

200. Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (=HiPSS 201, Philos 200). This course is an introductory survey that starts with the origin of contemporary philosophy of science in the doctrines of the logical positivists of the Vienna Circle (a group of philosophers very much impressed by the ideas and methods of science). We also cover the main topics that since then have characterized the evolution of the discipline to current debates. J. Cat. Spring. (II)

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. Winter. (I)

212. Sartre (=Philos 212, PolSci 237). The focus of the course is on sections from Being and Nothingness dealing with the nature of consciousness, subjectivity, and interpersonal relations. Attention is also given to the novel Nausea as well as to Sartre's later writings in social philosophy. C. Larmore. Autumn. (I)

217. Philosophy and Friendship (=Hum 286, Philos 217). In contemporary moral philosophy, renewed attention to friendship has served to remind philosophers of the personal relationships of special value in human life and to test the adequacy of moral theories that claim to account for such value. We begin with what Aristotle, Kant, and Mill say about friendship and then examine recent philosophical work (e.g., Railton, Annas, Baron, Herman, Velleman, Stocker, and Badhwar). We ask what friendship reveals about reasons for action; whether the motives and obligations associated with friendship conflict with those demanded by morality more narrowly understood; and about the place of reason, emotion, and desire in ethical life. We also read the writings of Wilde and Fontane, and screen a film by Fassbinder. M. Mason. Spring. (I)

233. Freedom, Solidarity, and Truth. We tend to value our own individual freedom, the flourishing of our community, and the pursuit of truth. Richard Rorty argues that the first two not only do not presuppose the third, but that promotion of the third often positively obstructs the first two. George Orwell argues that the promotion of any of the three requires equal promotion of the other two. We begin by reading Rorty's Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. We then go on to explore these issues as they arise in the works of authors and philosophers. J. Conant. Winter. (III)

250. History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy (=AncSt 250, Philos 250). PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in humanities. This course studies the central figures of early Greek philosophy with a focus on Plato and Aristotle, as well as including Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Socrates. I. Mueller. Autumn.

260. History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy. PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in humanities. Philos 250 helpful. This course surveys the history of philosophy from the late medievals to Hume. D. Garber. Winter.

270. History of Philosophy III: Kant and the Nineteenth Century. PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in humanities. 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. Some background both in the philosophy of science and in the natural sciences helpful. This course is devoted to an examination of the major philosophical works of the eminent and very influential philosopher and historian of science: Thomas Kuhn. We begin with the ground-breaking text, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and then read a number of more recent essays, especially those that reveal how Kuhn's views evolved in the decades after Structure. J. Haugeland. Autumn.

297. 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.

298. The Senior Seminar I. PQ: Consent of director of undergraduate studies. Students who are writing a senior essay must register for this course in either the autumn or the winter quarter of the senior year (and for Philos 299 in either the winter or the spring quarter of the senior year). D. Brudney. Autumn, Winter.

299. The Senior Seminar II. PQ: Consent of director of undergraduate studies. Students who are writing a senior essay must register for this course in either the winter or the spring quarter of the senior year (and for Philos 298 in either the autumn or the winter quarter of the senior year). D. Brudney. Winter, Spring.

300. Elementary Logic (=CFS 335, HiPSS 207, MAPH 380, 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 (i.e., the notions of "interpretation," "truth," and "validity"). The relation of these languages to ordinary English is discussed (i.e., 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.

303. Scientific and Technological Change (=CFS 423, HiPSS 203, Philos 303). We study scientific and technological change at both macroscopic (e.g., community-wide paradigm shifts) and microscopic (e.g., problem solving of individual scientists) levels using views of such writers as Campbell, Hall, Kuhn, Lauden, Lakatos, Simon, and Toulmin, as well as selected other psychological and sociological writings. As case studies, we look at the development of theories of heredity in the period 1868 to 1926, focusing particularly in the work of T. H. Morgan (G. E. Allen, Thomas Hunt Morgan: The Man and His Science) and on the development of the turbojet (E. M. Constant, The Turbojet Revolution) to analyze the similarities and differences in the causes, character, and processes of change in science and technology. W. Wimsatt. Autumn. (II)

306. Foundations of Set Theory (=CFS 359, Philos 306). This course discusses the first-order theory ZF (Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory), as well as the corresponding (impredicative) second-order theory. As time permits, we discuss the theory of ordinals and cardinals in ZF, some of the problems in the arithmetic of transfinite numbers not decided by ZF, model theory in ZF, the inner model of constructible sets and its applications, Martin's Axiom and an introduction to forcing, and an introduction to large cardinals. W. Tait. Winter. (II)

310. Pragmatism (=Philos 310, PolSci 317). PQ: Advanced standing. This course focuses on the classic texts of the American pragmatists (Peirce, James, and Dewey). We examine their distinctive conceptions of belief, meaning, truth, inquiry, and community. Some attention is given to recent appropriations of pragmatist thought (Quine, Rorty, and Putnam). C. Larmore. Autumn. (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)

314. Introduction to Theories of Sex/Gender (=GendSt 214, GS Hum 303, MAPH 365, Philos 314). Feminism and sexuality studies have contributed to work in many different regions of humanistic and social scientific inquiry. Some of the most interesting contributions have involved the development of new theoretical frames in which to formulate questions for disciplinary work. This course is intended to be both a survey of some theoretical work on sex and gender, and a sweeping introduction to some of the philosophical roots of feminist and queer theory. We give special attention to nineteenth- and twentieth-century European critiques of humanism. C. Vogler. Autumn. (I)

316. Human Rights I: Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights (=Hist 292/393, IntRel 316, Law 412, LL/Soc 251, MAPH 400, Philos 316, PolSci 339). This course deals with the philosophical foundations of human rights. The foundations bear on basic conceptual and normative issues. We examine the various meanings and components of human rights and the subjects, objects, and respondents of human rights. We ask questions such as: Who has the rights? What they are rights to? Who has the correlative duties? What methods of argument and implementation are available in this area? The practical implications of these theoretical issues are also explored. A. Gewirth. Autumn. (I)

319. Problem of Evil in Jewish Thought (=JewStd 479, Philos 319). This course provides an analysis of texts in the Jewish tradition, from Scripture and Rabbinics, through medieval Jewish philosophy, to modern Jewish thought. We cover the themes of divine justice, foreknowledge, human suffering, and evil. J. Stern, J. Kraemer. Winter. (I)

320. Philosophy of Science (=CFS 333, HiPSS 220, Philos 320). This course surveys recent work in the philosophy of science. The main focus is on epistemological issues, particularly the question of the rationality of scientific inquiry, realism and anti-realism, and recent sociological approaches to science. We are concerned with integrating questions in the philosophy of science with recent work in the history of science. D. Garber. Winter. (II)

323. Philosophy of Cognitive Science. PQ: Some knowledge of computer programming and symbolic logic. This is an introductory survey of the philosophical issues surrounding cognitive science, with special emphasis on artificial intelligence. We consider both "classical" symbolic approaches and more recent nonsymbolic approaches, such as connectionism and dynamical models. J. Haugeland. Winter. (II)

325. Biological and Cultural Evolution (=BigPro 239, BioSci 286, CFS 379, HiPSS 239, NCD 274, Philos 325). PQ: Basic knowledge of evolution and genetics helpful. This course is taught by guest lecturers from linguistics, evolutionary genetics, and the history and philosophy of science. We elaborate theory to understand and model cultural evolution; explore analogies, differences, and relations to biological evolution; and consider basic biological, cultural, and linguistic topics and case studies from an evolutionary perspective. Time is spent both on what we do know, and on determining what we don't. W. Wimsatt, S. Mufwene, J. Sadock. Autumn. (II)

332. Goethe: Literature and Science (=CFS 392, HiPSS 268, Philos 332). PQ: Knowledge of German helpful but not required. This lecture/discussion course examines the development of Goethe's thought with an emphasis on the integration of his literary and scientific ideas. The readings include Werther, aesthetic essays, Journey to Italy, Faust, morphological essays, Theory of Colors, Wilhelm Meister, and poetry. R. Richards. Autumn. (III)

333. Philosophy of Language. PQ: Advanced standing. Consent of instructor required for non-philosophy concentrators. This course on philosophy of language goes through the standard literature about sense and reference, including Frege, Russell, Strawson, Searle, Kripke, Putnam, and Donnellan, as well as the writings of more contemporary thinkers. There is a special emphasis on the semantics of the ascription of propositional attitudes. M. Aydede. Winter. (III)

338. Definitions of Metaphysics (=DivPR 315, Philos 338, SocTh 362). The running discussion about the "end of metaphysics," "post-metaphysical or post-modern philosophy," or "metaphysics of presence" implies that we can provide, precisely and according to the historical documents, one or several genuine definitions of "metaphysics," starting with Aristotle and ending with Heidegger. This inquiry suggests that such a thing as "metaphysics" remained unknown for a long time, was not defined as a system before modernity, and, once it was strictly defined, its own self-criticism followed of necessity. We then examine the different possible and meaningful definitions of "metaphysics" today. J.-L. Marion. Spring. (III)

340. Analytical Kantianism. This course is a survey of what one might call "The Kantian Tradition in Analytic Philosophy." It is devoted to a careful reading of Moritz Schlick's Form and Content, C. I. Lewis's Mind and the World Order, Peter Geach's Mental Acts, Wilfrid Sellars's Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind, and John McDowell's Woodbridge Lectures. J. Conant. Autumn. (III)

352-362. The Conceptual Development of Physics I, II (=CFS 311-312, HiPSS 252-262, Philos 352-362). PQ: Basic knowledge of physics and mathematics helpful. May be taken in sequence, or individually with consent of instructor. This two-quarter sequence treats the development of some of the fundamental concepts and principles of physics. Considerable attention is paid to the history of the subject, but the central motive for this attention is one that can be described as "methodological" or "epistemological." The historical scope of the sequence extends from ancient science (Babylonian and Greek astronomy) to the development, in the seventeenth century, of the basic principles of classical (Newtonian) physics and the discovery of the law of universal gravitation. H. Stein. Autumn, Winter. (II), (IV)

375. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. The course is devoted to a careful reading of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. The focus of the course is on the Transcendental Analytic and especially the Transcendental Deduction but some attention is also given to the Transcendental Aesthetic and the Transcendental Dialectic. The course also introduces students to some of the central exegetical controversies surrounding the text, and there is accordingly considerable reading in the secondary literature, most notably, in work by Henry Allison, Martin Heidegger, Dieter Henrich, Wilfrid Sellars, Peter Strawson, and Manley Thompson. J. Conant. Autumn. (III)

396. Intermediate Logic I (=CFS 336, HiPSS 205, Philos 396). PQ: Philos 300. May be taken in sequence with Philos 397 or individually. The course develops the basic elements of first-order logic leading to a detailed proof of the Gödel completeness ("Adequacy") theorem for first-order logic and its offshoots, the Löwenstein-Skolem and compactness theorems; and the Gödel incompleteness theorem (for an appropriate formal system). H. Stein. Winter. (II)

397. Intermediate Logic II (=CFS 340, HiPSS 209, Philos 397). PQ: Philos 396. A continuation of Philos 396 that deals with more advanced topics in mathematical logic. H. Stein. Spring. (II)