Contacts | Program of Study | Program Requirements | The Standard Major | The Intensive Track | Philosophy and Allied Fields | Grading | Honors | Transfer Students | Advising | Minor Program in Philosophy | Courses
Department Website: http://philosophy.uchicago.edu
Philosophy Undergraduate Wiki
https://coral.uchicago.edu:8443/display/phildr/Philosophy+Undergraduate+Wiki
Email Lists
All majors and minors in philosophy should immediately subscribe to two Department of Philosophy email lists: philugs@lists.uchicago.edu and philosophy@lists.uchicago.edu. These lists are the department’s primary means of disseminating information on the undergraduate program, deadlines, prizes, fellowships, and events. Information on how to subscribe can be found here: https://coral.uchicago.edu:8443/display/phildr/Philosophy+Email+Lists.
Program of Study
Philosophy covers a wide range of historical periods and fields. The BA program in philosophy is intended to acquaint students with some of the classic texts of the discipline and with the different areas of inquiry, as well as to train students in rigorous methods of argument. In addition to the standard major, the department offers two tracks. The intensive track 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 20000-level courses (normally restricted to College students) and 30000-level courses (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 40000- and 50000-level courses (normally restricted to graduate students) under special circumstances. Students should work out their program under the guidance of the director of undergraduate studies.
Students in other fields of study may also complete a minor in Philosophy. Information follows the description of the major.
Program Requirements
All majors will be required to meet with the assistant to the director of undergraduate studies at the end of their third year to review their program of study and discuss the possibility of writing the senior essay.
The Standard Major
The following basic requirements for the standard major in philosophy 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.
The Department of Philosophy offers a three-quarter sequence in the history of philosophy (PHIL 25000 History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy, PHIL 26000 History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy, and PHIL 27000 History of Philosophy III: Nineteenth Century Philosophy), which begins in the first quarter with ancient Greek philosophy and ends in the third quarter with nineteenth-century philosophy. Students 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.
Students may bypass PHIL 20100 Elementary Logic for a more advanced course if they can demonstrate to the instructor that they are qualified to begin at a higher level.
Standard majors are welcome to apply to write senior essays. For more information, please see The Senior Essay (below).
Distribution
At least two courses in one of the following two fields and at least one course in the other field: (A) practical philosophy and (B) theoretical philosophy.
Courses that may be counted toward these requirements are indicated in the course descriptions by boldface letters in parentheses. Other courses may not be used to meet field distribution requirements.
Summary of Requirements: Standard Major
Two of the following: | 200 | |
History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy III: Nineteenth Century Philosophy | ||
PHIL 20100 | Elementary Logic (or approved alternative course in logic) | 100 |
One of the following: | 300 | |
One from field A and two from field B | ||
Two from field A and one from field B | ||
Four additional courses in philosophy * | 400 | |
Total Units | 1000 |
* | These courses must be drawn from departmental offerings. Students should consult with the director of undergraduate studies regarding courses taken at other colleges. Only one of these courses may be satisfied by participation in the BA essay workshop. |
The Intensive Track
Admission to the intensive track requires an application, which must be submitted by the middle of the Spring Quarter in the student's second year. The application form is on the department wiki. The director of undergraduate studies and the assistant to the director of undergraduate studies will have "interview" meetings following the application deadline. (The departmental website lists the office hours of the director of undergraduate studies and the assistant to the director of undergraduate studies.)
The intensive track is designed to acquaint students with the problems and methods of philosophy in more depth than is possible for students in the standard major. It differs from the standard program mainly by offering the opportunity to meet in the following very small discussion groups: the intensive track seminar in the Autumn Quarter of the third or fourth year (PHIL 29601 Intensive Track Seminar), PHIL 29200 Junior Tutorial, and PHIL 29300 Senior Tutorial.
Note on the pacing and scheduling of the intensive track: Intensive track majors take PHIL 29601 Intensive Track Seminar in Autumn Quarter of their third year. Students fulfill the tutorial requirement by selecting one junior tutorial (PHIL 29200) in any quarter of their third year and one senior tutorial (PHIL 29300) in any quarter of their fourth year. Finally, intensive track students must write a senior essay. The essay process includes participation in the Senior Seminar over the three quarters of their fourth year; students must register for PHIL 29901 Senior Seminar I and PHIL 29902 Senior Seminar II in two of these three quarters.
Summary of Requirements: Intensive Track
Two of the following: | 200 | |
History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy III: Nineteenth Century Philosophy | ||
PHIL 20100 | Elementary Logic (or approved alternative course in logic) | 100 |
One of the following: | 300 | |
One from field A and two from field B | ||
Two from field A and one from field B | ||
PHIL 29200 | Junior Tutorial | 100 |
PHIL 29300 | Senior Tutorial | 100 |
PHIL 29601 | Intensive Track Seminar | 100 |
PHIL 29901 & 29902 | Senior Seminar I and Senior Seminar II | 200 |
Two additional courses in philosophy * | 200 | |
Total Units | 1300 |
* | These courses must be drawn from departmental offerings. Students should consult with the director of undergraduate studies regarding courses taken at other colleges. |
Philosophy and Allied Fields
This variant of the major is a specialist option for students with a clear and detailed picture of a coherent interdisciplinary course of study, not available under the standard forms of major and minor. Examples of recent programs devised by students electing this track are philosophy and mathematics, philosophy and biology, and philosophy and economics. Students in this program must meet the first three of the basic requirements for the standard major (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 director of undergraduate studies, which should be made by the middle of Spring Quarter of their second year. To apply, students must submit a sample program of courses as well as a statement explaining the nature of the interdisciplinary area of study and the purpose of the proposed allied fields program. Applicants must also have the agreement of a member of the Department of Philosophy to serve as their sponsor in the program. Interested students should consult with the assistant to the director of undergraduate studies before applying; for office hours and the application form, visit the departmental wiki or website.
Summary of Requirements: Philosophy and Allied Fields
Two of the following: | 200 | |
History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy III: Nineteenth Century Philosophy | ||
PHIL 20100 | Elementary Logic (or approved alternative course in logic) | 100 |
One of the following: | 300 | |
One from field A and two from field B | ||
Two from field A and one from field B | ||
Six additional courses, at least one of which must be in the Department of Philosophy * | 600 | |
Total Units | 1200 |
* | Only one of these courses may be satisfied by participation in the BA essay workshop. |
The Senior Essay
Students who have been admitted to the intensive track are required to write a senior essay (also called the “BA essay”). Standard majors and philosophy and allied fields majors may also apply to write an essay. The proposal should be formulated in consultation with a faculty adviser who has expertise in the topic area. Potential advisers can be approached directly, but the assistant to the director of undergraduate studies can help pair students with suitable advisers as needed. BA essay applications are due middle of Spring Quarter. Applications are available from the shelves outside the Philosophy Department office (Stuart 202) as well as on the wiki.
Students writing a BA essay in philosophy are normally expected to have maintained a GPA of 3.25 in their philosophy courses. A 3.25 is also the minimum GPA for departmental honors in philosophy. Students should submit, along with their application to write a BA essay, a record of their grades in the College. If a student who wishes to write a BA essay in philosophy has a GPA in philosophy courses below 3.25, the student should also submit a petition in writing to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
In their fourth year, students writing BA essays must participate in the senior seminar. The seminar runs all three quarters, and though attendance during all three is required, participants will only register for two of the three quarters. Students should register for PHIL 29901 Senior Seminar I in Autumn (or Winter) Quarter and for PHIL 29902 Senior Seminar II in Winter (or Spring) Quarter. These two courses are among the requirements for the intensive track. For essay writers who are in the standard track or the allied fields track, both courses must be taken; however, only one will be counted toward the track's total-units requirement.
Grading
All courses for all tracks must be taken for a quality grade.
Honors
The main requirement for honors is a senior essay of distinction. A GPA in the major of 3.25 or higher typically also is required.
Transfer Students
Requirements for students transferring to the University of Chicago are the same as for other students. Up to (but typically no more than) three courses from another institution may be counted toward major requirements. All such courses must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies.
Advising
Students should contact the director of undergraduate studies with questions concerning program plans, honors, and so forth.
Minor Program in Philosophy
The minor program in philosophy provides a basic introduction to some central figures and themes in both the history of philosophy and in current philosophical controversies. The minor requires six courses: students must take: either two courses from the history of philosophy sequence and one course from field A or field B, along with three additional courses in philosophy; or one course from the history of philosophy sequence and one course from each of fields A and B, along with three additional courses in philosophy.
No courses in the minor can be double counted with the student's major(s) or with other minors; nor can they be counted toward general education requirements. They must be taken for quality grades.
Students who elect the minor program should meet with the director of undergraduate studies before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the program. The approval of the director of undergraduate studies for the minor should be submitted to the student's College adviser, on a form obtained from the College adviser, no later than the end of the student's third year.
Samples follow of two groups of courses that would comprise a minor:
Sample 1
Two of the following: | 200 | |
History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy III: Nineteenth Century Philosophy | ||
One from either field A or field B | 100 | |
Three additional courses in philosophy | 300 | |
Total Units | 600 |
Sample 2
One of the following: | 100 | |
History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy | ||
History of Philosophy III: Nineteenth Century Philosophy | ||
One from field A | 100 | |
One from field B | 100 | |
Three additional courses in philosophy | 300 | |
Total Units | 600 |
Philosophy Courses
PHIL 20100. Elementary Logic. 100 Units.
Open to college and grad students. Course not for field credit. An introduction to the techniques of modern logic. These include the representation of arguments in symbolic notation, and the systematic manipulation of these representations in order to show the validity of arguments. Regular homework assignments, in class test and final examination. No prerequisites.
Instructor(s): M. Kremer Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Course not for field credit.
Equivalent Course(s): CHSS 33500,HIPS 20700,PHIL 30000
PHIL 20117. Tractarian Themes in the History of Philosophy. 100 Units.
The course will take up a number of themes that are central to Wittgenstein’s Tractatus as they arise in the history of philosophical thought about logic—themes that arise out of questions such as the following: What is the status of the basic law(s) of logic? Is it possible to draw a limit to logical thought? What is the status of the reflecting subject of logical inquiry? What is the relation between the logical and the psychological? What, if anything, is the relation between the following two inquiries into forms of unity: “What is the unity of the judgment (or the proposition)?" and “What is the unity of the judging subject?” What (if any) sort of distinction between form and matter is relevant to logic? How should one understand the formality of logic? How, and how deeply, does language matter to logic? Topics will include various aspects of Aristotle's logical theory and metaphysics, Descartes’s Doctrine of the Creation of Eternal Truth, Kant on Pure General and Transcendental Logic, Frege on the nature of a proper Begriffsschrift and what it takes to understand what that is, and early Wittgenstein’s inheritance and treatment of all of the above. Secondary readings will be from Jan Lukasiewicz, John MacFarlane, Clinton Tolley, Sebastian Roedl, Matt Boyle, John McDowell, Elizabeth Anscombe, Cora Diamond, Peter Geach, Matthias Haase, Thomas Ricketts, and Peter Sullivan. (III)
Instructor(s): J. Conant, I. Kimhi Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 30117
PHIL 20212. Ethics with Anscombe. 100 Units.
Elizabeth Anscombe has deeply influenced moral philosophy ever since the publication of her book Intention and the article “Modern Moral Philosophy.” The rise of contemporary Virtue Ethics is only one indication of this influence, and the important themes addressed in those writings are only some among a great many topics raised and absorbingly discussed in Anscombe’s work on ethics and matters moral. This course is intended to track and discuss the most central issues she brings to our attention in her uniquely original and searching way. It is to cover both questions in the area of “meta-ethics” and the discussion of basic moral standards, including such topics as: teleological and psychological foundations; kinds and sources of practical necessity; the importance of truth; practical reasoning; morally relevant action descriptions; intention and consequence; “linguistically created” institutions; knowledge and certainty in moral matters; upbringing versus conscience; sex and marriage; war and murder; man’s spiritual nature.
Instructor(s): A. Mueller Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 30212
PHIL 21000. Introduction to Ethics. 100 Units.
An exploration of some of the central questions in metaethics, moral theory, and applied ethics. These questions include the following: Are there objective moral truths, as there are (as it seems) objective scientific truths? If so, how can we come to know these truths? Should we make the world as good as we can, or are there moral constraints on what we can do that are not a function of the consequences of our actions? Is the best life a maximally moral life? What distribution of goods in a society satisfies the demands of justice? Can beliefs and desires be immoral, or only actions? What is “moral luck”? What is courage? (A)
Instructor(s): B. Callard Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 23107
PHIL 21300. Tutorial. 100 Units.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter, Spring
PHIL 21600. Introduction to Political Philosophy. 100 Units.
In this class we will investigate what it is for a society to be just. In what sense are the members of a just society equal? What freedoms does a just society protect? Must a just society be a democracy? What economic arrangements are compatible with justice? In the second portion of the class we will consider one pressing injustice in our society in light of our previous philosophical conclusions. Possible candidates include, but are not limited to, racial inequality, economic inequality, and gender hierarchy. Here our goal will be to combine our philosophical theories with empirical evidence in order to identify, diagnose, and effectively respond to actual injustice. (A)
Instructor(s): B. Laurence Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 21601,LLSO 22612,PLSC 22600
PHIL 21610. Medical Ethics: Who Decides and on What Basis? 100 Units.
Decisions about medical treatment take place in the context of changing health care systems, changing ideas about rights and obligations, and among doctors and patients who have diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. By means of historical, philosophical, and medical readings, this course examines such issues as paternalism, autonomy, the commodification of the body, and the enhancement of mental and/or physical characteristics. (A)
Instructor(s): D. Brudney, Staff Terms Offered: Not offered in 2014-15; will be offered in 2015-16
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing
Note(s): This course does not meet requirements for the biological science major.
Equivalent Course(s): BPRO 22610,BIOS 29313,HIPS 21911
PHIL 21700. Human Rights I: Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights. 100 Units.
Human rights are claims of justice that hold merely in virtue of our shared humanity. In this course we will explore philosophical theories of this elementary and crucial form of justice. Among topics to be considered are the role that dignity and humanity play in grounding such rights, their relation to political and economic institutions, and the distinction between duties of justice and claims of charity or humanitarian aid. Finally we will consider the application of such theories to concrete, problematic and pressing problems, such as global poverty, torture and genocide. (V) (I)
Instructor(s): B. Laurence Terms Offered: Spring 2015
Equivalent Course(s): HMRT 20100,HMRT 30100,PHIL 31600,HIST 29301,HIST 39301,INRE 31600,LAWS 41200,MAPH 40000,LLSO 25100
PHIL 21720. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. 100 Units.
This seminar will offer a close reading of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, one of the great works of ethics. Among the topics to be considered are: What is a good life? What is ethics? What is the relation between ethics and having a good life? What is it for reason to be practical? What is human excellence? What is the non-rational part of the human psyche like? How does it ever come to listen to reason? What is human happiness? What is the place of thought and of action in the happy life? We shall use the new translation by C. D. C. Reeve (Hackett Publishers).
Instructor(s): J. Lear Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Philosophy or Fundamentals major. This seminar is intended for Philosophy majors and for Fundamentals majors. Otherwise please seek permission to enroll.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 21908
PHIL 22000. Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. 100 Units.
We will begin by trying to explicate the manner in which science is a rational response to observational facts. This will involve a discussion of inductivism, Popper’s deductivism, Lakatos and Kuhn. After this, we will briefly survey some other important topics in the philosophy of science, including underdetermination, theories of evidence, Bayesianism, the problem of induction, explanation, and laws of nature. (B) (II)
Instructor(s): K. Davey Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 25109,HIST 35109,PHIL 32000
PHIL 22820. Philosophy and Public Education. 100 Units.
This course will critically survey the various ways in which philosophy curricula are developed and used in different educational contexts and for different age groups. Considerable attention will be devoted to the growing movement in the U.S. for public educational programs in precollegiate philosophy.
Instructor(s): R. Schultz Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PLSC 22825
PHIL 23000. Introduction to Metaphysics and Epistemology. 100 Units.
In this course we will explore some of the central questions in epistemology and metaphysics. In epistemology, these questions will include: What is knowledge? What facts or states justify a belief? How can the threat of skepticism be adequately answered? How do we know what we (seem to) know about mathematics and morality? In metaphysics, these questions will include: What is time? What is the best account of personal identity across time? Do we have free will? We will also discuss how the construction of a theory of knowledge ought to relate to the construction of a metaphysical theory—roughly speaking, what comes first, epistemology or metaphysics? (B)
Instructor(s): B. Callard Terms Offered: Autumn
PHIL 23005. Metaphysics and Ethics of Death. 100 Units.
What is death, and what is its significance for our lives and how we lead them? In this course we will tack back and forth between the metaphysics of death (What is nonexistence? Are death and pre-birth metaphysically symmetrical?) and the ethical questions raised by death (Is death a misfortune—something we should fear or lament? Should we be glad not to be immortal? How should we understand the ethics of abortion and capital punishment?) Our exploration of these issues will take us through the work of many figures in the Western philosophical tradition (Plato, Augustine, Descartes, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger), but we will be concentrating on the recent and dramatic flowering of work on the subject.
Instructor(s): B. Callard Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 33005
PHIL 23006. Metaphysics of Society: An Introduction to Levinas's Totality and Infinity. 100 Units.
This course is devoted to one of the most important philosophical books of the continental tradition, Levinas's Totality and Infinity. We will propose a systematic reading of Levinas's masterpiece in order to show the main aspects of his philosophical elaboration. The first aspect of our course will be to insist on the way Levinas takes position in the field of German and French phenomenology, in what consists exactly his technical and systematic critique of Husserl's, Heidegger's, and Sartre's conceptualities. We will, for that reason, propose to make Totality and Infinity in resonance with the most important sections of Husserl's Ideas for a Pure Phenomenology and to a Philosophical Phenomenology, Heidegger's Being and Time, and Sartre's Being and Nothingness. This preliminary step will give us the conceptual means required in order to understand the exact philosophical position of Levinas towards the concept of society—that Levinas inherits directly from the French Sociological tradition (Durkheim in particular). Once such a background is clarified it will become possible to understand Levinas's own elaboration towards the notion of society and for what reason the social experience coincides for him with a metaphysical experience—in other words in what sense Levinas can claim that the social relationship articulates what Descartes called the Idea of the Infinite. Such a second step will lead us to a last step which constitutes the ultimate demonstrative goal of our course: We will indeed try to show the necessity to overcome with Levinas the universalization of the notion of phenomenon coming from Husserl and Heidegger, to propose, in other words, a deflationist understanding of the notion of phenomenon. Such a deflationist understanding does not imply nevertheless the abandonment of the notion of phenomenon. On the contrary the metaphysics of society that we will propose will lead us to think of society as the fundamental presupposition from which the notion of phenomena coming from the Phenomenological tradition can find its logical meaning. What will be at stake is nothing else than the possibility of thinking anew the notion of Metaphysics in order to overcome the so-called "end of Metaphysics" proclaimed by Heidegger and Derrida.
Instructor(s): R. Moati Terms Offered: Winter
PHIL 23011. Faith and Reason. 100 Units.
Recently, a number of best-selling books by professional philosophers like Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), scientists like Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), and popular writers like Sam Harris (The End of Faith) have argued that modern science shows that religious faith is fundamentally irrational. This argument has not gone unanswered (for example, by Francis Collins in The Language of God and by Pope Benedict XVI in his Regensburg lecture). This course will examine the relationship between religious faith and reason. We will discuss four positions: (1) reason and faith are in conflict, and it is best to abandon science in favor of faith (religious fundamentalism); (2) reason and faith are in conflict, and it is best to abandon faith in favor of science (scientific atheism); (3) reason and faith do not make cognitive contact, and one can freely choose faith without conflict with reason ("non-overlapping magisteria," fideism); (4) reason and faith do make cognitive contact but are mutually supporting, not in conflict (harmonious compatibilism). We will focus on contemporary debates but also consider their historical roots (for example, Aquinas, Leibniz, Voltaire, Hume, William James). Among the topics to be discussed will be the nature of reason and faith, arguments for and against the existence of God, the problem of evil, evolution and intelligent design, cosmology and the origin of the universe, the rationality of belief in miracles and the supernatural, and evolutionary and neuroscientific explanations of religious belief and religious experience. (B)
Instructor(s): M. Kremer Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): RLST 23011
PHIL 23020. Agency and Self-Knowledge. 100 Units.
(B)
Instructor(s): D. Finkelstein Terms Offered: Winter
PHIL 23408. Introduction to Being and Time. 100 Units.
The aim of this course is to introduce one of the most important and discussed works pertaining to the continental field of philosophy of the 20th century: Heidegger's Being and Time. The course is structured by two main movements. On the one hand we introduce the main and fundamental concepts developed by Heidegger in his work through analytic sessions devoted to the most important sections of Sein und Zeit. On the other hand, we follow the way Sein und Zeit was received and discussed in the field of French contemporary continental philosophy, especially through Derrida's and Levinas's interpretations and discussions of Sein und Zeit. The double structure of our itinerary obeys a philosophical necessity which takes the form of a leading question: Is it possible to think beyond the primacy of the horizon of Being—drawn by Heidegger in Sein und Zeit—anything like an "Otherwise than Being"? And if so, we will have to elucidate why and in what sense such an alternative horizon of sense does not entail the abandonment of the Heideggerian Question of Being, but leads, on the contrary, to the full explanation of the background without which the Question of Being raised by Sein und Zeit becomes unintelligible.
Instructor(s): R. Moati Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 23408,PHIL 33408
PHIL 24025. Reference and Description. 100 Units.
The question how thought and speech refers, and in particular what role descriptions play in a comprehensive philosophical analysis of referring expressions, has played an outstanding role in 20th century philosophy and remains influential until today. In this class we will trace the discussion about the relation between reference and description from Fregean beginnings to the most recent two-dimensionalist attempts to overcome Kripke’s seminal arguments against descriptive analyses of referring expressions. Throughout, we will try to reach a better understanding of why questions about reference and description are of foundational importance for a range of topics that are central to philosophical theorizing, including the analysis of propositional attitudes such as belief and knowledge, the nature of possibility and necessity, the question of whether there is a level of mental experience that is epistemically transparent, the relation between thought and language, the role of the principle of compositionality in semantics, and the intersection between semantics and pragmatics. (B)
Instructor(s): M. Willer Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 34025
PHIL 24097. On the Origins of Morality and Religion: Nietzsche’s and Freud’s Genealogical Methods. 100 Units.
Are our moral and religious values eternal and unchanging or were they shaped by contingent historical events in the distant past? If the latter is the case, did these events leave traces in our psychology in a manner which is not immediately obvious and accessible to us, but which could nevertheless become accessible? What would be the implications of such historical and psychological influences for our moral and religious values: Might we need to reassess, and perhaps radically alter, all or some of our moral and religious beliefs? In this course we will discuss Friedrich Nietzsche’s and Sigmund Freud’s original answers to these questions. In the first part of the course, we will examine Nietzsche’s project of criticizing morality and religion, especially via a close reading of his Genealogy of Morals. We will discuss such themes as his genealogical account of Christian morality, the development and moralization of our conscience through religion, and will to power and the nature of truth. We will also consider broader explanatory and normative issues, such the scope and ambitions of Nietzsche’s critique of morality and its meta-ethical implications. In the second part of the course, we will read most of Freud’s cultural texts, such as Totem and Taboo, The Future of an Illusion, Civilization and Its Discontents, and Moses and Monotheism, and discuss his genealogical accounts of morality and religion and their complex relations to human psychology. Throughout our discussion, we will be concerned with Freud’s notion of the unconscious and models of the psyche, as well as with the transition from individual to group psychology. Finally, we will also critically assess the status and plausibility of Nietzsche’s and Freud’s respective accounts: Are these two philosophers telling us factual historical stories, mere psychological stories, or a combination of both? In order to answer these questions, we will read works by leading philosophers and psychoanalysts, as well as passages from Scripture.
Instructor(s): N. Ben Moshe Terms Offered: Spring
PHIL 24208. Cicero on Friendship and Aging. 100 Units.
Two of Cicero’s most enduring works are De Amicitia (On Friendship) and De Senectute (On Old Age). We will read the entirety of both works in Latin and study their relationship to Cicero’s thought and life. Other readings in translation will include related works of Cicero and quite a few of his letters to Atticus and other friends. The first hour of each course meeting will be devoted to translation, the rest to discussion, in order to give opportunities for auditors who are reading in translation. The requirements include a midterm, a final exam, and a paper. Anyone from anywhere in the University may register if you meet the prerequisite.
Instructor(s): M. Nussbaum Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): This is a Latin course that presupposes five quarters of Latin or the equivalent preparation. Others interested in taking it may register for an Independent Study and have different requirements, more writing and no Latin, but they will take a final exam (different).
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 34208,FNDL 24208,LAWS 52403,LATN 28614,CLAS 38614,RETH 38614
PHIL 24301. Science and Aesthetics in the Eighteenth to the Twenty-First Centuries. 100 Units.
One can distinguish four ways in which science and aesthetics are related during the last three centuries. First, science has been the subject of artistic effort in painting and photography and in poetry and novels (e.g., in Goethe’s poetry or in H. G. Wells’s Island of Doctor Moreau). Second, science has been used to explain aesthetic effects (e.g., Helmholtz’s work on the way painters achieve visual effects or musicians achieve tonal effects). Third, aesthetic means have been used to convey scientific conceptions (e.g., through illustrations in scientific volumes or through aesthetically affective and effective writing). Finally philosophers have stepped back to consider the relationship between scientific knowing and aesthetic comprehension (e.g., Kant and Bas van Fraassen). In this course, we will consider these four modes of relationship. The first part of the quarter will be devoted to Kant, reading carefully his third critique; then we will turn to Goethe and Helmholtz, both feeling the impact of Kant, and to Wells, a student of T. H. Huxley. We then consider more contemporary modes expressive of the relationship, especially the role of illustrations in science and the work of contemporary philosophers like Fraassen.
Instructor(s): R. Richards Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 25506,HIST 35506,HIPS 25506,CHSS 35506,PHIL 34301
PHIL 24602. The Analytic Tradition. 100 Units.
In this course we will read and consider some seminal texts in the analytic tradition of philosophical thought.
Instructor(s): J. Conant Terms Offered: Autumn
PHIL 24800. Foucault and The History of Sexuality. 100 Units.
This course centers on a close reading of the first volume of Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality, with some attention to his writings on the history of ancient conceptualizations of sex. How should a history of sexuality take into account scientific theories, social relations of power, and different experiences of the self? We discuss the contrasting descriptions and conceptions of sexual behavior before and after the emergence of a science of sexuality. Other writers influenced by and critical of Foucault are also discussed. (A)
Instructor(s): A. Davidson Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): One prior philosophy course is strongly recommended.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 25001,FNDL 22001,GNSE 23100,HIPS 24300
PHIL 25000. History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy. 100 Units.
An examination of ancient Greek philosophical texts that are foundational for Western philosophy, especially the work of Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the nature and possibility of knowledge and its role in human life; the nature of the soul; virtue; happiness and the human good.
Instructor(s): A. Callard Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in humanities
Equivalent Course(s): CLCV 22700
PHIL 25115. Topics in the Philosophy of Religion: The Challenge of Suffering from Job to Primo Levi. 100 Units.
This course will focus on authors from the Jewish tradition, although some attention will be given to Catholic and Protestant perspectives, as found, for example, in liberation theology and in certain forms of religious existentialism. We will look at the various ways in which contemporary philosophers of Judaism have dealt with suffering, evil and God, especially after the experience of the Shoah. We will examine the often repeated claim that Judaism has approached the philosophical and religious challenges of suffering more through an ethics of suffering than on the basis of a metaphysics of suffering. After an introductory discussion of Maimonides on the Book of Job, readings for the course may come from authors such as E. Lévinas, J.B. Soloveitchik, Y. Leibowitz, H. Jonas, A. Lichtenstein, D.W. Halivni, D. Shatz, and E. Berkovits. The course will culminate in a philosophical analysis of some of the most important writings of Primo Levi.
Instructor(s): A. Davidson Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): All students interested in enrolling in this course should send an application to aschulz@uchicago.edu by 12/01/2014. Applications should be no longer than one page and should include name, email address, year and major for undergraduates, department or committee for graduate students. Applicants should briefly describe their background and explain their interest in, and their reasons for applying to, this course.
Equivalent Course(s): DVPR 35115,HIJD 35115,ITAL 25115,ITAL 35115,JWSC 26115,PHIL 35115,RLST 25115
PHIL 25706. Phaedo. 100 Units.
This class will be a close reading of Plato’s Phaedo, which is a dialogue about what it means to die, and what kinds of things escape death. In addition to interesting ourselves in the—dramatic and philosophical—structure of the dialogue as a whole, we will carefully examine each of Socrates’ arguments for the immortality of the soul. We will also read some contemporary philosophical literature both on the Phaedo itself and on the problem of the afterlife. (IV)
Instructor(s): A. Callard Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 25706,PHIL 35706
PHIL 26000. History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy. 100 Units.
A survey of the thought of some of the most important figures of this period, including Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume.
Instructor(s): B. Callard Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in humanities required; PHIL 25000 recommended
Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 26000
PHIL 27000. History of Philosophy III: Nineteenth Century Philosophy. 100 Units.
Immanuel Kant’s “critical” philosophy set off a revolution that reverberated throughout the 19th century, eliciting eager extensions as well as intense and varied resistance—and often both at once. This course will seek to understand Kant’s chief philosophical innovations and the principle sources of his successors’ (dis-)satisfaction with them, with special attention to Fichte, Hegel, and Nietzsche.
Instructor(s): D. Smyth Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in humanities
PHIL 28010. Introduction to the Philosophy of Language. 100 Units.
An introduction to philosophical thought about the nature of language. The questions we will address include: What is meaning? What is truth? How does language relate to thought? How do languages relate to each other? What is metaphor? What is fiction? The focus will be on classic work in the analytic tradition (Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Carnap, Tarski, Quine, Austin, Grice, Davidson, Donnellan, Putnam, Searle, Kaplan, Kripke) but we will also read, and relate to this modern work, some current work in the philosophical literature and some seminal discussions of language in the writings of Plato and Aristotle. (II)
Instructor(s): B. Callard Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 38010
PHIL 29100. Reading Course: Philosophy. 100 Units.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and director of undergraduate studies
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form
PHIL 29200. Junior Tutorial. 100 Units.
Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open only to intensive-track majors
Note(s): Junior and senior sections meet together. No more than two tutorials may be used to meet program requirements.
PHIL 29300. Senior Tutorial. 100 Units.
Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open only to intensive-track majors
Note(s): Junior and senior sections meet together. No more than two tutorials may be used to meet program requirements.
PHIL 29425. Logic for Philosophy. 100 Units.
Key contemporary debates in the philosophical literature often rely on formal tools and techniques that go beyond the material taught in an introductory logic class.A robust understanding of these debates—and, accordingly, the ability to meaningfully engage with a good deal of contemporary philosophy—requires a basic grasp of extensions of standard logic such as modal logic, multi-valued logic, and supervaluations, as well as an appreciation of the key philosophical virtues and vices of these extensions. The goal of this course is to provide students with the required logic literacy. While some basic metalogical results will come into view as the quarter proceeds, the course will primarily focus on the scope (and, perhaps, the limits) of logic as an important tool for philosophical theorizing. (B)
Instructor(s): M. Willer Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Elementary Logic or equivalent.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 39425
PHIL 29601. Intensive Track Seminar. 100 Units.
Topic: Language and Skepticism. In this course we will examine attempts to solve the problem of philosophical skepticism through reflection on the nature of linguistic meaning. We will focus on three such attempts: early 20th-century logical empiricism, mid-20th-century ordinary-language philosophy, and the contemporary movement of epistemological contextualism. In each case, we will ask whether the claims advanced about the nature of language can be sustained, and whether they really do have the power to defeat the skeptical challenge.
Instructor(s): J. Bridges Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Open only to third-year students who have been admitted to the intensive track program.
PHIL 29700. Reading Course: Philosophy. 100 Units.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
PHIL 29901. Senior Seminar I. 100 Units.
Students writing senior essays register once for PHIL 29901, in either the Autumn or Winter Quarter, and once for PHIL 29902, in either the Winter or Spring Quarter. (Students may not register for both PHIL 29901 and 29902 in the same quarter.) The senior seminar meets all three quarters, and students writing essays are required to attend throughout.
Instructor(s): Kevin Davey, Staff Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of director of undergraduate studies
Note(s): Required of fourth-year students who are writing a senior essay.
PHIL 29902. Senior Seminar II. 100 Units.
Students writing senior essays register once for PHIL 29901, in either the Autumn or Winter Quarter, and once for PHIL 29902, in either the Winter or Spring Quarter. (Students may not register for both PHIL 29901 and 29902 in the same quarter.) The senior seminar meets all three quarters, and students writing essays are required to attend throughout.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of director of undergraduate studies
Note(s): Required of fourth-year students who are writing a senior essay.