Fall 2006
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PHILOSOPHY ELECTIVES
The focus of this course is going to be on the social contract theory. We will begin by reading and discussing Hobbes’ "Leviathan" and then move on to other early modern social contract theories such as Locke’s and Rousseau’s. While the first part of the course deals with the classical texts in political philosophy, the second part will be devoted to the more recent debates concerning political rights and duties and concerning the principles of distributive justice. In particular, we will contrast John Rawls’s political liberalism and Robert Nozick libertarianism. Thus, our two primary texts will be "Political Liberalism" (1993) on the one hand and "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" (1974) on the other. In addition to our primary texts, we will be discussing various interpretations, responses, and criticisms of them in the contemporary secondary literature.
Fulfills the 1983 General Education Requirement (GER)-Humanities, Philosophy/Religion.
Dr. Kirk McDermid
MW- 1-2:15pm
Room: UN 3010
Call Number:15101/ Honors 11851
This course will survey some of the foundational and philosophical issues in (evolutionary) biology. Topics will include an overview of evolutionary theory, analyzing critical biological concepts such as “survival of the fittest”, and whether appeals to evolutionary adaptation are good explanations of an organism’s traits. We will also discuss broader issues in the philosophy of science that are relevant to biology, particularly the issue of intelligent design. Is it (or biology!) religion, or science? Should students (biology majors?) be exposed to alleged scientific alternatives to evolution? What evidence do we have for it? (What is evidence?) Other philosophical topics will include evolutionary ethics and social Darwinism, cultural evolution, evolutionary psychology and biological ethics (time permitting.) (This course is intended for non-biology majors, though some knowledge of biology and popular science is a distinct advantage; high-school level biology is assumed.)
PHIL 331 – History of Philosophy: Ancient Philosophy
An introduction to the major figures of classical philosophy in the ancient world. The course will focus on the writings of Plato and Aristotle, the two greatest and most influential thinkers in ancient philosophy, whose writings are still a goldmine of creativity and conceptual subtlety. The course will include also the beginnings of philosophy in the fragmentary thought of the Pre-Socratics in the sixth century B.C. Classical philosophy first defined the central issues and ideas that came to shape Western culture, including the ideas of truth, beauty, and goodness; democracy and freedom; knowledge, reason, and experience; and reality, time, space, infinity, and God. Modern thought can be understood only through its relationship to classical thought and culture. This course will provide an introductory overview of this early, formative period in philosophy.
PHIL 334 01- Theoretical and Applied Ethics / HONP 301 02- Honors: Ways of Knowing
This class will introduce the methods for judging actions as either right and wrong, considering the basic terms and concepts from the field of ethics. We will also apply these to specific issues, like euthanasia, advertising, and day-to-day issues like lying and promise-keeping. We will pause occasionally to consider fundamental attempts to construct an ethical theory, such as those of Plato, Kant, and the existentialists. We might also touch on recent trends like feminist ethics, anti-theory ethics, and even the notion that ethics is pointless.
GNED 201 01, 03, 05, 07- Contemporary Issues I: Scientific Issues
An examination of philosophical issues and cognitive psychological principles involved in both cognitive science and the philosophy of mind. This course will be team taught by Dr. Benfield and Dr. Townsend and will meet as a large section and as a smaller discussion section.
RELG 204 – New Testament: Jesus and the Gospels
An examination of the life and teachings of Jesus as interpreted in the theological treatises known as the Gospels (with special stress on Mark and Matthew). Emphasis will be placed on the texts themselves, the philosophical and theological viewpoints of the writers in the context of the history and thought of ancient Hebrew and Hellenistic culture. This is a basic course for all students. Especially recommended for students of literature and history. A follow-up course, Paul and the Early Church (RELG 206), will be offered in Spring 2007.
RELG 218 – Death, Dying & Afterlife
This course is designed as a study of cross-cultural religious beliefs and practices concerning death, dying, and the afterlife. It will cover the grieving process, rituals of death, symbolic ‘deaths’ (initiations) and belief in limbo states, soul-survival, ghosts, heaven, hell, and reincarnation. From the standpoint of varied religious traditions, we will explore what dies and what lives on? Is death simply the next stage of a long moral and spiritual journey, or is it the end? How does death teach us about the values important to a good life? Why do people so often fear death, yet enjoy watching frightening films? Specifically, we will cover such varied topics as Egyptian mummies and myths, early Christian martyrdom and ideas of resurrection of the body, Muslim understandings of how angels teach and guide the soul after death, soul choices in the Tibetan Book of the Dead and six Buddhist rebirth-realms, Hindu and Buddhist karma and samsara (the cycle of rebirth), psychic communication beyond the grave, and holidays that commemorate death or placate spirits, such as Halloween and Mardi Gras.
RELG 221 01 – Religion & Culture RELG 221 02-Relgion & Culture
This course takes an historical approach in studying the interactions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with the broader cultures they impact and inhabit. Hard-working students will learn amazing amounts of religious and secular history (especially Western) throughout the course. In the second half of the course, students will be immersed in fascinating (sometimes troubling) topics/foci, gaining insight into dynamics still very much driving us (and driving us crazy) in our new century and millennium.
Students must attend the classes, survive two tough tests, and faithfully work at weekly written assignments. (thought questions, analyses, long summaries of videos viewed during class, etc.) Fulfills the 1983 General Education Requirement (GER)-Humanities, Philosophy/ Religion. Fulfills the "New" GER".
RELG 273 01 The Holocaust: Religious Perspectives
A study of the Nazi extermination of 6,000,000 Jews during World War II and the moral and religious issues raised by this event. ( more description to come later)
RELG 216 01 Islamic Religious Traditions
The course will start by examining the rise of Islam through the eyes of two fundamental Islamic texts, the Qur’an and the biography of Prophet Muhammad. It will then explore the history of Islam’s classical and formative period (632-1258 CE) in terms of theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, and mysticism, while emphasizing diversity of perspectives. The heart of Islam will be approached through the teachings of the Qur’an, hadith, and the Islamic intellectual tradition, and the encounter between Islam and other religious traditions will be traced briefly. Major trends in contemporary Islam (traditionalism, liberalism, revivalism, etc.) will be identified and discussed through the writings of their major proponents.
This course will focus on expressions of religion in popular culture in North America. After a brief overview of the history of religion in America from the Puritans to the present, we will turn to the increasingly pluralistic contemporary scene, reading the materials of popular culture from films to fiction to internet chat to learn the many various ways that Americans express and live out their religious sensibilities.
RELG 263: Religion and Psychology
A survey of 20th-century religious reflection in the light of psychological analyses. We begin with an introduction to classic views of the religious person reached by such figures as Freud, Jung, Fromm, and Maslow. Then we examine the implications of such psychology for religious thought and life, as these were understood by leading representatives of Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions. (This interface of 20th-century religious and psychological traditions includes introduction to the impacts of Marxist, feminist, and later critical insights.) The approach stresses common required readings, videos, and classroom lectures, plus discussion whenever possible. Besides the common readings, course requirements include two tests, one outside-reading-report, and a series of formal written summaries and reflections.
RELG 352 – Sel Topic: Kierkegaard RELG 462 - Seminar: Kierkegaard / HONP 301 04- Honors: Ways of Knowing
Soren Kierkegaard is often called the founder of the philosophy known as
Existentialism. He lived and wrote in early nineteenth-century
Copenhagen and declared his contempt for complacent bourgeois society
with his proclamation, “Truth is Subjectivity!” He held that the
purpose of life was to become what one already is -- namely “that
individual.” His denunciations of the church of his day made him a
social outcast but he proclaimed that “true” Christianity called
people to be radical individualists, to reject the mind-numbing
conformity of middle class life and to explore in radical ways one's own
freedom and its startling possibilities.
This class will read together and explore in
depth Kierkegaard’s writings. The issues at stake… personal
integrity, authentic existence, freedom of thought, the individual’s
struggle against group-think… will be equally of interest to Religion,
Philosophy, Literature and Psychology majors.