Philosophy and Religion Department
Fall, 2005 Elective Course Offerings
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PHILOSOPHY ELECTIVES
This
course explores core issues in political and social philosophy-the nature of
justice, citizenship, and human rights--with a focus on contemporary debates
about equality and justice in a multicultural society and a multinational globe.
The
course will begin with an overview of the history of social and political theory
with a focus on the contract theory tradition. We will then explore how this tradition is currently being
developed by liberal political theorists and their libertarian, multicultural,
and feminist critics. The third
part of the course will move beyond justice within the nation-state to questions
of international justice and human rights.
Fulfills the 1983 General Education Requirement (GER)-Humanities, Philosophy/ Religion.
MW- 1-2:15pm
Room: FI 106
Call Number:14367
This course is an introduction to the philosophy of science. It does not presuppose technical knowledge in the sciences but will survey issues such as the nature of scientific theories and laws, the objectivity of scientific knowledge, and criteria for choice among competing scientific theories. Among the questions to be considered are the following:
-- Is a well-supported scientific
theory supposed to be accepted as a true description of the world? Or is it just
a complex set of tools for predicting the occurrence of events?
-- To what extent do new ways of
thinking or new expectations, rather than new evidence, cause scientists to
reject old theories and accept new ones?
-- Is it reasonable for a scientist to
accept a theory based in part on values other than observation or experimental
evidence (e.g., values such as the mathematical symmetry of equations
incorporated in the theory, or the relative simplicity like these of the
formulation)? Does the reliance on values limit or undermine scientific
"objectivity"?
-- Is it ever possible to discover laws
governing social events, as we discover laws of nature?
-- How is observation related to
technical concepts in a scientific theory? If I "observe" when I look
through a microscope even though the effectiveness of the microscope depends on
a complex optical theory, could I likewise "observe" something just by
looking at a computer simulation of it?
Readings for this
course will come from influential twentieth-century philosophers of science,
such as Popper, Hempel, and Kuhn, as well as other recent thinkers.
PHIL 310 – Knowledge, Belief, and Truth
An examination of the nature and limits of human knowledge
using Laurence BonJour's brilliant book Epistemology: Classic
Problems and Contemporary Responses. Questions
to be addressed include: Is guessing a form of pretending to
believe? Can we know anything at all or are
humans condemned to (blessed with) skepticism? Is it possible to
have knowledge of God or of what is ethical or unethical? Is a priori
knowledge (that which philosophy allegedly provides) either possible
or actual? And, what is
the nature of truth, especially when a fictional object such as
SpongeBob Squarepants is involved?
The last few sessions of the course will be devoted to student
projects involving collaboration through the use of electronic
resources and culminating in the production of in-class presentations.
Projects in the areas of fictional or religious knowledge, ethical
knowledge, and feminist epistemology will be strongly encouraged.
The course is
required for Philosophy majors; minors and interested non-majors are
welcome.
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 01- 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.
RELG 200 – Old Testament I: Genesis to Joshua
An examination of the history and theology of Israelite religion as seen in the biblical books covering the Primeval, Patriarchal and Mosaic periods (creation-1250 B.C.). A close reading of the Biblical text and analysis from a variety of scholarly schools of interpretation and criticism. The course will include treatment of the various schools of thought (documentary, form, etc.) as to the authorship and dates of the texts under examination. The student will also be exposed to various hermeneutical approaches to the texts (philosophical, mythic, psychoanalytic, etc.) A follow-up course of Old Testament II, covering the books from Joshua to Daniel will be offered in the Spring semester.
RELG 217 – Taoism
This course explores Taoism, the most
mystical of the religions that originated in China. While
Confucian-oriented governments came and went, Taoism developed in
remarkable ways at the grassroots level of the population--in village life
and especially through the teachings of fascinating sages who lived
somewhat apart from society, reverencing the powers of the Tao that reveal
themselves in Nature. We will be exploring scriptures such as the Tao
te Ching, Chuang-Tzu, the I-Ching, and many others dealing with a great
variety of topics. These include yin-yang, natural symbols expressive of
Tao, Taoist physiology--connecting the human body with the divine powers
in the natural world, defining "natural action" and "unity
with Tao," Taoist uses of external and internal Alchemy, the
development of Chinese medicine through the search for immortality,
various meditation practices, Taoist deities and the Immortals, who are
thought to help society and the poor, Taoist ethics, various rituals and
priests, sectarian groups and their leaders, systems of exercise and the
practice of martial arts, and geomancy (aligning one's external
environment with natural principles).
We will also examine the connections
between Confucian and Taoist values and organization, and the relationship
between Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism was at first interpreted as
"Taoist," and we find that joint Taoist-Buddhist groups
developed in the later periods.
This course is suitable for both introductory and
advanced students.
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.
RELG 350 01 Sel Study: "Jihad," Holy War, Just War
This course focuses on studying the historical
development of the religious views of peacemaking and warfare in the Islamic tradition. The course
will help students to compare the Just War tradition in the West with the Jihad doctrine in Islam. In
addition, students will have the opportunity to read and analyze classical and modern Muslim, Christian
and Jewish writings on the subject.
This course will investigate alternative and new religious movements, especially as they have developed in America (though occasional comparisons will be drawn to new religious movements in Japan, Europe, and elsewhere). We will review new religious movements that have since become established religious traditions (e.g., Christian Science, Mormonism), along with countercultural religious movements born in the 1960s and 1970s and Eastern religions as they have been imported to America and Americans. We will discuss how gender and race function in alternative religions as compared to established religions, how leadership is conceptualized, and how communities are developed and maintained. In addition, we will consider controversial topics related to new religious movements such as millennialism and mass suicides, and charges of brainwashing and satanic rituals.
RELG 355 02: Sel Study:- Ireland's Celts and Catholics
A survey introduction to Ireland's religious history and experiences, from the earliest people and Queen
Medb, through Padraig and Brigid, the Vikings and Cromwell, and much much more, toward the 20th-century and America. Heavy readings and wide-ranging lectures will travel the following syllabus:
--Celtic Irish paganism: complete with goddesses, druids, and dynamic shape-shifting. . . .
--Celtic Christianity: the original real deal, unique in the world for centuries, its missionary monks helping re-educate Europe out of their "dark ages."
Meanwhile,
the uniquely Celtic Christians had pioneered being communally what today we might call being "spiritual, but not religious." Then, after
centuries of such independence....
--Christian Ireland Roman-Catholicized: still recognizably Irish but "regularized" under Norman English
absorption, and
then....
--Irish Catholicism under the gun -- victimized and distorted by four centuries of Protestant English brutalities and persecution. . . .
No pre-requisites, but good note-taking, class attendance, and in-class participation are required. Short weekly writing assignments and serious tests.
RELG 357 – Sel Study: Religious Existentialism RELG 467 - Seminar: Religious Existentialism HONP 301 02- Honors: Ways of Knowing
Existentialism has been called "the category of the
individual." Kierkegaard declared that "Truth is
subjectivity" and Sartre spoke of radically free decision-making
through which the individual creates himself. What are the
"existential" views of God, human uniqueness and the meaning of
life and death? These and related themes will be explored in the writings
of Meister Eckhart, Soren Kierkegaard, Gabriel Marcel, Martin Heidegger,
John Paul Sartre, Emanuel Levinas and others. These writings will be
subjected to a careful and close reading by the entire class.
NOTE: This class may be counted as a
seminar or non-seminar (for purposes of meeting the requirements for the
major in Religion).
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