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New Mexico State University

Course Descriptions

Philosophy 101G           The Art of Wondering                Prof. Jennifer Noonan                (Sections M01, M02)    

 

An introduction to the aims, methods, and problems of philosophy.  The course will cover a broad range of questions of enduring philosophical interest including the following:  What do we really know?  Are minds just brains?  Does God exist?  Are moral judgments purely subjective?  Grades will be based on performance on three exams and five quizzes.

 

 

Philosophy 101G           The Art of Wondering                Prof. Danny Scoccia                   (Section M03) 

 

      The textbook that we will be using is Phil Washburn, Philosophical Dilemmas, 3rd ed.   The readings cover several perennial problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and value theory, including:

 

  • Are there any good arguments, any grounds or evidence which make belief in God more reasonable than either agnosticism or atheism?
  • What is “free will" and do we have it?  According to determinism, every event has a cause.  Is determinism true?  If determinism is true, does it follow that free will is an illusion?
  • Is morality just a matter of opinion or subjective attitude?   Why should anyone bother about being moral?

 

      The course requirements are 3 in-class exams and 4 or 5 unannounced, surprise quizzes.  Since the exams will test comprehension of material presented in lecture, as well as comprehension of the assigned readings, regular attendance of lectures will be necessary to earn a high grade.

 

 

Philosophy 101G           The Art of Wondering                Prof. Mark Walker                    (Section M04)

 

     This course is a “sampler platter” of philosophy: a rapid survey of some of the great philosophical questions. The following are some of the questions we may consider:

 

·       Does life have meaning?

·       What happens to us when we die?

·       How do we know that we are not living in “The Matrix”?

·       How should I live my life?

·       Do we have a duty to help those starving in the two-thirds world?

·       Does God exist?

·       Is it wrong to eat animals?

·       What can science tell us about our world and our place in it?

 

Grades will be based on exams, quizzes and assignments.

 

 

Philosophy 201G           Introduction to Philosophy         Prof. Jean-Paul Vessel                (Section M01)

 

                  This course provides an introduction to philosophy by way of a discussion of three central philosophical problems—the problem of free will and determinism, the "mind-body" problem (including puzzles about personal identity), and the problem of the existence and nature of God.  In each case, the focus is on careful formulation of doctrines and arguments.  The goals are (i) to understand the doctrines and arguments; (ii) to develop the ability to evaluate the doctrines and arguments; and (iii) to begin to develop the ability to extract well-formulated, interesting arguments from philosophical texts.  Readings from Plato, Aristotle, Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Leibniz, Hume, and contemporary philosophers.  Requirements: exams, quizzes, and mini-quizzes.

 

 

Philosophy 201G           Introduction to Philosophy         Prof. Tim Cleveland                    (Section M02)

 

            This introduction to philosophy focuses on the importance of logic and the critical examination of our beliefs.  To introduce the student to philosophy we will raise a number of traditional questions and examine how some famous philosophers addressed them.  What is the nature of the self?  Exactly what are you anyway?  Do we have free will?  Must we have free will if we are to be responsible for our actions?  Is free will compatible with our scientific understanding of the world?  Are there reasons for believing in God?  Can God’s existence be proved?  Can God’s existence be disproved?  What is the relation between scientific belief and religious belief?  What is the nature of right and wrong?  What is a good life?  What is the relationship between morality and religion?  What is the relationship between reason and morality?  We will approach these questions with the help of James & Stuart Rachel’s introductory text, Problems from Philosophy 2nd Edition (McGraw Hill, 2009).

 

 

Philosophy 211G           Informal Logic                          Prof. Jennifer Noonan                (Section M01)

 

            The purpose of this course is to hone students’ critical thinking skills. These skills have wide application. They should help students in their other course work as well as in practically any profession they may choose. The course will expose students to claims and arguments from a wide range of sources including advertising, politics, popular media, science and pseudoscience in order to identify errors in reasoning, misleading phraseology and effective argument strategies. The textbook for the course will be Crimes Against Logic by Jamie Whyte.

 

 

Philosophy 223G           Ethics                                       Prof.  Mark Walker                   (Section M01)

 

                  In this course we will examine some of the major ethical theories, including utilitarianism, perfectionism, Kantianism, feminism and virtue ethics. Our primary text will be Wilfrid Waluchow’s, Dimensions of Ethics, as well as several selections available online from major historical figures.

 

Philosophy 3l2              Formal Logic                             Prof. Timothy Cleveland            (Section M01) 

 

 

 

Philosophy 323V                       Engineering Ethics                    Prof. Jean-Paul Vessel                (Section M01)

 

                  After a brief introduction to logic and ethical theory, students will gain familiarity with many of the most controversial philosophical arguments relevant to contemporary engineering.  Topics to be studied include: the challenges of acting responsibly in engineering and scientific practices, how to balance profit and the risk of public harm, honesty in research, legal vs. moral responsibility, and environmental concerns.  Our focus will be on (i) careful study of the relevant texts and (ii) clear and precise formulation and evaluation of the most important principles and arguments.  Requirements: exams, a term paper, a short presentation, and a series of quizzes.

 

 

Philosophy 330              Ethics & Biomedical Research     Prof.  Danny Scoccia                  (Section M01)

 

     This course examines ethics issues raised by biomedical research and new biotechnologies.  Among the topics to be covered are: conflict of interest in scientific research; patents on genes; the use of animals and human subjects in medical experiments; genetically modified foods; stem cell research; cloning; and the ideas of “scientific hubris” and “respecting nature.”  Instruction is lecture-based and focused on weekly assigned readings.  Course requirements include 1 or 2 oral (e.g. Powerpoint) presentations and 2 or 3 short essays.

 

 

 

Philosophy 341                                    Ancient Philosophy                           Prof. Lori Keleher                               (Section M01)    

            This course explores the nature and development of Greek philosophical thought from its beginnings in the 6th century BCE down to the end of the classical period. Many of the Presocratic philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be studied. The goal of the course is to become familiar with the main features of ancient Greek thought and its influence on later centuries, including the present.  Grades will reflect in class exams, writing assignments, and course presence.

Philosophy 346              Philosophy of Mind                   Prof. Jennifer Noonan                (Section M01)

 

In this course we will examine some of the most influential accounts of the mind, including dualism, behaviorism, identity theory, and functionalism.  We will also explore the central issues in philosophy of mind – reductionism, mental causation, mental content, and consciousness – and consider how effectively different approaches to the mind address them.  The textbook for the course will be David Chalmers’ Philosophy of Mind.

 

 

Philosophy 351              Philosophy of Science                 Prof.  Mark Walker                   (Section M01)

 

     This course is a survey of some of the classical philosophical problems concerning science. Questions we will examine include: how do we distinguish science from pseudoscience? What is the nature of scientific explanation? What are scientific laws? How should we understand the theory versus observation distinction? When (if ever) should we consider a scientific theory confirmed? Are there fundamental differences between science as performed by physicists with that practiced by scientists in the biological and social sciences? We will look in some depth at issues that are sometimes lumped under the heading of “science wars”: Do scientific theories seek to provide the truth about a mind independent reality, as scientific realists maintain? Are anti-realists correct when they claim that scientific theories are “merely” useful instruments or “social constructs”?

     Note: this is not a science course; it is a course about science. We will on occasion examine actual scientific practice as data for our theorizing, but these examples will be explained in class. Students are NOT expected to have a strong background in science in order to take this course.

 

 

Philosophy 373              Ethical Theory                          Prof. Jean-Paul Vessel                (Section M01)

 

                  In the first half of this course we will study some of the most important theories in the normative ethics of behavior. Among these will be some theological conceptions of moral rightness, various forms of consequentialism, Kantianism, some social-contract theory, and perhaps a brief investigation of the virtue-vice theorist’s account of moral rightness. In each case, one focus will be on clear and accurate formulation of the theory.  Another focus will be on understanding and evaluating classical objections to the theories.  The second half of the course will be devoted to some of the most important theories in axiology (and, if time permits, we might even get to some theories in metaethics).  We will study hedonism, eudaimonism, and various forms of axiological pluralism. If time permits, we will study some combination of the following: naturalism, non-naturalism, the open question argument, emotivism, prescriptivism, the Frege-Geach problem, the error theory, expressivism, projectivism, and “new wave” naturalism.  Readings from Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Hobbes, Bentham, Mill, Kant, Ross, Moore, Ayer, Hare, Mackie, Gibbard, Blackburn, and others.  Requirements: in-class essay exams, a term paper, a short presentation, and a series of quizzes.

 

Philosophy 413              Modal Logic                              Prof. Timothy Cleveland            (Section M01)

 

Modal Logic studies the logical features of necessity, possibility, impossibility, and related concepts and attempts to formalize principles for evaluating the validity of arguments based on these concepts.  These concepts that are the basic subject matter of modal logic are also fundamental to a number of important philosophical issues such as essentialism, determinism, and the existence of God.  Therefore, developing an ability in formal modal logic will help one discuss with much more depth and clarity such philosophical issues.  In this course, the goal will be to introduce to the student the formal systems and limits of modal logic.

 

The systems of modal logic to be presented will be formal systems in which the arguments are represented by symbols.  We will first develop a simple modal logic for a propositional calculus and then extend the modal logic to a formal system with quantifiers and predicates.  We will also be interested in proving various theorems concerning each of these systems.  It is recommended that the students have had some symbolic, formal, or mathematical logic or a background in mathematics. The text will be Kenneth Konyndyk’s, Introductory Modal Logic (University of Notre Dame Press, 1986).