This course will provide a general introduction to some of the central problems in philosophy. For example, what do we know, and how do we know it? Does a supremely perfect being exist? Do we have free will? What is the nature of morality? Readings will be from classic and contemporary sources.

Gen.Ed.: Individual & Society

Prof: Georgette Sinkler | MW 12-12:50 PM

Discussion sections: F 11-11:50 AM or 12-12:50 PM

Critical thinking will enable you to better understand, evaluate, and defend the beliefs that make up your worldview, as well as the competing beliefs offered by others. We will learn how to analyze, evaluate and criticize arguments. We will then apply these skills to various forms of reasoning offered in academic & non-academic contexts. These are the skills you need to do well in college and to ace tests like the MCAT & GRE.

Gen.Ed.: Individual & Society

In-person: Prof. John Whipple | MW 11-11:50 AM

Discussion sections: F 11-11:50 AM or 12-12:50 PM

Online: Prof. TBD | Lecture ASYNC

Discussion section: SYNCH [times arranged Week 1]

Information is all around you. It is stored in books, on computers, in the rings of a tree, in your brain. Logic is the study of the most basic property of information: that you can put pieces of information together to make a new piece of information. This process is called inference and it is at the heart of what it means to be a thinker. In logic, we study inference by establishing precise rules for what makes a good inference. In this course you will learn principles of inference that will be useful to you in any activity that requires thought. You will improve your ability to make and evaluate arguments, and you will gain a greater appreciation for precision in language.

Gen.Ed.: Natural World (No Lab); also fulfils LAS Quantitative Reasoning requirement

In-person: Prof. Justin Vlasits | MW 10-10:50 AM

Discussion sects: F 10-10:50, 11-11:50, 12-12:50 or 1-1:50

Online Lecture: ASYNC

Discussion sections SYNCH: T 10-10:50, 11-11:50, 4—-4:50; W 4-4:50; R 1-1:50; or F 1-1:50

Surveys attempts to answer central questions of ethics: What acts are right? What things are good? How do we know this?

Gen.Ed.: Individual & Society

Prof: TBD | MWF 11-11:50 AM

Introduction to the fundamental problems in understanding art; the historical background; the concept of the aesthetic; theories of art; intentionalistic criticism; metaphor; symbolism; expression; theories of evaluation.

Gen.Ed.: Creative Arts

Prof: TBD | MWF 2-2:50 PM

What is freedom, and why do we value it? Do we have free will? What limitations on individual freedom by society are legitimate? What is a free society?

Gen.Ed.: Individual & Society

Prof. Sam Fleischacker | MW 12-12:50 PM

Discussion sections: F 12-12:50 PM or 1-1:50 PM

What is it to love someone as a lover rather than a parent, sibling, or friend? What is the nature of sexual desire; how does it relate to love, to sexual activity and sexual pleasure? Among the topics discussed are sexual intercourse, transgender identity, homosexuality, prostitution, pornography, incest, and rape.

Gen.Ed.: Individual & Society

Prof: Maria Mejia | MW 2-2:50 PM

Discussion sections: F 1-1:50 PM or 2-2:50 PM

There are few certainties in life, but one of them is that it ends. You, and everyone you have ever met, will one day die. What does this mean for us? In this course, we take a philosophical approach to death. We ask questions like: Is immortality possible? Would immortality be desirable? How should I feel about my own death? How should I feel about the death of other people? How should the knowledge that I will die affect how I live?

Gen.Ed.: Individual & Society

Online: Prof. TBD | Lecture ASYNC

Discussion sections SYNCH: [times arranged Week 1]

Moral issues as they arise in medical contexts, including such topics as abortion, euthanasia, paternalism, allocation of medical resources, and psychiatric issues.

Prof: TBD | TR8-9:15 AM

Basic issues concerning knowledge, such as knowledge of the external world, other minds, scientific laws, and necessary truths.

Prof. TBD | TR 2-3:15 PM

Philosophy and psychology both ask questions about the nature and function of the mind. Increasingly, these two forms of inquiry have interacted and informed each other in fruitful ways. We will study some of the ways in which philosophical and scientific of the mind constrain and support one another in our attempts to understand the mind and behavior. Topics will include consciousness, rationality, moral motivation, mind-body interactions, and the history of brain science.

Prof. Marya Schechtman | MW 9-9:50 AM

Discussion Sections: F 8-8:50 AM or 9-9:50 AM

Metaphysics is the study of the most fundamental questions about the way things are. We will investigate issues of possibility, necessity, essence, and possible worlds. We ask questions like: Is it possible for a mathematical truth to be false? Could I have been a penguin? What are the essential properties of ordinary individuals such as people, cats, trees, and tables?

Professor TBD | TR 3:30-4:45 PM

It is often claimed that science is our best source of knowledge of the world and how it works. It is also often claimed that science is able to supply that knowledge of the world because it operates in accordance with a unique method. We will evaluate and examine these claims, addressing questions like: What is science? What is the scientific method? How reliable is the knowledge generated by science? How do fallible, sometimes irrational scientists generate reliable knowledge?

Prof. David Hilbert | MW 1-1:50

Discussion sections: F 10-10:50 AM, 11-11:50 AM

What is a good life? What is the world like? How does the human world relate to the divine? These fundamental questions occupied the earliest Greek philosophers, from Thales to the Sophists, Socrates, and Plato. Focusing on the themes of law (nomos) and nature (phusis), we won’t just learn what these philosophers thought; we will question them, argue with them, and develop our own answers to these timeless questions. We will read the original texts in translation of these early Greek philosophers, as well as ancient historians, tragedians, and even doctors!

Professor Justin Vlasits | MWF 12-12:50

In the Islamic Golden Age (800-1400 CE), philosophers such as al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, and Averroes made enormous contributions to every aspect of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and philosophical theology. But philosophy in the Islamic world did not end with Averroes. It continued to flourish in Muslim Eastern countries, in particular Persia and India, with the works of such philosophers as Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra. In the contemporary era, drawing on their rich tradition, Muslim philosophers such as Muhammad Iqbal, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Amina Wadud continue to tackle social, philosophical, and theological issues in the Islamic world. In this course, we will discuss the works of Muslim philosophers from the Golden Age to the present day.

Prof. Hashem Morvarid | MW 4:30-5:45 PM

Kant, one of the most important and influential philosophers in the Western tradition, developed his philosophy in reaction to both the empiricist and rationalist traditions and against the larger background of the scientific revolution.  We will place his philosophy in historical context by first looking closely at some of his predecessors, including Cavendish, Leibniz, and especially Locke.  That will put us in a position to understand Kant’s revolutionary approach to philosophy toward the end of the course.

Prof. Daniel Sutherland | TR 12:30-1:45 PM

Is knowing how to do something (e.g. how to drive stick) simply a matter of knowing facts about it? Or does it require having the ability to do it? What is the relationship between know-how and skill? In what sense is know-how a kind of practical knowledge? And how can we acquire it?

Prof. Will Small | R 3:30-6 PM

The course will provide an overview of philosophy as it was practiced during the Middle Ages in the Latin-speaking West. The work of authors such as Augustine, Aquinas, Ockham, and Kilvington will be explored on topics ranging from the nature of change to compatibility of reason and religion.

Prof Georgette Sinkler | MW 9:30-10:45 AM

The idea that we should always promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people has been probably the most popular nonreligious moral system in the world, for the past 200 years. We will explore both its advantages and its (many) problems in this class. Readings from Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Aldous Huxley, Bernard Williams and John Rawls.

Prof. Sam Fleischacker | T 3:30-6 PM

A survey of traditional problems concerning the existence and nature of God, freedom, justification, morality, etc. Readings from historical or contemporary philosophers. (Gen. Ed.: Individual and Society)

Professor Georgette Sinkler | MW 12-12:50 PM

Discussion Sections: F 12-12:50PM or 2-2:50PM

Critical thinking will enable you to better understand, evaluate, and defend the beliefs that make up your worldview, as well as the competing beliefs offered by others. We will learn how to analyze, evaluate and criticize arguments. We will then apply these skills to various forms of reasoning offered in academic and non-academic contexts. These are the skills you need to do well in college and to ace tests like the MCAT and the GRE. (Gen. Ed.: Individual and Society)

Professor John Whipple | MW 11-11:50 AM

Discussion sections: F 10-10:50 AM or 11-11:50 AM

Online Asynchronous section: Professor TBD; please note, there will be synchronous discussion sections (set around student preferences)

Information is all around you. It is stored in books, on computers, in the rings of a tree, in your brain. Logic is the study of the most basic property of information: that you can put pieces of information together to make a new piece of information. This process is called inference and it is at the heart of what it means to be a thinker. In logic, we study inference by establishing precise rules for what makes a good inference. In this course you will learn principles of inference that will be useful to you in any activity that requires thought. You will improve your ability to make and evaluate arguments, and you will gain a greater appreciation for precision in language. (Gen. Ed.: Natural World – No Lab; also fulfills LAS Quantitative Reasoning requirement.)

Professor Aidan Gray | MW 12-12:50 PM

Discussion sections: F 9-9:50 AM, 10-10:50 AM, 11-11:50 AM, or 12-12:50PM

Online Asynchronous section: Professor TBD; please note, there will be synchronous discussion sections (set around student preferences)

Can people be excused for having immoral beliefs because they were “products of their time”? Do victims have a duty to resist their own oppression? Who is responsible for structural injustice? In this course we will explore questions about agency and responsibility in the context of a social world that is shaped by systematic injustice. (Gen. Ed.: Individual and Society)

Professor Annette Martín | TR 11-11:50 AM

Discussion sections: F 1-1:50 PM or 2-2:50 PM

What is it to love someone as a lover rather than a parent, sibling, or friend? What is the nature of sexual desire; how does it relate to love, to sexual activity and sexual pleasure? Among the topics discussed are sexual intercourse, transgender identity, homosexuality, prostitution, pornography, incest, and rape. (Gen. Ed.: Individual and Society)

Professor TBA | MW 9-9:50 AM

Discussion section: F 8-8:50AM, 9-9:50 AM

There are few certainties in life, but one of them is that it ends. You, and everyone you have ever met, will one day die. What does this mean for us? In this course, we take a philosophical approach to death. We ask questions like: Is immortality possible? Would immortality be desirable? How should I feel about my own death? How should I feel about the death of other people? How should the knowledge that I will die affect how I live? (Gen. Ed.: Individual and Society)

Professor Daniel Sutherland | MW 10-10:50

Discussion sections: F 9, 10, 11, or 12

Moral issues as they arise in medical contexts, including such topics as abortion, euthanasia, paternalism, allocation of medical resources, and psychiatric issues.

Professor TBD | TR 8-9:15 AM

We will examine classical as well as contemporary discussions of what it is to know. What do we know? What counts as good evidence, or good reasons, for a claim to know something? Can we know anything? Can we know our selves? Can we know whether there is a God, or any of the other things central to religious belief? What are the proper or best foundations for knowledge? Readings from Descartes, Hume, Kant, Wittgenstein, as well as philosophers of more recent vintage.

Professor Samuel Fleischacker | TR 11-11:50 AM

Discussion sections: F 9-9:50 AM or 10-10:50 AM

Almost everyone will agree that we have minds and we have bodies. What’s less clear is exactly how our minds and bodies are related. Is there really just one thing with two ways of describing it? Or are there two very different things that may or may not interact with each other? In the first part of the course we will look at a range of answers to questions concerning the relation between mind and body and consider their strengths and weaknesses. One important activity involving both mind and body is the use of the senses to find out about the world around us. In the second part of the course we will be focused on questions concerning the individual senses from both a scientific and a philosophical perspective.

Professor David Hilbert | MW 9-9:50 AM

Discussion Sections: F 8-8:50 AM or 9-9:50 AM

Metaphysics is the study of the most fundamental questions about the way things are. We will investigate issues of possibility, necessity, essence, and possible worlds. We ask questions like: Is it possible for a mathematical truth to be false? Could I have been a penguin? What are the essential properties of ordinary individuals such as people, cats, trees, and tables? Prerequisite: One non-logic course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.

Professor TBD | MW 3-4:15 PM

Science is our best source of knowledge of the world and how it works, but what is the nature of that knowledge and its reliability? We will address questions like: What is science? What is the scientific method? How reliable is the knowledge granted by science? How do fallible, sometimes irrational scientists generate reliable knowledge? Prerequisite: One non-logic course in philosophy; or junior/senior standing in the physical/biological/social sciences; or consent of the instructor.

Professor TBA | TR 2-3:15 PM

Philosophical issues concerning meaning, the relationship between language and thought, how language is to be distinguished from other forms of communication, and how truth relates to meaning. Recommended background: One non-logic course in philosophy.

Professor TBA | TR 11-12:15 PM

The focus of this course will be truth-functional and first-order logic. We will begin by reviewing truth-functional logic, treating it in a somewhat more abstract and rigorous way than in PHIL 102. We will then consider various systems that arise from changing the principles of truth-functional logic, in particular by denying the principle of non-contradiction and the law of excluded middle. These non-classical logics are both interesting philosophically and shed new light on the nature and structure of truth-functional logic. We will end by introducing quantifiers and their use to symbolize English sentences. We will set up a natural deduction system for first-order logic. Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or consent of instructor. (Gen. Ed.: Natural World – No Lab)

Professor Justin Vlasits | TR 12:30-1:45 PM

Introduction to Descartes and some of his successors in the early modern period. Course Information: Prerequisite(s): One non-logic course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.

Professor John Whipple | MW 9:30-10:45 AM

Survey of Marx’s theoretical (rather than political and historical) works. We will examine Marx’s analysis and critique of capitalism, paying special attention to his accounts of the forms that human agency and social relations take in capitalist society, and of what they could be in a socialist society. Topics include: value, labour, alienation, exploitation, and the relationship between freedom and equality. Prerequisite: One non-logic course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.

Professor Will Small | TR 11-12:15 PM

An intensive course for philosophy majors or minors aimed at introducing and developing skill in philosophical writing and oral presentation. Prerequisites: Major or minor in philosophy; at least one non-logic 200-level philosophy course; or approval of the instructor.

Professor Georgette Sinkler | MW 9:30-10:45 AM

What is the nature of perceptual experience and how does it relate us to the world? We ordinarily think that we directly perceive the objects in our environment. Many have thought, however, that illusions and hallucinations raise serious problems for our ordinary understanding. Philosophers have developed a variety of theories of perceptual experience to address these problems. We will read literature from classic work by Elizabeth Anscombe to recent work by Susanna Siegel, and consider accounts of the nature of experience and perception up to the present day, including the Sense-Datum, Adverbial, Intentionalist, and Naïve Realist theories. We may also explore related issues, e.g. the nature of color, or the extent to which concepts play a role in perception.

Professor Daniel Sutherland | T 3:30-6 PM

We will address a cluster of interrelated questions in meta-physics, focusing on two topics: (1) The metaphysics of personal identity. What makes you the same person you were 20 years ago? Are you the same person you were 20 years ago? Do people really persist over time or is the sense that they do an illusion? (2) The metaphysics of memory. Memory has usually been addressed by philosophers within other debates about, e.g., knowledge, the nature of consciousness, or personal identity. Recently, in part because of important developments in the scientific study of memory, the philosophy of memory has become an important area in its own right, focusing mostly on questions about what makes something a memory and how memory connects us to the past. We will look at fast developing debates in this area and consider how the two topics interact.

Professor Marya Schectman | T 3:30-6 PM

Kant’s Critique of the Power of Judgment is a remarkable book, comprising an addition to Kant’s earlier views of knowledge, a theory of beauty, a theory of “natural purposes,” a theory of the worth of human life, and (in the light of all this) a theory of religion. We will work through the text slowly, using some secondary sources, and ask ourselves how much of it remains of value to our thinking about art, science, and religion today.

Professor Samuel Fleischacker | R 3:30-6 PM

Can hip hop be a form of protest? Should we speak up about injustice even if it won’t cause change? Is there any role for philosophy in changing the social world? We will consider these and other questions as we undertake a philosophical analysis of oppression, resistance, and social change.

Professor Annette Martín | TR 2-3:15 PM

Professor Georgette Sinkler | MW 1-1:50 PM
Discussion sections: F 12-12:50 PM or 1-1:50 PM

The course is intended to introduce students to some basic problems in Philosophy: for example, whether we have free choice, whether there is a moral standard that everyone should adhere to, whether God exists, and whether we can know anything about anything. Along the way, students will develop their ability to read critically and think critically. (Gen. Ed.: This course satisfies the Individual and Society requirement.)

– In-person section: Professor John Whipple | MW 11-11:50 AM
Discussion sections: F 9-9:50 AM or 10-10:50 AM
– Online Asynchronous section: Professor TBD; please note, there will be synchronous discussion sections (set around student preferences)

Critical thinking will enable you to better understand, evaluate, and defend the beliefs that make up your worldview, as well as the competing beliefs offered by others. We will learn how to analyze, evaluate and criticize arguments. We will then apply these skills to various forms of reasoning offered in academic and non-academic contexts. These are the skills you need to do well in college and to ace tests like the MCAT and the GRE. (Gen. Ed.: This course satisfies the Individual and Society requirement.)

– In-person section: Professor Justin Vlasits | MW 10-10:50 AM
Discussion sections: F 10-10:50 AM, 11-11:50 AM, 12-12:50PM, or 1-1:50PM
– Online Asynchronous section: Professor TBD; please note, there will be synchronous discussion sections (set around student preferences)

Information is all around you. It is stored in books, on computers, in the rings of a tree, in your brain. Logic is the study of the most basic property of information: that you can put pieces of information together to make a new piece of information. This process is called inference and it is at the heart of what it means to be a thinker. In logic, we study inference by establishing precise rules for what makes a good inference. In this course you will learn principles of inference that will be useful to you in any activity that requires thought. You will improve your ability to make and evaluate arguments, and you will gain a greater appreciation for precision in language. (Gen. Ed.: Natural World –No Lab course; also fulfills LAS Quantitative Reasoning requirement.)

Professor Tony Laden | MW 12-12:50 PM
Discussion Sections: F 9-9:50AM, 10-10:50 AM

Doing the right thing is often a matter of figuring out what the right thing to do is. This class develops the skills to make and reflect on hard ethical decisions. Students will explore and discuss a set of cases describing moral dilemmas that teachers and   can face in the course of their work. We will also read about and practice various strategies and methods of moral reasoning. Although the focus makes the class particularly suited to those considering a career in education, the skills   help facing all sorts of moral dilemmas. (Gen. Ed: Counts towards Individual and Society General Education credit)

Professor Sam Fleischacker | MW 11-11:50 AM
Discussion Sections: F 10-10:50AM, 11-11:50 AM

Why are people religious? Should they be religious? Just what is religion anyway? And what is its function in society, or in our individual lives? We’ll explore these questions from many different angles; students will be encouraged to develop their own views and argue for those views. (Gen. Ed.: This course satisfies the Individual and Society requirement.)

– In-person section: Professor Aidan Gray | TR 11-11:50 AM
Discussion sections: F 10, 11, 12 or 1
– Online Asynchronous section: Professor TBD; please note, there will be synchronous discussion sections (set around student preferences)

There are few certainties in life, but one of them is that it ends. You, and everyone you have ever met, will one day die. What does this mean for us? In this course, we take a philosophical approach to death. We ask questions like: Is immortality possible? Would immortality be desirable? How should I feel about my own death? How should I feel about the death of other people? How should the knowledge that I will die affect how I live? (Gen Ed: This course satisfies the Understanding the Individual and Society requirement.)

Professor TBD| TR 8-9:15 AM

Moral issues as they arise in medical contexts, including such topics as abortion, euthanasia, paternalism, allocation of medical resources, and psychiatric issues.

Professor TBD | TR 2-3:15 PM

Basic issues concerning knowledge, such as knowledge of the external world, other minds, scientific laws, and necessary truths. Course Information: Prerequisite(s): One non-logic course in philosophy; or consent of the instructor.

Professor Rachel Goodman | MW 9-9:50 AM
Discussion sections: F 8-8:50 AM, 9-9:50 AM

Almost everyone agrees that we have minds and we have bodies. What’s less clear is exactly how our minds and bodies are related. Is there really just one thing with two ways of describing it? Or are there two very different things that may or may not interact with each other? We’ll look at a range of answer to questions concerning the relation between mind and body. We will also focus on questions concerning individual senses from both a scientific and a philosophical perspective. Prerequisite(s): One course in philosophy; or junior or senior standing in the physical, biological, or social sciences.

Professor TBD | TR 3:30-4:45

Metaphysics is the study of the most fundamental questions about the way things are. We will investigate issues of possibility, necessity, essence, and possible worlds. We ask questions like: Is it possible for a mathematical truth to be false? Could I have been a Penguin? What are the essential properties of ordinary individuals such as people, cats, trees, and tables? Prerequisite: One non-logic course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.

Professor Nicholas Huggett | TR 2-2:50 PM
Discussion Sections: F 10-10:50 AM, 11-11:50 AM

Science is our best source of knowledge of the world and how it works, but what is the nature of that knowledge and its reliability? We will address questions like: What is science? What is the scientific method? How reliable is the knowledge granted by science? How do fallible, sometimes irrational scientists generate reliable knowledge? Prerequisite: One non-logic course in philosophy; or junior/senior standing in the physical/biological/social sciences, or consent of the instructor.

Professor Will Small | TR 11-12:15 PM

This course will introduce Aristotle’s philosophy by examining his conceptions of what it is to be a human being and of what it is to live a good human life. We will consider questions such as: What is happiness, and how do we achieve it? What is the relationship between being happy and being good? How do we become good? What is the relationship between thought and action? What role do non-rational sources of motivation play in the life of a rational animal? Our focus will be Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, but we will read excerpts from his Metaphysics, Physics, and De Anima (‘On the Soul’) along the way and consider some Stoic views on these issues as time allows. Prerequisite(s): One non-logic course in philosophy or consent of the instructor.

Professor Marya Schechtman | TR 12:30-1:45 PM

Existentialism is both highly theoretical and deeply and directly aimed at questions about the human condition that arise for all of us. Philosophers working in the Existentialist tradition confront topics like freedom, anxiety, death, and the absurdity of life, seeking both to understand the source of these features of human existence and what they imply about how to live fully and well given our limitations. In this course we will look at a range of Existentialist philosophers, including Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, de Beauvoir, and Camus. Among other works, we will read Camus’ novel The Plague, which depicts and reflects upon just the kind of disruption we have all lived through during the COVID pandemic. The course will also offer an introduction to Phenomenology, a philosophical movement that lays much of the methodological and theoretical groundwork for later Existential thought. The readings in the course can be difficult, but the issues addressed are familiar to everyone. Some of the thought is provocative, or depressing, but even if you do not accept it in the end, it raises important questions which are worth asking. Together we will work through the difficult, theoretical parts of the reading, and critically evaluate the claims about the nature of human life and how it should be lived.

Professor TBD | MWF 9-9:50 AM

Survey of major topics in ethical theory and political philosophy. Emphasis varies. Course Information: 3 hours. May be repeated if topics vary. Approval to repeat course granted by the department. Prerequisite(s): One non-logic course in philosophy; or consent of the instructor. Recommended background: PHIL 103 or PHIL 109 or PHIL 112 or PHIL 116. Class Schedule Information: To be properly registered, students must enroll in one Discussion/Recitation and one Lecture.

Professor Annette Martin | TR 2-3:15 PM

Why do we have female birth control, but no male birth control? What does it mean to say that gender is “socially constructed”? Can words really be oppressive? In this course we will touch on these and other questions as we review key debates in feminist philosophy, with the aim of developing a deeper philosophical understanding of both gender and gendered forms of injustice.

Professor Georgette Sinkler | MW 9:30-10:45 AM

Writing is fun! It is enjoyable to express interesting ideas clearly. The problem for most of us is that we can’t express ourselves as effectively as we’d like, so that writing becomes a source of frustration. This course will help you to become a clear, precise, and more confident writer. Prerequisite(s): Major in philosophy; junior+ standing; departmental approval.

Professor Nicholas Huggett | TR 3:30-4:45 PM

This course will teach formal methods and concepts for use in philosophy: including set theory, probability theory, computability, and issues of soundness and completeness in logic and arithmetic.

Professor John Whipple | MW 9:30-10:45 AM

The problem of evil is one of the most formidable challenges facing traditional theism. How could a God that is all-knowing, all powerful, and completely good allow something like a pandemic to occur that kills hundreds of thousands of people? In this course we will study different historical treatments of the problem of evil, with a focus on three figures from the modern period: Nicolas Malebranche, Pierre Bayle, and G. W. Leibniz. However, we will begin the course by looking at medieval figure Moses Maimonides’ fascinating approach to the problem of evil, and near the end of the seminar we will consider Voltaire’s famous criticisms of traditional rationalist responses to the problem. We will conclude the course by looking selections from a recent monograph by Jill Graper Hernandez: Early Modern Women and the Problem of Evil: Atrocity and Theodicy. As we consider these figures’ remarks on the problem of evil, we will try to discern the extent to which particular figures’ approaches to the problem of evil are grounded in their broader epistemological and metaphysical commitments. We will also be paying careful attention to some of the interpretive challenges we face when trying to make sense of difficult texts like Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed, Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary, and Leibniz’s Theodicy.

Professor Sam Fleischacker | M 1:00 – 3:30PM

What’s the relationship between belief in God and morality? Does morality depend on a belief in God? (Is it true, as Dostoevsky said, that if there’s no God, everything is permitted?). If not, is there anything that a belief in God might add to morality? We’ll consider these questions, first, in the work of Immanuel Kant, who kept morality and religion largely apart from one another, and afterwards in the writing of some contemporary Christian philosophers, especially Robert Adams, who presents a theistic ethics in his book Fine and Infinite Goods.

Professor Anthony Laden | MW 9:30-10:45 AM

John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice, published in 1971, is arguably the most important work of political philosophy published in the last century. It still drives much of the debate in political philosophy. It is also an elegant piece of philosophy, unfolding a single argument over 500 pages. This class will spend all semester working through Rawls’s work, providing students a chance to understand both its details and its sweep. Prerequisite: A Philosophy class at the 200level or approval of the instructor.