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Course Descriptions Course Descriptions Spring 2020 Updated: 11/4/19 2:01 PM Undergraduate Courses CAS PH 100 A1 Introduction to Philosophy Professor Derek Anderson Tuesday, Thursday 9:30AM-10:45AM Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God's existence, and the significance of human life. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. In the 2018- 19 Academic Year this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking and Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meaning. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 100 B6 Introduction to Philosophy Professor Derek Anderson Tuesday, Thursday 12:30PM-1:45PM Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God's existence, and the significance of human life. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. In the 2018- 19 Academic Year this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking and Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meaning. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 110 A1 Great Philosophers Professor Benjamin Crowe Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:25PM-2:15PM An introduction to philosophy through a reading of great figures in western thought. The list may include Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Roussesau, Nietzsche, Russell. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 150 A1 Introduction to Ethics Professor James Kinkaid Tuesday, Thursday 11:00AM-12:15PM Many of us want to lead meaningful lives. But what is it for a life to be meaningful? What makes some lives better or more meaningful than others? Can life as a whole have some significance or meaning? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 150 B1 Introduction to Ethics Professor Daniel Star Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05AM-9:55AM What is morality? What does morality require of us in our daily lives? We look both at theories that specify what morality requires of us and at specific moral issues to which these theories apply. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 150 C1 Introduction to Ethics Professor Samia Hesni Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:35PM-4:25PM Many of us want to lead meaningful lives. But what is it for a life to be meaningful? What makes some lives better or more meaningful than others? Can life as a whole have some significance or meaning? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 155 A1 Politics and Philosophy Professor Susanne Sreedhar Tuesday, Thursday 3:30PM-4:45PM What is the nature, origin, and scope of political authority? What are the foundations for rights, liberty, justice, and equality? When can citizens rightfully resist their governments? This course is an introduction to major themes and questions in political philosophy. It consists primarily, but not exclusively, in the study of texts from the history of political thought e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Mill. This course carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 159 A1 Philosophy and Film Professor Aaron Garrett Tuesday, Thursday 3:30PM-4:45PM This class provides an introduction philosophical and aesthetic issues connected with film. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 160 A1 Reason and Argumentation Professor Alisa Bokulich Tuesday, Thursday 11:00AM-12:15PM Knowing how to think, reason, and argue well is essential for success in all disciplines and in everyday life. The aim of this course is to strengthen and develop your critical thinking skills; you will learn how to make good arguments and how to critically evaluate the arguments of others. This course will emphasize both real everyday examples, such as those drawn from newspaper articles, and examples of scientific reasoning drawn from various science journals. Textbook: Merilee Salmon's Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking, 6th edition. CAS PH 160 B1 Reason and Argumentation Professor Judson Webb Tuesday, Thursday 9:30AM-10:45AM A systematic study of the principles of both deductive and informal reasoning, calculated to enhance students' actual reasoning skills, with an emphasis on reasoning and argumentation in ordinary discourse. We will emphasize argumentation and criticism in ordinary life and also present formal models of reasoning designed to elicit underlying patterns and structures of reasoning and argumentation that are widely applicable. Simultaneous training in skills of argument analysis, argument pattern recognition, argument construction, and argument interpretation and creation. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area(s): Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 247 A1 Introduction to Chinese Philosophy Professor Benjamin Crowe Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:35PM-4:25PM The classical period in China’s ancient philosophical tradition is sometimes known as the baijia, or “Hundred Schools” era, a name that vividly conveys the richness, vitality, and plurality of the philosophical scene. In this course, we will explore some of the principal texts and figures of the time, including Kongzi (Confucius) (c. 551-479 BCE), Mozi (c. 480- 390 BCE), Mengzi (Mencius) (4th century BCE), Zhuangzi (late 4th century BCE), and Xunzi (late 4th-early 3rd century BCE). Ancient Chinese thinkers engaged in profound investigations and lively debates centered on the “Way” (dao), i.e., the pattern of a life well lived. Topics discussed will range across the nature of moral virtues, political and social order, music, religious ritual, moral education, the ethics of war, and the fundamental character of human nature itself. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 248 A1 Existentialism Professor James Kinkaid Tuesday, Thursday 3:30PM-4:45PM This course examines how existentialist thinkers grappled with some of the most problematic aspects of the human condition. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. CAS PH 251 A1 Medical Ethics Professor Ian Dunkle Tuesday, Thursday 11:00AM-12:15PM This course introduces students to the received ethical-decision-theory for medical ethics—Principlism. We will begin by considering (1) what Principlism is. Then we will take each of the four core ethical principles—namely, Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Respect for Patient Autonomy, and Justice—considering both (2) the philosophical support for its principles and (3) the conceptual and practical issues that emerge in applying these principles to medical theory and practice. Issues we will consider include: What is it to be happy? What is it to be healthy? What is the relation of disability to health and wellbeing? When does rationing health care bring undue harm to individual patients? What is death? Is death bad for the one who dies? Why is it wrong to kill someone? Is there a moral difference between killing and letting die? Why is it important to respect personal autonomy even at the expense of personal wellbeing? What is informed consent? How do policies of informed consent affect trans teens? Is it just to ban blood donations from men who have sex with men? What does justice demand of society regarding reproduction in same-sex couples? Are the categories of race and sex in medical practice justified? Do they lead to unjust practices? CAS PH 251 B1 Medical Ethics Professor Ian Dunkle Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:35PM-4:25PM This course introduces students to the received ethical-decision-theory for medical ethics—Principlism. We will begin by considering (1) what Principlism is. Then we will take each of the four core ethical principles—namely, Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Respect for Patient Autonomy, and Justice—considering both (2) the philosophical support for its principles and (3) the conceptual and practical issues that emerge in applying these principles to medical theory and practice. Issues we will consider include: What is it to be happy? What is it to be healthy? What is the relation of disability to health and wellbeing? When does rationing health
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