Undergraduate Program,
Courses 2011-2012
Official Yale College program and course information is found in Yale College Programs of Study, available on line at www.yale.edu/yalecollege/publications/ycps.
Introductory Courses
*Philosophy D.S., Introductory Philosophy Lecture
M, 11:30-12:20
Michael Della Rocca
Scott Edgar
Sonny Elizondo
Jay Elliot
Paul Franks
Gregory Ganssle
Brian Kane
Jonathan Kaplan
Andrew March
Barbara Sattler
Matthew Smith
Bruno Whittle
082a, Cognitive Science of Morality. Joshua Knobe (freshman seminar)
T, Th, 2:30 – 3:45
An exploration of recent work in psychology and philosophy on questions about the nature of moral judgment. Central topics include: whether the capacity for moral judgment is innate or learned, whether moral judgments rely on reasoning or on emotion, what light the science of morality can shed on broader philosophical questions about how one ought to live one’s life.
115a, First-Order Logic. Kenneth Winkler
W, F, 11:35 – 12:25; 1 HTBA
An introduction to formal logic. Study of the formal deductive systems and semantics for both propositional and predicate logic. Some discussion of metatheory as well.
116a, DEVN 193a, PSYC 152a, Moralities of Everyday Life. Paul Bloom
T, Th, 4 – 5:15
This course will explore the modern science of moral thought and moral action, drawing upon disciplines such as cognitive science, social and developmental psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and analytic philosophy. Topics include empathy and compassion in babies and young children; emotional reactions to family, friends, and strangers; the origin of prejudice and bigotry; sexuality, disgust, and purity; punishment, revenge, and forgiveness; and the relationship between morality and religion.
History of Philosophy
125a, CLCV 125a, Introduction: Ancient Philosophy. Verity Harte
T, Th, 11:35 – 12:25; 1 HTBA
An introduction to ancient philosophy beginning with the earliest pre-Socratics, concentrating on Plato and Aristotle, and including a brief foray into Hellenistic philosophy. Intended to be taken in conjunction with Philosophy 126b.
126b, Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Kant. Zoltan Szabo
M, W, 11:35 – 12:25; 1 HTBA
An introduction to major figures in the history of modern philosophy with critical readings of Descartes, Malebranche, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant Intended to be taken in conjunction with Philosophy 125a, although 125a is not a prerequisite.
Ethics and Value Theory
175a, Introduction to Ethics. Shelly Kagan
M, W, 10:30 – 11:20; 1 HTBA
What makes one act right and another wrong? What am I morally required to do for others? What is the basis of morality? These are some of the questions raised in moral philosophy. Examination of two of the most important answers, the theories of Mill and Kant, with briefl consideration of the views of Hume and Hobbes. Discussion of the question Why be moral?
178a, Introduction: Political Philosophy. Matthew Smith
T, Th, 10:30 – 11:20; 1 HTBA
A survey of social and political theory beginning with Plato and continuing through through modern philosophers such as Rawls, Nozick and Cohen. Emphasis on tracing the development of political ideas; challenges to political theories
180b, PLSC 191b, INTS 266b, Ethics and International Affairs. Thomas Pogge, Matthew Lindauer
M, W, 10:30 - 11:20; 1 HTBA
Moral reflection taken beyond state boundaries. Traditional questions about state conduct and international relations as well as more recent questions about intergovernmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the design of global institutional arrangements.
181b, CGSC 281b, PSYC 181b, Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature. Tamar Gendler
T, Th, 10:30 - 11:20; 1 HTBA
Central texts from Western philosophical tradition paired with recent findings in cognitive science and related fields. Possible topics include: Plato's discussion of innate ideas and current research on infant development; Aristotle's conception of character and modern research in social psychology; Epictetus's writings on human flourishing and contemporary work on happiness; Nietzsche's genealogy of morals and findings from cognitive science.
Intermediate Courses
History of Philosophy
204a, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Paul Franks
M, W, 2:30 – 3:20; 1 HTBA
An examination of the metaphysical and epistemological doctrines of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.
207a, Nietzsche: Truth, Value, Tragedy. Karsten Harries
M, W, 11:35 – 12:25; 1 HTBA
An examination of Nietzsche’s struggle with nihilism. Texts include "The Pathos of Truth," "On Truth and Lie in an Extramoral Sense," The Birth of Tragedy and Zarathustra,
211b, CLCV 201b, Aristotle’s Natural Philosophy. Verity Harte, Timothy Clarke
M, W, 1 – 2:15
Examination of central topics in Aristotle’s philosophy of nature, the dominant view of the physical world until the Early Modern Period. Topics include: causation, change, time & place, the existence of a ‘prime mover’.
Metaphysics and Epistemology
267a, G, Mathematical Logic. Sun-Joo Shin
M, W, 11:35 – 12:25; 1HTBA
An introduction to the metatheory of first-order logic, up to and including the completeness theorem for the first-order calculus. Introduction to the basic concepts of set theory. Prerequisite: Philosophy 115) or permission of instructor.
269a, Philosophy of Science. Eric Mandelbaum
T, Th, 1 – 2:15
Consideration of central questions about the nature of scientific theory and practice, including what makes a discipline a science, whether science discovers the objective truth about the world, how and why scientific theories change over time, to what extent observation and experiment determine which theories we accept, what constitutes a good scientific explanation, what laws of nature are, and whether physics has a special status compared to other sciences.
270b, G, Epistemology. Keith DeRose
T, Th, 11:35 – 12:50
Introduction to current topics in the theory of knowledge The analysis of knowledge, justified belief, rationality, certainty, and evidence.
271a, LING 271a, Philosophy of Language. Zoltan Szabo
T, Th, 11:35 – 12:50
An introduction to contemporary philosophy of language organized around four broad topics: meaning, reference, context, and communication. Introduction to the use of logical notation.
272a, Philosophy of Mind. George Bealer
T, Th, 2:30 – 3:45
A survey of contemporary issues in the philosophy of mind, including arguments for and against materialism and accounts of intentional states, qualitative states, and mental causation.
273b, Space and Time. Raul Saucedo
M, W, 11:35 – 12:25; 1HTBA
An introduction to philosophical issues about space and time. Topics include: the ontological status of space and time, the reality of past and future, the passage and direction of time, the paradoxes of motion and time travel. Readings from both historical and contemporary sources.
274a JDST 281, RLST 249, Jewish Philosophy. Paul Franks
M, W, 11:35 – 12:50
An introduction to problems arising from the claim that God speaks to human beings. Topics include anthropomorphic language, kabbalistic anthropology, purposiveness in nature and history, law and commandment, chosenness and universality, messianism.
281b, Infinity. Bruno Whittle
T, Th 1 – 2:15
The idea of infinity. Traditional and contemporary versions of the paradoxes of space, time, and motion as well as the paradoxes of classes, chances, and truth. Some elementary arithmetic, geometry, probability theory and set theory.
302b, Modality. Zoltan Szabo
M, W, 4 - 5:15
A study of metaphysics preceded by a brief introduction to the logic and semantics of modality. Topics include: essentialism, possible worlds, counterfactuals, laws of nature, moral obligation, and chance. Prerequisites: introductory logic plus at least one class in philosophy.
Ethics and Value Theory
325b, Philosophy of Law. Scott Shapiro
T, Th, 1:30 – 2:20; 1 HTBA
An introduction to the problems and methods of the philosophy of law. Topics include the nature of law and legal authority; the philosophical bases of various areas of law, including criminal law and the practice of punishment; and the political philosophy of law, including the nature of rights and the obligation to obey laws.
[326, Philosophy of Religion]
327a, HUMS 364a, Existentialism. Scott Edgar
M, W, 1:30 – 2:20; 1 HTBA
A survey of major existentialist thinkers from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Questions about the nature of freedom available to human beings, and how to express that freedom authentically.
328a, European Political Thought: From Weber to Derrida. Seyla Benhabib
T, Th, , 2:30 – 3:20; 1 HTBA
A survey of major themes in twentieth-century continental political thought. Topics include reason and rationalization in modernity; legality, legitimacy, and sovereignty; decline of the public sphere; origins of totalitarianism; and communicative ethics and the inclusion of the “other” in the new Europe. Readings from Max Weber, the Frankfurt school, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Martin Heidegger, Carl Schmitt, Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida.
329b, Practical Reason and Ethics. Sonny Elizondo
M, W, 1 – 2:15
An assessment of contemporary theories of practical reason. Focus on views that include moral principles as standards of reason.
332a, HUMS 259a, Aesthetics – Sensuality and Rationality. Barbara Sattler
T, Th, 2:30 – 3:45
The philosophical study of art and beauty. Focus on the relationship between sensuality and rationality in the aesthetic realm. Periods and movements include ancient times, German idealism, romanticism, and the 20th century.
335b,LIT 314, HUMS 255, Art, Love and Beauty. Karsten Harries
M, W, 10:30 – 11:20; 1 HTBA
A critical examination of the divorce of beauty and love that is a presupposition of the establishment of aesthetics and of a distinctly modern approach to art. Writers include Plato, Alberti, Baumgarten, Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Freud, and Marcuse.
Seminars
Prerequisites: The following courses generally require a previous course in philosophy. All require the instructor’s permission.
History of Philosophy
400a, G, GREK 427a/727a, Aristotle’s Metaphysics XII. John Hare, Verity Harte
Wednesday, 3:30 – 5:20
Reading and discussion of the Greek text of Aristotle's Metaphysics, book XII. Consideration of philosophical issues raised by Aristotle's investigation into substance, in which he sets out to prove and to characterize the existence of a divine substance.
401b, G, CLSS 888b/CLCV 488, HUMS 343, Ancient Philosophy of Science. Barbara Sattler
M, 3:30 – 5:20
A study of notions central to the philosophy of science that developed in ancient times. Topics include time, space, motion, matter, continuity, and infinity. Focuse on the discussion of these topics in the Presocratics, Plato and Aristotle.
402b, G, CLCV 412b/CLSS 850b, Plato’s Philebus. Verity Harte
W, 3:30 – 5:20
The seminar will read, in translation, and discuss Plato’s Philebus, the late work in which he examines the competing claims of pleasure and reason to be the basis of human happiness and provides a portrait of the best human life.
404a, G, The Philosophy of Spinoza. Michael Della Rocca
W, 1:30 – 3:20
An in-depth study of Spinoza’s major work, the Ethics, with some attention to his earlier writings. Focus on Spinoza’s views in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind.
405a, G, Hume. Kenneth Winkler
W, 7:00 – 8:50
A study of Hume's epistemology and metaphysics and his science of human nature. Topics include our knowledge of space and time; inductive reasoning; the nature and representation of causation; the origin and justification of belief in an external world; personal identity; the normative bearing of naturalized epistemology; the explanation and justification of religious belief; and the attractions and limits of skepticism. Readings in Book I of A Treatise of Human Nature, An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, and Dialogues concerning Natural Religion.
Metaphysics, Epistemology, Logic
425b, Frege. Susanne Bobzien
F, 1:30 – 3:20
Reading and evaluation of selected articles by Gottlob Frege, including "On Sense and Reference," "Function and Concept," "Thought," and "Negation." Focus on Frege's contributions and relevance to modern philosophical logic (as opposed to his contributions to the philosophy of mathematics).
427b, G, Computability and Logic. Sun-Joo Shin
T, 1:30 - 3:20
A technical exposition of Gödel’s first and second incompleteness theorems and of some of their main consequences in proof theory and model theory, such as Lob’s theorem, Tarski’s undefinability of truth, provability logic, and nonstandard models of arithmetic. Prerequisite: Phil. 267a or permission of instructor.
429b, G, Monism, Michael Della Rocca
W, 1:30 – 3:20
The resilience of monism -- the thesis that there is only one thing -- despite its apparent refutation by the observed multiplicity of things. Focus on the viability of various forms of monism. Attention to topics such as relations, dependence, existence, and modality, as well as to relevant topics in philosophy of language
430b, G, PSYC 427/CGSC 430, Mind Perception. Joshua Knobe
T, 7:00 – 8:50
Consideration of how people make the distinction between things that have minds and things that do not. Topics include the attribution of minds to machines and robots, to group agents such as corporations, to God, and to people from other genders or racial groups.
431a, G, Cognitive Architecture: Belief and Modularity. Eric Mandelbaum
M, 7 – 8:50 PM
An investigation of cognitive architecture is an attempt to create a model of the mind in the broadest sense. In this seminar we will examine multiple possible models of the mind using modular models as the basic starting point. The goal of the course will be to peruse workable models of central cognition, in particular focusing on the roles that belief acquisition and belief storage have on constraining models of central cognition.
432a, G, Convention. Zoltan Szabo
T, 7:00 – 8:50
An exploration of the nature of convention, with special emphasis on linguistic convention. Topics include: objectivity, normativity, coordination, rule-following, and relativism.
433b, G, Post-Kantian Themes in Analytic Philosophy. Paul Franks
M, 1:30 – 3:20
An examination of themes in analytic philosophy that are connected to Kantian and post-Kantian traditions, with a view to assessing the viability of contemporary analytic versions of Kantian, Fichtean and Hegelian positions. Themes such as a priori knowledge; psychologism; scepticism; holism; translational indeterminacy and supervenience; unity of consciousness and multiple realizability; conceptual and non-conceptual content; idealism and realism. Readings include Brandom, Carnap, Davidson, Fichte, Frege, Hegel, Kant, McDowell and Quine.
434b, G, Propositional Attitudes. Bruno Whittle
T, 3:30 – 5:20
Survey of approaches to modeling propositional attitudes, of challenges faced by these approaches. Topics will include Fregean and Russellian propositions, possible worlds models of attitudes, de se attitudes, semantic relationism, and the context sensitivity of attitude ascriptions.
Ethics and Value Theory
450b, G, Animal Ethics. Shelly Kagan
Th, 1:30 – 3:20
Exploration of the moral status of nonhuman animals, and the nature of our moral obligations toward them. Focus on theoretical issues, such as what the major approaches to ethics imply about the status of animals, with some attention to practical questions such as vegetarianism or the use of animals in research.
451a, Lies and Deception. James Mahon
T, 1:30 – 3:20
An examination of the nature of lying and deceiving, with emphasis on the questions of whether all lying aims at deception, whether lying and deceiving can be morally justified, and whether the moral arguments against other-deception apply to self-deception.
452a, G, Recognition. Stephen Darwall, Matthew Smith
W, 3:30 – 5:20
Exploration of theories of recognition, the relationship that two equal moral beings bear toward one another. Origins of recognition theory in questions about property rights: the normative structure of the relation between a rights holder and someone against whom he can make a claim. Development of broad questions concerning the basic moral relationship, expressed in Kant, post-Kantian German idealists such as Fichte and Hegel, and recent moral and political philosophers.
453b, G, Metaethics. Matthew Smith
Th, 1:30 – 3:20
A study of moral theorizing and moral discourse. The linguistic role of words like "good," "bad," "right," and "wrong"; whether propositions that use these terms can be true or false. What ethical claims mean, if anything, and what kinds of reasoning or evidence might justify such claims.
454b, G, Kant’s Ethical Theory Sonny Elizondo
M, 7 – 8:50 PM
An assessment of Kant's ethical theory. Special attention to Kant's conception of the aims and methods of moral philosophy and how this conception bears on his substantive ethical views.
455b, G, Normative Ethics. Shelly Kagan
T 1:30 - 3:20
A systematic examination of normative ethics, the part of moral philosophy that attempts to articulate and defend the basic principles of morality. The bulk of the course surveys and explores some of the main normative factors relevant in determining the moral status of a given act or policy (features that help make a given act right or wrong). Brief consideration of some of the main views about the foundations of normative ethics (the ultimate basis or ground for the various moral principles).
456a, G, Freedom of Expression. Jonathan Gilmore
Th, 1:30 – 3:20
The history and theory of freedom of expression examined from the standpoints of philosophy, law, art history, and literary criticism. Topics include censorship of art and literature, self-expression and self-realization, First Amendment interpretation, autonomy, paternalism, and rights.
457b, G, Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art. Jonathan Gilmore
M, 3:30 – 5:20
The nature and significance of works of art. Topics include aesthetic judgment, art and morality, depiction and cognition, fictions and emotions, imagination, originality and forgery, intention and interpretation, artistic style, and freedom of expression.
458b, G, Art Criticism: History, Theory, Practice. Jonathan Gilmore
Th, 1:30 – 3:20
This course treats the nature of art criticism. Readings will be drawn from historical and contemporary sources. Students will be asked to compose their own critical responses to works of art and art exhibitions in New Haven and New York.
459a. G, Philosophy and Literature. Jonathan Gilmore
M, 1:30 – 3:20
This course addresses some of the major philosophical questions about knowledge, the self, happiness and how one should live, as they emerge in certain canonical literary works of imaginative art.
*480a or b, Tutorial. Consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
A reading course supervised by a member of the department and satisfying the following conditions: (1) the work of the course must not be possible to do in an already existing course; (2) the course must involve a substantial amount of writing, i.e., a term essay or a series of short essays; (3) the student must meet with the instructor regularly, normally for at least an hour a week; (4) the proposed course of study must be approved by both the director of undergraduate studies and the instructor.
*490a Senior Essay. Consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
The essay, written under the supervision of a member of the department, should be a substantial paper; a suggested length is between 12,500 and 15,000 words. It must be submitted by April 12 of the senior year.
*491B, Senior Essay. Consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies
