Undergraduate Courses Spring
Undergraduate Courses Spring
Undergraduate Courses Spring
Introductory Courses
PHIL-UA 1
Central Problems in Philosophy
This course is a general introduction to philosophy that aims to familiarize you with philosophical concepts, arguments, and methodology by addressing a few well-known questions that philosophers attempt to answer:
This course is a general introduction to philosophy that aims to familiarize you with philosophical concepts, arguments, and methodology by addressing a few well-known questions that philosophers attempt to answer:
How can we know about things we have not observed?
What’s possible? Is free will physically possible? Is time travel metaphysically possible?
In virtue of what do objects and persons retain their identity throughout time, if they do? (Spoiler: They do.)
Can we prove that G@d exists? Can we prove that it doesn’t?
How much money should you give to charity, and why??
Sign up for one of the following sections:
Sign up for one of the following sections:
Group I: History of Philosophy
PHIL-UA 21
History of Modern Philosophy
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
In seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe, revolutionary developments in science, religion, and culture led to the generation of new philosophical questions, methods, and theories--and to the transformation of old ones. To a remarkable extent, these two centuries of philosophical thought are distinctively responsible for many of the questions, methods, and theoretical approaches that still quite recognizably dominate philosophy today. This course will examine the most important contributions of seven influential and systematic modern philosophers of this period--Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant--to the fields of epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and ethics.
In seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe, revolutionary developments in science, religion, and culture led to the generation of new philosophical questions, methods, and theories--and to the transformation of old ones. To a remarkable extent, these two centuries of philosophical thought are distinctively responsible for many of the questions, methods, and theoretical approaches that still quite recognizably dominate philosophy today. This course will examine the most important contributions of seven influential and systematic modern philosophers of this period--Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant--to the fields of epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and ethics.
PHIL-UA 39
Recent Continental Philosophy
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Examines selected works by some of the major figures in German and French philosophy in the second half of the 20th century. Beginning with later Heidegger, the course will go on to treat Gadamer, Habermas, Lacan, Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze.
Examines selected works by some of the major figures in German and French philosophy in the second half of the 20th century. Beginning with later Heidegger, the course will go on to treat Gadamer, Habermas, Lacan, Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze.
PHIL-UA 101
Topics in History of Philosophy
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 20 or PHIL-UA 21
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 20 or PHIL-UA 21
In an autobiographical essay written two years after the publication of Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche describes the latter book as “in every essential a critique of modernity.” How, in Nietzsche’s view, does the modern age differ from those that preceded it? What is his “critique” of it? In this seminar, we will explore these questions, paying special attention to the ideas of art, nobility, power, truth and morality, as these figure in the remarkable series of books that Nietzsche wrote in the last three years before his mind was closed by madness. Some attention will also be paid to Nietzsche’s unpublished notebooks from this period, and to the question of whether, despite his ferocious attack on what he calls the “prejudices” of “metaphysicians,” Nietzsche was not himself, in the end, a metaphysician too.
In an autobiographical essay written two years after the publication of Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche describes the latter book as “in every essential a critique of modernity.” How, in Nietzsche’s view, does the modern age differ from those that preceded it? What is his “critique” of it? In this seminar, we will explore these questions, paying special attention to the ideas of art, nobility, power, truth and morality, as these figure in the remarkable series of books that Nietzsche wrote in the last three years before his mind was closed by madness. Some attention will also be paid to Nietzsche’s unpublished notebooks from this period, and to the question of whether, despite his ferocious attack on what he calls the “prejudices” of “metaphysicians,” Nietzsche was not himself, in the end, a metaphysician too.
Group II: Ethics, Value, and Society
PHIL-UA 40
Ethics
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
This course covers three great works of moral philosophy: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, and Mill's Utlitarianism. It concludes with a contemporary work that applies moral philosophy to 20th-century history : Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem. Course requirements are: attendance at lectures and a recitation, five short papers and a final exam.
This course covers three great works of moral philosophy: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, and Mill's Utlitarianism. It concludes with a contemporary work that applies moral philosophy to 20th-century history : Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem. Course requirements are: attendance at lectures and a recitation, five short papers and a final exam.
PHIL-UA 41
The Nature of Values
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
The course’s central question will be the nature of value and where to “place” it with respect to our scientific conception of the world. On the one hand, we regard ourselves as capable of recognizing, and being guided in our thought and action by, evaluative truths—truths concerning how there is most reason to live, what there is most reason to believe, what ways of life are good, valuable, morally required, and so on. On the other hand, we regard ourselves as part of the world of cause and effect—as beings whose evaluative states of mind are part of the natural order and subject to scientific study and explanation. It is not obvious how to fit these two understandings of ourselves together, nor even whether they are jointly tenable in the end. Are there objective truths about what is good and bad, moral and immoral? Is it possible to understand evaluative truths such as “happiness is good” on the model of scientific truths such as “water is H2O”? Or is the subject matter of evaluative discourse very different from that of scientific discourse? Do evaluative claims amount to nothing more than sophisticated ways of saying “boo” and “hooray” about the things we happen to like and dislike? The course will survey some of the most prominent contemporary thinking on these questions. Readings will include works by Moore, Ayer, Mackie, Railton, Sturgeon, Nagel, Blackburn, Gibbard, Korsgaard, and others.
The course’s central question will be the nature of value and where to “place” it with respect to our scientific conception of the world. On the one hand, we regard ourselves as capable of recognizing, and being guided in our thought and action by, evaluative truths—truths concerning how there is most reason to live, what there is most reason to believe, what ways of life are good, valuable, morally required, and so on. On the other hand, we regard ourselves as part of the world of cause and effect—as beings whose evaluative states of mind are part of the natural order and subject to scientific study and explanation. It is not obvious how to fit these two understandings of ourselves together, nor even whether they are jointly tenable in the end. Are there objective truths about what is good and bad, moral and immoral? Is it possible to understand evaluative truths such as “happiness is good” on the model of scientific truths such as “water is H2O”? Or is the subject matter of evaluative discourse very different from that of scientific discourse? Do evaluative claims amount to nothing more than sophisticated ways of saying “boo” and “hooray” about the things we happen to like and dislike? The course will survey some of the most prominent contemporary thinking on these questions. Readings will include works by Moore, Ayer, Mackie, Railton, Sturgeon, Nagel, Blackburn, Gibbard, Korsgaard, and others.
PHIL-UA 50
Medical Ethics
This course will examine ethical issues arising out of medicine and bioethics. We will begin by surveying normative theories such as consequentialism and deontology. We will then explore topics such as informed consent, the right to refuse treatment, paternalism in public health, euthanasia, advance directives, conscientious objection in medicine, animal experimentation, abortion, rights to health care, allocation of scarce medical resources, human subjects research, and drug patents. By the end of the course, students will have learned how to analyze and evaluate philosophical arguments in bioethics.
This course will examine ethical issues arising out of medicine and bioethics. We will begin by surveying normative theories such as consequentialism and deontology. We will then explore topics such as informed consent, the right to refuse treatment, paternalism in public health, euthanasia, advance directives, conscientious objection in medicine, animal experimentation, abortion, rights to health care, allocation of scarce medical resources, human subjects research, and drug patents. By the end of the course, students will have learned how to analyze and evaluate philosophical arguments in bioethics.
PHIL-UA 102
Topics in Ethics and Political Philosophy
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 40, PHIL-UA 41, or PHIL-UA 45
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 40, PHIL-UA 41, or PHIL-UA 45
Even as compared to what he or she can do, almost all well-to-do people do little, or nothing, over the course of their lifetime, to prevent the early deaths and great suffering of people in the poorest parts of the world. Is it wrong for a well-to-do person to behave like this - perhaps about as horribly wrong as committing negligent homicide, as with fatal drunken driving? The course will center on this question, though it will also involve us in many other moral questions. In about equal measure, this will be a course in both normative ethics and in applied ethics. (By contrast, little will be said about metaethics and, most likely, not much about political philosophy, either.)
Even as compared to what he or she can do, almost all well-to-do people do little, or nothing, over the course of their lifetime, to prevent the early deaths and great suffering of people in the poorest parts of the world. Is it wrong for a well-to-do person to behave like this - perhaps about as horribly wrong as committing negligent homicide, as with fatal drunken driving? The course will center on this question, though it will also involve us in many other moral questions. In about equal measure, this will be a course in both normative ethics and in applied ethics. (By contrast, little will be said about metaethics and, most likely, not much about political philosophy, either.)
Group III: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Mind, Language, and Logic
PHIL-UA 70-001
Logic
PHIL-UA 70-002
Logic
PHIL-UA 70-003
Logic
Introduces the techniques, results, and philosophical import of 20th century formal logic. Principal concepts include those of sentence, set, interpretation, validity, consistency, consequence, tautology, derivation, and completeness. This course satisfies the logic requirement for NYU Philosophy majors.
Introduces the techniques, results, and philosophical import of 20th century formal logic. Principal concepts include those of sentence, set, interpretation, validity, consistency, consequence, tautology, derivation, and completeness. This course satisfies the logic requirement for NYU Philosophy majors.
PHIL-UA 73
Set Theory
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 70
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 70
The course will cover the basics of set theory. The required text is ‘Introduction to Set Theory’ by Jech and Hrbacek (3rd edition), Chapman and Hall (available from NYU bookstore). We will more or less go though the chapters of the book in order. Among the topics to be covered are: the axioms of set theory; Boolean operations on sets; set-theoretic representation of relations, functions and orderings; the natural numbers; theory of transfinite cardinal and ordinal numbers; the axiom of choice and its equivalents; and the foundations of analysis. If time permits we may also consider some more advanced topics, such as large cardinals or the independence results.
The course will cover the basics of set theory. The required text is ‘Introduction to Set Theory’ by Jech and Hrbacek (3rd edition), Chapman and Hall (available from NYU bookstore). We will more or less go though the chapters of the book in order. Among the topics to be covered are: the axioms of set theory; Boolean operations on sets; set-theoretic representation of relations, functions and orderings; the natural numbers; theory of transfinite cardinal and ordinal numbers; the axiom of choice and its equivalents; and the foundations of analysis. If time permits we may also consider some more advanced topics, such as large cardinals or the independence results.
The course will start from scratch; no background in mathematics or logic is strictly required. However, a background in logic will be helpful; and a certain degree of technical sophistication will be essential.
The course will start from scratch; no background in mathematics or logic is strictly required. However, a background in logic will be helpful; and a certain degree of technical sophistication will be essential.
PHIL-UA 76
Epistemology
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
This class will focus on skepticism and responses to skeptical arguments through the history of philosophy. We will discuss general skeptical arguments and particular difficulties about our knowledge of the external world and our use of induction. From the ancient period, will we read parts of Sextus Empiricus’ Outlines of Pyrrhonism and Plato’s Meno. From the early modern period we will read Descartes’ Meditations and parts of Hume’s A Treatise on Human Nature. From the 20th century we will read Moore’s “Proof of an External World”, Wittgenstein’s On Certainty and parts of Goodman’s Fact, Fiction and Forecast.
This class will focus on skepticism and responses to skeptical arguments through the history of philosophy. We will discuss general skeptical arguments and particular difficulties about our knowledge of the external world and our use of induction. From the ancient period, will we read parts of Sextus Empiricus’ Outlines of Pyrrhonism and Plato’s Meno. From the early modern period we will read Descartes’ Meditations and parts of Hume’s A Treatise on Human Nature. From the 20th century we will read Moore’s “Proof of an External World”, Wittgenstein’s On Certainty and parts of Goodman’s Fact, Fiction and Forecast.
PHIL-UA 80
Philosophy of Mind
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
The course will concentrate on the recent history of debate over the mind-body problem in the analytic literature. The problem is this: How are mental phenomena such as feeling, perception, thought, and desire related to the physical world, especially to brains and behavior? Can mental phenomena be identified with physical phenomena, or analyzed in physical terms, or does their existence imply that there is more to reality than can be accounted for by the physical sciences?
The course will concentrate on the recent history of debate over the mind-body problem in the analytic literature. The problem is this: How are mental phenomena such as feeling, perception, thought, and desire related to the physical world, especially to brains and behavior? Can mental phenomena be identified with physical phenomena, or analyzed in physical terms, or does their existence imply that there is more to reality than can be accounted for by the physical sciences?
PHIL-UA 85
Philosophy of Language
M/W 11-12:15
Crispin Wright
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
This course will concentrate on a small number of central questions in recent and contemporary philosophy of language. Some familiarity with elementary formal logic may be helpful. Topics to be covered include skepticism about meaning, with special reference to writings of Quine and Kripke; the nature of knowledge of a language, with special reference to the work of Davidson and Dummett; and the competing paradigms of singular reference deriving from Frege and from Kripke. Grades will be awarded on the basis of two mid-term papers, and a take-home final exam.
This course will concentrate on a small number of central questions in recent and contemporary philosophy of language. Some familiarity with elementary formal logic may be helpful. Topics to be covered include skepticism about meaning, with special reference to writings of Quine and Kripke; the nature of knowledge of a language, with special reference to the work of Davidson and Dummett; and the competing paradigms of singular reference deriving from Frege and from Kripke. Grades will be awarded on the basis of two mid-term papers, and a take-home final exam.
PHIL-UA 90
Philosophy of Science
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
Prerequisite: one Introductory course
What is science? How does it work? When it works, what kind of knowledge does it provide? Is there a scientific method? What is a scientific theory? How do experiments provide evidence for theories? What is the nature of scientific explanation? How does the social organization of science contribute, if at all, to its success?
What is science? How does it work? When it works, what kind of knowledge does it provide? Is there a scientific method? What is a scientific theory? How do experiments provide evidence for theories? What is the nature of scientific explanation? How does the social organization of science contribute, if at all, to its success?
PHIL-UA 104
Topics in Mind and Language
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 70 and PHIL-UA 80, PHIL-UA 81, or PHIL-UA 85
Prerequisite: PHIL-UA 70 and PHIL-UA 80, PHIL-UA 81, or PHIL-UA 85
We will pursue some questions in the philosophy of perception. First we will ask in what sense, if any, perceptual experience is immediate awareness of the world. We will assess the traditional Argument from Illusion, and various responses to it. Then we will ask what distinguishes the different sensory modalities from one another, and explore some structural differences between experiences of space in vision, touch and hearing. We will assess a related question which William Molyneux famously asked Locke: Would a man born blind, who has learned to discriminate a cube from a sphere by touch, and then becomes able to see, be able to discriminate them by sight? Finally we will ask in what way, if any, perceptual experience is a distinctive source of knowledge. Here we will engage with empirical evidence that perception is cognitively penetrated – that what we perceive depends on what we believe.
We will pursue some questions in the philosophy of perception. First we will ask in what sense, if any, perceptual experience is immediate awareness of the world. We will assess the traditional Argument from Illusion, and various responses to it. Then we will ask what distinguishes the different sensory modalities from one another, and explore some structural differences between experiences of space in vision, touch and hearing. We will assess a related question which William Molyneux famously asked Locke: Would a man born blind, who has learned to discriminate a cube from a sphere by touch, and then becomes able to see, be able to discriminate them by sight? Finally we will ask in what way, if any, perceptual experience is a distinctive source of knowledge. Here we will engage with empirical evidence that perception is cognitively penetrated – that what we perceive depends on what we believe.
Honors Courses
PHIL-UA 200
Junior Honors Proseminar
Fernando Noveno University
Department of Art & Art History
RecStay Cultural Campus
Cali (v) Colombia, South America
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