Philosophy

Faculty of the Department of Philosophy

Sean D. Kelly, Professor of Philosophy (Chair)
Selim Berker, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (on leave 2009-10)
Matthew Boyle, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Cheryl K. Chen, Lecturer on Philosophy (spring term only)
Peter Godfrey-Smith, Professor of Philosophy
Warren Goldfarb, Walter Beverly Pearson Professor of Modern Mathematics and Mathematical Logic
Güven Güzeldere, Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy
Edward J. Hall, Professor of Philosophy (Head Tutor)
Frances Kamm, Professor of Philosophy
Peter Koellner, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities
Christine M. Korsgaard, Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Philosophy (Director of Graduate Studies)
Douglas Lavin, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Jeffrey K. McDonough, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Richard Moran, Brian D. Young Professor of Philosophy
Bernhard Nickel, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Derek Parfit, Visiting Professor of Philosophy (All Souls College, Oxford) (spring term only)
Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr., Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity
Amartya Sen, Lamont University Professor
Tommie Shelby, Professor of African and African American Studies and of Philosophy (on leave 2009-10)
Susanna Siegel, Professor of Philosophy
Alison Simmons, Samuel H. Wolcott Professor of Philosophy
Gisela Striker, Walter C. Klein Professor of Philosophy and of the Classics (on leave spring term)

Other Faculty Offering Instruction in Philosophy

Louis Menand, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of English (on leave fall term)

Primarily for Undergraduates

Philosophy 3. Introduction to the Problems of Philosophy
Catalog Number: 1996
Bernhard Nickel
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 1;. EXAM GROUP: 6
This course offers an introduction to philosophy. We will focus on the three main areas of concern: epistemology (the theory of knowledge), metphaphysics (the theory of the nature of reality), and ethics (the theory of what we ought to do). You’ll be exposed to philosophical modes of argument and inquiry. The course aims as much at developing the skills involved in pursuing these and other philosophical concerns as to acquaint you with particular positions.

Philosophy 8. Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy
Catalog Number: 8947
Alison Simmons
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
A survey of 17th- and 18th-century philosophy with a focus on the major metaphysical and epistemological writings of Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant. Topics include the natures of mind and body, the physical world, freedom, and human knowledge. Special attention to the rise of mechanistic science (i.e. the “Scientific Revolution”).

*Philosophy 91r. Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 9710
Edward J. Hall
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Graded independent study under faculty supervision. Interested students need approval of head tutor for their topic and must propose a detailed syllabus before the beginning of term.

*Philosophy 97. Tutorial - I
Catalog Number: 2435
Edward J. Hall
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Required of all sophomore concentrators, and for the secondary field in philosophy.

*Philosophy 98hf. Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 5533
Edward J. Hall
Half course (throughout the year). Hours to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: Fall: 16, 17
Note: Required of all junior concentrators.

*Philosophy 99. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 4396
Edward J. Hall and members of the Department
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.

Cross-listed Courses

[Culture and Belief 14. Human Being and the Sacred in the History of the West]
Culture and Belief 31 (formerly Philosophy 19). Saints, Heretics, and Atheists: An Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
Ethical Reasoning 11. Human Rights: A Philosophical Introduction
Moral Reasoning 33. Issues in Ethics
[Moral Reasoning 56. Self, Freedom, and Existence]
Moral Reasoning 66. Moral Reasoning about Social Protest
Quantitative Reasoning 22. Deductive Logic

For Undergraduates and Graduates

*Philosophy 103. Plato’s Epistemology and Metaphysics: Proseminar
Catalog Number: 9459
Gisela Striker
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
The development of Plato’s epistemological and metaphysical views from the Meno to the Theaetetus. Texts will be: Laches, Meno, Phaedo, Parmenides part I, and Theaetetus.

Philosophy 120. The Rationalists
Catalog Number: 2512
Jeffrey K. McDonough
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 13
A study of some central topics in the works of Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz, with primary emphasis on their contributions to metaphysics and epistemology.

Philosophy 131. Hegel and Kant - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 48358
Matthew Boyle
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
An approach to some of Hegel’s central philosophical ideas through a consideration of his reactions to the work of his great predecessor, Immanuel Kant. Themes to include: the contributions of reason and the senses to human cognition, the relation between logic and metaphysics, the contrast between "transcendental" and "absolute" idealism, the idea of life.

Philosophy 137. The Later Philosophy of Wittgenstein
Catalog Number: 3360
Warren Goldfarb
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 1. EXAM GROUP: 6
A close reading of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, focusing on its treatments of the topics of meaning, reference, rule-following, cognition, perception, “the private mental realm” knowledge, scepticism, and the nature of philosophy. Attention to Wittgenstein’s philosophical methodology, with its claim to dissolve philosophical problems rather than propose solutions to them.

Philosophy 139x. Heidegger: Being and Time - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 63465
Sean D. Kelly
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
A careful reading of Martin Heidegger’s magnum opus Being and Time.

Philosophy 144. Logic and Philosophy
Catalog Number: 1111
Warren Goldfarb
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
Three philosophically important results of modern logic: Gödel’s incompleteness theorems; Turing’s definition of mechanical computability; Tarski’s theory of truth for formalized languages. Discusses both mathematical content and philosophical significance of these results.
Prerequisite: Some knowledge of deductive logic.

Philosophy 149y. Philosophy and the Exact Sciences: Aristotle to Newton - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 11943
Peter Koellner
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 12
This is the first in a two-part series of courses dealing with the history of the relationship between philosophy and the exact sciences. We shall begin with a brief tour of philosophy and science from Aristotle to Copernicus. Our focus will then be on the major achievements of the seventeenth century. The principle figures will be Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Huygens, Leibniz, and Newton.

Philosophy 151z. Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics
Catalog Number: 5465
Edward J. Hall
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
A crowning achievement of 20th century science, quantum mechanics is also bizarre enough to lead intelligent people to claim that the universe perpetually splits into many copies of itself, that conscious minds can make physical systems "jump" unpredictably, that classical logic must be revised, that there is no objective reality, and much, much more. We will separate the wheat of genuine mystery from the chaff of philosophical confusion. No prior knowledge of quantum mechanics required.

Philosophy 152. Philosophy of Biology
Catalog Number: 3367
Peter Godfrey-Smith
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 1. EXAM GROUP: 6
Conceptual issues in evolutionary biology. Topics will include natural selection, biological kinds, and the role of evolution in explaining social behaviors such as cooperation and communication.

Philosophy 156. Philosophy of Mind
Catalog Number: 3410
Peter Godfrey-Smith
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 1. EXAM GROUP: 15
The mind-body problem and proposed solutions to it, including dualism, behaviorism, identity theories, and functionalism. Theories of consciousness, subjective experience, and the mind’s representation of the world. Consideration of how recent work in psychology relates to the philosophical debates.

Philosophy 158z. Philosophy of Psychology - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 93679
Sean D. Kelly
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 13
Central topics in philosophy of psychology organized around two motivating questions. What conceptual or methodological presuppositions go unquestioned in contemporary psychological work? What kinds of empirical results are relevant to philosophical issues concerning the nature of the mind? The course will involve a lab practicum.
Note: Qualifies as an MBB junior seminar.

Philosophy 168. Kant’s Ethical Theory
Catalog Number: 8361
Christine M. Korsgaard
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 12. EXAM GROUP: 5
A study of Kant’s moral philosophy, based primarily on the Groundwork of Metaphysics of Morals, the Critique of Practical Reason, and The Metaphysics of Morals.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the General Education requirement for Ethical Reasoning or the Core area requirement for Moral Reasoning.

Philosophy 174. Recent Ethical Theory
Catalog Number: 3266
Christine M. Korsgaard
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 12. EXAM GROUP: 5
A study of some major recent philosophical theories of ethics, chosen from among the works of Blackburn, Darwall, Gibbard, Korsgaard, Nagel, Scanlon, Thompson, and others.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the General Education requirement for Ethical Reasoning. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Moral Reasoning.

*Philosophy 176q. Moral Psychology: Proseminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 72371
Douglas Lavin
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
An investigation of central topics in moral psychology, including promising, love, and honor. Historical and contemporary readings, including Hume, Rousseau, Rawls, Anscombe, Nagel, Frankfurt.

Philosophy 178. Equality and Democracy
Catalog Number: 7653
Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr.
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 12. EXAM GROUP: 14
When is economic inequality morally objectionable, and why? What kind of equality is required by just political institutions? A critical examination of some answers to these questions offered by contemporary philosophers, with special attention to the work of John Rawls.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Moral Reasoning.

Philosophy 187. Aesthetics
Catalog Number: 2594
Richard Moran
Half course (spring term). M., W., F., at 2. EXAM GROUP: 7
An examination of some texts of philosophical aesthetics from the 18th and 19th centuries, texts which either represent or anticipate the Romantic period. Themes include the role of emotion in art, the nature of expression and its relation to the will, problems of sincerity, and art or poetry as sources of knowledge. Readings will include some, but probably not all, of the following authors: Diderot, Schiller, Burke, Kant, Hume, Hegel, Lessing, Rousseau.

Cross-listed Courses

Greek 110r. Plato, Symposium
History of Science 106. History of Ancient Science
Latin 131. Cicero, De Officiis
Mathematics 141. Introduction to Mathematical Logic
*Psychology 1357. Puzzles of the Mind: Humans, Animals, Robots: Seminar - (New Course)

Primarily for Graduates

*Philosophy 220. Descartes: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 81277
Jeffrey K. McDonough and Alison Simmons
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
A detailed study of Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy.

*Philosophy 234. Dewey: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 29755
Peter Godfrey-Smith
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Examination of Dewey’s epistemology, metaphysics, metaphilosophy, and theory of value.

*Philosophy 239y. Self-Consciousness & Self-Knowledge: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 20849
Matthew Boyle
Half course (fall term). W., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
Survey of puzzles raised by our capacity to think of ourselves "as subject, not mere object," and to know aspects of our condition "immediately and without observation". Readings from Anscombe, Shoemaker, Perry, Evans, Burge, etc.

*Philosophy 245q. Quine: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 11689
Warren Goldfarb
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Examination of the works of W. V. Quine, especially Word and Object. Focus on his systematic approach to ontology, knowledge, logic, language, and science; with evaluation of the "naturalism" in philosophy that he urged.

*Philosophy 248. Topics in the Philosophy of Mathematics: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 87478
Peter Koellner
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4; M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Mathematical objects and knowledge of mathematical truths. We will start with weak systems of arithmetic and work through more complex systems, to systems involving the infinite in a substantive way. Focus on contemporary authors.

*Philosophy 253z. Philosophy of Mind and Perception: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 35956
Susanna Siegel
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Topics may include: cross-modal perception; whole-body illusions; temporal experience; the nature of perceptual contact with the world; the relationship between perceptual experiences and other cognitive states, such as mood, emotion, belief, and desire.

*Philosophy 270. Practical Reason and Ethics: Seminar
Catalog Number: 8587
Derek Parfit (All Souls College, Oxford) and Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr.
Half course (spring term). W., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
Recent work dealing with normativity, reasons, rationality, morality, and relations between them.

*Philosophy 291. Philosophy, Psychiatry and Literature: Seminar (Graduate Seminar in General Education) - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 96384
Alison Simmons and Louis Menand
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Issues in contemporary psychiatry: personality and identity; medicalization of personality differences; mind/brain distinctions; etc. How philosophy and literature can illuminate these questions. The seminar will develop a General Education course on these themes for undergraduates.

*Philosophy 299hf. Individual Supervision
Catalog Number: 8076
Christine M. Korsgaard and members of the Department
Half course (throughout the year). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Required of candidates for the AM or PhD in Philosophy. Consult the Department’s Supplement to the General Announcement for details.

Cross-listed Courses

Economics 2057. Rationality and Choice
Economics 2085. Economics of Inequality and Poverty - (New Course)
*History of Science 207r. Science, Philosophy and Religion in the Middle Ages and The Renaissance: Seminar - (New Course)
History of Science 297r. Topics in the History of Medieval Latin Science

Graduate Courses of Reading and Research

*Philosophy 300a. Colloquium
Catalog Number: 5615
Edward J. Hall 5324 and Alison Simmons 1300
Full course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An intensive study—in small, informal seminars—of selected problems in contemporary philosophy.
Note: Limited to first-year graduate students in the Department.

*Philosophy 300b. Colloquium
Catalog Number: 6280
Matthew Boyle 5279
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Continuation of Philosophy 300a.

*Philosophy 303. Colloquium: Dissertation Presentations
Catalog Number: 1089
Susanna Siegel 2441
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.

*Philosophy 305. Individual Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 4462
Selim Berker 5514 (on leave 2009-10), Matthew Boyle 5279, Peter Godfrey-Smith 3338, Warren Goldfarb 4499, Edward J. Hall 5324, Frances Kamm 4280, Sean D. Kelly 5515, Peter Koellner 4680, Christine M. Korsgaard 2994, Douglas Lavin 5091, Jeffrey K. McDonough 5280, Richard Moran 1786, Bernhard Nickel 5516, Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr. 7986, Amartya Sen 1705, Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Susanna Siegel 2441, Alison Simmons 1300, and Gisela Striker 2271 (on leave spring term)
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.

*Philosophy 310. Research Seminars
Catalog Number: 4465
Selim Berker 5514 (on leave 2009-10), Matthew Boyle 5279, Peter Godfrey-Smith 3338, Warren Goldfarb 4499, Edward J. Hall 5324, Frances Kamm 4280, Sean D. Kelly 5515, Peter Koellner 4680, Christine M. Korsgaard 2994, Douglas Lavin 5091, Jeffrey K. McDonough 5280, Richard Moran 1786, Bernhard Nickel 5516, Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr. 7986, Amartya Sen 1705, Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Susanna Siegel 2441, Alison Simmons 1300, and Gisela Striker 2271 (on leave spring term)
Small seminars on specialized topics, arranged by members of the Department in consultation with suitably prepared graduate students. Seminars will be listed individually with numbers from 311 through 398.

*Philosophy 311. Workshop in Moral and Political Philosophy
Catalog Number: 5370
Christine M. Korsgaard 2994 and Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr. 7986
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). M., 4–6.
A forum for the presentation and discussion of work in progress by students in moral and political philosophy. Open only to graduate students in the Philosophy Department or by invitation of the instructors.

*Philosophy 312. Workshop in Metaphysics and Epistemology
Catalog Number: 0576
Matthew Boyle 5279, Peter Godfrey-Smith 3338, Bernhard Nickel 5516, and Susanna Siegel 2441
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). M., 4–6.
A forum for the presentation and discussion of work in progress by students in metaphysics and epistemology. Open only to graduate students in the Philosophy Department or by invitation of the instructors.

*Philosophy 315hf. Instructional Styles in Philosophy
Catalog Number: 9781
Edward J. Hall 5324 and Alison Simmons 1300
Half course (throughout the year). Hours to be arranged.
Course is required for graduate students in their first year of teaching; optional for students in their second year of teaching.

*Philosophy 320. Philosophy in Translation: Latin - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 44862
Jeffrey K. McDonough 5280
Half course (fall term). .
A close reading of philosophical texts in their original Latin language with the aim of developing reading and translation skills.

*Philosophy 321. Philosophy in Translation: German
Catalog Number: 62088
Matthew Boyle 5279
Half course (spring term). .
A close reading of philosophical texts in their original German language with the aim of developing reading and translation skills.

*Philosophy 333. Preparation for the Topical Examination
Catalog Number: 1967
Selim Berker 5514 (on leave 2009-10), Matthew Boyle 5279, Peter Godfrey-Smith 3338, Warren Goldfarb 4499, Edward J. Hall 5324, Frances Kamm 4280, Sean D. Kelly 5515, Peter Koellner 4680, Christine M. Korsgaard 2994, Douglas Lavin 5091, Jeffrey K. McDonough 5280, Richard Moran 1786, Bernhard Nickel 5516, Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr. 7986, Amartya Sen 1705, Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Susanna Siegel 2441, Alison Simmons 1300, and Gisela Striker 2271 (on leave spring term)
Required in both fall and spring terms of all third-year graduate students in the Department.

*Philosophy 399. Direction of Doctoral Dissertations
Catalog Number: 3283
Selim Berker 5514 (on leave 2009-10), Matthew Boyle 5279, Peter Godfrey-Smith 3338, Warren Goldfarb 4499, Edward J. Hall 5324, Frances Kamm 4280, Sean D. Kelly 5515, Peter Koellner 4680, Christine M. Korsgaard 2994, Douglas Lavin 5091, Jeffrey K. McDonough 5280, Richard Moran 1786, Bernhard Nickel 5516, Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr. 7986, Amartya Sen 1705, Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Susanna Siegel 2441, Alison Simmons 1300, and Gisela Striker 2271 (on leave spring term)