Course Listing 2009-20010

1. Problems of Philosophy. A study of selected problems in philosophy from such areas as ethics, philosophy of religion, theory of knowledge and metaphysics. Classical and contemporary readings. Fall, M. Green (Pomona).

3. Philosophy Through Its History. Study of the development of philosophy in the West. Plato, Descartes, Hume, Kant and Nietzsche will be considered. Lecture and discussion. Fall, S. Erickson (Pomona).

4. Philosophy in Literature. Discussion of various aspects of the human condition, personal and social, as presented in various works of literature. S. Erickson (Pomona). [not offered 2009-10]

5. Gods, Humans and Justice in Ancient Greece. Focus on the fundamental questions in ancient Greek moral thinking, such as the following: What is the best kind of life for a human? Should I be good? Can I be good? Is morality objective, subjective, or relative to one’s society? What is the relation between gods and humans? Are we at the mercy of fate? Readings from Greek literature and philosophy. Identical to Classics 64. R. McKirahan (Pomona).

7. Introduction to Philosophy. What’s so great about thinking and knowledge? In the course of the semester, we will investigate that value of a philosophical life by taking a journey through the history of Western philosophy, from Socrates & Plato to Sartre. Along the way, we will consider perennial philosophical questions about the nature of justice, the relationship between mind & body, free will, the problem of evil and arguments for the existence of God. Fall, A. Alwishah.

30. Introduction to Knowledge, Mind and Existence. Introduction to some of the central issues regarding the nature of knowledge, the mind and reality. Topics to be discussed include skepticism, the analysis of knowledge, theories of epistemic justification, the nature of consciousness and subjectivity, mental causation, dualism, reductive and non-reductive physicalism, proofs for the existence of God, and personal identity. Fall, B. Keeley.

31. History of Ethics. Introduction to the major writings of several leading figures in the history of moral philosophy. Focuses primarily on moral philosophy of the modern period. Lecture and discussion. Fall, J. Tannenbaum (Pomona)/Spring, A. Alwishah.

32. Ethical Theory. Introduction to the central problems of philosophical ethics, including the nature of value, the justification of moral principles and the psychology of moral choice. Classical and modern readings.

33. Social & Political Philosophy. Classical and modern sources on the nature of the state, justice and rights. Addresses questions such as these: Should we have a state at all? What is a just society? What powers does the state have? Must individuals obey the state? M. Green (Pomona).

34. Philosophy of Law. Concerns the nature and substance of law. Addresses questions such as these: What is law? How should judges interpret the Constitution? When, if ever, is punishment justified? When does one private party commit a tort against another? M. Green (Pomona).

35. Normative Ethics: Principles, Problems, Applications. This course approaches the study of ethics through a focus on principles, problems and applications, rather than (as Ethical Theory does) through the study of classical ethical theories and the foundations of ethics. The course will focus on different problems in different years; e.g., hard cases for J.S. Mills’ Harm Principles and the concept of personhood and its role in ethics. Fall, J. Tannenbaum (Pomona).

36. Environmental Ethics. In this course, we will reflect critically upon and discuss questions about humans’ place in and responsibility for the state of the “natural world’. Specific topics discussed will vary, but will include (some of) the following: the moral status of non-human animals and non-animate beings, the environmental consequences of our reliance on industrialized agriculture and biotechnology, the social and psychological factor that stand in the way of our making ‘green’ choices, the desirability and possibility of our formulating a coherent and compelling “global ethic.” N. Davis (Pomona).

37. Values and the Environment. We will discuss various issues in the area of environmental health and environmental public policy and consumption/ consumerism. N. Davis. (Pomona).

38. Bioethics. Focuses on issues and themes that arise in our reflections about the conduct of scientific research and the application of its results and about the nature and practice of medicine. Specific issues will vary from year to year. One year we may explore the conceptual underpinnings that help us understand and assess the efficacy and morality of medical treatment. Another year, the orientation of the course may be a more policy-centered one. Fall, N. Davis (Pomona).

40. Ancient Philosophy. The origins of Western philosophy through reading and discussion of its classical sources, including the Presocratics, Stoics, Epicureans, Plato, and Aristotle. Lecture and discussion. R. McKirahan (Pomona).

42. Modern Philosophy. Major philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries, e.g., Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Kant, Hume, emphasizing their views on metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind. Lecture and discussion. Spring, P. Thielke (Pomona).

43. Continental Thought. Beginning with a review of Kant, German idealism (Fichte through Hegel), Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, and Derrida will be considered. Spring, S. Erickson (Pomona).

47. Socrates. Through reading of ancient texts and modern interpretations, this course will address such questions as the following: Who was Socrates? What do we know about him? What were his views and values and how did he reach them? Why was he put to death? What is the Socratic Method? Was Socrates a revolutionary or an upholder of traditional values? How as he seen by contemporaries and by posterity? What has been his philosophical influence? R. McKirahan (Pomona).

49. Science and Values. Addresses issues at the intersection of science and policy. Focuses on different specific issues in different years, including such things as: the “junk science” wars, debates about teaching “Intelligent Design,” pharmaceutical companies’ marketing practices and FDA regulations, eugenics, “Franken foods,” etc. Addresses issues at the intersection of science and policy. N. Davis (Pomona).

52. Philosophy of Religion. The philosophy of religion is concerned with philosophical reflection on a broad range of questions concerning religious belief. The nature of religious belief is quite varied across cultures. In Western theism belief in God and a belief in personal immortality are two central religious beliefs. So philosophy of religion in the West is largely concerned with explicating and clarifying the concept of God and life after death, as well as considering the alleged reasons for supposing God exists or that there is life after death. However, in other traditions belief in reincarnation and karma are central beliefs and so questions regarding the nature, meaning and justification of the concepts of reincarnation and karma are important for an Eastern philosophy of religion. In this course, we will examine similar philosophical questions from Western and Eastern religious traditions as well as African, Native American and a variety of other world religions. Spring, A. Alwishah.

55. Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art. Introduction to philosophical and conceptual issues raised by beauty and art. What makes something a work of art? What grounds are there, if any, for distinguishing better from worse art? What is the nature of the beautiful and does it have any necessary relationship to art? The primary focus will be issues raised by 20th century art, including Duchamp, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Pollock, Mapplethorpe, Karen Finley, and others. B. Keeley.

60. Logic. Introduction to mathematical logic through the development of proof techniques (natural deduction and semantic tableaux) and model theory for sentential logic and quantification theory. Properties of logical systems, such as consistency, completeness and decidability. Lecture and discussion. Fall, L. Perini (Pomona).

71. History of Aesthetics. A survey of various aesthetic theories, from antiquity to the 19th Century. Topics will include the nature of beauty, the epistemological status of aesthetic judgments and the connection between art and morality. Readings from Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, among others. P. Thielke (Pomona).

80. Philosophy of Mind. What can philosophers tell us about the mind? This course explores approaches-including scientific approaches-to explaining what the mind is. Can any of these views account for consciousness? Do they explain how thoughts can be about things? Do they allow that our mental states cause our actions? How can we know when something has a mind? P. Kung (Pomona).

81. Epistemology: Truth, Justification, Knowledge. (Formerly 103a) The facts seem to matter: Does the movie start at seven? Do the brakes on the school bus work? Should we teach evolution? creationism? both? But how do we know what the truth is? What makes some of our beliefs justified and others unjustified? Can we have any objective grasp on the truth? Fall, P. Kung (Pomona).

84. Islamic Philosophy. From the ninth century CE to the present day, a set of philosophical topics has been systematically discussed and developed by philosophers in the Islamic world. In this course, we will examine a number of topics which include the nature of the universe (matter, space, and time), being and necessity, the existence and attributes of God, the nature and individuation of the soul, knowledge and perception, and free will. Through selective readings of philosophical texts, we will introduce the main figures, including Kindi, Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ghazali, Ibn Bajjah, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd, Tusi and Mulla Sadra. Fall, A. Alwishah.

103. Philosophy of Science: Historical Survey. (Formerly 103a) During the course of the 20th Century, the field of philosophy has developed a number of different theories concerning the nature and practice of science. The historical development of theories of science will be traced from the Vienna Circle and early 20th-century Logical Positivism, through the work of Thomas Kuhn ending with more contemporary views, such as feminist philosophy of science. Fall, B. Keeley.

104. Philosophy of Science: Topical Survey. (Formerly 103b) Introduction to a selection of topics in the philosophy of science, which might include the structure of scientific theories, the nature of scientific explanation, confirmation of scientific hypotheses, the difference between science and non-science, the reality of theoretical entities and contemporary critiques of science. Both Phil 103 and Phil 104 may be taken for credit, if desired and may be taken in any order. Prerequisite: College-level science course, philosophy course, or permission of instructor. Spring, L. Perini (Pomona).

106. Philosophy of Biology. In the life sciences, distinctive methods and concepts play key roles in the production of knowledge. This course investigates biological explanation, examines concepts such as fitness, adaptation, gene and species and addresses questions about whether biology reduces to physics and the role of evolutionary and genetic claims in explaining human behavior. Prerequisites: one college-level philosophy or biology course. L. Perini (Pomona).

130. Monkey Business: Controversies in Human Evolution. (Also Psychology 130). Ever since Darwin first posited a plausible mechanism for evolution, scientists and non-scientists alike have used his ideas to support their own concepts about the nature of human nature. In class, we will examine the history, concepts and philosophy behind Darwin’s ideas, exploring in the process the fields of sociobiology, cognitive psychology, and primatology, among others. We will also consider the relationship between development and evolution as we attempt to build an understanding of Darwin’s mechanism that is free of the confused notions that have become attached to it over the years. Prerequisites: A college-level course in at least one of the following three areas: psychology, philosophy, or biology, or permission of the instructor. Spring, D. Moore/B. Keeley.

160. Freedom, Markets and Well-Being. Applies lessons from philosophy, politics and economics to questions of social theory and policy. Examples: the nature of well-being and health care policy. Intended to prepare PPE majors to write a senior thesis. E. Brown/M. Green (Pomona). 185E. Self, Language and Imagination. Seminar on some recent reflections on continental themes, generated by such thinkers as Rorty and Taylor. Emphasis will be on the role of language and imagination in political and existential discourses. Primarily discussion. S. Erickson (Pomona). 185L. Topics in Epistemology, Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Mind. An examination of various issues in contemporary epistemology, metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, such as the following: the nature of consciousness, mental causation, the relationship between the mental and the physical, the nature of epistemic justification and the status of testimony as a source of knowledge. P. Kung (Pomona).

185M. Topics in Mind and Language. A philosophical introduction to topics in philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, which include: how words refer to things, what is it for a word/phrase/sentence to be meaningful, what role truth plays in understanding language, what role inference plays in understanding language, how sentences or thought depends on the mind vs. the world, what a mental representation is and how it compares with a sentence, the nature of consciousness and the first-person point of view, how to understand emotion vs. thought, philosophical consequences for our theory of mind from computer science and neuroscience. Topics vary from year to year. Prerequisite: One of 30, 42, 60, 80, PZ 103. May be repeated for credit. J. Atlas (Pomona).

185N JT. Topics in Neurophilosophy. A selected examination of issues at the intersection of contemporary philosophy and neuroscience. Topics may include: the philosophical and theoretical bases of Social (Cognitive) Neuroscience, the neurobiology of belief attribution, the metaphysical relationship between mind and brain and the nature of the sensory modalities. Topics will be addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective, including not only philosophy and neuroscience, but also psychology, cognitive science and others. Prerequisite: either a Psychology, Neuroscience, or Philosophy course. B. Keeley (Pitzer)/D. Scott-Kakures (Scripps).

185Q. Topics in Science and Values. This course will examine a family of issues (1) mental/psycho-social health, (2) environmental and public health; (3) legal, regulatory and educational issues related to scientific research and science teaching; or (4) reproductive ethics. The focus will vary from year to year. N. Davis (Pomona).

185R. Topics in Philosophy of Science. The class will examine some central themes in the philosophy of science; topics might include the nature of scientific theories and models, confirmation of hypotheses, scientific realism and reductionism. L. Perini (Pomona).

185S. Topics in Social and Political Philosophy. Detailed study of a particular issue. Examples: human rights, early modern political philosophy, the historical evolution of the concept of justice, contemporary theories of justice, issues in the philosophy of law. M. Green (Pomona).

186E. Heidegger and the Tradition. A selective examination of Heidegger’s understanding of poetry, tradition and truth. Comparisons with Hegel, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Derrida. Discussion. S. Erickson (Pomona).

186H. Topics in History of Modern. An examination of issues central to 17th-19th century philosophy. Topics might include the debate between rationalism and empiricism, the limits of reason, the nature of substance and mind and the nature of human experience. Reading to be drawn from authors from Descartes to Nietzsche. Letter grade only. Prerequisite: Philosophy 42. P. Thielke. (Pomona).

186K. Kant. A detailed examination of the works of Immanuel Kant, focusing on issues that arise from Kant’s transcendental idealism. Topics may include Kant’s account of cognition, the nature and limits of human knowledge, the force of the moral law and the warrant of aesthetic judgments. Prerequisite: Philosophy 42. P. Thielke (Pomona).

186R. Topics in Philosophy: Russell & Wittgenstein. Introduction to the work of the two greatest philosophers in the 20th-century “empiricist” tradition. Attention to Russell’s Logical Atomism (1900-1925); knowledge, existence, meaning and mind; his later views (1940-1959); Wittgenstein’s relation to Russell; and Wittgenstein’s work (1929-1951). J. Atlas (Pomona).

187A, B. Tutorial in Philosophy. Selected topics, determined jointly by the student and the tutor, conducted through frequent student papers evaluated in Oxford-style tutorial sessions. Prerequisite: written permission of instructor. 187A, full course. 187B, half course. May be repeated. By arrangement. J. Atlas (Pomona). 187C, D. Tutorial in Ancient Philosophy. Selected topics in ancient philosophy. Requires regular meetings with the instructor to discuss original texts, interpretations and the student’s written work. Sample topics: Pre-Socratic Philosophy, Socrates and the Sophists, Plato’s theory of Forms, Aristotle’s philosophy of science, Ancient ethical theories. 187C, full course; 187D half course. May be repeated for credit. Letter grade only. Prerequisite: One course in ancient philosophy. R. McKirahan (Pomona).

191. Senior Thesis. Students work individually with faculty to identify an area of interest and define a topic to investigate. The research project results in a thesis to be submitted in writing to the Philosophy Department. Fall/Spring, B. Keeley. 199. Independent Study. Independent reading and research on a topic agreed to by the student and the instructor. Normally such study involves a set of short papers and/or culminates in a research paper of substantial length. Full or half-course. Staff.