Undergraduate - Upper Division Courses

Lower Division | Graduate Courses

SPRING 2011

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, THE PREREQUISITE FOR COURSES NUMBERED 3000-3900 IS SIX HOURS OF PHILOSOPHY OR JUNIOR STANDING.

3023/001 Aesthetics & Philosophy of Art   MWF, 12:30-1:20   Irvin
[CRN – 10031]
In this course, we’ll consider a variety of questions about art: What is art’s purpose? What makes one artwork better than another? How do we decide which is better, and do some people’s judgments carry more authority than others’? How can theories of art accommodate different cultural perspectives? Do artworks have an overriding value for society? What’s the right way to interpret an artwork? We will look at some particular art forms, including photography, fashion and popular music. To keep the texture of real art in mind, we will look at images, listen to music, etc. We will consider aesthetics (traditionally, the study of beauty) in relation to our understanding of nature and of everyday experience. Text: photocopied course pack including a mixture of historical and contemporary works by philosophers and art theorists. [IV-WC]

3293/001 Environmental Ethics   MWF, 11:30–12:20   Trachtenberg
[CRN – 25633]
This course will explore the ways philosophical analysis can be applied to environmental issues.  Students will study a variety of ethical positions philosophers have offered regarding the environment, and will learn some of the challenges environmental problems pose for ethical theory.  Students will also learn to recognize and assess philosophical presumptions behind debates over environmental issues, and will apply their understanding by researching an environmental controversy that affects Oklahoma.  By taking this class students will gain experience at developing their own reasoned points of view toward the environment.

Specific topics to be covered include:

• The ethical debate over the economic approach to environmental problems
• The question of moral standing, including animal rights
• Biocentric ethics
• Holistic approaches to environmental issues, including the land ethic and deep ecology
• Environmentalism and social justice

Work for the course will include quizzes on the text book, a short ethical analysis of an assigned environmental problem, a research paper that provides an ethical analysis of an environmental problem facing Oklahoma, and a comprehensive final exam. REQUIRED TEXT: Environmental Ethics, 4th ed., Joseph DesJardins, Wadsworth, 2006 (ISBN-10: 0534520847 ISBN-13: 9780534520847) [IV-W Cult]

3333/001 History of Modern Phil   MWF, 12:30-1:20   Cook
[CRN – 10037]
In this course we will discuss the philosophies of René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (The Continental Rationalists); John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume (The British Empiricists); and Immanuel Kant—seven philosophers from the 17th and 18th century whose work is intrinsically interesting and still influential today. We will examine selections from their most important writings to see what philosophical problems worried them, how they understood these problems, and how they went about solving them. Though this is a course in the history of philosophy, we will be less concerned with the history than with understanding the philosophy as it is expressed in the philosophers’ writings. Text: Ariew and Watkins (eds.), Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources. [IV-W Cult]

3433/001 Mod Phil of Religion   TR, 12:00-1:15   Judisch
[CRN – 10046]
This course focuses on philosophical reflection about religious topics produced by thinkers from the beginnings of the modern era (circa 1600) through the early twentieth century.  Much of this work concerns the rationality of religious belief – including such questions as whether and how religious belief is (or can or must be) ‘based upon reason’ – but we will also look closely at metaphysical topics at the intersection of philosophy and theology, such as proofs for and against the existence of a divine being, the problem of evil, and the nature of God’s relationship to the world.  Philosophers to be studied include Descartes, Malabranche, Leibniz, Hume, Kant, Mill, Kierkegaard, Pascal, James, Wittgenstein and others. Text: Louis P. Pojman and Michael Rea, Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology, Thompson Wadsworth (2010). [IV-W Cult]

3443/001 Contemp Issues in Phil of Religion   TR, 3:00-4:15   Judisch
[CRN – 10048]
This is a survey course covering some of the major topics of interest in contemporary philosophy of religion.  Our focus will be on the writings of philosophers concerning religious subjects that have been produced within the last 100 years or so.  Topics to be covered include religious epistemology (whether and how we can have any religious knowledge, or justifiably hold any religious beliefs), contemporary arguments for the existence and the non-existence of God, including the most recent philosophical work on the topic of evil, and contemporary examples of philosophical theology, the attempt to use the tools of philosophy to explore and sharpen articles of religious faith.  Our goal will be to get a “fix” on the state of the art in these subdivisions of philosophy of religion, and to evaluate the contemporary relationship between philosophy and religion, reason and faith. Text: Charles Taliaferro and Paul J. Griffiths, eds. Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology, Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. [IV-W Cult]

3503/001 Self & Identity   MWF, 1:30–2:20   Elugardo
[CRN – 10049]
This is a course about the self. In it we will explore the concept of the self and various problems which arise in connection with it, including the question of what personhood is how persons retain their individual identity over time and through change (if, indeed, they do), what the characteristic powers of selves are – with particular attention paid to the concept of free will – and how we know and sometimes fail to know things about ourselves. We begin with an examination of the “unity of consciousness” – the feature of human consciousness which presents our experience as consisting in a unified “field,” and which leads to considerations about our own self-unity. The second unit of the course focuses on theories of personal identity and the problem of identity through time. In the third unit we will study free will; we’ll want to get straight on what free will is supposed to be, the conditions under which we act freely (if indeed we do) and what sorts of beings we must be like assuming we do in fact possess free will. We will finish by discussing the issues of self-knowledge and self-deception. [IV-W Cult]

3733/001 Religion in Political Theory  MWF, 1:30–2:20   Trachtenberg
[CRN – 25635]
Is it the business of the state to ensure that its citizens go to heaven?  Does the moral authority of the state rest on a religious foundation?  To what extent does political life rely on the religious motivations of citizens?  These and related questions about the role of religion in society and politics have been at the center of the Western tradition of political philosophy.  In this course students will survey the views of some of the most important theorists in that tradition, and will consider whether their theories shed light on current political controversies regarding religion.  Students will learn about the historical context in which each author wrote, and how each author's views on religion fits into his wider political theory.  Finally, students will consider differences between theories, taking note of how the authors read responded to each other's views.  Thus, in this course students will gain experience at interpreting and evaluating philosophical arguments and comparing philosophical positions.

An additional goal of the course is to consider how theoretical positions on the role of religion in political life are reflected in political institutions.  We shall take as our primary example the First Amendment to the U.S. constitution, which forbids the establishment of a state sponsored religion.  We shall consider the theory underlying the "Establishment Clause" by paying particular attention to general views on the role of religion held at the time of the writing of the U.S. constitution, and by the philosophers who most influenced the Framers. Readings will include selections from Machiavelli, Filmer, Locke, Hobbes, Spinoza, Rousseau, Burke, Jefferson, Madison, and de Tocqueville.  All readings will be available on the internet, via links from the course website. Work for the course will include in-class exercises; a short paper analyzing an assigned passage; a term paper on arguments surrounding the Establishment Clause; and a comprehensive final exam. [IV-W Cult]

3743/001 Feminist Philosophy  MWF, 2:30–3:20   Lublink 
[CRN – 25636]
What does it mean to call yourself a feminist?  Can women be feminists if they stay at home with their kids?  Can a feminist be a religious believer?  This course will study feminism from both a personal and a political perspective.  Personally, feminist thinking involves looking at our everyday behaviour and evaluating it based on the idea of the equality of men and women.  Politically, feminist thinking means looking at the way our society works and how laws affect both men and women.  At a political level, we can ask: why is abortion access so important to feminists?  What should we do about the gender wage gap?  Figuring out what to believe about these questions and learning about how feminism can inform our philosophical thinking are the goals of this course. [IV-W Cult]

3811/001 Philosophy Writing Workshop   R, 10:30–11:45   Montminy
Prerequisite: co-requisite with Phil 3833                
[CRN – 10057]
This course aims to improve your philosophical writing. In it, we will discuss principles and habits of good writing, complete writing exercises, and work together on essay drafts for your target course. We will aim to develop the following skills: 1) stating clearly a relevant thesis and constructing a well-organized, extended argument to defend it; 2) critically examining arguments, by explaining their significance, and framing and evaluating objections to them; 3) using primary texts, and finding and using secondary texts; 4) expressing ideas in clear, correct, and well-formulated prose. In sum, we will both discuss and practice good philosophical writing. Students enrolling in this class must also be in enrolled in Phil 3833 (History of Modern Philosophy).

3833/001 History of Modern Phil for Majors  MWF, 12:30-1:20   Cook
[CRN – 10062]
In this course we will discuss the philosophies of René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (The Continental Rationalists); John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume (The British Empiricists); and Immanuel Kant—seven philosophers from the 17th and 18th century whose work is intrinsically interesting and still influential today. We will examine selections from their most important writings to see what philosophical problems worried them, how they understood these problems, and how they went about solving them. Though this is a course in the history of philosophy, we will be less concerned with the history than with understanding the philosophy as it is expressed in the philosophers’ writings. Text: Ariew and Watkins (eds.), Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources.

3900/001 Philosophy and Race   MWF, 2:30–3:20   Irvin
[CRN – 22632]
This course will introduce students to philosophical thinking about race.  We will consider questions such as the following: What is race? Is there such a thing? Should we use racial categories in social and political thinking, or would it be better to eliminate them? How should ongoing racial injustice be addressed? Are people sometimes in a better position to understand aspects of the world because of their race? Is it wrong to appropriate cultural products that were produced by members of another race? How does racial identity intersect with other aspects of identity, including sex and gender? Texts: Paul C. Taylor, Race: A Philosophical Introduction, and a photocopied course pack.

3900/002 Philosophy and Law   TR, 1:30-2:45   Heiser  
[CRN – 23126]
This course explores the philosophical questions raised by the institutions and practices of law.  While philosophical argumentation often utilizes the forms and concepts of law – justice, intent, fault, evidence, etc. – there has been an explicit tension between the two at least since the ancient Athenians mistook Socrates for a sophist.  Topics in the course:  natural law, legal positivism, theories of rights, punishment and remedy, gender, theories of legal interpretation (originalism, intentionalism, and the “loose construction v. strict construction” debate in constitutional law).  Examples will come largely from the U.S. legal tradition.

4293/001 Ethical Theory   T, 3:00-6:00   Zagzebski
[CRN – 10317]
In this course we will begin with the question, “What is an ethical theory and what is it good for?” We will then turn to a survey of both traditional and contemporary versions of normative ethical theories: Aristotelian virtue theory, natural law theory, Kantian-style ethics, and utilitarianism. In the last part of the course we will look at a series of meta-ethical issues, including moral realism vs. anti-realism, moral luck, moral skepticism, moral dilemmas, and the relevance of empirical studies for ethics.

4523/001 Epistemology   R, 3:00–6:00   Craig 
[CRN – 10318]
This course will explore questions regarding human knowledge through a survey of contemporary epistemology. We will investigate the definition of knowledge, epistemic justification, and varieties of knowledge. More specifically, topics will include skepticism, contextualism, traditional definition of knowledge, foundationalism and coherentism, naturalized epistemology, externalism, and feminist epistemology.

4623/900 Phil of Social Science  W, 7:00-10:00  Ellis
[CRN – 25637]
This course is concerned with the philosophical issues at the heart of the social sciences.  We will start with some foundational questions: are social sciences directed primarily at predictive (causal) or interpretive theories? is the basic unit of analysis the individual or the group? can social science be objective?  We will then delve into some methodological issues: what sorts of models/accounts are appropriate for social sciences? how should those models/accounts be evaluated? what are the ethical obligations of social scientists?  Time permitting; we will also consider social science as a tool for philosophers (in ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of science, etc.).  The precise issues covered will depend, in large part, on student interest.

4893/001 Capstone   TR, 1:30-2:45   Montminy
[CRN – 10319]
The main point of this course is the composition of a substantive, quality paper on a philosophical topic of the student’s choice. This term paper will be preceded by at least two drafts and a class presentation. Readings will consist of a selection of influential papers that have wide-ranging philosophical impact.

455 W. Lindsey, Room 605 Phone: (405) 325-6324 | Norman, OK 73019-2006

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