Phil. 318 "Philosophy of Language" [offered once every four semesters] 
     Dona Warren -- "‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master – that’s all.’" You might say that the philosophy of language is devoted to determining which party in this dialogue from Through the Looking Glass gets the matter right. What is linguistic meaning and who is the master – the words or the speaker? This course will examine philosophical questions surrounding language, language use, and meaning.  Course grades will be based on papers and quizzes.

Phil. 320 "Philosophy of Religion" [offered once every four semester]
     Basic problems of the philosophy of religion such as the existence of God, the problem of evil, religious language, and immortality.

Phil. 322 "Symbolic Logic" [offered once a year] 
     Dona Warren -- The more you learn about English, the better you're able to express what you think, but wouldn't it be great if you could learn a language that would actually help you to think better? Good news; you can. In this course, you'll learn a symbolic language in which you can determine with mathematical precision whether or not your reasoning is airtight. (By the way, the rumors are true. Symbolic logic does bear a superficial resemblance to mathematics, but people who are afraid of math should in no way be afraid of taking this course. In fact, this would be an excellent opportunity for such people to overcome their natural fear of symbolic systems. You have my word of honor that I will never ask you when two trains will meet if one leaves Cincinnati at noon and the other leaves Akron at midnight and they're both traveling at 80 mph.) Course grades will be based on homework, quizzes and exams.

Phil. 325(217) "Ancient Greek Philosophy" [offered once every three semesters] 
     David Chan -- Western philosophy has its origin in ancient Greece, beginning sometime after 700 B.C.  The most important of the philosophers in ancient Greece were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, all of whom lived in Athens during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.  Plato and Aristotle made important contributions to all areas of philosophy, especially metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics.  This course will study some of their central ideas, connecting them to the work of the so-called Presocratic philosophers who were their predecessors.

     

Phil. 326(218) "17th and 18th Century Philosophy" [offered once every three semesters] 
     David Williams -- By the 17th century, Western thought had evolved into two distinct epistemological camps: empiricism and rationalism. The former, advocated by the likes of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume held that all knowledge is derived from the senses. Locke’s notion of a tabula rasa (a blank slate) is paradigmatic of this school. The latter, rationalism, held that knowledge was possible without necessarily appealing to the senses. This epistemic disposition was advocated by Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, among others. Contrary to the empiricists, they held that not only were the senses unnecessary, they were often positively misleading. Anyone familiar with the either illusions or hallucinations could not help but agree, they argued. These two camps both competed for the philosophic soul of Immanuel Kant. Having grown up a Leinizian, he was sympathetic to the rationalists. The writings of Hume, however, woke him from his “dogmatic slumbers” and forced him to conceive his great synthesis of the two--his Copernican revolution. Why does epistemology matter? Consider what epistemology is. It is a theory of knowledge. In essence it is a structure of thought. If we take that in an active sense, it makes thought possible. But thinking is a mere verb. Verbs, however, frequently take objects. And it is this fact that makes metaphysics possible. Metaphysics is the study of being. Metaphysicians examine what exists and what nature those things might have. This includes the exploration of matter, morals, and religious deities. This class will be structured around the development of epistemology and metaphysics in the 17th and 18th centuries, culminating in the Kantian synthesis. Along the way, however, this course will also pause to consider other important thinkers of the era, including Americo Vespucci, Martin Luther, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Pascal, and Rousseau. Each one of these figures, though not central to the story, help put the rest in the greater context of history and politics, and in some cases explain how revolutionary thought is made possible.

Phil. 327( 319) "19th and 20th Century Philosophy" [offered once every three semesters] 
     Major philosophic movements and figures in the 19th and 20th centuries.
    
Phil. 336( 220) "Political and Social Philosophy" [offered once very four semesters] 
     David Williams -- Social and Political Philosophy is a course of wide range, but ultimately all questions return to one: What is justice? This is the framing question for Plato’s Republic, which is the first text of this course.  Socrates and his interlocutors gather to discuss the nature of justice in the first book of Plato’s rightfully famous dialogue. While Cephalus and Polemarchus offer initial, feeble definitions at first, perhaps the most fundamental challenge in all of political philosophy is taken up in Book II: Thrasymachus’s notion that justice is the will of the strongest versus Socrates’s understanding of Justice as a transcendent idea. The former doctrine has come to be known as positivism, the latter appropriately enough as Platonism. The fundamental issue of this course is whether Plato or Thrasymachus has got the best of this argument. We will address this issue by reading such figures as Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Marx, and Nietzsche on the question of politics and morals. In doing so, we will inevitably also face important questions such as the following: Are there such things as natural rights? If so, what are they? How should our institutions be designed? Who should rule? What is human nature and how is it reflected in politics? How should property be distributed?

Phil. 350 "Feminist Philosophy" [schedule to be determined] 
     Karin Fry -- This course tackles the issues of sex and gender in society, including issues of equity and difference between the sexes.  We will examine the major trends in feminist philosophy and discuss the historical tensions between philosophy as a discipline and the study of gender.  Students will be assessed through a variety of writing assignments.
     Dona Warren -- In recent years, feminist philosophers have leveled a number of criticisms against philosophy as traditionally conceived. Central among these criticisms has been the contention that the methodology of philosophy, predicated as it is upon the notions of reason, truth and objectivity, is hopelessly contaminated by masculinist values. In response to this objection to traditional philosophy, a number of feminist have argued that reason, truth and objectivity not only fail to be intrinsically androcentric but are essential tools in the struggle for women's issues. This course will examine the debate between analytic and nonanalytic feminists and consider its implications for the future of philosophy.  Grades will be based written work

Phil. 360 "Philosophy and Psychotherapy" [every 4th semester]
     Dona Warren -- An examination of the epistemological, metaphysical and ethical issues underlying various schools of psychotherapy and a study of the attempts to use philosophy in a psychotherapeutic context.

Phil. 380(EL) "Environmental Ethics" [offered every semester] 
     Parallel to the increasing public awareness of environmental degradation has been the need to examine these complex issues from a philosophical vantage point. This course is an exploration of contemporary approaches to environmental ethics, including Judeo-Christian stewardship, animal liberation/rights, biocentrism, and the ecocentric Land Ethic of Aldo Leopold. We will also look at such contemporary topics as Ecofeminism, the debate over the concept of Wilderness, Gaia theory, Deep Ecology, and radical environmental activism. This course also explores larger questions about the nature of nature, human nature, and what an appropriate relationship between human beings and the natural environment might look like.

Phil. 381 (NW)(MNS) "American Indian Environmental Philosophies" [schedule to be determined] 
      Within environmental circles there is a tendency to hold American Indians up as possessors of proper environmental beliefs, attitudes, and ethics.  In this course we will be interested in assessing the merits of such claims.  What were American Indian attitudes toward the land?  How does what they had to say apply to current discussions of environmental ethics?  What can we learn from their environmental attitudes and behaviors to assist us in our current environmental concerns?

Phil 385/585 "Philosophy of Ecology" [every 3rd semester]
     An exploration of conceptual issues in ecology with special consideration of the connection between ecology and environmental ethics.

Phil 392 "Philosophy Internship" 1 cr. Pass/Fail  (Prereq:  CONS INSTR)
     This course is offered in association with the reading adjunct program through the Tutoring and Learning Center, LRC.  The intern provides small group reading and writing assistance in selected philosophy and religious studies courses.

Phil. 395/595 "Philosophical Problems" * 
     A significant philosophical problem and related literature.  Subtitle will designate area.  (Prereq. 3 cr in philosophy or cons instr)

Phil 480/680 "Advanced Environmental Ethics" [schedule to be determined] (Prereq: (Undergrads only) Philosophy 380 or CONS INSTR; prereq. waived for grad. students enrolling in 680) 
     This course is an advanced study of a certain area, figure, or problem in the field of environmental ethics.  The theme of the course will change from semester to semester but may focus on such things as the works of a central figure in environmental ethics, the problem of intrinsic value, the topic of moral pluralism, non-anthropocentric environmental ethics in general, or environmental politics and activism. [the topic of the Spring of 2000 will be the works of Aldo Leopold].  The course will be conducted in a seminar fashion: the class will meet once a week for 2 1/2 hours, students will be expected to participate heavily in class discussion and present their own thoughts and work in progress, short weekly writing assignments will be expected, and a major term paper project (instead of exams) will constitute the core of the course grade.  Optional field trips may be arranged.  Fun will be had by all!

Phil. 490/690 "Seminar" [offered once a year] (Prereq:  CONS INSTR)
      

       * 395 is a special topics course; it is not offered on a regular schedule.