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Undergraduate Courses Spring 2000
Each of the following descriptions was provided by the faculty member teaching the course. Otherwise, what is given is the course description from the NYU College of Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Introductory Courses
Ethics and Society
V83.0005-001 /Torchtone #73972
Monday/Wednesday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Instructor to be announced
Examines grounds for moral judgment and action in various social contexts. Typical topics: public versus private good and duties; individualism and cooperation; inequalities and justice; utilitarianism and rights; regulation of sexual conduct, abortion, and family life; poverty and wealth; racism and sexism; and war and capital punishment.
Intensive Introductory Courses
Central Problems in Philosophy
V83.0010-001 /Torchtone #72763
Monday/Wednesday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Nagel
*Only CAS Students
An intensive introduction to central problems in philosophy. Topics may include moral objectivity, political justice, free will, the existence of God, skepticism and knowledge, and the mind-body problem.
Group 1: History of Philosophy
History of Modern Philosophy
V83.0021-001 /Torchtone #72765
Monday/Wednesday/12:30pm – 1:45pm
Gibbons
This is a survey of 17th and 18th century European metaphysics and epistemology. We will read Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Requirements include two medium-length papers and five short papers over the course of the semester.
Cross-listed from Classics:
The Greek Thinkers
V83.0122-001 /Torchtone #72775
Monday/Wednesday/2:00pm – 3:15pm
Benardete
The origins of nonmythical speculation among the Greeks and the main patterns of philosophical thought, from Thales and other early speculators about the physical nature of the world, through Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurians, and Neo-Platonists.
Cross-listed from Medieval and Rennaisance Studies:
Introduction to Medieval Philosophy
V83.0125-001 /Torchtone #74536
Tuesday/Thursday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Marshall
Course description to come.
Group 2: Ethics, Value, and Society
Ethics
V83.0040-001 /Torchtone #72768
Monday/Wednesday/9:30am – 10:45am
Instructor to be announced
*Only CAS Students
Examines fundamental questions of moral philosophy: What are our most basic values and which of them are specifically moral values? What are the ethical principles, if any, by which we should judge our actions, ourselves, and our lives?
Political Philosophy
V83.0045-001 /Torchtone #73329
Monday/Wednesday/6:20pm – 7:35pm
Dwyer
In this course we will consider and evaluate some of the most important merits, criticisms, and failings of liberal political philosophy. We will discuss how liberal theorists view the purpose of government, the rights of individuals, the scope of equality, the demands of social justice, the meaning of civic responsibility, and the nature of community. Readings will include works from Locke, Jefferson, Tocqueville, Dewey, Rawls, and Rorty. Course requirements will include a midterm exam, a paper, and a final exam.
Medical Ethics
V83.0050-001 /Torchtone #72770
Tuesday/Thursday/6:20pm – 7:35pm
Ruddick
Limited to seniors and second-term juniors
Examines moral and related philosophical issues in medical practice and research. Topics include: patient and physician autonomy; doctor patient family relations; deception, hope, and paternalism; pain, euthanasia, and assisted suicide; prenatal genetic testing and abortion; concepts of life and death in medical practice; animal, fetal, and clinical research; moral dilemmas in medical training; justice in medical access and care.
Philosophy and Literature
V83.0062-001 /Torchtone #73330
Tuesday/Thursday/9:30am – 10:45am
Gurland
This course will employ fictional works, the novel and the play, as a vehicle for exploring philosophical themes and issues. Great works of literature endure on the strength of their ability to address the human condition, and the course's intention is to exploit the power of selected writings to place significant philosophical issues within vibrant concrete contexts. The traditional philosophical dualisms of mind and body, appearance and reality, along with issues concerned with truth, personal identity, and values, both moral and aesthetic, will provide the central concerns of the course. Camus, Kafka, Faulkner, Hemingway, Styron, Kesey, and Kundera will be among the authors whose works will be read and analyzed from a perspective which will employ philosophical rather than literary criteria and techniques.
Topics in Ethics and Political Philosophy
V83.0102-001 /Torchtone #72774
Tuesday/Thursday/2:00pm – 3:15pm
Kamm
Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy, including either V83.0040, V83.0041, V83.0045, or V83.0052
Thorough study of certain concepts and issues in current theory and debate. Examples: moral and political rights, virtues and vices, equality, moral objectivity, the development of moral character, the variety of ethical obligations, and ethics and public policy.
Group 3: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Mind, Language, and Logic
Logic
V83.0070-001 /Torchtone #72771
Tuesday/Thursday/3:30pm – 4:45pm
Walden
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.
Belief, Truth, and Knowledge
V83.0076-001 /Torchtone #73331
Tuesday/Thursday/2:00pm – 3:15pm
Instructor to be announced
Considers questions such as the following: Can I have knowledge of anything outside my own mind-for example, physical objects or other minds? Or is the skeptic's attack on my commonplace claims to know unanswerable? What is knowledge, and how does it differ from belief?
Philosophy of Language
V83.0085-001 /Torchtone #73332
Monday/Wednesday/3:30pm – 4:45pm
Gibbons
Prerequisite: one course in philosophy
We will examine various philosophical approaches to language and meaning, and their consequences for traditional philosophical problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. The authors discussed are primarily 20th century figures, including Russell, Wittgenstein, and Quine. Some familiarity with first-order logic is strongly recommended. Requirements include two five- to seven-page papers and short response papers over the course of the semester.
Topics in Language and Mind
V83.0104-001 /Torchtone #73333
Tuesday/Thursday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Instructor to be announced
Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy, including either V83.0015, V83.0080, or V83.0085
Careful study of a few current issues in language and mind. Examples: theory of reference, analyticity, intentionality, theory of mental content and attitudes, emergence and supervenience of mental states.
Honors Seminar
V83.0202-001
To Be Arranged
Field
*Requires Departmental permission
Seminar for majors in philosophy who have been approved by the Department on the basis of merit. See description of Honors Program.
Independent Study
V83.0302-001
To Be Arranged
Staff
*Requires Departmental permission
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