Students are encouraged to develop and defend their own views on each issue. Greece through the thought of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, especially on questions concerning reality, knowledge, human nature and motivation, love, the good life, and the ideal society. Attention is also given to post-Aristotelian ancient thought and to the influence of the Greek philosophers on the Western tradition to the present day. Emphasis on the development of epistemology and metaphysics during the Enlightenment. An introduction to the problems and concepts of Chinese philosophy.
Areas covered include early and later metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of religion.
Major American thinkers and movements from the pre-Revolutionary period to the present. Selected topics in logical theory and the philosophy of logic. This course is designed to give students a thorough understanding both of scientific reasoning and of its philosophical foundations. Topics will include the historical development of scientific and philosophical reasoning from the ancient Greeks through Kant, distinctions between science and pseudoscience, the hypothetico-deductive method, the use ofmodels, and techniques for decision making in issues of public importance. Subject to minor variations.