Philosophy

Hum/Pl 8. Right and Wrong. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Humanities.

Hum/Pl 9. Knowledge and Reality. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Humanities.

Pl 90 ab. Senior Thesis. 9 units (1-0-8). Required of students taking the philosophy option. To be taken in any two consecutive terms of the senior year. Students will research and write a thesis of 10,000–12,000 words on a philosophical topic to be determined in consultation with their thesis adviser. Instructor: Staff.

Pl 98. Reading in Philosophy. 9 units (1-0-8). Prerequisite: Instructor’s permission. An individual program of directed reading in philosophy, in areas not covered by regular courses. Instructor: Staff.

Pl 102. Selected Topics in Philosophy. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. Prerequisite: Hum/Pl 8 or Hum/Pl 9 or instructor’s permission.

HPS/Pl 120. Introduction to Philosophy of Science. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 121. Causation and Explanation. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 122. Confirmation and Induction. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 124. Philosophy of Space and Time. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 125. Philosophical Issues in Quantum Physics. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 128. Philosophy of Mathematics. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 129. Introduction to Philosophy of Biology. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 130. Philosophy and Biology. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 132. Introduction to Philosophy of Mind and Psychology. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 133. Philosophy and Neuroscience. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 134. Current Issues in Philosophical Psychology. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/Pl 136. Ethics in Research. 4 units (2-0-2) or 9 units (2-0-7). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

Pl 140. Ancient Philosophy. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. A study of selected topics or figures in classical Greek and Roman philosophy. Material covered will vary according to the decision of the instructor, but will include readings from at least one of the following: Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Hellenistic philosophers, the Neoplatonists, St. Augustine. Instructor: Murphy.

Pl 150. History of Early Modern Philosophy. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. Prerequisite: Hum/Pl 8 or Hum/Pl 9 or instructor’s permission. A study of important figures and ideas in the empiricist and rationalist traditions in the period from Descartes through Kant. Material covered will vary depending on the decision of the instructor, but will include readings from some of the following: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Not offered 2007–08.

HPS/Pl 169. Selected Topics in Philosophy of Science. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H/Pl 173. History of Chemistry. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

HPS/H/Pl 174. Celestial and Terrestrial Mechanisms: Landmarks in the Development of Greek Astronomy. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see History and Philosophy of Science.

Pl/HPS 184. Science, Ethics, and Public Policy. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. This course discusses some moral and social issues concerning research in the sciences (chiefly, biomedicine, with special attention to stem-cell research.) We will begin by discussing attempts to find a framework within which the issues can be addressed, and then we will discuss some specific topics. In most cases we will not so much seek answers to moral questions as attempt to identify helpful questions, clarify the issues involved, and analyze the moral status of the protagonists. We will also pay special attention to issues of public policy, and ask how scientific research should be organized and funded in a democracy. Instructor: Murphy.

Pl 185. Moral Philosophy. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. A survey of topics in moral philosophy. The emphasis will be on metaethical issues, although some normative questions may be addressed. Metaethical topics that may be covered include the fact/value distinction; the nature of right and wrong (consequentialism, deontological theories, rights-based ethical theories, virtue ethics); the status of moral judgments (cognitivism vs. noncognitivism, realism vs. irrealism); morality and psychology; moral relativism; moral skepticism; morality and self-interest; the nature of justice. The implications of these theories for various practical moral problems may also be considered. Not offered 2007–08.

Pl 186. Political Philosophy. 9 units (3-0-6); offered by announcement. This course will address one or more issues in contemporary political theory and/or the history of political thought. Topics may include the nature of democracy; liberalism; distributive justice; human rights; the moral and legal regulation of warfare; the status of positive law; social choice theory; the relations between the market and the state. The work of figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Hobbes, Mill, Machiavelli, and Rawls will be discussed. Instructors: Murphy, Woodward.

Pl 187. Natural Justice. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. This course examines the unorthodox view that morality is a natural phenomenon—the product of a combination of biological and cultural evolution. It reviews and criticizes the traditional arguments used to deny both moral natu-ralism and moral relativism, notably the Naturalistic Fallacy. It assesses the success of the approach advocated by evolutionary biologists and psychologists. It examines the evidence from laboratory experiments on fairness and justice. Finally, it attempts to synthesize all these strands using the theory of games as a unifying framework. Not offered 2007–08.