Examines some of the typical approaches to philosophical questioning and the issues raised in such inquiry: what is true knowledge, what is reality, what is the good, what is the right political order, what is the nature of religious faith?
Studies the methods used to distinguish correct from incorrect reasoning. This course will aim at developing (1) an ability to express one's ideas clearly and concisely; (2) an increased skill in defining one's terms; and(3) a capacity to formulate arguments vigorously and to scrutinize them critically.
Examines the basic issues and problems of ethics and values and a survey of some important alternative answers to the questions raised, on both an individual and a social level, by our necessity to act and to live in a rational and human way.
Political philosohy is concerned with basic questions about community, public life, and social organization. This course will address issues such as the rights of the individual in relation to the power of the state and society; the nature and legitimacy of political authority and democracy; the significance of power, economics, justice and equality in social life; and the duties and responsibilities of citizens. We will also consider the philosophical meaning of communitarianism, liberalism, and republicanism, individualism, capitalism, and socialism, as well as the role of class, race, and gender in politics.
A survey of the beginnings of philosophy, mainly western, from the Presocratics to Augustine. Studies the emergence of philosophy out of mythical forms of thinking and the development of rational thought in the work of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Neoplatonists.
A study of religious knowledge and the phenomena of religion from a philosophical standpoint. The course considers explanations for religious behavior, some central issues in religious belief, and the values and goals of religious systems. Various world religions provide specific data for these topics.
Studies and analyzes various forms and expressions of human knowledge (perception, concept-formation and symbolic functioning, myth, aesthetic creation and interpretation, scientific discovery and understanding) and the individual, social, and historical conditions to which they are subject. The goal of the course is a comprehensive view of the structure of the human mind and its operations.
Studies, historically and systematically, the following topics: a) the origin and content of the idea of God, b) the possibility of affirming God, philosophically and religiously, c) the complex nature of religious language and imagery, and d) God's relation to the world, history, and the individual.
An examination of the various grammars of human expressions from the point of view of a general theory of signs. Among the topics to be treated are: a) the nature of signs, symbols, and meaning; b) the structures and functions of language; c) the relations between language, thought, and reality, especially as manifested in metaphor; d) the social dimensions of signification and symbolization; and e) the relations between the different linguistic, sign, and symbol systems.
Focuses first on imagination as a function of mind, placing it in relation to other functions such as perception, emotion, and conceptualization. Attention is then given to the difference between the reproductive and the creative imagination, with special emphasis on the psychological and social/political dimensions of creativity. Topics to be considered include poetical metaphor, theatrical performance, painting, architecture, or photography.
A philosophical inquiry into science fiction, fantasy, and horror, with special emphasis on film. This course will attept to provide interpretations of some classic examples from these genres, as well as to inquire into the philosophical significance of these literary categories and their relation to mythology and religion. Questions to be addressed will include the problem of knowledge and rationality and its limits, the nature of the human being, and the moral problem of the role of violence in the social order. The class will attempt to identify a continuous tradition between these modern genres and ancient Greek tragedy and mythology.
A close study of some of the great texts of philosophical literature. In general, one or two major works are selected and subjected to a thorough reading.
This course examines the political and philosophical values and ideas which constitute cinema. It analyzes film as an historical, cultural, commercial, and artistic endeavor. Students will develop the skills to watch film actively and critically.
A detailed introduction to Nietzsche's thought and its reception. This course will examine Nietzsche's most important works and central concepts such as the Dionysian and Apollonian, the last man, overman, eternal recurrence, genealogy, and will to power.
An examination of the philosophical foundations of environmentalism. Addresses both the question of ethical duties we owe to animals and to nature, and also the question of man's relation to the natural world.
This interdisciplinary course considers particular cases of war, trauma, and recovery, including the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, and South African Apartheid, as well as current events in Darfur, Sudan, and Iraq. It examines the effects of political brutality; the function of discourse in political, philosophical and social contexts; and the capacity of interventions in the public sphere to respond to current traumas and prevent future ones.
The first half of this course examines various axiomatic systems, and the student develops both intrasystematic and metasystematic techniques of proof. During the second half of the course, attention is given to certain important philosophical problems which arise from reflection on logical systems, e.g., the cognitive processes of abstraction and instantiation, the general notion of form, and questions of consistency and interpretation.
A philosophical analysis of the ethical dimensions and responsibilities of the engineering profession. Specific case studies and ethical issues are analyzed through the application of some of the basic concepts and principles of traditional and contemporary ethical theories.
Examines Early Modern European Philosophy and its religious and scientific context, including movements such as the Mechanical Philosophy, Rationalism, Empiricism, and Transcendental Philosophy. Topics include knowledge and scientific understanding, the human mind and personal identity, and the debate between faith and reason.
After defining "Neoplatonism" with reference to Plato's Phaedo, Symposium, and Phaedrus, the course will consider the relationships among Homer's Odyssey, Plotinus's Enneads, Virgil's Aeneid, Augustine's Confessions, and Dante's Divine Comedy. The focus will be on coming home to the "source and origin" after having been away and, as the philosopher Plotinus puts it, having been "a stranger in something strange". Students will be invited to work on other literary and philosophical treatments of this theme in English, Irish or American poetry and writing. A principal concern of the course is language "sung, spoken, and written". Accordingly, the course will applicable to, and count for the Philosophy and Communications track.
The course, designed for students in any of the liberal arts disciplines, will first treat Aeschylus's Agamemnon and then turn to Nietzsche's account of the origins of Greek tragedy in the first nine sections of The Birth of Tragedy. Second, we will turn to Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Aristotle's account of tragedy in his Poetics, which takes Oedipus the King as its model. Third, we will turn to Sophocles' Antigony and Hegel's interpretation of it in The Phenomenology of Spirit. Finally, we will consider Euripides' Medea and then return to the Birth of Tragedy for Nietzsche's critical account of Euripides' dramas. Our task will be to learn what the uses of tragedy have been for philosophy, but also to see what understandings of human experience in tragic poetry are overridden and lost in philosophical interpretations of it. A principal theme of the course is language poetic, rhetorical and philosophical. Accordingly, the course will beapplicable to, and count for the Philosophy and Communications track.
The nature and methods of a critique of society that focuses on the conflicts between the various modes of rationality and rationalization.
The course, designed for students in any of the liberal arts disciplines, will first treat Aeschylus's Agamemnon and then turn to Nietzsche's account of the origins of Greek tragedy in the first nine sections of The Birth of Tragedy. Second, we will turn to Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Aristotle's account of tragedy in his Poetics, which takes Oedipus the King as its model. Third, we will turn to Sophocles' Antigony and Hegel's interpretation of it in The Phenomenology of Spirit. Finally, we will consider Euripides' Medea and then return to the Birth of Tragedy for Nietzsche's critical account of Euripides' dramas. Our task will be to learn what the uses of tragedy have been for philosophy, but also to see what understandings of human experience in tragic poetry are overridden and lost in philosophical interpretations of it. A principal theme of the course is language "poetic, rhetorical and philosophical". Accordingly, the course will applicable to, and count for the Philosophy and Communications track.
A comparative study of the major strand and themes of Eastern thought and philosophies, encompassing principally the Japanese, Chinese, and Indian traditions.
This course will fuse the historical and the thematic approaches in order to undertake a comparative examination of the relations of the great philosophical traditions (Chinese, Indian, Western, Islamic, and Japanese) to the perennial issues of philosophy. The main focus will be the continuing vitality and heuristic fertility of these traditions and their ability to define how human
Why is there evil and suffering in the world? This course looks at the explanations that have been given in the various religions of the world and considers the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
Explores basic questions of human existence in 19th and 20th Century philosophy and literature. Topics include anxiety and alienation; freedom and responsibility; authenticity and bad faith; individuality and mass society; rationality and the absurd; values and nihilism; and God and meaninglessness.
Recent insights into the limits of traditional logic have confirmed that Aristotle was correct when, in distinguishing between the logical syllogism and the rhetorical enthymeme, he implied that in any field of argument outside the pure mathematical sciences there are no certain starting points and no final conclusions and, accordingly, the more useful model would be public speech and discussion, not inference and deduction. In examining the texts of the ancient masters of rhetoric, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian, this course takes up their reflections on the nature of effective argument forensic, epideictic, and deliberative and thereby attempts to lay bare the foundations of contemporary rhetorical theories.
The course will use interactive television between UMass Lowell (origin) and UMass Boston (destination). Students will learn not only what the great rhetors from Demosthenes, Cicero, and Quintilian to Lincoln, Churchill and M.L. King can teach us about effective oral presentation, but also how to apply what they learn by practicing with the leading edge broadcast communications technologies available in our classroom. Both written examination papers and short presentations will be required.
This course will explore Continental (that is, European) alternatives to traditional(deontological and utilitarian) ethics. We will focus on four major figures, in this order:Luce Irigaray (drawing on Hegel's reading of Antigone), Emmanuel Levinas, Julia Kristeva and Jurgen Habermas. Instead of asking the question, Why be moral? as if we might avoid any ethical relation with others these continental philosophers tend to see the human condition as already in relation with others. Moreover, some Continental approaches tend to see our ethical relations as constitutive ofour identities. Other Continental approaches, namely Habermas's, try to develop alternative principles of universalizability in order to revive Enlightenment ideals of rationality. To close the course, we will also investigate how these approaches lend themselves to new understandings of community.
An introduction to central figures of 19th-century European philosophy such as Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. Emphasis will be placed on the radical transformation of philosophical questions concerning truth and subjectivity, religion and morality, history and politics, and art and culture.
This course examines selected goddesses from prehistory to the present. We will locate the worship of each goddess in the original cultural context; analyzing the symbolism of each goddess in primary texts, acts of worship, and visual representations. We will also consider the influence of goddess worship on human gender roles and relations.
This class investigates the American fascination with the "rule of law." Questions to be considered include the following: What do we mean by the rule of law? What is the relation between law and morality? How does the rule of law promote justice, and what is its connection with the ideal of equality? What is the role of a written Constitution in protecting the rule of law? Special emphasis will be given to the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution and its role in prohibiting discrimination against disadvantaged groups, including racial minorities, women, and the handicapped. We will also consider in detail some theories of constitutional interpretation, including the Original Intent theory.
Explores the diverse roots of the democratic ideal and the opportunities and dangers associated with democratic politics. The arguments for and against democracy will be analyzed.
This course explores the history of political philosophy by examining the writings of major ancient and modern political thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aganis, Machivelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Moll, and Marx. We will focus in particular on the theme of the relationship between the concepts of human nature and political community, showing how different interpretations of human nature have led to different concepts of liberty, equality, and justice. We will also consider how the historical arguments fare in contemporary political debates.
This course explores the key concepts of political philosophy as discussed by the most prominent political philosophies of the twentieth century: John Rawls, Rober Nozick, Quentin Skinner, Philip Pettit, and others. The leading theme of the course will be the relationship between the individual and the state. From this perspective we will discuss the questions of justice, equaliy, liberty, democracy, and human rights.
This course explores the historical evolution of capitalism, from its early beginnings in the Enlightenment to the most recent debates about the free market and globalization. The focus will be on the debate over the vitues and vices of capitalism as distinct from other modes of economic and political organization. Concepts to be discussed will include freedom, equality and the distribution of wealth. Readings include Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Joseph S, and others.
Explores Buddhist and Zen philosophy and practice from ancient India through its developments in China and Japan to contemporary America. Attention is given to significant philosophical movements such as Abhidharmika, Madhyamika, Yogacara, Huayen, and Chan (Zen).
Examines the views of major philosophers on the beautiful and the nature of artistic creativity. An attempt is made to correlate the views of the thinkers with the works of poets, artists, and composers and the statements the latter have made about their work.
The student, through regular and frequent consultation with an instructor, pursues a special problem in philosophy, the results of which are presented in a 25-30 page paper.
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