815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs,
New York, 12866
SKIDMORE PHONE
518-580-5000
Philosophy
Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion: William Lewis
Professor: Reginald Lilly
Associate Professors: Joel R. Smith, Francisco Gonzalez
Assistant Professor: William Lewis
Visiting Assistant Professor: Bret L. Doyle
The earliest endeavors of the Western intellectual tradition were
concerned with understanding the nature of the universe and the place
of human beings within it. The first academy was, likewise, an
institution dedicated to the pursuit of such knowledge. Philosophy’s
systematic pursuit of answers to the ultimate questions of existence
harkens to a mission that, quite literally, was at the historical
origin of the academy (indeed, of Western civilization). Today, the
discipline proves no less than it did 2,500 years ago to be an
animating principle of intellectual life and culture. The broadening
of its mission to include philosophy as it has developed not only in
the west but throughout the world serves to strengthen its
foundational status.
Given philosophy's broad scope, long history, and the inherent
difficulty of "mastering" the subject, we see the following objectives
as crucial. First, the development of critical, analytical habits of
mind in our students through the close reading of major works in the
history of philosophy as well as contemporary reflections on
philosophy's perennial subjects: metaphysics, theories of knowledge,
politics, aesthetics, ethics, and logic. Our second goal is the
development of oral and written communication skills that produce the
self-confidence to engage in sustained examination of difficult ideas.
These skills are developed through active engagement in classroom
discussions and though extensive writing assignments that include
essay examinations, response papers, journals, term papers, research
papers and senior theses. Next, through the requirement that all
courses be grounded in and make ready reference to the intellectual
concerns of the time in which they were written, we strive to develop
a sense of context—historical and conceptual—that saves critical
analysis from becoming historically irrelevant or idle logic-chopping.
Finally, through assignments that engage students where they are in
their own lives, the program strives to develop the capacity to
research and synthesize new ideas and to communicate these insights
with others.
THE PHILOSOPHY MAJOR: Minimal requirements
for a major in philosophy are the general College requirements,
plus nine courses in philosophy, including
PH203,
204,
207,
306, and
375.
Three of the remaining four courses must be
chosen from 300-level philosophy offerings (PH or PR). At least
five of the total courses for the major must be at the 300 level,
with at least two at the 300 level taken in the senior year.
Courses must total at least thirty credit hours.
INTERDEPARTMENTAL MAJORS: In conjunction with the relevant departments,
the Department of Philosophy and Religion offers majors in biology-philosophy,
economics-philosophy, English-philosophy, government-philosophy,
and history-philosophy. See Interdepartmental Majors.
HONORS: Majors are encouraged to write a thesis in the second
semester of their senior year. A grade of A- or better on such
a thesis is required for departmental honors.
Courses in religion are offered in the Department of Philosophy
and Religion as electives for the entire student body and may
count toward a major in religious studies but may not be counted
toward a philosophy major.
THE PHILOSOPHY MINOR: Requirements for a minor in philosophy are
PH203 and
204, plus three additional courses in philosophy
at least two of which must be at the 300 level. The philosphy
minor must total at least eighteen credit hours.
PH 101. INTRODUCTION TO
PHILOSOPHY 3
An historical and topical survey, this course will introduce
the student to the discipline of philosophy through the close reading of representative texts,
both historical and contemporary. Through analysis of the texts, through discussion, and through
lecture, the student will gain an understanding of philosophy both as a unique discipline and
as a way of asking and attempting to answer the most profound questions about ourselves and our
world that we may pose. Open to first- and second-year students or by permission of instructor.
Students are recommended to take either PH101 or 101H, but not both.
(Fulfills humanities requirement.) The Department
PH 101H. INTRODUCTION TO
PHILOSOPHY: HONORS 4
An introductory but intensive engagement with some of the basic
questions of philosophy, such as: the nature of the self and one’s
relation to others, the value and meaning of existence, the status
and extent of knowledge, and the nature of reality. Emphasis is
placed on the understanding and discussion of original and
challenging philosophical texts, both classical and contemporary, as
well as on the development of the critical and analytic skills
necessary to begin asking and formulating responses to philosophic
questions on one's own. Open to first and second-year students only.
(Fulfills humanities requirement). The Department
PH 203. HISTORY
OF PHILOSOPHY: GREEK PHILOSOPHY 3
A basic grounding in the history
of Western philosophy through reading and discussion of selected
works of Plato and Aristotle. (Fulfills humanities
requirement.) F. Gonzalez
PH 204. HISTORY
OF PHILOSOPHY: EARLY MODERN 3
A study of the ideological foundations
of the modern world as developed in the period from the Renaissance
through Kant. Discussion will concentrate on metaphysics and
epistemology, covering such topics as the debates between dualism
and materialism and between rationalism and empiricism. Will
include readings from such philosophers as Hobbes, Descartes,
Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. (Fulfills
humanities requirement.)
PH 207. LOGIC 4
A study of the principles and
methods of modern logic for determining the validity and invalidity
of arguments and a discussion of the philosophical basis and
use of those principles. (Fulfills QR2 requirement.) The
Department
PH 210. AESTHETICS 3
A study of the aesthetic dimension
of life in relation to the artist, the art object, the audience,
and human experience in general. Several important and diverse
theories of the aesthetic will be analyzed, discussed, and used
in examining examples of art. Prerequisite: one course
in philosophy, or a course in one of the arts, or permission
of the instructor. (Fulfills humanities requirement.) R. Lilly
PH 211. ETHICS 3
A critical examination of the
nature and principles of some of the major ethical theories
proposed in the history of Western thought. Theories studied
may include virtue ethics, natural law, deontological ethics,
social contract, and utilitarianism. The course may also include
some consideration of the application of the theories studied
to selected contemporary moral issues. (Fulfills humanities requirement.)
Offered alternate years. The Department
PR 214. PHILOSOPHIES OF INDIA 3
An exploration of the philosophies of India in their religious and
cultural context. Hindu philosophies such as the Upanishads, Samkhya-
Yoga, and the Vedanta of Shankara and Ramanuja are emphasized; for
comparative purposes, Buddhism and Jainism are also examined.
(Designated a non-Western course; fulfills Humanities requirement.) J. Smith
PH 215. BUDDHIST
PHILOSOPHY 3
An introduction to selected themes,
schools, and thinkers of the Buddhist philosophical tradition
in India, Tibet, China, and Japan. Buddhist metaphysics and
ethics are examined with reference to the nature of reality
and the person, causality and action, wisdom and compassion,
emptiness and nihilism. Comparisons are made to Western philosophers,
especially regarding the Buddhist critique of substance and
the Buddhist ideal of compassionate openness to the world. Offered
alternate years. (Designated a non-Western culture course; fulfills humanities
requirement.) J. Smith
PH 225. ENVIRONMENTAL
PHILOSOPHY 3
An introduction to philosophical questions regarding the relation of humans to the environment.
This course explores both foundational issues such as our understanding of nature and value
as well as specific problems in environmental ethics such as animal rights, duty to future generations,
and the justification of public policy. In addition to these explorations, students will have the
opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in this class by developing an environmental ethics
embodied by the institutions and practices that surround us. (Fulfills humanities
requirement.) W. Lewis
PH 230. TOPICS
IN PHILOSOPHY 3
The study of a selected topic in philosophy. Course may be repeated
with permission of the department. (Fulfills humanities
requirement.) The Department
PH 304. SOCIAL-POLITICAL
PHILOSOPHY 4
A study of the nature of political
community and of social institutions. Topics to be discussed
include the nature and purposes of political community, the
relation of ethics to political life and social institutions,
the notions of equality, liberty, power, and justice, and the
nature of rights. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy
or permission of instructor. Offered alternate
years. The Department
PH 306. NINETEENTH-CENTURY
PHILOSOPHY 4
An examination of major figures in 19th Century Philosophy such as G.
W. F. Hegel, Schopenhauer, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Comte, Mill,
Peirce, and Frege. Prerequisite:PH204 or permission of instructor. The Department
PH 307. TWENTIETH-CENTURY
PHILOSOPHY 4
An examination of a selected number of twentieth-century philosophers
such as Adorno, Ayer, Davidson, Dewey, Foucault, Heidegger, Husserl,
Merleau-Ponty, Quine, and Wittgenstein. Prerequisite:PH204 or permission of instructor. The Department
PH 308. AMERICAN
PHILOSOPHY 4
An exploration of America's indigenous philosophical tradition,
this course seeks to understand how various native thinkers have sought to develop modes of
thought that both supersede and improve upon European models and which are adequate to the
American experience in its diversity, originality, and totality. Starting with Ralph Waldo
Emerson and continuing with such philosophers as C.S. Peirce, William James, John Dewey,
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Alain Leroy Locke, and Susanne Langer, this course will examine a
history of such attempts, their philosophical methods, and their conclusions. In addition
to gaining an understanding of various American philosophers' independent contributions to
the discipline and their relationship to the Western philosophical tradition, this course
will situate American philosophy within the post-Civil War cultural and scientific context
which gave rise to that most characteristic of American philosophies: pragmatism. (Fulfills
humanities requirement.) Prerequisite:PH204 or permission of instructor. W. Lewis
PH 311. EXISTENTIAL
PHILOSOPHY 4
A study of the central concepts
of existential philosophy as found in the writings of such thinkers
as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, and Marcel. Concepts
such as freedom, facticity, dread, nothingness, the absurd,
being-for-itself, being-in-itself will be examined. Prerequisite:PH204
or RE241
or permission of instructor. Offered alternate
years. J. Smith
PH 314. PHILOSOPHY
OF LAW 3
Analysis and discussion of various
topics and approaches to the philosophy of law or jurisprudence.
Readings may be chosen from classic philosophers as well as
from modern legal positivists and realists. Prerequisite:
junior or senior standing or permission of instructor. Offered
alternate years. The Department
PR 324. PHILOSOPHY
OF RELIGION 4
An investigation of the fundamental
paradoxes of religious belief. Questions to be considered will
include the arguments for the existence of God, the problem
of suffering and evil, the nature of mystical knowledge, and
the rise of modern religious skepticism. Prerequisite: one
course in philosophy or religion or permission of instructor.
Offered alternate years. J. Smith
PR 325. JAPANESE
BUDDHISM 4
A study of selected classical
and contemporary thinkers who see philosophy as intertwined
with religious praxis. Emphasis will be on Buddhist thinkers
such as Kukai, Dogen, Shinran, and Nishitani. Prerequisite:
one course in philosophy or religion or permission of instructor.
Offered alternate years.
(Designated a non-Western culture course.) J. Smith
PR 326. TIBETAN
BUDDHISM 4
A study of selected classical
and contemporary Tibetan thinkers who see philosophy as intertwined
with religious praxis. The course focuses on the
Vaj-rayana form of Mahayana Buddhism that is the central element
in the culture of Tibet, as well as its Mahayana Buddhist background
in India. Emphasis is on the central ideas of wisdom, compassion,
emptiness, dependent arising, and the two truths in such thinkers
as the Prajhaparamita, Nagarjuna, Candrakirti, and the Dalai
Lama. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or religion
or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years. (Designated
a non-Western culture course.) J. Smith
PH 327. GREAT
PHILOSOPHERS 4
A course in depth in the philosophy of a single great philosopher:
A. Plato
N. Sartre
B. Aristotle
O. William James
C. Aquinas
P. Wittgenstein
D. Descartes
Q. Merleau-Ponty
E. Locke
R. Nietzsche
F. Hume
S. Spinoza
H. Hegel
T. Leibniz
I. Marx
U. Shankara
J. Kierkegaard
V. Nargarjuna
K. Whitehead
W. Nishitani
L. Heidegger
X. Levinas
M. Dewey
Y. Husserl
Course may be repeated with a different philosopher. Prerequisite:PH203 or permission of instructor. The Department
PH 328. METAPHYSICS 4
A study of the most fundamental
concepts of being as developed in several major philosophers
from the Greeks to the present. Discussion will focus on such
topics as God, time, space, substance, essence, existence, process,
causality, and value. Prerequisite:PH204 or permission of instructor. R. Lilly, F. Gonzalez
PH 329. SEMINAR
IN KANT 4
A study of Immanuael Kant, the pivotal thinker of modern Western philosophy. Kant offers a
critique and synthesis of the preceding rationalist (Descartes,
Leibniz, Spinoza) and empiricist (Locke, Berkeley,
Hume) traditions and sets the agenda for nineteenth- and twentieth-century
philosophers, all of whom respond to his critique of theoretical
and practical reason in one way or another. Prerequisite:PH204 or permission of instructor.
PH 330. ADVANCED
TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY 4
The study of a selected topic
in philosophy. Course may be repeated with a different topic.
Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission
of instructor. The Department
PH 341. PHILOSOPHY
OF LITERATURE 4
This seminar examines philosophies
of literature and literary criticism. Various schools of thought,
including phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, deconstruction,
and psychoanalysis, may be examined particularly closely, as
well as some of the founding philosophical texts in literary
theory. There may also be a study of selected literary texts.
(The Philosophy and Religion Department will accept EN361 as
the equivalent of PH341.) Prerequisite: one course in
philosophy or permission of instructor. R.
Lilly
PH 371, 372. INDEPENDENT
STUDY 3, 3
A reading course in an area or a philosopher not available in this depth in other courses.
Prerequisite: permission of department. The Department
PH 375. SENIOR
SEMINAR 4
A close study of comparative overviews of the severally different modes, methods, and systems
of philosophy possible. Offered each spring. The Department
PH 376. SENIOR THESIS 3
Individual conferences with senior majors in the areas of their research
projects. The Department
