Fall 2009 Courses
| PH 101-001 Intro. to Philosophy T/TH 2:30 - 3:30 |
3 Cr. M. Ostrow |
| PH 101-002 Intro to Philosophy T/TH 11:10 - 12:30 |
3 Cr. M. Ostrow |
| PH 101-003 Intro. to Philosophy T/TH 12:40 - 2:00 |
3 Cr. L. Jorgensen |
| PH 101H Intro. to Philosophy Honors T/TH 9:10 - 11:00 |
4 Cr. R. Lilly |
| PH 204 Hist. Phil-Early Modern M/W 2:30 - 3:50 |
3 Cr. L. Jorgensen |
| PH 207 Logic T/TH 12:40 - 2:00 |
4 Cr. S. Stebbins |
| PH 215 Buddhist Philosophy T/TH 2:10 - 3:30 |
3 Cr. J. Smith |
| PH 304 Social-Political Phil. T/TH 9:10 - 11:00 |
4 Cr. W. Lewis |
| PH 306 19th Century Philosophy T/TH 3:40 - 5:30 |
4 Cr. R. Lilly |
| PH 311 Existential Philosophy M/W 3:40 - 5:30 |
4 Cr. J. Smith |
| PH 327P Great Philosophers: Wittgenstein W/F 12:20 - 2:10 (see description below) |
4 Cr. M. Ostrow |
Ludwig Wittgenstein is often described as the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century; he is almost certainly the most widely referenced. While his work is associated with questions about the nature of language, his concerns extend to logic and mathematics, the mind, ethics, aesthetics, and religion. Above all, however, Wittgenstein's aim is to explore the nature of philosophy itself. He is indeed quite radical in this regard, insisting on the illusory nature of philosophical problems. Thus in the Philosophical Investigations he famously describes philosophy as "a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language (PI 109)." In the TractatusLogico-Philosophicus he claims that philosophical problems result from a "misunderstanding of the logic of our language" (TLP, p. 27). Although these remarks might seem to suggest that Wittgenstein's thought is to be understood in connection with the scientism of the Logical Positivists, he explicitly distanced himself from this whole approach. Moreover, we also find in Wittgenstein's writings a very un-Positivistic concern with ethics and the inexpressible: "The solution of the riddle of life in space and time lies outside space and time" (TLP 6.4312). Given the apparent incompatibility of such claims, as well as the terse, aphoristic style of Wittgenstein's writing, it is no wonder that his work has been subject to a remarkably wide variety of interpretations.