SPRING 2020 COURSE OFFERING

PH 101 Intro to Philosophy

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, lecture, and discussion 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.
Fulfills humanities requirement.

Section-001  

T/R
2:10 – 3:30 p.m.

Section-002 

T/R
11:10a.m. – 12:30p.m.

Section-003

T/R
12:40 – 2:00 p.m.

S. Carli

P. Murray

S. Blake

PH 110W Introduction to Political Philosophy

An examination of who should have power over others, of the forms that this power should take, and of the possibility of resisting and reconfiguring these power relations. Students will engage with classical and contemporary texts in social and political philosophy to answer these questions and will pose related questions about justice, equality, freedom, citizenship, and social organization.

Fulfills humanities requirement and the expository writing requirement (AEW).

M
9:05 – 10:00 a.m.

T/R
9:40 – 11:00 a.m.

PH 207 Introduction to Logic

An introduction to the basic concepts and methods of modern symbolic logic, with a focus on their application to proper reasoning. Students learn how to represent sentences in logical notation, to reconstruct arguments in that notation, to assess arguments for validity and soundness, and to prove conclusions from premises using a system of natural deduction. Students also learn to recognize common argument forms and common mistakes in reasoning (fallacies), are introduced to philosophical issues related to logic, and learn how symbolic logic is the basis for the digital computer.
Note: Fulfills QR2 requirement.

PH 230C-001 Love and Friendship

What are love and friendship? Why do we love and who are our friends? What is the relation between self-love and love for others? Is there something that all forms of love share? Can a political message centered on love be effective? Can we have meaningful relations with robots?

This course explores a number of philosophical approaches—from ancient Greece to the contemporary world—to these questions. We will pay particular attention to the implications of the theories that we analyze for issues such as human nature, ethics and political relations.

Fulfills humanities requirement.

PH 230C-002 Medical Ethics

Medical ethics deals with concerns of moral significance encountered throughout the human lifespan related to healthcare. In this course, you will develop an understanding of ethical theories and principles. You will use this theoretical grounding to evaluate moral concerns regarding topics including: the goals of medical practice, relationships between health care providers and patients, research on human subjects, choices related to reproduction, euthanasia and physician-aid-in-dying, and justice and health care.

Fullfills humanities requirement. 

PH 230C-003 Philosophy of Law

‘Law’ and ‘Justice’ are arguably the first ideas to inspire philosophical reflection in the Western tradition.  This course will introduce students to basic concepts in legal theory and jurisprudence that are indispensable for justice in social relations.  Among the questions and issues we’ll study in their historical and contemporary context: ‘Wherein lies the force of law?’; ‘What does it mean to interpret the law?’; ‘What are rights and which ones are there?’; ‘How are justice and equality related?’; ‘What is legal responsibility?’ We will examine court cases whose rulings continue to shape legal reasoning.  Finally, we will also engage the contemporary debates concerning how to interpret the Constitution.

Fulfills humanities requirement.

PH230D-001 Philosophy of Disability

This course will examine work within the philosophy of disability. Disability theorists examine the political aspects of disability as well as how related experiences can inform a person’s identity, intersecting with other social categories such as race, gender, sexuality, and class. Rather than classifying disability as primarily or solely a medical concern, this course will raise questions about the definition of disability, social values and practices, the ideology of cure, the relationship between disability and quality of life, and the role of technology in treatment and enhancement.

Fulfills humanities requirement.

T/R

9:10-11:00a.m.

PH230D-002 Theory of Knowledge

This course provides an introduction to current topics in the theory of knowledge. First, we will discuss what characteristics make certain beliefs appropriate or justified—does that positive status depend on reliability, our belief that something is likely to be true, or something else? Building on this discussion, we will then turn to questions of why it is appropriate to believe what other people tell us—do we have to believe that they are trustworthy? Finally, we will turn to a discussion of problems that arise from the fact that our beliefs are formed in social environments—where people disagree and sometimes choose to ignore information. What should we do when our beliefs conflict with others’? How does membership in a cultural group impair or facilitate our having knowledge? How is transmission of knowledge affected by bias? No prior philosophical knowledge is presupposed for this course.

Fulfills humanities requirement.

M/W

2:30-4:20pm.

PH311 Existential Philosophy

Existentialism is a philosophical and literary movement. In this class, we will read works that are considered philosophy in a narrow sense as well as existentialist novels and plays. A study of the central concepts of existential philosophy as found in the writings of such thinkers as Beauvoir, Camus, Jaspers, Ortega y Gasset, Sartre, and Unamuno. 

Prerequisites: PH 204 or PH 241, or permission of instructor.

M
9:05a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

PH330D-001 Daoism and Philosophy of Language

This course is primarily a study of Daoist philosophical texts and secondarily a study of questions about meaning and translation. It will provide both an introduction to Chinese texts and an introduction to topics in philosophy of language.

We will address the philosophical question of whether it is possible to say something in one language that is not possible to say in another language. Readings and discussion will provide opportunities to reflect on philosophical theories about worldview and conceptual scheme, understanding others, and the commensurability of philosophical and theoretical concepts in differing systems of thought. We will consider these philosophical theories primarily in an encounter with a difficult text in translation, the Zhuangzi.  We will employ three translations into English (those by Ziporyn, Waley, and Graham), which will highlight different interpretive choices and allow us to focus on concrete issues of translation. In examining the text and its translations, we will examine not only examine the ideas therein, but also consider in more detail the methodology and theory of comparisons of systems of thought, which depend on the ability to understand terms in context and in relation to their counterparts in our systems. We may also take the opportunity to compare surficially similar arguments, such as the dreaming arguments of Zhuangzi and Descartes, comparing the style and conclusions of those arguments as a way of understanding the differing concerns and philosophical moves often made in the two traditions.

Prerequisites: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

 T/R

3:40-5:30p.m.

PH330D-002 Thinking Human Bodies

‘Prison of the soul,’ ‘sacred vessel,’ ‘sacrificial object,’ ‘individualizing substance’ – these are a few of the ways the body has been thought of and experienced throughout history.  This course will draw on holistic views from philosophers, psychologists, gender theorists, and others to historically and critically examine the mind/body dualism dominant in the cognitive sciences, philosophy of mind and other fields that view the body as a ‘bio-mechanism.’  Holistic views see embodiment not as a ‘thing’ attached to the self, but as a basic experience of ‘being in the world.’ Among the topics we will explore are questions of how embodiment is understood in terms of gender, race, age, and mortality; how body art and body modification bear on questions of identity; the connections we have with each other through touch, whether traumatic or pleasant; and the developmental unity of body and psyche.

Prerequisites: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

PH 375 Senior Seminar

A capstone course in which students develop a portfolio of representative work in philosophy. Students will compile at least three research papers from previous course work, which will form the basis of their senior portfolio. The development of the portfolio will have at least three stages: (1) a reenvisioning and significant revision of a previous research paper, including doing further research into scholarly literature on the topic and with an opportunity to explore interdisciplinary connections; (2) the redevelopment of that paper into a short presentation; and (3) a reflection exercise in which students synthesize their work in the major, considering the ways their interests have developed over the course of their time at Skidmore and the ways in which these might inform their future endeavors. Open to senior Philosophy majors.

Note: Fulfills the writing requirement in the major.
Prerequisite: Senior Philosophy major or permission of the instructor.