UNDERGRADUATE PHILOSOPHY COURSES AT IUPUI

SPRING 2008

 

 

P110 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY  (3 cr.)

An introduction to the methods and problems of philosophy and to important figures in the history of philosophy.  Concerns such topics as the nature of reality, the meaning of life, and the existence of God.  Readings from Descartes, Nietzsche, and Sartre.

21558  MW     9:00A-10:15A    BS3014     J. EBERL

21553  MW     10:30A-11:45A    CA223      W. ROBINSON

  The above section devotes equal time to *Eastern* philosophy.   

21554  MW     12:00N- 1:15P   CA223      T. LYONS

21555  MW     1:30P- 2:45P   CA223      T. LYONS

21562  MW     3:00P- 4:15P   CA223      T. LYONS

21557  TR     10:30A-11:45P   CA223      W. ROBINSON

  The above section devotes equal time to *Eastern* philosophy.

21559  TR     1:30P- 2:45P   BS3014    

21560  TR     3:00P- 4:15P   CA223      U. PETERSON                            

21561  TR     4:30P- 5:45P   CA223      U. PETERSON

 

P120  ETHICS  (3 cr.)

An introductory course in ethics.  Typically examines virtues, vices, and character; theories of right and wrong; visions of the good life; and contemporary issues.

23676  MW     9:00A-10:15A   CA411      J. G. KELLER

21563  MW     10:30A-11:45A   CA411      J. G. KELLER

21564  MW     12:00N- 1:15P   CA229      G. DUNN

21565  MW     1:30P- 2:45P   CA229      G. DUNN

21568  MW     3:00P- 4:15P   CA229      STAFF

23026  W      6:00P- 8:40P   CA239      STAFF  

21566  TR     7:30A- 8:45A   CA223      L. MORTON

22293  TR     9:00A-10:15A   CA227      D. POPOV

22294  TR     10:30A-11:45A    ES2100     J. G. KELLER

26147  TR     12:00N- 1:15P   CA223      R. MONEY

21567  TR     1:30P- 2:45P   CA223      R. MONEY

23187  TR     3:00P- 4:15P   ES1119     R. MONEY

 

P162  LOGIC  (3 cr.)

A study of the principles of logic.  The course covers a variety of traditional topics, selected for their practical value, within formal and informal logic.  Among the topics typically covered are fallacies, syllogisms, causal hypotheses, logic diagrams, argument analysis, and truth-functional reasoning.

21570  MW     9:00A-10:15A   CA223      L. MORTON

21571  MW     10:30A-11:45A   BS2006     D. PFEIFER

21572  MW     12:00N- 1:15P   BS2006     D. PFEIFER
21573  MW     1:30P- 2:45P   BS2006     B. PELTZ

21574  MW     3:00P- 4:15P   CA235      D. PFEIFER

21576  MW     4:30P- 5:45P   CA223      J. TILLEY

23674  TR     9:00A-10:15A   CA223      L. MORTON

21577  TR     10:30A-11:45A   IT164      C. KRAATZ

21578  TR     12:00N- 1:15P   IT164      C. KRAATZ

21579  TR     1:30P- 2:45P   IT273      D. PFEIFER

21580  TR     3:00P- 4:15P   CA435      STAFF

21576  T      6:00P- 8:4OP   CA223      J. TILLEY

21581  R      6:00P- 8:40P   CA223      R. RANUCCI

 

P222  LEGAL ETHICS  (3 cr.)

Ethical principles and practices in the legal profession.

21583  W      6:00P- 8:40P   NU230      S. PRUDEN

  This class requires internet access.

22597  R      6:00P- 8:40P   CA233      S. PRUDEN

  This class requires internet access.

 

P265 INTRODUCTION TO SYMBOLIC LOGIC (3 cr.)

A study of the most important and widely applicable parts of modern symbolic logic:  sentential logic and predicate logic.  No prerequisite.

21584  WEB        WEB          WEB        M. BURKE

  This is an eight-week class, running from January 7     to February 29.  P265 is self-paced and web-based.  Course materials, including information on how to get started, will be available on Oncourse at the start of the term.

 

P314  MODERN PHILOSOPHY  (3 cr.)

In this course we will study Western philosophy from the rise of modern science through the Enlightenment, and we will read such philosophers as Descartes, Lebniz, Hume and Kant.  We will also consider some reevaluations of modernity that can be found in works of Nietzsche, Kuhn, and others.

26149  W      6:00P- 8:40P   CA223      U. PETERSON

 

P317  NINETEENTH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHY  (3 cr.)

This course will be a focused examination of four of the nineteenth century’s more prominent European thinkers (and the corresponding philosophies with which they are associated); Hegel (rationalist idealism), Marx (communism), Kierkegaard (existentialism), and Nietzsche (nihilism).  The course will include detailed examinations of primary texts with grades based principally on writing assignments.

26151  MW     12:00N- 1:15P   LD137      C. KRAATZ


P322  PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN NATURE  (3 cr.)

This course will familiarize students with various historical and contemporary philosophical approaches to the question, “What is the nature of human persons?”  We will address issues concerning the relationship of mind and body, the identity of persons through time and change, and the possibility of survival beyond death.

26152  MW     10:30A-11:45A   BS3014     J. EBERL

 

P323  SOCIETY AND STATE IN THE MODERN WORLD  (3 cr.)

In this course we will examine a handful of revolutionary philosophers from the Renaissance through the Age of Reason, such as Montaigne, Machiavelli, Descartes and Spinoza, whose writings helped to shape the modern world through their advocacy of secularism, individualism, popular sovereignty and the scientific conquest of nature.  We will then consider the arguments of two of the greatest philosophical critics of modernity—Jean- Jacques Rousseau and Friedrich Nietzsche—who insist that much of vital importance to human flourishing has been sacrificed in the “progress” of modern civilization.

26153  MW     9:00A-10:15A    CA211      G. DUNN

 

P325  PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES IN CRIMINAL LAW  (3 cr.)

We will explore three sets of issues in this class:  first, should the state be regulating “victimless crimes” including homosexuality, drug use, prostitution, etc.?  What are its justifications for doing so?  Should the state “legislate morality?”  Second, when should we punish, and what is the purpose of criminal punishment?  Here, we will discuss different approaches to punishment, including deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation and incapacitation.  Underlying this will be a consideration of the free will-/determinism problem and a look at how the criminal law addresses the problem of legal excuse.  Finally, we will discuss the death penalty, examining the arguments for and against.

26154  F      12:00N- 2:40P    CA226      J. HILL

 

P326  ETHICAL THEORY  (3 cr.)

Morality is a bit mysterious.  We all have moral convictions, but we often have trouble justifying them and we frequently disagree over them.  Faced with this, we find ourselves with questions like these:  “Just what is morality, anyway?”  “Is

anything objectively right or wrong, or is it all just a matter of custom, preferences, or personal taste?”  “What, if anything, really makes an action right or wrong, good or bad?”  Such questions are addressed by ethical theory (also called moral philosophy), the topic of this course.  Readings are from classical and contemporary sources, e.g., the works of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, W.D. Ross, A.J. Ayer, Ruth Benedict, Philippa Foot, J.L. Mackie, Gilbert Harman and Judith Jarvis Thomson.  Grades are based on papers, tests, and class participation.

26155  R      6:00P- 8:40P   TBA        J. TILLEY

 

P349  PHILOSOPHIES OF CHINA  (3 cr.)

This course is a study of Chinese philosophical traditions beginning with Confucius and those who followed him, such as Mencius and Hsun-tzu, in contrast to Legalism, Taoism and the School of Mo-tzu.  From Taoism we will study the writings of Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu and other Taoist and Neo-Taoist philosophers.  Taoism in synthesis with Buddhism yields Ch’an (Zen).  We will explore Taoist/Buddhist dialectic in the evolution of Zen.  The synthesis of Ch’an and Taoism with Confucianism yields Neo-Confucianism.  We will study the process of intergrading the Buddhist/Taoist synthesis into Confucianism philosophical understanding as we read from the Neo-Confucian sources.  The course will follow this historical process into modern times.

26157  TR     3:00P- 4:15P   NU233      W. ROBINSON

 

P383  TOPICS:  DIVERSITY, CONFLICT & WISDOM IN

AMERICA  (3 cr.)

This course will survey the breadth of philosophical traditions in America.  While it will include representative works from Classic American Philosophers, the aim of the course is to provide a bigger picture of philosophical activity in America.  Accordingly, we will read philosophical selections by Native American, African American, and women writers who reflect on their particular traditions and social roles in America.  The course is organized by theme and includes discussion of origins, knowledge, community, slavery, and democracy.

22948  TR     10:30A-11:45P   ES0014     M. COLEMAN

 

P418  SEM:  THE PHILOSOPHY OF ARISTOTLE  (3 cr.)

Aristotle has had a major impact on the history of philosophy and on Western thinking in general.  This semester we will address Aristotle’s ethical and political thought, through reading several major secondary sources and through a very careful reading of Aristotle’s main ethical and political texts.

28534  TR     1:30P- 2:45P   TBA        J. G. KELLER

 

 

HONORS PHILOSOPHY

 

S110  INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY  (3 cr.)

23675  TR     4:30P- 5:45P        U. NIKLAS PETERSON

 

S314  PHILOSOPHY & MODERN TIMES  (3 cr.)

26150  W      6:00P- 8:40P        U. NIKLAS PETERSON

 

 

GRADUATE COURSE INFORMATION

 

In addition to undergraduate courses, the department also has the graduate courses.  Undergraduates can enroll in select graduate courses if they have permission from the instructor

 

For more information on graduate philosophy courses, see the philosophy department flyer on graduate courses.

 

The Department offers an MA with two areas of concentration: 
American Philosophy
and Bioethics, as well as graduate certificates in both these areas.  More information on this is found on the Department’s website.

 

 

 

___________________________________________

 

 

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

 

John J. Tilley

Department of Philosophy

School of Liberal Arts

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

425 University Blvd, Ca 344A

Indianapolis, IN  46202-5140

Phone:  317-274-4690 or 317-274-8082

E-mail:  jtilley@iupui.edu

http://www.iupui.edu/~philosop/