Philosophy Department
TR 9:30-10:45 AM
Adjunct
The most basic questions about human life and its place in the universe. Topics may include free will, the relation of the mind to the body, and immortality; skepticism, self-knowledge, causality, and a priori knowledge; religious and secular ethical codes and theories; and intuition, rationality, and faith. Includes classic and current philosophers (e.g., Plato, Descartes, Hume, Russell, Sartre).
Ethics
and Society
TR
3:30-4:45 PM
Adjunct
Examines grounds for moral judgment and action in various
social contexts. Typical topics: public versus private good and duties;
individualism and cooperation; inequalities and justice; utilitarianism and
rights; regulation of sexual conduct, abortion, and family life; poverty and
wealth; racism and sexism; and war and capital punishment.
V83.0020-001
History
of Ancient Philosophy
MW
9:30-10:45 AM
Adjunct
Examination
of the major figures and movements in Greek Philosophy, especially Plato and
Aristotle.
V83.0040-001
Ethics
TR
3:30-4:45 PM
Sharon
Street
An examination of some central topics in moral philosophy. We will consider questions such as: What reason is there to be moral? Is pleasure the only ultimate good? What does a person’s well-being consist in? What makes an action right or wrong, and to what extent is this a matter of the action’s consequences? What role should the concepts of virtue and character play in moral theorizing? Are there such things as moral facts, and if so, how should we understand them? Are moral theories subject to empirical testing? Is there a single true morality, or is moral truth relative to culture or the individual? When we use moral language, are we making claims capable of being true or false, or are we merely expressing feelings or issuing commands? Readings will be drawn from both historical and contemporary sources.
V83.0070-001
Logic
MW
2:00-3:15 PM
Adjunct
Introduces the techniques, results, and philosophical import of 20th century formal logic. Principal concepts include those of sentence, set, interpretation, validity, consistency, consequence, tautology, derivation, and completeness.
V83.0078-001
Metaphysics
Cian
Dorr
This
course will survey a range of questions about the existence and nature of various
things. The questions discussed will include some or all of the
following: Is there a God? Is there a mind-independent material
world? Are there immaterial souls? Are there ordinary material
objects like statues and lumps of clay? Are there any composite objects
at all? Is there such a thing as empty space? Are there abstract
entities, like the number one, the letter A, and the property redness?
Are
there fictional things, like Sherlock Holmes?
Philosophy of Mind
TR 2:00-3:15 PM
Peter Kung
The focus of this course will be an examination of the
place of mind in the physical world. Views to be discussed will include
substance dualism, behaviorism, functionalism, psychophysical identity and
supervenience, and eliminativism. In the course of this we will assess the
prospects for laws linking psychology to physics, and examine the extent to
which the mind has causal powers. We will discuss the meaning of the terms
"physical" and "mental", and such questions as whether we
can have knowledge of other people’s mental states, and whether we ever have
certain knowledge of our own mental states. Finally we will examine the special
problems arising in understanding consciousness and how it fits into the
physical world.
V83.0102-001
Topics
in Ethics and Political Philosophy
TR
11:00-12:15 AM
Peter
Unger
The
course will revolve around two central questions in basic ethics, with related
discussion of several topics in applied ethics. The first central
question is, what is it that determines the moral status of a particular
being? If we can save one human baby or else two elephants, in a world
with plenty of each, what is it about the human baby that determines it's she
alone that we should save, rather than both elephants, each (suppose)
mentally more advanced than she? And, here's the second central question: Is there a morally significant distinction, even anywhere in the neighborhood of the (probably insignificant) distinction between causing and letting happen - between killing and letting die, for instance, and, for another instance, between inflicting pain and letting pain happen?
On the second question, I'll unconfidently argue that there really isn't any important distinction. And, so, it's terribly wrong to for us to allow distant little children, in the poorest regions, to suffer and die young. But, now turning back to the first question, there's this: If we can't find good reason to accord the human babies enormously higher moral status than almost all other mammals, will we then be required, on pain of behaving very badly, to provide them also, all over the world, with whatever aid they need to flourish? For many centuries, that may be enormously costly. So, there'll be important interplay between our two central questions.
Our
discussion of these questions will have implications for issues of
discrimination, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and other "hot
topics" in applied ethics.
Far
from being a series of lectures, the course should consist mainly of lively
discussion with, and among, its students, where the students think hard about
ethical issues. Since there won't be an attempt to impart a "body of
ethical knowledge," there won't be any exams. But, students must
write two lucid short papers, or possibly three, each on a different issue
discussed in class.
Topics
in Mind and Language
MW
4:55-6:10
Stephen
Schiffer
Issues
in the Theory of Reference
Reference
is that relation between words and things whereby we’re able to use words to
talk about things. In the seminar we
will read such classics in the theory of reference as Gottlob Frege’s “Sense
and Reference,” Bertrand Russell’s “On Denoting,” and Saul Kripke’s Naming and Necessity, and among the
issues we’ll explore are:
·
What’s
the nature of the reference relation, that relation an expression must bear to
a thing in order for the expression to refer to the thing?
·
What’s
the relation between the meaning of an expression and its reference? Is the meaning the same as the reference, or
is it some other thing that determines the reference?
·
What
is it for a speaker to refer to a thing by using an expression? How is speaker reference related to
expression reference?
·
What’s
the relation between talk about
things and thought about things? Should we explain the first in terms of the
second, or vice versa, or neither?
·
What
principles govern the way the truth-value of a sentence depends on the
references of its parts?
·
So-called
“singular terms,” such as proper names and simple demonstratives, are
especially important in the theory of reference. What expressions are singular terms? E.g., are “definite descriptions” (e.g. ‘the present Queen of
England’) and complex demonstratives (e.g. ‘that woman’) singular terms? If they’re not, what kind of semantic status
do they have.
There
will be a short paper and take-home mid-term and final questions that will be
answered in class.
V83.0201-001
Honors
Seminar
TBA
Hartry
Field
MAIN
BUILDING, 100 WASHINGTON SQUARE EAST, ROOM 503, NEW YORK, NY 10003-6688. (212)
998-8320. FAX: (212) 995-4179.
CHAIR
OF THE DEPARTMENT: Professor Boghossian
DIRECTOR
OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES: Professor Richardson
DIRECTOR
OF GRADUATE STUDIES: Ned Block
ADMINISTRATIVE
STAFF:
Debbie Bula, Anupum Mehrotra, Michael Balla
Philosophy
poses general questions about reality, knowledge, reasoning, language, and
conduct. The four main branches are metaphysics (What is the ultimate nature of
reality? What really exists and what is mere appearance?); epistemology (What,
if anything, can be known and how?); logic (What are the principles of correct
reasoning?); and ethics (What is moral value? And what moral values should we
adopt?). Other, more specific, branches of philosophy address questions
concerning the nature of art, law, medicine, politics, religion, and the
sciences.
Everyone
tends to have or assume answers to these questions. The aim of the department
is to enable students to identify, clarify, and assess these answers, both
ancient and modern. Philosophy prepares students for a more reflective life,
for advanced studies in the subject, as well as for professions that emphasize
analytic thinking and argumentation, such as law, business, and programming.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Major
A
major in philosophy requires nine 4-point V-level or G-level courses in the
department. These must include (1) Logic, V83.0070; (2) History of Ancient
Philosophy, V83.0020; or Advanced Greek Philosophy, V83.0023; (3) History of
Modern Philosophy, V83.0021; (4) Ethics, V83.0040; or Nature of Values,
V83.0041; or Political Philosophy, V83.0045; (5) Belief, Truth, and Knowledge,
V83.0076; or Metaphysics, V83.0078; (6) Minds and Machines, V83.0015; or
Philosophy of Mind, V83.0080; or Philosophy of Language, V83.0085; and (7)
Topics in the History of Philosophy, V83.0101; or Topics in Ethics and
Political Philosophy, V83.0102; or Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology,
V83.0103; or Topics in Language and Mind, V83.0104. No credit toward the major
is awarded for a course with a grade lower than C.
Students
considering a major in philosophy are encouraged to begin with one of the
Intensive Introductory Courses, or with one of the following: History of
Ancient Philosophy, V83.0020; History of Modern Philosophy, V83.0021; Ethics,
V83.0040; or Belief, Truth, and Knowledge, V83.0076. Logic, V83.0070, should be
taken as soon as possible.
JOINT MAJOR in Language and Mind
This
major, intended as an introduction to cognitive science, is administered by the
Departments of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology. Eleven courses are
required (four in linguistics, one in philosophy, five in psychology, and one
additional course) to be constituted as follows. The linguistics component
consists of Language, V61.0001; Grammatical Analysis, V61.0013; Introduction to
Cognitive Science, V61.0028; and one more course chosen from Computational
Models of Sentence Construction, V61.0024; Phonological Analysis, V61.0012; and
Introduction to Semantics, V61.0004. The philosophy component consists of one
course, chosen from Minds and Machines, V83.0015; Philosophy of Language,
V83.0085; and Logic, V83.0070. The psychology component consists of four
required courses: Introduction to Psychology, A89.0001; Statistics for the Behavioral
Sciences, V89.0010; The Psychology of Language, V89.0056; and Cognition,
V89.0029; in addition, one course, chosen from Seminar in Thinking, V89.0026;
Language Acquisition and Cognitive Development, V89.0300; and Laboratory in
Human Cognition, V89.0028. The eleventh course will be one of the above-listed
courses that has not already been chosen to satisfy the departmental
components.
MINOR
A
minor in philosophy requires four 4-point courses, at least three beyond the
A-level Introductory Courses. One course must be History of Ancient Philosophy,
V83.0020, or History of Modern Philosophy, V83.0021; one course each must come
from Group 2 (Ethics, Value, and Society) and Group 3 (Metaphysics,
Epistemology, Mind, Language, and Logic). No credit toward the minor is awarded
for a course with a grade lower than C.
INDEPENDENT STUDY
A
student may sign up for an independent study course if he or she obtains the
consent of a faculty member who approves the study project and agrees to serve
as adviser. The student must also obtain the approval of either the department
chair or the director of undergraduate studies. The student may take no more
than one such course in any given semester and no more than two such courses in
total, unless granted special permission by either the department chair or the
director of undergraduate studies.
HONORS PROGRAM
Honors
in philosophy will be awarded to majors who (1) have an overall grade point
average of 3.5 and an average in V- and G-level philosophy courses of 3.5, and
(2) successfully complete the honors program. This program, which is taken for
2 points in each of the student's last two semesters, is intended to provide an
intensive and rewarding culmination to the philosophy major. It involves
participation in an honors seminar and the writing of a senior thesis under the
supervision of a faculty adviser. Entry to the honors program requires a 3.0
average overall and a 3.5 average in at least five V- or G-level philosophy
courses (at least one in each of the three Groups, plus one Topics course). The
thesis must be approved by the adviser and by a second faculty reader for
honors to be awarded.
Majors
interested in admission to the program should consult the director of
undergraduate studies toward the end of their junior year.
COURSE PREREQUISITES
The
department treats its course prerequisites seriously. Students not satisfying a
course's prerequisites are strongly advised to seek the permission of the
instructor beforehand.
WHY STUDY PHILOSOPHY?
Philosophy has a reputation for being otherworldly and impractical – some say, “philosophy butters no bread”, but it doesn’t really deserve this label. The purpose of philosophy is controversial, but at least one thing it involves is the construction and evaluation of arguments. The study of philosophy trains one to express thoughts clearly and precisely, to defend one’s ideas, and to evaluate the positions of others. Quite simply, philosophy provides training in thinking. And this is a valuable skill in any professional field.
Philosophy
has a special affinity with the legal profession in which arguments, and the
application of general rules to cases, play central roles. Many law schools recognize this connection
and are especially receptive to philosophy majors. But philosophical skills are valuable elsewhere as well. In business, you must formulate and clarify
problems, analyze potential solutions, and defend your approach in a clear and
rational way. All these abilities are
improved by practice in philosophical argument. And finally, medical and professional schools place increasing
importance on the ability to reflect on the ethical issues that arise in their
practice – these are the problems treated in moral philosophy.
Some
of these claims are supported by the exceptional performance of philosophy
majors on graduate admissions exams. Philosophy
majors score higher than any other group on the verbal section of the GRE,
and much higher than any other humanities majors on the quantitative
section. Philosophy majors are second
only to math majors on the GMAT, and third only to math and economics
majors on the LSAT. Of course,
training in philosophy may not be wholly responsible for these results – it may
also be that brighter students are entering the field to begin with. But in either case, you’re not stupid if you
join them.
But this still doesn’t touch on what remains the most important reason for studying philosophy. College years shouldn’t just be devoted to professional training. They provide the best chance to think about basic human questions – about personal and social values, about the nature of reality, and about yourself. Studying philosophy can bring into view questions of lifelong relevance and interest, and can help you form argued positions on such issues. In some cases, it might even help determine your direction through life.