Philosophy
Department
Undergraduate
Courses Spring 2000
Each of the following descriptions was provided by the
faculty member teaching the course.
Otherwise, what is given is the course description from the NYU College
of Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Introductory Courses
Ethics and Society
V83.0005-001 /Torchtone #73972
Monday/Wednesday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Instructor to be announced
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.
Intensive Introductory Courses
Central Problems in Philosophy
V83.0010-001 /Torchtone #72763
Monday/Wednesday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Nagel
*Only CAS Students
An intensive introduction to central problems in
philosophy. Topics may include moral objectivity, political justice, free will,
the existence of God, skepticism and knowledge, and the mind-body problem.
Group 1: History of Philosophy
History of Modern Philosophy
V83.0021-001 /Torchtone #72765
Monday/Wednesday/12:30pm – 1:45pm
Gibbons
This is a survey of 17th and 18th century European metaphysics
and epistemology. We will read
Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
Requirements include two medium-length papers and five short papers over
the course of the semester.
Cross-listed from Classics:
The Greek Thinkers
V83.0122-001 /Torchtone #72775
Monday/Wednesday/2:00pm – 3:15pm
Benardete
The origins of nonmythical speculation among the Greeks
and the main patterns of philosophical thought, from Thales and other early
speculators about the physical nature of the world, through Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurians, and Neo-Platonists.
Cross-listed from Medieval and Rennaisance Studies:
Introduction to Medieval Philosophy
V83.0125-001 /Torchtone #74536
Tuesday/Thursday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Marshall
Course description to come.
Group 2: Ethics, Value, and Society
Ethics
V83.0040-001 /Torchtone #72768
Monday/Wednesday/9:30am – 10:45am
Instructor to be announced
*Only CAS Students
Examines fundamental questions of moral philosophy: What
are our most basic values and which of them are specifically moral
values? What are the ethical principles, if any, by
which we should judge our actions, ourselves, and our lives?
Political Philosophy
V83.0045-001 /Torchtone #73329
Monday/Wednesday/6:20pm – 7:35pm
Dwyer
In this course we will consider and evaluate some of the
most important merits, criticisms, and failings of liberal political
philosophy. We will discuss how liberal
theorists view the purpose of government, the rights of individuals, the scope
of equality, the demands of social justice, the meaning of civic
responsibility, and the nature of community.
Readings will include works from Locke, Jefferson, Tocqueville, Dewey,
Rawls, and Rorty. Course requirements
will include a midterm exam, a paper, and a final exam.
Medical Ethics
V83.0050-001 /Torchtone #72770
Tuesday/Thursday/6:20pm – 7:35pm
Ruddick
Limited to seniors and second-term juniors
Examines moral and related philosophical issues in
medical practice and research. Topics include: patient and physician autonomy;
doctor patient family relations; deception, hope, and paternalism; pain,
euthanasia, and assisted suicide;
prenatal genetic testing and abortion; concepts of life and death in
medical practice; animal, fetal, and clinical research; moral dilemmas in medical training; justice
in medical access and care.
Philosophy and Literature
V83.0062-001 /Torchtone #73330
Tuesday/Thursday/9:30am – 10:45am
Gurland
This course will employ fictional works, the novel and
the play, as a vehicle for exploring philosophical themes and issues. Great works of literature endure on the
strength of their ability to address the human condition, and the course's
intention is to exploit the power of selected writings to place significant
philosophical issues within vibrant concrete contexts. The traditional philosophical dualisms of
mind and body, appearance and reality, along with issues concerned with truth,
personal identity, and values, both moral and aesthetic, will provide the
central concerns of the course. Camus,
Kafka, Faulkner, Hemingway, Styron, Kesey, and Kundera will be among the
authors whose works will be read and analyzed from a perspective which will
employ philosophical rather than literary criteria and techniques.
Topics in Ethics and Political Philosophy
V83.0102-001 /Torchtone #72774
Tuesday/Thursday/2:00pm – 3:15pm
Kamm
Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy, including either V83.0040,
V83.0041, V83.0045, or V83.0052
Thorough study of certain concepts and issues in current
theory and debate. Examples: moral and political rights, virtues and vices,
equality, moral objectivity, the development of moral character, the variety of
ethical obligations, and ethics and public policy.
Group 3: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Mind, Language, and
Logic
Logic
V83.0070-001 /Torchtone #72771
Tuesday/Thursday/3:30pm – 4:45pm
Walden
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.
Belief, Truth, and Knowledge
V83.0076-001 /Torchtone #73331
Tuesday/Thursday/2:00pm – 3:15pm
Instructor to be announced
Considers questions such as the following: Can I have
knowledge of anything outside my own mind-for example, physical
objects or other minds? Or is the skeptic's attack on my
commonplace claims to know unanswerable? What is knowledge, and
how does it differ from belief?
Philosophy of Language
V83.0085-001 /Torchtone #73332
Monday/Wednesday/3:30pm – 4:45pm
Gibbons
Prerequisite: one course in philosophy
We will examine various philosophical approaches to
language and meaning, and their consequences for traditional philosophical
problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. The authors discussed are primarily 20th
century figures, including Russell, Wittgenstein, and Quine. Some familiarity with first-order logic is
strongly recommended. Requirements
include two five- to seven-page papers and short response papers over the
course of the semester.
Topics in Language and Mind
V83.0104-001 /Torchtone #73333
Tuesday/Thursday/11:00am – 12:15pm
Instructor to be announced
Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy, including either V83.0015,
V83.0080, or V83.0085
Careful study of a few current issues in language and
mind. Examples: theory of reference, analyticity, intentionality, theory of
mental content and attitudes, emergence and supervenience of mental states.
Honors Seminar
V83.0202-001
To Be Arranged
Field
*Requires Departmental permission
Seminar for majors in philosophy who have been approved
by the Department on the basis of merit. See description of Honors Program.
Independent Study
V83.0302-001
To Be Arranged
Staff
*Requires Departmental permission
General
Department Information
The Philosophy Major
The Department is in the process of changing its
requirements for the major. Different
requirements are applicable, depending on when the student entered NYU.
For students beginning at NYU before September 1998, the following
requirements apply:
A major in philosophy requires eight 4-point V-level (or
G-level) courses. These must include:
(1) Logic V83.0070; (2) History of Ancient Philosophy V83.0020; (3) History of
Modern Philosophy V83.0021; (4) either Ethics V83.0040, The Nature of Values
V83.0041, or Political Philosophy V83.0045; (5) either Minds and Machines
V83.0015, Belief, Truth and Knowledge V83.0076, Metaphysics V83.0078,
Philosophy of Mind V83.0080 or Philosophy of Language V83.0085, and (6) either
Topics in the History of Philosophy V83.0101, Topics in Ethics and Political
Philosophy V83.0102, Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology V83.0103, Topics in
Language and Mind V83.0104.
For students beginning at NYU in September 1998 or after, the following
new requirements apply:
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,
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, Philosophy of Mind V83.0080 or Philosophy of Mind V83.0085 and (7)
Topics in the History of Philosophy V83.0101,
Topics in Ethics and Political Philosophy V83.0102, Topics in
Metaphysics and Epistemology V83.0103, or Topics in Language and Mind V83.0104.
Prospective majors are also encouraged to consult with
the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor John Richardson, Room 503C.
The Philosophy Minor
The Department is in the process of changing its
requirements for the minor. Different
requirements are applicable, depending on when the student entered NYU.
For students beginning at NYU before September 1998, the following
requirements apply:
A minor in philosophy requires four courses in the
department; at least one must be either History of Ancient Philosophy V83.0013
or History of Modern Philosophy V83.0014.
For students beginning at NYU in September 1998 or after, the following
new requirements apply:
A minor in Philosophy requires four 4-point courses, at
least three beyond the A-level Introductory courses. One course must be either History of Ancient Philosophy, V83.0020,
or History of Modern Philosophy, V83.0021; one course must come from Group 2
(Ethics, Value, and Society) and Group 3 (Metaphysics, Epistemology, Mind,
Language, and Logic). No credit is
awarded for a course with a grade lower than a C.
Honors Program
For eligible majors in their senior year. Eligibility requires that the student has
completed at least 5 courses in philosophy, with an average in those courses of
at least a 3.5, and an overall average of at least 3.0.
This is a year-long program intended to provide an
intensive and rewarding culmination of the philosophy major. Honors students attend a small weekly
seminar led by a member of the department, involving discussion of a wide range
of philosophical topics. In addition,
each participant in the program writes a senior thesis, under the individual
guidance of a faculty advisor, on a topic of personal interest.
The seminar is taken for 2 credits in each of the
student’s last two semesters. Majors interested in taking part in the program
are encouraged to consult Professor Richardson.
Philosophy Department Office – Main Building, Room 503i
The Department's Administrative Coordinator is Deborah
Bula and the Department's Administrative Aide is Dan Nester. They will be able to answer many of the
questions you may have. Professor’s
mailboxes are located within the Department office. There are three bulletin boards on which Departmental information
is posted and updated. The Philosophy
Department phone number is 212-998-8320.
Philosophy Faculty
Paul Boghossian, Chair (on leave)
Stephen Schiffer, Acting Chair
William Ruddick, Acting Director of Graduate Studies
John Richardson, Director of Undergraduate Studies
Gordon Belot Room 503DD
Ned Block Room 502A
Paul Boghossian Room 503B (On leave for
1999-2000)
Hartry Field Room 502E
Kit Fine Room 502B (On leave for
1999-2000)
John Gibbons Room 513A
Robert Gurland Room 513B
Frances Kamm Room 503K
Thomas Nagel Room 503O
John Richardson Room 503C
William Ruddick Room 503G
Stephen Schiffer Room 502C
Sigrún Svavarsdóttir Room 503F (On leave for Spring
2000)
Peter Unger Room 503D
Why
Study Philosophy?
Philosophy has a reputation for being
otherworldly and impractical—“philosophy butters no bread,” some say. But philosophy 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 is a training of expressing thoughts clearly and precisely, in defending
one’s ideas and evaluating the positions of others. Quite simply, philosophy gives a training in thinking. And this is a skill valuable 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
also valuable elsewhere. In business,
you must be able to formulate and clarify problems, to analyze potential
solutions, and to defend your approach in a clear and rational way. All of these abilities are improved by
exercising in philosophical argument.
And finally, medical schools and professionals are placing more importance
on the ability to reflect in the ethical issues that arise in their
practice—and these are problems treated in moral philosophy.
Some of these practical beliefs seem
reflected in the exceptional performance by philosophy majors on graduate admissions
exams. They show that philosophy majors
have scored 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, majors training in
philosophy may not be wholly responsible for these results – it might also be
that brighter students are entering the field to begin with. But in either case, the report suggests
you’re not stupid if you join them.
But
this still doesn’t touch on what surely remains the most reasons for studying
philosophy. College years shouldn’t just be a professional training. They are the best chance to think about
basic human questions—about personal and social values, about the nature of
reality and yourselves. Studying
philosophy can bring into view questions of lifelong relevance and
interest. It can acquaint you with the
issues in debates that will always recur, and can help you towards argued
positions on such issues. In a very
rare case, it might even help determine your direction through life.