Philosophy

Intellectual history of antiquity and the Middle Ages is typically conducted with sparse attention to women authors, and women thinkers whose works are not preserved. This course challenges that approach, by focusing on the achievements and contributions of female thinkers spanning a period from classical antiquity, with figures like Aspasia and Diotima, down to Christine de Pizan at the dawn of the European Renaissance. Some attention is paid to other cultural traditions, especially India and the Islamic world, though the richest materials are to be found in the Greek and Latin textual traditions. Many of the figures covered are, in a broad sense of the term, “philosophers,” but figures more usually described as “mystics,” such as Rabia and Hildegard of Bingen are also included.

This course examines the following questions: What is intelligence, and can machines really possess it? Could it be that—as many have argued—we ourselves are no more than intelligent machines (designed by evolution rather than engineers)? How do technologies such as artificial neural networks and machine learning change our understanding of the mind? Others are ethical, social, and political. What are the risks associated with these technologies, and how can we minimise them? What are their benefits, and how can we ensure that they are equitably shared? Conversely, assuming that true A.I. is possible, what are our own moral obligations towards our non-human but intelligent creations?

In this course, students examine various important positions on the nature of consciousness including physicalism, dualism, eliminativism, and idealism. Students review both sides of various philosophers’ opinions on whether consciousness can be explained solely in terms of brain activity and if consciousness can arise from the purely physical. The course requires students to take prerequisites.

This course examines the thought, values and practices of Buddhism through the application of its fundamentals of philosophical theories and principles. In this course, the basic Buddhist teachings of dependent arising, the relationship of mind and body, human behaviors and their consequences, the human condition and its causes, the concept of happiness, etc. will be investigated on the basis of the earliest Buddhist literatures namely the Pali Nikayas and Chinese Agamas.

The understanding we have of our nature as reasoning beings is a fascinating topic which has captivated thinkers for thousands of years. In this course we will chart its history and focus on the developments in the recent past.

This course examines the nature of moral judgments, and how they are related to motivation, truth, and objectivity. It ask the question do moral judgments always accompany motivation to act in a certain way, how can moral judgments be true or false, and is morality relative or absolute? 

In this course students gain a deeper understanding of equality in moral and political thought. The first part of the course focuses on the idea of moral equality. What grounds all human beings’ equal moral status? What does it even mean to say that all human beings are morally equal? The second part of the course focuses on the idea of political equality. Specifically, it considers what the equal status of all citizens implies about how we should distribute power and make political decisions. Does a commitment to the equality of all citizens commit us to democratic rule? If the political decisions made in Community A significantly affect the members of Community B, should the members of Community B have a (democratic?) say in Community A’s decision? 

This course covers well-being, a key issue in practical philosophy. Topics that might be covered include theories of well-being (hedonism, desire theories, objective theories, hybrid theories); the relation between momentary and lifetime well-being; particular prudential goods (achievement, friendship etc.); disability and well-being; the nature and badness of pain; prudential reasons; the well-being of children and nonhuman animals.

This course examines the central concerns of Plato’s philosophy. It focuses on Plato’s early and middle dialogues in which the enigmatic character of Socrates is central. It addresses Plato’s teachings on the role of philosophy in the life of the individual, the relation between knowledge and virtue, and his contribution to questions about the nature of love and desire.