Philosophy

This course considers labor and its exploitation. It discusses the labor theory of value and the concept of exploitation in Marxian theory, as well as the criticisms and the ways they are overcome by analytical Marxism.

The course deals with the connection between Man and Nature from the viewpoint of Moral Philosophy. It discusses the main proponents of and theories within Environmental Ethics and describes the roots of differing views of Nature, as well as different ethical orientations, i.e. anthropocentric, ecocentric, and biocentric positions. The course also deals with the integration of environmental and developmental issues, and with the connection between environmentalism and democracy. Amongst central issues discussed are the following: Can Ethics provide guidance in the solution of environmental problems? What type of beings are worthy of moral considerability? Can natural phenomena possess intrinsic value? Do animals have rights? Is there any fundamental difference in men's and women's relations to Nature? What is the ethical basis of sustainable development?

This course is devoted to a close reading of Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s PHENOMENOLOGY OF PERCEPTION. The central concern of the course is to understand Merleau-Ponty’s importance for contemporary philosophy as well as cognitive science.

This course offers students a broad introduction to political philosophy. Readings are mostly drawn from Contemporary Anglophone political philosophy (so-called “analytic” philosophy): in particular, Rawls and some of his interlocutors (Nozick, Cohen, Moller-Okin, et. al). Yet students may also occasionally read figures from the history of political thought (Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Locke, Mill) and some modern European theorists (so-called “continental” philosophers) as well (Habermas, Honneth, Forst). Questions treated in the course are likely to include the following: What is the source of the state’s authority and what could render it legitimate? What is liberty, and what are its limits? Why is property valuable, and how should it be distributed? Is there a trade-off between equality and freedom? Are there any natural rights or are they all conventional? What is justice? Throughout students are concerned with how these questions are treated in different frameworks: liberal, libertarian, socialist, feminist, utilitarian, and anarchist.  

In this class we will read Aristotle's Categories and discuss it in detail. The Categories is one of the most influential texts in the history of European philosophy. Yet it is far from clear what Aristotle is trying to achieve in the work and even what kind of a work it is. In particular, the Categories intermingles metaphysical and linguistic questions and claims in a strange way. For that reason, its main claim has been seen as an antiplatonic metaphysical theories and as a metaphysically neutral theory in philosophy of language about terms. The central questions in this class will be: To what extent does the Categories present a metaphysical theory? How is this theory related to the claims in the text about linguistic expressions? We will read current research on these matters and discuss the text of the Categories intensively.

This course is devoted to the notion of freedom as it is thought of in philosophy. The first part of the course focuses on the ancient idea of freedom as opposed to slavery, or as free will (as in Saint Augustine) to provide the sources from which modern reflections on freedom have been drawn, especially in German idealism. The course then follows the evolution of theories of freedom from Kant, Hegel, and Schelling to Isaiah Berlin, Sartre, Butler, and Axel Honneth, and to the re-emergence of the question of slavery in contemporary thought. An important part of the course is devoted to an in-depth study of F.G.J. Schelling's PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO HUMAN FREEDOM (1809) to confront a seemingly difficult text with the keys to understanding the complex intellectual edifices that underpin our modern vision of freedom.

This course examines the question of the good life as it surfaces in key texts from Continental philosophy, with particular focus on human freedom and the search for meaning, fulfilment, and happiness. The course explores the works of European thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Simone Weil, and Camus, who shared an insight into the existential conditions of despair, anxiety, and meaninglessness, seeing these trials as occasions to examine how we live. With them, the course invokes inquiry into relationships, activities, and commitments; considers the importance of personal responsibility and active engagement; and discusses whether freedom is key to the good life, and, if so, the freedom to do what? The course may not discover the secret to happiness, but does partake in an age-old pilgrimage in search of the good life.

This course is designed to deal with a variety of topics in epistemology – the philosophical study of knowledge. The curriculum varies from year to year. Topics include theories of knowledge; theories of justification or warrant; skepticism; contextualism; and sources of knowledge: perception, memory, introspection, testimony.

This course examines the ambivalent role of digital technologies in our societies and questions our future by questioning their relevance. It first considers where we come from and how the pre-web world prepared us for this new reality, notably through science fiction. It then invites us to understand what is happening in our daily lives by deciphering the announced technological advances and their effects on reality. Finally, the course imagines a horizon that seems most desirable for all.