Philosophy
Philosophy (PHIL) Professors: Richard Fleming, Gary Steiner Associate Professor: Peter S. Groff (Acting Chair), Jeffrey S. Turner Assistant Professors: Gillian A. Barker, Sheila Lintott, Joshua W. Preiss (visiting) Philosophy studies carefully the kinds of questions that are so perplexing that we can neither calmly ignore them nor easily answer them. It develops skills in interpreting texts, thoughtfully responding to other viewpoints, constructing and evaluating argumentation, and the disciplined imagining of novel possibilities for human knowing, valuing, and living. The philosophy major at Bucknell University is designed to introduce students to several varieties of philosophical questions, styles, methods, and concerns, as well as to the central periods in the history of Western philosophy. The major provides a solid foundation for students choosing to pursue graduate work in philosophy. It also helps students to develop the kinds of critical thinking skills useful for careers in law, business, journalism, medicine, and so on. The major in philosophy consists of a minimum of eight courses, which must include: - As a first course: PHIL 98, or 100, or 103, or 201, or 220
- PHIL 103 or 201 (if not elected as the introductory course); PHIL 205 and 207; either PHIL 213 or 228
- Two 300-level seminars or one 300-level seminar plus PHIL 321 and 322, or PHIL 323
- At least one additional elective from the offerings in philosophy.
Philosophy majors interested in study abroad are encouraged by the department to do so, and may work with faculty in the department to find a program of study suitable to their interests. Qualified students also are encouraged to pursue honors study in philosophy; they should consult with their department advisers or with the chair of the department about honors work in philosophy. Students wishing to do graduate work in philosophy may want to supplement their philosophical studies with language courses, for example in ancient Greek, French, or German. The minor in philosophy consists of four courses, two of which must be 200 level or above. While no particular combination of courses is required, the student may wish to design a minor on a specific topic. Some examples: - Values: PHIL 100; 212; 213 or 228; 214, or PHIL 223/RELI 216
- History of Philosophy: PHIL 100; 205; 207; 256 or 258 or 260 or 222 or 259
- Logic and Philosophy of Science: PHIL 100 or 103; 201; 220; 207 or 224
- Fields of Philosophy: PHIL 100 or 103 or PHIL 223/RELI 216; PHIL 103 or 201; 212 or 220; 213 or 228
- Nature of Knowledge: PHIL 100 or 103; 205 or 207; 224 or 220; 222 or 260
- Modern and Contemporary Philosophy: PHIL 100, 103, or 220; 207 or 256; 214, 222, or 227; 258, 259, or 260
- Mini-Major: PHIL 103 or 201; 213 or 228; 205 or 207; 212
- Philosophical Analysis: PHIL 220 or 103; 222 or 227; 224; 228
- Existentialism and Phenomenology: PHIL 100 (Existentialism section); 256; 258; 260.
98. Myth, Reason, Faith (I or II; 4, 0)
This course is designed to introduce students to some of the most significant works in the Western intellectual tradition. Works by major writers from Homer to Dante will be studied. Crosslisted as CLAS 98, ENGL 98, and HUMN 98. 100. The Fields and Functions of Philosophy (I or II; R; 3, 0)
Fundamental philosophical questions (e.g., the nature of philosophy, reality, freedom, knowledge, art, and value) examined through reflection on original sources in the history of philosophy. The course is divided into relatively small sections; each instructor employs different materials. 103. Logic (I or II; 3, 0)
An introduction to informal and formal ways of reasoning. The structures and general forms of argument as well as the standards and criteria needed to evaluate arguments, and the historical development of logical reasoning, will be studied. 150. Art, Nature, and Knowledge (I or II; 4, 0)
An interdisciplinary study of selected works in art, music, literature, science, and philosophy from the Renaissance through the 19th century. Crosslisted as ENGL 150, HUMN 150, and RESC 150. 201. Symbolic Logic (I or II; 3, 0)
An investigation of the basic concepts and problems of modern logic. Areas studied will include propositional and quantificational logic, set theory, and metalogical theory (completeness and consistency). Prerequisite: PHIL 103 or permission of the instructor. 204. Scientific and Everyday Reasoning (I or II; 3, 0)
An investigation of inductive and ordinary language forms of reasoning. The basic concepts and problems in inductive reasoning will be studied, and attention given to how our ordinary language influences traditional logical principles and criteria. A careful examination of fallacies and mistakes in reasoning will introduce the more formal aspects of the course. Prerequisite: PHIL 103. 205. Greek Philosophy (I; 3, 0)
Philosophical thought from its explicit beginnings to the Hellenistic era. Research on important aspects of the thought of Plato and Aristotle. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 206. Medieval Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
A comparative examination of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions in medieval philosophy, focusing on selected problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Readings in Augustine, Anselm, Avicenna, Averroës, Saadia, Maimonides, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and Ockham. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 207. Development of Modern Philosophy (II; 3, 0)
Philosophical thought in the classical modern age, including Continental Rationalism, British Empiricism, and Kant. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 212. Philosophy of Art (I or II; 3, 0)
Analysis of the creative process, the work of art, natural beauty, aesthetic experience, and principles of criticism. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220 or permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as ART 222. 213. Ethics (II; 3, 0)
An attempt to formulate adequate criteria for the basic moral conceptions of good and bad, right and wrong, and duty, by a study of leading ethical view points from Plato to the present. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 214. Social and Political Philosophy (II; 3, 0)
Problems such as individual and state, freedom and organization, power and rectitude, philosophy of law, equity and differences, the sociomoral basis of rights. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 215. Philosophy of Music (I or II; 3, 0)
An exploration of the concepts and problems involved in a philosophical (self-reflective) investigation of music. Using two 20th-century musicians (Bernstein and Cage) as a guide, questions about the being and characteristics of music will be pursued. Learning to talk and ask questions clearly about the nature of sound and silence is a goal of the course. (Philosophers such as Rousseau, Schopenhauer, Thoreau, Camus, and Wittgenstein will provide direction for class discussion and lectures.) Crosslisted as MUSC 215. 218. Ecology, Nature, and the Future (I or II; 3, 0)
Analysis of some philosophical conceptions of the self-nature relation and their implications for the use and abuse of our natural environment. 219. The Problem of False Consciousness (I or II; 3,0)
Examination of leading theories of individual and mass deception, as well as theories of self-deception, as these theories bear on the task of informed decision making. Philosophers to be studied may include: Freud, Marx, Sartre, Jung, Foucault, Lukacs, Habermas. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 220. Philosophy of Science (I or II; 3, 0)
An analysis of explanation and prediction, the ontological and epistemological status of theories, evaluation of theories, and scientific change. 222. Analytic Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
Introduction to the analytic movement by way of selected topics illustrating its subject matter, methods, and historical development. Readings include Ayer, Wittgenstein, Russell, Moore, Austin. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 223. Philosophy of Religion (I or II; 3, 0)
Problems for rational inquiry arising from the claims and practices of religious faith; the nature of religious experience and language, arguments for God’s existence, evil. Crosslisted as RELI 216. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220 or RELI 125; or permission of the instructor. 224. Theory of Knowledge (I or II; 3, 0)
The concepts of knowing, perceiving, believing, and the rational reconstruction of knowledge. Contemporary and classical sources. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 225. Metaphysics (I or II; 3,0)
Inquiries about the nature of being and the structure of reality, and the epistemological and ethical status of such inquiries, as conducted by such thinkers as Plato, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 226. Philosophy of the Mind (I or II; 3, 0)
Examination of central issues in the philosophy of the mind. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or PHIL 100 or PHIL 103 or PHIL 201 or PHIL 220. 227. Philosophy of Language (I or II; 3, 0)
An examination of philosophical problems concerning the nature of language, meaning, and communication, as dealt with by such contemporary philosophers as Wittgenstein, Austin, Cavell, Russell, Merleau-Ponty, and others. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 228. Contemporary Ethical Theory (I or II; 3, 0)
Contemporary approaches to the problems of ethics: universality, moral vs. non-moral judgments, facts and values, etc. Readings in such thinkers as Hare, Rawls, Gilligan, Williams, MacIntyre, Nussbaum, and Rorty. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 230. Feminism and Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
An examination of feminist philosophy primarily as it occurs in the U.S. from the late 18th century to the present. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220 or permission of the instructor. 233. The Philosophy of Peace and Nonviolence (I or II; 3, 0)
A course in peace studies that will investigate the arguments and spirit of Pacifism and nonviolent philosophies. Crosslisted as UNIV 233. 235. Philosophy of Mathematics (I or II; 3, 0)
Examination of some philosophical problems and contemporary views concerning mathematical concepts and methods: the nature of mathematical truths and mathematical proof; the concept of infinity; ontological status of numbers and classes; metamathematical results. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220 or permission of the instructor. 250. Nihilism, Modernism, Uncertainty (I; 3, 0)
Presents major modern figures and concepts with examples from painting, music, literature, philosophy, and science. Prerequisites: PHIL 98 and PHIL 150. Crosslisted as ENGL 230, HUMN 250. 256. Nineteenth-century European Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
The development of philosophical ideas in 19th-century Europe, considered as a background for the understanding of ideas influential today. Philosophers to be studied may include: Hegel, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Comte, Mill, Bradley, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and others. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 258. Existentialism (I or II; 3, 0)
Analysis of selected texts of Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Camus, or Sartre. Special attention given to the relation of existentialism to problems of post-Cartesian thought. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 259. American Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
A critical and historical survey of distinctive American philosophies: pragmatism, realism, scientific philosophies. Readings include: Peirce, James, Dewey, Lewis, Whitehead, Quine. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 260. Phenomenology (I or II; 3, 0)
Analysis of selected texts of Husserl, Heidegger, or Merleau-Ponty. Some consideration of the interpretation of the history of philosophy offered by phenomenology. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 262. Contemporary Continental Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
A survey of some major currents and figures in 20th-century philosophy. Philosophers to be studied may include: Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Benjamin, Barthes, Foucault, Derrida, Levinas. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of the instructor. 265. Topics in Aesthetics (II; R; 3, 0)
An investigation of specific topics in aesthetics, e.g., The Beautiful and the Sublime; Philosophy and Comedy; The Aesthetics of Film. These topics may vary yearly. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220 or permission of the instructor. 266. Chinese Philosophy (I; 3, 0)
Major philosophical schools of the classical age, Buddhist philosophy, Neo-Confucianism. Crosslisted as EAST 266. 267. Islamic Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
A survey of major historical figures and movements in the Islamic philosophical tradition. Philosophers to be studied may include: al-Kindi, al-Farabi, al-Razi, the Pure Brethren of Basra, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Ibn Tufayl, Averroes, Ibn Khaldun, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Sadra. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220. 269. Indian Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
Examination of Indian philosophical thought from its beginnings in the Vedas and Upanishads through the development of the major philosophical schools, focusing on a number of interrelated metaphysical, epistemological, hermeneutic, and ethical questions. Readings in the systems of Nyaya-Vaisesika, Samkhya-Yoga, and Mimamsa-Vedanta, as well as in Buddhism, Jainism and Carvaka. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220 or permission of the instructor. 272. Philosophy of Biology (I or II; 3, 0)
We will survey the central epistemological and metaphysical problems addressed in the 20th-century philosophy of biology. Prerequisite: PHIL 98 or 100 or 103 or 201 or 220 or permission of the instructor. 275. Topics in Greek Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
An investigation of specific topics in Greek philosophy, e.g., Friendship and Love in Plato and Aristotle; Contemporary Interpretations of Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics. Prerequisite: PHIL 205 or permission of the instructor. 309. Seminar in Historical Studies: Individual Philosophers (I or II; R; 3, 0)
Intensive study of the works of a single philosopher chosen from the ancient, medieval, modern, or contemporary period of the history of philosophy. In recent years: Plato, Aristotle, Heidegger, Kant, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein. Prerequisites: two courses in philosophy and permission of the instructor. 310. Seminar in Historical Studies: Historical Periods (I or II; R; 3, 0)
Study of a selected period in the history of ancient, medieval, modern, or contemporary philosophy. In recent years: Philosophy of Ordinary Language, Habermas and (Post) Modernity. Prerequisites: two courses in philosophy and permission of the instructor. 311. Seminar in Philosophical Problems (I or II; R; 3, 0)
A selected problem of philosophy as this occurs historically in the ancient, medieval, or modern periods, or in contemporary thought. In recent years: Nihilism; Form, Idea, Metaphor. Prerequisites: two courses in philosophy and permission of the instructor. 319 and 320. Individual Studies in Philosophy (I and II; R)
Open to advanced students who wish to pursue individual programs of study under the supervision of a professor, or of a committee of professors if the subject falls within two or more departments. May be conducted as a seminar for three or more students pursuing similar programs. Subjects may be chosen from any field of philosophy in consultation with the members of the department of philosophy. 321 and 322. Honors Thesis (I and II)
Substantial independent work on some problem or topic approved by the department of philosophy as honors work. 323. Senior Thesis (I or II)
Independent research on a philosophical issue, in consultation with staff members. The thesis should show integrative and creative abilities. Prerequisite: major in philosophy. 475. Capstone in Literature and Philosophy (I or II; 3, 0)
A Capstone course examining: relationships between narrative and ethics; truth and self-expression; the "ancient quarrel" between poetry and philosophy. Readings selected from Plato, Virgil, Dante, Nietzsche, Derrida, Kundera, and others. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy. 480. Western Perspectives on Animals (I or II; 3, 0)
Examines the conceptual and moral status of animals in our culture, as expressed in philosophy, religion, ethology (animal behavior), the law, and social policy. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy.
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