A.B. Philosophy

Princeton University

Bachelor's degree

In Princeton (USA)

Price on request

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Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Princeton (USA)

Any course in the philosophy department (link is external)may serve as prerequisite for concentration. A student who has not satisfied this prerequisite and who, at the end of sophomore year, desires to enter the department must apply to the departmental representative.

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Location

Start date

Princeton (USA)
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08544

Start date

On request

About this course

Any course in the philosophy department (link is external)may serve as prerequisite for concentration. A student who has not satisfied this prerequisite and who, at the end of sophomore year, desires to enter the department must apply to the departmental representative.

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Subjects

  • GCSE Mathematics
  • Truth
  • Plato
  • Moral
  • Descartes
  • Aristotle
  • Logic
  • Mathematics
  • Metaphysics
  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • Philosophy
  • Political Philosophy
  • Works
  • Staff
  • Translation
  • Greek

Course programme

PHI 200 Philosophy and the Modern Mind Not offered this year EC An introduction to modern philosophy, from the Renaissance to the present, with careful study of works by Descartes, Hume, Kant, and others. Emphasis is placed upon the complex relations of philosophy to the development of modern science, the social and political history of the West, and man's continuing attempt to achieve a satisfactory worldview. Two lectures, one preceptorial. D. Garber

PHI 201 Introductory Logic Spring EC A study of reasoning and its role in science and everyday life, with special attention to the development of a system of symbolic logic, to probabilistic reasoning, and to problems in decision theory. Two lectures, one preceptorial. H. Halvorson

PHI 202 Introduction to Moral Philosophy (also

CHV 202

) Fall EM An introductory survey of ethical thought, covering such topics as the demands that morality makes, the justification of these demands, and our reasons for obeying them. Readings from both the historical and contemporary philosophical literature. Two lectures, one preceptorial. S. McGrath

PHI 203 Introduction to Metaphysics and Epistemology Spring EC An introduction to some of the central questions of pure philosophy through their treatment by traditional and contemporary writers: questions concerning mind and matter; causation and free will; space and time; meaning, truth, and reality; knowledge, perception, belief, and thought. Two lectures, one preceptorial. G. Rosen

PHI 204 Introduction to the Philosophy of Science Not offered this year EC An inquiry into the form and function of concepts, laws, and theories, and into the character of explanation and prediction, in the natural and the social sciences; and an examination of some philosophical problems concerning scientific method and scientific knowledge. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff

PHI 205 Introduction to Ancient Philosophy (also

CLA 205

/

HLS 208

) Fall EC Designed to introduce the student to the Greek contribution to the philosophical and scientific ideas of the Western world through study of works of Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Lucretius in English translation. Topics in moral and political philosophy, as well as epistemology and metaphysics, will be included. Attention will be focused on the quality of the arguments presented by the philosophers. Two lectures, one preceptorial. H. Lorenz

PHI 218 Learning Theory and Epistemology (also

ELE 218

/

EGR 218

) Not offered this year EC An accessible introduction for all students to recent results by logicians, computer scientists, psychologists, engineers, and statisticians concerning the nature and limits of learning. Topics include truth and underdetermination, induction, computability, language learning, pattern recognition, neural networks, and the role of simplicity in theory choice. Two lectures, one preceptorial. G. Harman, S. Kulkarni

PHI 237 The Psychology and Philosophy of Rationality (See PSY 237)

PHI 300 Plato and His Predecessors (also

HLS 300

) Fall EC Readings in translation from pre-Socratic philosophers and from Plato's dialogues, to provide a broad history of Greek philosophy through Plato. Topics covered will include: Socrates's method of dialectic, his conceptions of moral virtue and human knowledge; Plato's theory of knowledge, metaphysics, and moral and political philosophy. Two lectures, one preceptorial. A. Laks

PHI 301 Aristotle and His Successors (also

HLS 302

/

CLA 303

) Not offered this year EC Aristotle's most important contributions in the areas of logic, scientific method, philosophy of nature, metaphysics, psychology, ethics, and politics. Several of his major works will be read in translation. Aristotle's successors in the Greco-Roman period will be studied briefly. Two lectures, one preceptorial. B. Morison

PHI 302 British Empiricism Fall EC A critical study of the metaphysical and epistemological doctrines of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Two lectures, one preceptorial. D. Hogan

PHI 303 Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz (also

ECS 306

) Not offered this year EC Readings in continental philosophy of the early modern period, with intensive study of the works of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. Topics to be specially considered include: knowledge, understanding, and sense-perception; existence and necessity; the nature of the self and its relation to the physical world. Two 90-minute classes. D. Garber

PHI 304 Topics in Kant's Philosophy Not offered this year EC Analysis of the Critique of Pure Reason, with some attention to other aspects of Kant's philosophy, such as his views on ethics, aesthetics, and teleological judgment. Two lectures, one preceptorial. D. Hogan

PHI 306 Nietzsche (also

COM 393

) Not offered this year EM An examination of various issues raised in, and by, Nietzsche's writings. Apart from discussing views like the eternal recurrence, the overman, and the will to power, this course considers Nietzsche's ambiguous relationship with philosophy, the literary status of his work, and his influence on contemporary thought. Prerequisite: one philosophy course or equivalent preparation in the history of modern thought or literature. Two lectures, one preceptorial. A. Nehamas

PHI 307 Systematic Ethics (also

CHV 311

) Not offered this year EM A study of important ethical theories with special reference to the problem of the objectivity of morality and to the relation between moral reasoning and reasoning about other subjects. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff

PHI 309 Political Philosophy (also

CHV 309

/

HUM 309

) Not offered this year EM A systematic study of problems and concepts connected with political institutions: sovereignty, law, liberty, and political obligation. Topics may include representation, citizenship, power and authority, revolution, civil disobedience, totalitarianism, and legal and political rights. Two lectures, one preceptorial. J. Frick

PHI 311 Personal Identity Not offered this year EC This course will focus on the conditions for personal identity over time, with implications for the beginning and end of life. Students will investigate what it is rational to care about in survival or continued existence, and whether that should change if it is discovered either that there is no human soul, or there is no self or subject behind our various conscious acts. M. Johnston

PHI 312 Intermediate Logic Not offered this year EC A development of logic from the mathematical viewpoint, including propositional and predicate calculus, consequence and deduction, truth and satisfaction, the Gödel completeness theorem, the Löwenheim-Skolem theorem, and applications to Boolean algebra, axiomatic theories, and the theory of models as time permits. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: 201 or instructor's permission. H. Halvorson

PHI 313 Theory of Knowledge Not offered this year EC A critical study of important concepts and problems involved in the characterization, analysis, and appraisal of certain types of human knowledge. Such topics as sense perception, knowledge and belief, necessity, memory, and truth will be treated. Writings of contemporary analytic philosophers will be read and discussed. Two lectures, one preceptorial. A. Elga

PHI 314 Philosophy of Mathematics Not offered this year EC A study of the nature of mathematics based on a logical and philosophical examination of its fundamental concepts and methods. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Some previous work in mathematics or logic at the college level is highly desirable, but no one particular branch of mathematics is presupposed in the course. J. Burgess

PHI 315 Philosophy of Mind (also

CHV 315

/

CGS 315

) Fall EC Investigation of some of the following (or similar) topics: the mind-body problem, personal identity, the unity of consciousness, the unconscious, the problem of other minds, action, intention, and the will. Readings primarily from recent sources. Two lectures, one preceptorial. P. Pettit

PHI 317 Philosophy of Language Not offered this year EC An examination of the nature of language through the study of such topics as truth, reference, meaning, linguistic structure, how language differs from other symbol systems, relations between thought and language and language and the world, the use of language, and the relevance of theories concerning these to selected philosophical issues. Two 90-minute classes. D. Fara

PHI 318 Metaphysics Fall EC An intensive treatment of some of the central problems of metaphysics, such as substance, universals, space and time, causality, and freedom of the will. Two lectures, one preceptorial. B. Kment

PHI 319 Normative Ethics (also

CHV 319

) Not offered this year EM A detailed examination of different theories concerning how we should live our lives. Special emphasis will be placed on the conflict between consequentialist theories (for example, utilitarianism) and nonconsequentialist theories (for example, common sense morality). Two lectures, one preceptorial. J. Frick

PHI 320 Philosophy and Literature Not offered this year LA A critical study of works of literature in conjunction with philosophical essays, concentrating on two or three philosophical themes, such as the will, self-identity, self-deception, freedom, and time. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff

PHI 321 Philosophy of Science Not offered this year EC An intensive examination of selected problems in the methodological and philosophical foundations of the sciences. Topics covered may include scientific explanation, the role of theories in science, and probability and induction. Two 90-minute classes. S. Dasgupta

PHI 322 Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences (also

CGS 322

) Not offered this year EC An examination of philosophical problems arising out of the scientific study of cognition. Possible topics include methodological issues in the cognitive sciences; the nature of theories of reasoning, perception, memory, and language; and the philosophical implications of such theories. Two lectures, one preceptorial. S. Leslie

PHI 323 Advanced Logic (also

MAT 306

) Not offered this year QR This course deals with topics chosen from recursion theory, proof theory, and model theory. In recent years the course has most often given an introduction to recursion theory with applications to formal systems. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 312 or instructor's permission. J. Burgess

PHI 325 Philosophy of Religion Not offered this year EM Critical discussion of religious and antireligious interpretations of experience and the world, the grounds and nature of religious beliefs, and of a variety of theistic and atheistic arguments. Readings from contemporary analytical philosophy of religion, and from historical sources in the Western tradition. Two 90-minute seminars. D. Hogan

PHI 326 Philosophy of Art (also

HUM 326

/

COM 363

) Not offered this year LA An examination of concepts involved in the interpretation and evaluation of works of art. Emphasis will be placed on sensuous quality, structure, and expression as aesthetic categories. Illustrative material from music, painting, and literature. Two lectures, one preceptorial. A. Nehamas

PHI 327 Philosophy of Physics Not offered this year EC A discussion of philosophical problems raised by modern physics. Topics will be chosen from the philosophy of relativity theory or more often, quantum mechanics. Two lectures, one preceptorial. D. Hogan, H. Halvorson

PHI 332 Early Modern Philosophy Not offered this year EC Detailed study of important concerns shared by some modern pre-Kantian philosophers of different schools. Topics may include identity and distinctness, the theory of ideas, substance, the mind/body problem, time, and causation. Philosophers may include Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Hume, or others. One three-hour seminar. D. Garber, D. Hogan

PHI 333 Recent Continental Philosophy Not offered this year EC Analysis of some representative 20th-century works drawn from the French and German traditions. The specific content of the course will vary from year to year, but in each case there will be some attempt to contrast differing philosophical approaches. Figures to be treated might include Sartre, Gadamer, Habermas, and Foucault. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff

PHI 335 Greek Ethical Theory (also

CHV 335

/

HLS 338

) Not offered this year EM The development of moral philosophy in Greece. Intensive study of the moral theories of such philosophers as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, the early Stoics, and Sextus Empiricus. Two 90-minute lecture-discussion classes. H. Lorenz

PHI 337 Relativism Not offered this year EM An exploration of various kinds of relativism: cultural, conceptual, epistemic, and moral, considering what structure if any different relativisms have in common, and whether relativism in any of the domains mentioned is plausible. One three-hour seminar G. Harman

PHI 338 Philosophical Analysis from 1900 to 1950 Fall EC An introduction to classics of philosophical analysis from the first half of the 20th century. Topics include early paradigms of Moore and Russell, logical atomism in Russell and early Wittgenstein, and logical positivism. Changes are traced both in metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical views and in analysis as a philosophical method. Two lectures, one preceptorial. T. Kelly

PHI 340 Philosophical Logic Not offered this year EC An introduction to modal and many-valued logics, with emphasis on philosophical motivation through a study of applications and paradoxes. Prerequisite: 201 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes. J. Burgess

PHI 360 Democratic Theory (See POL 306)

PHI 380 Explaining Values (also

CHV 380

) Fall EM The course will consider what types of explanations are possible of ordinary moral views. Students will look at philosophical, scientific, and historical explanations and consider how plausible they are, what sort of evidence might be relevant to them, and what their normative implications might be. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

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A.B. Philosophy

Price on request

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