Course Descriptions
The following descriptions give a general overview of the courses that I teach regularly at ESU. For a list of the particular courses that are offered on a given semester, refer to the departmental home page. You may email me for a course syllabus for any of the courses below.
20th Century French Philosophy
Political
Philosophy
The Greeks though of politics
as the highest expression of human nature. Friendship, Aristotle
said, was the bond that should unite both household and city. The
revolutions of the modern period, especially the French Revolution, changed
the Western conception of political society. Rights came to be understood
as the foremost bond among citizens. Can we unite the ancient notion of
arete (virtue) with the modern conception of citizenship? This class
is based on the historical and analytical contrast between ancient "civic
republicanism" and modern "liberalism." Special emphasis is placed
on the 17th and 18th century tradition of social contract theory and the
potential deficiencies of this tradition.
(PHIL 341 GE)
Social
Philosophy: On Citizenship
This course surveys recent
philosophical discussions of the nature of citizenship in modern liberal
democracies. Should citizenship be based on ethnic, linguistic or
cultural ties? Or should citizenship be based on allegiance to political
ideals only? Immigration is one of the most important social phenomena
of the past two centuries: How has immigration affected the concept of
"citizen" in Western democratic nations? Michael Walzer argues that
the US, an "immigrant nation," has always had a multicultural conception
of citizenship where loyalty to the principles of the Constitution count
more than linguistic and ethnic difference. Nations such as Israel,
Iran and Pakistan tie social membership to ethnicity and religion.
Is the ethnic nationalism of such countries compatible with democracy?
Is "liberal nationalism" an oxymoron? The authors we read include
Michael Walzer, Judith Shklar, Jeff McMahan, Michael Dummet, Chaim Gans
and Yael Tamir.
(PHIL 340 GE)
Philosophy
of Human Rights
Human rights are a recent
invention. We begin with a philosophical study of the concept of
a right. By virtue of what do humans have rights? The philosophical
tradition of "Natural Law" claims that through the use of reason humans
discover laws of conduct--permissions and prohibitions--governing human
social relations. Once these rights are discovered, it is up to humans
to model their social practices accordingly. A social contract is
an agreement between members of a society on basic rules of conduct.
Moral rights may be, as Rousseau says, "mere conventions." What about
those who fall outside of our conventions--those who did not sign the social
contract? In the 20th century, largely as a result of the Holocaust,
the world community drafted a new social contract, the "Universal Declaration
of Human Rights." In this class, we explore both the philosophical
basis of human rights and the sociopolitical implications of implementing
human rights. Special topics include: the universality of rights,
foundationalist and anti-foundationalist approaches to rights, Islam and
human rights, torture, and national self-determination.
(PHIL 235 GE)
Ancient
Philosophy
The Greeks gave birth to
Western Philosophy. The shadows of Aristotle and Plato are so long,
that they continue to frame the basic questions in all branches of Philosophy.
In the Republic Plato offers a grand metaphysical thesis: there
are "Forms" which are the source and the subject of all human knowledge.
But Platonic metaphysics has an ethical core. The highest, best Form,
that which is most worthy of study, is the Form of the Good. "What
is Justice?" is the leading question of the Republic, and it frames
the subsequent discussion of politics, metaphysics and epistemology.
Plato's greatest student was also his greatest critic. Aristotle,
while not as poetically gifted as Plato, brilliantly and creatively attacked
the Platonic system from a pragmatic, empirical standpoint. Justice,
Aristotle says, is not a "Form" but a social practice, a "techne" (craft).
In this class we read the Republic in its entirety and a selection
of Aristotle's works including Nicomachean Ethics, Metaphysics,
Physics,
De
Anima and Politics.
(PHIL 251 GE)
Ethics
This mid level course is
a systematic survey of the major philosophical approaches to ethics in
Western philosophy. The four major systems we study are as follows.
(1)Aristotelian Virtue Ethics. The ethical person, Aristotle claims,
must exhibit an excellent character. The primary virtues are justice,
moderation, courage and wisdom. Unlike other approaches, virtue ethics
emphasizes the need for flexibility, creativity and practical wisdom in
ethical situations. (2)Rousseau's Social Contract. According
to contract theory, moral rules are codes that have been agreed upon by
the members of a political community. Rousseau and his predecessors
(such as Hobbes) argued that while morality is "conventional", good social
conventions must be rooted in human nature and natural law. (3)Kantian
Ethics. Kantian ethics is based on a single moral rule called the
"categorical imperative" (absolute command). Kantian ethics is absolute:
one must never lie, cheat or steal, even if these acts produce the best
overall consequences for all parties involved. (4)Utilitarianism.
J. S. Mill's creed is "create the greatest good for the greatest number".
Unlike Kantian ethics, Utilitarians believe that the only absolute rule
is "maximize utility", even if this is at the cost of individual rights.
Imagine that a lifeboat had a capacity for only four of its current five
passengers. Someone must die. Mill would claim that it would
be better for one to die than for all five to die. Kant's view, that
all lives are equal, and beyond all calculation, would leave few if any
alternatives, except to allow all to perish. This course combines
cases and real life situations with a stringent theoretical approach.
(PHIL 231 GE)
Intro
to Philosophy
In this entry level course
students learn, above all, how to be careful, critical thinkers.
We study the major philosophical texts in the Western tradition, including
the writings of Kant, Mill, Aristotle, Hume, Descartes and others.
All major branches of philosophy are discussed: logic, epistemology, metaphysics
and ethics. (1) Logical analysis is not only an instrumental component
of philosophy, but also a necessary tool for clear thinking in any discipline.
Logical analysis is a skill that is beneficial in all academic disciplines,
and indeed, in nearly all career paths. (2) Epistemology is the study
of knowledge. We study the difference between mere opinion, and address
the major epistemological debate of the last few centuries: does knowledge
come primarily from experience or is knowledge innate? (3) Metaphysics,
the study of reality, is often a favorite of students, since we study the
existence of God. The medieval scholastics attempted to prove God's
existence by adapting the arguments of Greek philosophers. (4) Ethics,
or the study of morality and duty, will require us to compare several contrasting
approaches to action. Should we always think of ourselves first or
do we have an obligation to care about others? Can moral rules be
discovered in nature or are all codes of ethics arbitrarily chosen by individuals
and their accompanying cultures? Introduction to Philosophy, a general
education course, is recommended for students in any major, and provides
a solid foundation in essay writing, textual analysis and argumentation.
(PHIL 110 GE)