Philosophy

Overview

Such questions not only fascinate the human mind, they also touch on issues central to understanding and improving human life in society and the world. These are not questions to which authoritative answers can be given; thinking about them requires that you decide for yourself what answers to accept. Yet it matters greatly which answers are accepted, and it is therefore important to engage in discussion with others who face those questions and to seek to learn from the philosophers of the past and present.

Engaging in philosophy develops skills in careful and fair-minded interpreting, creative but rigorous arguing, and reflective and wise evaluating of complex issues. These habits of mind are extremely valuable, and not only for the majors who continue study of philosophy, often in the highest-ranked graduate schools. Most of our students and majors discover that these skills make philosophy very useful for continuing their education and for negotiating the ambiguities of today's career paths. A major in philosophy is highly recommended as preparation for law, theology, business, management, medicine, journalism, or other careers which require the ability to think in a creative and disciplined manner about questions which are new or whose method of solution is controversial.

General Education Credit

Distribution Credit

Requirements for the Major

A regular major involves eight courses in philosophy, including Philosophy 235 and 236, 240, and three III courses.

A contract major involves a contract drawn up between the student and the Department of Philosophy. The contract combines six courses in philosophy - including Philosophy 235 and 236, two level III courses, and a logic project - with four level II or III courses in another department which are chosen so as to complement the work in philosophy. Studends completing The Great Conversation are granted credit for Philosophy 235 or 236.

Special Resources

The annual Eunice Belgum Memorial Lectures are delivered by leading philosophers from around the world. Recently Amelie Rorty explained "The Many Faces of Morality" and Arthur Caplan critiqued "The Genetic Revolution."

Courses

111 First Year Seminars

Each year some of the First Year Seminars are taught by philosophers. Consult the departmental Prospectus and the Class and Lab Schedule.

118 The Making of the Modern Mind

The development of historically significant conceptions of reality and knowledge from Socrates to modern times. We will study major philosophers from ancient, medieval, and modern Western philosophy with emphasis on the ways they have related scientific conceptions of the universe to conceptions of meaningful human life. The aim is to see the historical role of philosophy in the self-understanding of Western culture. Open to first year students and sophomores only.

231 Philosophy of Mind: Explaining Human Behavior

An examination of psychological theories of human behavior and central issues in philosophy of mind. The course addresses the following questions: (1) Is a scientific explanation of human behavior possible? (2) What kinds of explanations are currently live options? (3) Do these explanations constitute good scientific theories? (4) What are the implications for the mind-body relationship, for freedom and determinism, and for personal identity?

233 Kierkegaard and Existentialism

An introduction to Kierkegaard's work and existentialism, this course emphasizes the aesthetic, ethical, and religious "stages on life's way" and becoming a self. Students will examine how existential philosophers and authors have portrayed the meaning of human existence, passion and faith, despair, the absurd, freedom and choice.

235 Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

A survey of the origins and development of Western Philosophy from the pre-Socratics to some Medieval attempts to synthesize the Greek philosophical tradition and the Judeo-Christian religious heritage. Students will encounter pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics, Epicureans, Skeptics, Ploti-nus, Augustine, Anselm and Aqui-nas, often through primary texts.

236 Modern Philosophy

A study of the origins and development of Western philosophy from the end of the Renaissance through the great philosophical syntheses of Kant and Hegel. Students will consider the primary texts of Bacon, Descartes, Pascal, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, and Hegel.

238 Recent Philosophy

A study of the development of Western philosophy in the 19th and 20th centuries with special attention to movements shaping contemporary culture: existentialism, Marxism, analytic philosophy, and pragmatism. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy.

239 American Philosophy

Students will trace the development of American philosophical thought from such early thinkers as Edwards, Emerson, and Thoreau through pragmatism to contemporary thinkers. Discussions will emphasize philosophical ideas and movements that have influenced American culture.

240 Formal Logic and Philosophy

This course explores propositional and predicate logic developed in a philosophical context with attention to such issues as truth and knowledge in logic and mathematics, the existence of abstract entities, incompleteness, paradoxes, modal and multi-valued logics, and the use of logic in philosophy.

241 Philosophical Theology

Students will consider the philosophical assumptions and implications of the core commitments of Christian theism, compare and assess competing philosophical interpretations of Christian doctrines about the existence and nature of God, the doctrines of the trinity and incarnation, human free will and responsibility, revelation and reason, religious experience, the problem of evil, life after death, and religious pluralism.

243 Aesthetics

Aesthetics focuses on theories about art and theories of perception, asking questions such as: What is beauty and ugliness? How does one perceive them? What is a work of art? Does the meaning of an art work depend upon the intention of the artist? Are there objective standards for determining the excellence of art work? What is artistic creativity? What is artistic imagination and how does it relate to representation and nonrepresentation? What is the relationship between art and religion or art and science? Students will be assigned readings from classical and contemporary texts with emphasis on the visual arts.

244 Philosophy and Science

This course examines the interrelation of philosophy and science in the development of world views and conceptions of knowledge and explores the role of the sciences in society and in understanding the nature of reality.

245 Philosophy and Feminism

Students will explore the relation of philosophical views about rationality, human nature, freedom, and justice to emerging feminist criticism, with application to such issues as affirmative action and the relationship between law and morality.

247 Selected Topics in Philosophy

A discussion of philosophical issues in topics of general interest and concern. The content varies from year to year and is described in the departmental Prospectus.

250 Biomedical Ethics

Discussion of central concepts and distinctions developed in the literature of moral philosophy, and applications of those concepts and distinctions to concrete moral problems that arise in the practice of medicine. Issues include: euthanasia, abortion, medical paternalism, and allocation of scarce medical resources. Readings are drawn from classical sources, from contemporary philosophical discussions of concrete problems, and from medical case studies.

251 Asian Philosophy

A critical survey of the influential philosophical traditions of India and China. Students will explore the traditions of Buddhism, Jain-ism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism and consider a number of other traditions with which they have interacted. Where appropriate, comparisons are drawn to Western philosophical traditions.

252 Ethics and the Good Life

Students will examine main Western ethical perspectives and how they apply to selected contemporary moral concerns. Theoretical issues include rights, duties, virtue, hedonism, egoism, the good life, ethics and theology, the fact-value distinction, relativism and pluralism, and the role of ethics in law and in science. We will discuss current moral concerns on such topics as war, economic justice, death, equality and discrimination, friendship, animal rights, censorship, racism, privacy, reproductive ethics, technology and environment, and punishment. Detailed descriptions of each section of this course are in the Prospectus.

254 Law, Politics, and Morality

Students will investigate the kinds of moral questions the state should answer in order to govern well and will consider a broad historical range of answers. Topics include: natural law and natural rights, the rise of liberalism, the relation between liberalism and moral scepticism, contemporary critiques of liberalism, the rise of legal positivism, the privatization of moral and religious values, and the conflict between individual rights and the common good.

257 Environmental Ethics

Students will examine the central philosophical and ethical issues involved with valuing nature. We will consider the nature of animal life, the character and control of pollution, the conflict between preservationism and conservation-ism, corporate responsibility for the eco-crisis, the use of economic categories to assess natural goods such as wilderness areas and endangered species, the conflict between eco-holism and individualism, the philosophy of wilderness management, and the morality of sabotage for environmental ends.

371 Studies in Epistemology

A study of classical issues in theory of knowledge: the nature and limits of knowledge; foundationalist and holist conceptions of justification; conceptions of truth; relativism and skepticism; and knowledge in the sciences, mathematics, history, morality, and religion. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. Offered 1996-97 and alternate years.

372 Studies in Metaphysics

A study of classical issues in theory of reality: body, self, and mind; minds and machines; determinism and freedom of the will; personal identity and life after death; and space, time, and causality. Specific issues discussed vary from year to year. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. Offered 1997-98 and alternate years.

373 Studies in Ethics and Theory of Value

Students will examine classical issues in theory of morality and value: the nature of moral judgments; theories of moral obligation and value; the concept of moral responsibility; and the relation of morality to science, religion and law. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. Offered 1997-98 and alternate years.

374 Studies in the History of Philosophy

Intensive reading and discussion of a selected figure or movement from the history of philosophy. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. Offered 1996-97: Kantian Ethics and Its Critics

375 Advanced Topical Studies

Intensive discussion of a philosophical topic selected from areas such as philosophy of religion or science, aesthetics, legal philosophy, feminism, with emphasis on contemporary approaches. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor.

394 Internship

398 Independent Research

Prerequisite: one level III course in philosophy.

399 Seminar

Intensive reading and discussion of a selected topic, figure, or movement in philosophy, with emphasis on student presentations in class. Intended as a capstone course for the major. Prerequisite: senior philosophy major, or consent of instructor.

Interim

The following Interim courses were given in January 1996:

Philosophy 129 Philosophy and Literature
Philosophy 127 The Religious Philosophy of C.S. Lewis
Philosophy 134 Philosophy of Poetry
Philosophy 155 Art and Philosophy of Georgia O'Keeffe
Philosophy 169 Freud and the Study of Human Behavior
Philosophy 245 Philosophy and Feminism
Philosophy 250 Biomedical Ethics

Paracollege Seminars

Feminism and Philosophy
Wittgenstein: Philosophy and Theology

Faculty

Kenneth Casey
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, 1992-
Vanderbilt
Ancient philosophy, history of ethics

Gary Deason
School Nature Area Project, 1977-78, 1980-
B.A., Texas (Austin); M.Div., Ph.D., Princeton Seminary
Studies in science, technology, and environment

Rick Fairbanks
Associate Professor of Philosophy, 1988-
B.A., Concordia (Moorhead); M.A., Chicago Divinity School; Ph.D., Minnesota
Philosophy of psychology, philosophy of science

Karen Gervais
Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy, 1989-
B.A. Oberlin; Ph.D., Minnesota
Medical ethics, feminism

Jeanine Grenberg
Assistant Professor, 1996-
B.A., Fordham; M.A., Emory; Ph.D. Emory
History of Modern, Feminism

Vicki Lynn Harper
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Paracollege Tutor, 1979-
B.A., Mount Holyoke; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard
Classical philosophy, logic

Howard V. Hong
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, 1978-
B.A., St. Olaf; Ph.D., Minnesota
Kierkegaard Library
Mark Linville
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, 1991-
Ph.D., Wisconsin (Madison)
Metaphysics, Asian philosophy

Gordon Marino
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Curator of the Kierkegaard Library, 1995-
B.A., Columbia; M.A., Pennsylvania; Ph.D., Chicago
Kierkegaard, Freud

William H. K. Narum
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion, 1991-
B.A., St. Olaf; B.Th., Luther Seminary; M.Th., Th.D., Princeton Seminary
C. S. Lewis, Asian philosophy

John D. Poling
Instructor in Philosophy, 1994-
B.A., Wooster; M.Div., Yale; M.A., Vanderbilt
Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein

Edmund Santurri
Professor of Philosophy and Religion, 1980-
B.A., M.A., Virginia; M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale
Ethics, philosophical theology

Walter Stromseth
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, 1956-
B.A., St. Olaf; B.D., Ph.D., Yale
Philosophy of religion, history of philosophy

Corliss Swain
Associate Professor of Philosophy, 1987-
B.A., North Dakota; M.A., Ph.D., Loyola
Philosophy of language, Hume

Charles Taliaferro
Associate Professor of Philosophy, 1985-
B.A., Goddard; M.A., Rhode Island; M.T.S., Harvard; M.A., Ph.D., Brown
Philosophy of religion, ethics