Courses
This page displays the schedule of Bryn Mawr courses for this academic year. It also displays descriptions of courses offered by the department during the last four academic years.
For information about courses offered by other Bryn Mawr departments and programs or about courses offered by Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, please consult the Tri-College Course Guide.
For information about the Academic Calendar, including the dates of first and second quarter courses, please visit the College's master calendar
.
Spring 2012
| COURSE |
TITLE |
SCHEDULE/
UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS |
LOCATION |
INSTRUCTOR(S) |
| PHIL B102-001 |
Science and Morality in Modernity |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Taylor Hall E |
Koggel,C. |
| PHIL B204-001 |
Readings in German Intellectual History |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall, Seminar Room |
Seyhan,A. |
| PHIL B221-001 |
Ethics |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall E |
Koggel,C. |
| PHIL B222-001 |
Aesthetics Nature and Experience of Art |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 2:00 PM- 4:00 PM T |
Russian Center Seminar Room |
Krausz,M. |
| PHIL B228-001 |
Introduction to Political Philosophy: Ancient and Early Modern |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 11:30 AM- 1:00 PM MW |
Dalton Hall 2 |
Salkever,S. |
| PHIL B240-001 |
Environmental Ethics |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW |
Taylor Hall B |
Brook,A. |
| PHIL B317-001 |
Philosophy of Creativity |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM TH |
Thomas Hall 118 |
Krausz,M. |
| PHIL B319-001 |
Philosophy of Mind |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH |
Taylor Hall B |
Brook,A. |
| PHIL B323-001 |
Culture and Interpretation |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 1:00 PM- 3:30 PM W |
Bettws Y Coed 100 |
Krausz,M. |
| PHIL B327-001 |
Political Philosophy in the 20th Century |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM T |
Dalton Hall 25 |
Salkever,S. |
| PHIL B372-001 |
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH |
Park 349 |
Eaton,E. |
| PHIL B380-001 |
Persons, Morality and Modernity |
Semester / 1 |
LEC: 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM M |
Dalton Hall 6 |
Elkins,J. |
| PHIL B399-001 |
Senior Seminar |
Semester / 1 |
Lecture: 7:00 PM-10:00 PM M |
Thomas Hall 121 |
Dept. staff, TBA |
Fall 2012
(Class schedules for this semester will be posted at a later date.)
Spring 2013
(Class schedules for this semester will be posted at a later date.)
PHIL
B101
Happiness and Reality in Ancient Thought
Not offered 2011-12
What is the fundamental nature of the world? Can we have knowledge about the world and ourselves, and if so, how? What is the good life? In this course, we explore answers to these sorts of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions by examining the works of the Presocratics and of the two central Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle.
(Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B102
Science and Morality in Modernity
Fall 2011, Spring 2012
In this course, we explore answers to fundamental questions about the nature of the world and our place in it by examining the works of some of the central figures in modern western philosophy. Can we obtain knowledge of the world and, if so, how? Does God exist? What is the nature of the self? How do we determine morally right answers? What sorts of policies and political structures can best promote justice and equality? These questions were addressed in "modern" Europe in the context of the development of modern science and the religious wars. In a time of globalization we are all, more or less, heirs of the Enlightenment which sees its legacy to be modern science and the mastery of nature together with democracy and human rights. This course explores the above questions and considers them in their historical context. Some of the philosophers considered include Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, and Wollstonecraft.
(Koggel,C., Wallhagen,M., Vallabha,B. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B103
Introduction to Logic
Not offered 2011-12
Logic is the study of formal reasoning, which concerns the nature of valid arguments and inferential fallacies. In everyday life our arguments tend to be informal and sometimes imprecise. The study of logic concerns the structure and nature of arguments, and so helps to analyze them more precisely. Topics will include: valid and invalid arguments, determining the logical structure of ordinary sentences, reasoning with truth-functional connectives, and inferences involving quantifiers and predicates. This course does not presuppose any background knowledge in logic.
(Vallabha,B. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B204
Readings in German Intellectual History
Spring 2012
Course content varies. Study of selected texts of German intellectual history, introducing representative works of Theodor W. Adorno, Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Sigmund Freud, Jürgen Habermas, Georg W. F. Hegel, Martin Heidegger, Werner Heisenberg, Immanuel Kant, G. E. Lessing, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Friedrich Schiller, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. The course aims to introduce students to an advanced cultural reading range and the languages and terminology of humanistic disciplines in German-speaking countries, and seeks to develop their critical and interpretive skills.
(Seyhan,A. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as GERM B212
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PHIL
B209
Introduction to Literary Analysis: Philosophical Approaches to Criticism
Not offered 2011-12
Designated theory course. An introduction to various methods of reading the literary text from the perspective of critical methods informed by philosophical ideas. In their quest for self-understanding and knowledge, literature and philosophy share similar forms of inquiry and imaginative modeling. Selected literary texts and critical essays focus on questions of language, translation, understanding, and identity in their relation to history, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics. One of the main objectives of the course is to provide students with the critical tools necessary for an informed reading of texts.
(Seyhan,A. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as GERM B209
Cross-listed as COML B209
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PHIL
B211
Theory of Knowledge
Fall 2011
Varieties of realism and relativism address questions about what sorts of things exist and the constraints on our knowledge of them. The aim of this course is to develop a sense of how these theories interrelate, and to instill philosophical skills in the critical evaluation of them. Discussions will be based on contemporary readings.
(Krausz,M. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B212
Metaphysics
Not offered 2011-12
Metaphysics is inquiry into basic features of the world and ourselves. This course considers two topics of metaphysics, free will and personal identity, and their relationship. What is free will and are we free? Is freedom compatible with determinism? Does moral responsibility require free will? What makes someone the same person over time? Can a person survive without their body? Is the recognition of others required to be a person?
(Vallabha,B., Wallhagen,M. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B221
Ethics
Spring 2012
An introduction to ethics by way of an examination of moral theories and a discussion of important ancient, modern, and contemporary texts which established theories such as virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism, relativism, emotivism, care ethics. This course considers questions concerning freedom, responsibility, and obligation. How should we live our lives and interact with others? How should we think about ethics in a global context? Is ethics independent of culture? A variety of practical issues such as reproductive rights, euthanasia, animal rights and the environment will be considered.
(Koggel,C., Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B222
Aesthetics Nature and Experience of Art
Spring 2012
Prerequisite: One introductory course in philosophy. Here are some questions we will discuss in this course: What sort of thing is a work of art? Can criticism in the arts be objective? Do such cultural entities answer to more than one admissible interpretation? What is the role of a creator's intentions in fixing upon admissible interpretations? What is the nature of aesthetic experience? What is creativity in the arts? Readings will be drawn from contemporary sources.
(Krausz,M. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as COML B222
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PHIL
B225
Global Ethical Issues
Fall 2011
The need for a critical analysis of what justice is and requires has become urgent in a context of increasing globalization, the emergence of new forms of conflict and war, high rates of poverty within and across borders and the prospect of environmental devastation. This course examines prevailing theories and issues of justice as well as approaches and challenges by non-western, post-colonial, feminist, race, class, and disability theorists.
(Koggel,C. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B225
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PHIL
B228
Introduction to Political Philosophy: Ancient and Early Modern
Spring 2012
An introduction to the fundamental problems of political philosophy, especially the relationship between political life and the human good or goods. Readings from Aristotle, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Plato, and Rousseau.
(Salkever,S. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B228
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PHIL
B229
Concepts of the Self
Not offered 2011-12
In this course, we will discuss several related philosophical questions about the nature of the self, introspection, self-knowledge, and personal identity. What kind of thing is the self? Is the self identical with your body or something distinct from it? What is introspection? What are you conscious of when you are self-conscious? How does knowledge of your own thoughts, sensations, and desires differ from other kinds of knowledge? What kinds of changes can you undergo and still remain the same person you were before? We will address these issues by reading work from both historical and contemporary sources.
(Wallhagen,M. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B231
Introduction to Political Philosophy: Modern
Fall 2011
A continuation of POLS 228, although 228 is not a prerequisite. Particular attention is given to the various ways in which the concept of freedom is used in explaining political life. Readings from Hegel, Locke, Marx, J.S. Mill, and Nietzsche.
(Jurlando,C. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B231
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PHIL
B238
Science, Technology and the Good Life
Not offered 2011-12
This course considers questions concerning what is science, what is technology, and what is their relationship to each other and to the domains of ethics and politics. We will consider how modern science defined itself in its opposition to Aristotelian science. We will examine the Cartesian and Baconian scientific models and the self-understanding of these models with regard to ethics and politics. Developments in the philosophy of science will be considered, e.g., positivism, phenomenology, feminism, sociology of science. Biotechnology and information technology illustrate fundamental questions. The "science wars" of the 1990s provide debates concerning science, technology, and the good life.
(Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B238
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PHIL
B240
Environmental Ethics
Spring 2012
This course surveys rights- and justice-based justifications for ethical positions on the environment. It examines approaches such as stewardship, intrinsic value, land ethic, deep ecology, ecofeminism, Asian and aboriginal. It explores issues such as obligations to future generations, to nonhumans and to the biosphere.
(Brook,A. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B240
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PHIL
B243
Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy
Not offered 2011-12
Surveys 20th-century continental philosophy: phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, Marxism and the Frankfurt school, structuralism, and post-structuralism and deconstruction. Themes include meaning and truth, the basis for ethics and politics, embodiment, language, the "other," and feminism. Philosophers discussed include Derrida, Foucault, Gadamer, Habermas, Heidegger, Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, and Sartre. Prerequisites: PHIL B101 or PHIL B201.
(Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B244
Philosophy and Cognitive Science
Not offered 2011-12
Cognitive science is a multidisciplinary approach to the study of human cognition. It goes from the abstract study of concepts of cognition at one end to well-defined empirical research into language and cognition and the specifics of cognitive modeling on computers at the other. Philosophy, linguistics, psychology, computer science, and neuroscience are the major contributors to cognitive science. Philosophy both contributes to and examines cognitive science.
(Brook,A. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B245
Philosophy of Law
Fall 2011
Introduces students to a variety of questions in the philosophy of law. Readings will be concerned with the nature of law, the character of law as a system, the ethical character of law, and the relationship of law to politics, power, authority, and society. Readings will include abstract philosophical arguments about the concept of law, as well as theoretical arguments about the nature of law as they arise within specific contexts, and judicial cases. Most or all of the specific issues discussed will be taken from Anglo-American law, although the general issues considered are not limited to those legal systems.
(Elkins,J. -- Division I: Social Science)
Cross-listed as POLS B245
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PHIL
B252
Feminist Theory
Not offered 2011-12
Beliefs that gender discrimination has been eliminated and women have achieved equality have become commonplace. We challenge these assumptions examining the concepts of patriarchy, sexism, and oppression. Exploring concepts central to feminist theory, we attend to the history of feminist theory and contemporary accounts of women's place and status in different societies, varied experiences, and the impact of the phenomenon of globalization. We then explore the relevance of gender to philosophical questions about identity and agency with respect to moral, social and political theory. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
(Koggel,C. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B253
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PHIL
B253
Theory in Practice: Critical Discourses in the Humanities
Fall 2011
An examination of some of the leading theories of interpretation in the 20th century. What does it mean to interpret a text? What is a text? Of what relevance to the interpretation is the author? What does it mean to be a reader or critic or enacter of texts? In this course we will take up these questions by reading various theories of interpretation and by reading some literary texts. The theories considered include hermeneutics, post-structuralism (postmodernism and deconstruction), and feminism. What could it mean to be "against interpretation" or to declare that "theory is over" and we are now "after theory"?
(Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as COML B213
Cross-listed as ENGL B213
Cross-listed as FREN B213
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PHIL
B254
Philosophy of Religion
Not offered 2011-12
An introduction to principle topics in the philosophy of religion: Does God exist? Is belief in God compatible with reason and science? Is God's existence compatible with deep suffering and pain? Does the fact that there are many religions show that there is no religious truth? Includes readings eastern and western traditions and from analytic and continental philosophy. Authors will include Aquinas, Aurobindo, Dalai Lama, Dennett, James, Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein.
(Vallabha,B. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B257
Philosophy of Action
Not offered 2011-12
What are actions? How are they related to mental states such as beliefs and desires and the physical environment? This course considers three important contemporary theories of action: Davidson's causal theory; Anscombe's neo-Arisotelian view; and Frankfurt's hierarchical theory. Topics include: free will; the nature of intentions; an agent's knowledge of her actions; and the weakness of the will. Prerequisite: At least one course in philosophy. Prerequisite: at least one course in philosophy.
(Vallabha,B. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B259
Philosophy, Modern Physics and Ideals of Interpretation
Not offered 2011-12
In the modern era, interpretive ideals like objectivity, certainty and causality have been intensely scrutinized. Must there be a fact of the matter independently of all interpretive practices? Must there be a single right interpretation for all physical and cultural phenomena? Various readings will explore these and other questions. Prerequisite: One course in Philosophy or Physics or permission of an instructor. Sophomore standing.
(Krausz,M., McCormack,E. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B293
The Play of Interpretation
Not offered 2011-12
Designated theory course. A study of the methodologies and regimes of interpretation in the arts, humanistic sciences, and media and cultural studies, this course focuses on common problems of text, authorship, reader/spectator, and translation in their historical and formal contexts. Literary, oral, and visual texts from different cultural traditions and histories will be studied through interpretive approaches informed by modern critical theories. Readings in literature, philosophy, popular culture, and film will illustrate how theory enhances our understanding of the complexities of history, memory, identity, and the trials of modernity.
(Seyhan,A. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as COML B293
Cross-listed as ENGL B292
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PHIL
B300
Nietzsche, Kant, Plato: Modes of Practical Philosophy
Not offered 2011-12
A study of three important ways of thinking about theory and practice in Western political philosophy. Prerequisites: POLS 228 and 231, or PHIL 101 and 201.
(Salkever,S. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B300
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PHIL
B317
Philosophy of Creativity
Spring 2012
This course will address the following questions: What are the criteria of creativity? Is explaining creativity possible? Should we understand creativity in terms of persons, processes or products? What is the relation between creativity and skill? What is genius? What is creative imagination? Is there a difference between creativity in the arts and creativity in the sciences? What is the relation between the context of discovery and the context of justification? What is the relation between tradition and creativity? Is there a significant relationship between creativity and self-transformation?
(Krausz,M. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B319
Philosophy of Mind
Spring 2012
This seminar focuses on contemporary analytic philosophy of mind. The exact topics will vary from year to year. Possible topics include: consciousness and the unity of consciousness, personal identity, emotions, psychological explanation, mental illness, neurophilosophy, externalism and the extended mind hypothesis, embodied cognition, artificial minds, philosophy and cognitive science, philosophy of psychology, and philosophy and psychoanalysis.
(Brook,A. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as CMSC B319
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PHIL
B321
Greek Political Philosophy Aristotle: Ethics and Politics
Not offered 2011-12
(Salkever,S. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B320
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PHIL
B323
Culture and Interpretation
Spring 2012
This course will pursue such questions as the following. For all objects of interpretation--including works of art, music, literature, persons or cultures--must there be a single right interpretation? If not, what is to prevent one from sliding into an interpretive anarchism? Does interpretation affect the nature or the number of an object of interpretation? Does the singularity or multiplicity of interpretations mandate such ontologies as realism or constructivism? Discussions will be based on contemporary readings.
(Krausz,M. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as COML B323
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PHIL
B324
Computational Linguistics
Fall 2011
Introduction to computational models of understanding and processing human languages. How elements of linguistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence can be combined to help computers process human language and to help linguists understand language through computer models. Topics covered: syntax, semantics, pragmatics, generation and knowledge representation techniques. Prerequisite: some background in linguistics or computer science.
(Kumar,D.)
Cross-listed as CMSC B325
Cross-listed as LING B325
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PHIL
B326
Relativism: Cognitive and Moral
Fall 2011
Cognitive relativists believe that truth is relative to particular cultures or conceptual schemes. In an analogous way, moral relativists believe that moral rightness is relative to particular cultures or conceptual schemes. Relativistic theories of truth and morality are widely embraced in the current intellectual climate, and they are as perplexing as they are provocative. This course will examine varieties of relativism and their absolutistic counterparts. Readings will be drawn from contemporary sources.
(Krausz,M. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B327
Political Philosophy in the 20th Century
Spring 2012
(Salkever,S. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B327
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PHIL
B329
Wittgenstein
Fall 2011
Wittgenstein is notable for developing two philosophical systems. In the first, he attempted to show that there is a single common structure underlying all language, thought and being. In the second, he denied the idea of such a structure and claimed that the job of philosophy was to free philosophers from bewitchments due to misunderstandings of ordinary concepts in language. The course begins by sketching the first system. We then turn to his rejection of the earlier ideas as outlined in Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty. We also examine contemporary interpretations of Wittgenstein's later work.
(Koggel,C. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as GERM B329
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PHIL
B330
Kant
Not offered 2011-12
Prerequisite: PHIL 201 or the equivalent. The significance of Kant's transcendental philosophy for thought in the 19th and 20th centuries cannot be overstated. His work is profoundly important for both the analytical and the so-called "continental" schools of thought. This course will provide a close study of Kant's breakthrough work: The Critique of Pure Reason. We will read and discuss the text with reference to its historical context and with respect to its impact on developments in epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion as well as developments in German Idealism and 20th-century phenomenology.
(Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B338
Phenomenology: Heidegger and Husserl
Section 001 (Fall 2011): Husserl and Heidegger
Fall 2011
This upper-level seminar will consider the two main proponents of phenomenology--a movement in philosophy in the 20th century that attempted to restart philosophy in a radical way. Its concerns are philosophically comprehensive: ontology, epistemology, philosophy of science, ethics, and so on. Phenomenology provides the important background for other later developments in 20th-century philosophy and beyond: existentialism, deconstruction, post-modernism. This seminar will focus primarily on Edmund Husserl's Crisis of the European Sciences and Martin Heidegger's Being and Time. Other writings to be considered include some of Heidegger's later work and Merleau-Ponty's preface to his Phenomenology of Perception.
(Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B344
Development Ethics
Not offered 2011-12
This course explores the meaning of and moral issues raised by development. In what direction and by what means should a society "develop"? What role, if any, does the globalization of markets and capitalism play in processes of development and in systems of discrimination on the basis of factors such as race and gender? Answers to these sorts of questions will be explored through an examination of some of the most prominent theorists and recent literature. Prerequisites: a philosophy, political theory or economics course or permission of the instructor. Counts toward International Studies minor and Gender and Sexuality concentration.
(Koggel,C. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B344
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PHIL
B352
Feminism and Philosophy
Not offered 2011-12
It has been said that one of the most important feminist contributions to theory is its uncovering of the ways in which theory in the Western tradition, whether of knowledge, morality, or politics has a hidden male bias. This course will explore feminist critiques of traditional moral theory by examining early accounts of an ethic of care that challenge the ethic of justice that has dominated moral theory in the liberal tradition. We then turn to feminist revisions to and expansions of these early accounts of care ethics -- including contemporary work exploring the implications and applications of feminist ethics for issues in the contemporary global context.
(Koggel,C. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B352
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PHIL
B371
Topics in Legal and Political Philosophy
Not offered 2011-12
This is a topic course. Topics vary.
(Elkins,J. -- Division I or Division III)
Cross-listed as POLS B371
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PHIL
B372
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Spring 2012
Survey of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the study of how to program computers to behave in ways normally attributed to "intelligence" when observed in humans. Topics include heuristic versus algorithmic programming; cognitive simulation versus machine intelligence; problem-solving; inference; natural language understanding; scene analysis; learning; decision-making. Topics are illustrated by programs from literature, programming projects in appropriate languages and building small robots.
(Eaton,E. -- Division II and Quantitive)
Cross-listed as CMSC B372
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PHIL
B380
Persons, Morality and Modernity
Spring 2012
(Elkins,J. -- Division III: Humanities)
Cross-listed as POLS B380
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PHIL
B381
Nietzsche, Self and Morality
Not offered 2011-12
This course examines Nietzsche's thought, with particular focus on questions concerning the nature of the self and morality. The texts for the course are drawn mostly from Nietzsche's own writing, but these are complemented by some contemporary work in moral philosophy and philosophy of mind that has a Nietzschean influence.
(Elkins,J.)
Cross-listed as POLS B381
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PHIL
B398
Senior Seminar
Senior majors are required to write an undergraduate thesis on an approved topic. The senior seminar is a two-semester course in which research and writing are directed. Seniors will meet collectively and individually with the supervising instructor.
(Dostal,R. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B399
Senior Seminar
The senior seminar is a required course for majors in Philosophy. It is the course in which the research and writing of an undergraduate thesis is directed both in and outside of the class time. Students will meet sometimes with the class as a whole and sometimes with the professor separately to present and discuss drafts of their theses.
(Dostal,R., Vallabha,B. -- Division III: Humanities)
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PHIL
B403
Supervised Work
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PHIL
B416
Discussion Leader
(Salkever,S.)
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PHIL
B701
Supervised Work
Not offered 2011-12
(Dostal,R.)
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