Forthcoming Courses

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)*

The following are the philosophy courses planned for the Summer 2008 and Fall 2008 semesters. Note that offerings and instructors may change.

For general descriptions of all the courses offered by the department, see the UL Lafayette course catalog.

Please note that, for administrative purposes, PHIL 231, 234 and 235 are courses in Religious Studies rather than Philosophy, despite having the 'PHIL' prefix.

SUMMER 2008

FALL 2008

PHILOSOPHY COURSES:

Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 101    Sec 001    ID#:  208142   Dr. Jonathan Trigg    TR 9:30-10:45    HLG 504

This course will introduce students to a representative range of philosophical problems and themes. If you haven’t studied philosophy before, or if you’ve done a specific topic, and want an overview of the subject, this is the course for you. Questions we will address include:  Is there really a difference between right and wrong, and if there is what is it based on? Are human beings free or are they wholly determined by the environment in which they live? Can we know anything about the way the world really is or do we only know about how it seems to us? What is a mind – in particular is it just another part of the body like the liver or stomach or brain, or is it something essentially non-physical? If you’re tired of being told what to think and feel like learning how to think for yourself you need this course.

PHIL 101    Sec 002    ID#: 208143     Dr. Barbara Conner    MWF 10:00 – 10:50    HLG 504

Discussion and readings about classic philosophical questions, such as "Does God exist?"; "Do we exist, and does the world exist, and if so, how do we prove it?"; "How do we find truth?"; "What is the right thing to do?"; "What is the best political system?"; and "What is the meaning of life?"

Contemporary Moral Dilemmas
PHIL 111    Sec 001    ID#:  208144    Dr. Barbara Conner     TR    9:30 - 10:45    HLG 422
Readings and discussions about current moral issues, such as animal rights, cloning, death penalty, environment, gender, globalism, poverty, race, sexual orientation, terrorism, and war. No prerequisites.

Honors: Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 151    Sec 001    ID#:  208145    Dr  Istvan Berkeley       TR    11:00 – 12:15    HLG 501

This course will provide students with an introduction to the discipline of philosophy. A brief overview of philosophical methodology and useful research skills will be offered. Students will also have the opportunity to study one major philosophical work in detail. The class will then consider philosophical reflections on a range of topics. These topics will include, the existence of God, the philosophy of science, the relationship between mind and body, and how society should be correctly structured. Other topics may also be considered, dependent upon student interest.

Critical Thinking
PHIL 202    Sec 001    ID#:  208146   Dr Steve Giambrone    TR    9:30 – 10:45    HLG 505
PHIL 202    Sec 002    ID#:  208147   Dr Steve Giambrone    TR    11:00 – 12:15    HLG 505

An introduction to critical thinking, inductive logic, logical fallacies, and basic forms of valid reasoning.  Coreq:  Eligibility for ENGL 101

Practical Argumentation
PHIL 210    Sec 001    ID#:  208148   Dr Keith Korcz    MWF    11:00 – 11:50    HLG 504

How can people believe they've been abducted by UFOs? ESP? Psychic surgery and other quack medicines? Creationism? We'll examine each of these issues and more in light of inductive logic and the fundamental principles of scientific explanation. No prerequisites.  Course Home Page: http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/210Home.html

Ethics
PHIL 314 Sec 001   ID#: 208151   Dr. Jonathan Trigg    TR 11:00 - 12:15   HLG 504

Contemporary moral philosophy is structured largely by a three way debate between Kantians, Utilitarians and Aristotelians. Kantians and Utilitarians disagree about what makes certain actions right or wrong (Kant thinks that an action is wrong if it is inconsistent with respecting the rationality and autonomy of those it effects, Utilitarians (like Bentham and Mill) think an action is wrong if it is not the best thing we could have done for the community as a whole). Aristotle, on the other hand, thinks questions about right conduct are not as important as questions about good character; he asks instead, ‘what kind of life is the most desirable or excellent?’. His answer makes possession of the virtues (benevolence, courage, loyalty, honesty etc.) into a necessary condition of living the kind of life we most want to lead. The course is open to all but is particularly suitable for those who have already taken my Phil. 101 course.

Professional Ethics
PHIL 316    Sec 001    ID#:  208152   Dr Richard Baggett        MWF    10:00 – 10:50    HLG 422
PHIL 316    Sec 002    ID#:  208153   Dr Richard Baggett        MWF    11:00 – 11:50    HLG 422
PHIL 316    Sec 003    ID#:  208154   Dr Richard Baggett        MWF    12:00 – 1:15      HLG 505
PHIL 316    Sec 004    ID#:  208155   TBA                                  TR    9:30 – 10:45          FGM 215
PHIL 316    Sec 005    ID#:  208156   TBA                                  TR    11:00 – 12:15        FGM 215
PHIL 316    Sec U01    ID#: 208157   Dr Richard Baggett        MW    4:00 – 5:15           HLG 505
PHIL 316    Sec U02    ID#: 208158   Dr Richard Baggett        M      5:30 – 8:30             HLG 505
    Prerequisite: ENGL 102.

Philosophy of Law
PHIL 319    Sec 001    ID#: 208159    Dr. Barbara Conner     TR    9:30 – 10:45        HLG 423

Introduction to major concepts of legal philosophy.  Also, the class attempts to introduce basic themes from the first year of law school.

Plato, Aristotle and the Ancients
PHIL 321    Sec 001    ID#:  208160   Dr  Istvan Berkeley   TR  2:00 – 3:15    HLG 505

This course will examine the philosophy of the ancient world. Important aspects of the philosophy of the Pre-Socratic philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle will all be covered.

Topics in the History of Philosophy: Skepticism
PHIL 329    Sec 001    ID#:  208161   Dr Keith Korcz    MW    1:00 – 2:15    HLG 501

Philosophy of Science
PHIL 342    Sec 001    ID#: 208162    Dr Steve Giambrone    TR    12:30 – 1:45    HLG 505

What is Science?  Are some theories scientific and others not?  Are those others simply irrational?  Do the sciences give us knowledge, or even rational beliefs?  Or are they glorified myths?  Do such things as quarks, libidos, and genes really exist?  Can all of our theories be reduced to just one basic theory, like physics?  These and other important questions about science will be addressed.  This course can be used toward a minor in Cognitive Science.
 

Seminar in History of Philosophy: Kant

PHIL 428   Sec 001   ID#: 208163      Dr. Jonathan Trigg       TR 2:00 - 3:15      HLG 504

Kant is the great synthesizer of modern philosophy. If successful, the position he defends in the Critique of Pure Reason, namely transcendental idealism, reconciles empirical realism (the view that things exist and are the way they are quite independently of our experience of them and our beliefs about them) with idealism (the view that what exists are only minds and their contents); it solves skeptical problems about our knowledge of the external world; and it reveals and combines the truth in rationalism (the view that human knowledge depends chiefly on the correct use of our rational capacities) with the truth in empiricism (the view that human knowledge depends chiefly on the exercise of our perceptual capacities). Not only do most contemporary continental (French and German) philosophers see themselves as working in a basically Kantian tradition, but there are important strands in contemporary analytical (Anglo-American) epistemology which are dominated by Kant. Furthermore, contemporary analytical moral philosophy is largely a debate between Kantians and non-Kantians (Utilitarians). Only Plato and Aristotle (and perhaps Descartes) can compete with Kant in terms of how much they influence our thinking, and Kant, of all these, is the philosopher who speaks most directly to our modern sensibilities. The course is ideal for those with some knowledge of pre-Kantian philosophy, all majors, and anyone with the relevant prerequisites who is ready for a philosophical challenge.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES COURSES:

Topics in World Religions

subtitle: Christian Mysticism
PHIL 231    Sec 001    ID#: 208149   Rusty Chastant            MWF 10:00 – 10:50    HLG 505

Gain a greater knowledge and appreciation of Christian mysticism and the major mystics and their teachings, and see how they have had a profound influence on the faith community from early Christianity through the modern era.

Introduction to the Old Testament
PHIL 234    Sec 001    ID#: 208150     Rusty Chastant    MWF    9:00 – 9:50    HLG 505

* Photo courtesy of The Bertrand Russell Archives at McMaster University.

©  Copyright 2001 by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Philosophy Department, P.O. Box 43770, Lafayette, LA  70504-3770 Telephone:  337-482-5401