To see the syllabi for the courses, click on the links. Please note, however, that syllabi and course descriptions do constitute intellectual property; please do not use these without my permission and acknowledgement.

Phil. 131: Present Moral Problems: A Multicultural Approach (taught 14 times since the fall of 1994; most recently taught as part of a special program for freshman students:  FOCUS 210:  Thinking Clearly About Moral Issues)
In this course, we will examine and discuss a range of contemporary issues in ethics and public policy. Topics will include: abortion, euthanasia, world hunger, AIDS, racial discrimination, gender differences, and human rights. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on considering a broad range of perspectives regarding these issues, including non-Western perspectives, as a way of encouraging participants to clarify and analyze their own moral intuitions. Requirements include two quizzes, active participation in structured small-group discussions, and writing short, carefully argued analytic essays.

Phil. 331: Classical Ethical Theories: Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Mill, Kant (Spring 1997)
A close examination of classic ethical texts by Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Mill, Hobbes, Kant, and Mead, especially with regard to their views on the capacity for moral judgment. First, we will focus on the idea that moral competence is a matter of sensitivity acquired through socialization (especially in Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, and Hume's Enquiry). Second, we will examine the idea that insight into objective value stems from taking an abstract and impartial view (as formulated in the classical texts of Utilitarianism) and consider the criticism that this "view from nowhere" ignores the personal commitments that make life worthwhile. Third, we will discuss the idea that agents deliberate rationally only if they consider their actions from the perspective of others (as found in Hobbes's Leviathan, Kant's Critique of Practical Reasoning, and the pragmatism of G.H. Mead).

Phil. 340: Social and Political Philosophy: Classic Texts and Current Issues (Fall 1994)
This course will focus on the relationship between society and the individual: How are rights to liberty and autonomy to be reconciled with the need for political justice and social order? What limits (if any) may society place on freedom of choice or freedom of expression? Is a culture of individualism compatible with strong community ties or does it lead to cultural fragmentation and social disintegration?
The first half of the course will be devoted to examining the approaches to these issues found in the works of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and J.S. Mill. Then, after considering several recent essays criticizing the individualism of modern social thought, we will turn to the discussion of several key issues where the claims of the individual are often in tension with the claims of the state. Possible topics here include: free speech vs. restrictions on hate speech, cultural literacy vs. multiculturalism, and family obligations vs. the right to divorce.

Phil. 371: 20th Century Continental Philosophy: After Universalism -- End or Transformation? (Fall, 1996)
Much of contemporary Continental philosophy has been aimed at rejecting the modernist ideals of universality: that justice involves treating everyone the same, that communication requires meaning the same thing by the words we use, and that truth is a matter of general claims that are valid in all contexts. Against this universalism, critics have emphasized particularity, ambiguity, difference, and context -- not as an anarchistic rejection of all norms of truth and justice, but as part of an ethical requirement that one respect the profound otherness of the Other. The course will examine several critiques of universalism and their ethical implications (Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, Derrida, Irigaray, Lyotard, Spivak, Levinas) as well as the counter-criticisms of defenders of various forms of universalism (especially those of Habermas and Gadamer). Lectures will provide the background for the reading and discussion of original and secondary texts. Four short papers and class participation required. Students who have taken 371 previously may be able to repeat the course for credit; check with the departmental secretary.

Phil. 371: 20th Century Continental Philosophy: The Fall of "Man" -- Critiques of Humanism (Spring 1995)
This course will focus on central texts of 20th-century thought, in both France and Germany. We will begin by examining the roots of contemporary continental philosophy in the works of Hegel and Heidegger, and then go on to examine thinkers they have influenced, including Adorno, Gadamer, and Habermas (in Germany) and Sartre, Foucault, Derrida, and Irigaray (in France). Beginning with the rejection of the idea that our knowledge and experience of the world are "pure", these philosophers have reconceptualized human existence and human understanding as fundamentally historicized, embodied, and linguistic. The central question of the course will be: What does this transformed conception of human thought and experience mean for the ideals of humanism? Requirements for the course include three short written assignments and a final paper.

Phil. 399:  Integrative Seminar for Majors (fall, 2001 and fall, 2002)
This seminar is designed for philosophy majors. Its aim is to strengthen your knowledge of the field of philosophy as a whole
and give you an opportunity to learn first hand what it is that philosophers do. It is also intended to help you develop the writing
and presentation skills required by upper-level courses and the honors thesis.

Phil 4015: Normative Ethical Theory (PDF) (fall, 2003)
An exploration of fundamental principles for determining what it is right to do and how it is good to live.  We
will examine -- against the background of twentieth-century versions of consequentialism, Kantianism, and virtue theory --
contemporary attempts to defend some such principles.

Philosophy 430: Seminar on Practical Reasoning (Spring 1998)
Understanding practical reasoning involves understanding both what it means to deliberate well and how deliberation can be motivating. With regard to the first question (of deliberation), this course will examine recent criticisms of the idea that something has value only if it is actually desired, or would be desired under certain conditions. With regard to the second question (of motivation), the focus will be on recent debates between externalists (Humeans) and internalists (Kantians) over whether and how rational deliberation can influence action. Requirements include a seminar presentation, a final research paper, and active seminar participation.

Phil. 4711: The Philosophy of Jürgen Habermas
An advanced seminar on the important German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, focusing on the Theory of Communicative Action, his work in ethics, and his work in philosophy of language.

Phil. 535: Topics in Ethical Theory: The Objectivity of Subjective Value.
Readings by Railton, Nagel, Williams, Frankfurt, Taylor, McDowell, Wiggins, Gibbard, and Gaus.