The material on this page is from the 2000-01 catalog and may be out of date. Please check the current year's catalog for current information.

Professors: Straub, Kolb, Okrent, Tracy, and Strong, Chair (fall semester) (on leave, winter semester and Short Term); Visiting Professor: Caspi (on leave, winter semester); Associate Professors: Allison, Cummiskey, Chair (winter semester and Short term), and Bruce (on leave, fall semester and Short Term); Assistant Professors: Stark and Chessa Philosophy Philosophy examines our personal and shared beliefs about who we are, where we find ourselves, and what we ought to do. Philosophy demands that we discover and critically reflect on our fundamental beliefs and the presuppositions of our various fields of knowledge. Such discussion has been continuing since the time of the Greeks, yet the subject remains in continual ferment, an interplay of insight and critical reason. The philosophy curriculum emphasizes both the history of thought and contemporary issues. For the beginning student there are courses that survey and others that treat single problems. More advanced courses concentrate on single thinkers or on crucial issues. Major Requirements. Students who choose to major in philosophy are ordinarily expected to complete eleven courses in the field, distributed according to the requirements indicated below. Students arrange their programs individually in consultation with their departmental advisors. In individual cases, students may fulfill some of the requirements with appropriate Short Term units from philosophy or courses from other fields. The philosophy faculty has structured the major to allow students to plan their own program within the constraints of a broad philosophical education. To this end, every course offered by the department, with the exception of the Introduction to Philosophy, can satisfy one or another of the following requirements: 195. Introduction to Logic. 271. Greek Philosophy. 272. Philosophy from Descartes to Kant. Ethics and Political Philosophy: the good, the right, and community. One course from among: 212. Contemporary Moral Disputes; 256. Moral Principles; 258. Philosophy of Law. Metaphysics: being, meaning, knowledge. One course from among: 211. Philosophy of Science; 235. Philosophy of Mind and Language; 236. Theory of Knowledge; 260. Philosophy of Religion. Metaphilosophy: critical reflections on the tradition. One course from among: 241. Philosophy of Art; 262. Philosophy and Feminism; 273. Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century; 274. Phenomenology; 275. Existentialism and Deconstruction. Three courses at the 300 level, one of which may be a 360. Senior Thesis: 457 or 458. Students are urged to take the courses listed in 1) through 3) as soon as possible after they decide to major in philosophy. The department encourages students to design interdisciplinary majors involving philosophy and religion. Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may not be elected for courses applied toward the major. Secondary Concentration. The secondary concentration in philosophy consists of six courses. A coherent program for each student's secondary concentration is designed in accord with program guidelines and in consultation with a member of the philosophy faculty who is chosen or appointed as the student's departmental advisor for the secondary concentration. Among the six courses there should be a) at least one (and preferably two) seminars at the 300 level; b) at least four courses related in a coherent group. Examples might include a group of courses relevant to philosophical reflections about the student's major field, or a group of courses on ethical and political questions, or a group of courses on a specific historical period. This group of courses should be designated, in consultation with the departmental advisor, before registration for the third course in the group. The secondary concentration may include up to two Short Term units in philosophy. Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may be elected for only one course applied toward the secondary concentration. General Education. Any one philosophy Short Term unit may serve as an option for the fifth humanities course. Courses 150. Introduction to Philosophy. This course introduces students to philosophy and philosophical reasoning by examining some of the fundamental philosophical problems of human existence. Among these are the problem of doubt and uncertainty as an aspect of human knowledge; the justification and importance of religious belief; and the nature of mind, matter, and freedom. An attempt is made to establish a balance between philosophy as a vigorous and professional discipline and philosophy as a personally useful method for exploring one's own reasoning and beliefs. Readings include both historical and contemporary works. Enrollment limited to 30 per section. M. Okrent. 195. Introduction to Logic. An investigation of the nature of valid reasoning, coupled with training in the skills of critical thinking. Close attention is paid to the analysis of ordinary arguments. Enrollment limited to 40 per section. D. Kolb. 211. Philosophy of Science. Science has become our model for what counts as knowledge; the course examines that model and discusses how far its claims are justified in the light of the nature and history of science. Topics for consideration are drawn from the nature of scientific explanation, scientific rationality, progress in science, the nature of scientific theories, and the relations of science to society and to other views of the world. Readings include traditional, contemporary, and feminist work in philosophy of science. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. M. Okrent. 212. Contemporary Moral Disputes. The course focuses on particular moral issues and the ethical arguments provoked by them. Topics discussed in the course may include, among others, abortion and euthanasia, war and nuclear arms, world hunger, and use of natural resources. This course is the same as Religion 212. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30 per section. S. Stark. 214. Ethics and Environmental Issues. A study of selected issues in environmental ethics, including questions about population growth, resource consumption, pollution, the responsibilities of corporations, environmental justice, animal rights, biodiversity, and moral concern for the natural world. The course explores debates currently taking place among environmental thinkers regarding our moral obligations to other persons, to future generations, to other animals, and to ecosystems and the earth itself. This course is the same as Environmental Studies 214. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. Not open to students who have received credit for Religion 215. T. Tracy. 232. Philosophy of Psychology. We attribute beliefs, desires, emotions, and all sorts of other psychological states (moods, feelings, etc.) to human beings. We use these psychological states to explain the actions that human beings take, to evaluate the rationality of an action or of a human being, and to explain when and how a person's psychological development has gone awry. This course investigates the nature of these psychological states, and the ways in which they are linked to behavior, and the problems that arise when those linkages are ineffective. Specifically, this course investigates a host of issues in the philosophy of psychology including, but not limited to, self-deception, weakness of the will, motivation, irrationality, the nature of emotions, and mental health and illness. Enrollment is limited to 30. S Stark. New course for 2001-2002. 235. Philosophy of Mind and Language. An inquiry into the nature of human mentality that pays special attention to the issues raised by the phenomenon of language and the relation between thought and language. Is mind distinct from body? If not, are mental states identical with brain states, or does the mind relate to the brain as programs relate to computer hardware? What makes linguistic expressions meaningful? What do people know when they know a language? What is the connection between thought and language? Readings are drawn from historical and contemporary sources. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. Not open to students who have received credit for Philosophy 225. M. Okrent. 236. Theory of Knowledge. Is knowledge possible, and if so, how? The course investigates how we can know the ordinary things we take ourselves to know. Students are introduced to major philosophical theories concerning when our thoughts about ourselves and the world are rationally justified. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. D. Cummiskey. 240. Dwelling and Dispersion. Amid the disjointedness and the increasing homogeneity of the contemporary world, philosophers and urbanists have developed rival theories exalting either a deep and unified dwelling that we are in danger of losing, or a condition of dispersion that we embrace. This course examines representatives of both schools and compares them with analyses and proposals for surburban and urban development. Readings include philosophers (Heidegger, Deleuze, Derrida, and others) as well as architects and urban theorists (Norberg-Schulz, Benedikt, Eisenman, Duany, and others). Open to first-year students. D. Kolb. 241. Philosophy of Art. An introduction to the major problems of the philosophy of art including discussion of attempts to define art, problems concerning the interpretation of individual works of art, and recent theories of modern and postmodern art. This course is the same as Art 226. Open to first-year students. D. Kolb. 256. Moral Principles. An introduction to moral philosophy. Topics include: Is there a difference between right and wrong? Is it merely a matter of custom, convention, preference, or opinion, or is there some other basis for this distinction, something that makes it "objective" rather than "subjective"? How can we tell, in particular cases and in general, what is right and what is wrong? Is there some moral principle or method for deciding particular moral problems? Philosophers discussed include Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, and Mill. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30 per section. D. Cummiskey. 258. Philosophy of Law. An introduction to legal theory. Central questions include: What is law? What is the relationship of law to morality? What is the nature of judicial reasoning? Particular legal issues include the nature and status of liberty rights (the right to privacy including contraception, abortion, and homosexuality, and the right to die), the legitimacy of restrictions on speech and expression (flag burning and racist hate speech), and the nature of equality rights (race and gender). Readings include traditional, contemporary, and feminist legal theory, case studies, and court decisions. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. D. Cummiskey. 260. Philosophy of Religion. A consideration of major issues that arise in philosophical reflection upon religion. Particular issues are selected from among such topics as the nature of faith, the possibility of justifying religious beliefs, the nature and validity of religious experience, the relation of religion and science, and the problem of evil. This course is the same as Religion 260. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. T. Tracy. 262. Philosophy and Feminism. To what extent, and in what sense, are the methods and concepts of traditional Western philosophy "male"? What implications might the answer to this question have for feminist philosophical thinking? This course examines the suggestion that many philosophical conceptions of knowledge, reality, autonomy, mind, and the self express a typically or characteristically male point of view. Students examine the contributions that women are making to philosophy, as well as the contributions that philosophy makes to feminism. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. S. Stark. 270. Medieval Philosophy. A survey of the basic ideas of thinkers such as Aquinas and Okham, and other medieval philosopher-theologians, together with discussion of their links to earlier philosophy, the Jewish and Islamic influences on their thought, and their relation to current philosophical issues and positions. Prerequisite(s): one course in philosophy or classical and medieval studies. D. Kolb. 271. Greek Philosophy. A study of the basic philosophical ideas underlying Western thought as these are expressed in the writings of Plato and Aristotle. Greek thought is discussed in its historical and social context, with indications of how important Greek ideas were developed in later centuries. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. S. Stark. 272. Philosophy from Descartes to Kant. The problems of knowledge, reality, and morality are discussed as they developed from the time of the scientific revolution and the birth of modern philosophy until their culmination in Kant. The course considers thinkers from among the classic rationalists (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz) and empiricists (Locke, Berkeley, Hume) as well as Kant. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. M. Okrent. 273. Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century. The course follows the development of modern thought from Kant, through the rise and breakup of Hegelianism, to the culmination of nineteenth-century thought in Nietzsche. The impact of science, the relation of theindividual and society, and the role of reflection in experience are examined in readings drawn from among Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Feuerbach, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard. Recommended background: two courses in philosophy or Philosophy 272. Open to first-year students. D. Kolb. 274. Phenomenology. A survey of several of the dominant themes in twentieth-century phenomenology. The course is designed to familiarize students with this area through the study of some of the works of Husserl and Heidegger, among others. Prerequisite(s): one course in philosophy. M. Okrent. 275. Existentialism and Deconstruction. A survey of major themes and writers in the traditions of existentialism and deconstruction. Readings may include thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Sartre, Camus, Deleuze, Derrida, and Merleau-Ponty. Recommended background: at least one course in the history of philosophy. D. Kolb. 321. Seminar: Topics in the Contemporary Philosophy of Mind and Language. An examination of recent discussions of topics concerning language, intentionality, and what it is to be a person. Topics vary from year to year. 321A. Evolution, Teleology, and Mind. Recently several philosophers, including Ruth Millikan and Daniel Dennett, have articulated "evolutionary" accounts of meaning. This seminar undertakes an evaluation of Millikan's and Dennett's proposals. In order to assess these accounts it is necessary to understand the logic of both teleological and evolutionary explanations. The seminar achieves such an understanding by looking at the work of both philosophers and biologists. Readings are taken from the work of Millikan, Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Larry Wright, Elliot Sober, and Robert Cummins. Recommended background: Philosophy 235. Enrollment limited to 15. M. Okrent. 321B. Meaning Holism. Meaning holism is the doctrine that "only whole languages or whole theories or whole belief systems really have meanings, so that the meaning of smaller units — word, sentences, ..., texts, thoughts, and the like — are merely derivative." Meaning holism characterizes a variety of twentieth-century views regarding mind and language in both the analytic and continental traditions. This seminar considers meaning holism in W.V.O. Quine and his descendants, Donald Davidson and Daniel Dennett, among others, as well as recent criticism of this position by Jerry Fodor. Enrollment limited to 15. M. Okrent. 322. Seminar: Topics in Contemporary European Philosophy. An examination of recent developments in Continental philosophy. 322A. Contemporary Debates about Subjectivity. Discussion of issues that have been raised about the nature of selfhood and subjectivity in recent debates in phenomenology, deconstruction, and critical theory. Authors considered may include Heidegger, Deleuze, Derrida, Foucault, Habermas, Rorty, and Taylor. Prerequisite(s): two courses in philosophy. Enrollment limited to 15. D. Kolb. 323. Seminar: Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology. This course focuses on advanced issues in the theory of knowledge and in the theory of ultimate reality. Staff. 324. Seminar: Topics in Ethics. This course focuses on important issues in ethics and political theory. 324A. Kantian Ethics. This seminar uses Kant's moral theory as a vehicle to explore some of the central questions and assumptions of Western moral theory. Kantian ethics is typically contrasted with the moral theory of David Hume and its heirs, the utilitarians. Central to this contrast between Kantians and Humeans is an emphasis on the dualisms of reason and passion, duty and sentiment, principle and sympathy, autonomy and heteronomy, right acts and good consequences. In each case, Kant is identified with the first and Hume with the second of the pairs. On the other hand, recent interpretations of Kant's ethics by Marcia Baron, Barbara Herman, Thomas Hill, Christine Korsgaard, and Onora O'Neill present a more unified, and perhaps more compelling, picture of Kantian ethics. This seminar focuses on these new interpretations of Kantian moral theory. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Philosophy 212, 256, 257, or 258. D. Cummiskey. 324B. Consequentialism and its Critics. Consequentialism is the view that the morally right act is whatever act produces the most good. The appeal of such a view is obvious: it provides a clear way of judging between moral claims, and it generally requires acts that benefit society. Critics complain that consequentialists can manipulate and even kill individuals to achieve their ends, and may also destroy themselves in the process of promoting the good. This course looks at this contemporary debate and the truth about what we ought morally to do. Prerequisites: Philosophy 256 or 212. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. D. Cummiskey. 324C. Liberty and Equality. Liberty and equality are the central values of contemporary political philosophy. These values, however, inevitably seem to conflict. Unlimited freedom leads to inequality, and remedies to inequality restrict liberty. This seminar focuses on competing accounts of the proper balance of liberty and communitarian political theories, and the issues of economic class, racial injustice, gender difference, and the basic liberties, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship. Enrollment limited to 15. D. Cummiskey. 324D. Luck and the Moral Life. Our lives are deeply subject to the impress of luck. Most human needs are subject to fate, yet are necessary not only to a good life but to a morally virtuous life as well. This course explores the relationship between luck and morality. Students begin with the metaphysical problem of free will and then explore the different roles that luck plays in the ethics of Kant and Aristotle. They also consider issues in moral psychology. Ultimately the course raises two questions: What role does luck play in moral virtue? What role does it play in human happiness? Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Philosophy 256, 271, 324A, 324B, 324C or 325. Enrollment limited to 15. S. Stark. 325. Seminar: Topics in Metaethics. This seminar examines contemporary theories on the meaning of moral language, the possibility of moral knowledge, the existence of moral facts, the nature of moral arguments, and the relationship between morality and rationality. Some background in moral or political theory is required or written permission of the instructor. Open to first-year students. Enrollment is limited to 15. 325A. Moral Realism and Irrealism. Statements which seem to make an ethical judgement are a familiar feature of public and private discourse. Are these utterances really disguised expressions of emotion and personal preference? Or, are they genuine claims that try to state a fact about the world, and which may be assessed for their truth and falsity? This seminar investigates the debate between moral realists (who hold that moral utterances are fact stating) and moral irrealists (who hold that utterances are merely expressions of emotion and preference). The debate is relevant to a wide-range of topics in ethical theory, including cultural relativism, skepticism about morality, and authority of civil and moral rules. Prerequisite(s) Philosophy 150, or 256, or 324. Open to first-year students. Enrollment is limited to 15. F. Chessa. 325B. Moral Particularism. Until recently many moral philosophers have assumed that moral justification proceeds by showing that, for example, an action falls under some more general moral principle. However, the existence and epistemic value of moral generalities have increasingly come to be questioned by a group of contemporary moral philosophers, including Aristotelians, feminists, and some British moral realists. These particularists have advanced the striking metaphysical claim that there are no codifiable moral generalities, as well as the epistemological claim that moral justification need not be parasitic on a supposed metaphysical relationship between justified and justifying properties. This course investigates these claims. Prerequisite(s): Philosophy 256 or First-year seminar 248. Enrollment is limited to 15. S Stark. New course for 2001-2002. 340. Feminist and Postmodern Critiques of Rationality. A study of current debates about the place of rationality and critical thought in life and history. These critiques reach into areas of rationality, rights, subjectivity, and normative judgment. Some see these critiques as a sign and perhaps a cause of a general decay of Western civilization. Others see them as the beginning of a new kind of liberation. This seminar includes readings from some classical philosophical systems, and from feminist and postmodern criticisms of systematic rationality. Readings include postmodern and feminist essays in the deconstructive and pragmatic traditions. Prerequisite(s): two courses in philosophy, political theory or women's studies. D. Kolb. 350. Seminar on Major Thinkers. The course examines in depth the writings of a major philosopher. Thinkers who may be discussed include Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume, Marx, Wittgenstein, and Quine. 350A. Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. A reading of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. In one of the most original and difficult works of philosophy, Hegel developed significant insights about the theory of knowledge and reason and about the interactions of persons and communities. Recommended background: two courses in philosophy or political theory. Written permission of the instructor is required. D. Kolb. 351. Kant. This course is an intensive study of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Interpretations by contemporary critics are considered. Prerequisite(s): Philosophy 272. M. Okrent. 360. Independent Study. Directed readings on individual philosophers, problems of philosophy, or a philosophic movement. Permission of the department is required. Students are limited to one independent study per semester. Staff. 365. Special Topics. A course or seminar offered from time to time and reserved for a special topic selected by the department. 457, 458. Senior Thesis. Students register for Philosophy 457 in the fall semester and for Philosophy 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Philosophy 457 and 458. Staff. Short Term Units s18. The De/Op Pressed Muse: Creating and Reading Images. This unit combines visual art and feminist philosophy. Students read and analyze contemporary visual texts and, in the studio, develop images using alternative printmaking and artists' bookbinding techniques. Topics may include: $Body, the manufacture of desire, construction/enforcement of gender, the Museum of Bad Art, commodity CULTure, pornography, power, and true-lies. Some of the questions the unit raises include: How do you create desire? How do you sell an idea, rather than a product? What norms and assumptions shape visual propaganda, including advertisements and political campaigns? This unit is the same as Art s18. Enrollment limited to 18. S. Stark, P. Johnson. s19. The Concepts of Race and Gender. Many societies classify persons in terms of their gender and their race. How these classifications are made and who belongs to which class have enormous consequences for the people classified. But the basis for these classifications is anything but clear. Are someone's race and gender social facts about a person, or are they biological facts? How are determinations rooted in the biology of a group different from determinations based on social relations within that group? In what sense are social facts "objective"? This unit focuses on these questions. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. M. Okrent. s20. Philosophy and Science Fiction. This unit looks at some central philosophical problems as they arise in science fiction short stories and film. Questions addressed include: Is time travel possible? Could we build a conscious machine? Might there be intelligent species outside our solar system? If so, what are our ethical obligations, if any, toward them? The emphasis is on how answers to these questions shed light on traditional philosophical problems about the nature of time, consciousness, persons, and morality. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. Staff. s21. Philosophical Classics. This unit offers an experience of intense close reading of a classic major philosophical text. The book chosen varies from year to year. Members of the unit work through the text line by line, trying to understand the work, while continuing discussions of the issues and methods involved. s21A. Philosophical Classics: Aristotle. This unit focuses on the central books of Aristotle's Metaphysics. Recommended background: Philosophy 271. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Written permission of the instructor is required. M. Okrent. s23. Environmental Ethics. This unit uses readings, seminar discussions, and field trips to examine and evaluate environmental issues. Consideration is given to the idea of expanding the moral universe to include forests, oceans, other species. The class may travel to different locales in Maine to look at specific environmental situations. Internships also may be arranged for more extended study in the field. This unit is the same as Religion s23. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. Written permission of the instructor is required. C. Straub. s26. Biomedical Ethics. We are all aware of the remarkable accomplishments of modern medicine. During the past forty years, the rapid changes in the biological sciences and medical technology have thoroughly transformed the practice of medicine. The added complexity and power of medicine has in turn revolutionized the responsibilities and duties that accompany the medical professions. This unit explores the values and norms governing medical practice; the rights and responsibilities of health-care providers and patients; the justification for euthanasia; and the problems of access, allocation, and rationing of health-care services. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. D. Cummiskey. s27. Hyperwriting. The computer makes possible new types of nonlinear writing that need not follow the standard forms of fiction or of academic discourse. What will their new forms be, and will they have their own ways of being both creative and self-critical? This unit offers a chance to experiment in the creation of new forms by writing hypertexts together, using Storyspace and Mosaic. There are both individual and group projects, with peer review and critique sessions each week. Enrollment limited to 15. D. Kolb. s28. Architecture, Tradition, and Innovation. This unit studies issues of building and planning in our (post)modern world. Students read texts from philosophy and architecture while working on a series of projects in design and planning. Enrollment limited to 20. Written permission of the instructor is required. D. Kolb. s29. The Nature and Limits of Explanation. The unit uses Hume's Dialogues concerning Natural Religion to initiate consideration of the nature and limits of explanation. The course introduces issues regarding categories of explanation, scientific and nonscientific models, the limits of reason, and the relation of explanation to objectivity and to epistemological theories. Causal and teleological explanations, the nature of evidence, and the justification of induction are emphasized. Interpretations and reasons for action and the place of explanation in the social sciences are also discussed. Enrollment limited to 25. D. Harward. s50. Individual Research. Registration in this unit is granted by the department only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a member of the Department to direct the study and evaluate results. Students are limited to one individual research unit. Staff. Religion