Take me to the Fall Time Schedule
419. Philosophy of the Arts. Not
open to philosophy graduate students. No credit granted to those who have
completed or are enrolled in Phil. 319. (3). (Excl). Will not satisfy 400-level
course requirement for concentration in philosophy.
This course will examine the arts from a philosophical perspective.
It will investigate what art is, the nature of creation, criticism, interpretation,
evaluation, and appreciation, and the ways in which the various arts are
important, concentrating on several specific art forms such as the novel,
photography and film, representational painting, and music. It will treat
questions such as: What, if anything, is distinctive about art and aesthetic
experience, and how are they related to other aspects of life and culture?
In what ways are works of art expressive of feelings? Do they have cognitive
content? In what ways do we learn from them, and how do they work to change
people's perspectives or attitudes? What is fiction and why are people interested
in it? Why and in what ways is photography more (or less) powerful than
painting and drawing? What is it for a painting or a novel to be realistic?
What is interesting or important about indeterminate art, conceptual art,
found art, and performance art, and how do they compare with more traditional
forms of art? Written work for the course will consist of a short paper,
three quizzes, and a longer paper. This course is designed especially for
students who have not had extensive work in philosophy, although background
in philosophy and the arts would be helpful. Cost:3
WL:4
(Walton)
Check
Times, Location, and Availability
429. Ethical Analysis. Phil.
361, 363, or 366. (3). (Excl).
Broadly, moral philosophy has been divided into two main areas. In
"normative ethics," one addresses such questions as "How
should one act?", "What makes an action right?", and "What
is the nature of happiness?". In "meta-ethics," in contrast,
the theorist is concerned to investigate the nature of moral judgments relative
to different societies or to individuals, and whether indeed we really do
make moral judgments rather than merely express certain kinds of attitudes.
This course is concerned with questions of this second kind. We shall aim
to determine whether our moral claims are capable of being true and what
other explanations there might be for our moral utterances if we do not
understand them to be attempts to describe an independent moral reality.
Whereas normative ethics is reasonably self-contained in its subject matter,
meta-ethics is not. To address its characteristic questions, one needs to
look at wider issues in semantics, metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy
of mind to see how these apply in the particular case of moral beliefs and
judgments. This has the advantage that one can see how claims in these different
areas of philosophy might cohere with each other but, although I shall not
be assuming very much existing knowledge of these areas, the course certainly
requires a serious interest in them and may be difficult for someone who
is not already acquainted with at least one or two of them. WL:1
(Everson)
Check
Times, Location, and Availability
462. British Empiricism. One
philosophy introduction. (3). (Excl).
A close critical examination of some central philosophical works by
Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, three of the most important thinkers writing
in English during the early modern period. The course will focus on metaphysical
and epistemological questions, but we'll strive to develop an appreciation
of various broader contexts--scientific, ethical, political, and religious--that
gave shape and urgency to these questions at the time. Texts receiving especially
close attention will be Locke's Essay, Book I of Hume's Treatise,
and Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Written work
will be three short papers due at intervals during the term. Previous work
in either epistemology or the history of philosophy would be extremely helpful.
WL:1
(Hills)
Check
Times, Location, and Availability
468/Chinese 468/Asian Studies 468.
Classical Chinese Thought (To A.D. 220). Upperclass standing;
no knowledge of Chinese required. (3). (HU).
See Chinese 468. (Ivanhoe)
Check
Times, Location, and Availability
492. Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein.
Phil. 414. (3). (Excl).
An examination of the work of three major figures in the development
of analytic philosophy, paying special attention to their views on the nature
of language and logic. Topics include: Russell's critique of idealism, logical
atomism, Russell's theory of descriptions, the project of analysis, Frege's
distinction between sense and reference, logicism in the philosophy of mathematics,
the set-theoretic and semantic paradoxes, Russell's constructivist epistemology,
Wittgenstein's critiques of Russell and Frege, Wittgenstein's views on the
inexpressibility of semantics and the nature of nonsense. WL:1
(Proops)
Check
Times, Location, and Availability
Copyright © 1998
The Regents of the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA
1.734.764.1817 (University Operator)