Guy Elgat

What are minds? What is it to have a mind, to have consciousness? How, if at all, are minds different from machines? In this course, by reading pieces by Shaffer, Carruthers, and Searle, we will become acquainted with these concepts and issues and learn how to think about them in a more informed and critical fashion. The course is writing intensive: students should expect to write 15 to 20 pages of formal, revisable writing (i.e. two essays and two in-depth revisions) in addition to homework exercises and in-class writing and discussion.

This class serves as an introduction to the basic concepts of existentialism through a study of a couple of foundational texts by one of its principal philosophical proponents: Jean-Paul Sartre. The class will focus on existentialism’s response to a newly emerging awareness of the contingency of moral values. With respect to this problem, we will explore central existentialist concepts such as freedom, and authenticity. The course is writing intensive: students should expect to write 15 to 20 pages of formal, revisable writing (i.e. two essays and two in-depth revisions) in addition to homework exercises and in-class writing and discussion.

This course serves as an introduction to philosophy through an exploration of some of its basic questions. Specifically, through a reading of two chapters from Descartes’ Meditations the course will address questions that fall under the following headings: 1: Epistemology: What is knowledge? What are the sources of knowledge? What is philosophical skepticism about knowledge? What can be known with certainty? 2: Mind and Self: What is mind and how is it distinct from matter? What is consciousness? The course is writing intensive: students should expect to write 20-25 pages of formal, revisable writing, including the research paper.

What is it to be an autonomous agent? To what extent is our agency free? In this course, we examine the manner in which the notion of individual, autonomous freedom is criticized and undermined in various ways in 19th and 20th century philosophy. After introducing the German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s thought, with its strong conception of individual autonomy, we look at Hegel’s critique of Kant and discuss his philosophy of history as a rational force that shapes and enables freedom. We then look at Marx and the materialist twist he gives to Hegel’s idea: it is not reason but economic conditions that determine a person’s degree of freedom. We then discuss Nietzsche’s ideas to the effect that it is certain socio-psychological forces that shape what we value. We end by looking at structuralist (Michel Foucault) and feminist (Marilyn Friedman) approaches to the question of autonomy. Assignments vary, but they might include some or many of the following: weekly reading responses, quizzes, papers, and exams.