Term:  

Spring Quarter

Dept Course No and Title Instructor
PHILOS (S20)206  TOPICS IN LOGICMEADOWS, T.
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PHILOS (S20)230  TOPICS IN ETHICSHELMREICH, J.
Studies in selected areas of ethics. Topics addressed vary each quarter.

Repeatability: Unlimited as topics vary.
PHILOS (S20)210  TOPICS IN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHYPERIN, C.
In this seminar we will read closely Plato's Gorgias. Topics to be discussed include the following. What is a skill or expertise (techn?) and how is it different from a mere knack? What is rhetoric, why is it so powerful, and why isn't it an expertise?  What is the relation of ethical knowledge or belief to action? What is it to have great power in the city? What is the difference between doing what you want and doing what you think is best? What is it that we (all of us) want? Why are tyrants miserable? What is required for a successful refutation? Is it ridiculous for adults to do philosophy? Are there any natural norms, and if so, how do they differ from conventional norms? Is self-control a virtue? Is the best life one in which a person has a maximum of unrestrained desires and the ability to satisfy them? Are some pleasures good and others bad? Is there a political skill or expertise, and if so, what might it look like? 
PHILOS (S20)244  THE SOCIAL CONTRACTSKYRMS, B.
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PHILOS (S20)241  QUANTUM MECHANICSBARRETT, J.
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PHILOS (S20)246  LOGIC SEMINARWEHMEIER, K.
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PHILOS (S20)205C  INCOMPLETENESSMEADOWS, T.
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PHILOS (S20)213  DESCARTES, MALEBRANCHE, AND LEIBNIZGREENBERG, S.
Nicolas Malebranche was hailed in his own day as “one of the greatest philosophers of this century.”
This judgment might seem puzzling today, especially in light of how many other great philosophers
lived in Malebranche’s century. The overarching aim of this course is to assess Malebranche’s claim
to philosophical greatness, and to this end it will center on texts written by Malebranche;
considerable attention will be devoted to his deep and sustained engagements with Descartes and
Leibniz, two other recognized philosophical greats of Malebranche’s century. The topical focus of
the course will be on the interaction between metaphysics, epistemology, and theology; attention will
be also given to the influence of contemporaneous work in mathematics and natural science.