UMass Philosophy - Graduate Courses

Consult SPIRE for latest information, including meeting times and places.

(tentative)

512	Philosophy and Logic	Klement	MWF 11:15-12:05
forthcoming
541	Topics in Metaphysics	Eddon	Th 1:00-3:30
It is often taken for granted that there are certain distinctions among properties: intrinsic/extrinsic, qualitative/haecceitistic, categorical/dispositional, physical/mental, natural/non-natural, Humean/unHumean, moral/non-moral, etc. These distinctions play an important role in many philosophical theses. What is the status of these distinctions? Can some of them be “reduced” to or “analyzed” in terms of others? In this class we will look carefully at a few of these distinctions (guided by class interest). Although different considerations arise in each case, our investigations will reveal some common themes.
542	Topics in Epistemology	Kornblith	Tu 1:00-3:30
This course will involve a close reading of Peter Carruthers’s new book, The Opacity of Mind: An Integrative Theory of Self-Knowledge. Carruthers has an extraordinarily interesting view, and he presents a wide range of argument and evidence in its favor. Following Carruthers, we will discuss a good deal of psychological evidence about the nature of introspection, as well as its significance for a wide range of issues in epistemology and philosophy of mind.
591A	Topics in Ancient Philosophy	de Harven	W 3:30-6:00
What motivates action? Can we ever act against what we judge to be best? If error is always a case of ignorance, how can people be held responsible for their actions? We will explore answers to this and other paradoxes, the unity of the virtues and the counterintuitive thesis that it’s better to suffer than to do harm, which are at the heart of Socratic intellectualism. Readings will include Plato’s dialogues Euthyphro, Laches, Apology, Crito, Protagoras, Euthydemus, Gorgias, and Republic; as well as Aristotle’s treatment of these Socratic themes in Nicomachean Ethics and, finally, the Stoics’ renewal of the Socratic commitment to virtue as sufficient for happiness. In addition to the original ancient texts we will read some secondary literature; and, as a contrast to the intellectualist position, we will consider Plato, David Hume and Bernard Williams.
591M	Early Modern Philosophy	O'Neill	W 12:30-3:00
This course will focus on women’s contributions to European philosophy in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries. Topics may include a variety of issues in metaphysics, epistemology, social and political philosophy, and rational theology, e.g., substance, causation, mind-body problems, mechanism versus vitalism, God, scepticism, sense perception, the gendering of cognitive and moral capacities, as well as women’s fitness for education and for careers in the arts, sciences and politics. The philosophers we will study may include: Marie de Gournay, Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia, Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish and Anne Thérèse de Lambert. We will examine their views in relation to those of Michel de Montaigne, René Descartes, Nicolas Malebranche, Thomas Hobbes, and François Poullain de la Barre.
592A	Philosophy of Action	Garcia	TuTh 11:15-12:30
forthcoming
595T	Set Theory	Hardegree	TuTh 9:30-10:45
Elementary introduction to the theory of sets (specifically Zermelo-Fraenkel Set Theory). Sets, relations, functions, natural numbers, proof by induction, cardinal numbers. Comparison with other theories of plurality. Pre-requisite: Phil 310 (Intermediate Logic).
753	Seminar in Philosophy of Science	Meacham	M 12:30-3:00
One of the dominant accounts regarding what we ought to believe is the Bayesian account. A number of arguments have been offered in favor of this account. But are these arguments any good? If so, which ones? This class provide an introduction to Bayesianism, and then will focus on examining these arguments, and the various criticisms of these arguments that have been raised.
755	Seminar in Philosophy of Mind	Antony	Tu 4:00-6:30
forthcoming
760	Seminar in Ethics	Graham	Tu 7:00-9:30
forthcoming
783	Seminar in Philosophy of Religion	Baker	Th 4:00-6:30
The theme of this seminar is Personal Identity and the Possibility of Resurrection. During the first half of the semester, we’ll read articles by philosophers like Peter Van Inwagen, Dean Zimmerman, Lynne Baker, Alvin Plantinga, and Trenton Merricks. During the second half, we’ll read parts of Mark Johnston’s Surviving Death, an ingenious “naturalistic” view of personal identity. Open to graduate students in the Philosophy Department. Course Requirements: Class participation Outline or precis of term paper (November 29) Term paper (January 7)
792M	Seminar – Mereology	Bricker	M 3:30-6:00
A thorough exploration of both the formal and philosophical aspects of mereology, the theory of parts and wholes. Philosophical topics include: universal composition; ontological innocence of composition; composition as identity; the possibility of gunk; and un-mereological modes of composition. Requirements: Either two medium length papers (about 10 pages each) or one term paper (about 20 pages).
891D	Dissertation Seminar	Levine	by arrangement
Seminar for students working on their doctoral dissertations. Chapters in progress are presented for discussion.