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Courses:

Philosophy

• Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Thought
• Makers of the Modern Mind
• Introduction to Logic
• Introduction to Metaphysics
• Philosophy and Literature
• Existentialism
• Philosophy of Art
• Related Courses

PHIL E-5a/W Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Thought (11613) (Syllabus)
Jeff McConnell, PhD, Lecturer on Philosophy, Tufts University.
Writing-intensive course. 4 units. Noncredit $260, undergraduate credit $420.
Tuesday, Sep. 19, 7:35-9:35 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 108. Optional sections Tuesday, 6:30-7:30 pm. Fall term

An examination of some influential writings of early Western thought, from its roots in Greek mythology and the speculations of the pre-Socratics, through the emergence of philosophy after Socrates as an autonomous activity, to the Roman stoics and Christian thinkers, up to the Renaissance. Selections from Homer, Aeschylus, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Cicero, Paul, Ptolemy, Augustine, Anselm, Abelard, Aquinas, and Dante.

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PHIL E-5b/W Makers of the Modern Mind (21616) (Syllabus)
Hugo Adam Bedau, PhD, Austin Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, Tufts University.
Writing-intensive course. 4 units. Noncredit $260, undergraduate credit $420.
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 7:35-9:35 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 101. Spring term

A study of some representative and influential writings in European thought since the Renaissance and the Reformation. The readings illustrate the development of a distinctly modern view of science, morality, religion, politics, and philosophy through a close examination of fundamental questions. Selections from Marlowe, Shakespeare, Luther, Machiavelli, Galileo, Descartes, Rousseau, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard, Mill, Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Wittgenstein, and Sartre.

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PHIL E-100 Introduction to Logic (20195) (Syllabus)
Eli Hirsch, PhD, Charles Goldman Professor of Philosophy, Brandeis University.
4 units. Noncredit $260, undergraduate credit $420, graduate credit $1,185.
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 7:35-9:35 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 101. Spring term

A study of the most basic forms of reasoning and their linguistic expressions. This course provides an introduction to the traditional theory of syllogism, contemporary symbolic logic, the nature of scientific reasoning, and the relationship between logic and language.

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PHIL E-118/W Introduction to Metaphysics (21617) (Syllabus)
Jeff McConnell, PhD, Lecturer on Philosophy, Tufts University.
Writing-intensive course. 4 units. Noncredit $260, undergraduate credit $420, graduate credit $1,185.
Thursday, Feb. 1, 7:35-9:35 pm, Harvard Hall, Room 201. Optional sections Thursday, 6:30-7:30 pm. Spring term
Course also available on the Internet. See Distance Education.

An examination of certain fundamental problems about the ultimate character of reality: the nature of consciousness and the self; the choice between free will and determinism; the origin of the universe and the order and complexity in it. Special attention will be given to the difficulties with materialist solutions to these problems.

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PHIL E-120/W Philosophy and Literature (11361) (Syllabus)
David M. Schur, PhD, Teaching Assistant in Literature, Harvard University.
Writing-intensive course. 4 units. Noncredit $260, undergraduate credit $420, graduate credit $1,185.
Tuesday, Sep. 19, 5:30-7:30 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 101. Fall term

Explores the relationship between philosophical prose and poetic language by examining literary aspects of Western philosophical writings. Special attention given to unlikely metaphors and analogies found in philosophical contexts. Readings from Plato, Augustine, Descartes, Rousseau, Emerson, Nietzsche, and Kafka.

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PHIL E-125/W Existentialism (21343) (Syllabus)
David M. Schur, PhD, Teaching Assistant in Literature, Harvard University.
Writing-intensive course. 4 units. Noncredit $260, undergraduate credit $420, graduate credit $1,185.
Monday, Jan. 29, 5:30-7:30 pm, Harvard Hall, Room 201. Spring term

This course examines existentialism from both philosophical and literary angles, giving considerable attention to the interrelatedness of these categories. Themes such as choice, individuality, absurdity, and modernity will be approached through careful textual analysis. Readings from authors including Sartre, Camus, Heidegger, Dostoevsky, and Kafka.

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PHIL E-165e Philosophy of Art (11850) (Syllabus)
Vernon A. Howard, PhD, Senior Fellow, Lincoln Filene Center, Tufts University.
4 units. Noncredit $260, undergraduate credit $420, graduate credit $1,185.
Tuesday, Sep. 19, 7:35-9:35 pm, Harvard Hall, Room 102. Fall term

General philosophical questions about the understanding, appreciation, and production of art. What is art? What is its place in education and society? The pros and cons of public support for the arts. Topics will also include the nature of expression, the work of art and the work of artists, and symbolism and cognition in art.

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Related Courses

• GOVT E-1047 Ethics and Public Policy
• HUMA E-130 Ethics in Medical Practice
• LSTU E-110 Law and Ethics: Making the Moral Decision

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