Instructor: Dr. Mike Schneider

Course Description:  

This class is about the Declaration of Independence. This is a very interesting document, and many people have written about it, both within academia and without. Even if you disagree about its importance (and many do), it certainly has been influential in American history. Ours will be a philosophical approach: we’ll be interested in what the text says, and whether there are any good arguments for or against the claims it seems to make. Consider this most famous sentence of the Declaration: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The texts we will be reading are all, to some extent, about ideas that can be found here. René Descartes’s Meditations talk about what we can be properly said to know, and the relation between that, science, and God.  John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government was read by Jefferson, and many ideas in it are echoed in the Declaration (and many are not). A useful contrast will be found in Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan, where we see a radically different understanding of the relation between the state and its citizens. John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty talks about the notion of liberty. Consider this class an introduction to both philosophy and the Declaration of Independence.

 Instructor: Dr. Claire Horisk

Course Description:

Without assuming any prior familiarity with philosophy, the course will teach you how to think philosophically about (i) the nature and extent of knowledge, (ii) the existence of God, and (iii) the existence and nature of free will. By the end of the course, you should

• be able to talk intelligently about some fundamental philosophical questions, possible  answers to these questions, and the pros and cons of each answer
• be able to say which answers you think are best, and why
• be better at reading carefully, thinking abstractly, and both critically analyzing and constructing complex reasoning.

This course does not aim to persuade you of my own particular philosophical views, and you will never be graded on your agreement or disagreement with them.  All that matters about your philosophical views is that you arrive at them after reflecting carefully on the best arguments for and against them.

 Instructor: Dr. Kenny Boyce

Course Description:

The core question of ethics is this: How should we behave towards one another? In this course we address this disarmingly simple question, ultimately with an eye to matters of life and death. We begin by familiarizing ourselves with the basics of ethical theory, and then proceed to consider the objectivity of moral claims and the possibility of moral knowledge. After that, we tackle a variety of moral questions, including questions about the permissibility of abortion, our obligations to animals, and whether we have a duty to reduce social and economic inequality. Though we will be exploring the field of ethics at a certain level of abstraction, the ultimate goal of the course is entirely practical: to develop the ability to think clearly and systematically about ethical issues. The course is open to students from all areas of the University interested in improving their moral judgment and decision making. These skills may be helpful in a wide array of professions, as well as in everyday life.

Note: This course counts towards the Philosophy Department’s Certificate in Ethical Theory and Practice.

Instructor: Dr. Marta Heckel

Course Description:

This is an introduction to ethical theory. What basis, if any, do we have to make distinctions between what is good and what is bad, who is virtuous and who is vicious, or what we ought to do and what we ought not to do? We will read, discuss, and write about the answers given by Plato, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Immanuel Kant.

Note: This course counts towards the Philosophy Department’s Certificate in Ethical Theory and Practice.

Instructor: TBD

Course Description:

This course approaches moral problems in biomedical and scientific research from a philosophical perspective. First, we'll familiarize ourselves with ethics and political philosophy. Then we'll study the ethical issues that arise in connection with a series of issues, including research involving human and animal subjects, eugenics, the human genome project, cloning and stem cell research. By thinking about these issues, we learn how to think critically about particular moral quandaries, as well as to uncover and examine some of our deepest moral commitments.

Note: This course counts towards the Philosophy Department’s Certificate in Ethical Theory and Practice.

Instructor: Dr. André Ariew

Course Description:

Do you want to be a better critical thinker? Do you want to learn how to make better decisions to boost your health, happiness, and productivity? Do you want to improve your college grades and become a better test taker? Do you want to master your college major and boost your chances at landing a good job? 

This course is designed to help you achieve all that by teaching you what philosophers have been developing for the last two thousand years: the rules of reasoning. By mastering these rules, you will acquire the ability to systematically distinguish valid from invalid arguments and assess the strength of inferences on the basis of available evidence. You will learn how to think about probability and how to make good decisions when you are uncertain about the possible outcomes of different courses of action. 

Mastering these rules of reasoning will help you sharpen your judgment and decision-making skills for use both in and out of the classroom. You will learn how to apply the rules and skills to a wide range of issues, from questions about the existence of God to questions about the interpretation of medical test results. The rules can be applied to every major and every career, from business, law, and, medicine to science, agriculture, and journalism.

Instructor: Dr. Andrew Melnyk

Course Description:

Do you want to be a better critical thinker? Do you want to learn how to make better decisions to boost your health, happiness, and productivity? Do you want to improve your college grades and become a better test taker? Do you want to master your college major and boost your chances at landing a good job? 

This course is designed to help you achieve all that by teaching you what philosophers have been developing for the last two thousand years: the rules of reasoning. By mastering these rules, you will acquire the ability to systematically distinguish valid from invalid arguments and assess the strength of inferences on the basis of available evidence. You will learn how to think about probability and how to make good decisions when you are uncertain about the possible outcomes of different courses of action. 

Mastering these rules of reasoning will help you sharpen your judgment and decision-making skills for use both in and out of the classroom. You will learn how to apply the rules and skills to a wide range of issues, from questions about the existence of God to questions about the interpretation of medical test results. The rules can be applied to every major and every career, from business, law, and, medicine to science, agriculture, and journalism.

Instructor: Dr. Alex Radulescu

Course Description:

AI, and more specifically Large Language Models, have exploded onto the scene a couple of years ago. They have been hugely successful in some ways, and their creators have promised a lot more. In this course, we look at several philosophical issues that arise around the nature and the use of AI. In the first part of the course, we will discuss some the ethical, legal, and political implications of AI use. For example, we will discuss ethical risks posed by the widespread use of AI in decision making and other interpersonal contexts, its societal and moral effects, and various issues of fairness. In the second part, we will discuss the nature of AI. We will address questions like whether they can be said to understand language, whether they have beliefs and desires, whether they can perform actions, and whether they are intelligent. The approach will be thoroughly philosophical; that is, we will take a brief look at the engineering details of current LLMs, but for the most part we will be less interested in the mechanics of it, and more in the nature of AI and the consequences of its use.

Instructor: Dr. Robert Johnson

Course Description:

Philosophical problems having to do with film. Topic may include the nature of films, the differences between fiction and documentary film, ethical issues with film and filmmaking.

Instructor: Dr. André Ariew

Course Description:

Philosophical exploration and examination of theories of human nature with reference to relevant developments in such sciences as biology, psychology, and economics.

Instructor: Dr. Troy Hall

Course Description:

This extremely popular course considers issues of patient autonomy, consent, healthcare rights, abortion, euthanasia, and animal and human research from an agenda-free perspective. It is also perfect as a first philosophy or ethics course, as fundamental ethical theories are explained before integrating them with medical cases. Many students have reported that taking this course was a positive transformative experience for them at Mizzou. Taught by College of Arts and Science Green and Purple Chalk teaching awards-winner Dr. Troy Hall. 

Note: This course counts towards the Philosophy Department’s Certificate in Ethical Theory and Practice.

Instructor: Dr. Philip Robbins

Course Description:

This course introduces formal deductive logic. Emphasis will be placed on developing facility with symbolization, model construction, and proof in natural deduction. Some informal discussion of basic meta-theory — e.g., soundness and completeness results for first-order logic — may also be included, if the stars align.

Instructor: Dr. Gualtiero Piccinini

Course Description:

Cognitive science is a many-splendored thing. It draws on a variety of disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, computer science, linguistics, anthropology, and philosophy. The purpose of this course is to introduce the central questions of cognitive science, the conceptual and empirical tools used to investigate those questions, and some of the answers that have emerged so far. After an initial overview of the foundations of the cognitive-scientific enterprise as a whole, we will see what particular sectors of it have to say about mental capacities such as language, categorization, reasoning, social cognition, and consciousness.

Instructor: Dr. Marta Heckel

Course Description:

Philosophical thought on nature, knowledge, the gods, human life and society, from Thales to Augustine. Emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. The relevance of the ancients to contemporary life.

Instructor: Dr. Troy Hall

Course Description:

The nature of human existence, the meaning of life, the relation of the individual to nature, society, and any gods that may be, according to Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus and others. Students are encouraged to come to grips with the issues in relation to their own lives.

Instructor: Dr. Kenneth Boyce

Course Description:

Did Beginning Logic 2700 leave you hungry for more?  If so, why not take the next step?  Go from being a mere beginning logician to an advanced one!"

Instructor: Dr. Andrew Melnyk

Course Description:

Considers theories and arguments in contemporary philosophy of mind, focusing on the nature of mental states, their relation to brain states and the plausibility of various materialist theories of the mind.

Instructor: Dr. Mike Schneider

Course Description:

Teaser description:

Behind nearly all of the technology and social organization of modern society are reliable accounts of how the bits and pieces of the natural and social world fit together. These accounts, taken altogether, form the corpus of modern science. Philosophy of science is the study of how we develop, use, and understand those accounts. For instance, how do we introduce new accounts into the collection? Under what circumstances do we discard old accounts, in favor of the new? And what should we conclude about the world as a whole when, as is often the case, two extraordinarily useful accounts seem mutually contradictory? In this course, we will embrace an open-minded approach to answering such questions. They may or may not have satisfying answers. The goal, in any case, is not to raise skepticism, but to seek understanding: what is it about the social institution, culture, or methods of science that distinguish it, as a purveyor of knowledge about the natural and social world? 

 More concrete description:

In this class, students will acquire a comprehensive background in 20th and 21st century philosophy of science: understanding how scientific research across disciplines forms a world-wide infrastructure that underwrites public decision-making and technological progress. A major component of the class will be an in-depth case study of the history of thermometry, or how researchers in and after the Scientific Revolution came to invent the idea that all physical bodies, whether warm or cold to the touch, have an objective temperature to measure by means of a thermometer. Organized as a seminar, this class will promote student development of skills in philosophical argumentation, a crucial life and career skill of thinking responsibly on complex topics of varying personal or public significance. Students will also hone abilities crucial for independently navigating critical assumptions that are ordinarily unnoticed about how science gets done. This expertise is essential preparation for a lifetime of engagement with popular advertisements about the latest and greatest science and technology discoveries.

Instructor: Dr. Robert Johnson

Course Description: 

Contemporary and/or historical theories of justice and the state. Utilitarianism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Marxism, Communitarianism and Feminism may be among the views covered.

Instructor: Dr. Alex Radulescu

Course Description:

Artists make artworks, and they often intend them to mean something, to convey a message, even to change the world. The public often know little about the artists’ intentions and sometimes seem not to care about them. Some philosophers have proclaimed the death of the author, i.e. the author’s irrelevance to the destiny of the artwork. In this course, we will explore the role of the artists’ intentions in art interpretation and art appreciation.

Instructor: Various Departmental Faculty

Instructor: Dr. Hannah Rubin

Course Description:

Introduction to graduate level work in philosophy. Required of all students entering the program, in the first year. An intensive workshop focused on skills rather than any particular philosophical content.

Instructor: Dr. Claire Horisk

Course Description:

A graduate-level survey of central issues in philosophy of language.

Instructor: Dr. M Folescu

Course Description:

Interpretation and evaluation of major works of Descartes, Leibniz, and/or Spinoza in relation to their historical context and current philosophical problems.