Instructor: Dr. Kenny Shields

Course Description:  

Now that you are here, you’ve probably got some questions. This is the class where you get to ask those questions. There are answers, and there is a skill involved in doing philosophy well. But as the theoretical physicist Sara Imari Walker says, "if you’re not doing philosophy, you’re inheriting someone else’s dogma."

 Instructor: Dr. Andrew Melnyk

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.

Your success in completing the course requirements will provide evidence of how far you have achieved the course goals.

It is not a goal of this course to persuade you of my own particular philosophical (or political, or religious, or…) views, and you will never be graded on your agreement with them. All that matters to me about your views is that you arrive at them after careful reflection on the best arguments for and against them.

 Instructor: Dr. Kenny Boyce

Course Description:

Moral philosophers seek reasoned answers to questions about how we should live, what we should value, and the nature of morality. For example, is morality objective or relative to culture? Are we morally required to be vegetarians? What is social justice? Is abortion ever morally permissible? As an introduction to philosophical ethics, we will charitably interpret and evaluate reasoned answers to these (and other) questions.

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

Instructor: Dr. Marta Heckel, Dr. Karolina Wisniewska

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? 

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. Kenneth Shields

Course Description:

Arguments are everywhere. From social media to politicians to you arguing with yourself, claims are argued for, that is, reasons are given for believing those claims to be true. But not all reasons are alike —some are good, some are not so good, some are downright bad — and believing things without good reason is generally to be avoided. How do we tell the difference between good arguments and the rest? The skills developed in this course will help you find out!

Instructor: TBD

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. Karolina Wisniewska

Course Description:

Moral issues about the recourse to war by the nation and the individual's obligations to participate. The nature of peace, social and personal. Special attention to the Vietnam War and the nuclear age.

Instructor: TBD

Course Description:

Review of the major contemporary ethical theories and their contribution to the resolution of major social issues such as euthanasia, suicide, abortion, capital punishment, violence and war. Emphasis on nature, interests, and rights of persons. Graded on A-F basis only.

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. Claire Horisk

Course Description:

Do you love solving puzzles like Sudoku? Then this is a great course for you. We will learn how to solve logical puzzles by learning a formal logical language and formal methods of evaluating arguments. Having logical abilities is great for anyone who needs to reason --- and that is all of us --- and is an especially useful skill if you are interested in law, business, or linguistics. Logic also serves as a fundamental basis for computer science and artificial intelligence.

Instructor: Dr. Kenneth Shields

Course Description:

Everybody knows the difference between right and wrong….right? Wait…how is that possible? And what is it that we know, exactly? But don’t we know that humans are just self-interested? Or is selfless behavior possible? But what if I don’t care—can there still be a reason to do something? But isn’t morality just personal, or perhaps just emotional? Besides, we don’t really have free will to choose right or wrong...or wait a minute maybe we do? If you find these questions interesting, this is the class for you!

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. M Folescu

Course Description:

Surveys critical and speculative thinking of modern period from Descartes to Kant in relation to scientific, religious and social movements.

Instructor: Dr. Troy Hall

Course Description:

The 19th Century saw a historically unmatched profusion of philosophical activity, the consequences of which have been decisive for modernity. This makes selecting authors for the course difficult. Tentatively, the Spring 2024 offering will focus on German Idealism and its critics (Hegel, Marx, and Schopenhauer) and 19th-century American philosophy—Transcendentalism and early Pragmatism. Note: though Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are clearly important figures of the 19th Century, they are covered in the quasi-sequel to this course, PHIL 3500 Existentialism (taught each fall semester).

Instructor: Dr. Alexandru Radulescu

Course Description:

This class will focus on representation, as it occurs in language, in the mind, and in the arts. Are these different topics? Well, that's up for debate too. We will address such questions as how names name, how we manage to think about water and sofas and arthritis, and how lines on a canvas manage to become an artwork and to represent a tree. We will also look at the role of representation in a broad story about cognition and the value that aboutness has in our lives. We will mainly be reading texts by Kripke, Putnam, Burge, and Lopes.

Instructor: Dr. Claire Horisk

Course Description:

We use language every day---to chat, to communicate, to argue, to persuade. In this course, we will explore classic philosophical questions about this aspect of human experience. How do vibrations in the air or marks on paper or signs with our hands mean things about the world and how do they share ideas in our heads with others?  How do proper names like ‘Mark Twain’ or ‘St. Louis’ connect with people and places? How does what we communicate sometimes go beyond what we literally say? We will also talk about how these classic questions may help answer pressing contemporary questions about offensive language.

Instructor: Dr. Kenneth Boyce

Course Description: 

This course explores the foundational principles of probability, its various philosophical interpretations, and how it might be used as a guide to evidential reasoning.  Along the way, we will also explore some controversial applications of probabilistic reasoning in philosophy and science.  How, for example, should we understand the use of probability in quantum mechanics and cosmology?  Do we have evidence for or against the existence of a multiverse, for or against the existence of God?  Can probabilistic reasoning help us predict when the world is going to end?  Living with Uncertainty will provide you with the tools you need to join in these discussions!

Instructor: Dr. Gualtiero Piccinini

Course Description:

Do holes exist? Do we have free will? Is time real, or is the present an illusion? In this dynamic, discussion-focused course, we break down the ultimate puzzles of existence—from consciousness and space-time to the metaphysics of race and gender—and learn to construct rock-solid arguments of our own.

Instructor: Dr. Gualtiero Piccinini

Course Description:

Normative and meta-ethical theories. Topics may include the rationality and objectivity of morality, the meaning of moral language, the differences between deontological, utilitarian and virtue theories. 

Prerequisites: sophomore standing; at least six credits hours from the following: PHIL 1000, PHIL 1100, PHIL 1150, PHIL 1200, PHIL 2410, PHIL 2430, PHIL 2440, PHIL 2700, PHIL 2900, PHIL 3000 or PHIL 3200

Instructor: Various Departmental Faculty

Instructor: Dr. Marta Heckel

Course Description:

Advanced studies in Plato; emphasis on recent scholarship.

Instructor: Dr. Andrew Melnyk

Course Description:

Theories of the categories and structures of reality, e.g., appearance and reality, causality, space and time, God, Nature, the human being.

Instructor: Dr. Gualtiero Piccinini

Course Description:

Survey of important recent work in contemporary philosophy of mind and psychology. Graduate seminar.