Lecture 01 (online) - MW 11-11:50 a.m. - Dr. Marta Heckel

• Discussion 01A (online) - F 10-10:50 a.m. - Christian Culak
• Discussion 01B (online) - F 12-12:50 a.m. - Christian Culak
• Discussion 01C (online) - F 9-9:50 a.m. - Christian Culak

Lecture 02 (face-to-face) - MWF 9-9:50 a.m. - Selwyn Griffith

Lecture 03 (face-to-face) - MWF 11-11:50 a.m. - Selwyn Griffith

Lecture 04 (face-to-face) - TTh 11-12:15 p.m. - Argon Gruber

Lecture 05 (face-to-face) - TTh 9:30-10:45 a.m. - Argon Gruber

Lecture 06 (face-to-face) - MWF 9-9:50 a.m. - Jean Janasz

Lecture 07 (face-to-face) - MWF 10-10:50 a.m. - Jean Janasz

Lecture 08 (online) - MWF 11-11:50 a.m. - Tieying Zhou

Lecture 09 (online) - MWF 9-9:50 a.m. - Tieying Zhou

Lecture 10 (Online Self-Paced) - Chaunke Wei

• Discussion 10A (Online Self-Paced) - Chaunke Wei

Credit Hours: 3

Course Descriptions: 

Introduction to traditional philosophical problems and methods of philosophical inquiry. Consideration given to different philosophical theories on the nature of reality, human beings, nature and God; knowledge and how it is acquired; values and social issues.

Lectures 8 & 9 with Tieying Zhou:

Philosophy makes the invisible visible.

The primary concern of philosophy is the study of ideas central to the ways we think and live. The value, however, of many of our key concepts is often hidden from us. We take the ways we make sense of ourselves and the world for granted. We forget why truth matters or acting decently is a minimal requirement for treating others justly.

It cultivates techniques that help us become clearer about what matters to us most. It develops skills that are essential in the pursuit of every discipline. The skills like critical thinking and evaluating different ideas based on their arguments shall benefit not only your study but your daily life.

In its aim and format, the course is more an invitation to do philosophy than an introduction. Introductions seek to map out a territory or lay the groundwork for a more detailed study. We will discuss the topics as the following:

• What is an argument and how to evaluate it? 

• What can we know about the world?
• Does God exist?
• Do we have free will?

• What is the relationship between the mind and the body? • What matters in our life?
• Is morality objective?

Slowly, carefully, and seriously thinking things through in this manner can significantly change the way you understand the world and your place within it.

Lecture 01 (online) - TTh 2:00-3:15 p.m. - Dr. Marina Folescu 

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite: Honors eligibility required

We live in relationship to the people, animals, and objects around us. Our nature partly determines who we are; but so do our cultural heritage and political environment. We can and do influence how others perceive us through our relationships and actions. The notions of personal and political freedom cannot be understood well unless we have a framework for understanding what we are, as mind-and-body unions, and what we owe to each other, as fellow citizens in a society. In this class, we will start at the beginning: we will dedicate most of the time to closely reading three of the most famous texts in the history of Western philosophy, all three written in the 17th century. First, to gain a better idea about what weare, we will carefully read René Descartes' Meditations, where he laid the foundations of dualism, a thesis that is still alive and well in contemporary psychology and philosophy of mind. In the second part of this class, we will be discussing John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration, where he laid the foundations of the theory of social contract. This theory is aimed at explaining how it is that people congregate together in societies and what is the nature of their rights and obligations, as members of particular societies.

Lecture 02 (face-to-face) - MFW 2:00-2:50 p.m. - STAFF

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite: Honors eligibility required

Lecture 01 (online) - MW 10-10:50 a.m. - Dr. Philip Robbins

• Discussion 01A (face-to-face) - Th 9-9:50 a.m. - Arcangelo Quintaneiro
• Discussion 01B (face-to-face) - Th 11-11:50 a.m. - Arcangelo Quintaneiro
• Discussion 01C (face-to-face) - Th 12-12:50 p.m. - Arcangelo Quintaneiro

Lecture 02 (face-to-face) - MWF 9-9:50 a.m. - Dan McFarland

Lecture 03 (face-to-face) - MWF 10-10:50 a.m. - Dan McFarland

Lecture 04 (online) - MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m. - Aaron Sullivan

Lecture 05 (online) - MWF 12:00-12:50 p.m. - Aaron Sullivan

Lecture 07 - (Online Self-Paced) - Troy Hall

• Discussion 07A - (Online Self-Paced) - Troy Hall

Credit Hours: 3

What makes things right or wrong? Are there facts about what is right and wrong or is morality just a matter of opinion?  What does it take to be a good person? What does it look like to live a good life? How should we think about issues surrounding our duties to the poor, animal rights, just warfare, human sexuality, abortion, and many other controversial topics? In this class, we will explore these and other questions from a philosophical perspective.

Lecture 01 (online) - TTh 12:30-1:45 - Dr. Ben Hutchens

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: Honors eligibility required

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 shall charitably interpret and evaluate reasoned answers to these (and other) questions. We shall then work on developing our own reasoned answers through essay writing.

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - MWF 9-9:50 a.m. - Travis Holmes

Lecture 02 (face-to-face) - MWF 11-11:50 a.m. - Travis Holmes

Lecture 03 (online) - MWF 10-10:50 a.m. - Doug Moore

Lecture 04 (online) - MWF 12-12:50 p.m. - Doug Moore

Lecture 05 (face-to-face) - MWF 12-12:50 p.m. - Tian Zhang

Lecture 06 (online) - Chaunke Wei

Lecture 07 (face-to-face) - MWF 10-10:50 a.m. - Tian Zhang

Lecture 08 (online) - MWF 11-11:50 a.m. - Dr. Jon Marc Asper

Credit Hours: 3

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.

Lecture 01 (online) - MW 12-12:50 p.m. - Dr. Philip Robbins

• Discussion 01A (face-to-face) - Th 9-9:50 p.m. - Se Yong Bae
• Discussion 01B (face-to-face) - Th 10-10:50 a.m. - Se Yong Bae
• Discussion 01C (face-to-face) - Th 11-11:50 a.m. - Se Yong Bae

Philip Robbins - This course provides the tools you need to reason better when deciding what to believe and what to do. It draws from several fields: cognitive psychology, behavioral economics, logic, probability, and decision theory. We will consider empirical evidence about ‘heuristics and biases’ — spontaneous judgments that can be predictably irrational. And we will study what good deductive, causal, and probabilistic reasoning looks like. But the goal of the course is entirely practical: to develop effective reasoning skills with clear applications in your personal and professional lives. The course is open to students from all areas of the University interested in improving their reasoning ability and their ability to construct and recognize compelling arguments. These skills may be helpful in a wide variety of university subjects and extra-academic pursuits, indeed, in everyday life more generally.

Lecture 02 (face-to-face) - MWF 12-12:50 p.m. - Fernando Alvear

Lecture 03 (face-to-face) - MWF 10-10:50 a.m. - Fernando Alvear

Lecture 04 (online) - TTh 9:30-10:45 a.m. - Tianqin Ren

Lecture 05 (online) - TTh 12:30-11:45 p.m. - Tianqin Ren

Lecture 09 (Online Self-Paced) - Dr. Troy Hall

• Discussion 09A - (Online Self-Paced) - Dr. Troy Hall

Credit Hours: 3

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - MWF 12-12:50 p.m. - Dr. Jeffrey Freelin

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite: Honors eligibility required

Logic is the study of the rules of clear reasoning; that is, of properly deriving conclusions from evidence.  Thus, logic is a process by which we can come to true beliefs. The success of liberal democracies like that of the United States depends in large part on the populace’s believing the truth; believing true propositions allows us to set and realize our goals, and allows us to autonomously decide governmental policy.  Propaganda can prevent people from believing the truth in various ways by publicly misleading or deceiving citizens.  Propaganda operates by appealing to emotions in ways in which rational debate is sidelined or short-circuited; propaganda works in part by re-defining reality itself in ways that serve particular interests (as opposed to serving the common good).  In this class, we will first study the basis of logic (both formal and informal), including analyses of language, definitions, logical fallacies, and the standards for judging both inductive and deductive reasoning.  We will follow this with a study of the nature and methods of propaganda, and the dangers that propaganda poses to modern democracies.

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - TTh 9:30-10:45 a.m. - Mr. Drew Woodson

Credit Hours: 3

This course surveys developments in the philosophy of race. We will examine the ordinary conception of race and consider criticisms of it. Theorists in the field generally hold the ordinary notion of race in disrepute. The line of inquiry then becomes “What does ‘race’ denote?” and “Why?” In response, we will disambiguate race from closely associated concepts such as ethnicity, culture, nation, and class as part of a sustained investigation into the relationship between race and racism. Toward the end of the course, we will more directly reflect on implications of the inequality race seems to track with a focus on mass incarceration and reparations.

Lecture 04 (face-to-face) - TTh 2:00-3:15 p.m. - Dr. Christopher Gadsden

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

Course Description:

Lecture 4 with Dr. Christopher Gadsden

"Four Views on Human Nature: Marx, Lewis, Darwin, and Aristotle"

We will explore four views on human nature: Karl Marx (Marxist), C.S. Lewis (Christian), E. O. Wilson (evolutionary psychology), and Aristotle (teleological). We will read about and critique each view, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. You will find this material helpful in your own quest to establish a philosophy of life.

Lecture 01 (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi

• Discussion 01A (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi

Lecture 02 (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi

• Discussion 02A (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi 

Credit Hours: 3

This course addresses moral issues about the recourse to war by the nation and the individual's obligations to participate, and the nature of peace, both social and personal. Special attention is paid to the Vietnam War and the nuclear age.

Lecture 01 (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi

• Discussion 01A (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi

Lecture 02 (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi

• Discussion 02A (online) - Sukhvinder Shahi

Credit Hours: 3

This course addresses moral issues about the recourse to war by the nation and the individual's obligations to participate, and the nature of peace, both social and personal. Special attention is paid to the Vietnam War and the nuclear age.

Lecture 01 (online) - MWF 2-2:50 p.m. - Dr. Jon Marc Asper

Lecture 02 (online) - MWF 1-1:50 p.m. - Dr. Jon Marc Asper

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

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.

Lecture 01 (online) - MW 9-9:50 a.m. - Dr. Troy Hall

• Discussion 01A (face-to-face) - F 9-9:50 a.m. - Alok Tiwari
• Discussion 01B (face-to-face) - F 10-10:50 a.m. - Alok Tiwari
• Discussion 01C (face-to-face) - F 9-9:50 a.m. - Xihe Ouyang
• Discussion 01D (face-to-face) - F 12-12:50 p.m. - Alok Tiwari
• Discussion 01E (face-to-face) - F 11-11:50 a.m. - Xihe Ouyang
• Discussion 01F (face-to-face) - F 8-8:50 a.m. - Xihe Ouyang
• Discussion 01G (face-to-face) - F 11-11:50 a.m. - Joel Vall Thomas
• Discussion 01H (face-to-face) - F 10-10:50 a.m. - Joel Vall Thomas
• Discussion 01J (face-to-face) - F 12-12:50 p.m. - Joel Vall Thomas

Lecture 02 (online) - TTh 11-12:15 a.m. - Dr. Ben Hutchens

Credit Hours: 3

Course Descriptions: 

Lecture 1 with Dr. Troy Hall

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 qualifies as a credit towards the new Certificate in Ethical Theory and Practice. For more information, go here: https://philosophy.missouri.edu/undergrad/certificate-ethical-theory-and-practice

Lecture 01 (online) - MWF 10-10:50 a.m. - Dr. Alexandru Radulescu

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing and grade of C or better in MATH1100 or MATH 1120

Introduces a symbolic language for representing the structure of arguments. Presents precise rules for demonstrating the validity of arguments. Covers natural deduction for sentence and predicate logic. Develops skill in constructing derivations. Math Reasoning Proficiency Course.

Lecture 01 (online) - MW 1-1:50 p.m. - Dr. Troy Hall

• Discussion 01A (online) - F 12-12:50 p.m. - Zeynab Rabii
• Discussion 01B (online) - F 9-9:50 a.m. - Zeynab Rabii
• Discussion 01C (online) - F 10-10:50 a.m. - Zeynab Rabii

Credit Hours: 3

Recommended: PHIL 1100

Course Descriptions:

Lecture 1 with Dr. Troy Hall

This popular course counts as a Diversity Intensive Course. Truly a course for everyone, Environmental Ethics explores our relationship to each other and the natural world. A perfect first philosophy course or ethics course, cutting edge contemporary topics such as animal ethics, sustainability, environmental justice and racism, ecofeminism, deep ecology, and eco-terrorism are covered in an agenda-free way. Taught by College of Arts and Science Green and Purple Chalk teaching awards-winner Dr. Troy Hall. Note: this course qualifies as a credit towards the new Certificate in Ethical Theory and Practice. For more information, go here: https://philosophy.missouri.edu/undergrad/certificate-ethical-theory-and-practice

Lecture 01 (online) - TTh 11-12:15 p.m. - Dr. Marina Folescu

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

Recommended: One course in Philosophy

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

Lecture 01 (online) - MWF 1-1:50 p.m. - Dr. Alexandru Radulescu

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

Recommended: One course in Philosophy

The course will be a survey of some of the notable philosophers/thinkers whose contributions have been made in the twentieth century.
 

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 represent a tree, or a feeling, or an abstract concept. 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 Walton.

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - MWF 12-12:50 p.m. - Dr. André Ariew

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing and PHIL 2700

This course studies probability, its various interpretations, and its basic principles. It identifies forms of reasoning that establish the probability of a conclusion. The methods of reasoning it treats are at the heart of science and practical affairs.

Lecture 01 (online) - TTh 9:30-10:45 a.m. - Dr. Kenneth Boyce

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

Recommended: Previous work in PHIL 1000, PHIL 3000, or PHIL 3200

Metaphysics studies what there is and how things are, most generally speaking. Topics may include realism versus nominalism, substance and attribute, facts, modality, identity and causality.

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - MWF 11-11:50 a.m. - Dr. Robert Johnson

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

Recommended: two courses in Philosophy

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

Lecture 01 (online) - TTh 12:30-1:45 p.m. - Dr. Tina Botts

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

Recommended: one course in Philosophy

What is law? Are there pre- or trans-legal rights? Is punishment justifiable? How can judicial decisions be justified? What are the relations between law and morality?

Lecture 02 (Online Self-Paced) - Dr. Bina Gupta 

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: sophomore standing

Recommended: One course in Philosophy

This course constitutes a historical-critical analysis of the selected philosophies of India and China. The primary emphasis will be placed upon the historical development of Asian philosophies within the classical period. It will explore a broad range of philosophical issues discussed in the Vedas and Upanishads, Advaita Vedanta, the Bhagavad Gita, Theravada Buddhism, the Confucian Analects, and the Tao Te Ching. 

My approach will be both historical and critical: (1) the attempt will be made to understand each philosophical school in its integrity, to enter into the fundamental doctrines of each school, with an open mind in order to grasp the system as a philosophical whole; (2) each system will be subject to rigorous philosophical criticism, first, of an internal sort, in order to reveal fundamental inconsistencies between the different assumptions of the system, and secondly, of an external sort, which discloses the limitations of a given system when judged by reference to the phases of human experience and knowledge to which it fails to do justice.

Credit Hours: 1-3

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing

Regular individual meetings with an instructor as part of studying a sequence of readings, comparable in difficulty and number to readings assigned in a regularly-offered 4000-level course. Only by special arrangement with an instructor.

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - MWF 10-10:50 a.m. - Dr. André Ariew

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: senior Philosophy major

A capstone course required of and only open to senior Philosophy majors. Course content will vary, depending on the professor teaching the course.

Spring 2021 Course Description:

The discipline of philosophy contains a variety of subject areas including: metaphysics, epistemology, science, and theories of value. Many philosophers tend to focus on one subject area, and become expert at the associated concepts and precedents. Nevertheless, philosophers across subject areas tend to be able to engage with each other because, despite differences, philosophers tend to share a common analytic method involving argument construction and criticism. An analysis involving, say, metaphysics, should be accessible to, say, ethicists, despite the differences in specific concepts and precedences. The mode of analysis in philosophy is writing and speaking. In this class we will study a range of topics, choosing among a variety of subject areas. In each instance we will approach the topic through the analytic method. By the end of the semester students will be proficient at argument analysis, both written and oral, and have applied it to several subject areas. 

After each of the four subject module students will write short critical analyses (1000 words each) that engage in (charitable) argument reconstruction and critique. The critical essays, while focussing on one argument, will draw from the readings in the subject modules, demonstrating a comprehension of the main concepts and precedents. The critical essays must include a thesis, an analysis, and a conclusion. Throughout the semester students will have an opportunity to present their critical analysis to the class as a subject for debate.  

Students will also write a longer philosophical essay (3000-3500 words in total) that expands upon one of the shorter critical pieces and emphasizes the development of a positive thesis. The goal is to complete a paper worthy of submitting as a writing sample for graduate school. The longer critical paper will be subject to oral presentation, peer review, and revision.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: junior standing

Individual study with a mentor. Work toward a thesis for students aiming at Departmental Honors.

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: junior standing

Individual study with a mentor. Work toward a thesis for students aiming at Departmental Honors.

Credit Hours: 1-99

Individual study with a mentor. Requires departmental consent.

Credit Hours: 1-99

Prerequisites: instructor's consent

Organized study of selected topics. Need departmental consent for repetition.

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - W 3:30-5:50 p.m. - Dr. Marta Heckel

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: graduate Philosophy student

Advanced studies in Plato; emphasis on recent scholarship.
 

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - M 1:00-3:20 p.m. - Dr. Paul Weirich

Credit Hour: 3

Prerequisites: PHIL 4110; graduate Philosophy student

Course Description: 

Lecture 1 with Dr. Paul Weirich

Principles for making rational decisions, including principles of expected utility theory and game theory.  Topics include risk, rational choice using imprecise probabilities and utilities, and causal decision theory.

Lecture 01 (face-to-face) - T 3:30-5:50 p.m. - Dr. Andrew Melnyk

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: graduate Philosophy student

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