PHIL G4055x. Aesthetics: Modern Survey II.

Open to senior undergraduates with previous work in the history of philosophy and to graduate students. Preference is given to students who have taken Aesthetics: Historical Survey I. This course is a critical examination of the major texts in aesthetics including Dewey, Collingwood, Croce, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Adorno, Benjamin, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, Wollheim, Goodman, Cavell, and Danto. Aesthetics: Modern Survey I is not a pre-requisite, but preference is given to those students who have taken it.

PHIL G4278y. Nietzsche. 3 pts.

This class will consist of a close reading of two works in which Friedrich Nietzsche developed his analysis and critique of morality as a distinctive mode of assessment with peculiar metaphysical and motivational commitments: Daybreak and Beyond Good and Evil. Term paper writing willrequire the review of secondary literature.

PHIL G4415x and y. Symbolic Logic. 4 pts.

Advanced introduction to classical sentential and predicate logic. No previous acquaintance with logic is required; nonetheless a willingness to master technicalities and to work at a certain level of abstraction is desirable. Note: Due to significant overlap, students may receive credit for only one of the following three courses: PHIL V3411, V3415, G4415.

PHIL G4450x. Philosophy of Logic. 3 pts. Prerequisites: Prerequisite: one term of formal logic.

Topics in philosophical semantics, such as the relation of formal logic and natural language, sense and reference, semantical paradoxes, the nature of logical truth, and modal and intensional notions.

PHIL G4501y. Epistemology. 3 pts.

Knowledge of the external world, of other persons, and of ourselves. Selections from traditional and modern texts will be studied.

PHIL G4660y. Philosophy of Mind. 3 pts.

PHIL W4950y. Economics and Philosophy Seminar. 3 pts.

Explores topics in the philosophy of economics such as welfare, social choice, and the history of political economy. Sometimes the emphasis is primarily historical and sometimes on analysis of contemporary economic concepts and theories.

PHIL G9221y. Descartes. 3 pts.

A study of the Mediations, the ObjectionsandReplies, and related passages from other writings of Descartes.

PHIL G9255y. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. 3 pts.

Close examination of selected texts and problems.

PHIL G9521x. Topics In the Theory of Knowledge. 3 pts.

Epistemology as conceived in this discussion concerns justification of changes in states of belief as states free of "real and living doubt". The roots of this emphasis in the Peirce-Dewey model of inquiry will initiate the discussion followed with an elaboration of a structure for thinking about changes in such states of "full belief" or "absolute certainty". A decision theoretic account of adding information to a state of full belief and its justification will be provided that offers a principled way of understanding the relations of full belief to judgments of probability and other expressions of uncertainty. Following this an account of justifying removal of information from a state of full belief will be elaborated based on the proposals offered in my Mild Contraction. If time permits the relation of all of this to suppositional reasoning and conditionals will be elaborated. Views of the classical pragmatists Peirce, James and Dewey, the inheritors of the ideas of the AGM belief revision theory and other versions of 'nonmonotonic reasoning and especially the views of Hans Rott and Wolfgang Spohn as well as various forms of probabilist or Bayesian epistemology will be discussed.

PHIL G9658x. Advanced Topics in the Philosophy of Mind. 3 pts.

This seminar will be concerned with the interactions between the theory of intentional content and thought on the one hand, and metaphysics on the other. We will first discuss the role of truth and reference in the individuation of intentional content. We will then draw on that role in discussing the following issues: the nature of rule-following and objectivity in thought; transcendental arguments and objective content in thought and in perception; the general phenomenon of relation-based thought, and its extent, nature and significance; the nature of subjects of consciousness, self-representation and first person thought.

PHIL G9750x. Topics in Political Philosophy. 3 pts.

Analysis of selected concepts that are central to political philosophy, including authority, rights, justice, equality, liberty, and democracy. The arguments that have been advanced in the classical tradition and in contemporary literature that have served to support and to criticize the validity of these concepts are examined. Notes: This course is open to graduate and undergraduate students in any subject.This course will only meet for half of the semester.

PHIL G9901-G9902y. Research In Philosophy. 3 pts.

Prerequisite: director of graduate studies' permission.

PHIL G9902y. Research in Philosophy II.

PHIL G9990x. Thesis Preparation Seminar. 3 pts.

The purposes of the Seminar are (a) to aid graduates in developing and refining material for their dissertation; (b) to give graduates experience in presenting material to a philosophical audience in an informed and supportive environment; (c) to give graduates experience in critically discussing presented material, and thereby to see how their own presentations and work can be developed to withstand critical examination. The Seminar is restricted to Columbia graduate students in their third or later years, and all such students are strongly encouraged to attend. No faculty (other than the organizer) will be present. Those attending the seminar will be expected to make one or more presentations of work in progress. The material for a presentation may range from a near-final draft of a chapter, to an early critical overview of an area with an outline plan for an approach to some chosen problem. We will attempt as far as possible to organize the presentations in such a way that they are grouped by subject-matter, and provide a rational path through the territory we cover.

PHIL G9001x or y-G9004y. Quodlibetal Studies, I, II, III, and IV. 3 pts.

Prerequisite: high-quality work in the previous term. Arrangements must be made with the director of graduate studies. Tutorial work in specialized research topics.

PHIL G9131x. Aristotle. 3 pts.

A close study of one or more Aristotelian treatise, using commentaries and recent literature to elucidate Aristotle's arguments and their connections with present philosophical debates.

PHIL G9515x. Topics In Metaphysics. 3 pts.

This course will cover such issues as the mind-world relation, truth, the realism-relativism debate and the metaphysical status of value.

PHIL G9563x. Explanation and Induction. 3 pts.

Selected topics in the foundations of probability and induction, and statistical inference.

PHIL V3601x. Metaphysics. 3 pts.

Systematic treatment of some major topics in metaphysics (e.g. modality, causation, identity through time, particulars and universals). Readings from contemporary authors.

PHIL V3701x and y. Moral Philosophy. 3 pts. Prerequisites: One course in philosophy

The first part of this course surveys four major ethical theories that provide justification for normative ethical practices: Aristotle's naturalistic interpretation of moral virtues as derivable from the understanding of the ends of human nature in Nicomanchean Ethics; Kant's rationalist analysis of moral principles as the universalizable imperatives of rational beings in Fundamental Principles of Metaphysics of Morals; Hume's empiricist derivation of ethical norms from sentiment; Hegel's two concepts of geist and dialectic as sources for moral relativism and moral absolutism. The second part of this course is an analysis of theses of ethical non-naturalism in twentieth-century philosophers, including Moore, Ayer, Stevenson, and Sarte as confronted by the ethical naturalist theses of Dewey, Austin, Hampshire, Foote, and Berlin.

PHIL G4265y. Ethical Naturalism. 3 pts.

Historical and analytical survey of philosophical proposals to justify normative ethical decisions by an appeal to aspects of Nature or human nature from ancient philosophical texts to contemporary linguistic analysis. Major variants of naturalistic ethical theories are studied in the doctrines of Pythagoreanisms, Aristotle, Natural Law, Spinoza, Hume, and Darwinism. A linguistic resurrection of ethical naturalism is developed through a critique of such philosophers as Moore, Ayer, Stevenson and Mackie, by reference to the writings of Dewey, Hampshire, Foot, Austin and McDowell.

PHIL G4565x. Rational Choice. 3 pts.

Examines the criteria for rational choice, primarily focused on individual decision making, with some attention to collective decision making. Discusses concepts of probability, belief, and value employed in formulating principles of choice. Considers such principles as maximization of expected utility, minimal loss and regret, and maximum and optimism-pessimism and their relevance to moral and political decision is also considered.

PHIL G4740y. History of Philosophy in the Muslim World. 3 pts.

A study of what it meant for the Muslim world to open up itself to Greek philosophy and to create the tradition of philosophical thinking known as Falsafa(from the Greek philosophia). The relation between theology (kalâm) and philosophy as well works of major authors of the classical period (9th to the late 12th century) will be studied.

PHIL G4900x. Topics in Early Modern Philosophy. 3 pts. Prerequisites: Open to undergraduates with previous work in the history of philosophy and to graduate students.

Focuses either on an important topic in the history of early modern philosophy (e.g., skepticism, causation, mind, body) or on the philosophy of a major figure in the period (e.g., Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Gassendi, Conway).

PHIL G6720x. Advanced Ethics Survey. 3 pts.

The course offers an introduction to and survey of ethical theory, covering topics in metaethics and major approaches in normative ethics (no applied ethics). The class is designed for graduate students, who wish to get an overview of the field. While it is impossible to cover all topics relevant to ethical theory, the class aims to offer introductions to topics of widely shared interest: Metaethics I (The Good, Ethical Judgement), Utilitarianism and Consequentialism (Contemporary), Kantian ethics (Kant and Contemporary Kantians), Virtue ethics (Ancient and Contemporary), Metaethics II (Reason, Values, and Desire)

PHIL G6880x and y. ProSeminar. 3 pts.

This course, which meets only for the first seven weeks of term, is restricted to, and required for, first-year Columbia Ph.D. students. The course aims to promote weekly writing by each student. A paper, or section of a book, with which every philosopher ought be familiar, will be selected each week, and one student will make a presentation on that target paper, while the others will hand in a brief essay about it. Essays will be returned, with comments, before the next meeting of the seminar. Each week a different member of the faculty, in addition to Prof. Peacocke, will participate in the discussions. A second seven-week segment of the ProSeminar will be held in the Spring Semester of 2009.

PHIL G9101x. Global Political Thought. 3 pts.

PHIL G9180y. Ethics: Mind and Morals. 3 pts.

PHIL G9356x. Later Heidegger. 3 pts.

Reading and discussion of selected texts from Heidegger's later work. Topics may include the question of being, the history of being, metaphysics, the nature of thinking, the essence of art and technology, values, and nihilism.

PHIL G9700y. Colloquium on European Social, Political, and Moral Thought. 3 pts. Prerequisites: Permission of Instructor

This colloquium is intended for advanced graduate students whose dissertation work lies in the area of modern European social, political, and moral thought from the 18th century to the present. Each week will be devoted to the presentation and discussion of a 20-30 page excerpt from one participant's dissertation (or prospectus). Participating faculty members will also be encouraged to present their work in progress. The paper to be discussed must be submitted electronically to all participants a minimum of one week in advance of the colloquium meeting. Each participant will read each paper and be prepared to discuss it in detail during the colloquium meeting. Discussion will be focused not only on critique but also on providing the presenter with positive suggestions for going forward with her or his project.

PHIL G9890x. Works-In-Progress Seminar. 3 pts. Prerequisites: Only graduate students in the Philosophy Department may enroll.

This seminar is a venue for reading and discussing works-in-progress by Columbia faculty as well as invited speakers from outside. Attendance at all department colloquia is required.