Upper-Division Requirements

This course explains the nature and source of reality in classical and contemporary Asian philosophies. It focuses on such questions as the origin and nature of ultimate reality, the nature of the self in relation to reality, freedom and causality in human existence, idealism and realism, and methodological approaches to apprehending reality.

This course explains a set of conceptual problems involving the nature of mind and of psychological explanations of behavior. These range from classical discussions of the "mind-body problem" to contemporary debates concerning consciousness, mental representation, mental content, innate ideas, the nature of concepts, and the plausibility of psycho-physical reductionism.

This course explains a broad range of metaphysical issues concerning the nature of God (or a god) and religious experience. It focuses on some major areas of debate such as arguments for the existence of a god, whether such a god should be conceived as a person, the problem of evil, and the relationship of faith and reason.

This course studies some major topics and approaches in the history of philosophical reflection on Being and ontology from the beginnings of metaphysical speculation in the pre-Socratics through the contemporary period. Topics may include potency and act, essence and existence, causality, the ontolological foundations of logic, and the question of God.

This course studies a range of metaphysical issues relevant to the nature of personal identity and self-consciousness such as identity over time, what makes someone a person, the nature of self-consciousness, the relationship of the self to a body, freedom of the will, the development of the self in the context of society and socio-political relations.

This course explores Native American Philosophy with particular emphasis on Mexico or the continental US. Topically, the course focuses on metaphysical aspects of Native American thought such as the nature or reality, time, space, truth, freedom, the self and the relationship between the self and the world. The course will draw comparisons to the Western philosophical tradition.

This course explores various philosophical conceptions of freedom and the issues that they raise. Topics may include free will and determinism, existentialism and freedom, whether freedom is related to reason, and the implications of metaphysical freedom for political liberation and moral responsibility.

This course explores the metaphysical views of the Ancient Greeks with particular emphasis on the broad historical, cultural, and political context out of which their views emerge.  Possible topics include their conceptions of reality, change, knowledge, philosophical method, love, and friendship.  The course will also explore the influence of these ideas on the Western philosophical tradition.

A study of how the elements of text and performance in Shakespeare’s plays engage metaphysical questions, including the nature of mind and agency, the distinction of truth from illusion, the significance of gender and class in personal identity, and the struggle between faith and reason. Students attend performances at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Taught 2nd summer term. Fee: $350