Rose Fonth

(Syllabus) In this course, we will critically examine several contemporary issues in moral and social philosophy. Towards that end, we will investigate issues in reproductive, racial, and sexual ethics. Some questions we will consider are: Is abortion immoral? Can institutions be racist? Is sexual objectification always morally problematic? We will also examine the nature of social construction more broadly, making sense of what it means to say that a group or category is socially constructed as well as investigating whether the social world is as real as the natural world.

(Syllabus) In this online asynchronous course, we will explore foundational questions in moral philosophy and apply them to a range of pressing ethical issues. We will begin by asking whether there are objective moral truths or whether morality is ultimately a matter of opinion or cultural perspective. From there, we will examine two of the most influential normative ethical theories—utilitarianism and deontology—asking which, if either, provides the best account of what we ought to do. We will then spend the rest of the course applying moral frameworks like these to concrete moral problems, including the permissibility of euthanasia and abortion, the nature and wrongness of racism, and the ethical challenges posed by recent developments in artificial intelligence. Our goal will be to develop the philosophical tools necessary to reason clearly and critically about both abstract moral questions and real-world ethical issues.

(Lecture & Section Syllabus) Hip hop is great for partying but what can we learn if we study the rhymes? Chuck D – pioneer from the hip hop group Public Enemy – once said that “rap is black America’s CNN.” In addition to gaining insight about the realities of life in America’s dark ghettos, studying rap rhymes can aid philosophical reflection and reasoning about identity, injustice and inequality in these impoverished and racially segregated spaces. This course will feature lectures, live and recorded interviews, music clips, and guest speakers including hip hop artists and prominent scholars. Our goal will be to contemplate philosophical questions raised by the existence of dark ghettos with the help of beats and rhymes. The course payoffs for students will be threefold: (1) sharpening critical reasoning skills, (2) sharing and acquiring knowledge of hip hop, and (3) gaining deeper insight about human differences and contemporary social justice issues in America.

(Syllabus) Philosophers ask big questions. Do we really know anything? Does God exist? Do we have free will? How should a moral person act? But they do not engage in whimsical speculation about vaguely defined issues. They use rigorous and disciplined methods to bring these topics under intellectual control. This course will be an in-depth look at a few questions rather than a comprehensive historical survey. You will learn what philosophy is about and how to do it yourself.

(Syllabus) This course is an introduction to philosophy in the western tradition. It has two central goals. The first is to give you an understanding of what philosophical problems are, and how they might be solved. This will be done through consideration of some perennial philosophical problems, drawing on readings from important figures in the history of philosophy, as well as contemporary authors. The second goal is to develop your analytic and argumentative skills. Topics to be discussed include the existence of God, the nature of knowledge, the relation of mind to body, free will, and ethics and the nature of right and wrong.

(Syllabus (v. 2021))