Major Seminar in Philosophy: Ethics · Philosophy
A pretty good comprehensive study of civil disobedience -- looking at the classics (Plato, Thoreau, Gandhi, King) and some contemporary thinkers on its justification, value, etc
Philosophical methodology and intuitions
Overview of the major schools of thought in classical Indian philosophy (Abhidharma, Yogacara, and Madhyamika Buddhism, Jainism, Carvaka, Nyaya, Vaisesika, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Samkhya...) and the metaphysical assumptions common to all or specific to a given school. The debates between the schools, especially regarding the self, and the arguments they used. Very interesting grounding of metaphysical views in broader soteriological/ethical frameworks which give the debates a degree of urgency that is often lacking in the Western tradition.
Professor Fusco is a brilliant logician, really knew her stuff, and made the seminar very interesting. It perfectly complemented my other classes in Metaphysics and the History of Philosophy (III) -- always walked away with a lot to think about! Modal realism, branching of time, indexicals and their connection to consciousness -- it was all there. Thank you for the enlightened conversation we had every week!
Critique of Pure Reason and Kant's metaphysics and ethics.
There are a lot of specifics this course taught me that are largely contained within the scope of this class and the options for further study it opens up. Arguably however, the most important thing it demonstrated to me was that some of the greatest breakthroughs in any given field of study are not always the ones that upend theories or even directly tackle problems within those theories head on. One of Ramsey's greatest strengths seemed to me to be that of evasion. Instead of confronting problems directly, he could gently change direction of an argument or line of thought and avoid them all together. Throughout this course, I became more aware of this both in his writings and my life outside the classroom. Often, creative problem solving is finding a way to simply avoid the problem. I am quite grateful for having been able to learn how to pick up on this and work to apply it as an analytical/practical skill outside the classroom.
In terms of content, we investigated topics including what is wrong with lying, how lying relates to virtue, the value of truth and truthfulness, as well as the relationship between knowledge, assertion, inquiry, belief, and testimony. We also learned important terminology and conceptual frameworks as well as ways of approaching research papers and formulating questions.
Overview of the big problems/questions/thinkers in philosophy of science. Improved philosophical argumentation
minimum of five short responses to readings, one 5 pg response paper, and one 10-12pg final paper
Three difficult 5-page papers. Weekly homework, assigned via email (often a bit late, e.g. assigned Saturday for a Tuesday class). Short, but difficult reading. A tough, but fair grader. Challenging, but rewarding.