Undergraduate Program

Philosophers ask questions about a vast variety of topics, including what really exists, what we can know, how we should live, how we should treat each other, whether there is a God or a life after this one, how can we have free choices, and what it means to be a human with a particular identity.  Philosophers seek answers to such questions by thinking carefully about them, using experience, reason and argumentation, and taking into account contributions of the sciences, literature, and other fields. This course will introduce students to some of the most interesting and exciting parts of philosophy.

Location

Meliora Room 221 (TR 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

Philosophers ask questions about a vast variety of topics, including what really exists, what we can know, how we should live, how we should treat each other, whether there is a God or a life after this one, how can we have free choices, and what it means to be a human with a particular identity.  Philosophers seek answers to such questions by thinking carefully about them, using experience, reason and argumentation, and taking into account contributions of the sciences, literature, and other fields. This course will introduce students to some of the most interesting and exciting parts of philosophy.

Location

Gavett Hall Room 206 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This course is an introduction to basic issues in the philosophical investigation of ethics. Topics include general theories of the nature of right and wrong and theories of the functions of ethical language. Classes are in the lecture and question format. 

Location

Gavett Hall Room 202 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

An introduction to moral philosophy as applied to current topics. Some questions to be explored: What sorts of socioeconomic principles are morally justifiable? Does the history of racial injustice in the U.S. create a moral demand for reparations, and if so, what is the best argument for this? What is the relation, if any, between morality and religion? Do animals have moral rights? How should we understand the meaning and value of human life and death? Can abortion sometimes be justified, and if so, how? Is it okay to destroy embryos for stem cell research? Is active euthanasia ever permissible? Is capital punishment justifiable in principle? In practice? Is torture morally permissible in the fight against terrorism? How far does our moral duty to aid distant strangers extend? We will also explore related general questions: Is it always possible for a good enough end to justify bad means? Are there objective facts about right or wrong, or is morality ultimately relative to cultures or times? Are there situations in which every available action is wrong? Can we be morally assessed even for some things that are largely a matter of luck?

Location

Meliora Room 221 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

We will investigate broad models of argument and evidence from the interdisciplinary field of argumentation theory. Students will apply these models to specific academic and social contexts of their choice. Some questions we might ask are: Can argument or evidence be understood absent context? What do arguments in STEM fields have in common with those in the humanities? For instance, is there common ground in how we argue about English literature and how biologists argue about the natural world? How do audience and purpose in disciplines such as psychology, physics and philosophy shape what counts as an argument in their respective fields? Does political argument resemble academic argument? What strategies will enable experts to communicate more effectively with public audiences in fields such as public health and the environmental humanities? Students will write frequent reflections, develop several short papers, and the semester will culminate in the construction of a final project of the student’s own design (for example, a research paper, a website, a podcast…) that can focus on any aspect of academic, professional, or political argumentation.

Location

Hylan Building Room 305 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Symbolic logic through first-order quantification theory. Skill in deductive inference is strengthened through construction of proofs and other methods of a rigorously defined artificial language.

Location

Meliora Room 221 (MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

This course deals with business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Through class discussions and case studies, students explore the theory and practice of business ethics and develop their ability to recognize and address ethical issues. The course equips students with analytical skills in ethical reasoning and provides them with a substantive framework to deal with ethical challenges they may encounter in their future careers. Topics include corporate responsibilities vis-à-vis employees, customers, clients, and society; conflicts of interest in finance and accounting; insider trading; discrimination in employment; sweatshop labor; advertising and sales tactics; pricing; whistle-blowing; bribery; executive pay; intellectual property; censorship; health care resource allocation; and climate change.

** If the section is full, please request the course here on UR Student and then email ugbusiness@rochester.edu to be added to the waitlist. Professor Miklos will not be able to override additional students; all requests must go through the ugbusiness@rochester.edu email.

Location

Morey Room 525 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course is an introduction to the ethics of emerging technologies and the value judgments that are integral to the engineering design process. The technologies addressed will include information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI), biomedical engineering (BME), and environmental and agricultural technology. The course will examine ideals of professionalism and the influence of institutional settings on professional decision-making. The pedagogy, written work, and evaluation in this course will be strongly oriented to case-based analysis and value-driven science-based decision-making.

Location

Dewey Room 2110D (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Sometimes people think of feminist philosophy as its own little corner of the discipline, that sits off to the side and has more in common with other areas of academic inquiry than with philosophy. In this class, we’ll challenge that idea in two ways: by making the case that feminist concerns need to be taken seriously by every traditional area of philosophy, and by making the case that the tools of the traditional areas of philosophy have much to offer to feminism. We’ll investigate the metaphysics of gender, the epistemology of sexual harassment and assault, the ethics of abortion and the ethics of care, and the social and political philosophy of internalized oppression and the gendered distribution of labor.

Location

Harkness Room 210 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Survey of the philosophy of ancient Greece, from the Presocratics through Hellenistic philosophy six centuries later. We will study the work of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle on topics such as being, beauty, the soul, and the nature of justice, with special focus on the great dialogues of Plato. 

Location

Morey Room 501 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy]

This course is an introduction to the major concepts, techniques, and results of modern logic, aimed at students who have taken at least one formal logic course (or equivalent) in the past. Topics covered include soundness and completeness for propositional and first- order logic, compactness for first-order logic, the Löwenheim-Skolem theorems, second-order logic, and philosophical implications of some these results.

Location

Goergen Hall Room 109 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

PREREQUISITE: One previous Philosophy course required.

Philosophical analysis of ethical issues in medicine and biotechnology, such as problems arising in connection with the relations between physicians and patients, the challenges of cultural diversity, practices surrounding human and animal research, decisions about end of life care, embryonic stem cell research, genetic engineering, biotechnological human enhancement, and social justice in relation to health-care policy. Papers will focus on analyses grounded in case studies.

Location

Lattimore Room 201 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Fulfills upper level writing requirement for the major.

Philosophical analysis of ethical issues in medicine and biotechnology, such as problems arising in connection with the relations between physicians and patients, the challenges of cultural diversity, practices surrounding human and animal research, decisions about end of life care, embryonic stem cell research, genetic engineering, biotechnological human enhancement, and social justice in relation to health-care policy. Papers will focus on analyses grounded in case studies.

Location

Lattimore Room 201 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

PREREQUISITE: One Previous Philosophy course required

In recent years, the U.S. legal system has been beset by claims of overcriminalization, racially discriminatory enforcement, and inadequate or unequal protection of individual civil rights. What should we make of these claims, and what, if anything, would be implied by their truth? In seeking to answer these questions, this course will examine the nature of the law and its enforcement. We will begin by discussing the issue of criminalization and whether the expansion of the criminal law is or is not problematic. From there, we will turn to the foundational questions of what, precisely, the law is, and what its connection to morality is or should be. Are we obligated to obey the law, and if so, why? Finally, we will ask whether it is possible for the law to remain neutral with regards to morality and politics, and whether the supposed “neutrality” of the law may itself be an instrument of oppression. If the legal system lacks the kind of neutrality that many legal theorists claim for it, what (if anything) does that license us (as citizens) to do? (Offered every spring)

Location

Goergen Hall Room 108 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

In recent years, the U.S. legal system has been beset by claims of overcriminalization, racially discriminatory enforcement, and inadequate or unequal protection of individual civil rights. What should we make of these claims, and what, if anything, would be implied by their truth? In seeking to answer these questions, this course will examine the nature of the law and its enforcement. We will begin by discussing the issue of criminalization and whether the expansion of the criminal law is or is not problematic. From there, we will turn to the foundational questions of what, precisely, the law is, and what its connection to morality is or should be. Are we obligated to obey the law, and if so, why? Finally, we will ask whether it is possible for the law to remain neutral with regards to morality and politics, and whether the supposed “neutrality” of the law may itself be an instrument of oppression. If the legal system lacks the kind of neutrality that many legal theorists claim for it, what (if anything) does that license us (as citizens) to do? (Offered every spring)

The W versions of this course counts toward the upper-level writing requirement for the major. 

Location

Goergen Hall Room 108 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy]

Environmental injustice occurs whenever some individual or group suffers unjust environmental risk, lacks fair access to environmental goods, or is unjustly denied opportunity to meaningfully engage in or be represented in individual or collective environmental decision-making. This course will examine issues of environmental justice, both local and global, for both present and future generations, bringing philosophical analysis to bear on such topics as toxic exposures, industrial accidents, water rights, climate disruption, and energy and food systems.

Location

Hutchison Hall Room 473 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

Environmental injustice occurs whenever some individual or group suffers unjust environmental risk, lacks fair access to environmental goods, or is unjustly denied opportunity to meaningfully engage in or be represented in individual or collective environmental decision-making. This course will examine issues of environmental justice, both local and global, for both present and future generations, bringing philosophical analysis to bear on such topics as toxic exposures, industrial accidents, water rights, climate disruption, and energy and food systems.

The W version of this course will count toward the upper-level writing requirement for the major. 

Location

Hutchison Hall Room 473 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy]

Metaphysics is roughly the philosophical study of what there is, the nature of what there is, and how all the things there are fit together.  This course will typically discuss 4-6 metaphysical questions, usually including at least a few of the following.  Is it possible for two objects to have exactly the same properties?  Are objects' properties special entities, and if so, what kind?  Is space (or spacetime) an entity?  Under what conditions to parts compose a whole?  What is the nature of possibility and necessity?  What makes it true that there used to be dinosaurs (or other entities that no longer exist)?  What is the nature of time?  Is change, including the passage of time, illusory?

Location

Lattimore Room 210 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Metaphysics is roughly the philosophical study of what there is, the nature of what there is, and how all the things there are fit together.  This course will typically discuss 4-6 metaphysical questions, usually including at least a few of the following.  Is it possible for two objects to have exactly the same properties?  Are objects' properties special entities, and if so, what kind?  Is space (or spacetime) an entity?  Under what conditions to parts compose a whole?  What is the nature of possibility and necessity?  What makes it true that there used to be dinosaurs (or other entities that no longer exist)?  What is the nature of time?  Is change, including the passage of time, illusory?

The W version of this course will count toward the upper-level writing requirement for the major. 

Location

Lattimore Room 210 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy]

An introduction to classic and contemporary problems in the philosophy of mind, this course investigates how the mind is related to the physical world. Topics include: What is the mind and how is it related to the brain? How is it possible for mental states to cause physical states, and vise versa? How do mental states get their intentional content? What is consciousness and can it be given a physical explanation? What are the minds of other beings - such as animals and artificially intelligent computers - like, and how could we know?

Location

Morey Room 525 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

An introduction to classic and contemporary problems in the philosophy of mind, this course investigates how the mind is related to the physical world. Topics include: What is the mind and how is it related to the brain? How is it possible for mental states to cause physical states, and vise versa? How do mental states get their intentional content? What is consciousness and can it be given a physical explanation? What are the minds of other beings - such as animals and artificially intelligent computers - like, and how could we know?

The W version of this course will count toward the upper-level writing requirement for the major. 

Location

Morey Room 525 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

[Prerequisite: One previous course in Philosophy]

It is hard to overstate how much we rely on others in acquiring knowledge (for better or worse). In this course, we elucidate the many forms this reliance takes. We investigate how knowledge is distributed in the scientific community and elsewhere, including in society as a whole, and how information and misinformation spread in these communities. We also identify potential flaws in the existing structures in which knowledge is distributed and disseminated, and try to find ways in which these structures could be improved.

Location

Wilmot Room 116 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This course is an in-depth introduction to the formal analysis of natural language meaning, employing techniques that have been developed in language and formal philosophy over the last century. Issues include intensionality, quantification, tense, presupposition, plurality, the analysis of discourse, and other current issues. Familiarity with syntax, logic, and/or computation are helpful but not necessary. See LING 265.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This course analyzes major social and political problems from the multi-disciplinary perspectives of politics, philosophy, and economics. Topics covered may include: Income inequality and wage gaps, environmental policy and climate change, race and incarceration, democratic structures and norms, and immigration.

Location

Gavett Hall Room 301 (MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

The world is interconnected, and what happens in one country affects—both directly and indirectly—what happens in other countries. For health issues this fact is especially true, as the rapid spread of Covid-19 vividly demonstrated. The moral issues that arise from these interconnections are particularly vexing, and this class will examine some of them. Is the 40-year gap in life expectancy between Sierra Leone and Japan unjust? Is the “brain drain’ of health care workers from poorer countries to richer countries unfair? Does the global market in organs create ethical problems? Do obligations do individuals and countries have to alleviate the health burdens in the world? If so, how great is that obligation? How can such aid be provided ethically?

Location

Meliora Room 219 (W 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

Death poses a number of philosophical puzzles which we will examine in this class: What does it mean to die? Am I harmed when I die? I don’t experience my death or being dead, so why would it be bad for me? Is it appropriate, then, to fear my death? Is it wrong to kill myself? Can I be harmed after I die? If dying is bad, would it be better if I never died, if I lived forever? Does the fact of that we will die change the way we should live? Does death shape the meaning of our lives? (Offered every other spring, in odd numbered years)

Location

Lattimore Room 531 (R 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

Location

Morey Room 525 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

The reading of philosophical literature under guidance, for seniors majoring in philosophy.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Location

Meliora Room 224 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Those wishing to pursue an Honors thesis track must first confirm with the Undergraduate Adviser that they meet the eligibility requirements, discuss how the other Honors requirements will be met, and secure the agreement of a Philosophy faculty member to serve as the thesis adviser. Then, in consultation with the thesis adviser (typically at the end of junior year), they will assemble a list of relevant texts in the area of thesis research and begin reading through the materials in the summer before senior year. In fall of senior year, they will enroll in PHIL 396, for which they will meet regularly with the adviser throughout the semester to discuss the texts and to hone the thesis topic and outline. (Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.)

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( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

After taking PHIL 396 to conduct research on the thesis topic, Honors thesis students enroll in PHIL 399 to continue the project, completing the writing of the thesis and then taking an oral examination (conducted by the thesis adviser and a second faculty reader) at least two weeks after submission of the final version of the thesis. (Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

After taking PHIL 396 to conduct research on the thesis topic, Honors thesis students enroll in PHIL 399 to continue the project, completing the writing of the thesis and then taking an oral examination (conducted by the thesis adviser and a second faculty reader) at least two weeks after submission of the final version of the thesis. (Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)