This course will acquaint the student with some of the ancient Greek contributions to the Western philosophical and scientific tradition. We will examine a broad range of central philosophical themes concerning: nature, law, justice, knowledge, virtue, happiness, and death. There will be a strong emphasis on analyses of arguments found in the texts.

" Western philosophy and theoretical mathematics were born together, and the cross-fertilization of ideas in the two disciplines was continuously acknowledged throughout antiquity. In this course, we read works of ancient Greek philosophy and mathematics, and investigate the way in which ideas of definition, reason, argument and proof, rationality and irrationality, number, quality and quantity, truth, and even the idea of an idea were shaped by the interplay of philosophic and mathematical inquiry."

This is a culminating activity that provides a format so that all participants are drawn into a discussion. The discussion for the "Concept Chairs" will be based on a unit of study that assesses the effectiveness of the Judicial System while examining various types of justice within society (social, personal and constitutional). Primary texts, fictional literature and non-print sources will provide the basis for this discussion.

offers photos of John Marshall's residence in Richmond, Virginia. This website also describes how Marshall, who wrote 519 opinions in his 34 years as chief justice (1801-1835), transformed the Supreme Court from obscurity into a prominent, powerful institution.

Subject examines major texts in the history of political thought and the questions they raise about the design of the political and social order. Students are required to critically engage with these texts and to write essays on such issues as whether government should be controlled by the many or by the expert few; whether a community should respect a diversity of religions and philosophical opinion; whether there are such things as human rights; why values like liberty and equality conflict, and whether these conflicts can be reconciled. This course examines major texts in the history of political thought and the questions they raise about the design of the political and social order. It considers the ways in which thinkers have responded to the particular political problems of their day, and the ways in which they contribute to a broader conversation about human goods and needs, justice, democracy, and the proper relationship of the individual to the state. One aim will be to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various regimes and philosophical approaches in order to gain a critical perspective on our own. Thinkers include Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Tocqueville.

This course explores three broad questions about the values of liberty and equality and their place in a just society: • Which liberties must a just society protect? Freedom of expression? Sexual liberty? Economic liberty? Political liberty? • What sorts of equality should a just society ensure? Equality of opportunity? Of economic outcome? Political equality? • Can a society ensure both liberty and equality? Or are these warring political values? We will approach these questions by examining answers to them provided by three contemporary theories of justice: utilitarianism, libertarianism, and egalitarian liberalism. To clarify these theories, and assess their strengths and weaknesses, we will discuss their implications for some issues about liberty and equality that are topics of current controversy and that exemplify the three broad questions about liberty and equality noted above.

Examines competing ethical concepts and the ethical implications of certain actions and commitments by close reading of literary works. Topics include: origins of morality, ideals of justice, the nature of the virtues, notions of responsibility, ethics and politics, and the ethics of extreme situations. Philosophic texts by Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Kant. Narrative and dramatic texts by Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Swift, Ibsen, Shaw, Dostoyevsky, and Conrad; plus some Biblical materials. The aim of this subject is to acquaint the student with some important works of systematic ethical philosophy and to bring to bear the viewpoint of those works on the study of classic works of literature. This subject will trace the history of ethical speculation in systematic philosophy by identifying four major positions: two from the ancient world and the two most important traditions of ethical philosophy since the renaissance. The two ancient positions will be represented by Plato and Aristotle, the two modern positions by Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. We will try to understand these four positions as engaged in a rivalry with one another, and we will also engage with the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, which offers a bridge between ancient and modern conceptions and provides a source for the rivalry between the viewpoints of Kant and Mill. Further, we will be mindful that the modern positions are subject to criticism today by new currents of philosophical speculation, some of which argue for a return to the positions of Plato and Aristotle.

This course introduces students to the basic concepts and methods of moral and political philosophy. Its primary focus is on the development of moral reasoning skills and the application of those skills to contemporary social and political issues. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Discuss several major theories of justice and morality, including utilitarianism, libertarianism, social contract theory, deontology, and the ethics/politics of virtue; Demonstrate how moral and political dilemmas are handled differently by each set of theoretical principles; Develop their analytical skills through interpreting the consequences of various moral principles and revising principles to correspond with their own conceptions of justice; Discuss the relationship between morality and politics; Formulate their own positions concerning moral and political principles, especially in regards to particular issues discussed in this course; Discuss the origins of western democratic politics and constitutional government; Address a range of difficult and controversial moral and political issues, including murder, the income tax, corporate cost-benefit analysis, lying, affirmative action, and same-sex marriage. (Philosophy 103)

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature pairs central texts from Western philosophical tradition (including works by Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Hobbes, Kant, Mill, Rawls, and Nozick) with recent findings in cognitive science and related fields. The course is structured around three intertwined sets of topics: Happiness and Flourishing; Morality and Justice; and Political Legitimacy and Social Structures.

Can the concept of human rights be applied across borders or are rights culturally specific? Is it realistic, or even desirable, to aim at an international system based on universal principles of justice? This unit takes a critical view of the assumption that ‘rights are a good thing’ and looks at the problems that arise when they are applied in the international arena.

This article attempts to capitalize on the current efforts to examine the traditional discourse, to consider one that focuses on ethics, to examine resistance to alternative discourses, and to provide a tentative educational administration curriculum model that reflects ethics at the core of everything that is taught in educational administration preparation programs. We begin with an examination of the administrative narrative as it informs current discourse. We discuss the roles of administrative condescension and educator complicity in perpetuating the narrative. Finally, we present an educational administration curricular model using Phenix’s (1964) Realms of Meaning in an attempt to satisfy the requirement that ethics move to the center of the educational administrative narrative.

Extensive reading of works by a few major poets. Emphasizes the evolution of each poet's work and the questions of poetic influence and literary tradition. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Topic for Fall: Does Poetry Matter? Topic for Spring: Gender and Lyric Poetry.

This course examines the contemporary problem of political violence and the way that human rights have been conceived as a means to protect and promote freedom, peace and justice for citizens against the abuses of the state.