This course will concentrate on major figures and persistent themes in ancient and medieval philosophy. A balance will be sought between scope and depth, the latter ensured by a close reading of selected texts.

This course covers the following topics: an introduction to philosophy; philosophy of religion; epistemology; the philosophy of mind; free-will and determinism; ethics and metaphysics.

" Through a progressive series of composition projects, students investigate the sonic organization of musical works and performances, focusing on fundamental questions of unity and variety. Aesthetic issues are considered in the pragmatic context of the instructions that composers provide to achieve a desired musical result, whether these instructions are notated in prose, as graphic images, or in symbolic notation. No formal training is required; this version of the class is a general elective suitable for a relatively large-enrollment class. Weekly listening, reading, and composition Assignments and Labs draw on a broad range of musical styles and intellectual traditions, from various cultures and historical periods."

This course introduces students to the major topics, problems, and methods of philosophy and surveys the writings of a number of major historical figures in the field. Several of the core areas of philosophy are explored, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of religion. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Identify and describe the major areas of philosophical inquiry, explain how those areas differ from and relate to one another, and place the views and arguments of major philosophical figures within those thematic categories; Use philosophical terminology correctly and consistently; Identify and describe the views of a number of major philosophers and articulate how these views are created in response to general philosophical problems or to the views of other philosophers; Explain the broad outlines of the history of philosophy as a framework that can be applied in more advanced courses; Identify strengths and weaknesses in the arguments philosophers have put forward for their views and formulate objections and counterarguments of your own invention; Apply critical thinking and reasoning skills in a wide range of career paths and courses of study. (Philosophy 101)

This is an introductory course to Philosophy, which is the study of general and fundamental problems such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Students will be introduced to the primary branches of Philosophy - ethics, logic, metaphysics, and epistemology. The course considers philosophers and works of Western Philosophy, including Plato, Hebrew scripture, Schopenhauer, Swedenborg, Buber, Kant, Hume, Locke and Berkeley.

Study of basic metaphysical issues concerning existence, the mind-body problem, personal identity, and causation plus its implications for freedom. Classical as well as contemporary readings.

This work lists some of the problems that I find supportive of metaphysical/philosophy of mind idealism.

This course provides an in-depth introduction to the philosophical problems surrounding death; it is organized around the lectures of Shelly Kagan, Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, who develops his own philosophy of death over the length of the course. Its major purpose, aside from familiarizing you with the writings of major philosophers on the subject of death, is to teach you how to think about death philosophically to decide for yourself what you believe about death and to provide careful and convincing arguments for those beliefs. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Discuss the philosophical issues connected with death: what it is, whether it is good or bad, and its significance in terms of the way we choose to live; Explain the inter-relatedness of questions about death and questions about personal identity and the self; Differentiate between dualist and physicalist conceptions of death and specify the particular consequences of each approach; Describe the multiplicity of cultural, religious, and philosophical views about death and the soul; Discuss major philosophical arguments for and against the immortality of the soul; Articulate major theories of personal identity, and provide reasoned criticisms of these major theories of personal identity; Explain and evaluate the view of death presented in literary works such as Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich; Discuss in a philosophical way certain value-theoretic questions about death: whether it is inherently good or bad, whether it presents us with obligations to live our lives in a certain way, and whether it is permissible to end life prematurely; Describe the existentialist view of death and the notion that it gives life meaning by restricting its shape and scope; Explain the various ways in which this limiting feature of death has been interpreted. (Philosophy 201)

In this introduction to philosophical thinking, we will read some essays specially chosen from four main areas of interest: (1) the philosophy of life, (2) the philosophy of religion, (3) ethics, and (4) metaphysics and theory of knowledge. Although our approach is not comprehensive, it is reasonably representative of some of the more significant areas of philosophical inquiry. The readings are intended to illustrate the interrelations between these subject areas of philosophy and, as well, to provide the foundations for future investigations of these and related problems. Since the study of philosophy involves working with concepts rather than facts, the activity of philosophy seeks understanding rather than knowledge. In other words, emphasis in this course of study is placed on the reasoning process. Memorizing the subject matter of philosophy is less likely to give insight into the discipline than is engaging actively in process doing philosophy. In order to make the most of the present opportunity, it will be helpful if we can invoke what has been called the principle of charity as we approach new ways of looking at things. That is, we ought to attempt to set aside, provisionally and temporarily, preconceptions about the philosophical views presented-especially when our initial reaction is to disagree. While suspending our own beliefs and tolerating for the moment any ambiguity and inconsistencies, we can obtain an accurate, sympathetic understanding of the presentation of ideas. In many instances, invoking the principle of charity takes some acculturation.