PHIL G9001x or y-G9004y. Quodlibetal Studies, I, II, III, and IV. 3 pts.

Prerequisite: high-quality work in the previous term. Arrangements must be made with the director of graduate studies. Tutorial work in specialized research topics.

PHIL G9674x. Romantacism. 3 pts. Not offered in 2013-2014.

Focus on the role emotions play in the acquisition of knowledge, not just about ourselves, but about the world outside us. How do emotions differ from perception or memory in the way they inform us of the external world? Or, are there more similarities than we might have thought? The concept of non-inferential knowledge of external phenomena, awareness of mental causes (such as the cause of my fright), indexical thoughts, cognitivism and value theory. Several writings on emotion itself (e.g., Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Sartre, Heidegger) and articles on epistemology (e.g. John McDowell, Anscombe).

PHIL G9902y. Research in Philosophy II.

PHIL G4089x and y. Aristotle. 3 pts. Prerequisites: Undergraduate students must get permission of instructor.

On each occasion when it is offered, the course will be devoted to one major area within, or a major work of, Aristotle's philosophy. These include ethics, natural philosophy, and metaphysics (and works such as the Nicomachean Ethics, the DeAnima, and the Metaphysics.

PHIL G4095x. Medieval Hebrew Philosophical Texts. 3 pts.

Selected readings in major medieval Hebrew philosophic texts. Works discussed include: Maimonides' Book of Knowledge, Shemtob Falaquera's Epistle of the Debate, Gersonides' War of the Lord, Hasdai Crescas' Light of the Lord, and joseph Albo's Book of Principles. Focus will be on basic problems concerning reason and religion; ethics, politics, and law.

PHIL G4170x. Medieval Philosophy. 3 pts.

Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew philosophy from the 4th to the 14th century, including Augustine, Alfarabi, Avicenna, Anselm, Ibn Gabirol, Averroes, Maimonides, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and Crescas.

PHIL G4260x. Kant's Ethics. 3 pts.

The course will trace (and evaluate) central themes in Kant's ethical theory through his major texts, the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, The Critique of Practical Reason, the Metaphysics of Morals, and relevant parts of Religion within the Bounds of Mere Reason. Themes include the role of reason in moral evaluation and decision, freedom and autonomy, moral egalitarianism, moral idealism, moral dilemmas, and Kant's idea of the good.

PHIL G4415x and y. Symbolic Logic. 4 pts.

Advanced introduction to classical sentential and predicate logic. No previous acquaintance with logic is required; nonetheless a willingness to master technicalities and to work at a certain level of abstraction is desirable. Note: Due to significant overlap, students may receive credit for only one of the following three courses: PHIL V3411, V3415, G4415.

PHIL G4455x. Special Topics in Logic: Modal Logic. 3 pts.

A logical treatment of necessity, possibility, and other intentional operators.

PHIL G4455x (Section 001). Special Topics in Logic: Modal Logic. 3 pts.

PHIL G4490x. Language and Mind. 3 pts.

This course will survey some fundamental issues about the relation between language and thought, and whether and why the former is necessary for the latter. Readings will consist of selections from Descartes, Frege, major pragmatists, Wittgenstein, Quine, Davidson, Kripke, Chomsky, McDowell, Burge and others.

PHIL G4561y. Probability and Decision Theory. 3 pts.

Examines interpretations and applications of the calculus of probability including applications as a measure of degree of belief, degree of confirmation, relative frequency, a theoretical property of systems, and other notions of objective probability or chance. Attention to epistimological questions such as Hume's problem of induction, Goodman's problem of projectibility, and the paradox of confirmation.

PHIL G4675x. The Direction of Time. 3 pts.

A survey of the various attempts to reconcile the macroscopic directionality of time with the time-reversibility of the fundamental laws of physics. The second law of thermodynamics and the concept of entropy, statistical mechanics, cosmological problems, the problems of memory, the possibility of multiple time direction.

CSPH G4801x. Mathematical Logic I. 3 pts.

Syntax and semantics; deductive systems; completeness and compactness theorems; first order calculi; Godel's completeness theorem; basic model theory, Skolem functions; Skolem-Lowenheim theorems.

PHIL G4900. Topics in Early Modern Philosophy. 3 pts. Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Open to undergraduates with previous work in the history of philosophy and to graduate students.

Focuses either on an important topic in the history of early modern philosophy (e.g., skepticism, causation, mind, body) or on the philosophy of a major figure in the period (e.g., Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Gassendi, Conway).

ECPH W4950y. Economics and Philosophy Seminar. 3 pts. Prerequisites:ECON W3211, W 3213, and STAT W1211

Explores topics in the philosophy of economics such as welfare, social choice, and the history of political economy. Sometimes the emphasis is primarily historical and sometimes on analysis of contemporary economic concepts and theories.

PHIL G6801x. Aesthetics and Politics. 3 pts.

Thought experiments, exemplarity, intuitions, and imagination: in aesthetics, ethics, and political theory. A seminar, with guest co-teachers, on mostly twentieth century analytical and continental, historical and contemporary texts: including Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Adorno, Benjamin, Danto, Dewey, Ryle, Wittgenstein, and Williams and their more contemporary critics.

PHIL G6880x and y. ProSeminar. 3 pts.

Required of all first-year Ph.D. candidates. Each faculty member addresses the proseminar in order to acquaint students with the interests and areas of expertise on the faculty. Through discussion and the dissemination of readings the student learns about possible areas of doctoral research.

PHIL G9180y (Section 001). Topics in Moral Philosophy. 3 pts. Prerequisites: At least one "foundational" course in moral philosophy is recommended as background for this course. Permission of the instructor is required for registration.

This seminar will consider the implications of "anti-theory" views in moral philosophy. Anti-theory critics charge that moral theorists ignore the complexity of moral experience, misunderstand the nature of moral insight and judgment, aspire to an unattainable model of argument and justification, and may even "corrupt the youth" who confront a bewildering array of competing moral theories. We will address anti-theory concerns through analysis of seminal journal articles and book-length discussions by philosophers such as Elizabeth Anscombe, Annette Baier, Michael Stocker, Alasdair MacIntyre, Bernard Williams and Richard Rorty. We consider compelling responses to these arguments from philosophers such as Virginia Held, Martha Nussbaum, John Rawls, Stephen Toulmin, and Michael Walzer.

PHIL G9180y (Section 002). Topics in Moral Philosophy. 3 pts.

A consideration of classical and contemporary debated from philosophy and the social sciences about whether morality is objective. How should we understand the claims of social scientists purporting to estabilsh descriptive ethical relativism? How are such claims connected to the meta-ethical relativism defended by philosophers interested in the nature of moral langugae, and deep question of argument and justification? Is it possible to defend a coherent normative ethical relativism? Is it possible to defend a convincing conception of moral objectivity? What is the broad significance of moral disagreement?

PHIL G9221. Descartes. 3 pts. Not offered in 2013-2014.

A study of the Mediations, the ObjectionsandReplies, and related passages from other writings of Descartes.

PHIL G9223y. Luck and Coincidence. 3 pts.

This course is intended as a graduate level introduction to the topics of luck and coincidence. The material covered in the course lies at the intersection of epistemology and metaphysics, and readings for the course will ne drawn from both these areas. While the problem of understanding luck in general--and epistemic luck in particular--has become an active area of philosophical research in recent years, it is not covered in any of the current course offerings in philosophy.

PHIL G9280y. Topics in the Philosophy of Language. 3 pts.

PHIL G9350x. Special Topics in Philosophy: Truth. 3 pts. Prerequisites: Graduate students only

This course will survey some of the main ways in which philosophers have proposed to conceive trust--in formal, metaphysical, epistemological and normative terms, with special attention to the last. Readings will consist of selections drawn from two recent anthologies on truth edited by Lynch and Brandom, supplemented by some earlier 'classic' papers.

PHIL G9356x. Later Heidegger. 3 pts.

Reading and discussion of selected texts from Heidegger's later work. Topics may include the question of being, the history of being, metaphysics, the nature of thinking, the essence of art and technology, values, and nihilism.

PHIL G9509x. Ontology. 3 pts.

PHIL G9515y. Topics In Metaphysics: History & Contemporary Theory: Substance. 3 pts.

The course will explore and evaluate three intuitive conceptions of relativism -- as arising with disagreement, relative truth, or 'alternatives'. It will go on to address arguments for and against relativism in two domains - natural facts and morals - and along the way relate it to other doctrines such as realism, anti-realism, pragmatism, empiricism, and holism.

PHIL G9521x. Topics In the Theory of Knowledge: Belief and Decision. 3 pts.

This seminar will focus on three main issues in formal epistemology: (1) how to understand the relationship between degrees of belief and simple belief; (2) the development of a non-probabilistic casual decision theory in which simple belief plays a central role; (3) the stability problem for casual decision theory. Other related topics may be added as we proceed, depending on the interests of seminar participants.

PHIL G9525x. Philosophy of Language: Conditionals. 3 pts.

PHIL G9530x. Ethics: Naturalistic Ethics. 3 pts.

In the past decades, philosophers and some scholars in other fields (evolutionary biology, psychology, neuroscience, anthropology) have explored the possibility of a naturalized ethics. The seminar will consider this general problem.

PHIL G9577x. Advanced Topics in Foundations of Physics. 3 pts.

The various attempts to solve the problem of measurement in Quantum Mechanics. Emphasis on theories without a collapse of the wave-function, such as non-local hidden-variables theories and the many-worlds interpretation. Related topics such as self-measurement and Quantum Cosmology.

PHPS G9600x. Philosophy and Psychology of Action. 3 pts.

To present and advance discussion of current issues of interdisciplinary interest in: the nature, awareness, and explanation of action; the mental representation of action and agency in both perception and thought; the role of the emotions in relation to action and agency; the role of emotions in realtion to action, agency; the relevance of current empirical psychological research for classical philosophical issues about agency, including freedom of action; the significance of action nd the representation of action for foundational issues in psychology and philosophy.

PHIL G9658y. Advanced Topics in the Philosophy of Mind. 3 pts.

This will be an advanced introduction for graduate students to central issues in the philosophy of mind and the theory of intentional content

PHIL G9670x. Topics in Early Modern Philosophy. 3 pts.

This course will examine some of the central themes, concepts, and problems in Descarte's philosophy. In addition to Descarte's most celebrated work, the Meditations, we will also engage in close readings of the Rules, the Discourse, the Principles, the Search for Truth, and selections from Descarte's correspondence--as well as sources from his predecessors and contemporaries to get a sense of his intellectual context. While our aim will be primarily to understand Descarte's philosophy in its own right, we will also consider how contemporary philosophy may shed light on what Descartes was up to--and how insights from Descartes may still be relevant today.

PHIL G9703x. Recognition Theory. 3 pts.

The concept of recognition (the acknowledgement of one subject's value by another) and its importance for the moral and political thought of Rousseau, Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. Special attention will be paid to the claim that rationality depends on the human need to be recognized by others.

PHIL G9750y. Topics in Political Philosophy. 3 pts.

Analysis of selected concepts that are central to political philosophy, including authority, rights, justice, equality, liberty, and democracy. The arguments that have been advanced in the classical tradition and in contemporary literature that have served to support and to criticize the validity of these concepts are examined. Readings from Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Mill and Marx, Berlin, Dworkin, Foucault, Gauthier, Habermas, Hart, Nozick, Rawls, Raz, Schumpeter and Walzer.

PHIL G9885y. Proposal Preparation Seminar. 3 pts. Prerequisites: PhD students only

The Proposal Preparation Seminar is designed to help the students meet the new 3rd year research requirements. The instructor of the Proposal Preparation Seminar gives feedback on research papers and drafts of dissertation proposals; encourages feedback from all participants and leads in-class discussion; and offers practical advice about approaching committee members, preparing for the proposal defense, etc.

PHIL G9901x-G9902y. Research In Philosophy. 3 pts.

Prerequisite: director of graduate studies� permission.

PHIL G9990y. Thesis Preparation Seminar. 3 pts.

The purposes of the Seminar are (a) to aid graduates in developing and refining material for their dissertation; (b) to give graduates experience in presenting material to a philosophical audience in an informed and supportive environment; (c) to give graduates experience in critically discussing presented material, and thereby to see how their own presentations and work can be developed to withstand critical examination. The Seminar is restricted to Columbia graduate students in their third or later years, and all such students are strongly encouraged to attend. No faculty (other than the organizer) will be present. Those attending the seminar will be expected to make one or more presentations of work in progress. The material for a presentation may range from a near-final draft of a chapter, to an early critical overview of an area with an outline plan for an approach to some chosen problem. We will attempt as far as possible to organize the presentations in such a way that they are grouped by subject-matter, and provide a rational path through the territory we cover.

PHIL G9991x. Placement Seminar. 3 pts.

This seminar is devoted to helping the PhD students for the job market. The focus will be given to preparation of CV's, job talks, and writing samples. The students on the job marekt and soon to be on the job market will be given weekly opportunities to practice their talks and interview techniques.

PHIL G9131. Aristotle. 3 pts. Not offered in 2013-2014.

A close study of one or more Aristotelian treatise, using commentaries and recent literature to elucidate Aristotle�s arguments and their connections with present philosophical debates.

PHIL G9101. Global Political Thought. 3 pts. Not offered in 2013-2014.

PHIL G9700. Colloquium on European Social, Political, and Moral Thought. 3 pts. Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Permission of Instructor

This colloquium is intended for advanced graduate students whose dissertation work lies in the area of modern European social, political, and moral thought from the 18th century to the present. Each week will be devoted to the presentation and discussion of a 20-30 page excerpt from one participant's dissertation (or prospectus). Participating faculty members will also be encouraged to present their work in progress. The paper to be discussed must be submitted electronically to all participants a minimum of one week in advance of the colloquium meeting. Each participant will read each paper and be prepared to discuss it in detail during the colloquium meeting. Discussion will be focused not only on critique but also on providing the presenter with positive suggestions for going forward with her or his project.

PHIL G9890. Works-In-Progress Seminar. 3 pts. Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Only graduate students in the Philosophy Department may enroll.

This seminar is a venue for reading and discussing works-in-progress by Columbia faculty as well as invited speakers from outside. Attendance at all department colloquia is required.