Phil Walsh. Our internal, felt experience--what chocolate tastes like to oneself, what it is like to see the color red, or, more broadly, what it is like to have a first person, waking perspective at all--resists explanation in any terms other than the conscious experience itself in spite of centuries of intense effort by philosophers and, more recently, by scientists. [more], In this course we will study Aristotle's Metaphysics concentrating of books gamma-theta. Just today (15 February 2022) The New York Times removed some solutions from their recently purchased game Wordle, saying that words such as "pussy", "slave", and "wench" are "offensive or insensitive". We then consider a range of Buddhist critiques of these views, focusing more particularly on the Madhyamaka, which radicalizes the critique of the self into a global anti-realist and skeptical stance. [more], The core activity of this seminar is the careful reading and sustained discussion of selected works by Plato and Aristotle, but we will also engage such other thinkers as Epictetus and Augustine, and, from a political and theoretical point of view, selections from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. We will spend the balance of the semester coming to grips with Plato's arguments in the later dialogues. The second portion of the course will use feminist philosophy to inform our understanding of the ways in which gender structures the individual's interactions with the health care system. We will begin the course by looking briefly at some of the Presocratic philosophers active in the Mediterranean world of the seventh through fifth centuries BCE, and some of the sophists active in the fifth century. metaphysics, epistemology, moral and political philosophy, philosophy of mind. This course will offer a selective overview of the debates that characterized philosophy of film since the early 20th century. We will analyze and discuss various accounts of scientific method, structure and justification of scientific theories, scientific choice, change, and the idea that scientific knowledge is progressive in a cumulative way. In this way we come to realize that far from being the irrational foil of "the West," Indian tradition is a rich resource for thinking through some of the central questions that have challenged philosophers in both traditions. Class will be primarily driven by discussion, often preceded by brief lectures. In this tutorial we'll closely examine a series of contemporary and historical cases of human experimentation (roughly, one case per week) with an eye toward elucidating the moral norms that ought to govern human subjects research. After working through these arguments, we will reflect more generally on the proper roles of reason and faith in justifying religious belief. Each questioned the emancipatory effect of reason and freedom as well as idealist accounts of moral progress in human history. [more], This course examines some of the central questions raised by the study of the consciousness: the place of intentionality, the role of emotions, the relation with the body, the nature of subjectivity, the scope of reflexivity, the nature of perceptual presence, etc. While answers to such questions are implicit in historically important accounts of morality, these issues became the topic of explicit, sustained debate in the twentieth and twenty-first century. Attention to the writing process and developing an authorial voice will be a recurrent focus of our work inside and outside the classroom. In order to be justified in holding a belief, must someone know (or believe) that she is justified in holding that belief? Our study will definitely include Frege, Russell, Quine, Searle, and Kripke. With few exceptions, thoroughgoing skepticism and relativism have not been the prevailing views of the greatest minds in the history of philosophy. As we go through these results, we will think about the philosophical implications of first-order logic. Rorty challenged the very concept of morality and questioned all moral theory. How are conscious and unconscious emotions related to a person's action, character, and her social world? How is political power generated and exercised? [more], We will study the philosophical and literary works of Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and other Existentialist thinkers of the students' choosing. S. Peirce, and John Dewey. Both stances face severe difficulties. We will also read selections from the vast secondary literature on Aristotle's Metaphysics. Against the first, people often don't seem to reason very well. Williams relatives. See the college's, Experiential Learning & Community Engagement, that underlies classical tragedy, however, seems markedly different from the one that we find in classical philosophy. If they are conscious, will AI's have dignity and rights? This introduction will be of use to students interested in language from a variety of perspectives, including philosophy, cognitive science, and computer science. [more], The seminar involves a critical engagement with key Africana political leaders, theorists and liberationists. How do logic and language relate? We will pay special attention to the first amendment and questions concerning free speech and hate speech. Second, we will engage in some current philosophical debates concerning the concept of freedom in metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. We will then turn to contemporary controversies such as campus free speech. The course will, I hope, provide the students an opportunity and the tools to intellectually examine deeply emotional and contentious issues. Are we rationally justified in drawing causal inferences? More importantly, many of the thinkers that we will read in this class are simply excellent philosophers, and it is worthwhile for anyone interested in philosophical problems to read treatments of these problems by excellent philosophers. Is a world with AI's overall better or worse for us? The debate between Realism and Idealism concerns whether reality is composed of mind-independent matter, or mind-like substances. In this tutorial we will read the contemporary literature on consciousness. [more], What gives an individual life meaning? In pursuing the answers to these questions, we will discuss both classic and contemporary theories from philosophy and linguistics. Does it matter who is offended? How much inference goes into interpreting what's said? What, you may ask, is the philosophy of logic? But is the best conclusion we can come to with respect to our intellectual endeavors that skepticism always carries the day and that nothing at all is true? Here are a few: [more], Some of the discoveries made by physicists over the last century seem to show that our common sense views are deeply at odds with our most sophisticated and best confirmed scientific theories. [more], This course is an introduction to philosophy through three major themes: The nature of the universe, the existence of gods, and the mind/body problem. Ms. Sydney Walsh-Wilcox 83 P23 (Sibling), Mr. John C. Walsh (decd) 54 P99 85 83 (Parent). Is patriotism incompatible with cosmopolitanism, and if so, which of the two should we value? Pascal's wager is a different approach: it argues that even though proof of the existence of God is unavailable, you will maximize your expected utility be believing. PHIL 119 - 01 (S) SEM Justice, Democracy and Freedom Division II Writing Skills. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Dubois, The Talented Tenth, Frederick Rudolph, Williams College 1793-1993: Three Eras, Three Cultures, Michael S. Roth, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters, Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind, Martha Nussbaum, Cultivating Humanity, William Deresiewicz, Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, and Anthony T. Kronman, The Assault on American Excellence. Is philosophy of film really autonomous, independent from traditional philosophical disciplines which help generate its central questions, such as aesthetics, philosophy of art, epistemology, ontology, semiotics, ethics, social and political philosophy? Williams College Catalog Phone Number 413-597-4286 [email protected] How do I know that I am one? Are we legitimately bound by a social contract? We will discuss the importance of specific genre conventions and broader contextual matters to the interpretation of literary texts (along the lines suggested by Quentin Skinner); the possibility of using intention to rule out mistaken and arrive at acceptable interpretations, if not a single correct interpretation (a possibility denied by such relativists as Stanley Fish); the use and meaning of metaphors; and the host of questions surrounding the intentional fallacy (the alleged result of invoking authorial intention to determine textual meaning). We will begin the course by looking briefly at some of the Presocratic philosophers active in the Mediterranean world of the seventh through fifth centuries BCE, and some of the sophists active in the fifth century. What are space and time? Thus, the concept of person plays a significant role in most branches of philosophy, e.g. "Phil Walsh was a man of boundless energy and enthusiasm, and his death is a tragic loss. On the sports field? Cy Jacob Walsh, 26, entered no plea after being charged with murdering his father in a killing that has stunned Australia's sporting community. For example, many people would agree that 'Keith's favorite unicorn' is a meaningful expression. use tab and shift-tab to navigate once expanded, Covid-19 is an ongoing concern in our region, including on campus. On the sports field? While Plato and Aristotle differ on many points, they share the belief that the cosmos and the human place within it can be understood by rational means. Taking this as our starting point, in this course we will examine a number of conceptual and ethical issues in the use and development of technologies related to human reproduction, drawing out their implications for such core concepts as "motherhood" and "parenthood," family and genetic relatedness, exploitation and commodification, and reproductive rights and society's interests in reproductive activities. We pursue this reflection by examining the views of James, Husserl, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty, particularly as they concern the methods for the study of the mind and the relation between consciousness, reflexivity and the body. Is film a creation of a single artist - the director, the author - or is it a result of a loosely synchronized and not quite coherent collaboration of many different people, each guided by her or his particular vision? At least, let's assume that you are for the sake of argument. reason or truth (unless they are our own). We will then examine how these notions may be exploited in the consideration of various long-standing issues in the theory of literary interpretation. that future is nothing short of an existential threat to human beings. [more], At the beginning of the last century Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. A hub of student life at Williams, Paresky houses Baxter Great Hall (seen here), four dining options, meeting rooms and study spaces, pool and foosball tables, an auditorium, and the student mailroom. Each book was chosen by and will be introduced by a professor from a different department, and then Professor of Philosophy Steve Gerrard will continue the discussion. We will examine well-known philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God (including the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, the argument from religious experience, and the argument from evil). A person incapable of loyalty is often characterized as fickle, cold, self-serving and sometimes even pathological. The philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome were among the first thinkers to develop rigorous arguments in response to such musings. The AFL abandoned the Crows' game against Geelong on Sunday, the club called the tragedy an unprecedented crisis and a family has been torn apart. How should moral equality be understood, and what is its foundation? While answers to such questions are implicit in historically important accounts of morality, these issues became the topic of explicit, sustained debate in the twentieth and twenty-first century. In this course we will investigate the the broad topics of consciousness and thought by surveying the many approaches to mind that yield the contemporary debates. In addition to examining general accounts of causation, we will examine particular problems that come up in thinking about mental causation and causation in indeterministic contexts. His thought influenced the thought of subsequent generations of philosophers. We will read Adam Smith and Karl Marx on capitalism, Simone de Beauvoir on gender, and Charles Mills on race. falsity of all our beliefs? [more], It'd be perfectly natural to say "I might've left the stove on", then check the stove, then say "I didn't leave the stove on". To submit an obituary, please send it to Alumni Records, Williams College, 75 Park Street, Williamstown, MA 01267. Flourishing in ways distinctive to a rational agent or a human being (including, for example, developing rational capacities and self-mastery, succeeding in worthwhile projects, cultivating relationships, living morally, developing spiritually)? Furthermore, many of the issues that Aristotle takes up in these books remain of central importance in contemporary philosophy. Does morality require that we always subordinate our personal relationships to universal principles? And, if the barber does shave himself, then by condition (b) he does not shave himself. This raises the question whether a more complete account of the emergence of subjects must address both psychic, historical and social dimensions of subjectivity, the ways in which they are intertwined, and their importance for not only psychological well-being, but also relatively well-regulated socio-political relations. In school? We begin by examining some of the central concepts of Buddhist psychology, its treatment of the mind as a selfless stream of consciousness, its examination of the variety of mental factors and its accounts of the relation between cognition and affects. This theoretically oriented work will provide the background for subsequent examination of specific topics, which may include, among others: justice in health care financing and reform; justice in health care rationing and access to health care, with particular attention to the intersections of rationing criteria with gender, sexuality, race, disability, and age; justice in the procurement and allocation of organs for transplantation; obesity and personal responsibility for illness; and justice in medical research, including "double standards" for research conducted in low resource settings. Does being virtuous guarantee happiness? If not, should this concern us? Is a sentence's relation to previously uttered sentences similar to its relation to extra-linguistic events? We will begin by reading some of Plato's early dialogues and his Republic. Phil Walsh's death a family tragedy. to that question, and the theoretical assumptions that underlie the answers, differ as well. 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