Philosophy 522 Special Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Philosophy of Physics

LEC 001 TR 2:00 3:15 CRT 607 Instructor: Stephen Leeds sleeds@uwm.edu Prereq: jr st.

The first part of the course will be on the Theory of Relativity, Special and General; the implications of these theories for our conceptions of Space and Time (and spacetime). The second part will be on Quantum Mechanics, particularly the Measurement problem. If there is time at the end, we may discuss some issues in Statistical Mechanics. No specific requirements, but it would be helpful to know elementary calculus and some linear algebra.

Philosophy 535 Special Topics in Feminist Theory: Gender and Social Construction
LEC 001 TR 3:30 4:45 Instructor: Andrea Westlund westlund@uwm.edu Prereq: jr st; a course in philos or womens stds. Philos 535 & Wmns 535 are jointly offered; with same topic, they count as repeats of one another. CRT 607

Many feminist philosophers have argued that gender is a social construct. In this course, we will explore this thesis in detail. What is a social construct? In what sense(s) might gender and other identity categories (race, disability, etc.) be socially constructed? How is gender related to sex? What is gender essentialism? What are the moral and political implications of our answers to these questions? Our focus will be on recent work in feminist metaphysics and gender theory, with some attention to related work in feminist epistemology, philosophy of language, and ethics. Readings will include selections from philosophers such as Linda Alcoff, Miranda Fricker, Sally Haslanger, Jennifer Saul, Rae Langton, and Charlotte Witt, among others.

Philosophy 554 Special Topics in the History of Modern Philosophy: Reality and Representation
LEC 001 M 3:30 6:10 Instructor: Miren Boehm boehmm@uwm.edu Prereq: jr st & 3 cr in philos; Philos 432(R); or cons instr. CRT 607

The central questions of this class concern our conception of the nature of objectivity and our conception of the nature of mind and experience. What is reality as it exists in itself? And is the mind an instrument for knowing reality that at the same time distorts our view of reality? Can we subtract the features the mind contributes to experience to get at as pristine a view of reality as possible? We consider the historical development of these ideas: Descartes, Locke, among others. And we also engage with more contemporary discussions: Hilary Putnam, Bernard Williams Absolute conception of reality, Thomas Nagels View from nowhere and Barry Strouds Quest for reality among others.

12

Philosophy 681 Seminar in Advanced Topics: Desire, Well-Being, and Death

SEM 001 MW 2:003:15 CRT 607 Instructor: Stan Husi husi@uwm.edu Prereq: sr st & 12 cr in philos at 300-level or above; or grad st.

Desire looms large in the theory of value. Many theories revolve entirely around it. In this class, we are going to investigate desire-based theories of value and well-being, assessing them in their diverse forms of involving various degrees of idealization, hierarchical levels of desire, coherent webs of desire, etc. The class first third will be devoted on the classical readings on this subject, by D. Lewis, D. Parfit, H. Frankfurt, M. Smith, J. Griffin, among others. After that, we are going to turn to recent work in moral psychology and the just released monograph In Praise of Desire by N. Arpaly and T. Schroeder. In the final section, we are going to discuss various temporal aspects of desire and value, such as the question of whether factors occurring after death can contribute to peoples well-being in virtue of satisfying some of their lifetime desires. Answers to such questions have larger implications for desire-based theories, in addition to being fascinating in their own right. Ben Bradleys superb recent monograph WellBeing and Death shall be our guide for this last section.

Philosophy 758 Seminar in Major Philosophers: Berkeleys Immaterialism

SEM 001 T 11:00 1:40 CRT 607

Instructor: Margaret Atherton atherton@uwm.edu Prereq: grad st; cons instr. Retakable w/ chg in topic to 9 cr max.

George Berkeley has had a long standing but ambiguous reputation. The poet, William Butler Yeats, said that Berkeley expressed the Irish temperament when he proved all things a dream but Berkeleys editor, A.A. Luce said that Berkeley aligned we Irish with common sense. Many have supposed that the claims Berkeley is most closely associated with that there is no matter and that the only things that exist are ideas and minds that have them-- are totally ludicrous. But others are convinced that it is possible to find Berkeley siding with common sense. Still others question whether Berkeley ever intended to ally himself with common sense. At the heart of these disagreements is a central puzzle: What are the principles for which Berkeley is arguing? Is he an idealist? An immaterialist? Or something else? Berkeleys most famous claims appear only in two of his works, Principles of Human Knowledge and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. If the denial of matter constitutes the main tenet of Berkeleianism, why did Berkeley suppress all mention of it in his other works? We will try to gain answers to these questions by following Berkeleys own advice and reading through these two works in turn from beginning to end, although, as he also suggested, we will begin with the nonimmaterialist work which he prepared at the same time as the later two, Essay towards a New Theory of Vision.

Philosophy 790 Advanced Topics in Philosophy: Graduate Student Writing Workshop

LEC 001 MW 12:30 1:45 CRT 607 Instructor: Joshua Spencer spence48@uwm.edu Prereq: grad st; addl prereqs depending on topic.

In this workshop, graduate students will present their work in progress and receive peer comments on their work and writing. Students will have the opportunity to hone their presentation skills, sharpen their writing, and develop their philosophical ideas.

13

Philosophy 960 Seminar in Metaphysics: Self, Time, and Narrative

SEM 001 W 3:30 6:10 Instructor: Luca Ferrero ferrero@uwm.edu Prereq: grad st & cons instr. CRT 607

In this seminar we discuss the relation between personal identity and narrative. Many contemporary philosophers have argued that the notion of a narrative helps explain both the nature and structure of our temporally extended existence and agency. We first discuss the nature of narrative descriptions and explanations. We will then consider in which ways they can bear on the understanding of the notion of 'self' and our identity over time. We will assess the debate between those philosophers who argue for the central role played by narrative (such as Dennett and Velleman) and those who resolutely deny it (such as Williams and Strawson). In the last portion of the seminar, we explore the implications that a narrative structure of identity and agency might have for diachronic rationality. How does the temporal structure of our existence bear on the norms of diachronic rationality, both in the cognitive and practical domains? For instance, could our epistemology just be of the 'time-slice' sort, in that it applies equally well to subjects with no temporal extension? Likewise, are there genuinely diachronic pressures of practical rationality? If so, how do they relate to the narrative structure of identity?

14