Below is a list of upcoming graduate courses with full descriptions and other specific information. Below that is a list of all graduate-level courses offered by the Department. A full listing of graduate level courses is also available at the OSU Course Catalog. For a complete listing of courses offered in recent, current, and upcoming semesters, see the OSU Master Schedule.
Upcoming Graduate Courses
Autumn Semester 2024
5300 - Adv Moral Philosophy
Instructor: Justin D'Arms
R 9:30 AM - 12:20 PM
In person
This course will focus on the moral psychology of emotions and related states, such as Guilt, Compassion, Envy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, Pride, Shame, Contempt, Admiration, Amusement, and Anxiety. What are these states? What roles do emotions play in our moral and social lives? Can our emotional responses be unreasonable or unethical? In what ways can we control or be responsible for how we feel? The course meets only once a week, for one long session. Attendance is mandatory. Each meeting will be broken up into phases of group work, lecture and discussion, and we will take a break. Written work will include a term paper and some shorter written assignments throughout the term, and students will do presentations on their work.
Prereq: 3300, or 6 cr hrs in Philos at or above 3000-level; or Grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5700 - Adv Metaphysics
Instructor:
MW 9:35 AM - 10:55 PM
In person
An intensive examination of major metaphysical problems: categories, universals, substance and process, causality and law, space and time, metaphysical presuppositions of knowledge. Preferable to have credit for 3700 prior to enrollment.
Prereq: 2500, and 6 cr hrs in Philos at or above 3000-level; or Grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5750 - Adv Thry of Knowledge
Instructor: Jada Wiggleton-Little
TR 12:45 - 2:05 PM
In person
This course explores topic in social epistemology, particularly those related to race and testimony. In this course, we will address the following questions: How does knowledge reflect the particular perspective of the knower? How does one's social identity facilitate or restrict their epistemic agency? How is ignorance willfully or un-willfully maintained? To tackle these questions, we will survey philosophical texts on situated knowledge, epistemic oppression, and active ignorance. We will primarily examine Miranda Fricker's definition of epistemic injustice and how it fits under the broader concepts of epistemic oppression and epistemic exclusion. To do so, we will engage with work by Jose Medina, Kristie Dotson, Charles Mills, Patrica Collins, Linda Alcoff and others.
Prereq: 2500. and 6cr hrs in Philos at or above 3000-level; or Grad standing; or permission of instructor.
8001 - Grad Training Seminar
Instructor: C. Pincock
TBA
This course is designed to provide professional training for all first- and second-year graduate students that will enable them to develop the skills required for success in research, teaching and service.
Prereq: Grad standing in Philos. Repeatable to a maximum of 5 cr hrs or 2 completions. This course is graded S/U.
8100 - First Year Seminar
Instructor: T. McPherson & R. Kraut
T 2:30-5:15 PM
A topically variable introduction to advanced philosophical methodology.
Prereq: First year of Grad standing. Not open to students with credit for 700.
8300 - Seminar in Value Theory
Instructor: E. Lin
M 12:40-3:25 PM
In Person
The topic of this seminar is welfare, or equivalently, well-being. After a brief survey of the main theories of welfare (e.g., hedonism, desire satisfactionism, objective list theories, and hybrids thereof), we will focus on recent work or work in progress. For example, we will read parts of a book manuscript by Chris Heathwood (Colorado) and discuss them with him when he visits us.
8300 - Seminar in Value Theory
Instructor: P. Turner
W 4:00-6:45 PM
In Person
Open Society Liberalism
This course will explore the liberal tradition within political philosophy by examining the way John Rawls’s work both transformed and obscured other liberal thinkers’ works from earlier in the twentieth century. In particular, Rawlsian public reason forced a sharp break with a strain of thought one might call “open society liberalism,” due to thinkers like Mill, Dewey, and Popper. That strain emphasized the open-ended, problem-solving nature of liberal institutions, rather than their capacity to secure convergence. In the face of difficulties for the Rawlsian program, and with renewed attention to the role of diversity in generating progress, some philosophers have tried to retrieve the lessons of these earlier thinkers. Can these lessons generate a more dynamic “open society contractualism” than Rawls envisioned? Trying to answer this question will help us take stock of the liberal tradition today. Readings will likely include Mill, Dewey, Du Bois, Lippmann, Popper, Hayek, Shklar, Rawls, Gaus, Anderson, Misak, and Muldoon.
Complete Listing of Philosophy Graduate Courses
5010S Teaching Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
Design a set of philosophy lessons and team-teach some of these lessons to secondary school students.
5210 (601.03)--Ancient Philosophy: Studies in Ancient Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
Variable content; special topics in ancient Greek philosophy, including value theory, logic, metaphysics and natural science in pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle the Hellenistic schools or neo-Platonism.
Prereq: 301 or 10 cr hrs of Philos at the 200 level; or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 10 cr hrs.
5211 (601.01)--Ancient Philosophy: Plato
3 Credit Hours
A survey of central philosophical themes in one or more Platonic dialogues.
Prereq: 301 or 10 cr hrs of Philos at the 200 level; or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5212 (601.02)--Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle
3 Credit Hours
A survey of central philosophical themes in one or more Aristotelian treatises.
Prereq: 301 or 10 cr hrs of Philos at the 200 level; or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5220 (602)--Studies in Medieval Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of a major philosopher, school or philosophical problem of the medieval period; topics vary.
Prereq: 302 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 cr hrs.
5230 (603)--Studies in 17th-Century Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of a major philosopher or philosophical problem of the rationalist period; topics vary from quarter to quarter.
Prereq: 303 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or written of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 cr hrs.
5240 (604.02)--Studies in 18th Century Philosophy: Selected Problems or Topics
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of one or more important themes in Kant's philosophical writings.
Prereq: 303, or 304, and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor
5241 (604.01)--Studies in 18th Century Philosophy: Kant
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of one or more important themes in Kant's philosophical writings.
Prereq: 303, or 304, and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5260 (606)--Studies in 20th-Century Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of one or more central movement in 20th-century philosophy; topics vary.
Prereq: 15 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above, or grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 cr hrs.
5261 Phenomenology and Existentialism
3 Credit Hours
Early existentialist ideas of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche; Husserl's phenomenological method and critical analysis of works of philosophers such as Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, Beauvoir, and others.
5300 (631)--Advanced Moral Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of major issues within moral philosophy such as: the foundations of morality; objectivity in ethics; morality, reason and sentiment; virtues and vices.
Prereq: 431 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above or grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor.
5400 (630)--Advanced Political and Social Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of issues in political and social philosophy, including democracy, civil disobedience, anarchism, totalitarianism, nature of the state, etc.
Prereq: 230 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor, and English 110 or 111 or equiv.
5410 (638)--Advanced Philosophy of Law
3 Credit Hours
An examination of the nature and function of law and of such problems as the relation of law to morality and the justification of punishment.
Prereq: 338 and 10 cr hrs of Philos coursework at the 200 level or above; or grad standing; or equiv or permission of instructor.
5420 (625)--Philosophical Topics in Feminist Theory
3 Credit Hours
An analytical study of selected philosophical issues arising out of feminist theory, such as the nature of autonomy, or the relation between gender and knowledge.
Prereq: 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above; or grad standing; or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 10 cr hrs.
5450 (640)--Advanced Aesthetic Theory
3 Credit Hours
Basic issues in philosophy of art: the definition of art; meaning, truth, and representation in art; the nature and basis of criticism; the criteria of interpretation of works of art.
Prereq: 15 cr hrs of Philos course work at 200 level or above; grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 641.
5500 (650)--Advanced Symbolic Logic
3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the metatheory of first-order logics and languages: axiomatic development of propositional and predicate logic; model theory; soundness, completeness, and Lowenheim-Skolem theorems.
Prereq: 250
5510 (652)--Nonclassical Logic
3 Credit Hours
Study of selected systems of nonclassical logic, such as entailment systems, modal, many-valued, epistemic, deontic, imperative, erotetic, tense, and free logics.
Prereq: 650. Repeatable to a maximum of 10 cr hrs.
5550 (750)--Advanced Logical Theory
3 Credit Hours
Topics include formal arithmetic, recursive functions, Turing machines, Godel's incompleteness theorems, Church's thesis, arithmetical truth, logical paradoxes, and higher-order logic.
Preq: 250 and 650. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 hours.
5600 (673) - Advanced Philosophy of Language
3 Credit Hours
Basic problems and results in the philosophy of language, concentrating on theories of reference, theories of meaning, and theories of language-use (speech-acts, implicature, etc.).
Prereq: 250 and 10 credit hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 473); or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5650 (655)--Advanced Philosophy of Science
3 Credit Hours
A study of the nature and structure of scientific concepts, laws, and theories; appraisal of methodologies, presuppositions, and frames of reference in science.
Prereq: 250 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 455); or 250 and grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5700 (663)--Advanced Metaphysics
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of major metaphysical problems: categories, universals, substance and process, causality and law, space and time, metaphysical presuppositions of knowledge.
Prereq: 250 or 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 463); or grad standing; or permission of instructor.
5750 (660)--Advanced Theory of Knowledge
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of major epistemological problems: the possibility, origin, foundation, structure, methods, limits, types, and validity of knowledge.
Prereq: 250 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 460); or grad standing; or permission of instructor.
5800 (667) - Advanced Philosophy of Mind
3 Credit Hours
Classical and contemporary approaches to the nature of mind, mind-body, other minds, intentionality, and other problems.
Prereq: 15 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 467); or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 767.
5830 (612)--Introduction to Cognitive Science
3 Credit Hours
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary study of the nature of human thought; psychological, philosophical, linguistic, and artificial intelligence approaches to knowledge representation.
Prereq: Permission of instructor or a total of 12 cr hrs from at least two of the following areas: Cptr Inf, Linguist, Philos, and Psych. Not open to students with credit for CptrInf 612, Linguist 612, or Psych 612 or 794 (Sp Qtr 1989) or 794A (Wi Qtr 1990). Cross-listed in Computer and Information Science, Linguistics, and Psychology.
5840 (620)--Advanced Philosophy of Cognitive Science
3 Credit Hours
In-depth examination of the influence of results in cognitive science upon the way in which philosophers approach fundamental issues about the nature of the mind.
Prereq: 467 or permission of instructor.
5850 (670) - Philosophy of Religion
3 Credit Hours
A study of religious concepts and problems; the idea and nature of God, of humans, their relation to the world and human destiny.
Prereq: 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above; or grad standing; or permission of instructor.
8001 --Graduate Training Seminar
1-3 Credit Hours
This course is designed to provide professional training for all first- and second-year graduate students that will enable them to develop the skills required for success in research, teaching and service.
Prereq: Grad standing in Philos. Repeatable to a maximum of 5 cr hrs or 2 completions. This course is graded S/U.
8100 (700) - First-Year Seminar
4 Credit Hours
A topically variable introduction to advanced philosophical methodology.
Open only to first-year philosophy grad students.
8200 (801)--Seminar in the History of Philosophy
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8300 (830)--Seminar in Value Theory
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8500 (850)--Seminar in Logic
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8600 (873)--Seminar in Philosophy of Language
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8650 (855)--Seminar in Philosophy of Science
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8700 (863)--Seminar in Metaphysics
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8750 (860)--Seminar in Theory of Knowledge
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8800--Seminar in Philosophy of Mind
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8900--Placement Seminar
1-3 Credit Hours
Prereq: Grad standing in Philos. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs or 3 completions. This course is graded S/U.
8999 --Dissertation Research in Philosophy
1-9 Credit Hours
Research for dissertation purposes only.
Prereq: Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs or 30 completions. This course is graded S/U.