Page 144 of College of the Holy Cross Catalog by College of the Holy Cross

142/ debate about controversial issues. Aim is to help students think, speak, and write clearly about these issues. Discusses moral justification and an overview of several types of ethical theory. Considers such issues as the physician-patient relationship, truth-telling and confidentiality, informed consent, reproductive technologies, abortion, the right to die, euthanasia and assisted suicide, the AIDS epidemic, human genetics, and justice in the distribution of health care. One unit. Philosophy 254 Philosophy East and West Alternate years By exploring Greek texts from the Pre-Socratics to Plato in relationship with the Sanscrit Upanishads, this course attempts to reveal the common metaphysical root of Western and Eastern traditions. Christian and Buddhist texts are also investigated in an attempt to show how the sharp polarity between Eastern and Western thought emerged. One unit. Philosophy 260 Philosophy of Art Alternate years By reflecting on what philosophers have said about art, this course investigates the idea that art itself performs a philosophical, perhaps even a moral, function. Art is supposed by many to have the power to reveal something, and to be in some way �ggood�h for us. In considering whether this is so, we have to confront two basic questions. The first is: Are there any �gtruths�h about art (about what art is, about the purpose of art, about what makes art good or bad, etc.)? The second is: does art really reveal �gtruths�h (What kind of truths? Truths about what? Can these truths be rationally articulated? If not, why should we take art seriously?) We shall concentrate on these, and related questions. Readings from Plato, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, Kandinsky, and Iris Murdoch. One unit. Philosophy 261 Philosophy of Mind Annually Questions concerning the nature of the mind and its relation to the body or questions about the essential capacities of human beings distinguishing them from plants, animals, and machines are raised. Different traditional and contemporary themes about the nature of the mind are discussed critically. Emphasizes topics such as the mind-body problem, the nature of consciousness, the explanation of action, and the problem of intentionality. One unit. Philosophy 262 Philosophy of Language Alternate years At the beginning of this century philosophy underwent, with the so-called �glinguistic turn,�h yet another Copernican revolution. Traditional philosophical problems were supposed to be solved or dissolved through an analysis of the meaning of linguistic expressions. This course tries to evaluate this kind of philosophizing through a systematic analysis of the philosophical project of a theory of meaning in its historical development. Readings include texts of Frege, Carnap, Quine, Davidson, Dummett, and Wittgenstein. One unit. Philosophy 264 Philosophy of History Alternate years Focuses on the growth of historical consciousness in the modern epoch, although it may also give attention to such Christian thinkers as Augustine. Emphasizes the contrast between the boldly progressive vision of Hegel, which celebrates scientific culture as the goal of history, and the more traditional vision of Vico (the Italian philosopher), which embodies a cyclical moment and defines historical culture more in terms of poetry than of science. Other authors typically read include Kant, Herder, Burckhardt, Nietzsche, Lowith, and Collingwood. One unit. Philosophy 265 Political Philosophy Fall Political philosophy addresses the questions of how and toward what end ought human beings live together, what a just and good society would be, and what makes power legitimate? These questions are pursued through a reading of the history of Western political thought, including the work of Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and J.S. Mill. Recent liberal theory also examined, focusing on the justice of welfare spending and the proper limits on government, using for example the work of John Rawls and Robert Nozick. One unit. Philosophy 267 Philosophy of State and Law Spring Examines the nature of liberal democratic politics in its relation to morality. The central question is: Philosophy

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