PHIL

What can justify one nation’s intervention in the affairs of another? And what can justify one nation arresting a citizen of another nation and prosecuting him or her for an act that was not against the law in the nation in which it occurred? Indeed, what can justify one nation arresting the head of state of another and prosecuting him or her? What is the conception of national sovereignty such that it could be consistent with such apparent violations of sovereignty? These are questions that need to be answered if we are to understand when and why it is permissible or even obligatory for one state to interfere in the affairs of another in order to protect human rights or to punish their violation. (I)

The Workshop will explore a broad range of topics that arise in ethics, philosophy of action, and philosophy of criminal law related to questions of freedom and responsibility: what is it to act freely? Is responsibility compatible with the causal determination of action? Does the assignment of responsibility in the criminal law make philosophical sense? How does addiction or mental illness affect ascriptions of responsibility in the law, and how should it? Readings will be drawn from philosophy, psychology, and criminal law theory.
Coates and Leiter will meet with enrolled students for two two-hour sessions in October to go over some classic readings on the subject of freedom and responsibility. We will then host six or seven outside speakers addressing these issues. Coates or Leiter will meet with the students a week in advance for one hour to go over the readings. Confirmed speakers so far include Pamela Hieryonmi (Philosophy, UCLA), Stephen Morse (Law & Psychiatry, Penn), Hanna Pickard (Philosophy, Oxford), Derk Pereboom (Philosophy, Cornell), and Gary Watson (Law & Philosophy, Southern California).

Attendance at all sessions of the Workshop is a requirement. JD students should contact bleiter@uchicago.edu with a resume and a brief statement of background and/or interest in the topic in order to secure permission to enroll. Philosophy PhD students may enroll without submitting these materials.

The distinction between essence and existence was introduced as part of metaphysical doctrine of creation in Islamic theology. This doctrine cannot be found among the ancient philosophers but became central to the Scholastics. In the seminar we shall read works by Avicenna, Averroes, and Thomas Aquinas. We shall compare Descartes' and Spinoza's receptions of the creation doctrine. I will propose that central concepts of contemporary philosophy such states of affairs or facts and notions of the mind and of the world that go with them can be traced to the doctrine of creation.

In the first part of this course, we will examine Stoicism as a way of life through a reading of Pierre Hadot’s commentary (in French) on Epictetus’ Manual, supplemented by other writings of Hadot. The second part of the course will be devoted to the topic of Judaism as a way of life, focusing on the writings of Joseph Soloveitchik. The third part of the course will consider a number of historically and theoretically heterogeneous essays that take up different aspects of our theme. Depending on the interests of the seminar participants, texts for this part of the course may include the writings of Francis of Assisi, essays by Michel Foucault, Hilary Putnam, and Wittgenstein’s “Lectures on Religious Belief”. (I)

Note: This course meets twice a week during weeks 1-6.  In this class we will draw together work on vagueness that has been done, over the last forty years, within philosophy, linguistics and formal logic. The overarching aim is to develop a coherent picture of what may appear to be (increasingly) diverging approaches to a single central theme.  Among those from whose work we will draw are (in alphabetical, not thematic, order): Dummett, Edgington, Fine, Graff-Fara, Greenough, Raffman, Shapiro, Van Rooy, Varzi, Williamson, Wright.  I will also draw on my own work, distant as well as more recent.  Through much of the course the context dependence of vague predicates will play a prominent part.  Students enrolled in the course will be expected to write an essay (of about 3000 words), which will be due at the end of the quarter. (II)

This course meets in Autumn and Winter quarters.

The workshop involves discussion of general issues in writing the essay and student presentations of their work. Although students do not register for the Summer quarter, they are expected to make significant progress on their preliminary essay over the summer.

Plato thinks that beautiful speech is truthful and that truthful speech is, in some way, beautiful. Why does he think this and why does he think it important? Readings will include portions of the Republic, Sophist, and Phaedrus so as to understand the beauty of philosophical dialectic by contrast with the false beauties of (some) poetry and rhetoric. (IV)

Plato thinks that beautiful speech is truthful and that truthful speech is, in some way, beautiful. Why does he think this and why does he think it important? Readings will include portions of the Republic, Sophist, and Phaedrus so as to understand the beauty of philosophical dialectic by contrast with the false beauties of (some) poetry and rhetoric. (IV)