This is a workshop for 3rd year philosophy graduate students, in which students prepare and workshop materials for their Topical Exam.
A two-quarter (Autumn, Winter) workshop for all and only philosophy graduate students in the relevant years.
The concept of beauty (kallos) figures prominently in Ancient Greek philosophy, a place where metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and poetics come together and through which philosophers think about the possibility of harmoniousness in our being-in-relation to others. In this seminar we will begin by reading some important passages from Plato’s dialogues (e.g., from Republic, Phaedrus, Symposium) before turning to two subsequent philosophers who were influenced by him, Aristotle and Plotinus. We will consider ideas about the relation of beauty to goodness and order, to appearance and intelligibility, and to the spectator’s reactions of wonder, pleasure, admiration, and sense of kinship. Inevitably we will spend a fair amount of time discussing their theories of poetry, but will also talk about the role of beauty in ethics and natural philosophy. (I)
This course provides an introduction to logic for students of philosophy. It is aimed at students who possess more mathematical training than can be expected of typical philosophy majors, but who wish to study logic not just as a branch of mathematics but as a method for philosophical analysis. (B) (II)
While no specific mathematical knowledge will be presupposed, some familiarity with the methods of mathematical reasoning and some prior practice writing prose that is precise enough to support mathematical proof will be useful.
Students may count either PHIL 20012 or PHIL 20100, but not both, toward the credits required for graduation.
(B) (II)
This course meets in Autumn and Winter quarters.
Enrollment limited to first-year graduate students.
This course meets in Autumn and Winter quarters.
Enrollment limited to first-year graduate students.
A careful study of Aristotle’s De Anima in its entirety. (B)
Type theory is a new way of thinking about logic in which proofs are associated with computational verifications. It revolves around the Curry-Howard correspondence, which connects the idea of proof with the idea of computation. This class will introduce students both to the mathematical and philosophical issues involved in this way of looking at logic. In particular, the Curry-Howard correspondence will be examined in both simple and complex forms, culminating in versions of the Curry-Howard correspondence for classical logic that involve lambda calculi of catching and throwing exceptions, as well versions of the Curry-Howard correspondence for higher order logic that involve dependent type theory. This will all be used to give a novel account of the meaning of the logical connectives, as well as a different way of viewing the fundamental difference between intuitionistic and classical logic. The course will use notes from a forthcoming book, and students without knowledge of the lambda calculus are advised to contact the professor for some preparatory reading. The class is suitable for those who already have a working familiarity with the ideas of elementary logic. (B) (II)
Is opera an archaic and exotic pageant for wealthy elites, or a relevant art form of great subtlety and complexity that has the power to be revelatory? In this course of eight sessions, jointly taught by Professor Martha Nussbaum and Anthony Freud, Former General Director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, we explore the multi-disciplinary nature of this elusive and much-maligned art form, with its four hundred-year-old European roots, discussing both historic and philosophical contexts and the practicalities of interpretation and production in a very un-European, twenty-first century city.
Anchoring each session around a different opera, we will be joined by a variety of guest experts, one each week, including a director, a conductor, a designer and two singers, to enable us to explore different perspectives.
The list of operas to be discussed include Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppaea, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Verdi's Don Carlos, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Wagner's Die Meistersinger, Britten's Billy Budd, and Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. (A) (I)
Remark: Students do not need to be able to read music, but some antecedent familiarity with opera in performance or through recordings would be extremely helpful. But enthusiasm is the main thing!
Assignments: In general, for each week we will require you to listen carefully to the opera of that week. Multiple copies of the recommended recordings will be available in the library. But you should feel free to use your own recordings, or to buy them, or stream them, if you prefer. The university gives you access to the Metropolitan Opera HD on demand series. There will also be brief written materials assigned, and posted on the course canvas site. No books are required for purchase. Because listening is the main thing, we will try to keep readings brief and to make recommendations for further reading should you want to do more.
Class Structure: In general we will each make remarks for about twenty minutes each, then interview the guest of the week, with ample room for discussion.
REQUIREMENTS: PhD students and law students will write one long paper at the end (20-25 pages), based on a prospectus submitted earlier. Other students will write one shorter paper (5-7 pages) and one longer paper (12-15 pages), the former due in week 4 and the latter during reading period.
STUDENTS: PhD students in the Philosophy Department and the Music Department and all law students (both J. D. and LL.M.) may enroll without permission. All other students will be admitted up to the number feasible given TA arrangements.
Course begins in late Spring quarter and continues in the Autumn quarter.
This workshop is open only to PhD Philosophy graduate students planning to go on the job market in the Autumn of 2026. Approval of dissertation committee is required.
