PHIL 101 – Introduction to Philosophy
Prof. Hirmiz: MoWeFr 11:00AM–11:50AM
Representative philosophical topics, such as mind and body, the grounds of knowledge, the existence of God, moral obligation, political equality, and human freedom, are discussed in connection with contemporary philosophers and figures in the history of philosophy.
PHIL 215 – Classical Chinese Philosophy
Prof. Liao: TuTh 2:00PM-3:20PM
(Asian Languages and Cultures; Asian Studies)
This course introduces students to influential philosophical questions in early Chinese thought. And it exposes students to central philosophical texts such as Lunyu, Daodejing, Mozi, Zhuangzi, Mengzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. It is both a course in history of philosophy and a course in comparative philosophy. Hence, students are expected to both develop skills for making historically-informed interpretations of these thinkers' responses to the influential philosophical questions, and to consider their ideas' relevance to practical and philosophical discourses today.
PHIL 250 – Moral Philosophy
Prof. Tubert: TuTh 11:00AM-12:20PM
(Bioethics; Neuroscience)
This course examines a number of ethical theories - theories attempting to provide a systematic account of our beliefs about what is right and wrong, good and bad. The course examines a range of answers to questions like the following: What makes for a good life? What, if anything, is of value? What does morality require? Should we care about moral requirements and, if so, why? Is there a connection between morality and freedom? In addition to a careful study of various classic views, we will consider recent defenses and critiques of these views.
PHIL 286 – Ethics, Data, and Artificial Intelligence
Prof. Hirmiz: TuTh 3:30PM-4:50PM
(Bioethics; Science & Values; Neuroscience; Science, Technology, Health & Society)
This course focuses on social, economic, legal, and ethical issues that arise from the collection, analysis, and use of large data sets, especially when these processes are automated or embedded within artificial intelligence systems. The course explores the design of ethical algorithms by considering questions like the following: what kinds of biases are ethically problematic and how can they be avoided? what are the effects of automation on jobs and inequality? what are the privacy considerations that arise when collecting and using data? what is the ethical significance of transparency in automation? who owns data sets and who has the right to access information? who is responsible for actions that result from artificial intelligence systems? In thinking about these complex questions, students consider specific case studies of controversial uses of data and algorithms in fields such as medicine, biotechnology, military, advertising, social media, finance, transportation, and criminal justice, among others. In addition to relevant ethical theories, students are introduced to philosophical, legal, and scientific theories that play a central role in debates regarding the ethics of data and artificial intelligence. Readings are drawn from a number of classic and contemporary texts in philosophy, science and technology studies, law, public policy, and the emerging fields of "data ethics" and "robot ethics".
PHIL 292 – Basics of Bioethics
Prof. Liao: TuTh 9:30AM-10:50AM
(Bioethics; Science & Values; Science, Technology, Health & Society)
This course examines Western philosophical understandings of moral issues brought on by advances in health care, science, and technology. In this course, students will learn the "Principles approach" to bioethics, as well as other ethical approaches to the difficult moral issues raised by contemporary medical science and its clinical applications.
PHIL 321 – 17th & 18th Century Philosophy
Prof. Tiehen: TuTh 9:30AM-10:50AM
(Science & Values; Science, Technology, Health & Society)
European philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries struggled to make sense of ordinary perceptual experience in light of the emerging mathematical physics that culminated in Newton. This new physics presented a picture of the world according to which things in space and time are not as they appear to the senses, and thus overturned the Aristotelian world-view endorsed by the Church since the Middle Ages. The philosophical issues of this period concern the nature of knowledge of the world and how it is acquired. Also included are various accounts of the mind and of its intellectual and sensory capacities.
PHIL 333 – Philosophy of Emotions
Prof. Protasi: MoWe 2:00PM-3:20PM
(Neuroscience; Science, Technology, Health & Society)
Anger, fear, joy, sadness, disgust, surprise, envy, pride, jealousy, love, grief -- without emotions our experience of the world would be flat and grey, void of the upheavals, accelerations, and turns that make the journey of life so exciting. But what are emotions? What kind of mental state are they? Are there universal emotions, or are all emotions culturally-relative? What does it mean to feel fear -- as opposed to think -- that something is scary? How can we know that someone is envious? Is disgust always bad? Can joy be inappropriate? In this course students explore these and many other questions concerning the metaphysics, epistemology, phenomenology, value, and rationality of emotions. Readings are drawn from a variety of sources: classical philosophical texts, contemporary articles in philosophy and psychology, popular culture, and literature.
PHIL 386 – AI Ethics in Healthcare
Prof. Hirmiz: TuTh 12:30PM-1:50PM
(Neuroscience; Science, Technology, Health & Society)
This course examines ethical issues related to the implementation of artificially intelligent systems in medicine and healthcare from a philosophical perspective. Topics include (but are not limited to): algorithmic biases in medical diagnoses and healthcare decisions; the impact of AI on the ability to foster trust and respect patient autonomy; disagreements between clinicians and AI decision-support systems; and the implementation of empathic or empathy-simulating AI in healthcare.
PHIL 430 – Topics in Knowledge & Reality (The Dark Side of the Extended Mind)
Prof. Liao: MoWe 3:30PM-4:50PM
Conducted as an advanced seminar, the course addresses topics from metaphysics and epistemology, understood to include the philosophy of mind. Each student writes and presents a substantial seminar paper related to the course. Representative course topics include human freedom and the causal order, conceivability and possibility, number and other abstractions, the infinite, a priori knowledge, relativism and truth, knowledge of the self, intentionality, mental causation, and the nature of consciousness.
PHIL 497 – Public Philosophy
Prof. Protasi: Fr 3:00PM-3:50PM
(Experiential Learning; 0.25 activity unit)
This course invites students to go beyond the traditional classroom, and bring the ideas and practices of academic philosophy to a public audience. For Spring 2025, students will co-organize the Puget Sound Undergraduate Philosophy Conference taking place on campus in late March or early April. Students will peer review (anonymized) submissions from students across the country, construct a conference program, work on communication, publicity, and logistics, and provide commentaries on presentations. The process of bringing the ideas and practices of academic philosophy to a public audience demands students to utilize flexible and sophisticated problem-solving skills to address unscripted problems. To build on these direct experiences, students reflect on how these direct experiences have shaped their academic growth and understanding of self, others, and the world.
Note: instructor permission is required to enroll in this course.
Other courses taught by Philosophy professors:
The Seven Deadly Sins
Prof. Protasi: MoWeFr 10:00AM–10:50AM OR MoWeFr 11:00AM–11:50AM
(More information to be announced)