Global Arc

The choice of a kind of life involves both fundamental commitments and day-to-day decisions. This course is interested in zooming out and zooming in: how should we adopt commitments, and how do we realize them in ordinary life? What is the purpose of life, and how can you fulfill it? Should you live by an overall narrative, or is your life just the sum of what you actually do? Are commitments chosen or given to you? Are the decisions we think of as high stakes important at all? When should you relinquish what you thought were your deepest commitments? What should you do when commitments clash? Two lectures, one precept.

This course introduces students to the political and social philosophy of Marxism, and poses a critical question. Can the philosophy, so grounded on economics and class oppression, properly account for the ills of racial oppression? In exploring this question, we will look at the theoretical work of Black revolutionaries inspired by Marxism, such as Angela Davis, W. E. B. Du Bois, Claudia Jones and Walter Rodney; as well as work by some contemporary philosophers. This course will familiarize students with the thought of historical figures, and different views of the relationship between racial and class oppression, and how they operate.

Sexism, misogyny, and gender injustice are grave moral and political wrongs. This course covers a range of key topics in feminist political philosophy that are still essential to contemporary issues. What is oppression? What is sexism? What is gender? How does intersectionality complicate our understanding of these questions? We'll also consider more specific political issues that feminist philosophers have grappled with. What does a transnational feminism look like? Are professions which are primarily gender-based compatible with justice? What policies are appropriate to address a gender division of labor?

The course surveys philosophical issues in the study of consciousness and the nature of the self. Questions include: What is consciousness? How can a material thing be conscious? Does the fact that we are conscious suggest that everything is conscious? Does consciousness need a subject, and if so, what sort of being might it be? What would it take for a machine to exhibit consciousness, and how should the possibility of artificial consciousness inform AI research and the implementation of AI systems in the near future.

The philosophy department senior thesis (498-499) is a year-long project in which students undertake a substantial project of philosophical research under the supervision of a Princeton faculty member. Skills to be developed over the course of the senior thesis project include: How to manage time on a year-long project, how to locate tractable specific questions within a larger philosophical subject area, how to summarize effectively the current state of debate on an issue, how to situate a specific philosophical question in a larger context, and how to better write in a way that exhibits virtues including clarity, accuracy, and thoroughness.

The philosophy department senior thesis (498-499) is a year-long project in which students undertake a substantial project of philosophical research under the supervision of a Princeton faculty member. Skills to be developed over the course of the senior thesis project include: How to manage time on a year-long project, how to locate tractable specific questions within a larger philosophical subject area, how to summarize effectively the current state of debate on an issue, how to situate a specific philosophical question in a larger context, and how to better write in a way that exhibits virtues including clarity, accuracy, and thoroughness.

In this course, we critically examine some of the core issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language and ethics that are elaborated by Buddhist philosophers. The course analyzes core texts of Buddhist philosophy supported by secondary literature. Once we gain an understanding of the views expounded by Buddhist philosophers, we will subject their doctrines to rational scrutiny. The course will also incorporate guided meditations from a range of different Buddhist practices and give you the choice of experimenting and reflecting on your experience as part of your assessment.

The 17th century was a period of tumult and change in Europe. The Reformation had broken the hold of the Catholic Church, challenging long-held orthodoxies. Religion was also confronted by the Scientific Revolution, challenging comfortable beliefs about the world and our place in it. This led philosophers to rethink basic issues concerning religion. Who is telling us the truth, the Church or the scientist? Who is in charge, the religious or civil authorities? Is there really a God, and how can we know? This course will focus on these and other questions using primary textual readings from a variety of sources across the early modern period.

Philosophy juniors participate in a junior seminar where groups of 6-7 students meet weekly with a faculty member to discuss readings selected by the instructor. At the end of the semester, each student writes a final paper of at least 5,000 words on a topic related to the seminar. Final grades are based on the final paper (75%) and in-class participation/assignments (25%), which may include shorter papers and/or oral presentations.

Spring semester junior independent work consists of writing a junior paper, an essay on a philosophical topic, normally amounting to at least 5,000 words, under the supervision of a faculty advisor.