Current Courses

Spring 2010 | Fall 2009

Spring 2010

PHILOSOPHY ELECTIVES
Dr. Benfield: Philosophy of Mind
Dr.Chang: Asian Philosophy
Dr. Garrett: Existence and Reality
Dr. Garrett: History of Philosophy/Modern Philosophy
Dr. Chris Herrera: Theoretical & Applied Ethics
Dr. McDermid: Philosophy of Science
Dr. Roholt: Existentialism

RELIGION ELECTIVES
Dr. Ibrahim: Islamic Religious Traditions
Dr. Johnson: Religion and Culture
Dr. Johnson: American Religion and Culture
Dr. Kogan: Old Testament: Joshua to Daniel
Dr. Kogan: Heidegger's Being and Time
Dr. Kogan: Judaism & Christianity: Conflict and Reconciliation
Dr. Vail: Buddhism

PHIL 237 - Asian Philosophy
Dr. Chung Y. Chang
Monday/Wednesday, 10:00-11:15am 
Room: CO 317
Call Number: 15712

For students interested in climate change, martial art sports, international business, health, philosophy, political science, religion, history, or literature. By way of ideas drawn from classical Western philosophy, this course will cover Confucian ethics (The Analects of Confucius), Confucian metaphysics (I Ching), Taoist metaphysics (Tao Te Ching), and Zen (The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch). This course now fulfills Montclair State University’s General Education Requirement, Social Science/Non-Western Cultural Perspectives.

PHIL 239 - Existentialism
Dr. Tiger Roholt
Thursday, 1:00-3:30pm
Room: DI 274
Call Number: 15713

Which aspects of your character, actions, and circumstances are under your control? Is there a way to take responsibility for more and more of these aspects that creates value and meaning in your life? Existentialists engage in these kinds of very individual philosophical examinations, as opposed to the more traditional, abstract philosophical problematics. Although we will examine the work of both religious and atheistic existentialists, we will explore in more depth what atheistic philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre have to say about how value and meaning get constructed in a life without religious foundations. In addition, we will examine the work of Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, and Hubert Dreyfus. We will consider topics such as "herd" versus individual decision making, anonymity on the internet, nihilism, social-networking, technology, passion, detachment, freedom, fate, objectivity, subjectivity, truth, and art. All the while, we will note and probe connections and disconnections between Existentialism and both the analytic and Continental traditions in philosophy.

PHIL 266 – Philosophy of Science; PHIL 424- Seminar; HONP301 – Ways of Knowing
Dr. Kirk McDermid
Monday/Thursday- 1:00-2:15pm
Room: UN 2046
Call Number:14732 / 15716 / 12355

An introductory survey of the central how- why- and what-questions about science.  We will deal with such issues as the demarcation between science and pseudo-science (what counts as a science?), the notion of scientific explanation (does science need to answer why-questions?), the structure of scientific theories and their relation to observation (how is science supposed to work?), and the significance of revolutions in science (when and how does science progress?).  These issues will be organized around the theme of scientific realism: is there good reason to believe scientific claims accurately represent the goings-on in the world.

PHIL 270 – Philosophy of Mind
Dr. David Benfield 
Wednesday 5:30-8:00pm
Room: UN 3052
Call Number: 15714

Using recent work on phenomenal concepts and results from X-Phi, or Experimental Philosophy, we will examine various central questions: What form do mental representations take? Can our personal identity or self outlast our brains?  Is there good evidence that we have "free-won't" but not "free-will"? Time permitting, we will also investigate how close the programmers are to writing a program that passes the Turing test and fools us into thinking that their English-speaking program is a real human person.

PHIL 312 - Existence and Reality  
Dr. Roland Garrett
Monday, 5:30-8:00pm
Room: DI 276
Call Number: 15715

Metaphysics is the most general study of the nature of reality.  What are the basic different types of things that exist?  Do all the things that exist in fact have anything in common with one another?  Are some types of things more fundamental than others?  What general concepts are needed in order to understand the nature of reality as a whole?  Among the topics to be considered in this course will be the nature and reality of events, material bodies, colors and other properties, numbers, relations, possibilities, space, time, and causation.  Readings will come from some of the great thinkers who have contributed to metaphysics over the centuries, including the first systematic formulation of the discipline in Aristotle's Metaphysics and some notable work of the twentieth century.  
This course is required for philosophy majors; minors and interested non-majors are welcome.

PHIL 333 – History of Philosophy: Modern Philosophy 
Dr. Roland Garrett
Tuesday/Thursday- 11:30am-12:45pm
Room: DI 430
Call Number 14735

An introduction to European philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries, which defined modern thought. Readings will be from the central works of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. The main themes will be the nature of knowledge, reality, and the human mind. Some of the specific issues to be considered are the following: Is it possible to prove that I really exist, or that the physical world exists? Do these questions even make sense? Is perception the basis of human knowledge, or can we learn things about the physical world just by logical thought (like mathematical deductions in theoretical physics)? Is the world a vast, unified structure in which each event is linked to other events by natural laws? Or is the world instead a miscellaneous collection of unconnected events that we simply think of more usefully in some ways rather than other ways? Can knowledge of the material world be as reliable as the direct knowledge I have of my own thoughts? What mental structures or capacities are needed to make either sort of knowledge possible? This course is required for philosophy majors; minors and interested non-majors are welcome.

PHIL 334 - Theoretical and Applied Ethics 
Dr. Chris Herrera
Thursday, 5:30-8:00pm
Room: UN 3010
Call Number: 15711

This class will introduce the methods for judging actions as either right and wrong, considering the basic terms and concepts from the field of ethics. We will also apply these to specific issues, like euthanasia, advertising, and day-to-day issues like lying and promise-keeping. We will pause occasionally to consider fundamental attempts to construct an ethical theory, such as those of Plato, Kant, and the existentialists. We might also touch on recent trends like feminist ethics, anti-theory ethics, and even the notion that ethics is pointless. 

RELG 202 – Old Testament: Joshua to Daniel
Dr. Michael S. Kogan
Tuesday/Thursday, 11:30am-12:45pm
Room: DI 275
Call Number: 15718

An examination of the history and theology of Israelite religion as recorded in the Biblical books covering the middle and late periods (1200 - 165 B.C.) of ancient Israel. A close reading of the historical and prophetic books with analysis from a variety of scholarly schools of interpretation and criticism. The course will cover the “Deuteronomic History” that runs through the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, Prophetic books including Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and later biblical writings. Recommended for students with an interest in literature, history, philosophy and anthropology.

RELG 213 - Buddhism
Dr. Lise Vail
Monday, 5:30-8:00pm
Room: UN 3004
Call Number: 15719

The Buddha was born in the 6th century BCE, during a period of intense religious and intellectual ferment unparalleled in the history of India. Like many of his contemporaries, he renounced wealth, home, and society in search of a Truth that would liberate all beings. The truths he discovered and the religion he founded profoundly influenced the history of the entire Asian continent. In this course we will explore the Buddha's enigmatic teachings, and trace the varieties of Buddhist doctrine and practice that developed out of his original inspiration. We will cover both Hinayana and Mahayana schools, the Buddhist monastic order, and how this religion has developed differently in India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Tibet. We will also look at emerging Western interpretations of Buddhism. Topics covered include eccentric Buddhist masters, meditative and devotional practices, depth psychology, popular moral tales, Zen training in the arts and martial arts, and Buddhist encounters with communism and other faiths. This course is suitable both as an introduction to Buddhism, and also for more advanced students.

RELG 216 - Islamic Religious Traditions
Dr. Yasir Ibrahim
Monday, 1:00-3:30pm
Room: UN 2040
Call Number: 15720

The course will start by examining the rise of Islam through the eyes of two fundamental Islamic texts, the Qur’an and the biography of Prophet Muhammad. It will then explore the history of Islam’s classical and formative period (632-1258 CE) in terms of theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, and mysticism, while emphasizing diversity of perspectives. The heart of Islam will be approached through the teachings of the Qur’an, hadith, and the Islamic intellectual tradition, and the encounter between Islam and other religious traditions will be traced briefly. Major trends in contemporary Islam (traditionalism, liberalism, revivalism, etc.) will be identified and discussed through the writings of their major proponents.

RELG 221 - Religion and Culture
Dr. Steve Johnson
Monday Wednesday, section 01 10-11:15am / section 02 1:00-2:15pm
Room: section 01 DI 272 / section 02 DI 273
Call Number: 14971 / 14972

This course takes an historical approach in studying the interactions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with the broader cultures they impact and inhabit. Students will learn amazing amounts of religious and secular history (especially Western) in the first half of the course. In the second half of the course, students will be immersed in fascinating (sometimes terrifying) topics/foci. They will thereby gain insight into dynamics still very much driving us (and driving us crazy) in these first years of a new century and millennium. Students must attend the classes, survive two tough tests, and faithfully work at weekly written assignments (thought questions, analyses, long summaries of videos viewed during class, etc.).

RELG 355 – Selected Study: American Religion and Culture
Dr. Steve Johnson
Tuesday, 5:30-8:00pm
Room: DI 430
Call Number: 15722

Previous MSU RELG course required.  This semester we shall study selected Protestant American Evangelical and Pentecostal Experiences.  Presuming knowledge of the European Protestant Reformation(s), we first trace the historical development of uniquely American Protestant styles.  By 1900 both "Fundamentalism" and various "Churches of God" had emerged, forerunners of today's "religious right" and of many varieties of "Pentecostal" churches.  We shall focus on mid-twentieth-century Southern white rural /and/ Northern urban African-American forms.  We then move on to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, focusing on the prophetic roles of African-American religious experience therein.  We conclude by connecting all this to American religious involvements in the 2008 presidential election, including that of Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  Heavy lecture, heavy reading (including literary works by Flannery O'Connor and James Baldwin), and documentary videos.  In-class attendance and regular class participation required; also serious writing, along with demanding mid-term and final exams.    

RELG 352 – Selected Study: Heidegger’s Being and Time; RELG 462 - Seminar: Heidegger’s Being and Time
Dr. Michael S. Kogan
Tuesday, 2:30-5:00pm
Room: DI 430
Call Number: 15721 / 14978

Martin Heidegger is considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. This class will read together Heidegger's great work, Being and Time. Emphasis will be placed on his existential theory of human being-in-the-world, the meaning of human life, the nature of truth and the experience of dying and death. Students will find Heidegger's work to be a powerful tool for self-understanding which speaks to real-life human beings in their day-to-day existential situation. Cross-listed as a seminar (required for majors).

RELG 357 – Selected Study: Judaism & Christianity: Conflict & Reconciliation; HONP 301 - Ways of Knowing
Dr. Michael S. Kogan
Thursday, 1:00-3:30pm
Room: DI 172
Call Number: 14977 / 12356

The most exciting and revolutionary development in religion over the past forty years has been the flourishing new relationship between Judaism and Christianity.  Antagonists for centuries, these two faiths are discovering each other in new and creative ways.  This class will examine the basic beliefs of both faiths, the causes of their separation in the first century, their history of mutual misunderstanding, and their unprecedented mutually affirming dialogue since 1965.  We will consider the nature of "truth" in religion; religious exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism; and the possibility of religions learning from each other and even affirming each other's claims.  Must religion divide people or can they be re-visioned so as to build bridges between communities long separated by convictions believed to be mutually exclusive?  Upon the answer to this question may depend the future peace of the world. Cross-listed as an Honors class.

Fall 2009

PHILOSOPHY ELECTIVES
Dr. Chris Herrera: Ancient Philosophy
Dr. Benfield: Philosophy of Religion/Honors Ways of Knowing
Dr. Garrett: Social and Political Philosophy
Dr. McDermid: Knowledge Belief and Truth/Honors Ways of Knowing
Dr. Roholt: Philosophies of Art

RELIGION ELECTIVES
Dr. Eller: Women and Religion
Dr. Ibrahim: Islamic Religious Traditions
Dr. Johnson: Religion and Culture (2 sections)
Dr. Kogan: Old Testament: Genesis to Joshua
Dr. Kogan: Jewish Spirituality/Mysticism
Dr. Vail: Hinduism

PHIL 212 – Social and Political Philosophy
Dr. Roland Garrett
Monday: 5:30-8:00pm
Room DI 430
Call Number:15646

Introduction to the grand themes of political and social philosophy, including the following: the nature of political ideals; the justification of democracy as a form of government; the connection of governmental structure and authority to human nature; the meaning and scope of freedom; the ideals of equality and justice; the morality of an individual citizen's decision to disobey a law; and the viability of the notion of universal human rights. Primary readings will come from the work of the great political and social thinkers of history, such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Rawls.
NOTE: Fulfills GER requirement for Philosophy/Religion and also fulfills a requirement for the major in Philosophy.

PHIL 260- Philosophies of Art
Dr. Tiger Roholt
Thursday: 5:30-8:00pm
Room: University Hall 2025
Call Number:15647

Some philosophers of art believe that artworks are essentially representational: artworks depict, resemble, or are about objects or events. Others have argued that artworks are essentially expressive: artworks transmit the feelings or emotions of artists (and/or arouse feelings or emotions in spectators). Others argue that the essential nature of art is form: what makes something an artwork is its structure or design. Still others emphasize aesthetic experience: what is distinctive about art is the way in which we engage with it experientially. In this course, we will examine all of these theories. Even if it is not possible to identify art's essence, to define art, these theories teach us a great deal about representation, expression, form, and aesthetic experience—which are surely central characteristics of many artworks. Underlying the entire semester will be a recurring consideration of what it is that grounds our aesthetic judgments. When you claim that a song is good, important, or significant, what kind of reasons can you offer in support of that conclusion? Are such aesthetic judgments simply subjective opinions, or do objective principles exist that can serve as a foundation for aesthetic judgments? We will also consider the relationships between art and morals, and art and politics. Our exploration will bring us into contact with a number of different arts: music, painting, film, theatre, photography, dance, poetry, etc. We will study selections from philosophers and writers such as the following: Plato, Aristotle, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Eduard Hanslick, Leo Tolstoy, E.H. Gombrich, Clive Bell, R.G. Collingwood, Theodor Adorno, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and John Dewey.

PHIL 262 – Philosophy of Religion/HONP 301 01 Ways of Knowing
Dr. David Benfield
Monday, Wednesday: 11:30am-12:45pm
Room: DI 430
Call Number: 15648/Honors 12499

In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins, the world's best known atheist and famous evolutionary biologist, offers us many reasons to reject religion. We will focus our attention on Chapter 4 "Why there is almost certainly no God" and on Chapter 9 "Childhood, Abuse, the Escape from Religion." Balancing Dawkins will be philosophical arguments drawn primarily from Western Analytical Philosophy sources supplemented by excerpts from Is Nature Enough? Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science by John Haught, S..J. noted Roman Catholic Theologian. If you are interested in attacking these issues using reason and the tools of analytic philosophy, this is the course for you. The course has no prerequisites; however, an open and tolerant attitude toward all religions will be essential. The course will use Blackboard but will meet f2f. The requirements will be: weekly journal entries; a class-presentation interview project; a mid-term take-home exam; and a final examination.

PHIL 310- Knowledge, Belief & Truth/HONP 301- 02 Ways of Knowing
Dr. Kirk McDermid
Monday, Wednesday: 1:00pm-2:15pm
DI 430
Call # 14627/Honors 12500

This class will survey questions about the nature and possibility of knowledge (the study of epistemology.) It’s easiest to explain what the course is about, by saying it’s about a collection of questions like these: What is knowledge? Where do we get knowledge? How do we know we know something? What is truth? These are, obviously, pretty abstract questions – the sort philosophy is famous for.

But, we will be trying to connect the abstractness of this philosophical inquiry to something concrete that you actually have a stake in, and care about: your education at MSU. Do you obtain knowledge during your studies at MSU? How do you know it’s 'real' knowledge? Do professors know, or just believe?

The course will be organized around students investigating their own chosen knowledge-claims, understanding the ways they are justified and the philosophical problems associated with them. I will be bringing my own real-world epistemological dilemmas to the class for examination as well, most notably the problem of student evaluation: how is a professor supposed to know what his or her students are learning, or what grade they deserve? We'll see what verdicts various philosophical theories of knowledge, belief and truth deliver on these questions, and perhaps what ways we might change our beliefs, or approaches to forming beliefs, in response.

PHIL 331 - Ancient Philosophy
Dr. Chris Herrera
Wednesday: 5:30pm-8:00pm
Room: DI 430
Call Number: 14628

An introduction to the major figures of classical philosophy in the ancient world. The course will focus on the writings of Plato and Aristotle, the two greatest and most influential thinkers in ancient philosophy. The course will also cover the beginnings of philosophy in the Pre-Socratics. The course will examine issues including truth, beauty, and goodness; democracy and freedom; knowledge, reason, and experience; and reality, time, space, infinity, and God.

RELG 215 - Hinduism
Dr. Lise Vail
Monday: 5:30pm-8:00pm
Room: BO 493
Call Number:15654

This course is designed to examine -- both historically and thematically -- the richness of the Hindu tradition. We will discuss its scriptures, spiritual disciplines, saints, myths and rituals, sacred art and poetry, and social, philosophical, and political thought. India has a religious tapestry that has been woven for over 5000 years of her history, and an accumulated wisdom that still speaks to modern concerns. From silent world-renouncing ascetics in the Himalayas, to noisy and colorful festivals and fairs; from a deeper understanding of the mind and meditation, to a sense that different colors of joy pervade the world -- the Hindu voice has continually stressed the importance of the search for significance in all realms of life. In this course we will especially be focusing on the Upanisads, Yoga Sutras, Ramayana Epic, the bhakti poets, and the writings of Mahatma Gandhi, as well as other selected topics.

RELG 216 - Islamic Religious Traditions
Dr. Yasir Ibrahim
Tuesday: 2:30pm-5:00pm
Room: PA 208
Call Number: 15653

The course will start by examining the rise of Islam through the eyes of two fundamental Islamic texts, the Qur’an and the biography of Prophet Muhammad. It will then explore the history of Islam’s classical and formative period (632-1258 CE) in terms of theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, and mysticism, while emphasizing diversity of perspectives. The heart of Islam will be approached through the teachings of the Qur’an, hadith, and the Islamic intellectual tradition, and the encounter between Islam and other religious traditions will be traced briefly. Major trends in contemporary Islam (traditionalism, liberalism, revivalism, etc.) will be identified and discussed through the writings of their major proponents.

RELG 221 01, 221 02 - Religion and Culture
Dr. Stephen Johnson
Section 01: Monday, Wednesday: 10:00am-11:15am, Room: DI 271, Call #: 14852
Section 02: Monday, Wednesday: 11:30am-12:45pm, Room: DI 271, Call #: 14853

This course takes an historical approach in studying the interactions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with the broader cultures they impact and inhabit. Students will learn amazing amounts of religious and secular history (especially Western) in the first half of the course. In the second half of the course, students will be immersed in fascinating (sometimes terrifying) topics/foci. They will thereby gain insight into dynamics still very much driving us (and driving us crazy) in these first years of a new century and millennium.

Students must attend the classes, survive two tough tests, and faithfully work at weekly written assignments (thought questions, analyses, long summaries of videos viewed during class, etc.)

RELG 200 – Old Test I: Genesis- Joshua
Dr. Michael Kogan
Tuesday, Thursday: 11:30am-12:45 pm
Room Tuesday DI 276 /Thursday DI 270
Call Number: 15651

An examination of the history and theology of Israelite religion as seen in the biblical books covering the Primeval, Patriarchal and Mosaic periods (creation-1250 B.C.). A close reading of the Biblical text and analysis from a variety of scholarly schools of interpretation and criticism. The course will include treatment of the various schools of thought (documentary, form, etc.) as to the authorship and dates of the texts under examination. The student will also be exposed to various hermeneutical approaches to the texts (philosophical, mythic, psychoanalytic, etc.) A follow-up course of Old Testament II, covering the books from Joshua to Daniel will be offered in the Spring semester.

RELG 301 01 –Jewish Spirituality/Mysticism
Dr. Michael S. Kogan
Tuesday, Thursday: 1:00pm-2:15pm
Room: Tuesday DI 272, Thursday
Call Number: 15652

This course will focus on the personal relationship between the individual religious seeker and God. We will read classic and modern writings by Jewish thinkers on the dynamics of the spiritual experience of the divine presence in human life. Far deeper than doctrine and dogma, this is religion on its most profound level.

RELG 267 01 - Women and Religion
Dr. Cynthia Eller
Wednesday: 10:00am-12:30pm
Room: UN 2004
Call Number: 16551

This course investigates women's religious practices and beliefs in a number of established and alternative religions. It focuses in particular on gendered patterns that are observable across a wide range of religious traditions, ancient and modern. It is concerned both with the description of women's religious experiences, and with the development of theoretical models to assist in understanding the gendered structure of various religions and the nature and functions of women's beliefs and practices within them.