Please refer to the UWM Schedule of Classes for each term before registering to confirm which classes are offered.
Fall 2025 Course Descriptions UWM Philosophy Department
Philosophy 101 Introduction to Philosophy: Reflections On the Human Condition
Prereq: none
LEC 001 TR 8:30 – 9:45
Instructor: TBD
LEC 401 MW 10:30 – 11:30
LEC 201 ONLINE
Instructor: Ágúst Magnússon; magnusso@uwm.edu
Enrollment in one of 401 requires enrollment in a discussion section.
This course will serve as an introduction to philosophy, both as an academic discipline and as a way of life. We will examine key texts from various diverse philosophical traditions, such as Stoicism, Platonism, Hedonism, and existentialism. We will explore all of the great philosophical questions and issues, such as figuring out how to be happy, how to live the coolest life possible, the true nature of reality, and what it means to be a good person. No previous background in philosophy is required to take the course.
Philosophy 111 Introduction to Logic- Critical Reasoning
Prereq Enforcement: Level 10 on Math Placement Test; or a grade of C or better in MATH 90, MATH 95, or MATH 102; or a grade of D in MATH 94; or an ACT math score of 18 or higher.
LEC 401 MW 9:30 – 10:20
LEC 402 MW 11:30 – 12:20
LEC 201 ONLINE
Instructor: Matthew Knachel; knachel@uwm.edu
Jointly offered with and counts as a repeat of MATH 111
Enrollment in one of the large lectures (401 and 402) requires enrollment in a discussion section.
There’s an ancient view, still widely held, that what makes human beings special—what distinguishes us from the “beasts of the field”—is that we are rational. What does rationality consist in? That is a vexed question, but one possible response goes roughly like this: we manifest our rationality by engaging in certain activities, chief among them the activity of making claims and backing them up with reasons—that is, constructing arguments. This reasoning activity can be done well and it can be done badly—it can be done correctly or incorrectly. Logic is the discipline that aims to distinguish good reasoning from bad.
Since reasoning is central to all fields of study—indeed, since it’s arguably central to being human—the tools developed in logic are universally applicable. Anyone can benefit from studying logic by becoming a more self-aware, skillful reasoner.
It is possible to approach the study of logic more or less formally. A more formal approach abstracts from natural language and develops sophisticated artificial symbol-languages within which it’s possible precisely to identify the logically relevant features of arguments. This approach has many virtues, but it is only one among many, and it focuses on only one kind of argument (deductive). In this class, we explore a diverse collection of methods and principles for evaluating many different kinds of arguments. We take a very brief look at the formal techniques mentioned above, but spend most of our time studying arguments presented in natural language, as they occur in everyday reasoning.
Philosophy 204 Introduction to Asian Religions
Prereq: none
LEC 201 ONLINE
Instructor: Ágúst Magnússon; magnusso@uwm.edu
Is there a God? What is the nature of reality? How do we overcome suffering and pain? These are some of the philosophical questions we will tackle in our exploration of the great wisdom traditions of Asia. We will explore various practices, theories, and teachings from traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism and learn about specific spiritual techniques such as meditation and yoga. We will learn about the historical and cultural contexts of these traditions but also use them to critically examine our own understanding of human nature, the nature of reality, and the nature of the divine. No previous background in philosophy is required to take the course.
Philosophy 211- Elementary Logic
Prereq: Satisfacation of QL-A
LEC 401 MW 12:30 – 1:20
LEC 202 ONLINE
Instructor: Matthew Knachel; knachel@uwm.edu
Humans are reasoning animals, and logic is the study of the rules and principles of correct reasoning, the science of what follows from what. Logic know-how is a skill, one of the most important skills you will ever develop, both for your college and later career and for your everyday life. It teaches you how to analyze concepts, ideas, arguments, and break them down into their simplest components. You are then in a position to recognize the relationships between those components, to see how they are connected together (or not), and thereby to understand how and why one thing follows from another. At the same time, it teaches you how to construct ‘paths of reasoning’, how to get from one idea to another, how, for example, to determine what is the best course of action in a particular situation.
Apart from its application in virtually every field of study, the study of logic will help you develop your analytical and quantitative skills, your writing skills, your communication skills, and your day to day reasoning. You’ll become a better thinker and a better reasoner. You may not be aware that you are doing so, but you’re using logic now, and you’ll use it every day, for the rest of your life.
This is an introductory course in formal (symbolic) logic intended for students who have had no previous work in logic. There will be 3 exams and weekly homework assignments. The course satisfies General Education Humanities and QLB requirements. The course also satisfies the L&S Formal Reasoning Requirement for the B.A. degree.
Philosophy 215 Belief, Knowledge, and Truth: An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge
LEC 001 TR 11:30 – 12:45
Instructor: TBD
Philosophy 235- Philosophical Aspects of Feminism
Prereq: none.
LEC 001 TR 10:00 – 11:15
Instructor: Elizabeth Silverstein; silvers2@uwm.edu
In this course we will explore a variety of topics concerning feminism, the oppression of women, and the politics of gender in contemporary society. We will approach these topics from a philosophical perspective and will pay close attention to both conceptual and normative issues. The course will begin with a survey of important traditional philosophical works advocating for feminist positions. We will read about and discuss issues such as the social construction of gender and of the self; the nature of autonomy; feminist epistemology; and the impact of race, class, and sexual orientation on women’s lives. We will also explore philosophical questions that arise in contemporary debates around specific feminist issues. Students will have opportunities to apply the philosophical skills acquired in class into the real world through a community-based interview project and service learning with local organizations.
Philosophy 241: Introduction to Ethics
Prereq: none
LEC 201 ONLINE
Instructor: Blain Neufeld; neufeld@uwm.edu
This course is an introduction to contemporary normative ethics. Normative ethics is concerned with the question: “what makes an action right or wrong?” We will explore four theories: consequentialism, Kantian ethics, contractualism, and contractarianism. Consequentialism takes the establishment of certain outcomes – the production or maximization of “good” (e.g., “welfare” or “happiness”), and the prevention or minimization of “bad” (e.g., “pain”) – to determine whether actions, rules, or policies are morally right or wrong. The most influential version of consequentialism is “utilitarianism.” Kantian ethics (named after the philosopher Immanuel Kant) understands morality to consist in those rules that autonomous agents could rationally “will” for all. Contractualism holds that morality consists in principles that mediate relations of mutual respect between free and equal persons. Contractarianism is the view that morality should be understood as a set of social practices or rules adopted by “enlightened” self-interested rational actors. Our discussion of all four moral views will involve readings from both historical sources and contemporary authors.
Philosophy 243 Moral Problems
May be taken w/chg in topic to 6 cr max. Prereq: none.
LEC 201 Global Poverty ONLINE September 2 – October 4
LEC 202 Abortion ONLINE October 6 – November 8
LEC 203 Euthanasia ONLINE November 10 – December 11
Instructor: Miren Boehm; boehmm@uwm.edu
201 Global Poverty
This course raises some fundamental questions regarding the nature of our relation to the less fortunate and to the victims of discrimination. It raises questions about my individual obligations to others and our collective obligations to others. We shall examine and question our conceptual, moral schemas, starting with our distinction between obligations and duties versus charity. We discuss the topics of the distribution of responsibilities in a world swamped in suffering, the population problem, the problem of gender inequalities across the world, and the rights of individuals in the global community.
202 Abortion
Is abortion (the intentional termination of a pregnancy) immoral or unethical? Does the answer depend on whether we think of the fetus as a person? What is a person; is this the same as being a human being? What is the right to self-determination? What is the Dobbs decision? How did the Supreme Court decide the case in 2022? Before Dobbs there was Roe v Wade—what was the content of this ruling? Most Americans who are religious worship the God of the Bible. But what does the Bible say about abortion exactly? What rights do women as a group have in society? In this class we will address all these questions.
203 Euthanasia
The goal of this course is to inquire into the different moral questions that arise out of the medical practice of euthanasia. Are we ever justified in helping someone die? Does extreme pain and/or lack of hope for a dignified life justify “mercy killing”? Is being alive, regardless of the quality of that life, valuable? What is the relevant moral concept “life” or “meaningful life”? How can we best understand the relation between the obligation to help those in need and the right to autonomy? We believe that people have a right to live as they want; do they also have a right to end their lives when they wish and as they wish? When are we justified, if ever, in making this most personal decision for others, such as children? We will spend five weeks addressing these central questions.
Philosophy 244 – Ethical Issues in Health Care: Biomedical Ethics
May be retaken w/chg in topic to 6 cr max. Prereq: none
LEC 202 ONLINE
Instructor: Elizabeth Silverstein; silvers2@uwm.edu
In this course we will begin by overviewing the ethical theories that shape our answers to serious ethical dilemmas. In this part of the course we will first introduce philosophical moral theories, and look more closely at theories that apply particularly in biomedical ethics, and finally introduce and develop an understanding of the concept of autonomy and how it relates to issues in biomedical ethics, paying particularly close attention to how different social and cultural factors effect health care interactions. The course will be framed around issues of autonomy and especially on the autonomy of traditionally vulnerable populations. For the second half of the course we will apply these theories to particular moral dilemmas currently confronting health care providers, patients and their families, and society at large. These topics will include issues related to death and dying, pregnancy and birth, genetic testing and therapies, health care allocation, and research ethics. We will be particularly solicitous of issues that pertain to the health care issues of diverse populations and those that historically socially disadvantaged.
Philosophy 337 Environmental Ethics
Prereq: jr st.
LEC 001 TR 1:00 – 2:15
Instructor: Elizabeth Silverstein; silvers2@uwm.edu
The course will cover major theories of environmental ethics and their practical applications. We will cover various theoretical approaches to environmental ethics including: Animal rights, the Land Ethic; deep ecology; social ecology; ecofeminism; and rethinking the good life. This will include discussions about the moral value of non-human life and nature; human responsibility to the environment; and various contemporary moral issues related to the environment including: wildlife conservation; poverty as an environmental problem; the ecology of property rights; cost-benefit analysis and environmental policy; and environmental activism. We will pay particular attention to moral dilemmas that arise from the intersection of social justice issues, health disparities, and the climate crisis through a locally focused and ethically guided individual project.
Philosophy 341 Modern Ethical Theories
Prereq: jr st; 3 cr in philos; satisfaction of OWC-A.
LEC 001 MW 2:30 – 3:45
Instructor: Stanislaus Husi; husi@uwm.edu
ChatCTP is a shock to many. Questions about AI loom ever larger. Are we etching closer to the singularity? Is our world about to change forever? Many AI researchers issue dire warnings. How will AI change life, work, society, politics, culture? And how shall we respond and prepare? How shall we deal with the vast societal ramifications? Ethical issues pop up everywhere. In the class, we will attempt some philosophical reckoning: on the interconnection between AI and human agency. The technological transformation of choice and responsibility; the workplace and the economy; political discourse; control of information; creativity, art and culture at large. What are ethically better and worse ways for society to adjust? For each and every one of us to adjust? Moral philosophers must step up to keep up. Let’s do our best in this class.
Philosophy 358/358G Action, Will, and Freedom
Prereq: jr st, 3 cr philos; or grad st
LEC 001 TR 10:00 – 11:15
Instructor: Joshua Spencer; spence48@uwm.edu
Various outside forces seem to put constraints on our actions. In addition to social rules or laws, which exert pressure to behave in certain ways, there are also constraints that come from physical laws, biological make-up, upbringing, and maybe even divine knowledge of our future actions. In this course we will investigate various constraints on our actions and determine whether and to what extent those constraints limit our free will. Along the way, we will formulate and evaluate different theories of determinism and free will. We will think about incompatibilist theories, according to which we cannot be free when we are determined, and compatibilist theories that allow for free will even in deterministic situations.
Philosophy 430/ 430G- Great Thinkers of the Ancient Period
Prereq: jr st & 3 cr in philos.
LEC 001 MW 11:30 – 12:45
Instructor: Nataliya Palatnik; palatnik@uwm.edu
The history of philosophy is sometimes said to have begun in 585 B.C.E., when the Greek philosopher, Thales, is said to have predicted an eclipse of the sun. This, of course, is a somewhat arbitrary convenience, and there is nothing particularly philosophical about predicting an eclipse of the sun (what Thales is known for ‘philosophically’ is his conjecture that everything, at bottom, is made of water!). But Thales’s prediction is taken to be representative of a more general tendency away from understanding the natural world through a ‘mythological’ perspective, and towards an understanding of it through a more ‘rationalistic’, ‘scientific’ perspective. It is this general tendency that perhaps better characterizes the beginnings of philosophy. In this course we will consider how this tendency plays out in the thought of some of the central figures in early Greek philosophy – the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle – in order to understand how their ideas and theories about the natural world and human nature resulted in the development of natural science, ethics, and metaphysics.
Philosophy 532/532G Philosophical Problems
May be retaken with change in topic to 9 cr max. Prereq: junior standing and 3 cr PHILOS.
LEC 001 MW 1:00 – 2:15
Instructor: Stanislaus Husi; husi@uwm.edu
Is political knowledge realistically attainable? Few would maintain that we are currently particularly well positioned to attain it. Few would share the optimism of past ages that the free reign of the marketplace of ideas will secure it. But what exactly is holding us back? What is the best diagnosis of our epistemic predicament? And how can we do better? Contemporary work in political epistemology has some noteworthy answers. In the seminar, we will discuss a wide range of them, many with their authors themselves, who will be joining the seminar. The authors invited represent a wide range of approaches and political persuasions, and open-mindedness to diverse viewpoints, viewpoints participants may vigorously disagree with, is key in order make the discussion a success. In addition, to accommodate our guests, some reasonable degree of flexibility is expected. This includes a mid-semester workshop.
Philosophy 554/554G Special Topics in the History of Modern Philosophy: Kant’s Theoretical Philosophy
May be retaken with change in topic to 9 cr max. Prereq: junior standing and 3 credits in PHILOS; PHILOS 432(R); or consent of instructor.
LEC 001 TR 4:00 – 5:15
Instructor: William Bristow; bristow@uwm.edu
The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant is certainly one of the most important works in the areas of epistemology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of science in the history of Western Philosophy. In this course we study the work carefully. Some of the main questions that are addressed in the work are: How is rational (or a priori) knowledge possible? How is empirical knowledge possible? What is the nature of space and of time? How do we know (if we do) that the natural world is causally ordered? If events in nature are governed by mechanistic causal laws, how is human freedom possible? — For aid in understanding Kant’s positions and arguments in the Critique, we will read selections from secondary works as well.
Philosophy 681/681G Seminar in Advanced Topics: Personal Identity
May be retaken with change in topic to 9 cr max. Additional prerequisites announced in the Schedule of Classes each time course is offered. Prereq: senior standing and 12 cr in PHILOS at the 300-level or above; or graduate standing.
SEM 001 W 2:30 – 5:10
Instructor: Miren Boehm; boehmm@uwm.edu
Are you the same person you were when you were 12 years old? While it is true that you have changed a lot since then, you probably believe you are the same now as you were then. It seems that what makes you you does not change. And yet, we can cease to be persons: a terrible accident can place us in a comma where we are biologically alive but are no longer persons. John Locke famously held the view that our memories are what make us the same person over time; he thought that “person” was a legal concept that allows us to hold people responsible. In this view, if you permanently forget your actions, you cannot be held responsible for your actions. In this class, we focus on the philosophical questions surrounding the notion of personal identity, but we will also consider general metaphysical questions about identity in general. David Hume argued that the identity of masses of matter, plants, animals, and churches depends on our practices or customs. Is that the case with personal identity as well? In this class, we will explore several historical and contemporary concepts of identity, persons, and personal identity over time.
Philosophy 790 Advanced Topics in Philosophy: Graduate Student Writing Workshop
Retakeable w/chg in topic to 9 cr max. Prereq: grad st; consent of instr.
LEC 001 M 2:30 – 5:10
Instructor: Nataliya Palatnik; palatnik@uwm.edu
In this seminar students will work on a single paper, which by the end of the term should be a piece of high-quality philosophy. Each week two students will submit drafts of their papers for our workshop. Other students will be expected to submit comments/questions on the papers. Our goal is to provide constructive feedback to the authors so that they may improve their papers. Students also will discuss drafts of their application statements.
Philosophy 941: Liberalism and the Challenge of Anti-liberalism
Retakable with change in topic to 9 cr max. Prereq: graduate standing and consent of instructor.
SEM 001 R 1:00 – 3:45
Instructor: Blain Neufeld; neufeld@uwm.edu
This seminar will have two parts. In the first we will look at the philosophical justification for modern ‘liberalism’ (or ‘liberal democracy’). Broadly construed, modern liberalism is committed to: (a) the rule of law; (b) democratic institutions; (c) individual rights (e.g., liberty of conscience, freedom of association); and (d) institutions and policies that provide resources to citizens (e.g., education, income, healthcare) that enable them to effectively exercise their rights over the course of their lives. Liberalism is based on the idea that citizens (regardless of their particular identities) should be regarded as free and equal members of society, and that public authority should be accountable to citizens. Our focus will be on the most influential statement of liberal political philosophy from the twentieth century, that advanced by John Rawls (although work by other liberal theorists will be read as well).
In the second part of the seminar, we will consider how liberalism should respond to illiberal and antidemocratic challenges. Illiberal and antidemocratic ‘populist’ political movements have been on the rise throughout a number of societies in recent years, and in many places (e.g., the US, Italy, Hungary, Israel, India) have even gained control (at least partially) of national governments. We will read work by political philosophers on how we should understand these movements and how citizens committed to liberal democracy should respond to them.
Philosophy 960 Seminar in Metaphysics: Parts, Parts, Parts, …, No Parts
Retakable with change in topic to 9 cr max. Prereq: graduate standing and consent of instructor.
SEM 001 T 1:00 – 3:45
Instructor: Joshua Spencer; spence48@uwm.edu
Mereology is the study of parts and wholes. In this course, we will explore a variety of topics related to parts and wholes. What does it take for some several things to all be parts of a single object at a time? Can an object change parts over time? Could an object have had different parts under different possible scenarios? Can an object be an indeterminate or vague part of a whole? What does it take for an object to be partless (a mereological simple)? And what are partless objects like? Are there only partless objects? Along the way, we will consider methodological questions as well. Are these mereological questions substantive? What is it for a mereological question to be or fail to be substantive? Can we form reasonable beliefs about answers to these questions? If so, how?