Major Eastern traditions of philosophy. Concentration on Indian, Chinese, and Japanese systems may vary from semester to semester.

Critical examination of the development of philosophical thinking regarding human values, rights, and duties.

Philosophical implications of representative literary works, read in tandem with philosophical literature. The content will vary. The literary works explored may be drawn from ancient times through modern times. For examples, the classic Greek tragedy "Antigone" might be explored for its implications regarding moral, political, and feminist philosophy, or the philosophical implications of an anti-utopian contemporary work like "Brave New World" might be explored, or short stories drawn from science fiction and other speculative fiction might be used to explore the possibility of time travel or of machines with mental lives.

Many people think that philosophy and science are miles apart. But philosophy of science is a dynamic field. It asks questions like: are scientific explanations always true and what's the difference between science and other ways of knowing? It explores issues such as the relation of science to common sense, the relation of theory to observation, the claim to objectivity in the natural and social sciences, and the role of values in scientific research.