Geoffrey Hall

ghall4[at]alumni[dot]nd[dot]edu

Prepared Courses

Ethical Theory (Syllabus): This course is an introduction to the core issues in contemporary ethical theory. We will start by looking at the foundations of ethics. What is it for something to be morally good? What is it for an action to be obligatory? How do we know about morality? Does morality depend on God? We will then turn to competing theories of the general principles of morality. Do the ends justify the means? Are there actions that are forbidden no matter the consequences? Do individuals have rights? Is there an important moral distinction between doing something and letting it happen? Finally, with a good grasp on some of these more theoretical problems, we will turn to more applied questions: is animal consumption morally permissible? Is abortion morally permissible? What obligations do we have towards future generations? What obligations to we have towards those less fortunate than ourselves? Are there individuals or organizations that have special moral authority?

Modal Logic and Metaphysics (Syllabus): This course is an introduction to modal logic, possible-world semantics, and associated philosophical issues. We will start by covering the basics of modal logic beginning with propositional modal logic and then moving on to quantified modal logic. After this, we delve into the philosophical controversies surrounding modal logic and modality. Topics to be covered include the nature of possible worlds, whether existence is necessary or contingent, the relationship between essence and modality, the epistemology of modality, and several other areas in addition.

Perceptual Experience (Syllabus): When subject to an illusion, a perceiver sees an object that is not the way it looks. In hallucination, a perceiver seems to see and object, despite there being no object there. These two facts look to conflict with an intuitive idea of perceptual experience as mere acquaintance with one's surroundings. This is the so called "problem of perception." This course will look at theories of the nature of perceptual experience and evaluate how well they fare with respect to the problem of perception (and other related problems).

The Philosophy of Film (Syllabus): This course is about film: the philosophy of film, the aesthetics of film and our perceptual experience of film. We'll attempt to answer questions like: Is filmaking a distinctive art form? Or is it merely a recording of various different kinds of art forms, such as acting, set designing, music making, and so on? If it is a distinctive art form, what is distinctive about it? We'll look at the classical debates between formalists and realists: the formalists locate the art of film in the form of the film: it's use of shot angles, editing and camera movement to convey ideas. The realist locates the art in film in its ability to depict the world in its true nature: the more realistic, the better. Further philosophical questions we'll ask: is there such a thing as a "cinematic language?" Do films have an author? Relatedly, how should we evaluate the success or failure of a film? We'll also look at the specific ways in which films express emotions, and the ways in which we emotionally engage in films, as both works of fiction and as documents of actually occuring events.