Bruce W. Hauptli

Professor of Philosophy

Email: hauptli@fiu.edu

Copyright © 2008 Bruce W. Hauptli

Office Hours

Course Web Pages

Information for
Students

Position Statements

Further Information

Current Work

Unpublished Papers

Helpful Links

Department of Philosophy
DM 341 D
Florida International University
University Park Campus
Miami, FL 33199
Phone/Voice Mail: 305-348-3350
Fax: 305-348-1799
The Philosophy Department's Secretary is Ms. Ivonne Carrasco: 305-348-2185.  

FIU's Department of Philosophy Web-page (includes information of faculty, Student Advising Guide, etc.). 

Office Hours for Summer 2008-Spring 2009:

I will be on sabbatical leave for the Fall and Spring Semesters of the 2008-2009 Academic Year, and will not be teaching courses during the Fall and Spring semesters. 

   E-Mail: hauptli@fiu.edu       V-Mail: 305-348-3350

Pages for Recent Courses:

Philosophy:

PHH 2063 Classics In Philosophy: Introduction to the History of Philosophy (Summer A 2008).  This course introduces the history of philosophy by examining the works of Plato, Anselm, Hobbes, and Descartes.  T

PHH 3401 16th and 17th Century Philosophy (Fall 2007). A course in the Department's History of Philosophy sequence which deals with orientations of four  philosophers: Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Benedict Spinoza, and Gottfired Leibniz. 

PHH 3402  British Empiricism (Spring 2008)A course in the Department's History of Philosophy sequence which deals with orientation of three philosophers: John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume. 

PHI 3300  Epistemology (Spring 2006).  A basic upper division course in the theory of knowledge.  It addresses skepticism, the nature of knowledge, epistemic justification (what is requisite if we are to support our claims to knowledge), and alternative orientations within contemporary epistemology.

PHI 3601  Ethics (Spring 2007).  A basic course in ethical theories, this course will concentrate upon a critical analysis of the theories of Hobbes, Mill, Kant, and Aristotle. 

PHH 4930  Wittgenstein (Fall 2006). A course concentrating on the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. 
PHI 5934    Wittgenstein the graduate section of the course. 

Masters of Liberal Arts Program:

IDS 6937 Great Ideas Seminar: Special Topics--Liberal Education and Democracy ( Summer 2004).  The seminar focused on a historical survey of the evolving idea (and ideal) of liberal education and its relationship to democracy.  Attention was directed to its cultural origins and contexts, and to its importance for democratic citizenry.  This course is one of the Great Ideas Seminars for the Master of Liberal Arts [MALS] Program.  For more information on the program select this link:  FIU MALS Program.  

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Information for Students:

    A General Statement of My Course Objectives and Expectations for Students

    Writing Philosophy Papers For Professor Hauptli

    A Note for Students Taking Multiple Courses With Me

    Regarding Independent Study Requests

    Regarding Requests for Letters of Recommendation

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Further Information, Position Statements, and Unpublished Work:

The following provide a picture of my educational philosophy, my view of the university and its constituencies, and other items of possible interest. 

     My View of The Nature of A Liberal Arts Education

     My View of the Relation of Academic Administration and Collegial Governance

     Education, Indoctrination, and Academic Freedom

     On The Connection Between Research and Undergraduate Teaching

     Business Models Are Inappropriate for University Communities

     Regarding Professional Responsibility and Ethics

     Why Senates Are Important To Universities

     Why I Would Belong To An Academic Union

     An Unfounded Critique of Florida's Tenure System

     Information on my book, The Reasonableness of Reason

     Student Malapropisms Collected Over My Years of Teaching

     My Lecture Supplement Introducing Philosophy: "What Is Philosophy?"  

     My Vita

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Here are a number of unpublished papers which I believe are worth a look, but which are no longer submitted for consideration for publication.  While many were written in the 1980's and 1990's, the copyright date indicates when they were first placed on the "web."  

William Alston's Epistemic Level Confusion and Disguised Fideism

Perpetual Noon and Strained Analogies (a critique of J.L. Mackie's "Five O'Clock On The Sun").

Good Philosophy Is Unavoidably Technical--A Criticism of Adler (a criticism of Mortimer Adler's Six Great Ideas video program).

Philosophy and The Quest For A Justified World-View--A Review of Kekes (a criticism of John Kekes' The Nature of Philosophy).

Living One's Pyrrhonistic Skepticism (Contra Burnyeat)

Below are a number of lectures which I have given to others' classes at FIU:

The Enlightenment Project (Readings: Chapters 1-3 of E.O. Wilson's Consilience)

 Consilience and Consciousness (Reading: Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like To Be A Bat?")

 A Quick and Dirty Argument Against Moral Relativism

 Relativism, Objectivism, and Judging (Readings: Ambrose Beirce's "A Horseman In The Sky" and Jonathan Bennett's "The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn)

 Some Things Are Just Plain Wrong (Readings: William Gass's "The Case of the Obliging Stranger" and Ted Bundy's "Letter To A Victim")

 What Is A Self, and Why Should You Care? (Reading: Daniel Dennett, “Why Everyone Is A Novelist”)

Presentation On Academic Freedom on July, 21 2004

Other Presentations To FIU Groups:

Presentation on Inculcating Academic Honesty in Our Students--for FIU's Academy For the Art of Teaching on 01/28/00

Presentation to Phi Sigma Tau Panel--Introduction to Skepticism

Presentation to Phi Sigma Tau Panel--Living One's Skepticism Contra Burnyeat

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Helpful Links:

    FIU Department of Philosophy (includes information of faculty, Student Advising Guide, etc.)

    FIU MALS Program.

    FIU Philosophy Honors Society

    Giving To FIU

    Arts and Letters Daily--an excellent source of daily information of interest.

    Links to Philosophy Web Sites---Episteme Links

    On Line Writing Assistant

    The Elements of Style OnLine by Strunk and White--A Classic guide.

    Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

    FIU Home Page  

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Revised: 07/08/2008