PHIL 414 - Advanced Topics in Contemporary Philosophy

Philosophy of Money
What is money? Is it a certain kind of stuff, or is it debt? Must money come from a state? Are cryptocurrencies a form of money? These are metaphysical questions, a subset of social ontology. But they are simultaneously anthropological-historical questions about the origins of money, economic questions about a certain natural kind, and disguised ethical questions about what money ought to be and whose interests it ought to serve. This course surveys answers to the questions above with the twofold goal of clarifying the nature of those questions and attempting to answer them.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group I
Prerequisite(s): Two 300-level PHIL courses
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Repeatable for Credit: May be taken up to 4 times for credit if different topics.
Notes: Not all topics offered every year. Review schedule of classes for availability.
Not offered: 2024-25
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Understand how arguments can be made, visions presented, or feelings or ideas conveyed through language or other modes of expression (symbols, movement, images, sounds, etc.).
Evaluate arguments made in or about texts (whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts).