Philosophy (PHIL)

Philosophy is a subject that studies the most fundamental questions in life: How should we live? Is there a God? Do we have free will? What does it mean to know something? What can we know? What makes something morally right? What is the nature of good and evil? This course introduces students to some influential philosophical thinkers and some of the most important issues in philosophy.

Introduction to the fundamentals of critical thinking including argument analysis and argument construction. Study includes deductive, probabilistic, and moral argumentation as well as recognition of fallacies. No previous study of logic is necessary.

This course is an introduction to ethical philosophy. Possible inquiry includes questions about how one should live, how we should treat others, how we should conceive of our communities, and what components are involved in making a moral choice. A philosophical analysis will provide a framework for discussing contemporary moral problems.

This course focuses on business issues through an introduction to ethical theories and their applications within the business setting. Topics of discussion include corporate responsibility, whistleblowing, employee rights, product liability and safety, ethics and marketing, business and the natural environment, affirmative action and diversity, and ethics and multinational corporations.

Analyzing the complex relationships between humans and the natural environment raises some of the most challenging and important questions that we face. Students will study some of the classic and contemporary readings in the field of environmental ethics in order to start to reason for themselves about the proper principles that should guide our actions. Possible topics include the moral standing of non-human animals and inanimate nature, the conceptual divide between nature and culture, the use of animals in research and agriculture, the genetic modification of organisms, duties to future generations, and sustainability.

An examination of beauty in the fine arts; the creative process, evaluation, analysis of the work of art, appreciation, and criticism.

The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the area of Western philosophy known as Philosophy of Religion. Possible areas of study include: Arguments for Gods Existence, Arguments from Religious Experience, The Problem of Evil, Attributes of God, The Question of Miracles, The Intersection of Faith and Reason, Science and Religion, and Religion and Ethics. This course is designed for Philosophy majors and non-majors alike who are interested in the philosophical analysis of religious matters.

This course will examine classic philosophical questions concerning the nature of the self; interpersonal, social, and political relationships with others; and the fundamental nature of realty as they are articulated in dominant Asian philosophical traditions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, as well as influential Western philosophical thinkers. Critical attention will be paid to the difficulties, nuances, and responsibilities involved in the pursuit of cross-cultural and comparative philosophy.

Philosophy is a subject that studies the most fundamental questions in life. This course examines various philosophical topics through the medium of film. Possible topics to be discussed include philosophical analysis of films and texts, the problem of perception, philosophy of mind, ethics, philosophy of time, free will, foreknowledge, and determinism, philosophy of religion, death, and the meaning of life.

A study of different topics in philosophy. See current course schedule for topic listing when offered.

An independent study course designed primarily for Honors Program students. This course allows more in-depth or comprehensive study or research by certain students concurrently enrolled in at least one other Philosophy course.

This course builds upon the research, critical writing, information literacy, and persuasion skills developed in ENG 151 by examining the broad range of ethical issues and dilemmas that occur in professional life. The term professions refers to very specialized knowledge or expertise that serves the public good. Professionals have particular duties and responsibilities. Students will learn about the duties and responsibilities of their intended careers by reading articles about important issues in professional ethics, studying their fields Code of Ethics, and writing about ethical issues in professional life. Topics to be discussed include: the meaning of profession, how to be ethical, professional duties, honesty, privacy, confidentiality, integrity, loyalty, whistle-blowing, professionalism, justice, social welfare, governmental regulations, and conflicts of interest. As in the other Ethics courses in the Liberal Education Program, students will also be encouraged to think about the difference between ethical decisions and non-ethical decisions, how they make ethical decisions, and who will be affected by those ethical decisions.

This course is an introduction to issues in philosophy relating to sex and gender, including questions about what it means to identify and be identified as male or female, and how gender structures social and personal realities. The course reviews different kinds of feminist critiques of Western philosophy and their counter-arguments, as well as philosophical analyses of sex and gender as they relate to ethics, social philosophy, theories of human nature, and theories of knowledge. The course gradually works toward positive theories of sex and gender, including biological determinism and post-modern approaches to the body, and explores contested norms of gender equality in contemporary issues. No philosophy background is assumed.

The course would explore ethical dilemmas that occur in the professional practices of medicine, biological research, nursing, public health, and the social and behavioral sciences. Its theoretical foundation is philosophical moral theory and its methodology emphasizes the philosophical skills of analysis, argument, and evaluation. The assessment of value involves critical scrutiny of medical practices and biological techniques, some historical, and some of which are unprecedented in human history. As a society, we continue to struggle with questions about what constitutes fairness and goodness in the pursuit of health, and we are on the cusp of developing medical techniques that promise to forever change our understanding of the good life. Emerging from the philosophical branch of ethics, and premised on the three moral principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, and justice, the aim of this course is to expose students to ethical debates in health care and biological research, and to help them assess moral dilemmas that occur in the practice of medicine and biological research.

This course is a historical survey of major ethical systems. Students will critically engage with the constantly evolving discussions regarding the foundations of right and wrong, the distinction of good and evil, and the questions of moral character. Possible historical figures covered include Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Virginia Held.

This course is a historical survey of social and political philosophy. Readings and discussions are organized around the fundamental questions of what is justice and what makes a just society. Students will critically examine concepts such as equality, fairness, community, and reciprocity, and apply them to issues such as private property, the family, the distribution of wealth and power, taxation, and forms of government. Possible historical figures covered include Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, john Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, John Stuart Mill, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Rawls, and Virginia Held.

This course examines the formal rules of logical thought, including elements of classical and modern symbolic logic.

In-depth study of a particular philosopher, school, or movement; may be repeated.

This course is a historical survey of major works in metaphysics and epistemology, the fields that cover foundational questions about the nature of reality and claims of knowledge. Students will further develop their writing, research, and critical thinking skills by examining questions such as: What is the nature of reality? Is this the only reality that exists? Could the universe be different than it is? Are mind, body, and spirit different substances? What is truth? What is knowledge? How can we acquire knowledge? Can we trust our senses, or should knowledge derive from pure thought? Possible historical figures covered include the pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Rene Descartes, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, W.V.O. Quine, and Richard Rorty.

A study of different topics in philosophy. See current course schedule for topic listing when offered.

An independent study course designed primarily for Philosophy students. This course allows more in-depth or comprehensive study or research by certain students concurrently enrolled in at least one other Philosophy course.