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Philosophy Courses
PHIL-101 Critical Thinking 3cr. Introduction to the study of persuasive devices, semantic pitfalls, informal fallacies, rational vs. emotional appeals, and the techniques used in evaluating arguments.
PHIL-102 Introduction to Philosophy 3cr. Introduction to the main problems of philosophy, i.e. knowledge, reality, morality, religion and art.
PHIL-103 Philosophy and Contemporary Issues 3cr. Examination of the philosophical basis of selected contemporary issues, controversies, and movements.
PHIL-104 Arguing Philosophically 3cr. Specialized instruction and practice in recognizing argument in prose and in articulating, evaluating, and substantiating opinion with argument through oral and written presentation.
PHIL-105 Feminist Philosophy 3cr. Analysis of recent work in feminist theory in order to investigate woman's situation and its foundations in culture, perception, and reality.
PHIL-201 Logic I 3cr. Introductory course in symbolic logic, dealing with propositional calculus, quantification theory, and the logic of relations and classes.
PHIL-202 Comparative Religion 3cr. A comparative study of the main beliefs and practices of early and primal religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
PHIL-211 Philosophy of Religion 3cr. Philosophical scrutiny of some of the central themes in religion, i.e. the existence of God, the problem of evil, human freedom and immortality, the nature of faith, and the role of reason in theology.
PHIL-212 Topics in Social Ethics 3cr. Readings and discussions of essays dealing with the major moral issues of the contemporary scene, such as freedom and authority, war and peace, drugs, suicide, and medical ethics.
Specific topics include:
PHIL-212B Medical Ethics 3cr. The aim of this course is to introduce the student to basic issues in biomedical ethics. Issues such as informed consent, euthanasia, abortion, stem cell research, genetic testing, human and animal testing, and allocation of medical resources will be discussed.
PHIL-212K Philosophy and Literature 3cr. This course will track the intersections and deviations between contemporary literature and philosophy from a global perspective. To achieve this, the course will consider such radically creative movements as surrealism, hyper-realism, futurism, minimalism, neo-romanticism, post-structuralism, and existentialism in order to apprehend the extreme and unforeseen possibilities for the writing-act and its future within literature and philosophy.
PHIL-212L Marx 3cr. In this course, the primary aim will be to understand and think with Marx's work. Comprehending any thinker is always a challenging task, but reading Marx is especially complicated by the tradition of Marxism, the history and failures of state socialism, and the peculiar American perspective on Marx informed by the Cold War. The class will proceed with the assumption that despite these complications — perhaps, in some cases, because of them — we need Marx to understand 21st century political and economic order. Or, to put the point differently: how does Marx's work help us understand contemporary society?
PHIL-213 Ethics 3cr. Introduction to some of the main problems of ethics, including the nature of morality, the meaning of ethical terms, standards for evaluating choices and actions, and the major ideas of important moral philosophers.
PHIL-215 Business Ethics 3cr. Philosophical introduction to the ethical content of some of the current problems confronting the business community, such as the social responsibility of business, poverty and equal rights, the ethical implications of ecology, advertising, and consumerism.
PHIL-218 Philosophy of Love and Sex 3cr. It use to be said that people rarely "think" about sex. Yes, they lust for it, dream about it, demand it and desire it — but rarely do they critically reflect on its meaning. In this class there is an opportunity to change this. The tide has turned in recent years and critical reasoning about sexuality has become a burgeoning field of philosophical inquiry. In this course, the class will look at a wide range of philosophical topics related to human sexuality — perversion, prostitution, gender roles, and sex roles. Along the way the role of power and coercion in sex and some of the psycho-social implications of sexual violence will be examined. This course will have a decidedly normative bent insofar as the analysis and discussion will be conducted through the lens of ethics.
PHIL-222 History of Ancient Philosophy 3cr. Critical survey of the development of philosophy in the West from the pre-Socratics to Plotinus. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are primary philosophers of this period.
PHIL-231 History of Medieval Philosophy 3cr. Critical survey of the development of philosophy in the West from the rise of Christendom to the dawn of the Renaissance. Augustine, Anselm, Maimonides, and Aquinas are primary philosophers of this period.
PHIL-241 History of Modern Philosophy 3cr. A critical survey of the development of philosophy in the West in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Hobbes, Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume, Rousseau, and Kant are primary philosophers of this period.
PHIL-243 19th Century Continental Philosophy 3cr. The 19th century was one of the most diverse periods of philosophy as philosophers reacted to changes in the sciences and the arts. This class focuses on four key thinkers: Hegel, Marx, Kierkegard, and Nietzsche.
PHIL-247 Phenomenology & Hermeneutics 3 cr. One of the main traditions in twentieth-century thought, and one of the only philosophical traditions new to the twentieth century, is phenomenology, a tradition based on the idea that prior to any theorizing we need to acquire exact first-person descriptions of the phenomenon of the subject under investigation. More than any other area of twentieth century philosophy, phenomenology has affected disciplines outside philosophy, especially psychology, art, and literary criticism. This course will focus directly on the main views and debates in the phenomenological tradition and then look at one of its offshoots, hermeneutics, the study of interpretive practices.
PHIL-251 Philosophy of Art 3cr. This course will explore the meaning of creativity and beauty as articulated by major thinkers throughout Western History.
PHIL-261 Islamic Mysticism This course will examine the different philosophical dimensions of Islamic mysticism by tracing its most dominant and obscure currents, while also investigating the reasons why this movement has occupied such a dangerous space throughout world history. As such, several territories of mystical thought will be drawn into focus, including debates on transcendence, ecstasy, evil, transgression, annihilation, and the soul.
PHIL-262 Middle East and the West This course will study the formation of the Middle East-West divide and the vast implications which such a logic of civilizational opposition holds for our understanding of the modern world. In this respect, the course will interrogate the convoluted idea of representation itself, its intrinsic relationship to the formation of power, its circulation through cultural systems, and ultimately the importance of its manifestation through the medium of writing. In the end, this will provide a broader philosophical vantage-point from which to question the very way in which we engage with the existence of the unknown.
PHIL-291 Philosophical Foundations of Oppression 3cr. Analysis of concepts emerging from Anglo-European philosophy which support domination, particularly as they function in colonialism, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and heterosexism.
PHIL-303 Logic II 3cr. Study of the theory and development of axiomatic systems, including the problems of definability, completeness, and consistency. Prerequisite: PHIL-201 or consent of instructor.
PHIL-306 Logic III 3cr. Systematic inquiry into some of the philosophical problems of logic, such as the nature of propositions, the logical paradoxes, undecidability, types of logic and the relation of logic to truth, language and existence. Prerequisite: PHIL-303 or consent of instructor.
PHIL-313 Ethical Theory 3cr. Study of theories about the meaning and justification of moral judgments: good and bad, right and wrong, human rights, justice, punishment, freedom and responsibility, self-interest, the common good, pleasure and happiness, religion and morality, relativism, subjectivism, and skepticism. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-332 Contemporary Philosophy 3cr. This course will track some of the most salient schools of contemporary philosophy and critical theory, including post-structuralism, post-modernism, deconstruction, psychoanalysis, postcolonialism, aesthetic theory, and existentialism. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-333 American Philosophy 3cr. Intensive study of the trends prevalent in the modern American philosophical scene, notably pragmatism, idealism, naturalism, positivism, philosophical analysis, and phenomenology. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-335 Analytic Philosophy 3cr. Critical survey of the development of analytic philosophy in the twentieth century. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-337 Existentialism 3cr. Intensive study of selected works of existentialist thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-339 The Age of Modernity 3cr. This course will trace the rise of modernity as an "age of unrest", a rupture of devastating proportions that has altered our understanding of knowledge, society, power, technology, language, and the question of human experience. To this end, texts will be drawn from varied sites of expression, including experimental philosophy, modernist and postmodern literature, avant-garde aesthetics, and contemporary theory, in order to approach the phenomenon of the modern era in its totality. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-341 Metaphysics 3cr. Systematic analysis of some of the main problems of metaphysics, such as existence, substance and attribute, change and permanence, essence and accident, universals and particulars, mind and body, identity, individuation, and causality. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-342A Religion and Globalization 3cr. Philosophical scrutiny of some of the central themes in religion, i.e. the existence of God, the problem of evil, human freedom and immorality, the nature of faith and the role of reason in theology. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-342B Buddhism as a World Religion 3cr. The course will trace the development of Buddhism as a world religion. Buddhism's origin within Hinduism and its early development in India and Southeast Asia will help set the background for tracing its spread northward to Tibet and eastward through China to Korea and Japan. During this section of the course, the teachings and philosophies of the Theravada, the Vajrayana, and the Mahayana traditions will be analyzed and compared. Having covered the major historical manifestations of Buddhism, we will turn our attention to a study of the contemporary flourishing of interest in Buddhist religion and philosophies in Europe and North America. During the course, use will be made of Buddhist art, including sculpture, painting, architecture, and literature. In conclusion, contemporary developments in Buddhism worldwide, such as the growing role of women, engaged Buddhist political activism, and Buddhist environmentalism will be addressed. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-345 Social and Political Philosophy 3cr. Systematic investigation of some of the salient issues currently discussed by social and political philosophers, such as the nature and origin of the state, political obligation, justice, human rights, authority, liberty, and evaluation of social and political institutions. Prerequisite: junior standing, or consent of instructor. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-351 Sexism and the Philosophy of Language 3cr. Analytic investigation of sexism in English in order to facilitate discussion of the relation between language, thought, and reality. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-353 Feminism and the Philosophy of Science 3cr. Analytic examination of the concept of femininity as found in the biological and social sciences in order to facilitate discussion of the nature of objectivity and scientific investigation. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-354 Indian Philosophy 3cr. This course is an introduction to central themes in Indian Philosophy. Students will explore issues in the metaphysics, epistemology and ethics of the Vedas and Unaishads, Carvaka, Buddhism, Jainism, Sankhya Yoga, Nyaya Vaiseshika, and Advaita Vedanta. Includes trip to India. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361 Topics in Philosophy and Contemporary Issue 3cr. Systematic examination of one important contemporary issue, controversy, or problem. Specific topics include:
PHIL-361A Ethics and Aging 3cr. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361B Philosophy of Psychology 3cr. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361C Philosophy of Law 3cr. "What is law?" in light of the many species of legal structure, power, rule and obligation. Of primary importance are the relations between legal rules and the rules of ethics and custom, the case for civil disobedience and the social and ethical foundation of law. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361D Bio-Ethics 3cr. This course examines moral issues of birth and reproduction, death and dying - issues concerning the beginning and ending of life, such as abortion and cloning, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361E Multiculturalism 3cr. This course is a course in contemporary philosophy and politics where you are a protagonist. In understanding your possibilities, you will be able to understand yourself as a possible resistor to the paths, roles, identities, positions which are seemingly socially determined by you. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361F Latin American Philosophy 3cr. Explore significant challenges Latin American Philosophers of Liberation bring to European and Anglo / American Philosophy and Ethics as they work from a concrete frame and expose Anglo-European Philosophy’s propensity to equate its concepts with universal rationality. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361G Critical Race Theory 3cr This course is a systematic examination of race theory. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361K Environmental Ethics 3cr. Environmental Ethics considers (1) anthropocentric, biocentric, and ecocentric justification of the moral standing of (2) individual nonhuman animals and plants, or groups such as ecologically evolved populations, species, and communities; and the question of (3) whether conservation, preservation, and restoration policies are morally justified, scientifically adequate, and politically viable responses to their moral standing. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361L Post-Structuralism 3cr. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361M Feminist Ethics 3cr. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361N Morality and Criminal Justice 3cr. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361P Human Rights 3cr. Some key challenges surrounding the global attempt to construct a cross-cultural ethic of human rights, from a philosophical theoretical perspective will be discussed in this course. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361Q Seminar on God 3cr. This seminar course examines some of the basic questions concerning the existence, nature and evidence for the primary and fundamental objects of religious belief. In particular, we will ask the following related questions: (1) Can we demonstrate God’s existence? (2) If we cannot demonstrate God’s existence by argument, is faith irrational? (3) Can we speak meaningfully about God? (4) Is the existence of evil evidence against the existence of God? Prerequisite: philosophy major or minor or consent of instructor.
PHIL-361R Postcolonialism 3cr. Postcolonialism is a body of thought arising from the margins of Anglo-European discourse, within societies Europeans colonized. They challenge Eurocentrism, or the practice of understanding Anglo-European thought as the culmination of all rational thought, a practice that erases other cultural productions. There will be several centers of Postcolonial discourse in the form of theoretical analyses, novels, and political tracts. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-371 Theory of Knowledge 3cr. Systematic inquiry into the nature of knowledge, with a consideration of such topics as ways of knowing, perception, memory, personal identity, and other minds. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-373 Advanced Feminist Philosophy 3cr. Analytic investigation of the latest feminist theory in order to study the development of feminism. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-375 Philosophy of Science 3cr. Examination of some of the main problems currently discussed by philosophers of science, such as the methodology and foundations of empirical science, the meaning and verification of scientific statements, theories, laws, hypotheses, and explanations. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL-381 Independent Study in Philosophy 3cr. Readings, discussions, and reports on a special topic with faculty supervision. Normally open to majors in their junior or senior year. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
PHIL-383 Seminar in Philosophy 3cr. Intensive study of one important philosopher, problem, school, or period. Consult the Schedule of Classes for specific topics. Prerequisite: philosophy major or minor or consent of instructor.
Specific topics include:
PHIL-383D Interpretive Theory and Policy Analysis 3cr. How does philosophy affect the study of society and politics? And how do the social sciences affect policy? In this course, we will read texts by Hegel, Wittgenstein, and Foucault. And we will learn these texts by applying them to specific problems: torture and terror as policy; teenage motherhood and motherhood itself as problem; and the effects of modernization in the Middle East.
PHIL-383I Language 3cr. Intensive study of Language.
PHIL-383I Nietzsche 3cr. This course will confront the forceful and elusive positions of Friedrich Nietzsche, noting the ways in which such a world-view both interrupted and transformed the history of philosophy. To this degree, the course will cast itself across a wide and contorted spectrum of the author’s works, while encountering such provocative concepts as nihilism, the will to power, the eternal return, and the overman.
PHIL-383J Foucault Seminar 3cr. A close reading and discussion of the philosophical views of Michel Foucault built around the guiding principle that his philosophy is only fully expressed in his interviews, short essays, and lectures at the College de France.
PHIL-383K Hannah Arendt 3cr. Hannah Arendt's thinking engaged the most pressing political problems of the 20th Century. Her work on politics, society, and political action will be investigated in this course.
PHIL-390 Classical Political Theory 3cr. Analysis of the concept of a political community in terms of obligations, rights, the public interest, the just state, and the just individual. Selected writings of Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Xenophon, and others.
PHIL-391 Modern Political Theory 3cr. Analysis of the tensions between the individual and society. Concepts of society, natural rights, political obligation, consent, the rule of law, social contract, and revolution examined through selected writings of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Mills, Marx, and Pateman.
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