Special Notes on 1000-Level Philosophy Courses

All 1000-level courses are survey type designed to provide special familiarity with philosophy as a discipline. Some of the skills within this discipline that will be developed are identifying assumptions and implications, recognizing arguments, making distinctions and developing categories and formulating reasoned evidence. Any of these courses can be taken as a first course in philosophy.

PHI 1010-3 Introduction to Philosophy (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: minimum performance standard scores on the reading and writing preassessment placement tests

This course constitutes a survey of the major areas of philosophical inquiry: the enduring questions and alternative answers that continue to be relevant to contemporary living. Problems covered include (1) free will vs. determinism, (2) mind and body, (3) God and religion, (4) knowledge, (5) ethics, and (6) society and politics. (General Studies-Level II, Arts and Letters)

PHI 1030-3 Ethics (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: minimum performance standard scores on the reading and writing preassessment placement tests

This course provides a survey of alternative ethical viewpoints with a focus on the principles of moral action. The implications of these ethical positions for moral living will be emphasized through discussion of selected contemporary moral issues. Critical thinking about issues of right conduct will be developed. (General Studies-Level II, Arts and Letters)

PHI 1040-3 Introduction to Eastern Religions (3 + 0)

An introductory survey of the living traditions of some of the major faiths of the Orient, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, and Zen.

PHI 1050-3 Introduction to Western Religions (3 + 0)

An introductory survey of the major religious traditions of the West with primary emphasis on the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

PHI 1110-3 Language, Logic and Persuasion (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: minimum performance standard scores on the reading and writing preassessment placement tests

An informal logic course providing a nontechnical introduction to critical thinking including the functions of language, the nature of arguments, common fallacies committed in communication, and the art of constructing clear and adequate definitions. (General Studies-Level I, Communications)

PHI 1440-3 Logic (3 + 0)

A general introduction to both informal and formal logic, the systems of rules for judging the validity of deductive and inductive arguments. Included are Aristotelian syllogistic deduction, modern truth-functional deduction, informal fallacies, inductive argumentation and scientific method.

Special Notes on 2000-Level Courses

All 2000-level courses are concept/skill-type courses. They are designed to develop such philosophic skills as critical thinking, recognition of issues, reasoned argumentation, knowledgeable judgments, clarity in expression and familiarity with philosophic resources. Although there are no formal prerequisites for 2000-level courses, it is recommended that a student have satisfactorily completed at least three hours of 1000-level philosophy.

PHI 2040-3 Philosophy of Religion (3 + 0)

A critical investigation of various dimensions and functions of religion (i.e., epistemological, metaphysical, ethical, esthetic, psychological, sociological, etc.) to provide a basis for discussion of humans as religious beings and the future of religion. 

Special Notes on 3000-level courses

All 3000-level courses are depth-probe type courses. They are designed to provide a rigorous, scholarly study of philosophic methods, problems and solutions. Primary sources will be used whenever possible and the student will be expected to do maximal work on her or his own, with direction from the instructor. PHI 3410, PHI 3610, and PHI 3810 are variable title courses. The subject matter of these courses is variable in order to provide an opportunity for in-depth study in a number of specific areas. The particular subject matter to be investigated in any given semester will be specified in the title as it appears in the class schedule. It is possible to repeat any of these courses for credit provided the subject matter is not the same as in a course previously taken for credit.

PHI 3000-3 History of Greek Philosophy (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 or permission of instructor; and satisfaction of Level I General Studies course requirements

This course is a study of the Greek philosophical tradition, its characteristic methods and theories. Special attention will be paid to the Pre-Socratics, Plato and Aristotle. Original sources will be read in translation. The dialectical progression and structure of Greek philosophical thinking will be recognized. (General Studies-Level II, Arts and Letters)

PHI 3020-3 History of Modern Philosophy (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 or permission of instructor; and satisfaction of Level I General Studies course requirements

This course is a study of modern philosophy from the Renaissance through Kant, showing the dialectical progression and fundamental problems and methods of that philosophy. Original sources will be read in translation. The systematic character of each philosophy will be stressed. (General Studies-Level II, Arts and Letters)

PHI 3120-3 Philosophy of Language (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 and three additional hours in philosophy or permission of the instructor

The philosophy of language can plausibly claim to be the most fundamental area of philosophy on the ground that the subject matter of philosophy is thought itself, and this can be studied only through language, its public vehicle. This course surveys major theories in this area.

PHI 3150-3 Social and Political Philosophy (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor

Political and social philosophy is the study of people in societies with particular attention to the abstract claims they have on each other in the form of rights, duties, and privileges, and their demand for justice, equality, and freedom. This study may be concerned either with the conceptual structure of political discourse and with the kinds of arguments used to propose, defend, or criticize political institutions and policies.

PHI 3180-3

(WMS 3180) Feminist Philosophy (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: two philosophy courses and junior standing, or permission of the instructor

A course that examines traditional philosophical questions and positions in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of science and explores how these questions and positions are rethought in twentieth-century Feminist Philosophy. Students will be expected to write a project paper in addition to other exams given in the course.

PHI 3220-3 Personal Knowledge and Professional Growth (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: upper-division standing or PHI 1010

A holistic course emphasizing the different dimensions of the self: physical, cognitive, emotional, ethical and spiritual. The course will examine different theories of the self and self-growth, and will work on integrating theory and practice of each approach in both one's personal and professional life.

PHI 3320-3 Metaphysics (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: six hours in philosophy

A comprehensive survey of metaphysics, dealing with problems of perennial and contemporary concern, such as the existence and nature of the soul, free will, God and substance.

PHI 3330-3 Epistemology (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor

The study of knowledge, concerned with what in general can be known, and how specific forms of knowledge can be obtained, including ordinary knowledge of people and things, and knowledge in such special fields as science, logic, metaphysics, religion, ethics and aesthetics.

PHI 3350-3 Ethical Theories (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: six hours in philosophy

A comprehensive review of the central problems of normative ethics in Western philosophy and the major ethical theories of that tradition stretching from Plato in Ancient Greece to John Dewey and John Rawls in the twentieth century. 

PHI 3360-3 Business Ethics (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: junior standing or permission of instructor and satisfaction of Level I General Studies course requirements

This course examines the values and value conflicts inherent in the modern practices of the business world, investigates the major philosophical issues that challenge the conduct of ethics as a rational enterprise, exposes students to major traditions in philosophical normative ethics and applies those traditions to specific value conflicts in the business world. A critical thinking component is included in the course. (General Studies-Level II, Arts and Letters)

PHI 3390-3 Aesthetics (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor

A study of some basic concepts of aesthetics, focused either on a principal figure in the field (e.g. Plato, Kant,

Schiller, or Nietzsche) or on a particular set of fundamental issues in aesthetics, e.g. the ontology of the work of art; intentions and originality; form and expression; criticism, aesthetic education, etc. May include an emphasis on a particular art (e.g. poetry, drama, film, jazz, or painting).

PHI 3400-3 Philosophy of Science (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 and three additional hours in philosophy or permission of the instructor

An advanced, critical examination of the concepts and problems involved in contemporary science. The nature of scientific method, explanation and law is covered. Physical, biological and psychosocial sciences are investigated.

PHI 3410-3 Eastern Philosophy: (Variable Title) (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: PHI 1040 or permission of the instructor

This course offers variable titles and will concentrate on in-depth study of particular ancient and modern schools and movements in Eastern philosophy such as: the philosophies of the Vedas and the Upanishads; Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta; Charvak; Tantra; Jaina; Buddhist philosophies including Lamaism; the Chinese philosophies-Confucianism, Taoism, Maoism; and Japanese philosophies-Shinto and Zen.

PHI 3430-3 Philosophy of Law (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: one upper-division course in the humanities or social sciences, or one philosophy course; or permission of instructor

An examination of the origin of the individual and the idea of law in Greek thought and alterations of these notions in modern thought. The notion of interpretation in the law will be examined.

PHI 3440-3 Symbolic Logic (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: PHI 1440

A course in the techniques and metatheory of symbolic logic. Several alternative ways of establishing the validity of arguments will be covered and the conception of a symbolic logic will be pursued through the completeness theorem.

PHI 3510-3 Phenomenology (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: nine hours of philosophy including PHI 1010 or permission of instructor

A study of two major twentieth-century phenomenologists, Husserl and Heidegger. Different conceptions of what constitutes concrete experience will be examined.

PHI 3530-3 Philosophy of Mind (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor

A study of the nature of mental phenomena, both those that occur in other animals and those that make special human nature, including consciousness, thought, reason, perception, feeling and will.

PHI 3550-3 Existentialism (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 and three additional hours in philosophy or permission of instructor

The study of the existentialist movement of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Philosophers and writers include Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Dostoevsky, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre. Problems covered include: the nature of Being; freedom and responsibility; the other and the body; the moral life; applications of existentialism to political life; and psychotherapeutic theory.

PHI 3610-3 Religious Studies: Variable Topics (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 and PHI 1050 or permission of the instructor

A variable title course designed to provide for an in-depth study of specific religious leaders and thinkers, such as Jesus, Paul, Augustine, Muhammad, Aquinas, Maimonides, Luther, Calvin, Tillich, Barth, Bonhoeffer and Buber. This course may be repeated for credit under different topics.

PHI 3810-3 Major Philosophers: Variable Topics (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 plus five hours of philosophy or permission of the instructor

An in-depth study of specific philosophers such as: Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Engels, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Dewey, Wittgenstein and Whitehead. This course may be repeated for credit under different topics.

Special Notes on 4000-Level Courses

All 4000-level courses are synthesis-type courses. They are designed to enable students to integrate their studies in philosophy and to formulate initially a position of their own. Sometimes 4000-level courses are team-taught by several members of the faculty so the student has access to their special expertise in a given field.

PHI 4050-3 Comparative Philosophies: Variable Topics (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: PHI 1010 and junior standing (nine additional hours in philosophy)

The works of two major philosophers will be analytically compared regarding basic assumptions, conclusions, arguments and contemporary relevance. The choice of comparisons is based on student's interest and instructor's judgment. This course may be repeated for credit under different topics.

PHI 4100-3 Senior Seminar (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: a major in philosophy or permission of instructor, satisfaction of all Level I and Level II General Studies course requirements and senior standing

A course centered on a key movement in Twentieth-Century Philosophy: Early Analytic Philosophy. The goal of this course is to allow the advanced student majoring in philosophy to engage in intensive study of this topic and the key philosophers who were part of this movement: Russell, Frege and Wittgenstein. Students will be required to produce a term paper suitable for entry into graduate-level work in philosophy. (Senior Experience)