Philosophy
PHIL 102 (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Introduction to Philosophy (3+0) h
Survey of philosophers and problems in the Western tradition beginning with the ancient Greeks (Plato, Aristotle) and continuing with medieval (e.g., Anselm, Augustine, Aquinas) and modern European thinkers (e.g., Descartes, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche). Themes and topics may vary.
PHIL 108 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Science, Critical Thinking and Pseudoscience (3+0) h
Examines the difference between science and pseudoscience, making use of the tools of critical thinking to understand what counts as knowledge. Examples are drawn from evolutionary theory, creationism, astronomy, astrology, history, race theory and Holocaust revisionism. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 110 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Introduction to Political Philosophy (3+0) h
Introduction to historical and contemporary issues in political thought. Topics and themes vary, but include questions such as: Should we consent to be governed? What is civil society? What does it mean to be a citizen? What are the basic forms of government?
PHIL 202 (3 Credits) Spring
Introduction to Eastern Philosophy (3+0) h
Basic assumptions, problems and systems of the major philosophical traditions of the Far East. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 204 (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Introduction to Logic (3+0) h
Principles of deductive and inductive logic and application of these principles to critical thinking in science and other fields; brief introduction to symbolic logic and its application.
PHIL 275 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Yup'ik Practices in Spirituality and Philosophy (3+0) h
(Cross-listed with ANS 275)
Exploration of the processes in Yup'ik natural religion and the underlying philosophy that is the basis for Yup'ik existence in the spiritual realm. Wholeness of Yup'ik existence as it integrates into the western religion and philosophy.
PHIL 321 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Aesthetics (3+0) h
The nature of aesthetic experience in poetry, music, painting, sculpture and architecture; studies in relation to artistic production and the role of art in society. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 322X (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Ethics (3+0) h
"Ethic," from the Greek "ethos" meaning character, custom, usage, is the study of value distinctions. Examination of the nature of value judgments -- their historical origins and philosophical assumptions -- and exploration of the application of value distinctions to contemporary social, religious, and scientific/technical issues. Also available via Independent Learning. (Prerequisite: Junior standing. Recommended but not required: Two courses in the Perspectives on the Human.)
PHIL 341O (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Epistemology (3+0) h
The nature of knowledge, truth and certainty. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102.)
PHIL 342 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Metaphysics (3+0) h
Theories of reality and their relationship to science, philosophy and religion. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102.)
PHIL 351 (3 Credits) Fall
History of Ancient Greek Philosophy (3+0) h
Review of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle; minor attention to Presocratics. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or its equivalent.)
PHIL 352 (3 Credits) Spring
History of Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant (3+0) h
Review of continental rationalist and British empiricist thought, 17th - 19th centuries. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or its equivalent. PHIL 351 strongly recommended.)
PHIL 353 (3 Credits) Summer, As Demand Warrants
Survey of Buddhist Thought (3+0) h
Survey of the major themes and schools of Buddhist thought. Emphasis on the interactions with surrounding cultures and competing philosophical systems. Includes modern developments in India, China, Japan, Tibet, and other parts of Asia. (Prerequisite: Upper class standing or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 361 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Philosophy in Literature (3+0) h
Examination of philosophical issues in literary works. Topics include the nature of free will, the effects of choice in building a character, the desirable (and undesirable) ways of confronting morality, and the nature of evil. Topics and readings vary.
PHIL 362 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Feminist Philosophy (3+0) h
(Cross-listed with WMS 362)
Examination of contemporary feminist philosophical positions. Emphasis on feminist ethics, social and political philosophy, and epistemology.
PHIL 375 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Native American Religion and Philosophy (3+0) h
(Cross-listed with ANS 375)
Philosophical aspects of Native American world views. Systems of belief and knowledge, explanations of natural phenomena, relations of humans to natural environment through ritual and ceremonial observances. (Recommended: PHIL 102. Next offered: 2003 - 04.)
PHIL 380 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Conceptual Foundations of Science (3+0) h
Basic presumptions and methods of science, as evidenced in the development of a uniquely scientific method or methods, and in the development of fundamental scientific theories of cosmology, matter, space and time, history or evolution, and the nature of the living. (Prerequisites: PHIL 102 or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 381 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Topics in Logics (3+0) h
An advanced explanation of problems, philosophies and approaches in logics, including classical, symbolic and comparative logics. (Prerequisites: PHIL 204 or its equivalent and permission of instructor.)
PHIL 382 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Science and Technological Limits (3+0) h
Critiques of science and technology and the human implications of 20th century scientific and technological advances. Examination of the limits, if any, to scientific understanding, and in what sense, if any, succeeding theories and technologies represent progress over those they supplant. (Prerequisites: PHIL 102 or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 402 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Biomedical Ethics (3+0) h
Issues in biomedical ethics. Topics include allocation of scarce medical resources, euthanasia, responsibility for medical decision-making, and the permissibility of developing new techniques such as using fetal tissue. Topics will vary. (Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, or permission of instructor. Recommended: a course in philosophy, science or nursing.)
PHIL 411W,O (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Classical Political Theory (3+0) h
(Cross-listed with PS 411W,O)
Political ideas from ancient Greece, Rome, and the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Theories of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, and Aquinas. (Prerequisites: PS 101, PHIL 102 or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2003-04.)
PHIL 412W,O (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Modern Political Theory (3+0) s
(Cross-listed with PS 412W,O)
Political ideas from the Renaissance to the modern world. Theories of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Marx, and Lenin. (Prerequisites: PS 101, PHIL 102 or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2003 - 04.)
PHIL 417 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Social Theory and Public Policy (3+0) h
Cultural and philosophical assumptions embedded in public policy issues. Various schools of social theory are reviewed and related to policy formation, analysis and implementation. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 436 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Ethical theory (3+0) h
Major ethical theories. Includes virtue theory, social contract theory, deontology and utilitarianism with major arguments for and against. (Prerequisites: Junior standing or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 471 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Contemporary Philosophical Problems (3+0) h
Ideological issues facing the modern world. (Prerequisites: PHIL 351 and 352; or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2002-03.)
PHIL 472 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
International Ethics (3+0) h
(Cross-listed with PS 472)
Examination of the questions including: What is in the interest of the nation-state according to the logic of statecraft? How does the national interest relate to the broader human interest? How does morality relate to the international legal order? Examination is through theory and case studies. (Prerequisite: PHIL 322X or equivalent; or PHIL 436; or PS 321; or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 476 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Ethics and Public Policy I (3+0) h
Review of contemporary moral problems as they relate to public policy formulation and implementation. Readings drawn from case studies in current public policy journals. (Prerequisite: PHIL 322X or equivalent or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 477 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Ethics and Public Policy II (3+0) h
Review of contemporary moral problems as they relate to public policy formulation and implementation (continuation of PHIL 476). (Prerequisite: PHIL 476, PHIL 322X or equivalent or permission of instructor.)
PHIL 481 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Philosophy of Science (3+0) h
Comparison and discussion of various contemporary methodological positions. (Prerequisite: Junior standing.)
PHIL 482 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Comparative Philosophy (3+0) h
Review of non-western philosophical thought, e.g., African, Jewish, Latin American, Oriental, and others. (Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.)
PHIL 483 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Philosophy of Social Science (3+0) h
Comparison and analysis of various contemporary methodological positions in the social sciences. (Prerequisite: Junior standing.)
PHIL 485 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Topics in Comparative Philosophies (3+0) h
Explores, on an advanced level, modern and traditional philosophical questions, problems, and approaches to and within different cultural settings. Student should have at least an acquaintance with a second language and some multicultural experience. (Prerequisite: Nine credits in philosophy.)
PHIL 488 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
B.A. Thesis Research (1+2+var) h
Independent research on a topic preparatory to writing the thesis in philosophy. (Prerequisite: All major requirements in philosophy.)
PHIL 499W (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
B.A. Thesis in Philosophy (1+2+var) h<br />
Writing the senior thesis in philosophy. (Prerequisite: PHIL 488.)