Philosophy
PHIL 102 3
Credits
Introduction to Philosophy (h)
Survey of philosophers and problems in the Western tradition
beginning with the ancient Greeks (Plato, Aristotle) and continuing with
medieval (Anselm, Augustine, Aquinas) and modern European thinkers (Descartes,
Hume, Kant, Nietzsche). Themes and topics may vary. (3 + 0) Offered
Fall, Spring
PHIL 104 3
Credits
Logic and Reasoning (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. (3 + 0) Offered
Fall, Spring
PHIL 108 3
Credits
Science, Critical Thinking and Pseudoscience (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.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 110 3
Credits
Introduction to Political Philosophy (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? (3 + 0) Offered
As Demand Warrants
PHIL 202 3
Credits
Introduction to Eastern Philosophy (h)
Basic assumptions, problems and systems of the major philosophical
traditions of the Far East. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or permission of
instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
PHIL 322X 3
Credits
Ethics (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 Condition baccalaureate
core.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall, Spring
PHIL 341O 3
Credits
Theories of Knowledge (h)
The nature of knowledge, truth and certainty. (Prerequisites:
COMM 131X or 141X; PHIL 102.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 342 3
Credits
Theories of Reality (h)
Theories of reality and their relationship to science,
philosophy and religion. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102.) (3 + 0) Offered As
Demand Warrants
PHIL 351 3
Credits
History of Ancient Greek Philosophy (h)
Review of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle; minor
attention to Presocratics. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or its equivalent.)
(3 + 0) Offered Fall
PHIL 352 3
Credits
History of Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant (h)
Review of continental rationalist and British empiricist
thought, 17th-19th centuries. (Prerequisite: PHIL 102 or its equivalent. PHIL
351 strongly recommended.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
PHIL 353 3
Credits
Survey of Buddhist Thought (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.) (3 + 0) Offered Summer, As Demand Warrants
PHIL 361 3
Credits
Philosophy in Literature (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. (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 362 3
Credits
Feminist Philosophy (h)
(Cross-listed with WMS 362)
Examination of contemporary feminist philosophical positions.
Emphasis on feminist ethics, social and political philosophy, and epistemology.
(3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 363W 3
Credits
Philosophy of Religion (h)
Introduction to topics such as arguments
for the existence and nature of God, the problem of evil, the relation of faith
and reason, religious language and the connection of religion to the meaning of
life. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X or equivalent; ENGL 211X or 213X or permission
of instructor. Recommended: PHIL 102 and upper division status.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 380 3
Credits
Conceptual Foundations of Science (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.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 382 3
Credits
Science and Technological Limits (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.)
(3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 402 3
Credits
Biomedical Ethics (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.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 411W, O 3
Credits
Classical Political Theory (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: ENGL 111X; ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X; COMM 131X
or 141X; PS 101; PHIL 102; or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Fall
PHIL 412W 3
Credits
Modern Political Theory (s)
(Cross-listed with PS 412W)
Political ideas from the Renaissance to the modern world.
Theories of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Marx and Lenin. (Prerequisites:
ENGL 111X; ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X; PS 101, PHIL 102, or permission of
instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring
PHIL 417 3
Credits
Social Theory and Public Policy (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.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 421 3
Credits
Aesthetics (h)
The nature of aesthetic experience in poetry, music,
painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts; studies in relation to
artistic production and the role of art in society. (Prerequisite:
Junior/senior standing or permission of instructor. Recommended: PHIL 102 or
HUM 201X. Next offered: 2007-08.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Fall
PHIL 436 3
Credits
Ethical Theory (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.)
(3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 471 3
Credits
Contemporary Philosophical Problems (h)
Ideological issues facing the modern world. (Prerequisites:
PHIL 351 and 352; or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2008-09.)
(3 + 0) Offered Alternate Fall
PHIL 472 3
Credits
Ethics in International Affairs (h)
(Cross-listed with PS 472)
Examination of questions including: What is in the interest
of the nation-state according to the logic of statecraft? How does the national
interest relate to 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. Next offered: 2008-09.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate
Spring
PHIL 476 3
Credits
Ethics and Public Policy I (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.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 477 3
Credits
Ethics and Public Policy II (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.)
(3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 481 3
Credits
Philosophy of Science (h)
Comparison and discussion of various contemporary
methodological positions. (Prerequisite: Junior standing.) (3 + 0)
Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 482 3
Credits
Comparative Philosophy and Religions (h)
Review of non-western philosophical thought, e.g., African,
Jewish, Latin American, Oriental and others. (3 + 0) Offered As
Demand Warrants
PHIL 483 3
Credits
Philosophy of Social Science (h)
Comparison and analysis of various contemporary
methodological positions in the social sciences. (Prerequisite: Junior
standing.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 487 3
Credits
Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology
(Stacked with PHIL 687 and BIOL 687 and cross-listed with
BIOL 487)
Analysis of some of the main models which explain
evolutionary change, followed by consideration of the practical implications
these models have on the study of biological phenomena in general.
(3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring
PHIL 488 3
Credits
B.A. Thesis Research (h)
Independent research on a topic preparatory to writing the
thesis in philosophy. (Prerequisite: All major requirements in philosophy.)
(1 + 2 + variable) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 499W 3
Credits
B.A. Thesis in Philosophy (h)
Writing the senior thesis in philosophy. (Prerequisites: ENGL
111X; ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X and PHIL 488.)
(1 + 2 + variable) Offered As Demand Warrants
PHIL 687 3
Credits
Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology
(Stacked with PHIL 487 and BIOL 487 and cross-listed with
BIOL 687)
Analysis of some of the main models which explain
evolutionary change, followed by consideration of the practical implications
these models have on the study of biological phenomena in general. (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Spring