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The objective of the program in philosophy is to lead the student to an understanding of philosophical thinking – past and present – about such fundamental questions as what it is to exist, to know, to be good, right, true, beautiful, or sacred. In examining such matters, philosophy may be said to investigate the presuppositions that inform all human action and inquiry and thus to be an essentially interdisciplinary subject. The study of philosophy can play a useful role in preparing the student for a career in a variety of fields, including law, politics, religion, medicine, business, the arts, and the natural and social sciences.
The twenty-seven hours in philosophy required for graduation with a major in the subject must include a general introduction to philosophy (Philosophy 111), one course in logic (selected from Group II), three courses in the history of philosophy (one from each of groups III, IV and V) and two 200-level or higher topics courses (Group VI), the total to include at least three courses at the 300-level.
A minor in philosophy requires fifteen hours in philosophy, which must include at least two 200-level or higher courses and one 300-level course. Philosophy being an intrinsically interdisciplinary subject, a minor in philosophy can be designed to complement any major subject. Students interested in minoring in philosophy should consult with the department about choosing an appropriate sequence of courses.
Highly qualified majors are invited to apply in the spring semester of their junior year to the honors program in philosophy. Candidates must have an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 and a grade point average in philosophy courses of at least 3.3. Graduation with honors in philosophy requires successful completion of Honors I and II in the fall and spring semesters, respectively, of their senior year. The hours earned in these two courses do not count toward the twenty-seven hours required of all majors.
Group I -- Introduction to Philosophy
111. Basic Problems of Philosophy. (3h) An examination of the basic concepts of several representative philosophers, including their accounts of the nature of knowledge, persons, God, mind, and matter.
Group II -- Logic
121. Logic. (3h) An elementary study of the laws of valid inference, recognition of fallacies, and logical analysis.
221. Symbolic Logic. (3h) Basic concepts and techniques of first order logic; applications of first order logic to arguments expressed in English; some discussion of such topics as the unsolvability of the decision problem for first order logic, the completeness of first order logic, and Gödel’s incompleteness theorem.
Group III -- Classical Ancient Philosophy
232. Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. (3h) A study of philosophical problems such as the nature of faith, reason, universals and God in the thought of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Abelard, Anselm, Aquinas, and Ockham. P -- Philosophy 111.
331. Plato. (3h) A detailed analysis of selected dialogues covering Plato's most important contributions to moral and political philosophy, theory of knowledge, metaphysics and theology. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
332. Aristotle. (3h) A study of the major texts, with emphasis on metaphysics, ethics, and theory of knowledge. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
Group IV -- Classical Modern Philosophy
241. Modern Philosophy. (3h) A survey of major philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche. P -- Philosophy 111.
341. Kant. (3h) A detailed study of selected works covering Kant's most important contributions to theory of knowledge, metaphysics, ethics, religion, and aesthetics. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
342. Studies in Modern Philosophy. (3h) Treatment of selected figures and/or themes in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European philosophy. _ -- One 200-level course in philosophy or POI.
Group V -- Other History
252. Contemporary Philosophy. (3h) A study of the principal works of several representative twentieth century philosophers. P-- Philosophy 111.
253. Main Streams of Chinese Philosophy and Religion. (3h) An introduction to the most important traditions in Chinese philosophy and religion: Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), and Chinese Buddhism or Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism. (Also offered as Religion 380.)
352. Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. (3h) An examination of selected sources embodying the basic concepts of Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, especially as they relate to each other in terms of influence, development, and opposition. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
354. Wittgenstein. (3h) The work of Ludwig Wittgenstein on several central philosophical problems studied and compared with that of Frege, James, and Russell. Topics include the picture theory of meaning, truth, skepticism, private languages, thinking, feeling, the mystical, and the ethical. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
Group VI -- Topics in Philosophy
161. Medical Ethics. (3h) A study of moral problems in the practice of medicine, including informed consent, experimentation on human subjects, truthtelling, confidentiality, abortion, and the allocation of scarce medical resources.
162. Ethics and Public Policy. (3h) A critical examination of the ethical foundations of public policy issues. Topics may include: euthanasia, censorship, racial and gender equality, drugs, sexual conduct, and crime.
163. Environmental Ethics. (3h) An examination of ethical issues concerning the environment as they arise in individual lives and public policy. These issues are discussed in the context of fundamental questions regarding the adequacy of traditional philosophical frameworks for thinking about the relationship between humans and the nonhuman world and the value and moral status of the nonhuman world.
261. Ethics. (3h) A critical study of selected problems and representative works in ethical theory. P -- Philosophy 111.
262. Philosophy of Law. (3h) A philosophical inquiry into the nature of law and its relation to morality. Classroom discussions of readings from the works of classical and modern authors focus on issues of contemporary concern involving questions of legal principle, personal liberty, human rights, responsibility, justice, and punishment P -- Philosophy 111.
263. Freedom, Action, and Responsibility. (3h) A study of the nature of human freedom and related matters in the philosophy of action, metaphysics, and moral philosophy. P – Phi 111.
273. Philosophy, Mental Health, and Disorder. (3h) A philosophical inquiry into the nature of mental illness and mental health. Issues to be examined include a selection from among the following topics: autism and knowledge of other minds, despair and the meaning of life, schizophrenia and the nature of rationality, and dissociative identity disorder and personal identity. Topics are discussed in the context of readings about clinical cases and in philosophy. P – Phi 111.
274. Philosophy of Mind. (3h) A selection from the following topics: the mind-body problem; personal identity; the unity of consciousness; minds and machines; the nature of experience; action, intention, and the will. Readings from classical and contemporary sources. P – Phi 111.
361. Topics in Ethics. (1.5-3h) P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
362. Social and Political Philosophy. (3h) A systematic examination of selected social and political philosophers of different traditions, with concentration on Plato, Marx, Rawls, and Nozick. Topics include rights, justice, equality, private property, the state, the common good, and the relation of individuals to society. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
372. Philosophy of Religion. (3h) An analysis of the logic of religious language and belief, including an examination of religious experience, mysticism, revelation, and arguments for the nature and existence of God. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
373. Philosophy of Science. (3h) A systematic and critical examination of major views concerning the methods of scientific inquiry, and the bases, goals, and implications of the scientific conclusions which result from such inquiry. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
375. Philosophy of Language. (3h) A study of such philosophical issues about language as truth and meaning reference and description, proper names, indexicals, modality, tense, the semantical paradoxes and the differences between languages and other sorts of sign-systems. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor. (Also listed as Linguistics 375.)
381. Topics in Epistemology. (3h) The sources, scope and structure of human knowledge. Topics include: skepticism; perception, memory, and reason; the definition of knowledge; the nature of justification; theories of truth. P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
382. Topics in Metaphysics. (3h) P -- One 200 level course in philosophy or permission of instructor.
Group VII -- Honors and Independent Study
385. Seminar. (1.5-3h) Offered by members of the faculty on specialized topics of their choice. With permission, may be repeated for credit. P -- Permission of instructor.
391. Honors I. (1.5h) Directed study and research in preparation for writing a major paper. Must be taken in the fall semester of the senior year. P -- Admission to the honors program in philosophy.
392. Honors II. (1.5h) Completion of the project begun in Philosophy 391. Requires defense of the paper in an oral examination conducted by at least two members of the department. Taken in the spring semester of the senior year. P -- Philosophy 391.
395. Independent Study. (1.5-3h)
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