Undergraduate Philosophy Courses
PHIL111 Contemporary Moral Issues
Representative Ethics positions and their application to contemporary social problems.
PHIL205 Technology and Human Values
Interaction of personal and societal values with technology and the human self image, the future, and value change.
PHIL208 Philosophy of Education
Basic social ideals and concepts of human nature in Western civilization, and their implications for theories of education.
PHIL210 Concepts of Love
Philosophical and ethical implications of various concepts of love in the writing of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Sartre and Buber.
PHIL240 Introduction to Logic
Methods and principles used to distinguish between correct and incorrect reasoning, uses of language, informal and formal fallacies, Venn diagrams, truth tables, symbolic notation, formal deductive proof, and induction.
PHIL251 Introduction to Philosophy
Perennial problems of philosophy such as the existence of God, the mind/body relationship, the knowledge and the foundations of moral judgment, humans and the state.
PHIL283 Latin American Philosophy
Major philosophers in the history of Latin American philosophy, such as, Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset, Vasconcelos, Caso and Gutiérrez.
PHIL285 Directed Studies
Directed studies in specific problem areas of philosophy.
PHIL289 Special Topics in...
Selected topics in an identified area of philosophy. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: approval of instructor
PHIL291 Research
Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in the department of philosophy and humanities. May be repeated for credit.
PHIL305 Philosophy of the Natural Sciences
Critical analysis of scientific methods and achievements, the nature and types of explanation, discovery and confirmation, models and theories.
PHIL307 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Nature and objectivity of the social sciences, their paradigms and patterns of explanation. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy other than PHIL 240.
PHIL314 Environmental Ethics
Moral basis of duties to preserver or protect plants, animals and environmental system; foundations of environmental law and policy; the idea of nature in philosophy; critique of social and economic analysis f environmental values. Prerequisite: Sophomore classification or approval of instructor.
PHIL315 Military Ethics
Major ethical issues in modern military practice: ethics of leadership, just war theory, killing of the innocent and the moral status of the rules of war.
PHIL320 Philosophy of Mind
Relation of mind to body, nature of thought and knowing, the free will problem, death, and immortality.
PHIL330 Philosophy of Art
Theories of artistic creation and aesthetic response as exemplified in art forms such as painting, music poetry, architecture, dance theater, sculpture, and motion pictures.
PHIL331 Philosophy of Religion
Philosophical problems of Western religion such as the existence of God, the problem of evil, types of theism, and rational, empirical and mystical approaches to God.
PHIL332 Social and Political Philosophy
Metaphysical commitments and political theory, the nature and proper ends of the state, freedom, equality, authority, and justice, considering such writers as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Dewey. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy other than PHIL 240.
PHIL334 Philosophy of Law
This course is meant to serve as an introduction to the philosophy of law. Traditional legal issues will be considered from a philosophical point of view. The questions we examine include: Is there a necessary connection between law and morality? When and why is punishment justified? How do we determine the kind of punishment that is appropriate in any particular case?
PHIL341 Symbolic Logic I
Elementary symbolic logic beginning with propositional calculus and first order predicate logic, and their applications. Prerequisite: PHIL 240.
PHIL342 Symbolic Logic II
Advanced topics in logic such as the theory of identity, higher order logic, logic of sets, elements of modal logic.
PHIL351 Theory of Knowledge
Major topics in epistemology such as the problem of induction, perception theory, memory and the problem of other minds.
PHIL361 Metaphysics
Topics concerning the fundamental nature of reality such as what exists, the mental and the physical, universals and individuals, space and time, God.
PHIL371 Philosophy of Literature
Philosophical analysis of the major recurrent themes in world literature including fate, the meaning of tragedy, death, odyssey, good and evil, time and eternity, hope, and salvation. Works selected from a variety of cultures and historical periods.
PHIL375 Philosophy of Visual Media
Aesthetic, ethical and epistemological issues of photography, cinema and video.
PHIL381 Ethical Theory --- W
Values and conduct such as moral relativism, self-interest, utilitarianism, rules, nature of valuation, ethical language and argumentation. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy other than 240.
PHIL410 Classical Philosophy --- W
Major philosophers from 600 BC to the end of the third century AD, including the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic and Roman philosophy and the Neoplatonists.
PHIL411 Medieval Philosophy
Major philosophers from the early Christian centuries through the 14th century, emphasizing such writers as Augustine, Aquinas, Duns Scotus and William of Ockham.
PHIL413 Modern Philosophy --- W
Major developments from the Renaissance through he 18th century emphasizing such philosophers as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
PHIL414 Nineteenth Century Philosophy
Contributions of such philosophers as Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Mill, and Bradley.
PHIL415 American Philosophy
The thought of philosophers such as Peirce, James, Royce, Santayana, Mead, Dewey, and Whitehead. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy other than PHIL 240.
PHIL416 Recent British and American Philosophy
Major philosophers in contemporary Anglo-American thought such as Moore, Russell, Wittgenstein, Ayer, Quine, Austin, and Ryle. Prerequisites: PHIL 240 and 413.
PHIL418 Phenomenology and Existentialism
Major recent philosophers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, Marcel, and Ricoeur. Prerequisite: PHIL 413
PHIL419 Current Continental Philosophy
Major thinkers concerned with "postmodern" topics in hermeneutics, poststructuralism, critical theory, deconstructionism, contemporary Marxist strategies, semiotics, and feminist theory. Prerequisite: Junior classification or approval of instructor.
PHIL424 Philosophy of Language
The nature of language; the various uses of language and their philosophical import; the nature of meaning, truth, reference and issues surrounding formal representation of natural languages. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy other than PHIL 240.
PHIL480 Medical Ethics --- W
Critical analysis of major ethical issues in medicine including truth-telling, confidentiality, paternalism, genetics, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and social justice in health care.
PHIL482 Ethics and Engineering---W
Development of techniques of moral analysis and their application to ethical problems encountered by engineers, such as professional employee rights and whistle blowing; environmental issues; ethical aspects of safety, risk and liability; conflicts of interest; emphasis on developing the capacity for independent ethical analysis of real and hypothetical cases.
PHIL483 Professional Ethics
Major ethical theories as applied to problems of professional ethics and decision-making in the biological, physical and social sciences, business, education, engineering, law, and medicine.
PHIL485 Directed Studies
Directed topics (individualized tutorials) in specific problem areas of philosophy. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.
PHIL489 Special Topics
Selected topics in an identified area of philosophy. Often the 489 designation is used for courses offered infrequently or proposed for adoption into the regular schedule. May be repeated for credit.
PHIL491 Research
Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in the department of philosophy and humanity. May be repeated for credit.
PHIL495 Philosophical Writing---W
Writing, analysis, and criticism of philosophical arguments; writing philosophical prose; methods for research in philosophy.
PHIL497 Independent Honors Studies
Directed independent studies in specific philosophical problems.
Undergraduate Humanities Courses
HUMA211 Hebrew Scriptures
Hebrew Scriptures. (3-0), Credit 3. Philosophical concepts of the Hebrew Scriptures as they relate to the development of religious and ethical ideas. Cross-listed with RELS 211.
HUMA213 New Testament
New Testament. (3-0), Credit 3. The origin and development of the religious and philosophical concepts of the New Testament. Cross-listed with RELS 213.
HUMA303 Near Eastern Religions
Near Eastern Religions. (3-0), Credit 3. Beliefs and practices of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam with particular attention to their philosophical presuppositions. Cross-listed with RELS 303.
HUMA304 Indian and Oriental Religions
Indian and Oriental Religions. (3-0), Credit 3. Beliefs and practices of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhish, Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto with particular attention to their philosophical presuppositions. Cross-listed with RELS 304.
HUMA485 Directed Studies
Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 6. Directed studies in humanities. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.
HUMA489 Special Topics in...
Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4. Selected topics in an identified area of humanities. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.