Electives

Upper-division electives prerequisite: PHL 150 and PHL 220 must be successfully completed before taking upper-division philosophy electives.

PHL 410 Education and Politics

Inquiry into the political foundations of education and how these interface with epistemological, ethical, and metaphysical concerns. Concrete issues relating to educational injustices will also be addressed. Students will study both classical and contemporary thinkers, such as Confucius, Lao Tzu, Plato, Rousseau, Jane Addams, John Dewey, Paulo Freire, Bell Hooks, Maria Lugones.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

SJP 410

PHL 412 Philosophy of Law

The basic philosophical principles of justice and law in the Western legal traditions: morality and law; natural and positive law; Roman law and common law traditions; logic, language, and symbols of law; Marxian concept of law; legal education.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

SJP 412

PHL 413 Socio-Political Philosophy

Analysis of some major topics in contemporary socio-political thought, e.g., freedom, social justice and structural violence, equality, the relation between rights and obligations, sovereignty, authority, legitimacy, and consent.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

SJP 413

PHL 414 Philosophy and Feminism

An investigation of the philosophical underpinnings of various feminist theories and their implications for philosophical inquiry from De Beauvoir to Irigaray.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

SJP 414

PHL 421 Logic

This course offers an introduction to basic concepts of logic, including the nature and evaluation of arguments as well as an examination of common informal fallacies. Students will also be introduced to major systems of logic (categorical, propositional, and/or predicate logic) including ordinary-language statements into each logical system and testing arguments for validity within each system.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 422 Philosophy of Science

An analysis of fundamental concepts of science: fact, law, observation, theory, explanation, truth, discovery, progress, methods of scientific reasoning, science and pseudo-science, moral implications of scientific research, science and society.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 430 Advanced Ethics

An inquiry into current issues and debates in the field of ethics. The course will consider the relationship of ethical debates to other areas of philosophy. Investigation may focus on issues such as autonomy, internalism, moral realism, and/or the relationship between moral philosophy and problems in social and political philosophy.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 434 Environmental Ethics

An inquiry into our obligations to the non-human world and the philosophical basis of that obligation.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

SJP 434

PHL 435 Bioethics

This course will examine ethical issues in medicine, biotechnology, and related fields. Issues to be discussed may include the concept of informed consent, stem cell research, reproductive technologies, human enhancement, end of life issues, the global AIDS epidemic, genetics, biomedical research, and justice in the distribution of healthcare.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

PCS 435

PHL 451 Philosophy and Psychology

A study of the relationship between philosophy and contemporary psychology; a critical examination of the philosophical presuppositions underlying key personality theories: e.g., Freudian psychoanalysis, Jungian analysis, Skinnerian behaviorism, phenomenological psychology, and existential psychoanalysis.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 469 Great Philosophers

This course is devoted to an intensive study of the work of a single philosopher. Different philosophers will be featured in different semesters.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

PCS 469

PHL 471 Ancient Philosophy

The origins of Western philosophy and its development up to Plotinus, including the pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic schools (Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics), and Neoplatonism. Taught biennially.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 472 Medieval Philosophy

The major philosophers from Augustine through late scholasticism with particular attention to Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Bonaventure, Scotus, and Ockham. Taught biennially.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 220 or equivalent.

Cross Listed Courses

PCS 472

PHL 473 Modern Philosophy

Philosophical figures and topics from the Renaissance through Kant: the scientific revolution, continental rationalism (Descartes, Leibniz), British empiricism (Locke, Hume, Berkeley), and Kant's transcendental philosophy. Taught biennially.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 474 Hegel and 19th Century Philosophy

An examination of nineteenth-century philosophy focusing upon the work of Hegel. The course traces the roots of Hegelianism in German idealism, the British Economists, and romanticism, and its influences on subsequent involvements including Marxism, existentialism, and American pragmatism. Taught biennially.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

SJP 474

PHL 475 Contemporary Philosophical Traditions

This course is a survey of some major philosophical tradition of the 20th century. Versions of the course could include Analytic Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Contemporary Catholic Thought, or Classical American Philosophy.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 479 Existentialism

A survey of existential philosophers including Sartre, De Beauvoir, Marcel, and Merleau-Ponty; a critical study of their reflections on the nature and meaning of human existence, freedom, and authenticity.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

PHL 490 Directed Study

Credit arranged.

Variable

PHL 499 Senior Capstone

Research, study, or original work under the direction of a faculty mentor, leading to a scholarly thesis document with a public presentation of results. Requires approval of thesis director and department chair.

Variable