Upper-Division Requirements

PHL 313 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

PHL 314 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

PHL 321 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 324 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

ENV 324

PHL 325 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

PHL 330 Metaphysics - A Survey

This course surveys the field of metaphysics, including its basic concepts (e.g., likeness, identity, and existence), ontological categorizations (e.g., abstract and concrete objects, actual and merely possible entities, particulars and universals), and some central topical issues (e.g., free will, God, personal identity over time, and the mind-body problem). Salzburg Only. Approval of Studies abroad Director Required.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150 and PHL 220 recommended

PHL 331 Metaphysics: Asian Philosophy

This course explains the nature and source of reality in classical and contemporary Asian philosophies. It focuses on such questions as the origin and nature of ultimate reality, the nature of the self in relation to reality, freedom and causality in human existence, idealism and realism, and methodological approaches to apprehending reality.

3

PHL 332 Metaphysics: Philosophy of Mind

This course explains a set of conceptual problems involving the nature of mind and of psychological explanations of behavior. These range from classical discussions of the "mind-body problem" to contemporary debates concerning consciousness, mental representation, mental content, innate ideas, the nature of concepts, and the plausibility of psycho-physical reductionism.

3

PHL 333 Metaphysics: Philosophy of Religion

This course explains a broad range of metaphysical issues concerning the nature of God (or a god) and religious experience. It focuses on some major areas of debate such as arguments for the existence of a god, whether such a god should be conceived as a person, the problem of evil, and the relationship of faith and reason.

3

PHL 334 Metaphysics: Problem of Being

This course studies some major topics and approaches in the history of philosophical reflection on Being and ontology from the beginnings of metaphysical speculation in the pre-Socratics through the contemporary period. Topics may include potency and act, essence and existence, causality, the ontolological foundations of logic, and the question of God.

3

PHL 335 Metaphysics: Self and Identity

This course studies a range of metaphysical issues relevant to the nature of personal identity and self-consciousness such as identity over time, what makes someone a person, the nature of self-consciousness, the relationship of the self to a body, freedom of the will, the development of the self in the context of society and socio-political relations.

3

PHL 336 Metaphysics: Native American Philosophy

This course explores Native American Philosophy with particular emphasis on Mexico or the continental US. Topically, the course focuses on metaphysical aspects of Native American thought such as the nature or reality, time, space, truth, freedom, the self and the relationship between the self and the world.

3

PHL 337 Metaphysics: Freedom

This course explores various philosophical conceptions of freedom and the issues that they raise. Topics may include free will and determinism, existentialism and freedom, whether freedom is related to reason, and the implications of metaphysical freedom for political liberation and moral responsibility.

3

PHL 338 Metaphysics: Ancient Greek Metaphysics in Context

This course explores the metaphysical views of the Ancient Greeks with particular emphasis on the broad historical, cultural, and political context out of which their views emerge.  Possible topics include their conceptions of reality, change, knowledge, philosophical method, love, and friendship.  The course will also explore the influence of these ideas on the Western philosophical tradition.
3

Prerequisites

PHL 150 and PHL 220 recommended

PHL 339 Metaphysics of Shakespeare

A study of how the elements of text and performance in Shakespeare’s plays engage metaphysical questions, including the nature of mind and agency, the distinction of truth from illusion, the significance of gender and class in personal identity, and the struggle between faith and reason. Students attend performances at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Taught 2nd summer term. Fee: $350

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150

Cross Listed Courses

THTR 405

PHL 371 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 372 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 150, PHL 220

PHL 373 Early 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 374 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