Introduction to Philosophy
Students will study some of the central topics in the major areas of philosophy. They will examine a variety of philosophical perspectives on such issues as the nature of reality, the limits of human knowledge, and the nature of morality.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Introduction To Ancient And Medieval Philosophy
Students will study English translations of some of the standard philosophical texts from the ancient and medieval periods. They will also learn to apply methods of philosophical analysis to these texts.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Introduction to Modern Philosophy
Students will study some of the standard philosophical texts from the modern period. They will also learn to apply methods of philosophical analysis to these texts.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Confronting Moral Issues: Ethics
Students will examine the meaning and justification of moral judgments. They will examine various theories concerning whether or not moral judgments have an objective basis. They will also study and evaluate leading theories of right action, and they will apply these theories to contemporary moral problems.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Environmental Philosophy
Students will examine some central problems in environmental philosophy. They will investigate such topics as the nature of our obligations to non-human animals, the environment, and future generations.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Critical Thinking
Students will study the process of argument reconstruction and evaluation. They will focus on skills necessary for this process such as being able to distingish argumentative from non-argumentative writing, rationally persuasive from rhetorically persuasive arguments, and strong from weak arguments. Students will be expected to analyze arguments from a variety of contexts such as newspaper editorials, advertising and surveys.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Basic Logic
This is an introduction to elementary techniques of formal logic. Two artificial languages are developed, sentential logic and predicate logic. The construction of these languages will aid in understanding the nature of rational argument.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Scientific Reasoning
This is a course not only for science students but for all who are interested in the style of reasoning and kinds of claims made in the name of science. Scientific reasoning involves probability and hypotheses in ways which require careful analysis. This course provides an introduction to scientists’ methods of argument and experiment, and to inductive argument generally.
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 1210 CR-3 (discontinued: Jan. 2007)
Epistemology
Epistemology is the philosophical study of the nature of knowledge and our ways of acquiring it. Students will examine such topics as the justification of beliefs, the nature of truth, and the possibility of foundations of knowledge using the work of major contemporary philosophers.
Prerequisites: Any 1100 level PHIL or CRIM 1251 or HUMN 1100
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 1211 CR-3 (discontinued: Jan. 2007)
Asian Philosophy
Students will critically examine selected representative schools of philosophy in Asian traditions, including Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism. They will explore such topics as reality, self, knowledge, ethics, and death.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level Philosophy course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Social and Political Philosophy
Students will examine selected central problems in social and political philosophy. They will investigate such topics as the justification of the state, the tension between individual freedom and social constraint, and theories of social justice.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level PHIL course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 2210 (formerly 1210) CR-3
Epistemology
Students will study traditional themes in epistemology. Using classical and contemporary readings, they will examine problems related to the justification of beliefs, the nature of truth, and theories describing the foundations of knowledge.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or CRIM 1251 or any 1100-level PHIL course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 2215 (formerly 1211) CR-3
Metaphysics
Students will study some of the main traditional topics of metaphysics. Using classical and contemporary readings, they will investigate problems related to mind-body interactionism, space and time, free will and fatalism, and theories of reality and truth.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or CRIM 1251 or any 1100-level PHIL course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 2120 CR-3 (formerly 1120)
Philosophy of Religion
Students will examine arguments for and against the existence of God, as well as other traditional problems of theology, from a philosophical perspective. In the course of such examinations, they will use both classic and contemporary sources.
Prerequisites: 3 credits of 1100-level PHIL courses
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 3033 CR-3 (formerly ENTR 3033)
Business Ethics
Students will study various ethical and meta-ethical theories, and will apply them in standard business contexts, such as employer/employee relations, risk analysis, occupational and product safety, environmental protection, and multi-national practices. They will acquire the tools to allow them to make ethical business decisions.
Philosophy of Art
Students ill investigate central questions about the nature and value of art (e.g., painting, sculpture, music, literature, and film). They will critically examine attempts to answer questions such as the following: What is art? Is there a difference between aesthetic judgments and mere judgments of taste or subjective preference? What is beauty? Should moral considerations affect our evaluations of art?
Prerequisites: Any 1100 level PHIL course or HUMN 1100
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Great Philosophers of the 20th Century
Students will examine the life, work, and influence of one or more notable 20th Century philosopher(s). They will apply principles of rhetoric and philosophical analysis through close reading of selected texts, informed discussion, and formal writing.
Prerequisites: 18 credits of 1100-level courses including HUMN 1100 or 3 credits of 1100-level PHIL courses
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 3101 CR-3 (formerly 2101)
20th Century Analytic Philosphy
Students will acquire a detailed historical and conceptual framework for the assessment of 20th Century philosophical analysis. They will study issues raised by Russell and others near the beginning of the 20th Century. Students will then consider the historical and conceptual unfolding of various alternative approaches to these issues by later 20th Century analytical philosophers. They will focus on a technical examination of concepts such as: truth, reference, description, and meaning.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level Philosophy course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 3109 CR-3 (formerly 2109)
Foundations in Ethics
Students will investigate central questions about the nature and foundations of ethical judgement. They will examine a variety of perspectives on such issues as the objectivity and prescriptivity of moral judgement.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level Philosophy course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
The Possibility of Knowledge
Students will investigate central questions about the nature and foundations of epistemic judgement. They will examine a variety of perspectives on such issues as the justification of knowledge claims and the internalism/externalism debate in epistemology.
Prerequisites: 18 Credits including HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level PHIL course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Ethics and Public Policy
Students will critically examine ethical issues in public policy through readings in classic and/or contemporary texts. They will consider topics such as policy governing life and death, sex and reproduction, freedom of speech, punishment, and the environment.
Prerequisites: Any 1100 level PHIL course or HUMN 1100
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 3119 CR-3 (formerly 2119)
Contemporary Moral Theory
Students will consider selected problems associated with various philosophical approaches to morality. They will investigate standard moral perspectives such as Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Contractarianism, Feminist Ethics, and Virtue Theory, in order to assess their philosophical strengths and weaknesses by introducing theoretical as well as practical considerations.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level Philosophy course
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Free Will and Determinism
Students will examine the philosophical problems involved in assigning moral responsibility in a world governed by causes which are, ultimately, outside of our control. Using both classic and contemporary sources, they will evaluate the reasoning behind deterministic theories that deny the reality of free will, claiming that all events, including human actions, have prior causes that render them inevitable.
Prerequisites: 18 credits of 1100-level courses including HUMN 1100 or 3 credits of 1100-level PHIL courses
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
PHIL 3150 CR-3 (formerly 1250)
Advanced Formal Logic
Students will be introduced to contemporary symbolic logic. They will gain a working understanding of some symbolic languages, propositional logic and first-order predicate logic. Students will also discuss syntax and semantics at an elementary level, and soundness and completeness of first-order logical systems will be proved.
Prerequisites: PHIL 1150 or any MATH at 1000 level or higher
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Philosophy of Mind: Consciousness
Students will investigate central questions about the nature of consciousness and the place of the mind in the physical world. They will examine competing approaches to the explanation of mental phenomena.
Prerequisites: Any 1100-level PHIL course or HUMN 1100
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)
Topics in Ethics
Students will engage in an in-depth study of a selected topic in applied ethics, normative ethics, or metaethics, which may be associated with a particular movement, time period, or philosophical figure.
Note: This is a seminar-based course
Prerequisites: 24 credits of any 1100-level course, including 6 credits of PHIL which must include one course of PHIL 1100,1110 1112, 3109, 3118 or 3119
Transferable (refer to transfer guide)