Philosophy

Meaning, Happiness, and the Good Life

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Referenced as a requirements elective but no description appears in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.

Perennial Questions

A critical examination of several great issues that confront us in modern philosophical thought, including the question of the existence of God, the nature of ultimate reality, the sources of human knowledge, the principles of moral values, and the problems of aesthetic judgments. Offered every spring.

Contemporary Moral Issues

Introduces the practice of moral reasoning through the study of representative moral theories and their application to controversial issues in contemporary life. Students develop the critical and analytical skills required for thinking clearly about moral problems and forming their own conclusions about them. Offered every spring.

Philosophical Fiction

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Referenced as a requirements elective but no description appears in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.

Methods of Logic

Analysis and evaluation of argument along with an introduction to induction, correlation and causation, and to specific methods of argument evaluation such as categorical logic, propositional logic, truth tables, truth trees, and first-order logic. Background readings in the philosophy of logic and the psychology of reasoning. Offered every spring.

Practical Ethics

CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Referenced as a requirements elective but no description appears in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.

Art, Monuments, and Morality

This course explores the intersection of aesthetic, historical, and moral value. Topics include art by morally flawed creators, ethically problematic works, the preservation of monuments and heritage sites, and the impact of gentrification. Be prepared to think hard and hone your ability to defend different views. Prerequisite: ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher, or consent. Offered intermittently.

Ethics and Health Care

Foregoing life-sustaining treatment, procurement of organs and tissue for transplantation, artificial reproduction, allocation of scarce health resources, AIDS: public health vs. private rights. Such questions of health care confront all of us at some time both as matters of individual concern and as issues of public policy. Students examine the ethical principles that should undergird decisions in health care and apply these principles to concrete cases. Offered every spring.

Philosophy of Sport

This course is a philosophical inquiry into the nature and meaning of sport, the ethical and psychological dimensions of competition, and the role that sport plays in our conception of the good life. Special attention will be given to ancient Greek philosophical perspectives on the value of sport as preparation for life. In addition to the Western perspective, students will be exposed to the Eastern philosophy of martial arts, which stresses the unity of mind-body-spirit and the development of character. Prerequisite: ENG 105 or consent. Offered intermittently.

Topics in Philosophy

A focused introduction to the practice of philosophy that concentrates on a single topic. Prerequisite: ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher, or consent. Offered intermittently.

Social and Political Philosophy

A survey of theoretical tools for understanding social dilemmas and specific social issues. Topics include self and society, friendship and justice, authority and anarchism, democracy and other forms of government; issues such as identity politics, social change, and political rhetoric. Identical to PHIL 353. Offered spring of even-numbered years.

Beyond the Western Tradition

We live in a world characterized by multiplicity, plurality, and difference. Students enter into frames of reference of people with differing experiences of, and assumptions about, the world. We are educated in this world to the degree that we are aware of our own boundedness, and that we become skilled in critically understanding and integrating the perspectives of others. Examines the beliefs of Native Americans, West Africans, Chinese thinkers, and philosophers of India. Offered every spring.

Environmental Ethics

From ancient Sumer to the present, ecological realities have required human beings to reflect on their values and their responsibilities to nature. Students examine the relevance of philosophy to environmental questions and, in particular, explore the connection between the environment and ethics. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Identical to ENVS 304. Offered every fall.

Critical Thinking in the Digital Age

This course teaches students how to apply the tools of critical thinking to modern media. Special attention is given to addressing the special challenges posed by fake news and images, media bias, misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theory. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered every spring.

Theory of Knowledge

What is the basis of our knowledge about the world, other people, ourselves? Focusing on work done in the 20th century, students examine some recent theories about the nature of human knowledge, as well as the related concepts of truth, justification, and belief. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.

Philosophy of Religion

What is religion? What makes a belief or practice religious? Is there a distinctively religious form of experience? What is the function of religious belief in the modern world? Prerequisite: sophomore status or consent. Previously PHIL 215.

Buddhist Philosophy

Introduces the major themes in Buddhist philosophy. Readings and lectures are aimed at understanding the way Buddhist thinkers approach questions in ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. Course readings are drawn from various canonical sources that record the teachings of the historical Buddha. These are supplemented by additional readings that discuss the development of these teachings in various schools of Buddhist thought. Special emphasis is placed on the Mahayana and Zen Buddhist traditions. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.

Ancient Greek Philosophy

An introduction to ancient Greek philosophy. Focuses on Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; may also include the early scientific thinkers or "pre-Socratics," who abandoned the supernatural and the Hellenistic schools, which conceived of philosophy as a way to find peace of mind. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered every fall.

Modern Philosophy

An exploration of the momentous changes in philosophy occurring in the 17th Century that defined a new era in the life of European civilization. Key themes include the philosophical grounding of religious toleration and the emergence of a new scientific culture. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered every spring.

19th-Century Philosophy

Surveys major trends in post-Kantian European philosophy. Readings are drawn from the work of Fichte, Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and others. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered spring of even-numbered years.

Existential Thought

Intensive study of recent phenomenological investigation into human existence. Thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty are discussed. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered every fall.

Minds, Brains, and Machines

This course explores central questions in philosophy of mind and overlapping areas of neuroscience. What is a mind and how does it relate to the brain? What is consciousness? Can machines think? Is a science of consciousness possible? Students will consider diverse approaches to answering these and other questions. Offered intermittently.

Environmental Justice

What does justice demand in this time of global climate change, environmental degradation, and mass extinctions? Do the poor and minority communities bear a disproportionate burden? Do we have obligations to persons not-yet-born? Do non-human animals have rights? Should trees or rivers have legal standing? Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered every spring.

Philosophy Seminar

An in-depth study of the work of a single major philosopher or of a specific topic in philosophy. The figure or topic changes with each offering. Contact the department chair for the current selection. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.

Ethics, Data, and Technology

This course explores the intersection of ethics and contemporary data science, with special attention to the implications of AI and autonomous technologies for society. Discussion topics include racial bias in machine learning, the black box problem, mass surveillance, privacy, autonomy, technological unemployment, and moral responsibility for autonomous systems. Offered intermittently.

Research in Philosophy

Capstone course for the philosophy major. Students conduct a research project of their own design, under faculty supervision, that culminates in an oral presentation, an extensive essay and a viva voce examination. Students must have completed most of the requirements for the major before taking this course. Consent Required. Offered intermittently.