Credits: 3.
A sustained study of Plato and Aristotle with some consideration of pre-Socratic antecedents and Hellenistic successors. (H and N) (WR)
PHH 3111 Ancient Ethical and Political Thought
Credits: 3.
An examination of ancient Greek and Roman political theories and their ethical foundations.
Credits: 3; Prereq: one course in philosophy.
A survey of medieval philosophy. Philosophers to be read may include Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, Maimonides, Aquinas, Duns Scotus and Ockham. Topics include the nature of God, universals, individuation and future contingents.
Credits: 3.
A survey of the work of major philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries, from Descartes to Kant, in the primary texts. (H and N)
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A variable topic seminar focusing on a particular topic, period or school in the philosophy of Greco-Roman antiquity.
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A variable topic seminar focusing on a period, school or topic in 17th or 18th century philosophy.
Credits: 3; Prereq: PHH 3400 or PHP 3786, or instructor permission.
A study of selected works by 19th and 20th century continental philosophers, with emphasis to be determined by the instructor. Selections may include such thinkers as Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Foucault. (H)
Credits: 3; can be repeated with a change in content up to 6 credits. Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A variable topic seminar on the work of a major historical or contemporary philosopher such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Hobbes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Russell, Moore, Sartre, Wittgenstein and Quine. (H)
Credits: 3.
A variable topics introduction to philosophy through study of traditional questions about the existence of God, the nature of the mind, the definition of good, freedom of the will and criteria of truth and knowledge. (H) (WR)
Credits: 3.
An introductory-level survey of different methods of formal and informal analysis of the logical structure of propositions and arguments. Topics include syllogistic logic, propositional logic, quantification logic, inductive logic, informal fallacies and probability. (M) (MR)
Credits: 3.
An introduction to moral philosophy through selected contemporary issues such as abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering and the treatment of animals. (H) (WR)
Credits: 3; can be repeated with a change in content up to 6 credits.
Refer to the department website for a course description for the term in which the course is offered.
Credits: 3.
A systematic study of forms of deduction. Techniques and topics include truth-functional analysis and quantification. (M) (MR)
Credits: 3.
A study of the central topics and concepts of the theory of knowledge, including the analysis of the concepts of knowledge, truth, justification and related concepts, the nature of empirical knowledge, the problem of skepticism, the nature of a priori knowledge, and the structure of the justification of our beliefs. (H)
Credits: 3.
A survey of the central issues in the philosophy of perception: the nature of perceptual experiences, their relations to our environment and to the perceptual beliefs we form on their bases.
Credits: 3.
A study of central contemporary issues in the philosophy of natural science: the nature of laws, the logic of discovery and the relationships between different sciences. The sciences used for illustration vary with the instructor. (H)
PHI 3420 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Credits: 3.
A study of the possibility of social laws, the nature of social explanation and rationality, and the role of value judgments in social-scientific research. (H)
Credits: 3.
A study of the problems of first philosophy: the concepts of existence, essence, object, property and event; universals and particulars; the nature of change, possibility, causation, space and time. Traditional philosophical issues such as free will, the mind/body problem, personal identity and the existence of abstract entities (e.g., numbers) will be discussed as will views of realism, idealism, materialism and relativism. (H)
Credits: 3.
The ethical issues that arise in medicine and biotechnology.
Credits: 3.
Analysis and criticism of various normative ethical theories such as egoism, utilitarianism, Kantianism, deontology and virtue ethics. (H)
Credits: 3.
An examination of ethical issues in communication between individuals and in the media. Topics include truth-telling, misrepresentation, privacy and fairness. (H)
Credits: 3.
A study of problems in philosophical theology, including the nature of God, arguments for God's existence, the problem of evil and the relation between faith and reason, from both historical and contemporary perspectives. (H) (WR)
Credits: 1 to 3; can be repeated with a change in content up to 6 credits. Prereq: upper-division students with department permission.
Registration requires advance application to the undergraduate coordinator.
Credits: 3; can be repeated with a change in content up to 6 credits.
Check the department office for a course description for the term in which the course is offered. (H)
Credits: 3; Prereq: philosophy majors only.
An intensive, variable topics course in philosophical writing. (C and H) (WR)
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A variable topics study of the major topics and concepts of the philosophy of language, including truth and meaning, speech act theory, reference and descriptions, names and demonstratives, propositional attitudes and indirect discourse, the nature of language and metaphor. (H)
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A study of the central problems of the philosophy of mind, including the mind-body problem, the nature of mental states, intentionality and representation, and sensation and consciousness. (H)
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A study of the central problems of the philosophy of action: the nature of agency, the individuation of actions, the roles of reason, deliberation and intention in action, weakness of the will, and freedom and responsibility.
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A study of the nature of space and time: the concepts of substantival space and time (or space-time), relational space and time (or space-time), dynamical space-time, conventional space-time metrics, causal reduction of time, time's arrow, dimensionality of space (or space-time). The approach, historical or issue-oriented, and the required amount of knowledge of physics varies with the instructor.
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
Advanced topics in moral theory, including cognitivism, obligations and permissions, moral reasons and moral epistemology. (H)
Credits: 1 to 3; can be repeated with a change in content up to 6 credits. Prereq: upper-division students with 12 hours of philosophy and department permission.
Registration requires advance application to the undergraduate coordinator.
Credits: 3.
Open to qualified philosophy majors upon application to the undergraduate coordinator.
Credits: 3; can be repeated with a change in content up to 6 credits. Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
Refer to the department website for a course description for the term in which the course is offered.
PHM 2204 Social Issues and Political Thought
Credits: 3.
Introduction to the classic works in the fundamental issues of political philosophy. Topics include comparative systems, authority and freedom. (H) (WR)
Credits: 3.
A normative study of the relationships between human beings and the environment, with special emphasis on land and resources. (H)
Credits: 3.
An analysis of theoretical and practical issues in feminism such as radical, liberal and socialist perspectives, gender roles and equal opportunity. This course is an elective in the women's studies program. (H and D)
Credits: 3.
A study of philosophical problems of political freedom, justice, obligation and coercion. (H) (WR)
PHM 3400 Introduction to Philosophy of Law
Credits: 3.
An introduction to philosophical issues in legal thought and practice. Designed for pre-law majors and as an introduction to PHM 4440 Philosophy of Law, the course introduces the types of philosophical issues that the major schools of legal thought have attempted to resolve. (H) (WR)
Credits: 3; Prereq: PHM 3400 or instructor permission.
An examination of philosophical issues in legal theory such as the concept of law, legal reasoning, responsibility and punishment. (H)
Credits: 3.
An examination of the existentialist movement in philosophy through readings from such figures as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre. (H)
Credits: 3; Prereq: a 3000-level philosophy course or department permission.
A study of the major philosophers, themes and developments of the analytic tradition, from Frege, Russell, Moore and Wittgenstein to Quine, Austin and contemporary figures. (H)