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Philosophy
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Philosophy course offerings PHIL 105 Critical Thinking ( See Infrequently Offered Courses section of the college catalog) PHIL 120 Philosophy of Human Nature – GS 2 A study of various theories of human nature and their presuppositions and implications. Students will read primary texts with the twofold goal of understanding the theories and learning how to philosophize. Typical questions discussed are: Do we have a soul? Are we free? Why be moral? What is a happy life? What roles do reason, intuition and sensation play in discovering truth? Is there a purpose to life? Fall and Spring semesters. Fulfills General Education Area 2 – Philosophy of Human Nature. PHIL 207 / CLAS 207 Greek Philosophy A study of the ancient Greek thinkers who began Western philosophy. The course begins with the pre-Socratic philosophers and then focuses on Plato and Aristotle. Fall semester. PHIL 210 Logic A study of the principles of correct reasoning. The course covers informal fallacies and the fundamentals of symbolic logic, including quantification theory. PHIL 213 Medieval Philosophy A study of the philosophers of the medieval period (approximately 350 C.E. to 1350), with emphasis on Augustine, Anselm and Thomas Aquinas. Themes covered include the relation of faith and reason, existence of God, the problem of evil, the nature of the soul and ethics. Spring semester. PHIL 220 The Soul A study of theories of what the soul is and how it is related to the body. The course will begin with modern challenges to the existence of the soul and then examine the views of philosophers Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and Rene Descartes, of psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung and of the Eastern traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Fall semester, alternate years. PHIL 235 Skepticism, Knowledge and Faith A historical survey of texts by prominent authors in the Western tradition concerning the nature, conditions and types of human knowledge. Topics may include arguments for the existence of God; foundations of empirical science, psychological belief states as distinct from religious faith; skepticism in both epistemic and religious contexts; and the nature of reason and rational inquiry. Representative authors are Plato, Sextus Empiricus, Augustine, Luther, Erasmus, Hume and Bernard Williams. PHIL 250 / RELS 255 Philosophy of Religion A study providing a rational assessment of religious beliefs and concepts and of arguments used in their support. The course considers contemporary challenges to the belief in God and the responses to these challenges. Spring semester. PHIL 275 Medical Ethics A study of the central moral problems in the field of medicine. This course examines the nature of the doctor/patient relationship, moral issues such as euthanasia, genetic screening, abortion and the problem of justly distributing health care resources in society. It will also look at how religious traditions help understand the issues. Spring semester, alternate years. PHIL 300 Modern Philosophy A study of the major movements and figures in European philosophy from the 16th to the 19th century. The focus of the course is the rise of skepticism in relation to developments in science and religion, the study of the nature of the mind and the knowing process and claims about the nature and existence of the self, of the external world and of God. A number of thinkers and philosophers will be surveyed with principal emphasis on Descartes, Locke, Hume and Kant. Prerequisite: PHIL 207 or PHIL 210 or PHIL 213. Fall semester. PHIL 302 Consciousness A study of various theories about the nature and significance of the phenomenon of consciousness. Special attention will be given to the apparent “gap” between the brain activity of a conscious state and the experience that accompanies such a state. Authors taken will include René Descartes, William James, David Armstrong, Thomas Nagel, Jerry Fodor, Daniel Dennett, Antonio Damasio, and David Chalmers. The course will include an exploration of Hindu and Jungian notions of consciousness. Fall semester, alternate years. PHIL 305 / AMER 305 American Philosophy – GS 10 A study of the major movements and figures in American philosophy and intellectual history. The course will examine the diverse philosophical themes in the American tradition, including idealism, 18th century political theory, transcendentalism and pragmatism. Figures studied include Edwards, Adams, Jefferson, Emerson, Thoreau, James and Dewey. Fall semester, alternate years. Fulfills General Education Area 10 – Western Tradition. PHIL 309 Depth Psychology and Ethics A study of the depth psychologies view of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung and the implications of these theories for philosophical ethics. The course will examine the doctrines of Freud and Jung on the structure and dynamics of the psyche (especially the unconscious), on human freedom, on moral responsibility and on the meaning of life. The course will then explore how these doctrines challenge the adequacy of the classical Western ethical tradition, which will be studied through texts of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Fall semester, alternate years. PHIL 310 Existentialism – GS 10 A study of the development of European existentialism in the 19th and 20th centuries. The focus of the course is the meaning of human life, the nature of human values and the role of commitment and choice in human belief and judgment. Figures studied include Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre and Camus. Spring semester, alternate years. Fulfills General Education Area 10 – Western Tradition. PHIL 314 / CLAS 314 / POLI 314 Classical and Medieval Political Thought An examination of the political theories of major ancient and medieval thinkers. Issues such as the origin, purpose, nature and types of political societies, the meaning of citizenship, the relation of the individual to society and the meaning of authority and rulership will be investigated in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas. Fall semester, alternate years. PHIL 315 Ethics – GS 10 A study of four major ethical theories in Western philosophy and of their application to several contemporary ethical issues. The theories are those of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Feminist alternatives to these traditional Western theories may also be discussed. Typical issues examined are euthanasia, capital punishment, war and violence and protection of the environment. Fall and Spring semesters. Fulfills General Education Area 10 – Western Tradition. PHIL 316 / POLI 316 Modern Political Thought An examination of the political theories of major thinkers of the modern period (16th-19th centuries). Issues such as the nature of political power, the origin and purpose of political societies, social contract, authority, law, liberty, sovereignty and revolution will be investigated in the writings of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel and Marx. Fall semester, alternate years. PHIL 320 Business Ethics This course focuses on the ethical concerns that confront contemporary businesses. The course will begin by introducing the major positions in moral theory; then it will explore, through the use of case studies, particular issues such as (but not limited to) environmental pollution and resource depletion, consumer protection, job discrimination, the ethics of advertising and the rights and duties of firms and employees. Spring semester. PHIL 325 / PEAC 325 Ethics: International Issues ( See Infrequently Offered Courses section of the college catalog) PHIL 330 The European Enlightenment – GS 10 An overview of the history of ideas in the Western tradition, covering the period from 1688 to 1789, principally in France and Britain, with consideration given to the influence of the Enlightenment on the American founding. The central theme of the course is the emergence and rapid development of natural science, its growing influence in all departments of human knowledge and its confrontation with the religious traditions of the time. Representative writers include Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Helvetius, Mandeville and Adam Smith. Fulfills General Education Area 10 – Western Tradition. PHIL 334 / CLAS 334 Tragedy and Philosophy – GS 10 A study of tragedy as a dramatic and literary form and the different western philosophical theories of tragedy inspired by that art form. One half of the course will concentrate on Greek tragedy (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides) and its commentators, both ancient (Plato and Aristotle) and modern. The second half will examine both Renaissance and modern examples of the tragic tradition with contemporary philosophical readings on the significance of that tradition. Alternate years. Fulfills General Education Area 10 – Western Tradition. PHIL 342 / RELS 342 Asian Philosophy and Religion A study of the major philosophical and religious traditions of South and East Asia. The course emphasizes the Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist traditions. The ethical, metaphysical and epistemological aspects of each major tradition are covered. PHIL 346 Philosophy of Human Rights ( See Infrequently Offered Courses section of the college catalog) PHIL 360 Philosophy of Science ( See Infrequently Offered Courses section of the college catalog) PHIL 365 Twentieth-Century Philosophy A survey of the main philosophical movements of the twentieth century. The course will focus on such traditions as logical positivism, neo-pragmatism and phenomenology and will examine the impact of new scientific theories (for example, quantum physics and evolutionary biology) on philosophy. Figures studied may include: Wittgenstein, Ayer, Quine, Rorty, Heidegger, Popper and Kuhn. Spring semester, alternate years. Prerequisite: PHIL 300. PHIL 370 The Analytic Tradition An historical survey of the main developments and leading figures in the Anglo-American analytic tradition. The primary focus is on the application of new methods of logic and linguistic analysis to the perennial problems of metaphysics and epistemology. Figures studied include Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Ayer, Carnap, Ryle, Quine and Kripke. Prerequisite: PHIL 210 or PHIL 300. Spring semester, alternate years. PHIL 389 Special Topics A study of a single philosophical topic of special interest to students. When the course is offered, the topic will be listed in the timetable of courses. PHIL 490 Independent Study A course allowing staff and students to explore together philosophical topics of special interest. Prerequisite: Instructor’s consent and approval by Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities. - |
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Philosophy Phone: (920) 403-3119 |
