PHIL 101 – Introduction to Philosophy (3 credits)

Philosophy is the attempt to answer, through rational reflection, the deepest and most fundamental questions of human existence. What is the meaning of life? How can people achieve true happiness and fulfillment? Does God exist? What do we mean by God? Why should we be moral? How should we decide what is right? Are people really free? Do humans have souls, or are we just physically complex organisms? What is a soul? Is there life after death? What can we know and how can we know it? This course invites students to critically reflect on these and other perennial issues through contemporary and historical texts.

PHIL 170 – Introduction to Logic (3 credits)

The principal aim of logic is to develop a system of methods and principles that may be used as criteria for evaluating the arguments of others and as guides in constructing arguments of one’s own. This course emphasizes both formal and informal logic.

PHIL 171 – Popular Culture and Philosophy (3 credits)

This course explores fundamental questions of human existence through the lens of popular culture. While some popular culture is undoubtedly shallow and ephemeral, a good deal is substantive and enduring. Popular and high-quality films (e.g., Star Wars and The Matrix), television shows (e.g., Star Trek and House M.D.), streaming series (e.g., The Handmaid’s Tale and Black Mirror), and even comedians (e.g., George Carlin and Amy Schumer) often raise big questions in compelling ways. Although particular topics and readings in this course will vary from semester to semester, likely topics include: the limits of human knowledge, the nature of reality, the possibility of free will, ethical decision making, feminism, individual liberty versus state authority, the meaning of life, and life after death.

PHIL 172 – Environmental Ethics (3 credits)

An exploration of ethical issues and theories relating to the natural environment. The topics addressed include: biodiversity, population, pollution, energy, human attitudes toward nature, and animal rights.

PHIL 173 – Ethics and the Good Life (3 credits)

This course explores fundamental questions about the moral life and its relation to meaning and human fulfillment. Those questions include: How do we determine which actions are morally right? What kind of person should we become? If we do choose to commit to living a moral life, is this likely to inhibit or to enhance our well-being? This course will examine answers given by historically influential thinkers and consider how their answers apply to contemporary moral issues.

PHIL 174 – Bioethics (3 credits)

It has been proposed that bioethics is what angels – disembodied and immortal – would not have. More precisely, bioethics concerns issues and problems that arise in virtue of the bodily nature we human beings have: issues and problems around conception and birth, health and sickness, aging, dying, and the research we conduct and the technologies we have developed to ameliorate and enhance the human condition. Like bioethics itself, this course is concerned with moral theory as well as practice. Possible topics include the appropriate “ends” of heath care, the provision of health care, and the many controversies over different healthcare practices and procedures.

PHIL 175 – Social and Political Philosophy (3 credits)

Social institutions, like marriage and the family among countless others, and political institutions, like departments of motor vehicles and police departments and the many other apparatuses of the state, profoundly shape our lives in ways both subtle and pronounced. But with what justifications? How should our common life be organized? What does justice demand? This course investigates such topics as the common good, the proper role of government, the relationship of citizen and state, human rights, right relations among states, marginalization and oppression, and social and economic justice.

PHIL 176 – Eastern Philosophy (3 credits)

This course is a survey of Eastern philosophy. The topics addressed may include: ethics, death, reality, self, and knowledge. The schools of Eastern philosophy studied may include: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. In studying Eastern philosophy, students will be exposed to, and learn appreciation for, different perspectives on traditional philosophical issues. Students will develop and refine their ability to offer criticism of philosophical positions and will develop the ability to form their own educated views on philosophical issues.

PHIL 177 – Death and the Meaning of Life (3 credits)

Any person who is conscious of death has wondered: How should we think about death? How is death connected with the human quest for meaning? And will I continue to live in some way after I die? These questions have occupied humankind from earliest times and perhaps penetrate the issue of self more deeply than any other. This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. What does it mean to say that a person has died? Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would an immortal life actually be desirable? Is death an evil, something to be feared? Is there some objective, overarching meaning to life? Or is it the case, as nihilists claim, that human existence is “absurd” and has no meaning at all?

PHIL 178 – Mythology, Tragedy, Philosophy (3 credits)

We often mark the beginning of the Western philosophical tradition with thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Loving wisdom, however, extends much further back than these famous men, and this tradition is rich in stories that form the foundation of what we typically think of today as philosophy. In this course, we will examine this tradition and pay particular attention to myth and tragedy, with an eye to how the Socrates of Plato’s dialogues emerges against their background. We will be particularly interested in how these different texts engender ways of knowing and discerning the truth about the relationship between chaos and order, different types of justice, the importance of family, the sacred and the profane, self-knowledge, and what, ultimately, wisdom really is and what it is to love it.

PHIL 181 – Feminist Philosophy (3 credits)

This course provides a broad survey of the problems, theories, and critical tools developed by feminist thinkers from a philosophical perspective and is organized around two questions: what does philosophy have to contribute to feminism, and what does feminism have to contribute to philosophy? With respect to the first question, possible topics may include the relationship between sex and gender, nature and culture, the materiality of bodies and the social processes of normalization, as well as forms of structural injustice and oppression at the intersection of sex, gender, sexuality, race, and class. With respect to the second question, possible areas of inquiry may include Feminist Ethics, Feminist Epistemology, Feminist Aesthetics, and Feminist Theories of Agency.

PHIL 182 – Philosophy, Science, and Religion (3 credits)

Are religion and science opposed to one another? Does science show that religious beliefs are unwarranted or irrational? Was the universe created? Does the universe have a purpose? Is life ultimately reducible to chemistry? Do recent developments in physics provide support for traditional religious beliefs? Are there inherent limits to what science can tell us about the nature of reality?

PHIL 183 – The Creative Vision of Alfred Hitchcock (3 credits)

This course explores fundamental questions of human existence through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. The films we will consider include Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Birds, and North by Northwest. Among the topics we will consider are the nature of good and evil, the meaning of life, the nature of love, and appearance and reality.

PHIL 184 – Scientific, Pseudoscientific, and Medical Reasoning (3 credits)

This course will begin with the basis of scientific reasoning: abduction or “inference to the best explanation.” We will learn why scientific reasoning is needed and works, why scientific experiments are designed the way they are, and why science is our most reliable guide to knowledge of the human body and the physical world. Throughout the semester, numerous reasoning methods and scientific skills will be developed, many of which are relevant to the health sciences. In the end, the student will also be able to recognize pseudoscience, understand the limits of scientific reasoning, and appreciate its value for living the good life.

PHIL 351 – Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (3 credits)

An historical survey of the principal thinkers of the ancient and medieval philosophical tradition, including Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas.

PHIL 352 – Modern Philosophy (3 credits)

Between the late sixteenth and the nineteenth century, political and scientific revolutions changed Europe, ushering in what is often called “modernity.” Philosophers not only struggled to understand these changes; they were also crucial agents—sometimes witting, sometimes not—in the creation of a new intellectual and social world. This course tracks the ideas and influence of several major players, with special emphasis on Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Leibniz, and Spinoza. The course also connects modern philosophy to our contemporary intellectual climate.

PHIL 353 – Plato and Neoplatonism (3 credits)

In this course, we will read three Platonic dialogues guided by the tenets of Neoplatonism, the rigorous and systematic exposition of Plato’s thinking initiated by Plotinus in the third century. Specifically, we will be interested in the Neoplatonic thesis that philosophy is a kind of spiritual exercise, the aim of which is self-knowledge. Following the commentaries of Neoplatonic masters like Proclus, Olympiodorus, and Damascius, we will articulate the way in which our conception of ourselves profoundly impacts what we can know and we will take seriously the thesis that loving wisdom requires self-transformation and commitment to living the contemplative life.

PHIL 361 – Existentialism (3 credits)

This course is a historical survey of existentialism, a modern-day philosophy of human freedom and responsibility. In particular, we shall focus on the thought of four existential philosophers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Heidegger. We shall supplement our study of existential philosophy with discussion of existential novels by Camus, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky. In exploring the thought of the existentialists, we shall address such questions as: What is authentic human existence? Is God dead? Is there any ground for ethical judgments? Are human beings free? How should one face death?

PHIL 371 – American Philosophy (3 credits)

An historical survey of American Philosophy from the Puritans to the present day. The major figures studied include Jonathan Edwards, the Federalist authors, Emerson, Peirce, James, and Dewey.

PHIL 372 – Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics (3 credits)

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of beauty and art. Questions considered include: What is art? What difference is there between high art and popular art? What is an artist? What role should artistic intention play in the interpretation and evaluation of artworks? What is beauty? Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Does beauty differ with the individual and the culture, or are there universal standards by which to judge beauty? Why and how do we react emotionally to art and beauty? Areas of art and beauty to consider include: painting, sculpture, music, literature, film, food, jokes, nature, and the human form. The questions of aesthetics are grounded in the work of classic philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Nietzsche. Contemporary philosophers continuing the dialogue in aesthetics include Carroll, Cohen, Danto, Dickie, Kivy, Korsmeyer, Levinson, and Walton.

PHIL 373 – Contemporary Continental Philosophy (3 credits)

A survey of the major movements and figures in twentieth-century continental philosophy. Among the major figures treated are Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Husserl, Sartre, Jaspers, Merleau-Ponty, and Derrida.

PHIL 376 – Eastern Philosophy (3 credits)

This course is a survey of Eastern philosophy. The topics addressed may include: ethics, death, reality, self, and knowledge. The schools of Eastern philosophy studied may include: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. In studying Eastern, philosophy students will be exposed to, and learn appreciation for, different perspectives on traditional philosophical issues. Students will develop and refine their ability to offer criticism of philosophical positions and will develop the ability to form their own educated views on philosophical issues. Cross-listed as PHIL 176.

PHIL 383 – Ethics and the Good Life (3 credits)

This course explores fundamental questions about the moral life and its relation to meaning and human fulfillment. Those questions include: How do we determine which actions are morally right? What kind of person should we become? If we do choose to commit to living a moral life, is this likely to inhibit or to enhance our well-being? This course will examine answers given by historically influential thinkers and consider how their answers apply to contemporary moral issues. Cross-listed as PHIL 173.

PHIL 390 – Environmental Ethics (3 credits)

An exploration of ethical issues and theories relating to the natural environment. The topics addressed include: biodiversity, population, pollution, energy, human attitudes toward nature, and animal rights. Cross-listed as PHIL 172.

PHIL 391 – Bioethics (3 credits)

It has been proposed that bioethics is what angels – disembodied and immortal – would not have. More precisely, bioethics concerns issues and problems that arise in virtue of the bodily nature we human beings have: issues and problems around conception and birth, health and sickness, aging, dying, and the research we conduct and the technologies we have developed to ameliorate and enhance the human condition. Like bioethics itself, this course is concerned with moral theory as well as practice. Possible topics include the appropriate “ends” of heath care, the provision of health care, and the many controversies over different healthcare practices and procedures. Cross-listed as PHIL 174.

PHIL 392 – Social and Political Philosophy (3 credits)

Social institutions, like marriage and the family among countless others, and political institutions, like departments of motor vehicles and police departments and the many other apparatuses of the state, profoundly shape our lives in ways both subtle and pronounced. But with what justifications? How should our common life be organized? What does justice demand? This course investigates such topics as the common good, the proper role of government, the relationship of citizen and state, human rights, right relations among states, marginalization and oppression, and social and economic justice. Cross-listed as PHIL 175.

PHIL 470 – Seminar in Moral Philosophy (3 credits)

This seminar considers current issues in ethics and values with particular emphasis on how they relate to public and professional life. Cross-listed as THEO 470.

PHIL 471 – Philosophy of Science (3 credits)

An introduction to the fundamental issues encountered in the attempt to understand the nature and significance of the scientific enterprise, through a historical survey of its most influential theories and methods. Topics include the origins of science, ancient science, the Copernican revolution, the experimental and thematical methods, the Darwinian revolution, and the rise of the social sciences.

PHIL 473 – Metaphysics (3 credits)

As the study of the nature of reality, this course begins by exploring questions about the nature of ourselves. What is a person, and what is the relationship between a person’s mind and brain? Do persons have souls? Free will? Could there be an afterlife? It then turns to questions about the nature of reality. What is the nature of the universe? What does quantum mechanics say about the nature of matter? Are space and time exist as substances?  What does it mean for something to exist, anyway? Could things exist outside our universe—like a supreme being, abstract objects, or other worlds? Might we even be living in a computer simulation? The metaphysician explores these questions and more in an attempt to understand the true nature of reality.

PHIL 474 – Philosophy of Law (3 credits)

An introduction to the philosophy of law designed to introduce students to central philosophical problems in the law, primarily through the reading of constitutional cases. Topics include legal reasoning, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, privacy, racial and gender discrimination, the nature and justification of punishment, the death penalty, and legal ethics.

PHIL 477 – Philosophy of Knowledge (3 credits)

An introduction to epistemology. Topics include: What is knowledge? How do we know? What is the role of experience in knowing and what is the role of pure reasoning? When is a belief rationally justified or warranted? Can we know anything? In this course, we address these questions from both a historical and a contemporary perspective.

PHIL 478 – Philosophy of Religion (3 credits)

An introduction to the philosophy of religion. Topics include the existence and nature of God, the problem of evil, the relationship between faith and reason, life after death, miracles, and the relation of God to morality.

PHIL 479 – Philosophy of Mind (3 credits)

An examination of classic and contemporary problems in the philosophy of mind. Topics include theories of the nature of mind, the nature of consciousness, problems of perception, and artificial intelligence.

PHIL 481 – Topics in Philosophy (3-6 credits)

Philosophical issues or topics in philosophy pursued in an independent but directed way as suggested by a department faculty member. Open to junior and senior majors and minors as well as to non-philosophy students by special permission of the Department Chairperson. Available every semester on a tutorial basis.

PHIL 490 – Independent Senior Capstone (3 credits)

An advanced study of a particular philosophical topic or problem. This independent study is recommended for highly motivated students, especially those who want to explore a specific topic, question, or philosopher more deeply. Students will research, write, and present to the Philosophy Department faculty a major paper that demonstrates a senior-level mastery of philosophical issues and methodologies. The paper can be a substantial development of a paper written for a previous course, or it can be a new paper on a new topic. It is up to the students interested in pursuing this option to find a faculty member to mentor them on the topic of their choice. The independent study is to be taken in the spring semester of the student’s senior year.