Philosophy Courses

• 100 Introduction to Philosophy. 4.
  Major philosophical problems, methods, and positions, as set forth in selected historical and contemporary philosophical texts, including works by Plato, Descartes, Hume, others. Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 111 Ethics. 4.
  Chief theories of the nature and principles of the moral life, with regard to both the ends human beings seek and the obligations which claim their commitment. Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 200 Informal Logic. 4. General aspects of reasoning and argumentation, including inferences, evidence, and the construction and evaluation of arguments.
• 201 Ancient Western Philosophy. 4.
  Historical development of philosophical thought in Western civilization in terms of the main periods and thinkers of ancient Greek philosophy. Fulfills humanities requirement.
• 202 Modern Western Philosophy. 4.
  Major developments of Western philosophical thought in the 17th and 18th centuries, emphasizing philosophical inquiry into metaphysical systems and problems of knowledge. Fulfills humanities requirement.
• 221 Philosophy of Religion. 4.
  Reason and religion: proofs of God's existence, faith and reason, the problem of evil, morality and religion, religious language. Fulfills humanities requirement.
• 231 Philosophy and Sexuality. 4.
  Inquiry into the relationship between values and sexuality. Topics include pleasure, love, homosexuality, prostitution, monogamy, sexual perversion. Fulfills social justice/environmental responsibility requirement.
• 232 Gender, Identity, and Experience. 4.
  Interrelated topics in the metaphysics and phenomenology of gender. Questions include: What is it to be a woman or man? How do Western conceptions of gender affect our experience? How do other aspects of our identities (e.g., race, sexuality) enter the conversation? How do we move beyond harmful gender stereotypes? Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 241 Computer Ethics. 4.
  Ethical questions connected with computer technology. For example: What is distinctive about ethics in this context? How do digital media force us to reconsider longstanding notions of "ownership" and "theft"? How do computer technologies reflect or undermine the values of privacy and anonymity? How does electronic communication change our understanding of what it means to be human? Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 242 Environmental Ethics. 4.
  Exploration of environmental topics from several theoretical, cultural, and religious perspectives. Questions include: What are our responsibilities to the environment? To what extent are these responsibilities affected by the interests of other persons or groups? What is the source of these responsibilities and to whom are we obligated? Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 247 Philosophy of Law. 4.
  Conceptual analysis and moral evaluation of laws and legal systems: the nature and validity of law, law and morality, the obligation to obey the law, law and judicial decision-making, criminal responsibility, and the nature of punishment. Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 249 Pacifism and Just War Theory. 4. 
  Examines conditions under which violence, and especially war, may be morally justified; distinctions between war and other forms of armed conflict; and philosophical and spiritual foundations of pacifism. Includes discussion of particular wars in which the U.S. has been engaged, including World War II and the war on Iraq. Fulfills the social justice/environmental responsibility requirement.

• 261 Philosophy and Race. 4.
  Examines race and racism, exploring the relationship between liberal ideas of freedom and equality and the reality of group exclusion. Key questions include: What conception of race will do justice to our experience of social realities while avoiding scientific errors? What conception of race and racism to we need in order to help dismantle systemic racism? Fulfills humanities and either diversity in the U.S or social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 290 Internship, 1-4. May also be offered at the 390 level.
• 292 Formal Logic. 4.
  Methods, foundations, and philosophical implications of using symbolic languages to evaluate deductive reasoning.
• 293 Infinity, Undecidability, Non-computability (MATH 232). 4.
  Algorithms, mathematical logic, axiomatization, completeness, consistency, constructing the number systems, Turing machines, Hilbert's programme, the halting problem, infinities, the continuum hypothesis, Godel's theorems, formalism, intuitionism, logicism, connections with artificial intelligence. Fulfills quantitative literacy requirement.
• 301 Third Year Seminar. 1.
  Addresses issues regarding career planning or preparing for post-graduate education.
• 333 Individual Philosopher. 4.
  Intensive study of the works of an individual philosopher (e.g., Maimonides, Plato, Spinoza, Kant, Nietzsche, Mill, James) whose thought has had a lasting influence on western philosophy.
• 336 Social and Political Philosophy. 4.
  Principal theories of the foundation of political society; the nature of political authority; limits of political obligation; relation of theories of human nature to social/political theory. Fulfills humanities and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
• 375 Topics in the Philosophy of Mind. 4.
  Topics include The Mind-Body Problem, The Emotions, and The Self. Fulfills humanities requirement.
• 376 Topics in the Theory of Knowledge. 4.
  Courses will cover such topics as Belief, Skepticism, and Theories of Knowledge. Historical and contemporary readings on the nature and sources of knowledge, justification, rationality, and skepticism. Fulfills humanities requirement.
• 377 Autonomy and Authenticity. 4.
  Conceptual, theoretical, and normative issues arising from the intersection of thinking about freedom and the self, including internal freedom, self-deception, self-respect, weakness of will, and autonomy as moral right and character ideal.
• 401 Topics in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy. 4.
  Main developments in 20th-century analytic philosophy with emphasis on philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics. Capstone course for the major.
• 450 Special Topics. 4.
  May also be offered at 250 and 350 levels. Recent examples include Philosophy of Science, Free Will and Moral Responsibility.
• 460 Independent Study. 1-4.
  May also be offered at 260 level.
• 470 Senior Thesis. 4-8.
• 490 Departmental Honors. 4-8.