Philosophy Department

Course Descriptions

150W. Freshman Seminar in Philosophy
Fall and Spring (4,4) deGaynesford, Goldman, Staff.
An introduction to the problems, methods and scope of philosophical inquiry through readings from historical and contemporary sources. This is a writing intensive course; a grade of C- or better satisfies the College Writing Proficiency Requirement.

201. Introduction to Philosophy
(GER 7) Fall and Spring (3,3) Costelloe, J. Harris, Staff.
An introduction to the problems, methods and scope of philosophical inquiry through readings from historical and contemporary sources. Typically, the readings include at least one dialogue of Plato, the Meditations of Descartes, and usually selections from other philosophers.
NOTE: Seniors may take this course only with the permission of the instructor. Students may not receive credit for both 150W and 201.

210. Introduction to Critical Thinking
Fall and Spring (3,3) Staff.
A survey of formal and informal logical techniques with emphasis on their practical applications and historical significance. Among the techniques studied are syllogistic logic, informal fallacies and induction.

215. Contemporary Moral Issues
(GER 7) Fall and Spring (3,3) G. Harris, Merritt.
A course focused on particular moral issues facing contemporary society and the ethical arguments provoked by them.  Topics discussed in the course may include, among others, abortion, euthanasia, hate speech, capital punishment, surrogacy, genetic engineering, war and nuclear arms.

220. Philosophy and Feminism
(GER 7) Fall and Spring (3,3) Staff.
This course examines two ways philosophy and feminism intersect:  philosophical arguments are used to support particular feminist theories and to criticize competing theories; and feminist theory is used to criticize traditional philosophical theories of ethics, knowledge, and science.

225. The Philosophic History of American Environmentalism
(GER 4A) Fall (3) Fowler.
Examines basic ethical controversies surrounding modern American environmentalism, with special focus on:  1) our moral place in Darwinian nature, 2) the wilderness ideal, 3) Native American ecology, land ethic and deep ecology, 4) preserving biodiversity, and 5) environmentalism as social (in?) justice.

230. The Philosophic History of Universal Rights, 1945-Present
(GER 4A) Fall (3) Fowler.
Internationally recognized universal rights have radically expanded over the past fifty years.  Originally confined to political and religious rights, today they encompass women’s rights, environmental rights, the rights of cultural minorities, etc.  The course traces the philosophic controversies surrounding this expansion.

301. Symbolic Logic
Spring (3) Staff.
An introduction to the principles of valid reasoning. Special emphasis will be given to modern symbolic techniques and some of their applications.

303. Ethics
(GER 7) Fall and Spring (3,3) Fowler, Fuchs, Goldman, G. Harris, Merritt, Staff.
An introduction to the problems of ethics and the nature of ethical reasoning. Included are historically important topics such as hedonism, egoism, utilitarianism and relativism, as well as contemporary moral issues such as abortion, euthanasia and civil disobedience.

304. Aesthetics
(GER 7) Spring (3) Costelloe. Prerequisites: One course in philosophy, extensive experience in/of arts or permission of instructor.
A philosophical examination of aesthetic perception and criteria of value. Special attention will be given to the elements of art and the function of form, symbol, expression and truth in art.

305. Social and Political Philosophy
(GER 7) Fall (3) Fuchs.
A philosophical examination of major theories dealing with social and political issues such as governmental authority, individual rights, distributive justice, democracy and the importance of community.

306. Philosophical Problems
Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisites: Variable by topic.
A study of some major philosophical problems such as those concerning knowledge and reality, morality and conduct, and art and beauty. Special attention will be devoted to philosophical method. This course may be repeated for credit.

310. Philosophy of Law
(GER 7) Spring (3) Goldman.
A critical examination of the concepts and arguments used in legal reasoning.  Questions to be examined include: the nature of law, the grounds for obedience to law, the relationship of law to morality, and the grounds for legal punishment.

311. Philosophy of Religion
Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisite: PHIL201 or PHIL150W. Or consent of instructor.
A philosophical investigation of the nature of religious experience, activity and belief. The course will also include an examination of such topics as those of God, freedom, immortality, arguments for existence of God and the problem of evil.

313. Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
Fall (3) Davies. Prerequisite: PHIL201 or PHIL150W. Or consent of instructor.
A philosophical examination of the nature, validity and significance of scientific inquiry. Special attention will be given to the descriptive, explanatory and predictive aspects of scientific theories.

321. Existentialism
(GER 4A) Fall (3) Bohl. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W or consent of instructor.
An examination of important aspects of existentialism with readings in such philosophers as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Sartre. Some attention will also be given to the impact of these philosophical movements upon contemporary literature, religious thought and psychology.

322. American Philosophy
(GER 4A) Spring (3) J. Harris. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W or consent of instructor.
A study of readings selected from the works of 20th-century American philosophers such as Peirce, James, Dewey, Santayana and Whitehead.

324. Classical Chinese Philosophy
(GER 4B) Spring (3) Staffl. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W or consent of instructor.
A study of the major philosophers of the classical period of Chinese philosophy. Study will be devoted to Confucius, Mencius and Chuang Tze.

331. Greek Philosophy
(GER 4A) Fall and Spring (3,3) Staff. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W or consent of instructor.
A critical examination of representative Greek philosophers with special emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

332. Medieval Philosophy
(GER 4A) Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W or consent of instructor.
Analysis of selected writings of major medieval philosophers such as Augustine, Erigena, Anselm, Maimonides, Aquinas, Duns Scotus and Occam.

336. Contemporary Analytic Philosophy
Fall (3) Staff. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W.
An examination of the major philosophical writings of 20th-century analytic philosophers such as Russell, Ayer, Austin and Wittgenstein.

341. Directed Readings in Philosophy
Fall (Credit to be arranged.) J. Harris. Prerequisite: Consent of department required.
Individually supervised readings and study of philosophical subjects that are not available through regular course offerings. This course may be repeated for credit. (Detailed description of requirements available from the department office.)

342. Directed Readings in Philosophy
Spring (Credit to be arranged.) J. Harris. Prerequisite: Consent of department required.
Individually supervised readings and study of philosophical subjects that are not available through regular course offerings. This course may be repeated for credit. (Detailed description of requirements available from the department office.)

352. 17th- and 18th-Century Philosophy
(GER 4A) Fall (3) Costelloe. Prerequisites: PHIL150W or PHIL201 or consent of instructor.
An examination of rationalism (e.g., Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz), empiricism (e.g., Hume, Locke, Berkeley) and their culmination in Kant.

353. Kant and his Successors
(GER 4A) Spring (3) Fowler. Prerequisites: PHIL150W or PHIL201 or consent of instructor.
An examination of Kant and some of the 19th-century philosophical responses to his philosophy (e.g., Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche).

360. Advanced Logic
Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisite: PHIL301. Or consent of instructor.
Systematic investigation of topics in logic drawn from such areas as system construction, proof theory, modal and deontic logic, and abstract set theory.

401. Theory of Knowledge
Fall (3) J. Harris. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W. And three other courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2002-2003)
An examination of contemporary philosophical theories about such topics as the nature of knowledge, criteria for truth, perception, meaning, knowledge, validation of belief and skepticism.

403. Advanced Ethics
Fall (3) G. Harris. Prerequisites: PHIL303. And three other courses in philosophy or consent of instructor.
A study of selected normative and theoretical problems in moral philosophy, such as the justification of ultimate moral principles, theories of social justice, or freedom and moral responsibility.

405. Phenomenology
Fall (3) Fowler. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W. And three other courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2002-2003)
A study of phenomenology as a philosophical method. The readings will include some literary and psychological materials as well as the philosophical writings of such figures as Husserl, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty.

406. Philosophy of Language
Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisites: PHIL301. And three other courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2002-2003)
A survey of recent philosophical questions about language and meaning. Topics such as the following will be considered: reference, analyticity, speech acts, and semantic and syntactic theories. Focus will be on such figures as Russell, Austin, Quine and Wittgenstein.

410. Morality and Law
Spring (3) Fuchs. Prerequisites: PHIL303. And three other courses in philosophy or consent of instructor.
An inquiry into the ethical content of law and the way in which moral standards shape legal systems. Consideration will be given to the moral foundations of positive law, the permissible moral scope of law and the ethical content of our existing legal system.

413. Philosophy of Mind
Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisites: PHIL201 or PHIL150W. And three other courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2002-2003)
Critical analysis of contemporary theories concerning the nature of consciousness, the concept of the person and personal identity, and some theories of the relation of the mind to the body.

422. Great Philosophers
Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisite: Variable by topic.
A systematic study of the thought of a great philosopher such as Descartes, Spinoza, Hume or Wittgenstein. The particular philosopher to be studied is designated each time the course is offered. This course may be repeated for credit.

431. Advanced Seminar in Philosophy
Fall (3) deGaynesford. Prerequisite: Variable by topic.
Special advanced topics of interest to faculty and students will be discussed in seminar fashion. Students in the course are expected to write and present papers for discussion. This course may be repeated for credit.

432. Advanced Seminar in Philosophy
Spring (3) Staff. Prerequisite: Variable by topic.
Special advanced topics of interest to faculty and students will be discussed in seminar fashion. Students in the course are expected to write and present papers for discussion. This course may be repeated for credit.

441. Independent Study in Philosophy
Fall (3) J. Harris. Prerequisites: Senior standing or eight courses in philosophy and departmental approval prior to registration.
Individually supervised study of special topics. This course may be repeated for credit. (Detailed description of requirements available from department office.)

442. Independent Study in Philosophy
Spring (3) J. Harris. Prerequisites: Senior standing or eight courses in philosophy or departmental approval prior to registration.
Individually supervised study of special topics. This course may be repeated for credit. (Detailed description of requirements available from department office.)

495-496. Honors
Fall, Spring (3,3) J. Harris. Prerequisite: Departmental approval prior to registration.
Visit the section on honors for general requirements and procedures. Students wishing to do Honors work in philosophy should submit a written request to the chair by February 15 of their junior year. Students should see the department chair for a detailed statement of the requirements of the Honors program and the specification of the information that is to be included in the written request for Honors study.