Courses Offered
Philosophy – Spring 2013
PHIL 1010. Introduction to Philosophy (3). Fall, Spring. Systematic study of enduring human concerns about God, morality, society, the self and knowledge. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 1020. Introduction to Ethics (3). Fall, Spring. Discussion of ethical concepts such as good and evil and right and wrong in the context of contemporary moral issues; major ethical theories as a basis for dealing with contemporary moral concerns. Credit not given for both PHIL 1020 and PHIL 1250. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 1030. Introduction to Logic (3). Fall, Spring. Basic concepts of logic; how to distinguish arguments from non-arguments, premises from conclusions. Methods for evaluating arguments and how to recognize typical mistakes in reasoning. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement. Approved for distance education.
PHIL 1250. Contemporary Moral Issues (3). Fall or Spring. Study of contemporary moral problems with a focus on what values are and how they differ from facts. Topics may include abortion, promise-keeping, mercy killing, academic dishonesty, and animal rights. Credit not given for both PHIL 1250 and PHIL 1020. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 1920Q. Inquiry in Humanities and Creative Arts (3). Fall, Spring. Philosophical methods of inquiry will be studied and used to explore fundamental issues of human existence that have occupied and puzzled people since the origin of human thought down to the present time. Students will employ philosophical reasoning to understand and critique the ideas and reasoning of others, and to develop and defend their own thinking. The focus will be on issues related to a specific theme, and the investigation will involve a range of both in-class and out-of-class activities. Credit not allowed for PHIL 1920Q and PHIL 1020 or PHIL 1250.
PHIL 2020. History of Ethics (3). Fall or Spring. A study of the classic moral philosophers who have shaped modern thought on the subject, including Aristotle, Hume, Kant and Mill. Attention will be paid to the views of each on moral psychology.
PHIL 2040. Aesthetics (3). Fall, Spring. Meaning of "beauty" or aesthetic value in art and nature, approached problematically and applied to present-day experiences. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 2110. History of Ancient Philosophy (3). Fall. Progress of Greek philosophy from its earliest origins in Greece through the Presocratics, Plato and Aristotle, concluding with main themes of Hellenistic, Roman and medieval philosophy. PHIL 2110 can function as an excellent introduction to philosophy. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 2120. History of Modern Philosophy (3). Spring. Focus on rationalists (Descartes and Leibniz), empiricists (Locke, Berkeley and Hume) and Kant. Attention to the emergence of skepticism and the rise of modern science as influences on modern philosophy; can function as an excellent introduction to philosophy.
PHIL 2170. World Religions (3). Fall or Spring. Fundamental tenets of major world religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with the cultural backgrounds of lands of their development.
PHIL 2180. Philosophy of Law (3). Fall and Spring. Philosophical foundations of legal system; essential nature of law and relation to morality; liberty, justice and legal responsibility (intention, human causality, negligence, mens rea, fault, etc.) and punishment.
PHIL 2190. Philosophy of Death and Dying (3). Fall and Spring. Conceptual, metaphysical and epistemological issues related to nature of death; existential issues related to human significance of death for individual and community; normative issues related to care of dying. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 2200. Business Ethics (3). Fall or Spring. Value conflicts that arise in business situations and philosophical ways of resolving them including issues involving the social responsibility of business people.
PHIL 2240. Socialism, Capitalism and Democracy (3). Fall or Spring. Theory behind modern capitalism, socialism and democracy. Topics include individualism, community, freedom, justice and democratic representation. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 2270. Philosophy of Punishment (3). Fall and Spring. Basic theories of punishment and whether punishment is justified. Issues include punishment versus rehabilitation, capital punishment, the insanity defense and related issues. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement. Approved for Distance Education.
PHIL 2300. Scientific Reasoning (3). Fall or Spring. Study of the scientific method which develops skills for interpreting scientific findings and evaluating theories, tests and causal and statistical claims. One component deals with decision-making procedures based on these evaluations. No prerequisites. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 2320. Environmental Ethics (3). Fall, Spring. Critical evaluation of the ethical issues concerning the relationship between human beings and the environment. Such issues as the value of wilderness, responsibilities to future generations, sustainability, and differing cultural attitudes toward the environment will be examined. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 2360. Philosophy of Film (3). Alternate years. Aesthetic theories concerning definition of film as distinctive art form; criteria for evaluation of films. Popular, documentary, art and experimental films shown in class.
PHIL 2400. Topics in Philosophy (3). Fall, Spring. Subject matter designated in class schedule. Primarily for students with little or no background in philosophy. May be repeated.
PHIL 2420. Medical Ethics (3). Fall and Spring. Selected topics such as genetic engineering, euthanasia, honesty with the dying and human experimentation viewed from perspective of representative ethical theories. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 2450. Philosophy of Feminism (3). Fall or Spring. Philosophical presuppositions and specific proposals of feminists; views on sex roles, human welfare, justice and equality, rights, self-actualization, self-respect, autonomy, exploitation, oppression, freedom and liberation, reform and revolution. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 3000. Life, Death, Law and Morality (3). Fall or Spring. Examination of normative philosophical concepts such as justice, responsibility, freedom, utility, rights, etc.; their justification; and the use of these concepts in argument about such issues as the value of life and the nature of death, the appropriateness of capital punishment, the relationship between the law and morality, etc. Open only to juniors and seniors with no previous courses in philosophy, or admitted by consent of instructor. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts requirement.
PHIL 3020. Ethical Theory (3). Fall or Spring. A survey of classical and contemporary theoretical approaches to moral philosophy. Covers such theories as utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, ethical relativism, and the divine command theory. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3030. Symbolic Logic (3). Alternate years. Notation and proof procedures used by modern logicians to deal with special problems beyond traditional logic; propositional calculus, truth tables, predicate calculus, nature and kinds of logical proofs. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL, MATH 2320, or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3100. Philosophy of Mind (3). Fall or Spring. Topics covered will include some of the following: the nature of mental phenomena, the relation between minds and bodies, free will, the relationship between thought and action, and the problem of other minds. Prerequisites: 3 hours in Philosophy.
PHIL 3110. History of Medieval Philosophy (3). On demand. Major philosophical positions of Middle Ages; St. Augustine through Renaissance philosophers. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3120. Social and Political Philosophy (3). Fall or Spring. Some of the classics of political thought, including works by Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Smith and Marx. Topics include liberty and authority, justice and equality. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3160. Philosophy of Psychology (3). On demand. Study of philosophical underpinnings and implications of major movements in psychology, including the discovery of the unconscious, behaviorism, cognitive science, artificial intelligence and sociobiology. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3170. Philosophy of Religion (3). Fall or Spring. Nature of religion; gods and/or God; faith, revelation and religious belief; evil and righteousness; meaning of life. Readings from variety of sources, largely contemporary. Approved for distance education. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3210. Indian and Chinese Philosophy (3). On demand. Some non-Western philosophical traditions. Possible topics include Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Vedanta; epistemology, formal inference, causality, metaphysics, mind-body relationships. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor. Applicable to the BG Perspective (general education) humanities and arts and international perspective requirements.
PHIL 3300. Theory of Knowledge (3). Alternate years. Theories of knowledge, truth, belief and evidence. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3310. Existentialism (3). Alternate years. Various existential themes, including the meaning of life, human freedom, the limits of reason, the meaning of death and the individual vs. society. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Camus, Sartre, Jaspers, Buber and others comprise the reading. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3400. Problems in Philosophy (3). On demand. Subject matter designated in class schedule. May be repeated. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3440. Computers and Philosophy (3). Fall or Spring. Philosophical dimensions of the impact of computers on society with emphasis on the issues of ethics and artificial intelligence. Prerequisite: three hours in PHIL or CS or consent of instructor.
PHIL 3950. Workshop on Current Topics (1-4). Fall, Spring on demand. Intensive educational experience on selected topics. Typically, an all-day or similar concentrated time format is used. Requirements are usually completed within this expanded time format. May be repeated if topics differ and adviser approves.
PHIL 4060. Philosophy of Language (3). Alternate years. Historical and contemporary theories of meaning; their use in resolving traditional philosophical controversies and in providing foundation for contemporary analytic philosophy; various interdisciplinary connections. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 4110. History of Contemporary Anglo-American Philosophy (3). Alternate years. Major twentieth century movements in the analytic tradition, including ideal language philosophy, ordinary language philosophy and naturalized, holistic philosophy, including such philosophers as Russell, Austin, Wittgenstein, Quine, Davidson, Putnam and Rorty. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 4120. Contemporary Continental Philosophy (3). Alternate years. Major twentieth century movements in France and Germany, beginning with the phenomenology of Husserl, proceeding through Sartre and Heidegger and including philosophical hermeneutics, critical theory, the theory of communication and genealogies of values, with attention to such philosophers as Gadamer, Ricoeur and Derrida, Adorno, Habermas and Foucault. Prerequisite: six hours of PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 4140. Metaphysics (3). Alternate years. Survey of traditional metaphysical issues and concepts combined with in-depth treatment of some metaphysical problem(s). Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 4180. Topics in the Philosophy of Law (3). On demand. In-depth examination of such topics as the nature and analysis of law, legal reasoning, judicial decision, hard cases, responsibility, causation and fault, the mental element in crime, formal and material principles of justice and the legal enforcement of morality. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor. May be repeated with different topics.
PHIL 4240. Topics in Social and Political Philosophy (3). Alternate years. An in-depth treatment of some theme(s) in social and political philosophy, including the justification of the state, the nature of citizens’ obligations to the state, justifications for limiting liberties, state neutrality vs. perfectionism, the nature and justification of various social ideals, feminism and justice.
PHIL 4250. Topics in Moral Philosophy (3). Alternate years. An in-depth treatment of some theme(s) in moral philosophy. Topics may include classic and contemporary debates in metaethics, normative ethical theory, and/or applied ethics. Prerequisite: 6 hours in PHIL or consent of instructor.
PHIL 4310. Topics in Philosophy of Science (3). On demand. Content varies from year to year. Topics include: nature of scientific explanation, causality, contemporary empiricism, philosophy of biology, methods, presuppositions, concepts of behavioral sciences. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor. May be repeated with different topics.
PHIL 4320. Philosophy of Social Science (3). Alternate years. Methods, ideals and politics of social inquiry. Topics include the very idea of a social science, explanation, prediction and laws, problems of interpretation and meaning, the nature of rationality, reductionism, individualism and holism, and objectivity and values. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL, PSYC, SOC or HIST or consent of instructor.
PHIL 4330. Philosophy and Physics of Space and Time (3). Alternate years. Physical theories of space and time from philosophical, scientific and historical points of view. Topics include Zeno’s paradoxes, Greek concepts of space and time, classical Newtonian world view, general ideas of modern theory of relativity and cosmology. Course presupposes high school-level mathematics only. Cross-disciplinary; cross-listed as PHYS 4330. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL, MATH or PHYS or consent of instructor.
PHIL 4400. Senior Seminar (3). Fall or Spring. Extended research project on a topic of the student’s choice. The focus will be on formulating a thesis and pursuing appropriate means of developing it in a research project. Class meetings will focus on research methodologies and on students’ discussion of their projects. Collaborative learning is required. Prerequisite: required of all philosophy majors with senior standing. Open to others by permission of the instructor.
PHIL 4420. Philosophy of Medicine (3). On demand. In-depth examination of selected issues in medical epistemology, philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind, drawing on the continental philosophical tradition to examine professional and social constructs and their impact on the therapeutic relationship. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor. May be repeated with different topics.
PHIL 4450. Topics in Business Ethics (3). On demand. In-depth examination of some issue(s) in business ethics, such as the moral limits of the market, the relative merits of capitalism and socialism, the nature and value of work, and/or the ethical aspects of corporate governance, advertising, workplace privacy, and international business. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor. May be repeated with different topics.
PHIL 4700. Readings and Research (1-3). Fall, Spring. Supervised independent work in selected areas. Prerequisites: 12 hours of PHIL and consent of chair of department. May be repeated to six hours.
PHIL 4800. Seminar in Philosophy (3). On demand. In-depth examination of one specific philosopher, philosophic movement or problem. Determined by need and interest of student. Prerequisite: six hours in PHIL or consent of instructor. May be repeated.
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