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Philosophy
Philosophy is primarily something one does. At Sweet Briar, students are involved directly in the process of exploring and developing ideas in the context of an intense encounter with the faculty, other students, and the writings of those philosophers widely acknowledged to be profound, provocative, or both. The student will study philosophy by being a philosopher, and as such, will be engaged in a search for the definition, expansion, and deepening of her own world view.
The Philosophy Major
The Philosophy Minor
Course Descriptions
The Philosophy Major
(33 semester hours)
Required:
PHIL 119 (3) Logic
PHIL 315 (3) Roots of Western Thought
Senior Exercise:
PHIL 452 (3) Senior Seminar
Choose at least one of the following courses:
PHIL 115 (3) Fundamental Philosophical Questions
PHIL 129 (3) Introduction to Political Philosophy
Choose at least two the following courses:
PHIL 303 (3) War, Power, and Justice
PHIL 314 (3) Philosophy and the American Republic
PHIL 331 (3) Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
PHIL 342 (3) The Enlightenment and Its Critics
Choose 5 additional three-credit courses in philosophy or from the following:
CLAS 205 (3) Ancient Greece
CLAS 219 (3) Ancient Philosophers in Context
INTD 109 (3) The Religion of Socrates
RELG 263 (3) Asian Philosophies
RELG 302 (3) The Comparative Philosophy of Religion
The Philosophy Minor
(18 semester hours)
Required:
PHIL 119 (3) Logic
Choose at least one of the following courses:
PHIL 115 (3) Fundamental Philosophical Questions
PHIL 129 (3) Introduction to Political Philosophy
Choose at least two the following courses:
PHIL 303 (3) War, Power, and Justice
PHIL 314 (3) Philosophy and the American Republic
PHIL 315 (3) Roots of Western Thought
PHIL 331 (3) Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
PHIL 342 (3) The Enlightenment and Its Critics
Choose 2 additional three-credit courses in philosophy or from the following:
CLAS 205 (3) Ancient Greece
CLAS 219 (3) Ancient Philosophers in Context
INTD 109 (3) The Religion of Socrates
RELG 263 (3) Asian Philosophies
RELG 302 (3) The Comparative Philosophy of Religion
PHIL 115
Fundamental Philosophical Questions
CR:
3.0 An introduction to philosophy through a study of great works in the western philosophical tradition. Emphasis will be placed on the cultivation of a philosophical attitude and the development of the art of conceptual analysis and synthesis. V.1
PHIL 129
Introduction to Political Philosophy
An introduction to political philosophy and political theory. Possible figures to be covered include Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Smith, and Marx, as well as contemporary thinkers such as Jouvenel, Dahl, Arendt, Nussbaum, and Pitkin. May be counted as an auxiliary course toward the minor in gender studies. V.7
PHIL 209
Philosophy and Literature
An examination of the relationship between philosophy and literature, including reading classic and contemporary literary texts as philosophy and reading representative philosophical texts as literature. Commonalities and distinctions between these two modes of discourse, as well as their historical influence on one another, will be considered. Possible figures to be covered include Borges, Chesterton, Lessing, Voltaire, Montaigne, and Eliot. V.2
PHIL 231
Philosophy of Science
A study of the underlying theoretical foundations and assumptions of the institutions and practices of science. The course will take the form of a thematic and historical overview of various philosophies of science with an eye to better understand and discriminate about the science of our daily lives. Topics include questions regarding: scientific method, objectivity, truth, knowledge, substance, observation and perception, and reality. V.8a
PHIL 303
War, Power, and Justice
Prerequisite: PHIL 115 or PHIL 129. An examination of the ways in which various political philosophers have analyzed the themes of war, power, and justice. Possible figures to be covered include Aristotle, Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, as well as contemporary thinkers such as Morgenthau and Walzer. V.1, V.7
PHIL 314
Philosophy and the American Republic
Prerequisite: PHIL 115 or PHIL 129. An examination of the development of American political and philosophical thought from its origins in classical and modern philosophy to its 21st century guises. Possible figures to be covered include Locke, Montesquieu, Tocqueville, and various figures involved with the American Founding, as well as contemporary political theorists and philsophers such as Dworkin and Zuckert. V.1, V.7
PHIL 315
The Roots of Western Thought
Prerequisite: One PHIL course. An examination of fundamental figures in the western philosophical tradition, which begins in Greece. Possible figures to be covered include Homer, Plato, Xenophon, and Aristotle. V.1
PHIL 331
Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
Prerequisite: One PHIL course. An examination of key thinkers in medieval philosophy and theology - including Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosopers - as well as thinkers involved in the rise of humanism. Possible figures to be covered include Aquinas, Alfarabi, Averroes, Maimonides, Machiavelli, and Montaigne. V.1
PHIL 342
The Enlightenment and Its Critics
Prerequisite: One PHIL course. An examination of key assumptions of the Enlightenment, as well as various critiques of those assumptions. Possible figures to be covered include Descartes, Spinoza, Rousseau, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard. V.1
PHlL 119
Logic
CR:
3.0 An introduction to the basic rules of logic used to evaluate deductive and inductive arguments. Special emphasis on determining whether conclusions follow validly from given premises. Also an introduction to common logical fallacies. III.Q
PHlL 224
Ethics: Theories and Applications
CR:
3.0 A critical study of the relationship between ethical theories and current practices and issues. Applications studied will vary year to year, but may include topics such as euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, animal rights, and affirmative action. Possible figures to be covered include Aristotle, Mill, Kant, and Nietzsche. III.W, V.5
PHlL 236
Philosophy and the Arts
CR:
3.0 An examination of the nature and purpose of the arts with special attention to the visual arts, music and literature. Controversies about the roles of the artist and viewer, the status of the art object, the significance of context, and the relationship of the arts to ethics and societal development will be explored. No specialized knowledge of the arts is required. V.6a
PHlL 244
Special Topics in Philosophy
CR:
3.0 PHlL 261
Directed Study
CR:
3.0 Prerequisites: One PHIL course and permission of the instructor. The study of introductory level material by an individual student or by a small group of students under the immediate supervision of a faculty member.
PHlL 305
Special Topics in Philosophy
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: One PHIL course. A study of an advanced theme or topic in philosophy (e.g., phenomenology, contemporary epistemology) or of a historical period not typically covered by the department (e.g., Hellenistic philosophy, postmodernism). This course is intended for students with a background in philosophy and may be repeated for credit when the course content changes.
PHlL 361
Special Study
CR:
3.0 Prerequisites: 100-level PHIL course and permission of the instructor. The study of an intermediate level topic by an individual student or by a small group of students under the immediate supervision of a faculty member.
PHlL 377
Internship
CR:
3.0 Prerequisites: Three credits in PHIL and permission of instructor, department chair, and dean. This course is graded P/CR/NC only.
PHlL 452
Senior Seminar
CR:
3.0 Prerequisites: Senior standing and permission of instructor. This course is a capstone and a workshop intended for senior philosophy majors. Emphasis will be placed on the close reading of a single author's work and the development of oral and written arguments. III.O, III.W
PHlL 461
Independent Study
CR:
3.0 Prerequisites: One 100-level PHIL course, one 200-level PHIL course, and permission of the instructor. Pursuit of an upper level research project determined in advance by the student in consultation with a faculty member who will act as the sponsor.
