Courses

PHIL 115 (3): Fundamental Philosophical Questions

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.  III.O, V.1.

PHIL 129 (3): 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 adjunct course toward

the minor in gender studies. V.7.

PHIL 224 (3):  Ethics: Theories and Applications

A critical study of the relationship between ethical

theories and current practices and issues. 

Applications studied will vary from 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.

PHIL 236 (3): Philosophy and the Arts

An examination of the nature and purpose of

the arts with special attention to the visual arts,

music and literature.  Controversies about the

role of the artist and viewer, the status of the art

object, the significance of context, and the

relationship of arts to ethics and societal

development will be explored.  No specialized

knowledge of the arts is required.  V.6a.

PHIL 244 (3): Special Topics in Philosophy

A study of some significant topic in philosophy

(e.g., philosophy of mind, philosophy and film).

This course is suitable for students with no

background in philosophy and may be repeated

for credit when the course content changes.

PHIL 261 (1, 2, or 3): Directed Study

Prerequisites: One course in philosophy 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.

PHIL 209 (3): 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 (3): 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 305 (3): Special Topics in Philosophy

Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or the

permission of the instructor. 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.

PHIL 315 (3): The Roots of Western Thought

Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or the

permission of the instructor. 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 (3): Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy

Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or the

permission of the instructor. An examination of key

thinkers in medieval philosophy and theology—including

Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosophers—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 (3): The Enlightenment and Its Critics

Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or the

permission of the instructor. 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.

PHIL 303 (3): War, Power, and Justice

Prerequisite: PHIL 115 (Fundamental Philosophical

Questions) or PHIL 129 (Introduction to Political

Philosophy) or the permission of the instructor.

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 (3): Philosophy and the American Republic

Prerequisite: PHIL 115 (Fundamental Philosophical

Questions) or PHIL 129 (Introduction to Political

Philosophy) or the permission of the instructor.

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 philosophers such as Dworkin

and Zuckert. V.1, V.7.

PHIL 361 (1, 2, or 3): Special Study

Prerequisites: Two courses in philosophy 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.

PHIL 377 (1, 2, or 3): Internship

Prerequisites:  Three credits in philosophy and

permission of the instructor, department chair,

and dean. This course is graded P/CR/NC only.

PHIL 452 (3): Senior Seminar

Prerequisites:  Senior standing and permission

of the 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.

PHIL 461 (1, 2, or 3): Independent Study

Prerequisites:  Three courses in philosophy and

permission of the instructor. The study of an advanced

level topic by an individual student or by a small group

of students under the immediate supervision of a

faculty member.