Philosophy Courses

3 Credits. Introduction to selected problems of enduring philosophical importance, including such topics as the nature of morality, knowledge, human freedom, and the existence of God. Content varies with different sections. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 205 and PHI 210. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Classroom and online sections offered every semester; at least one classroom section offered every summer.

3 Credits. An introduction to topics such as language, thought, knowledge, reason, truth, and reality through the study of problems, puzzles and paradoxes. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 205 and PHI 210. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered most semesters.

3 Credits. An analysis and evaluation of major issues in business ethics. Topics include the social responsibility of business; social justice and free enterprise; the rights and duties of employers, employees, manufacturers, and consumers; duties to the environment, the world’s poor, future generations, and the victims of past injustices; the moral status of the corporation; and the ethics of advertising. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Classroom and online sections offered every semester and every summer.

3 Credits. Philosophical analysis and theory applied to a broad range of contemporary moral issues, including euthanasia, suicide, capital punishment, abortion, war, famine relief, and environmental concerns. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Classroom and online sections offered every semester and every summer.

3 Credits. Application of theories of moral right to issues such as free speech and “information pollution”; privacy and security; and algorithmic fairness, inequality and transparency. Satisfies The GEP Humanities and Interdisciplinary Perspectives requirements. Classroom section offered Fall 2021; online section offered in Spring 2022.

3 Credits. Deductive arguments attempt to guarantee their conclusions. Inductive arguments attempt to make their conclusions more probable. Using a small number of simple, powerful logical techniques, this course teaches you how to find, analyze and evaluate deductive and inductive arguments, and thus how to avoid the most common errors in reasoning. Satisfies the GEP Mathematical Sciences requirement. Online section offered every semester.

3 Credits. Selected studies in philosophy that do not appear regularly in the curriculum. Topics will be announced for each semester in which the course is offered. A copy of any papers, with the instructor’s comments, will be kept in a department file to help with the evaluation of teaching and the curriculum. 

3 Credits. Western philosophy of the ancient world, with special emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every semester.

3 Credits. Western philosophy of the 17th and 18th centuries, including such philosophers as Descartes, Hobbes, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. [PHI 301 may, at the instructor’s discretion, limit its coverage to views and arguments representative of rationalism, empiricism and Kant, so long as students are provided at least brief acquaintance with the philosophers not given detailed consideration. [So, for example, the instructor might provide greater depth in the discussion of Descartes, Leibniz or Spinoza, Hume, perhaps Locke or Berkeley, and Kant (four or five philosophers in all), rather than surveying the usual seven philosophers.] Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every semester.

3 Credits. Western philosophy of the 19th century, including such philosophers as Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Marx and Nietzsche. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. The existence and nature of God, including such topics as traditional proofs of God, skeptical challenges to religious belief, miracles, the problem of evil, faith and reason, and religious experience. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered occasionally.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): One philosophy course. Philosophical study of important political ideas and values such as liberty, equality, justice, rights, and democracy. May include readings from classical and contemporary sources. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every spring.

3 Credits. Philosophy of Existentialism, including such thinkers as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Doestoevsky, Sartre, Heidegger, and Camus. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. Fundamental legal issues such as what constitutes a law or legal system. Justifications of legal inferences with individual liberty. Philosophical legal issues illustrated by specific legal cases. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered Spring 2022.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): PHI 375. Explores uses of the legal system, including such topics as the death penalty, plea bargaining, legalizing euthanasia, censorship, Good Samaritan laws, the insanity defense, civil disobedience, preferential treatment. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Typically offered in fall semester.

3 Credits. Black thought on central issues in political philosophy such as justice, equality and state authority. Readings will be selected from the works of several Black thinkers, including figures such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, Charles Mills and Angela Davis. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, US Diversity. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. Fundamental philosophical questions raised by the concept of race, such as whether race is a legitimate category for identifying human beings, and whether the category of race reinforces racism. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, US Diversity. Offered every spring.

3 Credits. Interdisciplinary examination and appraisal of emerging ethical and social issues resulting from recent advances in the biological and medical sciences. Abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, compromised infants, AIDS, reproductive technologies, and health care. Focus on factual details and value questions, fact-value questions, fact-value interplay, and questions of impact assessment and policy formation. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Classroom and online sections offered every semester; online section offered every summer.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): One course in philosophy. Problems of metaphysics, including such topics as: possibility and necessity, paradoxes of time travel, nature of space and time, free will and determinism, causation, mind-body problem and identity-over-time. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every spring.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): One course in philosophy. Introduction to traditional and modern accounts of the relations between language and reality, the nature of truth, problems of intentionality and propositional attitudes. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered Fall 2022.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): One course in philosophy or one course in psychology. Problems and controversies that overlap the boundary between philosophy and psychology: the mind/body problem, behaviorism vs. cognitivism, the prospects for artificial intelligence, and language and the questions of innate knowledge. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): One course in philosophy. Analysis of such central concepts as knowledge, belief, and truth, and the investigation of the principles by which claims to knowledge may be justified. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every spring. Spring 2022 Flyer

3 Credits. Nature of science highlighted by differences between science and pseudoscience, relationships between science and religion, and roles of purpose-directed (teleological) and causal explanation in physical, life and social sciences. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered every semester. Spring 2022 Flyer

3 credits. Introduction to principal theoretical, empirical and normative issues at the intersection of neuroscience and philosophy, including such issues as: consciousness, the mind’s “I” and the brain’s “I”; free will, moral responsibility and neuroscience; the ethics of personal enhancement; brains, human nature and personal identity; neuroscientifically informed evaluation of well-being. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Usually offered in spring semester.

3 Credits. Examination of traditional questions of philosophical ethics: What are the principles of moral conduct? What sort of life is worthy of a human being? Includes both classic and contemporary literature. [As a prerequisite for higher-level value theory courses, PHI 375 covers: utilitarianism (act and rule), ethical egoism, Kant’s moral theory and/or a rights-based moral theory, moral relativism, distributive justice and the differences among moral claims, empirical claims, moral principles and moral arguments.] Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every semester.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): One course in philosophy. Topics in the history of ethics. Philosophers to be studied may include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Butler, Hume, Kant, Sidgwick and Nietzsche. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): For 401, six credits in PHI; for 501, graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 401 and PHI 501. A text-based critical study of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason focusing on such topics as perception, judgment, knowledge, space, time, substance, causation, and reality. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered in Spring 2022. Spring 2022 Flyer

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): For 403, Junior standing or above; for 503, Graduate status. Key themes in continental European philosophy after 1900. Work studied will include selections from writings of authors in at least two major traditions, e.g., phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, and critical theory. Students may not receive credit for both PHI 403 and PHI 503. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Offered in Fall 2022.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): For 420, one course in PHI; for 520, graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 420 and PHI 520. The applications of the ideas of justice and right beyond and across the borders of individual nation states, attending to the facts of globalization and their consequences for political and economic justice and human rights. Topics: skepticism about global justice; transnational distributive justice, pollution, and poverty; national sovereignty, self-determination, and intervention; the ethics of war; international human rights; and global democracy. Satisfies the GEP Humanities requirement. Usually offered in spring semester of odd-numbered years.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): For 425, one upper-level course in either PHI, PSY, CSC or Linguistics; for 525, graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI/PSY 425 and PHI/PSY 525. Philosophical foundations and empirical fundamentals of cognitive science, an interdisciplinary approach to human cognition. Topics include: the computational model of mind, mental representation, cognitive architecture, the acquisition and use of language. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered every spring.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): For 440, one course in philosophy; for 540, graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 440 and PHI 540. Detailed examination of core issues in the philosophy of science: the confirmation of scientific theories, falsification, projectability, the nature of scientific explanation, laws of nature, and causation. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): For 447, one 300-level or higher course in philosophy, biology, psychology or anthropology, or permission of instructor; for 547, graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 447 and PHI 547. This course covers philosophical issues in the evolutionary study of human cognition: the role of adaptationism; the value of psychological vs. behavioral approaches; the phenotypic gambit; the evolution of morality and altruism; the nature of culture and the possibility of cultural evolution; innateness, genetic determinism and development; and case studies of evolutionary explanation of human behavior or psychology. Satisfies the following GEP requirements: Humanities, Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): For 475, PHI 375 or PHI 376; for 575, graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 475 and PHI 575. An introduction to some central themes and issues in ethical theory. Topics in normative and meta-ethics such as consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, constructivism, realism, relativism, subjectivism, and expressivism. Readings primarily from contemporary literature. Offered every spring. Spring 2022 Flyer

1 Credit. PREREQUISITE(S): One of PHI 250, LOG 201, 335 plus one other philosophy course; COREQUISITE(S): one of PHI 298, 302, 309, 310, 313, 319, 325, 375, 376, 403, 420, 475, or 498. (If PHI 298 or 498 is used, its topic must be in value theory.) Not available during summers. A substantial paper in ethics, assigned by the instructor of the corequisite. This must be an addition to work assigned for the corequisite. It is the student’s responsibility to secure the agreement of the corequisite instructor to supervise this work. Only tenured or tenure-track faculty may offer PHI 494. A copy of any papers, without the instructor’s comments, will be kept in a department file to help with the evaluation of teaching and the curriculum.

1 Credit. PREREQUISITE(S): One of PHI 250, LOG 201, 335 plus one other philosophy course; COREQUISITE(S): one of PHI 298, 300, 301, 302, 310, 401, 403, or 498. (If PHI 298 or 498 is used, its topic must be in history of philosophy.) Not available during summers. A substantial paper in history of philosophy, assigned by the instructor of the corequisite. This must be an addition to the work assigned for the corequisite. It is the student’s responsibility to secure the agreement of the corequisite instructor to supervise this work. Only tenured or tenure-track faculty may offer PHI 495. A copy of any papers, without the instructor’s comments, will be kept in a department file to help with the evaluation of teaching and the curriculum.

1 Credit. PREREQUISITE(S): One of PHI 250, LOG 201, 335 plus one other philosophy course; COREQUISITE(S): one of PHI 298, 305, 310, 320, 330, 331, 332, 333, 340, 347, 403, 425, 440, 447, 498. (If PHI 298 or 498 is used, its topic must be in contemporary philosophy.) Not available during summers. A substantial paper in contemporary philosophy, assigned by the instructor of the corequisite. This must be an addition to work assigned for the corequisite. It is the student’s responsibility to secure the agreement of the corequisite instructor to supervise this work. Only tenured or tenure-track faculty may offer PHI 496. A copy of any papers, without the instructor’s comments, will be kept in a department file to help with evaluation of teaching and the curriculum. 

1 Credit. PREREQUISITE(S): LOG 201 or 335, and one other philosophy course, not PHI 250; COREQUISITE(S): one of LOG 335, 435, PHI 298, 330, 331, 332, 333, 425, 440, 447, 498. (If PHI 298 or 498 is used, its topic must be in logic, representation and reasoning.) Not available during summers. Training in writing and research in logic, the representation of knowledge and belief, formal accounts of reasoning, and other uses of formal methods in philosophy. Topic chosen by instructor. Requires one substantial paper. This must be an addition to work assigned for the corequisite. It is the student’s responsibility to secure the agreement of the corequisite instructor to supervise this work. Only tenured or tenure-track faculty may offer PHI 497. A copy of any papers, without the instructor’s comments, will be kept in a department file to help with evaluation of teaching and the curriculum.

1-6 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Six credits in PHI. Detailed investigation of selected topics in philosophy. Topics determined by faculty members in consultation with head of the department. Course may be used for individualized study. A copy of any papers, without the instructor’s comments, will be kept in a department file to help with evaluation of teaching and the curriculum. 

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 401 and PHI 501. A text-based critical study of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason focusing on such topics as perception, judgment, knowledge, space, time, substance, causation, and reality. Offered in Spring 2022. Spring 2022 Flyer

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate status. Key themes in continental European philosophy after 1900. Work studied will include selections from writings of authors in at least two major traditions, e.g., phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, and critical theory. Students may not receive credit for both PHI 403 and PHI 503. Offered in Fall 2022.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 420 and PHI 520. The applications of the ideas of justice and right beyond and across the borders of individual nation-states, attending to the facts of globalization and their consequences for political and economic justice and human rights. Topics: skepticism about global justice; transnational distributive justice, pollution, and poverty; national sovereignty, self-determination, and intervention; the ethics of war; international human rights; and global democracy. Usually offered in spring semester of odd-numbered years.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate status or consent of instructor. Credit cannot be given for both PHI (PSY) 425 and PHI (PSY) 525. Philosophical foundations and empirical fundamentals of cognitive science, an interdisciplinary approach to human cognition. The computational model of mind, mental representation, cognitive architecture, the acquisition and use of language. Offered every spring.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 440 and PHI 540. Detailed examination of core issues in philosophy of science: confirmation of scientific theories, falsification, projectibility, nature of scientific explanation, laws of nature, and causation. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 447 and PHI 547. This course covers philosophical issues in the evolutionary study of human cognition: the role of adaptationism; the value of psychological vs. behavioral approaches; the phenotypic gambit; the evolution of morality and altruism; the nature of culture and the possibility of cultural evolution; innateness, genetic determinism and development; and case studies of evolutionary explanation of human behavior or psychology. Offered every fall.

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate status. Credit cannot be given for both PHI 475 and PHI 575. An introduction to some central themes and issues in ethical theory. Topics in normative and meta-ethics such as consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, constructivism, realism, relativism, subjectivism, and expressivism. Readings primarily from contemporary literature. Offered every spring. Spring 2022 Flyer

3 Credits. PREREQUISITE(S): Must have graduate standing. Detailed investigation of selected topics in philosophy under supervision of a faculty member.

1 Credit. PREREQUISITE(S): Graduate standing. Institutional rules guiding the responsible conduct of research (RCR) and their philosophical justification. Rudiments of moral reasoning and their application to RCR. Topics: plagiarism, falsification and fabrication of data, and ethics versus custom, law, science, and religion. Offered every semester.