Philosophy Course Descriptions

An introduction to some of the major issues concerning fundamental problems of human existence, including an understanding of these core areas: logic, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. Students will learn to recognize and evaluate logical arguments in the texts of primary, central figures. Prerequisite or corequisite: EN 101 or HON 101. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-1. (3)

This course is a philosophical examination of our knowledge of the world and the ultimate nature of reality. Topics may include the difference between knowledge and mere opinion; what may be reasonably doubted and what can be known with certainty; the meaning of ‘existence,’ ‘being,’ ‘truth,’ and ‘reality’; conceptual relativity vs. absolutism about the ultimate nature of reality; the nature of and relationship between basic features of our world, such as space, time, mind and matter, causation, actuality, possibility, and necessity; why there is something rather than nothing; the nature of persons; free will; and the possibility of life after death. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Designation: PH-2. (3)

A philosophical study of the nature of science. Questions may include the following: What are scientific theories and scientific explanations? Does science have a distinctive method? Does the history of science demonstrate progress? How do cultural values and social and political factors influence the conduct of science? What do we mean by rationality, objectivity, truth, and bias in science? What is pseudo-science? What are scientific revolutions? Do different scientific fields provide us with separate kinds of knowledge, or can this knowledge be brought together into a single, coherent scientific view of the universe? Is science compatible with religion or is conflict between the two inevitable? Are scientists bound by ethical and social obligations above and beyond the pursuit of knowledge? Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Designation: PH-2. (3)

A systematic study of the formal nature of deduction. The course includes an introduction to quantification theory, relational propositions, set theory, and propositional calculus. Required for all philosophy majors. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-2. (3)

A philosophical inquiry into society and politics. Topics may include theories of justice, freedom and responsibility, political authority and the state, democracy and representative government, political and civil rights, civil disobedience, identity politics, and the morality of bonds between individuals, families, communities, and society. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

An exploration of our moral responsibilities concerning animals and the natural environment. The course covers philosophical theories of ethics and their application to topics in environmental ethics. Topics may include animal rights, anthropocentrism, conservation, deep ecology, and the value of nature. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

An examination of the ethical foundations of business and the role of ethical judgment in business decisions. The course covers philosophical theories of ethics and their application to business through case studies. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

An examination of the ethical foundations of business and the role of ethical judgment in business decisions. The course covers philosophical theories of ethics and their application to business through case studies. The course also includes a service learning component, which requires students to engage with a nonprofit organization, community-based service agency, or other type of organization for purposes of a community-based activity. Students will complete an assignment that reflects upon this service learning experience. Service Learning (SL) Designated Course: minimum 20 hours of service. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

A philosophical inquiry into law. Topics may include the justification of laws, the obligation to obey the law, the relationship between law and morality, natural law theory, liberty, justice, legal rights, and the justification of punishment. Students apply ethical and political theories to contemporary legal cases and interpretations of law. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

An investigation into the moral dimensions of human life. The course explores the specific theoretical issues that shape the formation of ethical systems. Students will examine foundations for objective moral standards and human rights. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

This course includes an overview of normative ethical theory and an examination of the guiding principles in biomedical ethics. Emphasis will be placed on critically assessing and evaluating issues in health care decision making, as well as other issues concerning the application of principles to practice in biomedical ethics, with the goal of helping students arrive at informed and considered positions on the topics covered. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

This course offers an examination of cybertechnology and the ethical, social, political, and legal issues that arise in relation to it. It includes an overview of philosophical theories of ethics. These theories are used as a framework to understand and critically assess a number of issues and cases relating to cybertechnology, including IT professional ethics, privacy, security, cybercrime, intellectual property, cyber commerce, free speech, the digital divide, democracy, work, online communities/social networks, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-E. (3)

Covers the span of philosophy in the Western tradition from the pre-Socratic (500 B.C.) to the Roman and Hellenistic philosophers (500 A.D.). Key issues in ethics, politics, natural philosophy, and metaphysics are explored principally through the writings of Plato and Aristotle as well as other figures in the Stoic and Epicurean traditions. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, PH-2. (3)

This course examines the philosophical and theological works of Muslim, Jewish, and/or Christian major medieval figures. Topics to be covered may include the relation between faith and reason, proofs for the existence of God, questions concerning the use of human language in speaking of the divine, the nature and origin of the universe, medieval theories of knowledge and science, questions concerning human freedom and divine foreknowledge, and medieval approaches to ethical and political issues. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, PH-2. (3)

In the 17th century, philosophy both contributed to and responded to the ‘scientific revolution.’ But how did it do so and why? How were traditional philosophical assumptions about objects, thoughts, minds, free will, and God reconstructed in response to the rise of modern science? The course will emphasize how new metaphysical and epistemological positions developed in their historical context and have influenced subsequent philosophers. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, PH-2. (3)

This course covers philosophy since Kant’s ‘Copernican Revolution’ at the end of the 18th century. Philosophical movements to be examined will include a selection from the following: idealism, pragmatism, phenomenology, post-structuralism, and analytic philosophy. Feminism and critical race theory may be included. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: DSINQ, PH-2. (3)

A philosophical examination of the place of mind in nature and in the world. Questions may include the following. What distinguishes mental phenomena from everything else? What does it mean to be conscious? What is an emotion? How do thoughts have meaning? Can we ever really know the mind of another person? Could a computer ever really think? Do animals have minds? The aim is to clarify what one is asking with such questions in order to begin to formulate answers. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-2, WI. (3)

This course describes and evaluates some of the major philosophical questions that arise in relation to the religious dimension of human existence. Topics to be explored may include the relation of philosophy to religious belief, proofs for the existence of God, the experience of the divine, the existence of miracles, the problem of evil, the relation of religious belief to moral judgment, and the possibility of immortality. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-2, WI. (3)

This course explores major themes and figures from two significant movements in 20th century philosophy: existentialism and phenomenology. The course may examine questions concerning the possibility of human freedom and authenticity, the structure and function of consciousness, the relationship between self and other, existentialist approaches toward ethical and political issues, the experiences of anxiety and absurdity, and the recognition of our mortality. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-2, WI. (3)

An introduction to some of the major issues concerning fundamental problems of human existence through the vehicle of fictive narrative philosophy. Students will learn how to present and evaluate claims in traditional logical form and in the guise of fictive narrative philosophy. Students will learn to recognize texts of central, primary figures. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-2, WI. (3)

Provides an opportunity for students to learn non-Western philosophies. Subjects vary among Chinese, Indian, Islamic, and Japanese philosophies, and the format ranges from comparative survey to contemporary issues. Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-2, WI. (3)

A philosophical inquiry about art and aesthetic value. Questions may include the following. What is art? Can we define art? How does a work of art represent something? Why are we interested in specific artistic media and genres? Are judgments about art merely expressions of taste? What is good and bad taste? Are there better and worse ways to experience art? How do works of art affect our emotions? What is the artist’s role in culture? Should art serve social, political, or moral purposes? Prerequisites: EN 102 and PH 100. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: PH-2, WI. (3)

Students may register for three to six credits in an internship with a research or service agency in the Washington metropolitan area. The intern will be monitored by a supervising faculty member and a representative of the cooperating agency. Prerequisites: senior status and a GPA of 2.0 in major courses. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: EXP. (3-6)

An investigation of a selected topic in the emphasis discipline. The project is intended to demonstrate ability to conduct independent research and present the results in writing of commendable quality. Prerequisites: faculty and dean approval. (3)

The focus of the senior seminar is the student research paper that demonstrates skill in researching and writing on topics in philosophy or religion. This course may be offered as a Writing Intensive (WI) course in select semesters. Students should check the section designation and title prior to enrollment. Prerequisite: senior status. (3)