Philosophy majors may not take any philosophy course for S/U credit without written permission from the department head.

USP Codes are listed in brackets by the 1991 USP code followed by the 2003 USP code (i.e. [M2<>QB]).

1000. Introduction to Philosophy. 3. [C1<>CH] Introduces critical thinking through a study of elementary logic, scientific method and philosophical problems of ethics, religion, epistemology and metaphysics.

1200. Intellectual Community in Philosophy. 3. [(none)<>I] Introduces students to philosophy and critical thinking through a study of philosophical problems of ethics, religion, knowledge and metaphysics. Includes a section on philosophical issues of diversity. Students may not have credit in both PHIL 1000 and 1200.

2100. The Greek Mind. 3. [C1<>CH] Part one of the history of philosophy sequence. The first great age of philosophy was in ancient Greece. Students read from ancient Greek poets, historians and medical writers, as well as philosophers. The course attempts to understand the Greek mind: what Greeks thought of persons, society and the universe. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or consent of instructor.

2200. Social and Political Philosophy. 3. [C1<>(none)] Critically or historically examines philosophical issues arising from the study of society and state. Topics may include the existence and nature of rights; the relation between law and morality; the obligation of citizens to their society; the nature of a just society; and theories of reward and punishment.

2300. Ethics in Practice. 1-3 (Max. 6). [C1<>CH] Alerts preprofessional students and other interested individuals to various ethical issues they will encounter and relevant professional work on those issues. Emphasis of the course concentrates one time on biomedical ethics, another on technology and engineering ethics, another on ethics in the professions.

2310. Philosophy of Religion. 3. [C1<>CH] Systematically examines philosophical questions, arguments and theories arising from study of religion. Topics may include: reason and religion; the existence and nature of God; the character of religious language; and attempts to determine the authenticity of religious experience. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy.

2330. Environmental Ethics. 3. [C1<>CH] Introduces students to ethical theory in environmental problem cases, and to philosophical issues in environmental philosophy. Ethical theories include natural law, utilitarianism, deontological and rights-based theories, relativism. Topics may include: conservation/preservation, resource management, pollution, overpopulation, factory farming, Leopold’s land ethic, deep ecology, holism, eco-feminism.

2345. Natural Resource Ethics. 3. [(none)<>CH, D] Introduces students to ethics in context of natural resource extraction, use, conservation, preservation, and distribution.  Ethical frameworks include teleological and deontological theories primarily applied to human needs and wants.  Concepts and applications of environmental justice are addressed, including private property, sustainability, and obligations to future generations.  Cross listed with RNEW 2345. Prerequisites:  none.

2420 [1100]. Critical Thinking. 3. [C1<>CH] Shows that argument is a skill of fundamental importance to any field of endeavor. Explains methods used in evaluating an argument. Introduces such topics as: patterns of reasoning, counterexamples, fallacies; inductive and deductive logic.

3000. Special Topics. 3 (Max. 9). [C1<>(none)] Provides undergraduates with the opportunity for in-depth discussion of seminal works in the history of philosophy or a problem in contemporary philosophy not offered in regular courses or independent study. Open to interested undergraduates from all majors. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or consent of instructor.

3100. History of Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant. 3. [C1<>(none)] Part two of the history of philosophy sequence. The second great age of philosophy absorbed the influence of the new science during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. People to be studied include: Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or consent of instructor.

3140. Philosophy of Science. 3. [C1<>(none)] Systematically examines philosophical problems about the nature of science, its methods of explanation, and the status of its laws and theories. Prerequisite: 6 hours of physical, biological or social science.

3150. Philosophy of Social Science. 3. [C1<>(none)] Systematically considers the nature, scope and methodology of social sciences. Topics may include the relation between social and natural sciences; the nature of observation and explanation in social sciences; and the role of value in social sciences. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or consent of instructor.

3220. Existentialism and Phenomenology. 3. [C1<>(none)] Examines fundamental perspectives of existentialist thought, beginning with its roots in Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Looks at a large variety of existentialist perspectives presented by Sartre, Heidegger, Buber, Jaspers and Camus. Considers the relation of Husserl's phenomenological method to existentialism. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or consent of instructor.

3250. Global Justice. 3. An examination of global justice, normative international relations, and international ethics, using the methodology and theories of analytical political philosophy. Possible topics include global economic justice and world poverty, human rights, humanitarian duties, intervention and sovereignty, cosmopolitanism, nationalism, patriotism, world hunger, and immigration. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or international studies.

3300. Ethical Theory. 3. [C1<>(none)] A philosophical investigation of such concepts as morality, obligation, goodness, freedom and responsibility, and of recurring types of ethical theory. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or consent of instructor.

3320. Eastern Thought. 3. [C1, G1<>(none)] Surveys some of the major concepts in Zen, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy.

3340 [2340]. Philosophy in Literature. 3 (Max 6). [C1<>(none)] Examines central themes in literary works with philosophical significance; studies related general issues. Authors studied may include Aristotle, Dostoievski, Kafka, ee cummings, Grass, Mann, Pound, Rilke, Camus, and Sartre. Issues include questions of interpretation, criticism, and translation, as well as the possibility of direct philosophical influence on authors. Cross listed with ENGL 3340. Prerequisites: one course in philosophy and one course in literature or criticism in the English department.

3350. History of Moral Philosophy. 3. [C1<>(none)] A historical and philosophical overview of ethical theory ranging from ancient Greek ethics to the present. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or consent of instructor.

3420. Symbolic Logic. 3. Studies both propositional and quantificational logic, concentrating on methods of proof. Takes up such topics as identity, singular terms, intuitive set theory, and translating English sentences into symbolic notation.  Prerequisites: 3 hours of philosophy.

3440. Philosophy of Mind. 3. [C1<>(none)] Considers topics in philosophy of mind, including mind-body problem, emotions, attitudes, perception and psychological explanation. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy.

3500. History of Science. 3. [C1, G1<>(none)] Historical and philosophical survey of the development of science from the ancient Greeks to the twentieth century. Prerequisites: 3 hours of laboratory science and 3 hours of philosophy.

3510. Introduction to Epistemology. 3. Systematic introduction to epistemology, the philosophical study of knowledge and justified belief. Aims to answer questions such as: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits? How we are to understand the concept of justification? Prerequisites: 3 hours of philosophy.

3560. Introduction to Metaphysics. 3. A systematic introduction to metaphysics, the branch of philosophy concerned with providing a comprehensive account of the most general features of reality as a whole. Of central importance is the study of ontology, which seeks to address the question of what general sorts of things exist: particulars, universals, propositions, numbers, minds. Prerequisites: 3 hours of philosophy.

4000. Philosophical Issues. 1-3 (Max. 6). Dual listed with PHIL 5000. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

4020. Plato. 3. Detailed examination of selected dialogues of Plato. Dual listed with PHIL 5020. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 2100.

4030. Aristotle. 3. Detailed examination of selected works of Aristotle. Dual listed with PHIL 5030. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 2100.

4040. Kant. 3. An examination of one or more aspects of the work of Immanuel Kant, conducted either from the perspective of the history of philosophy, or predominantly as a critical study. Dual listed with PHIL 5040. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 3100.

4110. Figures in Contemporary Philosophy. 3-6 (Max. 6). An advanced study of the work of one, or several related, contemporary philosophers. Dual listed with PHIL 5110. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 3100.

4120 [4100]. Philosophy and the 20th Century. 3. [W3<>(none)] Part three of the history of philosophy sequence. Covers the third great age of philosophy. Studies the main ways in which philosophy has been done since 1900. Topics normally include logic and philosophy, Wittgenstein, logical positivism and current trends. Dual listed with PHIL 5120. Prerequisites: PHIL 4120/5120, PHIL 4120; 12 hours of philosophy including either PHIL 2100 or 3100..

4140. Topics in Philosophy of Science. 3 (Max. 6). [W3<>(none)] Encompasses selected topics in philosophy of science. Prerequisite: 9 hours of philosophy, including PHIL 1000 and 3140; PHIL 2220 is recommended.

4190. Philosophy of Language. 3-6 (Max. 6). An advanced study of the work of one, or several related, contemporary philosophers. Dual listed with PHIL 5190. Prerequisites: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 4510 or 4560.

4215 [4200]. Topics in Social and Political Philosophy. 3 (Max. 6). [W3<>(none)] Advanced study of such topics as property rights; alternative theories of the state and other social organizations; and concepts of the nature of man. Topics might be approached either historically or analytically. Dual listed with PHIL 5215. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 3200.

4300. Topics in Ethics. 3-6 (Max. 6). An advanced investigation of selected topics in ethics. Examples include derivative and basic principles of obligation; justice; morality and utility; generalization of norms; and the relation of morality and law. Dual listed with PHIL 5300. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 3300 or 3350.

4340. Issues in Environmental Ethics. 3. Encompasses selected topics in environmental and natural resource ethics.  Dual listed with PHIL 5340. Prerequisites: PHIL 2330, 2340, 3300 or 3350.

4420. Advanced Logic. 3. Studies advanced topics in mathematical logic. Takes up such topics as: uninterpreted calculi and the distinctive contributions of syntax and semantics; methatheory, including completeness and consistency proofs; modal logic and semantics; logic as a philosophical tool. Cross listed with COSC/MATH 4420. Prerequisite: PHIL 3420 or equivalent.

4440. Topics in Philosophy of the Mind. 3-6 (Max. 6). An advanced study of problems in the philosophy of mind such as the concept of human action; intention, choice, reasons and causes in the explanation of human action, mental states and brain states, and artificial intelligence. Dual listed with PHIL 5440. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 3440.

4510. Theory of Knowledge. 3. [W3<>(none)] Studies such problems as knowledge and belief, skepticism, perception and knowledge, memory, truth and justification of induction. Dual listed with PHIL 5510. Prerequisite: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 3100 and 4100.

4560. Metaphysics. 3. [W3<>(none)] Examines approaches to metaphysics. Discusses problems such as causality, individuation and distinction between particulars and universals. Dual listed with PHIL 5560. Prerequisites: 12 hours of philosophy including PHIL 3100 and 4100.

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Last Change: 12/03/07