Philosophy (PHIL)
Courses
PHIL 1000 (3) Introduction to Philosophy
Discusses fundamental questions concerning human existence and the nature of reality. Questions may include: Does God exist? Am I the same person I was when I was born? Will I survive the death of my body? Do I have free will? How do I know whether the world around me really exists? What is knowledge? What is truth? What is morality, and how do I know what¿s right to do?
Additional Information: GT Pathways: GT-AH3 - Arts Hum: Ways of Thinking
Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1010 (3) Introduction to Western Philosophy: Ancient
Introduces major philosophical ideas originating in ancient Greece, including the concepts of eudaimonia (happiness), sophia (knowledge), philosophia, psychê (soul), aretê (virtue), erôs (love), and democracy, placing these in historical context and relating them to subsequent philosophical developments. Topics may include the nature of happiness; why philosophy and democracy flourished in ancient Greece; the ancient Greek origins of science; whether being a virtuous person makes you happier; and ancient Greek thinking about life, love, and death.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: CLAS 1030
Additional Information: GT Pathways: GT-AH3 - Arts Hum: Ways of Thinking
Arts Sci Core Curr: Historical Context
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1020 (3) Introduction to Western Philosophy: Modern
Introduces philosophy through core ideas of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, examining Enlightenment-era controversies such as: What are the foundations of scientific thinking? How does sense perception contribute to knowledge? How do we explain the movement of bodies in the natural world? What, if anything, is God¿s role in nature? How do societies form, and how should they be governed? Are human beings free? If so, how is human freedom compatible with political authority?
Additional Information: GT Pathways: GT-AH3 - Arts Hum: Ways of Thinking
Arts Sci Core Curr: Historical Context
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1030 (3) Introduction to Global Philosophy
Examines and compares different approaches to philosophy from across the globe, including Indian, Chinese, African, Islamic, Judaic, and European traditions. Topics may include: the nature of the self and reality, the foundations and limits of human knowledge, the role of the individual in the political community, the basic principles of ethics, and the meaning of life as a whole.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1040 (3) Introduction to African Philosophy
Introduces the philosophical ideas of several African ethnic groups and contemporary African philosophers, also exploring cross-cultural comparisons between African philosophy and the Western tradition, with special attention to historical context and the post-colonial condition. Topics may include both methodological differences between African and Western philosophy and fundamental philosophical questions concerning human existence, such as the nature and value of persons, knowledge, custom and morality, human rights, and meaning.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1100 (3) Ethics
Introduces students to moral philosophy by having them study and evaluate prominent moral theories and their application to a selection of real-world moral problems. Theories studied may include utilitarianism, rights theory, virtue ethics, social contract theory, divine command theory, cultural relativism, and natural law theory. Social problems covered may include abortion, world poverty, animal rights, reparations for slavery, gun rights, or similar such controversies.
Additional Information: GT Pathways: GT-AH3 - Arts Hum: Ways of Thinking
Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1160 (3) Introduction to Medical Ethics
Introduces students to moral dilemmas in medical practice, biomedical research, and health policy, placing them in the context of comprehensive ethical theories and core principles of bioethics. Topics may include: euthanasia; abortion; organ procurement; moral status; research on nonhuman animals; navigating cultural differences between patients and health professionals; and the fair distribution of healthcare resources; as well as the bioethical issues arising from technological advances in medicine, including genetic engineering, cloning, and assistive reproductive technologies.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1200 (3) Contemporary Social Problems
Examines competing positions in debates over a wide variety of controversial moral, social and political issues. Topics may include: abortion, world poverty, animal rights, immigration, physician-assisted suicide, freedom of religion, hate speech, cloning, income inequality, pornography, gun rights, racial profiling, capital punishment, overpopulation, prostitution, drug legalization, torture. Formerly titled 'Philosophy and Society.'
Additional Information: GT Pathways: GT-AH3 - Arts Hum: Ways of Thinking
Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Core Curr: United States Context
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
MAPS Course: Social Science
PHIL 1250 (3) Poverty, Power, and Patriotism: Issues of Global Justice
Explores justice (and injustice) in global and local contexts, introducing students to major traditions in political philosophy and core concepts like equality, liberty, reciprocity, and distributive justice. Specific topics may include: racism; sexism; reparations; colonialism; famine; immigration; patriotism; exploitation; labor justice; climate change; terrorism; and war. Relates political topics in U.S. society to their global context, challenging students to consider marginalization along axes of race, gender, and class across cultural boundaries.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
PHIL 1350 (3) Knowledge, Mind, and Reality
Introduces philosophy by exploring fundamental questions concerning the nature of reality and our knowledge. Possible questions include: Does God exist? Are you the same person you were when you were born? Does the past exist? Are we free to choose our actions? Is the mind something distinct from the body? Can a computer think? How can we know anything at all?
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1400 (3) Philosophy and the Sciences
Considers philosophical topics and concepts related to the natural sciences, such as the following: science and pseudo-science; scientific method; the nature of explanation, theory, confirmation, and falsification; the effect of science on basic concepts like mind, freedom, time, and causality; ethics of experimentation; and the relation of science to society.
Additional Information: GT Pathways: GT-AH3 - Arts Hum: Ways of Thinking
Arts Sci Core Curr: Natural Science Non-Sequence
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Natural Sciences
PHIL 1440 (3) Critical Thinking
Develops students' skills in evaluating arguments and other aspects of critical thinking, focusing on the ways people reason and attempt to justify their beliefs. Activities may include modeling arguments, detecting common fallacies, examining the use (and misuse) of scientific evidence, and learning the basics of symbolic logic. Formerly titled "Introductory Logic.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1500 (3) Reading, Writing and Reasoning
Teaches students how to write argumentative papers. Each seminar will focus narrowly on some controversial topic. For example, one seminar might focus on the existence of God, whereas another might question whether we have free will. In all cases, a significant portion of the course will be devoted to learning how to write cogent argumentative papers about controversial topics.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Written Communication
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Written Communication-Lower
PHIL 1600 (3) Philosophy and Religion
Philosophical introduction to some of the central concepts and beliefs of religious traditions, focusing particularly on the question of the existence of God and on the relation between religious beliefs and moral beliefs.
Additional Information: GT Pathways: GT-AH3 - Arts Hum: Ways of Thinking
Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Asia Content
PHIL 1700 (3) Philosophy and the Arts
Explores controversial questions in aesthetics (philosophy of art), such as: What counts as art? What makes art, music, or even the natural world beautiful? What¿s the proper way to appreciate beauty? Do some people have better taste in music or art than others? If so, what does ¿good taste¿ mean? Is pop music bad? What about cultural appropriation? Is it wrong when, e.g., white people perform music traditionally associated with black culture?
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1750 (3) Philosophy through Literature
Introduces philosophy through literature. Selected novels, plays, and short stories that exemplify traditional problems in philosophy are read and discussed.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 1800 (3) Open Topics/Philosophy
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 12.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2140 (3) Environmental Justice
Studies the intersection of environmental health and social justice, examining how political and economic institutions affect our planet and considering environmental problems in light of social problems that produce them. Topics may include sustainable development, climate justice, responsibility to future generations, global poverty, environmental racism, and the relation between economic systems (e.g., capitalism) and environmental concerns. Part philosophy, part policy, this class weaves together moral and factual issues, addressing fairness, rights, equality, and responsibility.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2150 (3) Ethics and Sex
Explores a variety of moral questions relating to sex and procreation. Topics may include arguments for and against the wrongness of masturbation, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, voyeurism, pornography, sadomasochism, prostitution, abortion, commercial surrogacy and cloning, as well as arguments addressing such additional subjects as what constitutes rape and whether procreation is morally obligatory, optional, or forbidden.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2160 (3) Ethics and Information Technology
Examines contemporary ethical issues concerning the use, misuse, and development of information technologies, with particular focus on the consequences such changes may have on the lives of individuals and on the shape of societies. Topics may include hacking and cyber crime; artificial intelligence; robotics and automation technologies, such as drones and self-driving cars; mass surveillance; use of personal information by corporate, law enforcement, and media interests; as well as gaming and virtual reality.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Social Sciences
PHIL 2170 (3) Ethics and Economics
Examines a variety of perspectives on problems at the intersection of ethics and economics, using both empirical data and moral reasoning to evaluate arguments concerning topics such as: government regulation of private industry, protectionist economic policies, fair work compensation, retirement benefits, and access to health care.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2200 (3) Major Social and Political Theories
Explores fundamental questions concerning the nature and legitimacy of major social and political institutions. Topics may include the nature of freedom; the meaning and value of democracy; competing conceptions of justice; the basis of political authority; civil disobedience; human dignity and individual rights; social conflict, tyranny, and war; just and unjust distributions of wealth; the relation between ethics and politics; the nature of political belief; and arguments for and against socialism, communism, libertarianism, and anarchism.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2220 (3) Philosophy and Law
Considers controversies about the law in general and the U.S. system in particular. Questions may include: What is law? What should the law prohibit (e.g., abortion, drug use, prostitution, cloning)? Is there a moral obligation to obey the law? Can civil disobedience be justified? How do we justify punishing those who break the law? Is capital punishment morally justifiable?
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: United States Context
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2240 (3) Philosophy and Sports
Introduces students to philosophical issues surrounding sport. Topics may include: paying college athletes, sex testing in sports, the use of performance enhancing drugs, sports and gambling, the nature and value of sports and sportsmanship, gender equity and sports, the ethics of strategic fouling, sports fandom, the coach-athlete relationship, athletes as role models, and the risk of extreme bodily harm.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Social Sciences
PHIL 2250 (3) Philosophy and Video Games
Introduces philosophical issues raised in and by video games. Students will discuss ethical, aesthetic, and/or metaphysical questions such as: Is it okay to engage in otherwise immoral behavior (like violence or murder) in video games? What do in-game choices say about you? What is the relationship between you and your avatar? Is gaming culture misogynistic? Are video games art? Is virtual reality ¿real¿? Is social media a kind of video game?
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2260 (3) Philosophy and Food
Introduces students to topics and issues connected to the nature of food. Helps students investigate questions about our food choices, production and distribution, as well as connection food bears to culture and identity. No previous experience in philosophy required or presupposed.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2270 (3) Philosophy and Race
Explores the historical relationship between western philosophy and race and investigates the ways in which philosophy can be used to address contemporary racial issues.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Human Diversity
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
PHIL 2290 (3) Philosophy and Gender
Analyzes critically the concepts of sex, gender, and their intersection with other aspects of identity, exploring how these impact the extent to which people face injustice because of their gender.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: WGST 2290
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Human Diversity
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
PHIL 2380 (3) Philosophy and Psychiatry
Introduces problems at the intersection of psychiatry and philosophy, combining philosophy¿s critical thinking tools with psychiatry¿s empirical grounding. Considers theoretical problems (What is mental disorder? Is there a boundary between normality and psychopathology at all? Is autism, e.g., a disorder?), as well as ethical problems (Is it permissible to administer psychiatric treatment against a patient¿s will? Is it permissible to amputate the limb of a patient with Body Integrity Dysphoria who strongly desires the amputation?).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2390 (3) Philosophy and Psychology
Interdisciplinary course on issues where philosophy and psychology meet. For example, topics such as selfhood, motivation, psychotherapy, freedom, and human behavior are examined. Selected readings in philosophy and psychology are required.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2440 (3) Symbolic Logic
Introduces students to sentential logic, the logic of quantification and some of the basic concepts and results of metalogic (interpretations, validity and soundness).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2490 (3) The Power of Words
Discusses philosophical problems about language and how our using it shapes the world. Topics may include: what language is, what we can do with words, how social norms affect meaning and communication, the relationship of language to features of the social world like race, gender, and ideology, the nature of speech acts, hate speech, propaganda, pejoratives, slurs, freedom of speech, humor, deception, translation, how language conveys thoughts, and how language shapes thought.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2710 (3) Philosophy and Film
Introduces students to issues in philosophy through film, including consideration of film itself as an artistic medium. Students will watch films and wrestle with the philosophical problems they present. Topics will vary according to film selection and may include: the distinction (if any) between high and low art; aspects of film production that support or create aesthetic value; and how (if at all) film can and should be used to foment socio-political change.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2750 (3) Philosophy and Science Fiction
Explores philosophical issues in science fiction literature and film. Topics may include time travel, artificial intelligence, free will, personal identity, and how scientific advances will change human life and society. Students may read science fiction stories and philosophical articles, and watch several movies.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2800 (3) Open Topics/Philosophy
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 12.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 2840 (1-3) Independent Study
Department-enforced prerequisite: 6 hours of philosophy course work (minimum grade D-).
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 8.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to Philosophy (PHIL) majors or minors with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors) only.
PHIL 3000 (3) History of Ancient Philosophy
Surveys developments in metaphysics, ethics, logic, and philosophy of mind from the Pre-Socratics through Hellenistic philosophy, focusing primarily on the arguments of the philosophers. Topics may include: Zeno¿s paradoxes of time and motion; Democritean atomism; Plato on knowledge, reality, ethics, and politics; Aristotle on logic and natural philosophy; Epicurus on pleasure and friendship; Epicurean atomism; the Stoics on materialism, determinism, and vagueness; and the coherence and practicality of global skepticism.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Historical Context
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3010 (3) History of Modern Philosophy
Introduces modern philosophy, focusing on the period from Descartes through Kant. In addition to careful analysis of philosophical arguments, attention is paid to the ways in which philosophers responded to and participated in major developments in the 17th and 18th century, such as the scientific revolution.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Historical Context
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3030 (3) Asian Philosophies
Explores various topics in Asian philosophy. Students will be exposed to and critically engage with a range of ethical, metaphysical, epistemological, and other philosophical issues in Chinese, Indian, and other Asian traditions, including discussion of how major Asian traditions relate to other approaches to philosophy. Specific topics and themes vary from term to term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3040 (3) African Philosophy: Personhood and Morality
Examines conceptions of personhood, humanity, and morality among several African ethnic groups (including the Akan and Nso), employing a comparative approach that challenges traditional Western philosophical presuppositions and builds sensitivity to unfamiliar conceptions of morality and politics. Gives special attention to the effects of history, geography, and the environment on different societies¿ ways of conceptualizing ethical questions. Topics include human rights; free will and responsibility; custom and morality; and methodological questions concerning cross-cultural comparisons.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of Philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
PHIL 3050 (3) Continental Philosophy
Considers texts, figures, and/or movements in Continental philosophy from the nineteenth century onwards. While diverse, Continental thought tends to involve radical reflection on the methodology of philosophy, challenging traditional conceptions of subjectivity and objectivity while contextualizing knowledge and rationality within the structures of human existence, history, and culture. Topics may be drawn from German idealism, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, existentialism, hermeneutics, poststructuralism, postmodernism, critical theory, Continental feminism, gender theory, queer theory, new materialism, and contemporary Marxist thought.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
PHIL 3100 (3) Ethical Theory
Examines important doctrines and arguments in various areas of theoretical ethics, such as the normative ethics of behavior, axiology, virtue theory, and metaethics.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3110 (3) Feminist Practical Ethics
Examines issues of public policy and personal ethics in light of the feminist commitment to gender justice. Readings for the course will present competing feminist points of view on topics such as: the environment, sex trafficking, immigration, abortion rights, the fashion and beauty industries, cosmetic surgery, food, and militarism. Contributes to an understanding of gender diversity from a U.S. perspective, fostering further insight into social, political, economic, and cross-cultural relations in America.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: WGST 3110
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite PHIL 2290 or WGST 2000 or WGST 2290.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-U.S. Perspective
PHIL 3140 (3) Environmental Ethics
Examines major traditions in moral philosophy to see what light they shed on value issues in environmental policy and the value presuppositions of the economic, ecological, and juridical approaches to the environment.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: ENVS 3140
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite PHIL 1100 or PHIL 1200 or PHIL 2200 or PHIL 3100 or PHIL 3200.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3160 (3) Bioethics
Analysis of ethical problems involved in such issues as abortion, euthanasia, organ transplants, eugenics, treatment of the patient as a person and the institutional nature of the health care delivery system.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3170 (3) Philosophy and Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
Examines the philosophy and ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), exploring existing machine learning algorithms, autonomous AI systems of the near future (e.g., self-driving cars, autonomous weapons), and advanced AI of the distant future (e.g., superintelligence, robot rights), with applications to medicine, criminal justice, social media, and warfare. Questions may include: Are machine learning systems biased? Who deserves blame when autonomous systems make mistakes? Will AI systems ever be conscious or deserve rights?
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3180 (3) Critical Thinking: Contemporary Topics
Looks at a selected topic such as nuclear disarmament, racial and sexual discrimination, animal rights, or abortion and euthanasia by examining issues through the lens of critical philosophical analysis. Reviews the reasoning behind espoused positions and the logical connections and argument forms they contain.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 12.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3190 (3) War and Morality
Focuses on moral issues raised by war. When, if ever, can war be morally justified? Are rules of war globally applicable, or are they affected by local religious and cultural frameworks? Are colonized nations bound by the same rules of war as their colonizer states? Are states ever obligated to intervene to stop massacres or genocides in other states?
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of PHIL coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3200 (3) Social and Political Philosophy
Introduces students to an in-depth examination and analysis of central operational ideas in social and political philosophy, such as power, freedom, equality, democracy, justice, rights, community, individuality, civil disobedience, and law. A thorough treatment of any of these ideas may call for some cross-cultural and/or comparative political and social analysis.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3260 (3) Philosophy and the International Order
Considers philosophical topics concerning the international economic, political and legal systems. Topics that may be considered include the nature of international law, war and peace, humanitarian intervention, international justice, world hunger and human rights.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
PHIL 3290 (3) War and Morality and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom
Explores normative theories of just war, political obligation, and collective self-determination, and select empirical studies of the causes and effects of violent revolutions. Designed primarily for PHIL, PSCI, IAFS, and PACS students, this interdisciplinary course involves an intensive two-week abroad study in Budapest, Hungary, where students will visit diverse historical sites that bear out normative and empirical lessons learned in the classroom about collective armed conflict and the enduring struggle for freedom.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite Three hours of PHIL coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3310 (3) Cognitive Science
Introduces cognitive science, drawing from psychology, philosophy, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and linguistics. Studies the linguistic relativity hypothesis, consciousness, categorization, linguistic rules, the mind-body problem, nature versus nurture, conceptual structure and metaphor, logic/problem solving and judgment. Emphasizes the nature, implications and limitations of the computational model of mind.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: LING 3005 and CSCI 3702 and PSYC 3005 and SLHS 3003 and CSPB 3702
Recommended: Prerequisites two of the following CSCI 1300 or LING 2000 or PHIL 2440 or PSYC 2145.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Natural Sciences
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Social Sciences
PHIL 3410 (3) History of Science: Ancients to Newton
Surveys the history of science up to Newton, tracing the emergence of scientific thinking from religious and philosophical roots in the Near East and Greece to its development in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, culminating with Newton and the seventeenth-century Scientific Revolution. Additional topics may include early discoveries concerning mathematics; technological advancement and its relation to the evolution of scientific theory; and cross-cultural comparisons of scientific and technological traditions (e.g., Chinese traditions).
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Historical Context
Arts Sci Core Curr: Natural Science Non-Sequence
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Natural Sciences
PHIL 3430 (3) History of Science: Newton to Einstein
Surveys the development of modern scientific thought, with an emphasis on the natural sciences, beginning with Newton and ending with the radical and controversial implications of relativity theory and quantum mechanics. Topics may include the rise of modern chemistry, Darwin¿s earth-shattering achievements in biology, the beginnings of the social sciences (and their relationship with the natural sciences), the rise of ecology and holistic science, and the philosophical interpretation of scientific method and explanation.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Historical Context
Arts Sci Core Curr: Natural Science Non-Sequence
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Natural Sciences
PHIL 3480 (3) Critical Thinking/Writing in Philosophy
Focuses upon the fundamental skills, methods, concepts and distinctions that are essential for the study of philosophy. Basic skills covered include the writing of philosophy papers, the reading of articles and the extraction and evaluation of arguments.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) Philosophy (PHIL) majors only (excluding minors).
Recommended: Prerequisites 6 hours of philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Written Communication
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Written Communication-Upper
PHIL 3600 (3) Philosophy of Religion
Explores fundamental questions concerning major world religions, especially the Abrahamic religions. Possible topics include: the divine attributes (Is perfect goodness compatible with the existence of hell? Can God be truly omnipotent?), the problem of evil, divine hiddenness and evidence of the existence of God, religious experience, the legitimacy of faith, the dilemma of freedom and divine foreknowledge, God and morality, tensions between religion and science, conceptions of the self in Abrahamic religions and in Buddhism.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Ideals and Values
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3700 (3) Aesthetic Theory
Introduces major theories of aesthetics and contemporary discussions of problems, such as the nature of art and the problem of evaluations in art.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3800 (3) Open Topics in Philosophy
See current departmental announcements for specific content. Department enforced prerequisite: 6 hours of philosophy course work.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 3840 (1-3) Independent Study
Department enforced prerequisite: Minimum of 6 completed hours of philosophy course work (minimum grade D-).
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 8.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Philosophy (PHIL) majors only.
PHIL 3930 (1-6) Internship in Applied Philosophy
Provides an academically supervised opportunity for junior and senior Philosophy students to work in public or private organizations to gain practical knowledge and experience, allowing students to apply philosophical theory to real-world problems while enriching their understanding of philosophy itself through its application. Requires the student to pursue an academic research project and compose an original research paper. Department consent required, as well as a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 9 hours philosophy course work.
PHIL 4010 (3) Single Philosopher
Discusses the work of a single historical figure in philosophy with the aim of reaching a broad and deep understanding of the philosopher's thought.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5010
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 12.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4020 (3) Topics in the History of Philosophy
Examines a specific philosophical problem over an extended historical period.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5020
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisites 12 hours of philosophy course work including PHIL 3000 and PHIL 3010.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4030 (3) Medieval Philosophy
Introduces philosophy from the late Roman era to the 14th century. Philosophers studied may include Augustine, Boethius, Aquinas, and Ockham. Topics range over religion, ethics, mind, and metaphysics.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4040 (3) Studies in 20th Century Philosophy
Studies two or three major philosophies prominent during the last century.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4070 (3) Existentialist Philosophy
Examines central figures and texts in the existential tradition, from Kierkegaard and Nietzsche to Heidegger and Sartre.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4110 (3) Contemporary Moral Theory
Provides an in-depth look at some recent work in moral theory, usually organized around a single topic. Topics vary from year to year. Previous topics include: consequentialism and its critics, virtue theory, deontological ethics, moral psychology, well-being, and metaethics.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5110
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Requires prerequisite or corequisite of PHIL 3100 (minimum grade D-). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors). Restricted to PHIL majors or PHIL minors.
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours of PHIL coursework (all minimum grade D-).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4120 (3) Philosophy and Animals
Examines the moral status of nonhuman animals, and its implications for the common use of animals as food and experimental subjects for humans.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5120
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisites PHIL 1100 or PHIL 1200 or PHIL 3100.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4150 (3) Topics in Applied Ethics
Discusses advanced work in applied normative philosophy. Topics vary from semester to semester and may focus on one or two specific areas (e.g., race, procreative ethics, military ethics, sports ethics) or take a broader approach that includes issues from across a wider range of subjects.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5150
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours of PHIL coursework.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4200 (3) Contemporary Political Philosophy
Provides a survey of recent approaches to political philosophy: liberalism (Rawls, Dworkin); libertarianism (Nozick); communitarianism (Sandel, Macintyre); feminism (Jaggar). Topics and readings vary with the instructor.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5200
Requisites: Requires prerequisite courses of PHIL 2200 or PHIL 3200 (all minimum grade D-). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours of philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4210 (3) Classical Greek Political Thought
Studies main representatives of political philosophy in antiquity (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero) and of the most important concepts and values of ancient political thought. No Greek or Latin required.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: CLAS 4041 and CLAS 5041 and HIST 4041
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4250 (3) Marxism
Examines the economic, political, and philosophical thought of Karl Marx, placing it in the context of his predecessors in the classical German tradition and his successors (and critics) in the twentieth century. Themes may include the development of historical materialism; Marx¿s analysis of estranged labor; the critique of utopian socialism; the categories of Marxist economic analysis; the relation between politics, philosophy, and economics; theories of labor, surplus value, and exploitation; and the fate of communism.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: GRMN 4251
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours of GRMN or PHIL course work or instructor consent.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Social Sciences
PHIL 4260 (3) Philosophy of Law
Considers philosophical topics concerning law and the U.S. legal system. Topics that may be considered include the nature of law, relations between law and morality, justifications of punishment, the moral duty to obey the law, and law and liberty.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5260
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4300 (3) Philosophy of Mind
Discusses topics in the philosophy of mind, including the mind-body problem, consciousness, intentionality, rationality, mental causation and the nature of mental states.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5300
Requisites: Requires prerequisite courses PHIL 2440 and PHIL 3010 and PHIL 3480 and PHIL 4340 (all minimum grade D-). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4340 (3) Epistemology
Studies some of the main topics of theory of knowledge, such as evidence, justification, prediction, explanation, skepticism, and concept acquisition.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: 5340
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Philosophy (PHIL) majors only.
Recommended: Prerequisites PHIL 3480 and 12 credit hours of philosophy including PHIL 2440 and PHIL 3010.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4360 (3) Metaphysics
Examines philosophical questions and debates about the general nature of reality. Specific topics may include: existence; identity; change; particulars and universals; parts and wholes; space and time; possibility and necessity; freedom and determinism; laws of nature; causation; and the posits of mathematical and physical theories.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5360
Requisites: Requires prerequisite courses PHIL 2440 and PHIL 3010 and PHIL 3480 (all minimum grade D-). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4370 (3) Free Will and Determinism
Explores the full range of questions relating to the problem of free will and determinism. Topics may include; the scientific evidence for determinism, hard versus soft determinism, arguments for and against the compatibility of free will and determinism, moral responsibility and the principle of alternate possibilities, hierarchical motivation, the deep self, reactive attitudes, the intelligibility question for libertarianism, divine foreknowledge.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5370
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4400 (3) Philosophy of Science
Advances students' knowledge of topics in philosophy of science and develops students' ability to think and write clearly about science. Topics may include scientific methodology; distinguishing science from pseudoscience; characterizing experimental and historical sciences; interpretations of special and general relativity; interpretations of quantum mechanics; the nature of biological species; approaches to defining life; criteria for identifying alien life; artificial intelligence; neuroscience and consciousness; fundamental physical properties and laws of nature; chance and probability; and causation.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5400
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work including PHIL 2440.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4440 (3) Topics in Logic
Provides for offering courses in a variety of topics in logic, including, but not limited to, mathematical logic, philosophical issues in logic, probability theory, decision theory, and inductive logic.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5440
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours PHIL coursework, including PHIL 2440.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4450 (3) History and Philosophy of Physics
Discusses the epistemic question of what characterizes good physics research as well as the metaphysical question of what our best physics research tells us about the world. Topics may include case studies of physics experiments, theory choice, and scientific methodology in physics, as well as foundational metaphysical questions in statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, special and general relativity, chance and probability, and the laws of nature.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5450 and PHYS 4450 and PHYS 5450
Requisites: Requires prerequisite course PHYS 1020 or PHYS 1120 or PHYS 2020 or PHIL 1400 or PHIL 2440 or PHIL 3410 or PHIL 3430 or PHIL 4400 (all minimum grade D-). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Natural Sciences
PHIL 4460 (3) Modal Logic
Introduces the most philosophically relevant kind of logic that builds on PHIL 2440. Modal logic is the logic of the concepts of necessity, possibility and contingency. A variety of systems of sentential modal logic will be covered, along with the standard system of first-order modal logic.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5460
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite PHIL 2440.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4470 (3) Probability and Rational Choice
Examines issues in four related areas: probability theory (e.g. the interpretation of probability, the raven paradox, and the principle of indifference), decision theory (e.g., the Newcomb problem, the toxin puzzle, and Pascal's wager), game theory (e.g., Prisoner's dilemma, tragedy of the commons, and Schelling points), and social choice theory (e.g., Arrow's theorem). Familiarity with symbolic logic is strongly recommended.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5470
Recommended: Prerequisite PHIL 2440 and 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4480 (3) Formal Methods in Philosophy
Introduces formal methods used in contemporary philosophy beyond classical first-order logic. Specific topics may vary. Examples: extensions of and alternatives to first-order logic (including propositional and quantified modal logic and higher-order and plural logic), alternatives to classical logic (including many-valued and intuitionistic systems), generalized and substitutional quantifiers, the lambda calculus, indicative and subjunctive conditionals, probability theory, inductive logic, and decision theory.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5480
Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of PHIL 2440 (minimum grade B). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4490 (3) Philosophy of Language
Examines the nature of language through topics such as truth, reference, meaning, and use, as well as the general relationships between language and action, cognition, logic, and reality.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5490
Requisites: Requires prerequisite course PHIL 2440 (minimum grade D-). Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4800 (3) Open Topics in Philosophy
See current departmental announcements for specific content.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 12.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4830 (3) Senior Seminar in Philosophy
Critical in-depth examination of a selected philosophical topic.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Philosophy (PHIL) majors only.
Recommended: Prerequisite 15 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
PHIL 4840 (1-3) Independent Study
Department enforced prerequisite: Minimum of 6 completed hours of philosophy course work (minimum grade D-).
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 8.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to Philosophy (PHIL) majors or minors with 87-180 credits (Seniors, Fifth Year Senior) only.
PHIL 4950 (3) Honors Thesis
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Recommended: Prerequisite 12 hours philosophy course work.
Additional Information: Arts Sciences Honors Course
PHIL 5010 (3) Single Philosopher
Discusses the work of a single historical figure in philosophy with the aim of reaching a broad and deep understanding of the philosopher's thought.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4010
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 12.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5020 (3) Topics in the History of Philosophy
Examines a specific philosophical problem over an extended historical period.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5030 (1) Greek Philosophical Texts
Selected readings in classical philosophy, in the original language, with a focus on achieving fluency in reading philosophical Greek.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 8.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Recommended: Prerequisite of GREK 1013 and GREK 1023 or the equivalent.
PHIL 5040 (1) Latin Philosophical Texts
Selected readings in classical and medieval philosophy, in the original language, with a focus on achieving fluency in reading philosophical Latin.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 8.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
PHIL 5100 (3) Values Proseminar
Covers seminal classic texts and/or fundamental topics in analytic ethics and social/political philosophy, including its history.
Requisites: Restricted to Philosophy graduate students only.
PHIL 5110 (3) Contemporary Moral Theory
Provides an in-depth look at some recent work in moral theory, usually organized around a single topic. Topics vary from year to year. Previous topics include: consequentialism and its critics, virtue theory, deontological ethics, moral psychology, well-being, and metaethics.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4110
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5120 (3) Philosophy and Animals
Examines the moral status of nonhuman animals, and its implications for the common use of animals as food and experimental subjects for humans.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 5120
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5150 (3) Topics in Applied Ethics
Discusses advanced work in applied normative philosophy. Topics vary from semester to semester and may focus on one or two specific areas (e.g., race, procreative ethics, military ethics, sports ethics) or take a broader approach that includes issues from across a wider range of subjects.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4150
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5200 (3) Contemporary Political Philosophy
Provides a survey of recent approaches to political philosophy: liberalism (Rawls, Dworkin); libertarianism (Nozick); communitarianism (Sandel, Macintyre); feminism (Jaggar). Topics and readings vary with the instructor.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4200
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5230 (3) Bioethics and Public Policy
Examines public policy implications of contemporary biological, genetic, biomedical, and behavioral science in light of ethics and human values. Considers theoretical and practical grounds for moral assessment of scientific research and possible applications of technology.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5240 (3) Seminar in Environmental Philosophy
Philosophical examination of several different approaches to environmental problems: economic, juridical, political and ecological. Discusses specific environmental problems, focusing on their moral dimensions, e.g., wilderness preservation, animal rights and land use and urban planning.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: ENVS 5240
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5260 (3) Philosophy of Law
Considers philosophical topics concerning law and the U.S. legal system. Topics that may be considered include the nature of law, relations between law and morality, justifications of punishment, the moral duty to obey the law, and law and liberty.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4260
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5290 (1-3) Topics in Values and Social Policy
Deals with topics in the area of philosophy and public policy and is often interdisciplinary in focus. Topics vary from one semester to another.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 7.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5300 (3) Philosophy of Mind
Discusses topics in the philosophy of mind, including the mind-body problem, consciousness, intentionality, rationality, mental causation, and the nature of mental states.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4300
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5340 (3) Epistemology
Studies some of the main topics of theory of knowledge, such as evidence, justification, prediction, explanation, skepticism, and concept acquisition.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4340
PHIL 5360 (3) Metaphysics
Traditional and contemporary theories of the basic categories of reality and the human relationship to it, including universals, substance, identity, change, mind and body, free will, and modality.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4360
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5370 (3) Free Will and Determinism
Explores the full range of questions relating to the problem of free will and determinism. Topics may include; the scientific evidence for determinism, hard versus soft determinism, arguments for and against the compatibility of free will and determinism, moral responsibility and the principle of alternate possibilities, hierarchical motivation, the deep self, reactive attitudes, the intelligibility question for libertarianism, divine foreknowledge.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4370
PHIL 5400 (3) Philosophy of Science
Advances students' knowledge of topics in philosophy of science and develops students' ability to think and write clearly about science. Topics may include scientific methodology; distinguishing science from pseudoscience; characterizing experimental and historical sciences; interpretations of special and general relativity; interpretations of quantum mechanics; the nature of biological species; approaches to defining life; criteria for identifying alien life; artificial intelligence; neuroscience and consciousness; fundamental physical properties and laws of nature; chance and probability; and causation.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4400
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5440 (3) Topics in Logic
Provides for offering courses in a variety of topics in logic, including, but not limited to, mathematical logic, philosophical issues in logic, probability theory, decision theory, and inductive logic.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4440
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5450 (3) History and Philosophy of Physics
Discusses the epistemic question of what characterizes good physics research as well as the metaphysical question of what our best physics research tells us about the world. Topics may include case studies of physics experiments, theory choice, and scientific methodology in physics, as well as foundational metaphysical questions in statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, special and general relativity, chance and probability, and the laws of nature.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4450 and PHYS 5450 and PHYS 5450
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5460 (3) Modal Logic
Introduces the most philosophically relevant kind of logic that builds on PHIL 2440. Modal logic is the logic of the concepts of necessity, possibility and contingency. A variety of systems of sentential modal logic will be covered, along with the standard system of first-order modal logic.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4460
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5470 (3) Probability and Rational Choice
Examines issues in four related areas: probability theory (e.g. the interpretation of probability, the raven paradox and the principle of indifference), decision theory (e.g., the Newcomb problem, the toxin puzzle and Pascal's wager), game theory (e.g., Prisoner's dilemma, tragedy of the commons and Schelling points) and social choice theory (e.g., Arrow's theorem). Familiarity with symbolic logic is strongly recommended.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4470
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5480 (3) Formal Methods in Philosophy
Introduces formal methods used in contemporary philosophy beyond classical first-order logic. Specific topics may vary. Examples: extensions of and alternatives to first-order logic (including propositional and quantified modal logic and higher-order and plural logic), alternatives to classical logic (including many-valued and intuitionistic systems), generalized and substitutional quantifiers, the lambda calculus, indicative and subjunctive conditionals, probability theory, inductive logic, and decision theory.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4480
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5490 (3) Philosophy of Language
Examines theories and problems regarding the nature of language and its relation to reality. Concepts discussed include sense, reference, conventions, intentions, and their relation to science and social life. Relevant literature includes readings in Frege, Russell, Quine, Putnam, Kripke, and Chomsky.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: PHIL 4490
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5550 (3) Metaphysics and Epistemology Proseminar
Covers seminal classic texts and/or fundamental topics in analytic metaphysics and epistemology.
Requisites: Restricted to Philosophy graduate students only.
PHIL 5600 (3) Philosophy of Religion
Studies topics falling under philosophy of religion, such as proofs for God's existence, religious language, mysticism, psychology of religion, modern theological movements, miracles, and study of individual theologians.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5700 (3) Aesthetics
Analyzes the principal topics of aesthetics, including such issues as formal structure of aesthetics, the nature of critical judgments, and the status of the work of art.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5800 (3) Open Topics in Philosophy
Variety of new courses at the 5000 level. See current departmental announcements for specific content.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5810 (1-3) Special Topics in Philosophy
Instructor meets regularly with three or more students to discuss special topics in philosophy.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 5840 (1-3) Graduate Independent Study
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6000 (3-4) Seminar in the History of Philosophy
Studies advanced topics in the history of philosophy. Content varies by semester, but may extend to any period in the history of philosophy, from the Presocratics into the modern era.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 12.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6100 (3) Seminar in Ethics
Intensive study of selected topics in ethical theory.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6200 (3) Seminar in Social and Political Philosophy
Provides an in-depth look at some particular topic in social and political philosophy, such as rights, political freedom, political obligation, or democracy.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6300 (3) Seminar in Philosophy of Mind
Intensive study of selected topics in philosophy of mind.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6310 (3) Issues and Methods in Cognitive Science
Interdisciplinary introduction to cognitive science, examining ideas from cognitive psychology, philosophy, education, and linguistics via computational modeling and psychological experimentation. Includes philosophy of mind; learning; categorization; vision and mental imagery; consciousness; problem solving; decision making, and game-theory; language processing; connectionism. No background in computer science will be presumed.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: CSCI 6402 and EDUC 6504 and LING 6200 and PSYC 6200 and SLHS 6402
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Recommended: Prerequisite at least one course at the 3000-level or higher in CSCI, LING, PHIL, or PSYC.
PHIL 6340 (3) Seminar in Epistemology
Intensive study of selected topics in epistemology.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6380 (3) Seminar in Metaphysics
Intensive study of selected topics in metaphysics.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6400 (3) Seminar in Philosophy of Science
Topics connected with development of nature of science: the structure of scientific theories, the testing of hypotheses, the theory of decisions in science and the basic conceptions and models of abstraction in the history of science.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6490 (3) Seminar in Philosophy of Language
Studies some of the main topics in the philosophy of language, such as meaning and theories of meaning, translation, speech acts, rules of language, reference, relevance of psycholinguistics, language and thought, and language and ontology.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 15.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 6940 (1) Master's Candidate for Degree
Registration intended for students preparing for a thesis defense, final examination, culminating activity, or completion of degree.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 7.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to Philosophy graduate students only.
PHIL 6950 (1-6) Master's Thesis
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 7.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to Philosophy graduate students only.
PHIL 7415 (2) Cognitive Science Research Practicum
Independent, interdisciplinary research project in cognitive science for graduate students pursuing a joint PhD in an approved core discipline and cognitive
Requisites: Requires prerequisite course CSCI 6402 or EDUC 6504 or LING 6200 or PHIL 6310 or PSYC 6200 (minimum grade D-).
PHIL 7425 (2) Cognitive Science Research Practicum 2
Independent, interdisciplinary research project in cognitive science for advanced graduate students pursuing a joint PhD in an approved core discipline and cognitive science. Research projects integrate at least two areas within the cognitive sciences: psychology, computer science, linguistics, education, philosophy. Students need commitments from two mentors for their project.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: CSCI 7422 and EDUC 6516 and LING 7425 and PSYC 7425 and SLHS 7428
Requisites: Requires prerequisite course CSCI 6402 or EDUC 6504 or LING 6200 or PHIL 6310 or PSYC 6200 (minimum grade D-).
Recommended: Prerequisite EDUC 6505 or PHIL 6310.
PHIL 7810 (1) Topics in Cognitive Science
Reading of interdisciplinary innovative theories and methodologies of cognitive science. Students participate in the ICS Distinguished Speakers series that hosts internationally recognized cognitive scientists who share and discuss their current research. Session discussions include analysis of leading edge and controversial new approaches in cognitive science.
Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: CSCI 7772 and EDUC 7775 and LING 7775 and PSYC 7775 and SLHS 7775
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 4.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
PHIL 8990 (1-10) Doctoral Dissertation
All doctoral students must register for not fewer than 30 hours of dissertation credit as part of the requirements for the degree. For a detailed discussion of doctoral dissertation credit, refer to the Graduate School section.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 30.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to Philosophy graduate students only.