PDF version of this chapterCourses of Instruction
Philosophy (PHIL)
The terms indicated are expected but are not guaranteed. For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.
101g Philosophical Foundations of Modern Western Culture (4) The influence on modern Western culture of philosophical thought about reality, knowledge and morality as developed by such philosophers as Descartes, Leibniz and Kant.
115g Ancient Greek Culture and Society (4) Focus on the literary achievement from the beginning of Greek literature to the fourth century with a special emphasis on the philosophers.
140g Contemporary Moral and Social Issues (4) Application of philosophical theories in ethics to problems such as racial and sexual discrimination, I.Q., and social justice, rights of animals, law and morality, and privacy. Concurrent enrollment: WRIT 140.
141g The Professions and the Public Interest in American Life (4) The study of the nature and role of professionals in life and society, forces that shape and direct them, foundations and applications of professional ethics. Concurrent enrollment: WRIT 140.
155g Modern Philosophy and the Meaning of Life (4) Modern philosophical treatments of the problem of the meaning or purpose of human life; special attention to Existentialism.
220g Science, Religion and the Making of the Modern Mind (4) Philosophical and religious implications of the scientific revolution of the 17th century and the Darwinian revolution in the 19th century.
225g Love and its Representations in Western Literature, Philosophy, and Film (4, FaSp) Key works that have shaped the European and American cultural inheritance, with a special focus on the nature of love (and marriage or domesticity).
242 Theories of Art (4) An introduction to general theories of art and to issues concerning particular arts such as literature and drama, photography and film, painting, architecture and music.
250ab Elementary Formal Logic (2-2, FaSp) Critical reasoning skills and their many everyday applications; theory of logically correct reasoning and its associated formal techniques.
262g Mind and Self: Modern Conceptions (4) Philosophical problems about the nature of mind associated with the rise of modern science; topics include the mind/body relation, personal identity, rationality and freedom.
300 Introduction to the Philosophical Classics (4) An examination of philosophical works which have had a profound impact on the nature of Western thought.
315 History of Western Philosophy: Ancient Period (4) Major figures in the history of Western philosophical thought from the pre-Socratics to the Hellenistic period; emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.
317 History of Western Philosophy: Medieval Period (4) Central themes in Jewish, Christian and Islamic philosophy from late antiquity through the scholastic period.
320 History of Western Philosophy: Modern Period (4) The development of philosophy from the 16th to the 19th centuries; emphasis on Continental Rationalism, British Empiricism, and the philosophy of Kant.
330 Theories of Law (4) Examination of some of the major classical and contemporary theories of the nature and functions of law and of its relation to morality.
335 Theoretical Models of Leadership (4, FaSp) Political philosophers and social theorists on leadership: political obligation; the art of government; leadership in civil society and counter-cultural dissent; models of cosmopolitan leadership.
337 History of Modern Political Philosophy (4) Analysis of some of the main political philosophies of the modern era; emphasis on the ethical and metaphysical foundations of political philosophy.
338 Political Economy and Social Issues (4, Sp) (Enroll in ECON 338)
340 Ethics (4) Leading approaches to moral thinking, such as theological ethics, egoism, utilitarianism, and the moral philosophies of Kant, Rawls, and others. (Duplicates credit in former PHIL 240.)
345 Greek Ethics (4) Examination of the progress of the ethical thought and legal and political institutions of ancient Greece with an emphasis on the Nichomachean Ethics of Aristotle.
347 Philosophy in Literature (4) Philosophical content in representative European and American literature; philosophical problems about literature such as the nature of truth and meaning in fiction.
350 Symbolic Logic (4, Fa) Introduction to formal logic through two formal systems: propositional calculus, quantification theory; consistency, completeness, other advanced topics. Especially for philosophy, mathematics, science, and engineering majors.
355 Existentialism (4) A critical survey of major 19th and 20th century existentialist writers, including Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Kafka, Nietzsche, Camus, and Sartre.
360 Epistemology and Metaphysics (4) Examination of problems in metaphysics and/or epistemology. Conducted at the intermediate level.
361 Philosophy of Religion (4) The existence of God; mysticism, miracles and the possibility of disembodied existence; the problem of evil; religion and morality; the meaning of religious language.
385 Science and Rationality (4) Examination of the rationality of the scientific enterprise, and of the relation between science and human values.
390 Special Problems (1-4) Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.
410 Early Greek Thought (4) A study of the Greek thinkers from Homer to the age of Socrates; emphasis on the pre-Socratic philosophers.
411 Plato (4) Detailed study of the evolution of Plato’s thought as revealed in selected dialogues.
415 Western Philosophy from Aristotle to St. Thomas (4) Intensive examination of select figures and problems in the history of philosophy in the late Greek and early Medieval period; emphasis on Aristotle and St. Thomas.
421 Continental Rationalism (4) Development of philosophy on the continent from the 17th to the 19th centuries; emphasis on the philosophical works of Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza.
422 British Empiricism (4) Development of philosophy in Great Britain from the 17th to the 19th centuries; emphasis on Locke, Berkeley, and Hume.
423 The Critical Philosophy of Kant (4) Intensive study of the philosophical works of Kant.
424 19th Century Philosophy (4) Leading figures and movements in 19th century philosophy; works of such philosophers as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Mill, Nietzsche, and Bradley.
425 American Philosophy (4) Leading figures and movements in American philosophy; works of such philosophers as Jonathan Edwards, Charles Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and C.I. Lewis.
426 20th Century European Philosophy (4) Main philosophers and movements from 1900, including the major developments within phenomenology and existentialism, the emergence of structuralism and hermeneutics.
427 20th Century Anglo-American Philosophy (4) Leading figures and movements in recent Anglo-American philosophy; Russell (logical atomism), Dewey and Lewis (pragmatism), Ayer and Carnap (positivism), Wittgenstein and Austin (linguistic analysis).
428 Anglo-American Philosophy since 1950 (4, FaSp) Covers the period starting with Ludwig Wittgenstein’s “Philosophical Investigations” and continuing through Saul Kripke’s “Naming and Necessity,” and beyond.
429 Oriental Philosophy (4) Selected readings from the major philosophical writers of India, China, and Japan.
430 Philosophy of Law (4) The nature of law, legal realism, legal positivism; concepts used in law, such as punishment, responsibility, insanity, negligence, strict liability; law and morality.
432 Philosophy of History (4) Western historical writing and thought; the nature of historical knowledge; historical explanation; history and values.
437 Social and Political Philosophy (4) The nature of man and society, the nature and justification of state and government, political rights and political obligation, justice and equality.
440 Contemporary Ethical Theory (4) Ethical theories in the 20th century; contemporary theories of value and obligation; metaethical theories; intuitionism, naturalism, and non-cognitivism; concepts of justice, human rights, and freedom.
442 History of Ethics to 1900 (4) An historical and critical study of the great moral philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, and the British moralists.
443 Value Theory (4) The evaluation of individual and social ends; consideration of such topics as values and rational choice, the good of a person, hedonism, welfare, ideals, and utopias.
445 Philosophy of the Arts (4) Principal theories of the nature of, and response to, art; examination of form and content in various arts; consideration of the role of criticism.
446 Aesthetics and the Film (4) Problems in the philosophy of art raised by film, such as the notion of “cinematic”; the nature of interpretation of films; criteria for evaluating films.
450 Intermediate Symbolic Logic (4, Sp) Review of propositional and quantificational logic; elementary set theory; alternative proof systems. Prerequisite: PHIL 350 or departmental approval.
455 Phenomenology and Existentialism (4, Irregular) Close study of major writings of Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre.
460 Metaphysics (4) Systematic introduction to basic concepts, including identity, difference, existence, individuals, substance, quality, and relation; emphasis on idealism, materialism, and the ontology of intentionality.
462 Philosophy of Mind (4) Philosophical analysis of concepts of mind and mental phenomena, such as emotion, intention, and sensation; consideration of the mind/body problem and contemporary responses to it.
463 Theories of Action (4) Systematic investigation of classical and contemporary theories of action and study of “action-concepts” central to recent developments in meta-ethics and metaphysics.
465 Philosophy of Language (4) The nature of communication, meaning, reference, truth, necessity, speech acts, convention, and language.
470 Theory of Knowledge (4) Discussion of the nature and scope of human knowledge; consideration of such concepts as meaning, evidence, perception, belief, and certainty.
473 Wittgenstein (4) A detailed study of the philosophical works of Ludwig Wittgenstein.
480 Philosophy of Mathematics (4) The nature of mathematical truth and the nature of mathematical entities.
485 Development of Physical Science (4) Concepts central in the advance of physical science such as the concepts of space, time, mass, force; philosophical problems concerning quantum mechanics.
486 Methodologies of the Sciences (4) Comparison of the methodologies of the natural, social, and/or behavioral sciences; consideration of such topics as the concept of scientific law, prediction, explanation, confirmation.
490x Directed Research (2-8, max 8) Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit. Prerequisite: departmental approval.
494 Senior Thesis (4) Independent studies for philosophy majors, and guidance in the preparation of the senior thesis for students who wish to graduate with honors in philosophy. Not open to graduate students.
499 Special Topics (2-4, max 8) Selected topics in various specialty areas within philosophy.
500 Introduction to Contemporary Philosophical Literature (4, Fa) Analysis of selected philosophical problems and theses of current interest; explication of major contemporary papers and/or books is emphasized.
501 Seminar in Recent Philosophy (4, max 16, Sp) Contemporary philosophical issues and literature.
505 Pro-Seminar in Central Topics in Contemporary Philosophy (4, Irregular) Key developments in central areas of philosophy are used to provide training in philosophical analysis, criticism, and the writing of precise philosophical prose.
515 Studies in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (4, max 16) Problems in research in selected portions of ancient and medieval philosophy.
520 Studies in Modern Philosophy (4, max 16) Problems in research in selected portions of modern philosophy.
525 Seminar in Phenomenology (4) The origin, principles, and development of the phenomenological movement from Brentano to Merleau-Ponty.
530 Seminar in Philosophy of Law (4) Theories of the nature of law; emphasis on recent writing; legal concepts such as rights, powers, liability, legal responsibility, law, and morality.
537 Seminar in Social and Political Philosophy (4, max 16) Advanced literature on selected topics in social and political philosophy, including the nature of law, man, and society; ideals such as justice and freedom.
540 Seminar in Ethics (4, max 16) Advanced topics and literature in ethical theory.
545 Seminar in Aesthetics (4) Advanced topics in the philosophy of the arts. Contemporary views on such problems as the nature of art and the role of criticism.
550 Advanced Topics in Formal Logic (4) Consistency and completeness of the predicate calculus; truth and validity; rudiments of model logic. Prerequisite: PHIL 450.
551 Seminar in the Philosophy of Logic (4) Advanced topics in logic and/or philosophy of logic.
560 Seminar in Metaphysics (4, max 16, Fa) Advanced topics in metaphysics.
565 Philosophy of Language (4, Irregular) Philosophical issues in the empirical study of language concerning the relationship between linguistic meaning and the use of sentences to assert and convey information.
570 Seminar in Epistemology (4, max 16) Advanced topics in epistemology.
585 Seminar in Philosophy of Science (4, max 16) Advanced topics in the philosophy of science.
590 Directed Research (1-12) Research leading to the master’s degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
594abz Master’s Thesis (2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.
599 Special Topics (2-4, max 8) Major trends of current thought; specific topics to be announced.
636 Seminar in Semantics (3, max 12) (Enroll in LING 636)
790 Research (1-12) Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
794abcdz Doctoral Dissertation (2-2-2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.