Philosophy Courses, Majors, & Minor

Here is information from the DePauw Catalog: the requirements for majoring and minoring in philosophy, and the Catalog's descriptions of all DePauw philosophy courses. The Catalog course descriptions are general, allowing different instructors to teach the same course differently. For  instructors' more detailed descriptions of the courses we are offering now and next semester, see our Upcoming & Current Courses.

Requirements for a major

Philosophy

Philosophy bridged to another discipline

Requirements for a minor

Philosophy

Courses in Philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy

Selected problems of philosophy and some alternative solutions. Readings from contemporary and historical philosophers. Seniors admitted only by permission of instructor.

God, Evil and the Meaning of Life (formerly PHIL 106)

(formerly PHIL 106) Readings from philosophical, religious and literary authors on such questions as the meaning of God, arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, the meaning of human life, the relation of morality and religious belief. Open to first-year students and sophomores; open to others only by permission of instructor.

First-Year Seminar

A seminar focused on a theme in the study of philosophy. Open only to first-year students.

Topics

An introductory course to a systematic field of philosophy, history, philosophical movement, or set of philosophical problems. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

History of Philosophy: Chinese Philosophy (formerly PHIL 218)

Major philosophers and schools in Classical China. Readings are selected from the writings of Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Xunzi, Mozi, Zhuangzi, Hanfeizi. The main focus will be on Chinese philosophy, but some comparisons with Western thought will be made. Not open to first-year students.

History of Western Philosophy: Ancient (formerly PHIL 215)

Major philosophers and philosophical schools of western philosophy. The course covers the Pre-Socratics through Stoicism and Skepticism. Offered only fall semester.

History of Philosophy: Medieval (formerly PHIL 351)

This course examines the main figures and debates in Medieval Philosophy, beginning with St. Augustine of Hippo and concluding with Machiavelli. Some topics covered: the refutation of skepticism, what is truth, the City of God versus the City of Man, Natural Law, Just War and what constitutes good government. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim philosophical theories are featured. Counts toward European Studies Minor.

History of Western Philosophy: Early Modern

Major philosophers and philosophical schools of western philosophy. The course covers Descartes through Kant. Emphasis on epistemology and metaphysics. Offered only spring semester. Counts toward European Studies Minor.

Existentialism (formerly PHIL 219)

Introductory course in Existentialism. Major writers from both 19th and 20th centuries, including Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre and Camus. Issues to be discussed: the meaning of life, value of morality, absurdity of life, relation between being and nothingness. Counts toward European Studies Minor.

Ethical Theory (formerly PHIL 213)

Historical and contemporary answers to some of the main problems of ethics, including the standard of right and wrong, the criteria of goodness, the possibility of ethical knowledge and the place of reason in ethics.

Leadership and Responsibility (formerly PHIL 221)

Examines theoretical, practical and moral dimensions of leadership. Topics include the nature of leadership, the elements of effective leadership, the obligations and responsibilities of leaders and followers, the challenges of leadership in a diverse society. Particular attention given to key figures and events in the civil rights movement as a way of illustrating and illuminating concepts covered in the course.

Environmental Ethics (formerly PHIL 209)

An examination of the extent of, limits to, and grounds for individual and collective moral obligations with respect to the 'more-than-human world.' Discusses anthropocentric, zoocentric, biocentric and ecocentric value theories; ecofeminist, deep ecology, and environmental justice perspectives; and/or such topics as biodiversity, climate change, sustainable agriculture, and/or ethics of consumption. This course may include a community engagement/service learning project and required field trips.

Ethics and Business (formerly PHIL 207)

An examination of ethical questions relating to business activity. Topics include: economic justice, the moral responsibilities of corporations, rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, business and consumers, regulation of business.

Biomedical Ethics (formerly PHIL 208)

Perplexing moral issues arising in contemporary biomedical practice, research and medical care. Readings from a variety of sources.

Philosophy of Art (formerly PHIL 214)

Traditional and recent theories of art, the work of art, criticism, theories of taste and aesthetic quality and special problems concerning the individual arts.

Philosophy of Sex and Gender (formerly PHIL 211)

An introduction to the principal views in the history of philosophy on the issues concerning the status of women, relationship between the sexes, sexual attitudes and orientations. First part of the class: the foundations of the Conservative View and reactions against them. Second part of the class: some problem areas, such as the desire for pleasure, homosexuality in society, pornography and whether there are unconscious libidinal mechanisms directing our lives.

Logic (formerly PHIL 202)

A systematic study of reasoning with emphasis on questions of meaning and validity. Includes sentential logic, elementary quantification, a survey of fallacies and selected topics in inductive logic.

Cosmology [See also PHYS 203] (formerly PHIL 203)

An examination of fundamental questions about the origin, order and meaning of the universe from the perspective of physics, philosophy and other disciplines. Topics include: development of Western cosmology; physics and metaphysics of space and time; the Cosmological and Design arguments for the existence of God; the Anthropic Principle; life and consciousness.

Topics

An advanced course in a topics area, such as, metaethics, contemporary European philosophy, or Social-Political Philosophy. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

Classical Political Philosophy

With an emphasis on classic texts from writers such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, Locke, Mill and Marx, this course pursues fundamental questions in political philosophy. Why have government at all? What is the nature and extent of our obligation to obey government? What obligations does the government have toward us? What right do we have to disobey? Our first goal will be to understand our authors' answers to such questions, but our most important task will be the critical appraisal of their answers. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy of permission of instructor. Counts toward European Studies Minor.

Philosophy of Law (formerly PHIL 315)

An inquiry into topics, such as, the nature of law, the relation of law to morality, the notion of responsibility in the law, punishment and the import for law of liberty of expression. Readings from classical and recent philosophers of law.

Advanced Logic

Techniques of proof in sentential logic, predicate calculus and predicate calculus with identity. Introduction of metalogical issues of consistency, completeness and Godel incompleteness. Topics in philosophical logic such as modal, tense and epistemic logics. Prerequisite: PHIL 251 or permission of instructor.

Epistemology (formerly PHIL 311)

What is knowledge? Is it possible for humans to get it? If so, how? What is it for a belief to be justified? What is the relationship between knowledge and justification? In this course, we examine some of the main analyses of knowledge and some of the main criteria of justification and other related questions. Readings will include classic and contemporary sources. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

Metaphysics (formerly PHIL 312)

A philosophical study of the nature of reality, considering such problems as the theory of causes, the status of universals, freedom, mind-body, space and time, individuation. The course will consider both historical and contemporary sources. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

Philosophy of Science (formerly PHIL 305)

The nature, aims and methods of the natural and social sciences. The nature of scientific description, explanation and prediction. The role of theories, models and deduction in science. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy, or major in science or permission of instructor.

Philosophy of Language (formerly PHIL 317)

An inquiry into the nature and function of language, considering questions of reference, meaning, metaphor and the relationship of logic to thought. Although the course will focus primarily on issues raised by Frege and Wittgenstein and developed by contemporary analytic philosophers, discussions of language by non-analytic philosophers may also be considered. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

Philosophy of Religion (formerly PHIL 310)

An examination of philosophical issues related to religious belief. Typical topics include various puzzles relating to the divine attributes, arguments for and against God's existence and the contemporary debate between theism and naturalism. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

Death: Philosophical Approaches (formerly PHIL 313)

An examination of philosophical questions surrounding death. Topics include the rationality of fear of death, the possibility of the survival of death, the relation between mortality and the meaning of life and idea of a good death. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

Major Philosophers (formerly PHIL 430)

One or two philosophers, usually chosen from Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Leibniz, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Wittgenstein and Frege. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit with different topics. Counts toward European Studies Minor.

Philosophical Problems (formerly PHIL 433)

A study of one or more problems, such as universals, time, freedom, causation, happiness and necessary truth. Attention mainly to recent papers and books. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

Independent Study in Philosophy (formerly PHIL 490)

Directed studies in a selected field or fields of philosophy. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

Senior Seminar (formerly PHIL 470) (formerly PHIL 439)

This class is the capstone course for majors in philosophy. It covers a broad range of advanced topics in philosophy; typically three or four topics are covered during the semester. Topics may be treated historically or systematically. The students are responsible for presentations and discussions of the material. Several papers will be assigned. May not be taken pass/fail. Open only to seniors.

Senior Thesis (formerly PHIL 440)

This course provides an opportunity for outstanding philosophy majors to produce a substantial (normally 30+ pages in length) research paper on an important topic in philosophy. Students who are planning to do graduate work in philosophy are encouraged to take this course. Students must apply to the department for approval to undertake this project. Accepted students will be assigned a thesis advisor who will set the schedule for the completion of the paper. The course culminates with an oral defense of the completed paper. Prerequisites: Major in Philosophy, senior status, and departmental approval. May not be taken pass/fail.