Courses
Philosophy
The major in Philosophy serves three purposes: it encourages clear, logical, and independent thinking; it affords the chance to explore problems and ideas about self, society, knowledge, and value that have intrinsic interest and are germane to other disciplines; when taken in conjunction with appropriate courses in other disciplines, it prepares students for professional fields, such as law, medicine, business, journalism, and government.
Philosophy Program Outcomes
Students completing the philosophy major will be able to:
1. Identify, explain, and evaluate philosophical arguments.
2. Present cogent arguments of their own, both orally and in writing, using relevant research.
3. Demonstrate understanding of some of the problems, questions, and schools of thought in philosophy's main areas: metaphysics, epistemology, history of philosophy, and ethics/value theory.
4. Engage in informed reflection about moral values and judgments.
5. Apply the above abilities to their lives and the times in which they live.
Requirements for a major
Total Courses Required
Nine
Core Courses
- Any two from PHIL 212, PHIL 213 and PHIL 216
- PHIL 251
- PHIL 490
Other Required Courses
One course from the following: Value Courses, from PHIL 230 to 242, PHIL 340, or a topics course (PHIL 209 or 309) in moral philosophy or in the philosophy of art and aesthetics.
Number 300 & 400 Level Courses
Four, including either PHIL 419 or 469
Senior Requirement & Capstone Experience
The senior requirement consists of the completion of PHIL 490, the capstone course for majors in philosophy. This course covers a broad range of advanced topics in philosophy; typically three or four topics are covered during the semester. This course places a particular emphasis on original thought; students are expected to frame philosophical problems for themselves and conduct independent research.
Writing in the major
Clear thought is essential for doing philosophy well. Clear writing and clear thinking are inextricably linked; therefore, clear writing is essential for doing philosophy well. Central to good philosophical writing are the capacities to (1) express the views of others accurately and charitably, (2) develop one's own criticisms of others' views, (3) creatively develop one¿s own views, and (4) anticipate and respond to objections to one's own views. Accordingly, our courses are designed to inculcate these abilities in our students. In most upper-level philosophy courses, students are required to complete at least one substantial writing assignment that involves submitting an initial draft, receiving feedback on that draft, and submitting a final draft revised in light of that feedback.
To satisfy the writing in the major requirement for philosophy, a student must achieve a grade of C (not including C-) or higher on the final drafts of three appropriate writing assignments from 300- or higher-level philosophy courses, and submit those final papers to his or her major advisor. Not all three papers may have been assigned by the same professor. Professors for upper-level philosophy courses will identify writing assignments that are suitable for this requirement.
Total Courses Required
Ten to Twelve
Core Courses
PHIL 470 or PHIL 491
Other Required Courses
Five additional courses in philosophy (three at the 300 or above). Three to six courses in the other disciplines (two to three at the 200-level or above and one to two at the 300-level or above)
Number 300 & 400 Level Courses
Five
Senior Requirement & Capstone Experience
In the senior year, bridge majors complete either PHIL 470 or PHIL 491. In either case, bridge majors write a substantial paper that deals with material at the intersection of philosophy and the other disciplines.
Additional Information
The department can provide students with samples of pre-approved bridge majors, including a bridge major in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and a bridge major in Philosophy, Law, and Public Policy. Students designing their own bridge major must submit a plan no later than fall break of the third year. This plan must include a description of the philosophical problem(s) at the intersection of philosophy and the other discipline(s) that the student wishes to explore, as well as courses that will constitute the bridge major. The plan should designate one course from the student's list of courses that will constitute the bridge major as the "bridge course." This plan is to be submitted to the major advisor and must be approved by the department and filed with the registrar's office. The department's decision about whether to approve the plan will be based on the coherence of the plan as well as the department's assessment of the student's ability to carry out the independent research required to complete the proposed plan.
Please note that all students seeking a bridge major must secure agreement from a philosophy department faculty member to oversee PHIL 470 or 491 in the student's senior year.
Recent changes in the
Number of courses changed from 10 to 10-12 and the courses outside of Philosophy may be from multiple disciplines. Effective Jan. 1, 2017.
Courses in Philosophy
Course Description
Participation in Ethics Bowl or Bioethics Bowl competitions.
Credits
0 Course Credit
Course Description
Selected problems of philosophy and some alternative solutions. Readings from contemporary and historical philosophers. Seniors admitted only by permission of instructor.
Distribution Area
Arts and Humanities
Credits
1 course
Course Description
An on-campus course offered during the Winter or May term. May be offered for .5 course credits or as a co-curricular (0 credit). Counts toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement.
Credits
Variable
Course Description
A seminar focused on a theme in the study of philosophy. Open only to first-year students.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Major philosophers and philosophical schools of western philosophy. The course covers the Pre-Socratics through Stoicism and Skepticism. Offered only fall semester.
Distribution Area
Arts and Humanities
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Major philosophers and philosophical schools of western philosophy. The course covers Descartes through Kant. Emphasis on epistemology and metaphysics. Offered only spring semester.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Distribution Area
Arts and Humanities
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Distribution Area
Arts and Humanities
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Distribution Area
Arts and Humanities
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Perplexing moral issues arising in contemporary biomedical practice, research and medical care. Readings from a variety of sources.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Traditional and recent theories of art, the work of art, criticism, theories of taste and aesthetic quality and special problems concerning the individual arts.
Distribution Area
Arts and Humanities
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Distribution Area
Science and Mathematics
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
One course in philosophy or permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite: one course in philosophy of permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
PHIL 251 or permission of instructor.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
One course in philosophy or permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
One course in philosophy or permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
One course in philosophy, or major in science, or permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
One course in philosophy or permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
Two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
Two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor
Credits
1 course
Course Description
Directed studies in a selected field or fields of philosophy. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Credits
1/4-1/2-1 course
Course Description
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.
Credits
1 course
Course Description
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.
Prerequisites
Major in Philosophy, senior status, and departmental approval
Credits
1 course