Philosophy (PHIL)

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[1] Courses in Philosophy (PHIL)

1301 PHILOSOPHY FOR LIVING A UCA Core course satisfying three hours of the Inquiry and Analysis requirement as a humanities elective. Develops basic skills in critical thinking, emphasizing clarification of personal values, major views of human nature, and issues in philosophical thought. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [ACTS: PHIL1103]

1330 WORLD PHILOSOPHIES A UCA Core elective satisfying the diversity in world cultures requirement. Develops basic skills in critical thinking, emphasizing the global nature of philosophizing and the clarification of personal and social values through cross-cultural understanding. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

1373 FYS: HUMANITIES The FYS (first-year seminar) in Humanities provides a small-classroom environment for students designed to promote community, develop skills necessary for success, and reinforce the importance of written and oral communication. Topics will vary depending on instructor.

1375 FYS: DIVERSITY IN WORLD CULTURES This course provides a small classroom environment for students designed to promote community and an awareness of diversity of human experiences and to reinforce the importance of critical reasoning and of verbal and written communication.

2305 CRITICAL THINKING A UCA Core course satisfying three hours of the Inquiry and Analysis requirement as a humanities elective. Designed to improve a person’s ability to reason clearly and correctly and to make rational decisions based on understanding decision strategies, knowing how to use information, and being able to avoid erroneous thinking. Combines lecture, discussion, and critical writing methods. [ACTS: PHIL1003]

2325 EVERYDAY ETHICS An introduction to ethical thinking and responsible citizenship, focusing on discussion of issues and events that confront us in a rapidly changing world. Topics include the ethical challenges of new technology, ethical issues in medicine or business, the ethical evaluation of public policy, and environmental ethics. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

2360 GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS: PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES A UCA Core elective satisfying the responsible living requirement. An introduction to philosophical issues concerning gender, race, and class with an emphasis on how these issues affect our identities and ways of living with others. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

3300 GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY A course in the Historical Traditions in Philosophy category. Recommended for all majors and minors in philosophy, but students from other disciplines are welcomed. Studies major philosophical figures and movements from early Greek philosophy through to the Roman Empire, including Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and the Stoic philosophers Seneca and Epictetus. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: C, I]

3301 MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN AND ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY A course in the Historical Traditions in Philosophy category; an elective for majors and minors in philosophy and religious studies. Major thinkers and issues from the medieval period. Emphasis on Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Scotus, and Ockham. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

3302 SEVENTEENTH- AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHY A course in the Historical Traditions in Philosophy category. Recommended for majors but open to any student with interest in modern philosophy. Encouraged as an elective for minors in philosophy. Major philosophical figures from the Renaissance through Kant. Emphasis on Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

3303 NINETEENTH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHY A course in the Historical Traditions in Philosophy category; may fulfill a requirement or an elective for majors and minors in philosophy and religious studies. Major issues and philosophers in the nineteenth century, including Hegel, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Comte, Mach, Schopenhauer, and Mill. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

3304 AMERICAN PRAGMATISM A course in the Historical Traditions in Philosophy category; may fulfill a requirement or an elective for majors and minors in philosophy. The study of the major American philosophers and movements from colonial times to the present with emphasis on pragmatism. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

3310 SYMBOLIC LOGIC May serve as a required course in the Logic, Science, and Language category or as an elective course for majors and minors in philosophy, but open to all students with interest in formal logic systems. Course topics include translation of English sentences into logic, construction of truth tables to test for logical properties, and natural derivations (proofs) in both propositional and predicate logic. May include a brief introduction to set theory and modal logic. Combines lecture method with problem-solving activities. [UD UCA Core: I]

3320 ETHICS A fundamental course in the Ethics and Values category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for all majors and minors in philosophy. Fundamental ethical theories in the history of philosophy including those of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Mill. Contemporary moral theories also will be studied. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: I, R]

3325 LEGAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY A fundamental course in the Ethics and Values category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for all majors and minors in philosophy. Either a survey of selected major political theories from Plato to Marx or a careful examination of historical and contemporary discussions of a basic topic like justice, rights, or political authority. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: I, R]

3331 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION A course in the Ethics and Values category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for all majors and minors in philosophy and may serve as a requirement or elective for students in religious studies but open to any student with interest in the topic. Nature of religious experiences, faith, and reason, the theistic arguments, the problem of evil, immortality, and problems of religious language. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: I]

3340 CRITICAL THEORIES OF RACE A course in the Ethics and Values category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for all majors and minors in philosophy and African/African-American Studies. Attempts to understand the history, significance, and value of the African American experience. Key issues include identity, alienation, justice and racism. Combines lecture and discussion. [UD UCA Core: D, R]

3341 THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE May serve as a required course in the Logic, Science, and Language category or as an elective course for majors and minors in philosophy, but open to all students with interest. This course explores foundational questions about knowledge and related topics such as belief, truth, evidence, rationality, skepticism, ignorance, credibility, and expertise. Focuses on contemporary theories, including social influences on knowledge-production and knowledge-sharing. Combines lecture and discussion methods.

3343 PHILOSOPHY OF SEX AND LOVE A course in the Ethics and Values category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for all majors and minors in philosophy, for gender studies minors and other interested students. This course focuses on a number of philosophical treatises on the subjects of sex, love, and the relationship between the two. Combines lectures and discussions.

3345 FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY A course in the Historical Traditions in Philosophy category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for majors and minors in philosophy, as well as gender studies minors and other interested students. An examination of the relationships between feminism and philosophy. The course will compare and contrast different types of feminist theory, e.g., liberal, existentialist, radical, socialist, psychoanalytic, and multicultural feminism. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: D, R]

3352 ASIAN PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION A course in the Historical Traditions in Philosophy category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for majors and minors in philosophy and religious studies and a required core course for the Asian studies minor. Major religions and philosophical ideas of Asia with emphasis on Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: D, C]

3360 PHILOSOPHY OF THE ARTS A course in the Ethics and Values category; may fulfill a requirement or elective for all majors and minors in philosophy but open to all students interested in the arts. A study of the nature and purpose of the arts and of the experience of meaning and value through artistic creation and appreciation. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: C]

3370 THEORIES OF REALITY May serve as a required course in the Logic, Science, and Language category or as an elective course for majors and minors in philosophy, but open to all students with interest. This course is a survey of fundamental philosophical issues concerning our understanding of the nature of reality. Specific topics may include the appearance / reality distinction, truth and objectivity, God, time, causality, physicality, consciousness, free will, personal identity, death, and the nature of human social constructs. Lecture and discussion format.

3375 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND May serve as a required course in the Logic, Science, and Language course or an elective course for majors or minors in philosophy, but open to all students. This course is an introduction to the philosophy of mind which combines a survey of historical positions in the field with related contemporary issues in the study of consciousness, evolutionary psychology, and artificial intelligence. Lecture and discussion.

3380 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE May serve as a required course in the Logic, Science, and Language category or an elective course for majors or minors in philosophy, but open to all students interested in the philosophical foundations of science. This course combines the historical and contemporary study of science as a method of knowledge-production. Specific topics may include the aims of scientific inquiry, science vs. pseudoscience, scientific progress, objectivity, and in-depth exploration of why science can and should be trusted. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: C, I]

3390 INTERNSHIP IN PHILOSOPHY For majors and minors to fulfill elective requirements or category requirements, depending on internship focus. Which category it may fulfill is dependent on the content of the internship program and at the discretion of the chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Each internship is tailored to the needs of the employer and the interests of the student. Internships require 120-150 hours of work with the employer for 3 hours of elective credit. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and consent of departmental internship coordinator.

3395 TOPIC IN PHILOSOPHY Study in depth of a selected major problem in philosophy or the works of individual philosophers or groups of philosophers. Topic in Philosophy is offered on variable topics, with those topics to be assigned course-by-course to specific content categories. Philosophy majors can take 3395 classes to fulfill three credit hours in the relevant assigned areas and/or as electives. May be repeated for credit. See semester schedule for description of content.

4300 READINGS IN PHILOSOPHY Independent study designed to deal in depth with specific problems and individuals in philosophy. May be taken for elective credit or to fulfill an area requirement, depending on topic. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

4301 PHILOSOPHY FOR HONORS TUTORIAL Independent study designed to provide the exceptional student an opportunity to do advanced philosophical research. May be taken for elective credit or to fulfill an area requirement, depending on topic. Prerequisite: Invitation by the philosophy department.

4310 GREAT WORKS IN PHILOSOPHY Capstone course. Close reading of a major work in philosophy leading to the writing of a philosophical paper. [UD UCA Core: Z]

4320 APPLIED ETHICS This course emphasizes the practice of philosophical ethics through the application of ethical theories and reasoning to various problems or themes. Emphasis is placed on applying ethical theories and reasoning to various aspects of contemporary private and public life. Topics may include but are not limited to ethics and business, the environment, international politics, or gender. This course is an elective and fulfills the Ethics and Values category for the philosophy major and minor. Content changes according to the area studied. May be repeated for up to six hours of credit with consent of the chair. Lecture and discussion. [UD UCA Core: D, R]

4330 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE May serve as a required course in the Logic, Science, and Language category or as an elective course for majors and minors in philosophy, but open to all students with interest. Linguistics students may also take for major or minor requirements by enrolling in the cross-listed Linguistics topic course. An inquiry into the nature of language in its relations to consciousness, logic, social behavior, and reality. Combines lecture and discussion.

4340 MEANINGS OF LIFE Capstone course. An elective course for majors and minors in philosophy and religious studies. A study of classical and contemporary attempts to answer the question “What is the meaning of life?” Key issues include personal identity, sources of significance, mortality and religious belief. Combines lecture and discussion methods. [UD UCA Core: Z]

4350 HEALTH CARE ETHICS This course is an elective and fulfills a requirement in the Ethics and Values category. Designed primarily for students of the health sciences, but also will count toward a major or minor in philosophy. A study of the issues and principles of ethics related to health care. Topics include ethical reasoning, bioethics, and individual case studies of problems arising within the practice of various health care fields.