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Study in Philosophy is an essential ingredient of a liberal arts education. The Department of Philosophy offers a full curriculum on four levels: introductory courses (101-110), history of philosophy courses (125-150, 245, 250), intermediate and advanced courses with concentration on particular sub-fields of philosophy (200-250), and topical and historical seminars (301-370). The Philosophy major meets the needs and interests of the following students: a) those who plan graduate study and teaching in the field; b) those who intend to go to law school; c) those who seek preparation for work in government, business, social service, journalism, or any field in which critical thinking is valued; and d) those who wish to approach a liberal arts education through a concentrated study of philosophy. The major also combines easily with other majors. Introductory Courses. Courses 101-110 offer the student a choice of emphases in an initial study of methods, problems, and theories in philosophy. None of these courses duplicates courses of higher number; and no student may receive College credit for more than one of them. Some other courses are also open to students with no previous work in philosophy. These other courses are not intended to serve as introductory courses in philosophy, but they may still be taken by students without previous philosophical training who have a special interest in their topics. These include two survey courses in the history of philosophy (Ancient Philosophy, 125, and Modern Philosophy, 135), the course in Deductive Logic, 200, and Analysis of Reasoning, 201, as well as certain other advanced courses. Entry-Level Course Sequence Suggestions. The Department suggests any of its introductory courses as an appropriate first course in philosophy. (Other philosophy courses that are open without prerequisite may also serve this purpose, though they are not intended as introductory courses.) From any of these first courses, students may, with occasional exceptions, proceed to any of the Department's advanced offerings. For purposes of the major it is desirable, though not mandatory, that the course in Deductive Logic, 200, or that in the Analysis of Reasoning, 201, should be completed early in one's philosophical studies. Students interested in majoring in philosophy should consult with the chairperson, or any member of the Department, concerning course sequence planning. It is possible to complete the philosophy major even though it is not started until the junior year. Major. When declaring a major in philosophy a student may request any faculty member in the Department to serve as major advisor. The selection of courses for the major is to be made in consultation with the major advisor. The major consists of at least 30 credit hours of course work in the Department of Philosophy, including the following course requirements: 1. Three courses in the history of philosophy, including at least one Philosophical Classics course. 2. Deductive Logic (200) or the Analysis of Reasoning (201). (Equivalent course work may substitute for this, with the approval of the major advisor.) (Students intending graduate study in philosophy are advised to take Deductive Logic (200). 3. Ethics (204) or Social, Political, Legal Philosophy (226). (A relevant Philosophical Classics course or Seminar may substitute for this, with the approval of the major advisor,) 4. Theory of Knowledge (206) or Philosophy of Science (222). (A relevant Philosophical Classics course or Seminar may substitute for this, with the approval of the major advisor.) 5. Metaphysics (208) or Philosophy of Mind (228). (A relevant Philosophical Classics course or Seminar may substitute for this, with the approval of the major advisor.) 6. The balance of the 30 credit hours of work in the Department of Philosophy consists of electives chosen by the student in consultation with the major advisor. Minor. Students may earn a minor in philosophy upon completion of a program of study approved by a minor advisor in the Department. A minor involves fifteen credit hours of work in philosophy. No more than one of these courses may be from the introductory courses, 101-110. Each student's program is developed individually in consultation with their minor advisor. Examples of subject-areas appropriate for a minor in philosophy are (i) Logic and Language, (ii) Theory of Value, (iii) History of Philosophy, (iv) Metaphysics and Theory of Knowledge, and (v) Philosophy and Science. Students majoring in philosophy may not minor in philosophy. Courses in philosophy also count toward the Cognitive Sciences Concentration. Honors. The Department offers an Honors Program to qualified senior majors. The Program involves intensive study and writing under faculty supervision for an academic year. It culminates in the preparation of a lengthy written thesis, and a defense of the thesis before departmental faculty and, typically, an external examiner from another college or university. Questions should be directed to the Department's Director of the Honors Program. Winter Term. The following faculty are willing to sponsor Winter Term projects as indicated. Mr. Hall: political philosophy, ethical theory, contemporary moral issues including bioethics and environmental ethics, and philosophy of law. Mr. Jones: topics in philosophy of science, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind, formal and informal logic. Mr. MacKay: history of modern philosophy, ethical theory, philosophy of language, analytic philosophy. Mr. McInerney: philosophy of mind and philosophical issues in cognitive science; metaphysics; 19th and 20th century philosophers, e.g., Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Foucault.
No student may receive college credit for more than one Introductory Course. 101. Problems of Philosophy 3 hours 3HU First Semester. An introduction to philosophy through the study and discussion of topics such as the nature and existence of God, the grounds and limits of human knowledge, minds and their place in nature, freedom and determinism, and the nature of morality. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. Jones, Staff 102. Introduction to Philosophy 3 hours 3HU First and Second Semester. An introduction to philosophy through the study of some important philosophical works. Examples of such works are: Plato's Republic, Descartes' Meditations, Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, and Kant's Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics and Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. Exams and papers required. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. MacKay 103. Subjectivity and Reality 3 hours 3HU Next offered 2004-2005. 105. Philosophy and Values 3 hours 3HU, WR Second Semester. This course undertakes the philosophical study of both ethical theory and contemporary moral issues. What is the basis of morality--is it something real, or a matter of convention? What are the most basic moral principles? Is abortion immoral? Is war ever justifiable? Is it permissible to kill animals for food or scientific research? The course readings are drawn from historical and contemporary sources. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. Hall Historical Courses 125. Ancient Philosophy 3 hours 3HU Next offered 2004-2005. 135. Modern Philosophy 3 hours 3HU First Semester. A study of the central problems of the Modern era in philosophy. Topics include: knowledge of the external world, free will, personal identity, the existence of God, and the nature of morality. Authors include: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. MacKay
200. Deductive Logic 3 hours 3HU First Semester. What makes an argument a good or a bad one? We will explore the idea that the answer depends on the underlying structure of the argument, and develop a formal language which allows us to bring out that structure. Students will thus acquire an increased ability to critically evaluate arguments in any sphere. A grasp of the essential elements of symbolic logic is also vital for anyone wishing to grapple seriously with contemporary Anglophone philosophy. (Strongly recommended for students considering graduate work in philosophy.) Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. Jones 201. The Analysis of Reasoning 3 hours 3HU Second Semester. A study of methods for analyzing and evaluating arguments as they appear in legal, scientific, and moral contexts, as well as everyday life. The course will include an introduction to the formal study of logic, and inductive and probabilistic reasoning. Enrollment Limit: 30. Staff 204. Ethics 3 hours 3HU Second Semester. A study of some of the main issues in moral philosophy, emphasizing ethical theory rather than applied ethics. Writings by the following thinkers will be included: Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Butler, Hume, Kant, Mill, G.E. Moore, and Charles Stevenson. Papers required. Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. MacKay 206. Theory of Knowledge 3 hours 3HU, WR First Semester. In this course we will be addressing questions concerning the nature of knowledge, rationality, justification, and truth. Special topics may include skepticism, relativism and feminist epistemology. Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 30. Staff 208. Metaphysics 3 hours 3HU, WR Second Semester. A survey of some central issues in metaphysics, such as: Is truth always relative to a conceptual scheme? Are there such things as numbers, and if so, what sorts of things are they? What does it mean to say that something is possible, or is necessarily so? How is it that objects persist over time and through changes? Do objects have their parts necessarily? Readings will be from a variety of sources; requirements will be in the form of papers. Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. Jones 210. Existentialism 3 hours 3HU, WR First Semester. Existential philosophy examines basic ethical issues about individual freedom, having a meaningful life, and relations with other people. This course examines the works of Buber, Camus, deBeauvoir, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Sartre on a set of issues that are distinctive of existential philosophers: absurdity and the meaning of life; immediate involvement in activities versus reflective thought about them; the justification of values; freedom and responsibility; authenticity and self-deception; the possibilities of satisfactory relations with other people; the meaning of love and sex; and the significance of death and being finite. Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. McInerney 220. Philosophy of Language 3 hours 3HU Next offered 2004-2005. 222. Philosophy of Science 3 hours 3HU, WR Next offered 2004-2005. 223. Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Philosophy of Biology 3 hours 3HU, WR Next offered 2004-2005. 225. Environmental Ethics 3 hours 3HU, WR Second Semester. This course examines the disparate moral questions raised by the effects of human activity on the natural environment. Do we have duties to regulate economic activity now to preserve resources for future persons? Do we have moral duties to individual animals living in nature, or to entire species of animals? Is the non-living environment itself the legitimate object of moral concern? The readings include work from philosophers, naturalists, biologists, and economists. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. Hall 226. Social, Political, Legal Philosophy 3 hours 3HU, WR First Semester. This course has three sections: whether, and on what basis, people have a moral obligation to the state, what a just distribution of resources requires, and applied political topics. This last section includes topics such as poverty in other countries, freedom of speech, gun control, just war theory, and punishment. Readings are classical and contemporary, and include Plato, Locke, Marx, and others. Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. Hall 228. Philosophy of Mind 3 hours 3HU Next offered 2004-2005. 234. Topics In Applied Ethics 3 hours 3HU, WR First Semester. An in-depth examination of a wide range of topics of contemporary interest. We will examine such topics as abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, drug laws, drunk driving restrictions, medical paternalism, cloning, eugenics, war and deterrence, civil liberties, punishment, business ethics, lying, prostitution, and other subjects. The few topics that overlap will be covered in more depth and with more literature than in Philosophy 105. Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. Hall 245. Nineteenth-Century Philosophy 3 hours 3HU, WR Second Semester. Nineteenth Century philosophers introduced all of the main issues that later philosophy investigates. Hegel and Marx claimed that individuals are defined by their societies and that societies develop dialectically through overcoming internal contradictions. Kierkegaard, Mill, and Nietzsche developed different accounts of how individuals can and should exert their individuality against societal pressure. This course examines the philosophies of Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Mill, and Nietzsche (with some attention to Kant, Schelling, Feuerbach, Comte, and Schopenhauer). Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 30. Mr. McInerney 249. Topics in Philosophy 3 hours 3HU Second Semester. Staff 250. Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy 3 hours 3HU, WR Next offered 2004-2005.
306. Seminar: Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics 3 hours 3HU Second Semester. An exploration of the central foundational issues in quantum mechanics, including the measurement problem (the problem of Schrödinger's cat), the nature of quantum-mechanical nonlocality, and the implications of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Along the way we will encounter various interpretations of the theory, including the Copenhagen interpretation, the Bohm theory, and the Many Worlds and Many Minds interpretations. No significant prior physics or mathematics will be assumed. Prerequisite: three hours in philosophy. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Mr. Jones 309. Philosophical Classics: Kant 3 hours 3HU,WR First Semester. Kant is the most influential philosopher of the 18th Century, and many contemporary philosophers acknowledge his continuing influence on their thought. This seminar will examine in detail major parts of Kant's ethics, metaphysics, theory of knowledge, and philosophy of mind. We will study The Critique of Pure Reason, The Critique of Practical Reason, and The Metaphysics of Morals. Prerequisite: six hours in philosophy. Enrollment Limit: 15. Mr. McInerney Private Reading and Independent Research Any student who is interested in undertaking a Private Reading course or an Independent Research course (401) with a member of the department should make arrangements with the departmental member prior to registering for the course. 401. Independent Research 2-5 hours 2-5HU Consent of instructor required. Projects sponsored by Mr. Hall, Mr. Jones, Mr. MacKay, and Mr. McInerney. 411. Honors Research 3-6 hours 3-6HU Consent of instructor required. Projects sponsored by Mr. Hall, Mr. Jones, Mr. MacKay, and Mr. McInerney. 995. Private Reading 1-3 hours 1-3HU Consent of instructor required. Projects sponsored by Mr. Hall, Mr. Jones, Mr. MacKay, and Mr. McInerney. |
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