Philosophy B.A.

Bachelor of Arts - Philosophy

College Humanities & Sciences

Catalog Year: 2016-2017

Degree Specific Credits: 33

Required Cumulative GPA: 1.7

Philosophy Lower-Division Core

Rule: All courses are required.

Note: General Education fulfillment through the lower-division core: PHL 210E fulfills the "approved writing course" and "Ethics & Human Values."
Both PHL 261Y and PHL 262Y fulfill "American & European Perspectives".

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Show Description PHL 210E - Moral Philosophy
Offered autumn and spring.  Prereq., philosophy major or minor, or consent of instr.  An examination of leading approaches to moral philosophy through a careful reading of classical texts in the Western tradition.  A more thorough treatment of the material offered in PHL 110E.  Intended primarily for philosophy majors and minors.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 233 - Intro to Logic: Deduction
Offered autumn and spring. Understanding general principles of reasoning and the habits of clear and correct thinking. Emphasis on the analysis of the logical structure of claims in natural language and the skills of elementary deductive inference.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 261Y - History of Ancient Philosophy
Offered autumn. Introduction to the central works of Plato and Aristotle, with an overview of Presocratic and Hellenistic philosophy.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 262Y - History of Modern Philosophy
Offered spring. A survey of the history of philosophy from Descartes to Kant, which includes other continental rationalists and the British Empiricists.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 12 Total Credits Required

Philosophy Upper-Division Core

Rule: Complete four courses (12 credits) with one course (3 credits) in each of the following four core areas.

Minimum Required Grade: C-
12 Total Credits Required

I. History

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits).

Note: Special Topics courses taught at the 400-level (PHL 491 [PHIL 495]) may count as upper-division core courses provided that they have a suitable content (consult the department advisor).

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Show Description PHL 462 - Early Modern Philosophy
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Intensive study of the work of one or more of the major philosophers from the early modern period (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume).
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 464 - Kant
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Reading and interpretation of selected works.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 465 - Plato
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 261Y, or consent of instr.  Reading and interpretation of selected works.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 466 - Aristotle
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 261Y, or consent of instr. Reading and interpretation of selected works.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

II. Value Theory

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits).

Note: Special Topics courses taught at the 400-level (PHL 491 [PHIL 495]) may count as upper-division core courses provided that they have a suitable content (consult the department advisor).

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Show Description PHL 412 - Ethics and Public Affairs
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Examination of morally relevant issues in government, journalism, education and other social institutions. Issues considered may include just war theory, deception, confidentiality, conflict of interest, privacy, paternalism responsibilities in conflict with other institutions, and responsibilities across national boundaries, among others.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 422 - Environmental Philosophy
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Critical exploration of selected philosophical and literary texts pertinent to the ethics of human relationships with the natural environment.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 427 - Topics in Philosophy of Art
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Examination of philosophical problems related to particular arts and discussion of the nature of the arts. Topics considered may include music, visual arts, literature, and film.
 1 To 4 Credits
Show Description PHL 429 - Philosophy in Literature
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Philosophical thought in selected works of literature.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 449 - Hist Moral and Political Phil
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Reading and interpretation of selected writings in the history of moral philosophy and/or political philosophy.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 450 - Contemp Moral/Political Theory
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Recent theories in ethics and their implications; recent work in political theory, emphasizing contemporary liberalism and its critics.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 455 - Phil of Society and Culture
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. A philosophical examination of cultural forces shaping modern society, forces such as science, technology, or domesticity.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

III. Continental Philosophy

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits).

Note: Special Topics courses taught at the 400-level (PHL 491 [PHIL 495]) may count as upper-division core courses provided that they have a suitable content (consult the department advisor).

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Show Description PHL 467 - 19th Century Continental Phil
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Intensive study of the work of one or more 19th century continental philosophers (such as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche).
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 468 - 20th Century Continental Phil
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Intensive study of the work of one or more 20th century continental philosophers (such as Heidegger, Husserl, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Ricoeur, Derrida) or several texts representing a major movement in 20th century continental thought (such as Phenomenology, Existentialism, Hermeneutics, Post-structuralism).
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

IV. Analytic Philosophy

Rule: Complete one course (3 credits).

Note: Special Topics courses taught at the 400-level (PHL 491 [PHIL 495]) may count as upper-division core courses provided that they have a suitable content (consult the department advisor).

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Show Description PHL 405 - 20th Century Analytic Phil
(R-9) Offered intermittently.  Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, PHL 233, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr.  Intensive study of the work of one or more philosophers (such as Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein) or historical introduction to the major issues and figures of 20th century philosophy in the analytic tradition (with readings from Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Quine and others).
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 406 - Contemp Issues Analytic Phil
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, PHL 233, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr.  Examination of contemporary issues in analytic philosophy focusing on one or more of the following topics:  philosophy of language, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 445 - Central Issues Phil of Science
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. A consideration of philosophical issues relating to the nature of modern physical science: method, explanation, theory, progress, space/time, causality, relation of science to philosophy.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Required Upper-Division Electives in Philosophy

Rule: Students must complete two courses (6 credits).

Note: Any course taken for an Upper-Division Core area would not also apply to the Upper-Division Elective requirement.

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Show Description PHL 301 - Knowledge and Reality
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing or consent of instr. Selected topics in one or more of the following areas: epistemology (the study of knowledge), philosophy of science, metaphysics. Intended primarily for non-majors.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 311 - The Good, Right, Beautiful
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing or consent of instr. Selected topics in one or more of the following areas: ethics, philosophy of mind/action, aesthetics. Intended primarily for non-majors.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 316 - Historical Figures in Phil
(R-9)Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing or consent of instr. Study of one or more historically significant philosophers. Intended primarily for non-majors.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 321E - Philosophy & Biomedical Ethics
Offered intermittently.  Prereq., upper-division standing or consent of instr.  An examination of ethical problems raised by the practice of medicine and by recent developments in medically-related biological sciences.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 323 - Ethics of Climate Change
This course examines some of the fundamental issues raised by global climate change and considers how environmental ethics might help to address these issues. Students will become acquainted with the essential elements of climate change science and be provided with an introduction to contemporary approaches to environmental ethics that have developed out of the primary ethical traditions of western thought: deontological (Kantian) ethics, utilitarian ethics, and virtue ethics. In addition, the course examines alternative understandings of the appropriate relationship between humans and the natural world including: “Deep Ecology” and Native American perspectives.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 351 - Philosophy and Feminism
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing or consent of instr. Study of what distinguishes feminist from traditional approaches to ethics. May also examine other relevant areas of philosophy, including epistemology, political theory, philosophy of science and environment.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 363H - Ancient Greek and Roman Phil
Offered intermittently. Examination of the thought of the philosophers of Greece and Rome as expressed in original works read in English translation. Ancient philosophy studied within its historical, linguistic and cultural setting. 
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 370 - Philosophy of Religion
Offered intermittently.  Prereq., upper-division standing or consent of instr.  An examination of one or more of the classic problems of Western philosophy of religion, such as the traditional arguments for and against the existence of God, the relationship of faith and reason, the status of religious experience, the problem of evil, and the problem of reconciling divine omniscience with human freedom.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 390 - Research
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Directed individual research and study appropriate to the background and objectives of the student.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 391 - Special Topics
(R-9) Offered intermittently.  Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 392 - Independent Study
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Course material appropriate to the needs and objectives of the individual student.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 394 - Seminar
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. A review and discussion of current research. Topics vary.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 398 - Internship
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of faculty supervisor and the Internship Services office. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. A maximum of 6 credits of Internship (198, 298, 398, 498) may count toward graduation.
 1 To 6 Credits
Show Description PHL 405 - 20th Century Analytic Phil
(R-9) Offered intermittently.  Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, PHL 233, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr.  Intensive study of the work of one or more philosophers (such as Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein) or historical introduction to the major issues and figures of 20th century philosophy in the analytic tradition (with readings from Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Quine and others).
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 406 - Contemp Issues Analytic Phil
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, PHL 233, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr.  Examination of contemporary issues in analytic philosophy focusing on one or more of the following topics:  philosophy of language, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 412 - Ethics and Public Affairs
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Examination of morally relevant issues in government, journalism, education and other social institutions. Issues considered may include just war theory, deception, confidentiality, conflict of interest, privacy, paternalism responsibilities in conflict with other institutions, and responsibilities across national boundaries, among others.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 422 - Environmental Philosophy
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Critical exploration of selected philosophical and literary texts pertinent to the ethics of human relationships with the natural environment.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 427 - Topics in Philosophy of Art
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Examination of philosophical problems related to particular arts and discussion of the nature of the arts. Topics considered may include music, visual arts, literature, and film.
 1 To 4 Credits
Show Description PHL 429 - Philosophy in Literature
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Philosophical thought in selected works of literature.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 445 - Central Issues Phil of Science
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. A consideration of philosophical issues relating to the nature of modern physical science: method, explanation, theory, progress, space/time, causality, relation of science to philosophy.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 449 - Hist Moral and Political Phil
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Reading and interpretation of selected writings in the history of moral philosophy and/or political philosophy.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 450 - Contemp Moral/Political Theory
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. Recent theories in ethics and their implications; recent work in political theory, emphasizing contemporary liberalism and its critics.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 455 - Phil of Society and Culture
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing and PHL 210E, or consent of instr. A philosophical examination of cultural forces shaping modern society, forces such as science, technology, or domesticity.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 462 - Early Modern Philosophy
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Intensive study of the work of one or more of the major philosophers from the early modern period (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume).
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 464 - Kant
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Reading and interpretation of selected works.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 465 - Plato
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 261Y, or consent of instr.  Reading and interpretation of selected works.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 466 - Aristotle
Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 261Y, or consent of instr. Reading and interpretation of selected works.
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 467 - 19th Century Continental Phil
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Intensive study of the work of one or more 19th century continental philosophers (such as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche).
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 468 - 20th Century Continental Phil
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., upper-division standing, PHL 210E, and PHL 262Y, or consent of instr. Intensive study of the work of one or more 20th century continental philosophers (such as Heidegger, Husserl, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Ricoeur, Derrida) or several texts representing a major movement in 20th century continental thought (such as Phenomenology, Existentialism, Hermeneutics, Post-structuralism).
 3 Credits
Show Description PHL 490 - Research
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Directed individual research and study appropriate to the background and objectives of the student.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 491 - Special Topics
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 492 - Independent Study
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Course material appropriate to the needs and objectives of the individual student.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 494 - Seminar
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. A review and discussion of current research. Topics vary.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description PHL 498 - Internship
(R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of faculty supervisor and the Internship Services office. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. A maximum of 6 credits of Internship (198, 298, 398, 498) may count toward graduation.
 1 To 6 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 6 Total Credits Required

Senior Seminar

Rule: Students must complete PHL 499 (PHIL 480). 3 credits.

Note: This capstone course is normally taken during the spring semester of senior year.

General Education fulfillment: PHL 499 fulfills the "Upper Division Writing Expectation for the major"

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Show Description PHL 499 - Senior Seminar
(R-9) Offered spring. Prereq., senior standing and philosophy major or philosophy minor, or consent of instr. Research in problems in philosophy.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Modern and Classical Language Requirement

Note: Students who major in philosophy must demonstrate third semester proficiency in a foreign language either by completing three semesters of one foreign language, with grades of C- (1.67) or better, or by receiving an equivalent score on a competence exam. Recommended languages for philosophy are Ancient Greek, Latin, French, and German.