p h i l o s o p h y     and     r e l i g i o n

PHL 1001 College: An Introduction     1 QH
Intended for freshmen in the College of Arts and Sciences. Seeks to introduce freshmen to the liberal arts in general, as well as to familiarize them with their major; help them develop the academic skills necessary to succeed (e.g. analytical ability and critical thinking); provide grounding in the culture and values of the University community; and help them develop interpersonal skills--in short, to familiarize students with all skills needed to become a successful university student.

PHL 1100 Introduction to Philosophy     4 QH
Introduces students to philosophy by acquainting them with the theories and arguments of classical and contemporary philosophers and by teaching the skills of constructing and analyzing arguments. Emphasizes philosophical inquiry. Covers typical areas such as questions about the basis of morality, free will versus determinism, the existence of God, the problem of suffering, and the nature of knowledge. (Core Category II)

PHL 1110 Introduction to Religion     4 QH
Seeks to identify and appraise different ways of being religious: primitive, mystical, dogmatic, and ritual. Emphasizes appreciating the unique standpoint that each requires, how each sees the world in a different way, and how that leads to distinctive ways of life. (Core Category II)

PHL 1130 Ethics: East and West     4 QH
Explores claims in both Eastern and Western philosophy that a way of life exists that leads to happiness, power, and wisdom. Studies the thought of such philosophers as Socrates, Buddha, Plato, Aristotle, Lao Tzu, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Aquinas, and Spinoza, as well as by studying some of the classical Hindu and Buddhist texts. (Core Category V)

PHL 1135 Philosophical Problems of Law and Justice     4 QH
Focuses on two general questions: What is the proper scope of the law? And how should the law be enforced? Under the first question, deals with a number of issues such as whether the law has a legitimate right to restrict such activities as the use of drugs, deviant sexual practices, or gambling. Under the second question, deals with the justification of punishment, rehabilitation as an alternative to punishment, and the death penalty. (Core Category VI)

PHL 1140 Social and Political Philosophy     4 QH
Focuses on basic questions about the nature of the state and the relationship of individuals to the state. What basis is there for individuals to obey the laws of the state? What conditions must a government meet to be legitimate? What justification can be given for democratic forms of government? What sorts of controls should the state exert over citizens? What benefits do citizens have a right to expect from the state? Includes readings from both classical and contemporary sources. (Core Category V) Prereq. 4 QH philosophy.

PHL 1160 Philosophical Problems of Economic Justice     4 QH
Focuses on the questions: What is economic justice? And, What features must a society have in order to be economically just? Readings include classical and contemporary works by philosophers and other thinkers. Analyzes and evaluates economic systems such as capitalism, socialism, and the welfare state.

PHL 1165 Moral Problems in Medicine     4 QH
Introduces students to ethical theories, moral principles, and principles of distributive justice. Uses these theories and principles to analyze the moral problems that arise in the medical context. Topics considered are euthanasia, medical paternalism, informed consent, patient confidentiality, the duty to warn, the right to die and advanced directives, the ethics of medical research, abortion, and human genetics. Also examines the right to health care, distribution of scarce medical resources, and the ethical implications of health maintenance organizations.

PHL 1170 Business Ethics     4 QH
Examines ethical principles and considerations involved in making moral business decisions. Studies the foundation of basic ethical viewpoints and analyzes specific characteristics of business life through case studies and examples. Includes issues such as corporate responsibility, employee rights, conflict of interest and roles, advertising and information disclosure, environmental issues, and self- and governmental regulation.

PHL 1180 Environmental Ethics     4 QH
Investigates the Gaia hypothesis, the view that the earth is a self-regulating ecosystem. Focuses on a current ecological crisis, the greenhouse effect, and on one of its major causes, deforestation. Addresses the values that underlie our concern over this and other ecological crises, whether the values at issue are anthropocentric or biocentric. Explores the ethical implications these ecological concerns have for our individual lifestyles and for our role as members of communities. Explores how we should live as creative, responsible, and fulfilled beings on the planet. (Core Category VI)

PHL 1200 Introduction to Logic 1*     4 QH
Introduces the logic of propositions and the syllogism. Examines principles of critical reasoning and fallacies. Provides practice in applying logical techniques to the creation and criticism of argument. (Core Category II) Students with a strong math background should enroll in PHL 1215.

PHL 1203 Introduction to Logic 2*     4 QH
Continues the study of the techniques of logic in the analysis and creation of argument. Explores the logic of predicates, quantifiers, and relations. Provides practice in applying these techniques to natural arguments. Considers the forms of definition and the evaluation of empirical generalizations. (Overlaps PHL 1215.) (Core Category II)

PHL 1215/LIN 1215 Symbolic Logic*     4 QH
Focuses on the syntax and semantics of propositional logic and first-order quantification theory. Considers relations between these systems and natural language. Covers analysis of the notion of derivation within a system, the notion of logical consequence, and practice in analyzing logical structure in natural language sentences. (Core Category II) Recommended for students with a strong math background.

PHL 1225 Ancient Philosophy     4 QH
Examines the philosophy of classical Greece. Considers philosophers with distinctive views of the nature of the material world and of the person, so the course covers both metaphysical and moral writings. Texts are primarily from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Also gives some consideration to early Greek philosophers, to the Sophists, and to later developments. (Core Category III)

PHL 1230 Modern Philosophy     4 QH
Explores the 100 years between 1650 and 1750, sometimes called "the century of genius," a period in which philosophers reacted to the new scientific discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo. Focuses on the development of the rationalist and empirical philosophies during this period, with emphasis on Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. (Core Category III) Prereq. 8 QH philosophy.

PHL 1243 Existentialism     4 QH
Examines existentialist philosophy in its greatest representatives, such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevski, Heidegger, Jaspers, and Camus, with major attention given to Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Focuses on central themes, including self-alienation, unauthenticity, authenticity, and existential experiences. Examines existential philosophy in its historical, social, and cultural relations, and in its influence on psychology, psychoanalysis, sociology, political science, and literature, both in Europe and in the United States. Prereq. 4 QH philosophy.

PHL 1245 Analytic Philosophy     4 QH
Traces the development of the analytic movement from its beginnings in the early works of Moore and Russell. Provides some treatment of Russell's logical atomism, the logical positivists, the thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and their widespread influence. Prereq. 8 QH philosophy.

PHL 1250 Chinese Religion     4 QH
Offers a study of Chinese philosophy in the ancient period (until 221 b.c.e.). Emphasizes Confucianism, Taoism, and the I Ching. Covers the Logicians, the Mohists, and the Legalists.

PHL 1265 Latin American Religions     4 QH
Explores the major religious traditions of Latin America-- indigenous, Christian, and African-- and how they have influenced each other, resulting in the syncretisms and religious cultures of our own day. Uses historical texts, narrative, art, interpretive essays, and music to look at the dynamics of that interplay, exploring in particular the factors that have shaped what was introduced, accepted, rejected, and retained. (Core Category III)

PHL 1275 Eastern Religions     4 QH
Explores the fundamental nature of reality. The course first tries to make sense of the difficult notion that the way we perceive reality may be illusory. Examines Theravada Buddhism, a religion that rests on the insights that everything is impermanent and that it is possible to live fully in the present without any suffering. From Theravada Buddhism, the course turns to Hahayana Buddhism, and then to Taoism, a subtle view that emphasizes the "flow" of life and that "the way to do is to be." Next, the Hinduism of the Upanishads is examined. As part of the exploration of this form of Hinduism, students are given the opportunity to examine meditation intellectually and also to practice a few methods of meditation. In addition, the course investigates the devotional aspect of Hinduism as expressed in the Bhagavad Gita. There also is an exploration of Zen. (Core Category IV)

PHL 1280 Islam     4 QH
Explores the history of Islam, its past and current conflicts with the West, Islamic beliefs, the future of Islam as a world religion, and relations of Islam with Christianity and Judaism. Examines social, political, and legal issues, as well as with the more familiar religious and theological questions. (Core Category IV)

PHL 1285 Introduction to Jewish Religion and Culture     4 QH
Explores the basic features of Judaism in the ancient, Rabbinic, and Modern periods. Employs an historical-critical approach to the formative texts and their interpreters. Analyzes Jewish practices within specific historical contexts and discusses the ways in which practices relate to the texts and history of Judaism. Examines the rich varieties of Jewish cultural expressions.

PHL 1290 Cults and Sects     4 QH
Examines the varieties of religious experience from the perspectives of sociology and psychology of religion. Focuses on such cultic and sectarian groups as Christian Science, the American Shakers, the Unification Church, the Hare Krishna movement, and the Black Muslims. Provides the student the opportunity to acquire critical investigative tools with which to analyze different religious expressions. (Core Category V)

PHL 1293 Eastern and Nontraditional Philosophy     4 QH
Offers a multicultural look, using primary sources, at the diverse perspectives available to address philosophical issues. Perspectives include African, Asian, Latin American, feminist, womanist, Amerindian, and African-American views. Includes such topics as self-identity, reality, truth, knowledge, ethics, social and political arrangements, and perceptions of divinity.

PHL 1315 Understanding the Bible     4 QH
Introduces students to the Old and New Testaments, so that they can enter into a dialogue with the Bible, understanding not only what it says, but why it is said that way. Focuses on the Bible's social, political, and cultural backgrounds. (Core Category III)

PHL 1316 Interpreting the Bible     4 QH
Offers students the opportunity to understand the Bible as a document that is continually interpreted by believing communities in their own social and religious contexts. Studies various interpretations of such passages as the creation story, resurrection accounts, themes in Revelation, and the Exodus event. Prereq. PHL 1315.

PHL 1320 The Meaning of Death     4 QH
Offers an inquiry into different philosophical and religious perspectives on death and life after death, including an examination of some powerful contemporary accounts of personal confrontation with death, along with investigations into attitudes toward death in other traditions for example, Hinduism and Buddhism. In addition, explores responses to the Holocaust in Europe and theories about life after death (such as those discussed in Raymond Moody's Life After Life and Ian Stevenson's Reincarnation). (Core Category V)

PHL 1325 Responses to the Holocaust     4 QH
Explores the variety of responses to the mass death brought on by the Holocaust. Uses the five stages of dying that Elizabeth Kubler-Ross outlines both to examine the reactions of Holocaust victims to imminent death and to understand the way in which survivors attempted to cope with bereavement. Examines the responses of theology literature as well as relevant ethical issues.

PHL 1335 Moral Philosophy     4 QH
Explores two basic questions: What sorts of things are good and bad? What actions are right and wrong? Covers major classical conceptions of ancient Greece and Rome, their replacement by the Western religious ethic, its modification and rejection in the early modern period, and the emergence of modern versions of traditional conceptions of the good life, with reflections on the nature of ethical inquiry itself as a legitimate study. Prereq. 4 QH philosophy or religion or permission of instructor. (Core Category V)

PHL 1340 Aesthetics     4 QH
Offers a historical approach to aesthetics, the philosophical analysis of concepts and the solution of problems that arise when one contemplates beautiful (or ugly) objects. Also explores standards of value in judging art by asking the following questions: What features make objects beautiful (or ugly)? Are there aesthetic standards? What is the relation of works of art to nature? What is the nature of an aesthetic experience? Prereq. 4 QH philosophy.

PHL 1345 Philosophy of Religion     4 QH
Asks the basic question, ÒDoes God exist?Ó Examines several major arguments affirming and criticizing the notion of God's existence. Explores a central problem in recent philosophy of religion of whether or not it makes any sense to speak of the truth (or falsity) of religious belief, as well as the implication an answer to that issue has for religious life. Prereq. 4 QH philosophy.

PHL 1350 Philosophy of Human Nature     4 QH
Considers various attributes of human beings such as intelligence, sexuality, and language in the context of biological, psychological, linguistic, and philosophical views of human nature. Topics and disciplines will change from year to year. (Core Category V)

PHL 1360 Philosophy and Literature     4 QH
Provides the student the opportunity to learn to recognize, appreciate, and criticize philosophical themes in literature. Includes readings from acknowledged classics by philosophical authors.

PHL 1370 The Meaning of Life     4 QH
Examines selected philosophical problems of human existence in the contemporary world, with major emphasis on the search for identity and self-fulfillment. Discusses selected problems such as freedom, death, sexuality, alienation, becoming a person, and peak experiences. Includes readings from Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Maslow, Allport, Frankl, Rogers, and Rollo May.

PHL 1400 Theory of Knowledge     4 QH
Focuses on questions about the nature and justification of claims to knowledge. Is there genuine knowledge? How do we tell when a belief or theory is sufficiently justified to count as knowledge? Discusses theories such as various forms of rationalism, empiricism, and skepticism. Requires careful reading of works by such influential thinkers as RenŽ Descartes, Bertrand Russell, A.J. Ayer, and T.S. Kuhn. Prereq. 16 QH philosophy.

PHL 1405 Metaphysics     4 QH
Considers central problems and theories concerning the nature of reality, with special attention to such areas as the relation between mind and matter, free will and determinism, and criteria of existence. Prereq. 8 QH philosophy.

PHL 1410 Philosophy of Science     4 QH
Focuses on the nature of scientific method, scientific theories, and scientific explanations. Examines the central question of why science is thought to provide the most reliable account of the nature of reality. Considers various theories about the nature and reliability of science. Prereq. 4 QH philosophy.

PHL 1415 Advanced Logic     4 QH
Studies the major results in the metatheory of first-order logic. Examines consistency, completeness, and decidability. Discusses the general notion of an effectively computable process, Church's thesis, and the existence of unsolvable problems. Prereq. PHL 1215.

PHL 1435 Philosophy of Mind     4 QH
Seeks to show what puzzles and problems result from an honest attempt to answer these questions in a reasonable way: What is the relation between mind and body? Is the mental merely a function of bodily process and behavior, or does it somehow exist Òover and aboveÓ the material? How are self-knowledge and knowledge of other minds achieved? What is the relation between words and thoughts? Examines classical sources, such as Descartes and Locke, and contemporary sources, such as Wittgenstein and Putnam. Also seeks to arrive at some answersÑ however tentative or provisional--to these questions. Constantly challenges the student to think and write well about these difficult subjects. Prereq. 4 QH philosophy.

PHL 1440/LIN 1440 Philosophy of Language     4 QH
Examines prospects for a theory of language, its syntax, and its semantics. Examines contrasts between theory of reference and theory of meaning. Asks whether there are universals of language. Analyzes relations between linguistics and psychology. Includes readings from Frege, Quine, Russell, Chomsky, and Fodor. Prereq. Permission of instructor.

PHL 1550, PHL 1551, PHL 1552, PHL 1553     4 QH each
Junior/Senior Honors Project For details, contact the honors office.

PHL 1700 Introduction to Philosophy (Honors)     4 QH
Honors equivalent of PHL 1100.

PHL 1720 The Meaning of Death (Honors)     4 QH
Honors equivalent of PHL 1320.

PHL 1740 Social and Political Philosophy (Honors)     4 QH
Honors equivalent of PHL 1140.

PHL 1800 Directed Study     4 QH
Those interested in the directed study program should meet with the department chair. Prereq. permission of instructor.

PHL 1801 Research Internship     4 QH
Seeks to familiarize students with at least one of the three stages of an advanced research project: (1) securing research funds, (2) substantive research and research techniques, and (3) publication and presentation of research results. Students may opt to take this practicum in conjunction with a writing project of their own. In addition to helping students develop additional knowledge of the research resources that are available, this course is intended to develop their critical skills. Fulfills the College of Arts and Sciences experiential education requirement for philosophy majors. Prereq. Permission of supervising instructor and 24 QH of PHL courses.

PHL 1802 Teaching Internship     4 QH
Centers around two issues central to the pedagogical enterprise; namely, course design and implementation. Involves discussions with the supervisor, observation of teaching techniques, test development, discussion leading, and lecture presentation. Students work with the instructor in one course, assist in syllabus development, observe and lead several discussions, and present a lecture or lectures on one topic to be determined during the syllabus development. Fulfills the College of Arts and Sciences experiential education requirement for philosophy majors. Prereq. Permission of supervising instructor and 24 QH of PHL courses.

PHL 1881 Great Philosophers Seminar     4 QH
Focuses on the writings of a major philosopher. Subjects include Plato, Aquinas, Locke, Hegel, and Heidegger. Prereq. 12 QH of philosophy courses.

PHL 1888, 1889 Experiential Education Directed Study     4 QH each
Draws upon the student's approved experiential activity and integrates it with study in the academic major. Restricted to those students who are using it to fulfill their experiential education requirement.

PHL 1890 Seminar in Religion     4 QH
Examines topics including theodicy, cosmogeny, contemporary issues in religion, and comparative ethics. Prereq. 12 QH of philosophy and religion courses.

PHL 1891 Major Figures in Religious Studies     4 QH
Focuses on the work of one figure important in the field of religion. Subjects include Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Weber, and Eliade. Prereq. 12 QH of religious studies.

PHL 3265 Issues in Medical Ethics     4 QH
Focuses on issues in medical ethics, especially as they are likely to arise in a clinical setting. Begins with exploration of the two basic systems of ethical theory and then concentrates on their application in cases exemplifying the issues of euthanasia, paternalism, experimentation, informed consent, quality of life, professional responsibility, right to health care, truth telling, genetic control, abortion, and the allocation of scarce medical resources. Prereq. Permission of instructor.

*Students should take either PHL 1200 and PHL 1203 or PHL 1200 and PHL 1215. Credit will not be given for all three courses.

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