PHL 100 | INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course provides an introduction to basic philosophical concepts, methods, and problems, through the readings of major texts and authors in the history of philosophy. Subjects treated may include knowledge, community, beauty, love, freedom, and justice. Questions concerning the nature of the body and soul, the meaning of life and death, or the relationship between the human and non-human may also be considered, alongside other central inquiries taken up by philosophical thinkers.
PHL 200 | ETHICAL THEORIES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course engages selected readings to acquaint students with different approaches to ethics. Those typically covered include virtue ethics, Stoic ethics, Kantian ethics, utilitarianism, existentialism, nihilism, and rights ethics. Organizing questions are: How are we to live? What kind of people should we become? How do we distinguish right from wrong? What is most just? What characterizes a good life? The course will equip students with useful tools and frameworks for making moral judgments and identifying the motivations and principles that shape ethical decision-making.
PHL 202 | PHILOSOPHY OF GOD | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines theoretical approaches to determining the existence and nature of God. Readings are selected from seminal figures in the history of philosophy describing God as, for example, all-knowing, creator and the ultimate source of moral goodness. Issues of concern for both philosophy and religion are possible topics-free will, the reality of evil, the afterlife. Atheism, the denial of God's existence, may also be critically reviewed.
PHL 204 | EXISTENTIAL THEMES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
In this course we study the principal ideas regarding the human condition, such as birth, death, responsibility, absurdity, alienation, freedom, God, and authenticity. Offering a careful examination of the "big questions" of philosophical inquiry, the course equips students with tools to critically reflect on themselves and their place in the world.
PHL 206 | TOPICS AND CONTROVERSIES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This class is an exploration of questions that have awakened interesting and controversial discussions in the history of philosophy, and/or of topics that have been particularly challenging for philosophical inquiry. Students will broach such controversies from multiple perspectives and are encouraged to develop their own views after careful reflection and examination of differing standpoints. Comparative and critical analysis are central to this course.
PHL 208 | WHAT IS A PERSON? | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines how our selfhood and identity are shaped by ethical, political, and aesthetic values. Possible topics include: human existence and the personhood of animals; singularity and community; the standpoint and situatedness that shape our knowledge as persons and of persons; relationality and vulnerability; the human conditions of birth and death; consciousness and self-consciousness; the relationship between the body and the soul; the role that colonial, sexist, and racist assumptions have played in determining personhood; and reflections on selfhood in the context of modern technology, artificial intelligence, or discourses about the post-human.
PHL 209 | CRIME AND PUNISHMENT | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines the nature of crime and the justification of punishment. Through historical and contemporary readings, basic issues such as what crime and punishment actually are, how punishment has been and continues to be justified, and the various forms that penal practices have taken will be explored. The course will also examine the question of social justice as it relates to punishment and the vexed problem of whether any forms of crime can ever be morally justified.
PHL 228 | NEUROETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines moral standards and issues as these arise in the practice of neuroscience. Advances in this field have developed unprecedented ways of understanding, predicting, and even, influencing and controlling the human mind and, through this, human behavior. Neuroethics considers the ethical dilemmas that emerge in such research and the technologies that it fosters as well as the challenges these advances pose to some of the fundamental underlying concepts of moral theory: human nature, personal identity, and moral responsibility itself. Cross-listed with NEU 228.
PHL 229 | BIOMEDICAL ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines moral standards as they apply to the various dimensions of medical institutions and practices. It reviews the major ethical theories, and discusses the ways in which the moral principles of nonmaleficence, autonomy, beneficence, and justice ought to govern the delivery of health services, as well as how they are to serve as the ethical framework for the various kinds of social structures in which these services are provided.
PHL 230 | CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines a range of ethical issues of contemporary concern, such as abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. Students develop the tools to make moral judgments about complex and pressing issues with reference to moral theories and key figures engaging these issues. Comparative and critical analysis are central to this course.
PHL 231 | PHILOSOPHY AND RACE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course explores a set of topics and issues having to do with the construction of race, racial identity, and racial difference, in the United States and beyond. Philosophical analysis and inquiry into issues such as racism, anti-Semitism, and genocide are also central to the course objectives. Students might reflect on the intersection between racial dynamics and other identity categories, such as gender, class, and sexuality.
PHL 232 | WHAT IS FREEDOM? | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course investigates various conceptions of freedom and what it means to ask such questions as "What is freedom?" in different historical times and cultural settings. Topics that might be covered include: free will vs. determinism; hard vs. soft determinism; the role of science in our conception of freedom; political notions of freedom; existential conceptualizations of freedom; and the difference between freedom and "doing or saying whatever you wish.'.
PHL 233 | ISSUES IN SEX AND GENDER | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines the relationship between, and the making of, sex and gender. It tackles the question of how we are and become sexuated, and critically explores the fluid boundary between the biological and the social. Topics that might be covered include: the social construction of masculinity and femininity; the nature of sexism and how it can be challenged and resisted; the ways in which intersex and trans experiences have shaped current discourse about sex and gender; binary vs. non-binary models of sex and gender; the materiality of bodies; and the policing of non-conforming bodies and identities. Students might reflect on the intersection between sex, gender, and other identity categories, such as race, class, and sexuality.
PHL 234 | PHILOSOPHY AND MODERN SOCIETY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course will consider such issues as the relation between society and the state, the connections between work, leisure and poverty, and the social effects of prejudice and resentment.
PHL 235 | ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course offers an introduction to environmental philosophy and the philosophical significance of environmental questions. Topics that might be covered include: philosophical conceptions of nature and the precarious boundary between nature and culture; the legacy of ancient cosmology; the development of a scientific view of nature; environmental crises such as global warming, the extinction of species, or toxic waste; environmental justice; eco-feminism and indigenous conceptions of nature; the role of technology in our relating to nature; and ethical considerations around sustainability, our treatment of animals, or deforestation.
PHL 236 | PHILOSOPHY AND THE CITY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines the meaning of the city for philosophy and the meaning of urbanization for the formation of values. At its inception, philosophy concerned itself with questions having to do with community and the political organization of city-states (the Greek polis). These early concerns reverberate into our own times as philosophers across the world reflect on issues such as the modernization of cities; the dynamics of city life; urbanization in relation to globalization; the public sphere and our access to public spaces; the aesthetics of urban environments; and political concerns such as gentrification, racial justice, and zoning. Students might reflect on their own situatedness in the city of Chicago as it pertains to assigned readings and to the philosophical analysis of urban spaces.
PHL 237 | PHILOSOPHY, CONFLICT AND PEACE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course engages in philosophical reflection upon the causes of war and the possibilities for peace. Emphasis will be placed on both revealing the lived realities of conflict and in situating that lived reality in terms of both local and global structures of power and oppression. Topics and perspectives that may be considered include: epistemic perspectivism; structural violence; hierarchical and lateral power relations; colonialism, neocolonialism and decolonial approaches; revolution; positive and negative peace; and strategies of humanitarian engagement.
PHL 238 | FEMINIST PHILOSOPHIES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course offers an examination of diverse feminist philosophies and their development throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Feminist approaches that may be considered are: existential feminism; egalitarian feminism: feminisms of sexual difference: radical lesbian feminism: queer and trans feminisms: feminisms of color; and intersectional and transnational feminisms. Possible topics include: feminist readings and critiques of canonical philosophical texts and ideas; debates around biological determinism and social constructivism: feminist ethics, aesthetics, or philosophies of science; questions having to do with the relationship between sex, gender, and sexuality; the "woman" problem and the place and role of women in feminist thought; the coloniality of gender; women of color critiques of white feminisms; and debates around materiality and embodiment.
PHL 240 | LOVE, HATRED, AND RESENTMENT | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines love, hatred, and resentment through various philosophical texts and methods. Questions addressed may include: What are emotions or affects? How do they arise? Are emotions such as love, hatred, and resentment legitimate and/or rational responses to particular situations? How do social conditions influence our emotions and how do emotions influence social conditions and/or actions? Do emotions play a role in forming knowledge? How have love, hatred, and resentment influenced culture, politics, aesthetics, and literature? How has philosophy treated these emotions historically and within contemporary work?.
PHL 241 | ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A study of the ways in which ethics can assist us in thinking about matters of public policy.
PHL 242 | PHILOSOPHY AND TECHNOLOGY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course raises classic philosophical questions within today's world of technological objects, systems, and thinking. Ethics, epistemology, aesthetics, and other philosophical frameworks are used to help understand the co-existence of humanity, nonhumans, and technologies. Specific topics of discussion may include: robots; social media; digital life; algorithms; weaponry; the "singularity"; genetic engineering; and geoengineering. Traditional and contemporary works of philosophy are supplemented by critical commentaries on techno-culture and an exploration of a variety of relevant creative work.
PHL 243 | PHILOSOPHY AND FILM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines philosophical themes that arise in films, and/or the philosophical significance of film. The course seeks to achieve a fluency not only in philosophy (its history, objects of concern, and critical practices), but also in the language of film interpretation (based primarily in an understanding of the practical and symbolic function of the medium).
PHL 244 | PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course broaches the significance of religion and religious phenomena for philosophy. Central issues of inquiry may include: religious skepticism; pluralism in religion; arguments for the existence of God; the impact of science on religious beliefs; the place of ritual and symbolism in human life; and religious language.
PHL 245 | REASON AND SOCIETY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A study not aimed at the production of particular skills but at understanding of the proper role of reason in social institutions and the formation of public opinion.
PHL 246 | BLACK AESTHETIC THOUGHT | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
In this course we examine the contributions to aesthetics made by black intellectuals in the United States and globally. The philosophical importance of black aesthetics in the areas of music, literature, and visual art will be considered as we address the historical circumstances of oppression and injustice that shaped the lives and work of the thinkers we shall study. Cross-listed with ABD 234.
PHL 247 | PHILOSOPHY AND THE VALUE OF MUSIC | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
In this course, we will explore the role of music in philosophy, in particular, the value of music as a tool of social critique. Topics of investigation might include: an examination of the value of music as presented by various philosophers, the role of music in our cognitive development, and the culturally transformative power of music.
PHL 248 | BUSINESS ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
An examination of various ethical and moral issues arising in contemporary business and its activities, which affect our society and the world. Topics may include choice distortion of various sorts at the individual level: ethically better and worse corporate cultures; ethical business leadership; larger macro-economic and social trends, including developments within global capitalism; and capitalism as an ideology.
PHL 250 | PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL CHANGE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course is based upon the premise that students can learn more by actively forming their own understanding. In this community engagement course students will assume a leadership role in the investigation of theories and concepts and in the interpretation of real-world experiences with the assistance of the instructor as a guide. Besides class assignments and class discussions, students will attend an array of community meetings, informational on-site sessions, and perform productively in a community setting. Course content and community engagement activities are geared to be comprehensive and thus will call on students to bring their intellect and prior experience to the forefront while working on specific tasks and providing tangible benefits for their community partner. Students will be encouraged to synthesize academic knowledge, community engagement experience, and their particular individual abilities with the aim of promoting the goals of their service site community as well as their classroom community. This course fulfils the Junior Year Experiential Learning requirement of the Liberal Studies Program.
PHL 263 | GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This class takes intersectional analysis as a fundamental premise for examining a range of philosophical perspectives on issues surrounding gender, race, and class, and the relationship between them. Drawing from diverse bodies of work, the course focuses most extensively on Black, Latinx, and decolonial feminisms, and their impact on contemporary philosophical discourse on these issues.
PHL 264 | PHILOSOPHICAL CRITIQUES OF COLONIALISM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines the philosophical roots and significance of colonialism, as well as the logics of coloniality that still pervade our world today, both in the United States and globally. Possible topics include: the coloniality of time and space; epistemic violence and erasure; indigenous knowledge; Eurocentrism; the coloniality of gender and race, and the structures of oppression that result from it; liberation movements; non-violent and violent resistance; and globalization.
PHL 280 | CRITICAL THINKING | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course has as its main purpose the exploration of ways of argumentation and critical skills that can be applied in everyday life experiences, professional settings, and media and advertising, among others. What makes one argument acceptable and another unacceptable? What makes one inference reasonable and another unreasonable? Philosophers employ a variety of methods to address such questions, and this course introduces students to some of those methods. Students will come away with a better understanding of the nature of argumentation and our capacity for reason, along with strong skills in critical thinking that can be applied to personal, political, and intellectual pursuits.
PHL 281 | BASIC LOGIC | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course is an introduction to logic for students of philosophy and related fields, such as mathematics, computer science, political science, social and cognitive sciences, and the health sciences. It is intended for beginners and covers fundamental logical concepts and techniques, methods of argument, and ways of detecting formal fallacies. The key outcomes are a clear understanding of rule-based reasoning, a tool that can be effective in a wide number of disciplines, and a practice of deductive reasoning, especially as used in legal professions, policy development, and exams such as the LSAT.
PHL 282 | SYMBOLIC LOGIC I | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Symbolic Logic.
PHL 283 | SYMBOLIC LOGIC II | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A study of the methods and techniques of formulating and evaluating arguments with the help of symbolic notation.
PHL 282 is a prerequisite for this course.
PHL 287 | INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN PHILOSOPHIES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
An introduction to Asian Philosophy, examining some of the central philosophical issues and movements in Asian thought, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism.
PHL 293 | ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course explores the origin and development of ancient philosophy from the pre-Socratics through Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and their Hellenistic successors. Students engage in careful study of fragments from early Greek thinkers, Platonic dialogues, Aristotelian treatises, and/or later Epicurean and Stoic writings. Topics may include the discovery of nature; being and becoming; human knowledge; the place and role of art; the movement of the cosmos; and issues having to do with ethics and politics. Cross-listed with CTH 238.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 294 | MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A study of selected thinkers and issues from the Medieval period. Cross-listed with CTH 239.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 295 | EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course traces the birth of modern philosophy and involves a study of some of the main philosophers and philosophical movements from the 17th and 18th centuries. Typical questions pertain to the method proper to philosophy: the origins, nature, and limits of human knowledge: modern subjectivity and selfhood: the relationship between philosophy and science, as well as that between philosophy and theology: social contract theories: and the nature of moral thinking and acting. Cross-listed with CTH 338.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 296 | KANT & 19TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course focuses on a study of Kant and some of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century, such as Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. Typical questions pertain to the role of history in shaping our self-understanding in science, religion, and politics; the emergence of radical critiques of modern culture; the origins, nature, and limits of human knowledge; and the power dynamics that shape our identities and intersubjective relations.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 297 | 20TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines selected thinkers and issues arising in the 20th century. Works by continental philosophers are typically prominently featured, and students are introduced to major philosophical movements such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, deconstruction, feminism, and psychoanalysis. Typical questions pertain to problems of consciousness, language, perception, time, embodiment, identity and difference, revolution, power, and otherness.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 314 | SURVEY OF ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
An intensive study of the broad range of the history of and approaches to ethics.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 315 | SURVEY OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
An intensive study of the broad range of the history of and approaches to political philosophy.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 320 | METAPHYSICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Reality is everywhere and this course introduces students to abstract or "metaphysical" treatments of various segments or aspects of reality. Readings will be drawn from important figures in the western philosophical tradition. Possible topics include: the meaning and scope of general terms, causality, change, identity, negation, sameness and difference, space and time, the constitution of things routinely experienced in daily life. Students of science or religion will also recognize the importance and value of sustained metaphysical reflection on the elements of reality selected for examination.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 321 | EPISTEMOLOGY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Epistemology is the study of knowledge, and involves questions having to do with justification and rational belief. Topics covered in this class may include: skepticism; truth, certainty, and opinion; theories of knowledge and justification; the structure of knowledge and justification; sources of epistemic normativity; the value of knowledge; epistemic responsibility; testimony, memory, and perception; and rationalism, empiricism, and pragmatism.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 322 | PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course offers an investigation into the nature of language and its significance for philosophical inquiry. Topics to be discussed may include: truth and meaning; speech acts; metaphor and interpretation; hate speech and linguistic violence; rhetoric; the relationship between language and reality and that between language and power; translation; and discursive practices.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 325 | BASIC CONCEPTS OF PHENOMENOLOGY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course emphasizes the principal themes of such thinkers as Husserl, Merleau-Ponty and Heidegger.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 327 | TOPICS IN ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A focused discussion of specific issues in moral and ethical philosophy. Topics may include the morality of artificial intelligence or ethical issues connected with climate change, abortion, euthanasia, affirmative action, college athletics, guaranteed family income schemes; minimum wage laws; policing; and/or gene editing.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 328 | TOPICS IN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A focused discussion of specific issues in economic, social and political philosophy.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 330 | JUNIOR HONORS OPTION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Junior Honors Option.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 339 | BIOETHICS IN SOCIETY CAPSTONE SEMINAR | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This seminar is an interdisciplinary study of the function of bioethics in society. As a discipline and as a profession, bioethics stands as a distinctive barometer of our evolving and shifting conceptions not only of health and well-being, but of the world, society, and even ourselves. The seminar explores the history of bioethics, bioethics as a clinical practice, and the various questions that arise at this crossroad from health science, medical humanities, religious studies, sociological, and philosophical perspectives. Cross-listed with REL 339 and SOC 339.
PHL 229 or HLTH 229 or REL 229 is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 341 | AESTHETICS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course engages in a study of philosophical aesthetics as well as of the philosophy of art, as taken up by modern thinkers such as Kant, Schiller, and Hegel. Questions to be explored might include: the meaning of concepts such as beauty and the sublime; the role of art in our way of approaching and understanding the world, and its relationship to philosophy; the role of beauty and art in education; and the philosophical analysis of aesthetic judgments. Contemporary conceptions of art and beauty from perspectives such as feminism, decoloniality, black and Latino aesthetics may be included too.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 342 | PHILOSOPHY OF LAW | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
One of the most important contemporary legal theorists, H.L.A. Hart, begins The Concept of Law by pointing out that "few questions concerning human society have been asked with such persistence and answered by serious thinkers in so many diverse, strange, and paradoxical ways as the question `What is law?' " This course focuses on this question by considering various issues in the conception and practice of law such as the purpose and limits of law, the nature of judicial reasoning, property law, international law, and the relationship of law to morality and politics. The course examines different theories of law, including legal positivism, legal realism, critical race legal theory and critical feminist legal theory, asking how these different theories offer different conceptions of human rights, legal duties, liability and legal responsibility.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 350 | PHILOSOPHY AND THE NATURAL SCIENCES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Philosophy And The Natural Sciences.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 354 | PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A philosophical inquiry into the nature and history of psychology, psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 355 | THEORIES OF INTERPRETATION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A study of philosophical hermeneutics in authors like Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, Gadamer, Ricoeur. Questions related to biblical interpretation may also be included. Focus will vary according to instructor. Cross-listed with CTH 336.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 356 | TOPICS IN POSTMODERNISM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines some of the central tenets of postmodernism as found in the works of theorists such as Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, and Frederic Jameson. The course begins by considering postmodernism's relationship to modernism and its reaction to it so as then to look at the way postmodern conceptions of time, space, nature, identity, and so on, have come to influence not only twentieth and twenty-first century philosophy but also art, architecture, and literature.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 357 | TOPICS IN PSYCHOANALYSIS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Selected philosophical issues in psychoanalysis, for example, from early writers like Janet through contemporary theorists such as Irigaray.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 360 | GREEK PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 361 | PLATO | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 362 | ARISTOTLE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 363 | MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 364 | 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY RATIONALISM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 365 | 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY EMPIRICISM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 366 | DESCARTES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 367 | THE ENLIGHTENMENT | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 368 | GERMAN IDEALISM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
German Idealism.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 369 | KANT | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 370 | HEGEL | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 371 | 19TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
19th Century Philosophy.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 372 | MARX | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 373 | NIETZSCHE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 374 | HEIDEGGER | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course provides an introduction to the thought of Martin Heidegger through the study of one or more of his key works.
PHL 375 | PHENOMENOLOGY AND EXISTENTIALISM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
An examination of central themes and figures in phenomenology and existentialist philosophy. Special emphasis will be put on concepts and philosophers who are making connections between both currents (e.g., Sartre).
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 376 | AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 377 | PHILOSOPHY AND DECONSTRUCTION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course is intended to be an introduction to the issues and methods of deconstruction. It begins with a look at the origins of deconstruction in thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Benjamin, before turning to the work of Jacques Derrida, the thinker most closely associated with the philosophical notion of "deconstruction." Through readings of Derrida and those who came to be identified with him (e.g., Blanchot, De Man, Kofman, Lacoue-Labarthe, Nancy, etc.), the course considers how deconstruction challenges such traditional philosophical notions as time as a series of linear presents, subjectivity as self-presence, representation as mimesis, and so on.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 378 | ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 380 | SELECTED FIGURES AND TEXTS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 381 | DRAMATIC THEORY: TRAGEDY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A study of some of the main philosophical theories of tragedy together with readings of some of the most important ancient and modern tragedies. Cross-listed with THE 224.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course or THE 206) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 382 | DRAMATIC THEORY: COMEDY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A study of some of the main philosophical theories of comedy together with readings of some of the most important ancient and modern comedies. Cross-listed with THE 225.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course or THE 206) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 383 | PHILOSOPHICAL THEMES IN LITERATURE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines the philosophical themes raised by great works of literature. It does so by means of both close readings of these works and analyses of them through the lens of philosophy. Whether it be the Greek tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles being read alongside Aristotle and Nietzsche, or Proust being read with Bergson and Deleuze, the intention is to read literary and philosophical works side by side so as to see both how literary works develop or demonstrate certain philosophical concepts and how philosophical works can help illuminate literature.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 388 | TOPICS IN COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Draws on philosophies from different cultures to explore philosophical issues from a comparative perspective. Topics and areas will vary according to instructor.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 389 | LATIN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
What does it mean to speak of Latin American philosophy? What is the difference between merely doing philosophy in Latin America and doing Latin American philosophy? These are issues that some thinkers in Latin America grapple with. This course explores the history and nature of Latin American philosophy. Moreover, it examines some of the reasons why, in sharp contrast to the European and Anglo-American philosophical traditions, questions of the very existence of an autochthonous Latin American philosophical tradition are heatedly debated both in Latin America and beyond. Subjects may also include decolonial approaches to philosophy from a Latin American perspective, and connections between art, literature and philosophy in Latin America.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 390 | SELECTED TOPICS AND CONTROVERSIES | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Selected topics and controversies.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 391 | SENIOR CAPSTONE SEMINAR | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
A capstone seminar on selected topics in philosophy, that integrates the goals of the liberal studies program.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 392 | TOPICS IN FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course broaches selected issues, approaches, or figures within feminist work, such as debates about embodiment, trans issues, or reproductive rights; feminist metaphysics, epistemology, or eco-feminism; or particular feminist figures who have been influential in such debates or schools of thought. (Topics will vary according to instructor.)
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 395 | SENIOR THESIS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
An opportunity for intensive independent work, open to philosophy majors of outstanding achievement. By petition only. Contact the department office for further information. Philosophy 395 is not applicable to major field requirements, though it may be used as an open elective. Permission required.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 398 | TRAVEL/STUDY | 1-8 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
By arrangement with sponsoring faculty, foreign and domestic travel or residence programs may be combined with lectures, readings, and research assignments. Variable credit.
PHL 399 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-6 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Independent studies are granted only by petition and only in very exceptional cases. Special justification will be required. Junior standing or above is a prerequisite for requesting an Independent Study.
(PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course) is a prerequisite for this class.
PHL 400 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN TRADITIONAL PHILOSOPHERS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Special Topics In Traditional Philosophers.
PHL 410 | PLATO I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of Plato's life and early dialogues.
PHL 411 | PLATO II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of the middle and later dialogues.
PHL 415 | ARISTOTLE I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of Aristotle's life and selected topics of his theoretical philosophy: organon, physics, psychology, and metaphysics.
PHL 416 | ARISTOTLE II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of aspects of Aristotle's practical and productive philosophy: ethics, politics, rhetoric, and poetics.
PHL 420 | AUGUSTINE | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of Augustine's philosophy through an examination of some of his major writings.
PHL 425 | AQUINAS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of his philosophy, especially its relations to theology, through an examination of selected major works.
PHL 434 | HOBBES | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of Hobbes' role as the father of modern political philosophy: a study of the Leviathan and the Elements of Law.
PHL 435 | DESCARTES | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of Descartes' role as the father of modern philosophy; issues of the Regulae, the Discours, and the Meditations.
PHL 437 | LOCKE | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of the major theoretical works.
PHL 438 | LEIBNIZ | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of the major philosophical works.
PHL 440 | SPINOZA | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of the Ethics and/or the Theologico-Political Treatise.
PHL 441 | ROUSSEAU | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of the major theoretical works.
PHL 443 | MEDICAL LEGAL ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of contemporary problems in the area of medical legal ethics.
PHL 445 | HUME | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of Hume's place in classical British empiricism; a study of A Treatise of Human Nature.
PHL 470 | PHILOSOPHY OF WITTGENSTEIN | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
PHL 500 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
None.
PHL 510 | KANT I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to the critical philosophy of Kant by concentrating on the Critique of Pure Reason.
PHL 511 | KANT II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of the Critique of Practical Reason or the Critique of Judgment.
PHL 512 | KANT III | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Kant III: Kant's Political Writings.
PHL 515 | HEGEL I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An Introduction to Hegel: The Phenomenology of Spirit.
PHL 516 | HEGEL II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Readings in the Science of Logic or the Philosophy of Right.
PHL 517 | HOLDERLIN | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of the major theoretical writings, ca. 1797-1804.
PHL 518 | SCHELLING | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of the treatise on human freedom (1809).
PHL 520 | MARX I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to Marx through a study of selected topics and works.
PHL 521 | MARX II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of selected topics and works from both Marx/Engels and their disciples.
PHL 522 | SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
None.
PHL 525 | NIETZSCHE | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to the philosophy of Nietzsche through Beyond Good and Evil, Thus Spake Zarathustra and selected topics and works.
PHL 527 | PHILOSOPHY, ETHICS, AND ECONOMICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of classical and contemporary theories from Smith and Marx to Friedman, Held and others.
PHL 529 | THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BIOETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
This course examines and critically assesses the conceptual foundations of various theoretical approaches to bioethics. It is divided into three parts. Part I reviews the main Western ethical traditions 'Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and Virtue Ethics' and discusses how they lay the foundation for as well as challenge the canonical principles of bioethics, biomedical ethics, and medical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence. Part II examines the core concepts that define, in many ways, the field of bioethical inquiry: health, death, and dying as well as the concepts that frame the practice of healthcare itself and thereby shape and mold the ethical issues arising from it: race, class, gender, disability, and culture. Part III seeks to contextualize critically the conventional account of the discipline of bioethics by exploring a number of theoretical approaches derived from the European philosophical tradition and beyond. Specifically, it investigates the use and significance of such methods as phenomenology, deconstruction, feminism, and biopolitical analyses for rethinking the clinical encounter, the meaning of new medical technologies, and the relationship between scientific knowledge and social and political power.
PHL 535 | HUSSERL I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to Husserl through a study of selected topics and works.
PHL 536 | HUSSERL II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Selected topics and works.
PHL 550 | HEIDEGGER I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to Heidegger through study of a major work and one of the Marburg lectures.
PHL 551 | HEIDEGGER II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Selected topics and questions.
PHL 552 | HEIDEGGER III | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Heidegger III.
PHL 557 | TOPICS IN CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
None.
PHL 559 | FOUCAULT | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to Foucault through a study of selected topics and works.
PHL 560 | THE PHILOSOPHY OF GABRIEL MARCEL | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
The Philosophy Of Gabriel Marcel.
PHL 561 | LYOTARD | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to Lyotard through a study of selected topics and works.
PHL 565 | MERLEAU-PONTY I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of The Phenomenology of Perception with consideration given to Merleau-Ponty's place in contemporary philosophy.
PHL 566 | MERLEAU-PONTY II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of the themes of his social philosophy and final ontology.
PHL 570 | SARTRE I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of Being and Nothingness with attention given to Sartre's early phenomenological studies as background and to some of his literary works and criticism, such as Nausea and Saint-Genet.
PHL 571 | SARTRE II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
The social thought of Jean-Paul Sartre. A study of A Critique of Dialectic Reason along with appropriate literary works and more recent political writings.
PHL 577 | DERRIDA I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An introduction to Derrida through a study of selected topics and works.
PHL 578 | DERRIDA II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Selected topics and questions.
PHL 585 | RICOEUR | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of Ricoeur's philosophy and phenomenology of the will with stress on its background and its place in contemporary French phenomenology.
PHL 586 | METAPHOR AND POETIC LANGUAGE | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
An examination of Ricoeur's work in poetics.
PHL 587 | READING LEVINAS I | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Reading Levinas I.
PHL 588 | READING LEVINAS II | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Reading Levinas II.
PHL 589 | PHILOSOPHY, LITERATURE, COMMUNITY | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Discussion of such thinkers as Bataille, Derrida, Jabes, and Nancy.
PHL 590 | TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY FRENCH PHILOSOPHY | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A look at the increasing importance of structuralism, deconstruction, philosophy of language, and hermeneutics in contemporary French thought.
PHL 591 | CRITICAL RACE THEORY | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Critical Race Theory.
PHL 600 | SEMINAR ON AMERICAN THOUGHT | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
SEMINAR ON AMERICAN THOUGHT.
PHL 601 | SEMINAR ON AESTHETICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
SEMINAR ON AESTHETICS.
PHL 629 | SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS.
PHL 640 | PROBLEMS IN ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A seminar in business ethics that centers on theoretical, practical, and pedagogical issues.
PHL 641 | SEMINAR ON THE CONTINENTAL TRADITION IN ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A comparative discussion of the ethical theories of Scheler, Hartmann, Brentano, Levinas, etc.
PHL 651 | TOPICS IN BUSINESS ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A seminar in business ethics that centers on theoretical, practical, and pedagogical issues.
PHL 656 | SEMINAR ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A study of selected writings of key social and political thinkers.
PHL 657 | TOPICS IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Topics In Social And Political Thought.
PHL 660 | SEMINAR IN FEMINIST ETHICS | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Examination of the care perspective as compared to the justice perspective on moral development. Cross-listed as MLS 477 and WMS 410.
PHL 661 | TOPICS IN FEMINIST THEORY | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Includes such themes as feminist ontologies, theories of discourse and writing, science and technology, etc.
PHL 697 | GRADUATE TEACHING PRACTICUM | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Examination of teaching method concepts.
PHL 698 | MASTER'S THESIS RESEARCH | 8.00 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Independent investigation of a philosophical problem for the thesis/dissertation.
PHL 699 | DISSERTATION RESEARCH | 1-12 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Independent investigation of a philosophical problem for the thesis/dissertation. Variable credit.
PHL 700 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-8 quarter hours
(Graduate)
INDEPENDENT STUDY.
PHL 701 | CANDIDACY CONTINUATION | 0 quarter hours
(Graduate)
This 0-credit hour course is available to PhD candidates who have completed all course requirements and are actively working on a dissertation. Enrollment in this course is limited to three quarters and requires dissertation advisor and graduate director approval and demonstration to them of work each quarter. Enrollment in this course allows access to the library and other campus facilities. The student may be eligible for loan deferment and student loans. This course is graded as pass/fail. (0 credit hours)
PHL 799 | CANDIDACY MAINTENANCE | 0 quarter hours
(Graduate)
This 0-credit hour course is available to PhD candidates who are not registered for a course in a given quarter but need to maintain active university status. Enrollment in this course is limited to three quarters and requires permission of the graduate director. Enrollment in this course allows access to the library and other campus facilities. This course does not carry an equivalent enrollment status and students in it are not eligible for loan deferment or student loans. This course is not graded. (0 credit hours)