Philosophy 

Undergraduate Philosophy Courses

PHIL 140 Philosophy

An introduction to methods of critical thinking, and to the major problem areas of philosophy such as epistemology, metaphysics and ethics.

PHIL 180 Critical Thinking

An introductory course exploring the nature and structure of arguments and enhancing reasoning abilities. Students will learn to develop and analyze arguments, identify informal fallacies, differentiate among assumptions, opinions, and facts, and hone critical reading and writing skills.

PHIL 213 History of Philosophy

A survey of the history of Western philosophy from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century, including Hobbes, Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, and Hegel.

PHIL 214 Non-Western Philosophy

A survey of non-western philosophy.  Topics will vary by semester but may include epistemology, ethics, and metaphysics as they were approached in India, China, Japan, the Islamic World, and Africa. 

PHIL 218 African American Philosophy

A survey of African American philosophical thought.  The course will explore both the distinctive traditions of African American philosophy as well as the unique contributions made by African Americans to different branches of philosophy.

PHIL 220 Introduction to Logic

An introduction to the methods of elementary formal logic, including traditional syllogistic, Venn diagrams, sentential logic, truth tables, methods of deduction, and inductive reasoning.

PHIL 275 Ethics

An introductory study of the nature, analysis, and justification of moral judgments.

PHIL 280 Medical Ethics

A course designed to introduce students to ethical theories and moral reasoning, which they will then apply to case studies concerning health care, medicine and biotechnology. Students will consider contemporary moral dilemmas that confront health care professionals and scientists, as well as individuals who need to make medical decisions that deal with challenging ethical questions.

PHIL 290 Business Ethics

A course designed to introduce students to ethical theories and moral reasoning which they will then apply to business case studies. Students will consider contemporary moral dilemmas confronting businesses and corporations. They will develop the critical skills needed to analyze complex moral situations and formulate, weigh, discuss and defend appropriate moral solutions.

PHIL 314 Philosophy of Religion

A survey of Eastern and Western religious thought, including the idea of God, knowledge of God, the problem of evil, immortality, and reincarnation.

PHIL 315 African Philosophy

An exploration of metaphysical, epistemological and ethical theories arising from peoples of the African continent. Students will analyze, discuss and compare the differing principles and worldviews of the diverse African societies.

PHIL 323 Readings in Philosophy

A close reading of original philosophical works on an in-depth treatment of a philosophical problem, such as readings in the philosophy of law, Black philosophy, existentialism, the philosophy of language, and symbolic logic.

PHIL 340 Philosophy of Mind

The question ‘what is it to have a mind?’ forms the focus of the course, and the objective is to arrive at an answer by examining the multifarious manifestations of mind. The course is organized around an interdisciplinary approach by incorporating theories from psychology, artificial intelligence and cognitive science.

PHIL 350 Philosophy of Law

An examination of the sources, content and extent of political and moral rights and obligations. Other concepts explored will be autonomy, privacy, freedom of religion, equal opportunity, paternalism, and how these concepts impact issues such as conscientious objection, flag burning, pornography, affirmative action, abortion, and euthanasia. 

PHIL 400 Contemporary Philosophy

A study of twentieth century Western philosophy, including the work of such contemporary philosophers as Russell, Wittgenstein, Pierce, James, Dewey, Heidegger, and Sartre.

PHIL 422 Philosophy of Science

An examination of the fundamental conceptual basis of the sciences, with consideration given to scientific methods of certification, theory construction and explanation, the metaphysical assumptions and implications of scientific theories, and the relations between the scientific and non-scientific views of the world.

PHIL 424 Seminar in Philosophy

An opportunity for students to pursue original research in an area of the instructor’s special interest and study.

PHIL 450 Applied Ethics

An in-depth exploration of moral theory and discussion of its application to broad areas such as business, the environment, or bio-medical issues.

PHIL 460 Epistemology and Metaphysics

An examination of the nature of knowledge and reality. The course covers epistemological issues such as skepticism, analysis of knowledge, relevance of gender and race to understanding and the ethics of belief. It also deals with metaphysical questions about what there is in reality and how the world works by discussion issues like appearance and reality, substance and identify, causation and laws, and space and time.

Minor in Philosophy

The Minor in Philosophy comprises 18 semester hours of philosophy courses with nine semester hours of core courses and nine semester hours of elective philosophy courses. A grade of “C” or better must be obtained in all courses taken.

Core Courses (9 semester hours):

PHIL 140 Introduction to Philosophy

PHIL 220 Logic

One Ethics course:

            PHIL 275 Ethics

            PHIL 280 Medical Ethics

            PHIL 290 Business Ethics

            PHIL 450 Applied Ethics

Elective Courses (9 semester hours):

Three additional philosophy courses are required.