Philosophy (PHI)

PHI 1043. Critical Thinking. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours. (TCCN = PHIL 2303)

Introduces students to principles of informal reasoning, especially in practical contexts. Topics may include: forms of reasoning, decision making, organizing data, forming strategies, giving reasons, inductive reasoning, informal fallacies, and obstacles to sound thinking (perceptual, cultural, emotional, intellectual, and expressive) may also be addressed. May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in Language, Philosophy and Culture. Course Fees: LRC1 $12; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48; DL01 $75.

PHI 2013. Basic Philosophical Problems. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours. (TCCN = PHIL 1301)

Introduction to philosophy through general problems in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion; emphasis on the writings of philosophers of various historical periods, especially as these doctrines apply to contemporary problems. May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in Language, Philosophy and Culture. Generally offered: Spring. Course Fees: LRC1 $12; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 2023. Introduction to Ancient Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours. (TCCN = PHIL 2316)

Introduction to ancient philosophy through the study of Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and others; emphasis on the Greek contribution to the moral and political ideas of the Western world. May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in Language, Philosophy and Culture. Course Fees: LRC1 $12; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 2033. Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Introduction to early modern philosophy from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment through the study of Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant or others. May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in Language, Philosophy and Culture. Generally offered: Spring. Course Fees: LRC1 $12; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 2043. Introductory Logic. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours. (TCCN = PHIL 2303)

Introduces students to some of the modern formal systems used to distinguish between good and bad forms of reasoning in either or both of the deductive or inductive realms. Topics may include: translation from natural to formal languages, probability theory, scientific inductive reasoning, Bayesian reasoning, propositional calculus, predicate calculus, other kinds of formal deductive reasoning (e.g., modal, deontic or belief logics), natural deduction and/or other formal proof methods, problems in philosophical logic (denoting, elementary meta-logic, consistency and completeness of formal systems, elementary model theory etc.). May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in the Component Area Option. Generally offered: Fall, Spring. Course Fees: LRC1 $12; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48; DL01 $75.

PHI 2073. Philosophy of Art. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Examination of major philosophical theories of art, beauty, and aesthetic judgment, with emphasis on such problems as form and structure, communication in art, and meaning in aesthetic judgment. May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in Creative Arts. (Formerly PHI 3053. Credit cannot be earned for both PHI 2073 and PHI 3053.) Course Fees: LRC1 $12; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 2093. Philosophy of The Americas. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

This class is an introduction to the variety of philosophies originating in the Americas, with particular emphasis on traditional Mesoamerican, contemporary indigenous, and Latin American philosophies. The class may examine metaphysical, ethical, political, and other problems. It may also include a treatment of the distinctive impact of colonialism and decolonization in the context of the Americas. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in Language, Philosophy and Culture.

PHI 2123. Contemporary Moral Issues. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Examination of major moral theories and how they afford a rational approach to specific moral issues and a rational basis for resolving moral conflict. Emphasis may be placed on medical, social, engineering and business ethics. May not be repeated for credit. May be applied toward the Core Curriculum requirement in Language, Philosophy and Culture. (Formerly titled "Moral Issues in Contemporary America.") Course Fees: DL01 $75; LRC1 $12; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 3013. Philosophy of Religion. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Examination of traditional religious beliefs and such concepts as faith and knowledge, mysticism and theology, the existence and nature of God, and the relation of religion to experience and social life. Generally offered: Fall. Course Fees: DL01 $75; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48. .

PHI 3033. Philosophy of Science. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Examination of major issues in the philosophical foundations of the natural and social sciences, including scientific explanation, laws and theories, probability and induction, and the relation of scientific inquiry to the Western philosophical tradition. Generally offered: Fall. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 3063. Philosophy of Law. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Examination of the major issues in the philosophical foundations of law. Topics may include the nature of law, the interpretation of law, the limits of legal regulation, the nature of the obligation to obey the law, the justification of punishment, and a variety of ethical issues that arise in legal contexts. Recommended for pre-law students. (Formerly PHI 2063. Credit cannot be earned for both PHI 3063 and PHI 2063.) Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 3073. Asian Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Examination of the philosophical and religious traditions of the East, with emphasis on various schools such as Vedanta, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 3083. Philosophy of Mind. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

This course examines the answers to the metaphysical question of how mind or consciousness fits into the physical world, also known as the mind body problem. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48; DL01 $75.

PHI 3203. Biomedical Ethics. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

This course explores the theoretical commitments that underwrite contemporary biomedical ethics and considers how these theoretical commitments play out in the context of specific debates about the permissibility of various medical interventions. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48; DL01 $75.

PHI 3213. Ethics. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Examination of ethical theory and of the nature and scope of ethical discourse, with emphasis on the concepts of good, human happiness, self-realization, virtue, duty, responsibility, and the means-ends relationship. Reading will include selected classical and contemporary texts. Generally offered: Fall. Course Fees: DL01 $75; LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 3223. Approaches to Knowledge and Reality. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Examination of the interrelations between the theory of knowledge and theory of reality, with emphasis on the nature and scope of human knowledge, sensation and understanding, truth and error, change and causality, possibility and actuality, and meaning and existence. Reading will include selected classical and contemporary texts. Generally offered: Spring. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 3233. Philosophy and Race. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Examination of the philosophical significance of race and racism. For example, ethical, metaphysical, conceptual, historical, or phenomenological. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

PHI 3243. Philosophy and Gender. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

This class addresses issues of gender and sexuality in philosophy. These issues will be explored by examining historical and/or contemporary writings in feminist philosophy, including the works of philosophers such as Hypatia, Princess Elizabeth, Simone de Beauvoir, Sandra Harding, Helen Longino, Sally Haslanger, Alison Wylie, Maria Lugones, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Kyle Whyte, Jodi Dean, Olufemi Taiwo, and Kristi Dotson. Issues examined may include sexism in philosophy, standpoint theory, feminist naturalism, trans inclusion/exclusion issues, Indigenous and decolonizing methodologies, and various interventionist approaches.

PHI 3303. Nineteenth-Century Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Examination of some of the major figures and topics in nineteenth-century philosophy and its intellectual background, including (but not limited to) these figures: Kant, Maimon, Bentham, Fichte, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Peirce, James, Dewey, Emerson, Thoreau; and these topics: philosophical aspects of German romanticism, idealism, utilitarianism, materialism, pragmatism, transcendentalism. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48; DL01 $75.

PHI 3343. Issues and Movements in Contemporary Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. Sustained study of one or more specific issues or movements from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day, such as philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, epistemology, political philosophy, theoretical or applied ethics, phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, or postmodernism. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Formerly titled "Issues and Movements in Twentieth-Century Philosophy.") Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 3413. Social and Political Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

This class addresses the major issues of social and political thought, including issues of race, gender, and class. The issues may be approached through historical texts from the Western or other traditions or through contemporary analyses, or both. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

PHI 4113. Contemporary Analytic Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. An in-depth examination of the major trends in the development of the Anglo-American philosophical tradition since its inception at the end of the nineteenth century up to the present day, including the early analysts, the development of logical positivism, and the emergence of nonformal linguistic analysis. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 4123. Contemporary Continental Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. A sustained treatment of the major trends in Continental European philosophy since the end of the nineteenth century up to the present day, including movements such as phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, and postmodernism; emphasis on historical development. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48; DL01 $75.

PHI 4333. Philosophy of Language. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in Communication. A critical examination of traditional problems dealing with the nature and function of language. Representative issues include analyticity, reference, proper names, metaphorical meaning, and speech-act theory. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 4911. Independent Study. (0-0) 1 Credit Hour.

Prerequisites: Permission in writing (form available) from the instructor, the student’s advisor, the Department Chair, and the Dean of the College in which the course is offered. Independent reading, research, discussion, and/or writing under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 semester credit hours of independent study, regardless of discipline, will apply to a bachelor’s degree. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $6.16.

PHI 4912. Independent Study. (0-0) 2 Credit Hours.

Prerequisites: Permission in writing (form available) from the instructor, the student’s advisor, the Department Chair, and the Dean of the College in which the course is offered. Independent reading, research, discussion, and/or writing under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 semester credit hours of independent study, regardless of discipline, will apply to a bachelor’s degree. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $12.32.

PHI 4913. Independent Study. (0-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisites: Permission in writing (form available) from the instructor, the student’s advisor, the Department Chair, and the Dean of the College in which the course is offered. Independent reading, research, discussion, and/or writing under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 semester credit hours of independent study, regardless of discipline, will apply to a bachelor’s degree. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 4953. Special Studies in Philosophy. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Organized course offering the opportunity for specialized study not normally or not often available as part of the regular course offerings. Special Studies may be repeated for credit when topics vary, but not more than 6 semester credit hours, regardless of discipline, will apply to a bachelor’s degree. Generally offered: Fall. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.

PHI 4973. Seminar for Philosophy Majors. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: 12 upper-division semester credit hours in philosophy or consent of the instructor. An advanced investigation of a single author, text, issue, or problem. Primary emphasis on supervised research on various aspects of the topic. May be repeated once for credit when topics vary. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48; DL01 $75.

PHI 4991. Honors Thesis. (0-0) 1 Credit Hour.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and Department Scholarship and Honors Committee. Supervised research and preparation of an Honors Thesis for the purpose of earning Philosophy Honors. May be repeated once with advisor approval. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $6.16.

PHI 4992. Honors Thesis. (0-0) 2 Credit Hours.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and Department Scholarship and Honors Committee. Supervised research and preparation of an Honors Thesis for the purpose of earning Philosophy Honors. May be repeated once with advisor approval. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $12.32.

PHI 4993. Honors Thesis. (0-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and Department Scholarship and Honors Committee. Supervised research and preparation of an Honors Thesis for the purpose of earning Philosophy Honors. May be repeated once with advisor approval. Course Fees: LRLF $10.27; STLF $18.48.