Fall 2014

Philosophical theories of law and applications to controversies of importance to society and our legal system, such as free speech, civil disobedience, and self-defense.

Critical study of controversial social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war & terrorism, pornography, and economic justice.

Modern philosophical teatments of the problem of the meaning orpurpose of human life; special attention to Existentialism.

Philosophical and religious implications of the scientificrevolution of the seventeenth century and the Darwinian revolutionin the nineteenth century.

Critical reasoning skills and their many everyday applications; theory of logically correct reasoning and its associated formal techniques.

Critical reasoning skills and their many everyday applications; theory of logically correct reasoning and its associated formal techniques.

Major figures in the history of Western philosophical thought from the presocratics to the Hellenistic period; emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

Analysis of some of the main political philosophies of the modern era; emphasis on the ethical and metaphysical foundations of political philosophy.

Study of major philosophical theories of moral right and wrong, such as utilitarianism, Kantianism, egoism, virtue ethics, and theological ethics.

Study of reasoning as a strategy for arriving at knowledge in dependence upon logical theory. Logical theories are developed alongside historically influential strategies of reasoning.

Detailed study of the evolution of Plato's thought as revealed in selected dialogues. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy.

Philosophical theories about the nature of law, relations between law and morality, and analysis of normative concepts central to law, such as responsibility, punishment, negligence.

An historical and critical study of the great moral philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, and the British moralists.

Systematic study of the metatheory of quantificational logic, with applications to questions of decidability and completeness of formal systems, including Godel's Incompleteness Theorems.

Examination of contemporary theories of mind and its place in the natural world.

Examination of contemporary accounts of the nature, scope, sources--and value--of human knowledge and justified belief.

Classic issues in epistemology and the philosophy of language, leading up to the application of context-sensitivity in language to the problem of skepticism. Recommended preparation: At least one 400-level PHIL course. Open only to Philosophy majors.

Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit.

Independent studies for philosophy majors, and guidance in the preparation of the senior thesis for students who wish to graduate with honors in philosophy. Not open to graduate students.

Analysis of selected philosophical problems and theses of current interest; explication of major contemporary papers and/or books is emphasized.

Contemporary philosophical issues and literature.

Problems in research in selected portions of modern philosophy.

Advanced topics in metaphysics.

Advanced topics in epistemology.

Research leading to the master's degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Basic principles of philosophical pedagogy, with emphasis on practical applications and the importance of career-long skill development. Required for first-semester teaching assistants in philosophy.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.

A focused environment in which to present and evaluate dissertation work-in-progress. Focus on peer and faculty feedback, developing professional presentation skills, improving critical communication skills. Graded CR/NC. Open only to Philosophy doctoral students.

Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.