PHI - Philosophy


PHI 205Introduction to PhilosophyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring
Introduction to selected problems of enduring philosophical importance, including such topics as the nature of morality, knowledge, human freedom, and the existence of God. Content varies with different sections.


PHI 214Issues in Business EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring
An analysis and evaluation of major issues in business ethics. Topics include the social responsibility of business; social justice and free enterprise; the rights and duties of employers, employees, manufacturers, and consumers; duties to the environment, the world's poor, future generations, and the victims of past injustices; the moral status of the corporation; and the ethics of advertising.


PHI 221Contemporary Moral IssuesUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring
Philosophical analysis and theory applied to a broad range of contemporary moral issues, including euthanasia, suicide, capital punishment, abortion, war, famine relief, and environmental concerns.


PHI 250Thinking LogicallyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Spring Summer
Deductive arguments attempt to guarantee their conclusions. Inductive arguments attempt to make their conclusions more probable. Using a small number of simple, powerful logical techniques, this course teaches you how to find, analyze and evaluate deductive and inductive arguments, and thus how to avoid the most common errors in reasoning.


PHI 298Special Topics in PhilosophyUNITS: 3
Selected studies in philosophy that do not appear regularly in the curriculum. Topics will be announced for each semester in which the course is offered.


PHI 300Ancient PhilosophyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Only
Western philosophy of the ancient world, with special emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.


PHI 301Early Modern PhilosophyUNITS: 3
Western philosophy of the 17th and 18th centuries, including such philosophers as Descartes, Hobbes, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.


PHI 30219th Century PhilosophyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Only
Western philosophy of the 19th century, including such philosophers as Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Marx, and Nietzsche.


PHI 303Medieval PhilosophyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Philosophy of the Middle Ages. Authors to be studied may include Augustine, Anselm, Avicenna, Maimonides, Aquinas, and Scotus.


PHI 305Philosophy of ReligionUNITS: 3
The existence and nature of God, including such topics as traditional proofs of God, skeptical challenges to religious belief, miracles, the problem of evil, faith and reason, and religious experience.


PHI 309Contemporary Political PhilosophyUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: One PHI course
Current theories about basic concepts in political philosophy, such as liberty, equality, justice, natural rights, and democracy, with special attention to disputes concerning the nature of a just social order.


PHI 310ExistentialismUNITS: 3
Philosophy of Existentialism, including such thinkers as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Doestoevsky, Sartre, Heidegger, and Camus.


PHI 312Philosophy of LawUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Only
Fundamental legal issues such as what constitutes a law or legal system. Justifications of legal interference with individual liberty. Philosophical legal issues illustrated by specific legal cases.


PHI 313Ethical Problems in the LawUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: PHI 221, 275, or 375
Explores uses of the legal system, including such topics as the death penalty, plea bargaining, legalizing euthanasia, censorship, Good Samaritan laws, the insanity defense, civil disobedience, preferential treatment.


PHI (STS) 325Bio-Medical EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring
Interdisciplinary examination and appraisal of emerging ethical and social issues resulting from recent advances in the biological and medical sciences. Abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, compromised infants, aids, reproductive technologies, and health care. Focus on factual details and value questions, fact-value questions, fact-value interplay, and questions of impact assessment and policy formulation.


PHI 330MetaphysicsUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: One PHI course
Metaphysical problems: distinction between appearance and reality, nature of space and time, free will and determinism, mind and body, nature of identity.


PHI 331Philosophy of LanguageUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: One PHI course
Introduction to traditional and modern accounts of the relations between language and reality, the nature of truth, problems of intentionality and propositional attitudes.


PHI 332Philosophy of PsychologyUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: One PHI course or one PSY course
Problems and controversies that overlap the boundary between philosophy and psychology: the mind/body problem, behaviorism vs. cognitivism, the prospects for artificial intelligence, and language and the questions of innate knowledge.


PHI 333Theory of KnowledgeUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: One PHI course
Analysis of such central concepts as knowledge, belief, and truth, and the investigation of the principles by which claims to knowledge may be justified.


PHI 340Philosophy of ScienceUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Spring Summer
Nature of science highlighted by differences between science and pseudoscience, relationships between science and religion, and roles of purpose-directed (teleological) and causal explanation in physical, life and social sciences.


PHI 375EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring
Examination of traditional questions of philosophical ethics: What are the principles of moral conduct? What sort of life is worthy of a human being? Includes both classic and contemporary literature.


PHI 376History of EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring
Prerequisite: One PHI course
Topics in the history of ethics. Philosophers to be studied may include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Butler, Hume, Kant, Sidgwick and Nietzsche.


PHI 401Kant's Critique of Pure ReasonUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: 6 credits in PHI
A text-based critical study of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason Focusing on such topics as perception, judgment, knowledge, space, time, substance, causation and reality. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 401 and PHI 501.


PHI 415Life Science EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: One PHI course
Recent work in normative evaluation of human actions affecting living things. Advanced readings in moral theory, comparative value assessment, and public policy. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 415 and PHI 515.


PHI 420Global JusticeUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: One PHI course
The applications of the ideas of justice and right beyond and across the borders of individual nation states, attending to the facts of globalization and their consequences for political and economic justice and human rights. Topics: skepticism about global justice; transnational distributive justice, pollution, and poverty; national sovereignty, self-determination, and intervention; the ethics of war; international human rights; and global democracy. No one can receive credit for both PHI 420 and PHI 520.


PHI 422Philosophical Issues in Environmental EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Only
Prerequisite: One PHI course
Ethical questions about the environment; in particular, what obligations we have to the environment. Topics: animal rights, obligations to species and ecosystems, intrinsic vs. extrinsic value, and policy implications of moral judgments. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 422 and PHI 522. Students who have received credit for PHI 322 cannot receive credit for either PHI 422 or PHI 522.


PHI (PSY) 425Introduction to Cognitive ScienceUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Only
Prerequisite: One upper-level PHI, PSY, CSC or Linguistics course
Philosophical foundations and empirical fundamentals of cognitive science, an interdisciplinary approach to human cognition. Topics include: the computational model of mind, mental representation, cognitive architecture, the acquisition and use of language. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI/PSY 425 and PHI/PSY 525.


PHI 440The Scientific MethodUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: One upper-level PHI course
Detailed examination of core issues in the philosophy of science: the confirmation of scientific theories, falsification, projectibility, the nature of scientific explanation, laws of nature, and causation. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 440 and PHI 540.


PHI 445Philosophy of BiologyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: One 300 or 400-level PHI or biology course
Central issues in the philosophy of biology such as units of selection, philosophy of ecology, species, fitness, adaptationism, reductionism, development and innateness, evolutionary progress, and viability of applications of evolutionary theory to culture and "human nature". Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 445 and PHI 545.


PHI 447Philosophy, Evolution and Human NatureUNITS: 3 - Offered Alternate Odd Years, Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: One 300 level or higher course in Philosophy, Biology, Psychology or Anthropology
This course covers philosophical issues in the evolutionary study of human cognition: the role of adaptationism; the values of psychological vs. behavioral approaches; the phenotypic gambit; the evolution of morality and altruism; the nature of culture and the possibility of cultural evolution; innateness, genetic determinism and development; and case studies of evolutionary explanation of human behavior or psychology. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 447 and PHI 547.


PHI 475Ethical TheoryUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: PHI 375 or PHI 376
An introduction to some central themes and issues in ethical theory. Topics in normative and meta-ethics such as consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, constructivism, realism, relativism, subjectivism, and expressivism. Readings primarily from contemporary literature.


PHI 494Writing in EthicsUNITS: 1 - No Course Evaluation
Prerequisite: PHI 250, LOG 201 or 335 and one other PHI course, Corequisite: One of PHI 221, 275, 298, 306, 309, 310, 311, 313, 325, 375, 376, 420, 422, 475 or 498
A substantial paper in ethics, assigned by the instructor of the corequisite; enrollment subject to departmental approval; may be repeated for credit.


PHI 495Writing in History of PhilosophyUNITS: 1 - No Course Evaluation, Offered in Fall and Spring
Prerequisite: PHI 250, LOG 201 or 335 and one other PHI course, Corequisite: One of PHI 298, 300, 301, 302, 303, 310, 401 or 498
A substantial paper in history of philosophy, assigned by the instructor of the corequisite; enrollment subject to departmental approval; may be repeated or credit.


PHI 496Writing in Contemporary PhilosophyUNITS: 1 - No Course Evaluation
Prerequisite: PHI 250, LOG 201 or 335 and one other PHI course, Corequisite: One of PHI 298, 305, 306, 330, 331, 332, 333, 340, 425, 440, 445, 447 or 498
A substantial paper in contemporary philosophy, assigned by the instructor of the corequisite; enrollemtn subject to departmental approval; may be repeated for credit.


PHI 497Writing in Logic, Representation and ReasoningUNITS: 1 - No Course Evaluation, Offered in Fall and Spring
Prerequisite: LOG 201 or 335, and one other PHI course, not PHI 250, Corequisite: One of LOG 335, 435/535, 437, PHI 298, 330, 331, 332, 333, 340, 425/525, 440/540, 445/545, 447
A substantial paper in logic, representation and reasoning, assigned by the instructor of the corequisite. enrollment subject to departmental approval; may be repeated for credit


PHI 498Special Topics in PhilosophyUNITS: 1-6 - No Course Evaluation
Prerequisite: Six credits in PHI courses
Detailed investigation of selected topics in philosophy. Topics determined by faculty members in consultation with head of the department. Course may be used for individualized study.


PHI 501Kant's Critique of Pure ReasonUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
A text-based critical study of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason focusing on topics such as perception, judgment, knowledge, space, time, substance, causation, and reality. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 401 and PHI 501.


PHI 515Life Science EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
Recent work in normative evaluation of human actions affecting living things. Advanced readings in moral theory, comparative value assessment, and public policy. Credit will not be given for both PHI 415 and PHI 515


PHI 520Global JusticeUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
The applications of the ideas of justice and right beyond and across the borders of individual nation states, attending to the facts of globalization and their consequences for political and economic justice and human rights. Topics: skepticism about global justice; transnational distributive justice, pollution, and poverty; national sovereignty, self-determination, and intervention; the ethics of war; international human rights; and global democracy. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 420 and PHI 520.


PHI 522Philosophical Issues in Environmental EthicsUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Only
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
Ethical questions about the environment; in particular, what obligations we have to the environment. Topics: animal rights, obligations to species and ecosystems, intrinsic vs. extrinsic value, and policy implications of moral judgments. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 422 and PHI 522. Students who have received credit for PHI 322 cannot receive credit for either PHI 422 or PHI 522.


PHI (PSY) 525Introduction To Cognitive ScienceUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall Only
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
Philosophical foundations and empirical fundamentals of cognitive science, an interdisciplinary approach to human cognition. The computational model of mind, mental representation, cognitive architecture, the acquisition and use of language. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI/PSY 425 and PHI/PSY 525.


PHI 540The Scientific MethodUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
Detailed examination of core issues in philosophy of science: confirmation of scientific theories, falsification, projectibility, nature of scientific explanation, laws of nature, and causation. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 440 and PHI 540.


PHI 545Philosophy of BiologyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Central issues in the philosophy of biology such as units of selection, philosophy of ecology, species, fitness, adaptationism, reductionism, development and innateness, evolutionary progress, and viability of applications of evolutionary theory to culture and "human nature". Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 445 and PHI 545.


PHI 547Philoshophy, Evolution and Human NatureUNITS: 3 - Offered Alternate Odd Years, Offered in Spring Only
Core philosophical issues in the evolutionary study of human cognition: the role of adaptationism; the value of psychological vs. behavioral approaches; the phenotypic gambit; the evolution of mortality and altruism; the nature of cultural evolution; innateness, genetic determinism and development; and case studies of evolutionary explanation of human behavior and psychology. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 447 and PHI 547.


PHI 575Ethical TheoryUNITS: 3 - Offered in Spring Only
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.
An introduction to some central themes and issues in ethical theory. Topics in normative and meta-ethics such as consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, constructivism, realism, relativism, subjectivism, and expressivism. Readings primarily from contemporary literature. Students cannot receive credit for both PHI 475 and PHI 575.


PHI 598Special Topics in PhilosophyUNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring


PHI 635Advanced Independent Study In PhilosophyUNITS: 1-6 - Offered in Fall and Spring
Independent study of advanced topic in philosophy under supervision of a faculty member.


PHI 696Summer Thesis ResUNITS: 1


PHI 798Advanced Topics In PhilosophyUNITS: 3
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
Detailed investigation of selected advanced topics in philosophy. Topics determined by faculty members in consultation with head of department.


PHI 816Introduction to Research EthicsUNITS: 1 - Offered in Fall and Spring
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
Institutional rules guiding the responsible conduct of research (RCR) and their philosophical justification. Rudiments of moral reasoning and their application to RCR. Topics: plagiarism, falsification and fabrication of data, and ethics versus custom, law, science, and religion.


PHI 896Summer Dissert ResUNITS: 1