Philosophy          Schedule of Classes & Course Descriptions         SPRING 2007  

PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy (GE’89:C3, GE2000:LAPS:E) 3 credit hours. Section 001 MWF 10-10:50, B. Morton; Section 002 MWF 12-12:50, B. Morton; Section 003 TR 12:30 – 1:45, J. Barad. This General Education course will consist of reading and discussion of selections from original works in philosophy on such topics as ethics, theory of knowledge, and philosophy of religion. The aim of the course is twofold: (1) to provide the student with a sampling of the issues and philosophers typically studied in philosophy, (2) to foster independent thought and encourage the student to perceive issues in a reflective way. Students will be encouraged to relate the readings to their own lives and our society. PHIL 101H Honors section-open only to Honors students (GE’89:C3, GE2000:LAPS:E) 3 credit hours. TR 12:30 – 1:45, S. Kim.

PHIL 105 Introduction to Logic (GE’89:A3; GE2000:SMS:E) 3 credit hours. Section 001: TR 12:30-1:45; Section 002:  MW 2-3:15, J. Grcic. Critical thinking, the principles of correct reasoning. The detection and avoidance of fallacies, active listening, distinguishing inferences from observations, recognizing assumptions, identifying and using deduction and induction.

PHIL 201 Ethics & the Good Life (GE’89:B3, GE2000:SBS:F,E) 3 credit hours. Section 001 MWF 11-11:50; R. Gennaro.  This is an introduction to major ethical, social, and legal problems, e.g. euthanasia, abortion, animal experimentation, capital punishment, economic justice, and world hunger. There will also be some discussion of traditional historical ethical perspectives, such as utilitarianism and Kantianism. We want to investigate what human beings ought to do in various difficult ethical situations, and also how the law and society might reflect those conclusions.

PHIL 316 Political Philosophy   3 credit hours.  Section 001 TR 3:30-4:45; J. Grcic.  This course will be an in-depth analysis of major political theorists.  Discussion will include Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Machiavelli, Mill, Marx, Rawls and Nozick. 

PHIL 330 Ancient Philosophy   3 credit hours.  Section 001 TR 2-3:15; J. Barad.  This course will study the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  Attention will be given to their ethics, theory of knowledge and metaphysics.  Exposure to these early philosophers will yield such interesting questions as:  Should one risk everything to stand up for what one believes?  What is the nature of justice?  What does it mean to be a virtuous person?  Is there a purpose in nature?

PHIL 343 Existentialism 3 credit hours. TR 3:30-4:45, J. Grcic. This course deals with issues such as the meaning of human freedom and responsibility, the existence of God, the nature of morality and the meaning of life. We will discuss the main philosophers and writers including Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus, Tolstoy, Sartre, Beckett, among others. We will also view and discuss some films by Ingmar Bergman.

PHIL 404/504 Aesthetic Theory 3 credit hours.  Section 001 M W 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.; R. Gennaro.  Aesthetics is the philosophy of art.  It is therefore concerned with problems which arise from the philosophical analysis of artworks, the artistic process, and the experience of art in its many forms.  We will examine answers to such questions as:  Is the ability to create a “gift” or “god-inspired,” or is it the result of an active adult imagination analogous to the child at play?  Should some works of art be shielded from impressionable children or even from some adults?  Is it impossible to define art in terms of necessary or sufficient conditions, or are there some essential properties common to all artworks?  How can aesthetic judgments be based on personal feelings and essential properties common to all artworks?  How can aesthetic judgments be based on personal feelings and yet still be objectively right or wrong?  Is it rational to be moved by what we know is not real (e.g. a fictional character)?  Must we first know the state of mind of an author or artist before fully understanding the meaning of her work?

PHIL 409 Philosophy of Science (GE’89:A3; GE2000:SMS:E) 3 credit hours. Section 001 M W F 2-2:50 p.m.; B. Morton.   This course will cover philosophical problems that arise from the study and practice of science.  What is the difference between science and non-science?  How are prediction and explanation supposed to work?  What makes one theory better than another?  Do atoms really exist, or are they just ways to make our theories “work”?  What evidence would count for or against a theory?  Do the history or sociology of science have any light to shed on science, or problems to confront science with?  We will look at causation and induction, laws of nature, counterfactuals, paradigm, and the color grue.  We will study mostly 20^th century thinkers such as Kuhn, Lakatos, Popper, Russell, and Feyeraband.

REL 250 World Religions   3 credit hours.  Section 001 T R 9:30 – 10:45; J. Barad.  This course will study the teachings of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism as well as the religions of Mesoamerica and the native religions of North America.  We will pursue such questions as the following:  Is the ethical concern of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam really the same concern, or do the basic presuppositions of each result in a different evaluation of the worth of the human being and of the manner in which he or she should be treated?  Is there actually a different god for each religion, or is there one god that all religions worship differently?  Is it possible to know the real nature of the human being, considering how carried are the views held by the different religions?  These and similar questions will be discussed in the course.  The emphasis will be on each religion’s history, world view and ideology.