PHILOSOPHY (PHI) COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
2013 Basic Philosophical Problems [TCCN: PHIL 1301.]
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
2023 Introduction to Ancient Philosophy [TCCN: PHIL 2316.]
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
2033 Introduction to Modern Philosophy [TCCN: PHIL 2317.]
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
Introduction to modern philosophy from the Renaissance to the present through the study of Descartes, Locke, Hume, Leibniz, Kant, Kierkegaard, and others; emphasis on the relations of philosophy to the development of modern science, the social and political history of the Western world, and humankind’s attempt to achieve a satisfactory worldview.
2043 Introductory Logic [TCCN: PHIL 2303.]
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
Study of the principles of valid argument definition, deductive and inductive inference, and fallacies.
2123 Contemporary Moral Issues
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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. (Formerly titled Moral Issues in Contemporary America.)
3013 Philosophy of Religion
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
3033 Philosophy of Science
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
3053 Philosophy of Art
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
3073 Asian Philosophy
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
Examination of the philosophical and religious traditions of the East, with emphasis on various schools such as Vedanta, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
3213 Ethics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
3223 Approaches to Knowledge and Reality
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
3343 Issues and Movements in Twentieth-Century Philosophy
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
Sustained study of recent works focusing on one or more specific issues or movements, 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.
3403 Philosophy in Literature
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
Examination of important philosophical questions, such as personal identity, the nature of moral value, and the limits of knowledge, as reflected in world literature, including such genres as fiction, drama, and poetry.
4013 Studies in Individual Philosophers
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Examination of the works of an individual philosopher or of several philosophers studied in relationship to one another. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
4113 Contemporary Analytic Philosophy
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
An in-depth examination of the major trends in the development of the Anglo-American philosophical tradition during the 20th century, including the early analysts, the development of logical positivism, and the emergence of nonformal linguistic analysis.
4123 Contemporary Continental Philosophy
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
A sustained treatment of the major trends in 20th-century European philosophy, including movements such as phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, and postmodernism; emphasis on historical development.
4333 Philosophy of Language
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of Core Curriculum requirement in rhetoric.
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.
4911-3 Independent Study
1 to 3 hours credit. Prerequisites: Permission in writing (form available) of 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.
4953 Special Studies in Philosophy
(3-0) 3 hours credit. 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.
4991-3 Honors Thesis
1 to 3 hours credit. 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.