2026-2027 Academic Catalog

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Philosophy (PHIL)

PHIL 1204 - Knowledge and Reality (3 credits) 
Examines historical and contemporary approaches to such issues as: the nature of reality and the self, the relationship between mind and body, the existence of God, the nature of knowledge and illusion. Application to ethical questions about the fear of death, and the meaning of life.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 1304 - Morality and Justice (3 credits) 
A critical survey of theories concerning human nature, the meaningful life, and the moral evaluation of actions, persons, and institutions. Theories will be applied to such issues as abortion, justice, and moral problems faced by professionals.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 1404 - The Skeptic’s Guide to AI (3 credits) 
Provides a non-technical introduction to the nature and limits of artificial intelligence and the major aspects of natural intelligence emulated by AI. Informs a fundamental understanding of artificial intelligence relevant to policymaking, regulation and governance, issues related to fairness in human and AI systems, ethical use of AI, and building ethical behavior into AI. Investigates questions about the nature of artificial intelligence and how artificial intelligence systems achieve it.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 1504 - Critical Thinking (3 credits) 
Introduction to critical thinking, the examination of the reasons (grounds, evidence) for claims on any subject matter. Mastery of central concepts of critical thinking: argument, claim, validity and invalidity, strength and weakness, deduction and induction, fallacy, objection and response. Techniques for critical reconstruction and evaluation of arguments, including ethical ones. Formal logic techniques for evaluation of truth-functional and categorical arguments, akin to mechanical computation or derivation. Application of techniques to arguments appearing in ordinary language passages.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 5F Quant & Comp Thnk Found., 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 1604 - How Science Works (3 credits) 
Introduction to scientific methods and reasoning. Foundation for interpreting scientific information and conducting research across a range of fields, especially natural sciences. Topics: use of theories, experiments and models; hypothesis testing and confirmation; deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning; descriptive and inferential statistics; causation; influence of societal values on science; diversity and objectivity in science. Examples from physics, astronomy, geology, environmental science and other fields.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 4 Reasoning in Natural Sci., 5F Quant & Comp Thnk Found., 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 1984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 1984B - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 2115 - Ancient Through Medieval Philosophy (3 credits) 
A critical survey and analysis of the history of Western philosophical thought from its beginnings through the Medieval Period. Addresses and assesses historical theories about issues involving the nature of justice, virtue, ethics, knowledge, and reality. Key concepts analyzed include that of the soul, human flourishing, form and matter, the human function and God. 2115: Presocratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics; 2116: late Greek and Roman philosophy, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and William of Ockham.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 2116 - Ancient Through Medieval Philosophy (3 credits) 
A critical survey and analysis of the history of Western philosophical thought from its beginnings through the Medieval Period. Addresses and assesses historical theories about issues involving the nature of justice, virtue, ethics, knowledge, and reality. Key concepts analyzed include that of the soul, human flourishing, form and matter, the human function and God. 2115: Presocratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics; 2116: late Greek and Roman philosophy, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and William of Ockham.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 2125 - History of Modern Philosophy (3 credits) 
Philosophical thought from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, integrating intercultural analysis and comparisons. 2125: Global traditions in 17th and 18th century natural philosophy, including theories of mind, value, and knowledge. 2126: Global traditions in 18th and 19th century philosophy, including theories of science, knowledge, and value.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 2126 - History of Modern Philosophy (3 credits) 
Philosophical thought from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, integrating intercultural analysis and comparisons. 2125: Global traditions in 17th and 18th century natural philosophy, including theories of mind, value, and knowledge. 2126: Global traditions in 18th and 19th century philosophy, including theories of science, knowledge, and value.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 2304 - Global Ethics (3 credits) 
Ethical issues in international context. Application of the principles of moral theory to such issues as the obligations of richer nations toward poorer ones, cultural and other forms of relativism, emigration and immigration, nationalism, war, deterrence, intervention, environmental degradation, preservation of natural diversity, and responsibilities toward future generations.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 2314 - Philosophy of Sex, Gender, and Race (3 credits) 
Critical survey of contemporary themes in the philosophy of race and feminist philosophy in the United States. Topics in metaphysics (what is race? what is sex? what is gender?), ethics and political philosophy (oppression, solidarity, and social justice), and epistemology (narrative, standpoint, and white ignorance). Emphasis on situating contemporary philosophical views in social and historical contexts.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 7 Identity & Equity in U.S., 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 2504 - Logic and Language (3 credits) 
Introduction to logic, the systematic analysis of expressions and reasoning in natural languages (like English) by means of simplified, formal languages. Foundational to philosophy, linguistics, law and computer science; useful in any discipline in the sciences or humanities where sustained reasoning and argumentation are central. Core semantic concepts: truth and meaning, synonymy, ambiguity, consistency, entailment, truth conditions. Core syntactic concepts: expression, sentence, connective, scope, predicate, term, quantifier. Core deductive reasoning concepts: argument, validity, soundness, proof. Formal languages for propositional logic and predicate logic. Translation between these formal languages and natural language sentences and arguments. Application of formal logic to evaluate natural language argumentation. Moral language and ethical reasoning.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 5F Quant & Comp Thnk Found., 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 2964 - Field Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 2974 - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 2974H - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 2984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 3015 - Political Theory (3 credits) 
Analysis of the fundamental ideas in the history of political theory. 3015: The thought and ethical implications of philosophers from the ancient Greeks to early modern times. Analysis of writings from Plato through medieval theorists to those of the Seventeenth Century. 3016: The thought and ethical implications of philosophers from the late Seventeenth Century to the present. Analysis of key concepts in the thought of theorists from the early modern period until the present.
Prerequisite(s): PSCI 2014 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: PSCI 3015 
PHIL 3016 - Political Theory (3 credits) 
Analysis of the fundamental ideas in the history of political theory. 3015: The thought and ethical implications of philosophers from the ancient Greeks to early modern times. Analysis of writings from Plato through medieval theorists to those of the Seventeenth Century. 3016: The thought and ethical implications of philosophers from the late Seventeenth Century to the present. Analysis of key concepts in the thought of theorists from the early modern period until the present.
Prerequisite(s): PSCI 2014 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: PPE 3016, PSCI 3016 
PHIL 3024 - Topics in Philosophical Movements (3 credits) 
Focus on the assumptions, methods and ethical dimensions of one or more contemporary or historically important philosophical movement, such as Pragmatism, Feminism, Existentialism, Islamic Philosophy, Philosophy and African-American Thought, or Philosophy and Literature. May be repeated 2 times with different content for a maximum of 9 credits.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Repeatability: up to 9 credit hours 
PHIL 3314 - Ethical Theory (3 credits) 
Careful examination of some important historical or contemporary ethical theories. Includes coverage of such topics as the assessment of character and action, the foundations of ethical theories, their justification, their relationship to scientific theories, and their objective or subjective status. 3 Philosophy credits required.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: PPE 3314 
PHIL 3324 - Biomedical Ethics (3 credits) 
Philosophical analysis of ethical issues in medicine and biotechnology, such as problems arising in connection with the relations between physicians and patients, the challenges of cultural diversity, practices surrounding human and animal research, decisions about end of life care, embryonic stem cell research, genetic engineering, biotechnological human enhancement, and social justice in relation to health-care policy.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 3334 - Ethical Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence (3 credits) 
Critical examination of ethical concepts and theories, such as utilitarianism, deontology and virtue theory, applied to issues that arise in artificial intelligence, including applications in smart design & construction, energy, ubiquitous mobility, and robotics & autonomous systems. Addresses questions such as: How much should privacy be protected in the digital future? How can energy be equitably transported and consumed in relation to poor regions and future generations? Who should autonomous vehicles be programmed to protect or sacrifice in emergency situations? How should we evaluate the effects on family and society of smart technology? Should we fear that robots will take over?
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 3414 - Aesthetics (3 credits) 
Critical survey and analysis of key concepts in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Historical and contemporary theories concerning natural beauty, aesthetic experience and properties, the nature and interpretation of artworks, their representational and expressive features, the relationship between artistic value, the value that attaches to nature, and moral value.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 3454 - Philosophy of Religion (3 credits) 
A consideration of religious belief and its justification with attention to such philosophical issues as the nature and existence of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God, proofs for the existence of God, the problem of evil, a religious basis for ethics, the nature of faith, and the variety of religious beliefs.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: RLCL 3454 
PHIL 3505 - Modern Logic and Its Development (3 credits) 
Logic and logical theory and the history of its development. 3505: Validity of arguments. Syllogistic logic from Aristotle to modern times. Deductive methods in truth functional and quantificational logic through the theory of identity. Translation from English into symbolic form. 3506: Metalogic and the history and philosophy of modern logical theory. Decidability and undecidability, completeness and incompleteness of formal systems. Developments from Cantor to Goedel. Must have 3505 to take 3506.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 3614 - Philosophy of the Environment (3 credits) 
Philosophical issues in environmental science and policy. Foundational concepts in the environmental sciences, epistemic challenges of environmental research and decision-making, and ethical questions about conservation policy and climate justice. Topics include: the wilderness ideal; biodiversity; effectiveness of different ecosystem restoration techniques; environmental modeling; decision-making under scientific uncertainty; indigenous environmental justice; ethics of de-extinction; values in environmental science; climate change; ethics of geoengineering; and public participation in conservation.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 7 Identity & Equity in U.S., 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 3884 - Topics in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (3 credits) 
Topics-based course in philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE). Discussion of important topics and thinkers in PPE with historical and practical relevance. Focus on interdisciplinary analysis and methods. Topics include: limits of markets; well-being theory, science, and policy; socioeconomic justice; economic and political institutions; and global poverty. May be repeated 1 time with different content for a maximum of six credits hours. Pre: 3 credit hours in PPE, PHIL, PSCI, or ECON.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 3 Reasoning in Social Sciences, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Repeatability: up to 6 credit hours 
Course Crosslist: ECON 3884, PPE 3884, PSCI 3884 
PHIL 4014 - Special Topics in Philosophy (3 credits) 
Critical examination of special issues or figures of current philosophical interest at an advanced level. Sample topics: Philosophy and Race; Ludwig Wittgenstein; Origins of Analytic Philosophy; and Animals, Minds and Morality. May be repeated 2 times with different content for a maximum of 9 credits. Pre: 3 Philosophy credits required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Repeatability: up to 9 credit hours 
PHIL 4204 - Philosophy of Mind (3 credits) 
Current issues in the philosophy of mind such as relation of mind and body, status of the mental, knowledge of ones own and other minds, personal identity, consciousness, mentality of animals and machines, topics in the philosophy of psychology. 3 Philosophy credits required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 4214 - Metaphysics (3 credits) 
Critical survey and analysis of key concepts in metaphysics, the study of what kinds of entities exist and what their most fundamental and general features are like. Historical and contemporary theories concerning existence, abstract entities, material objects, time, persistence, possibility and necessity, causation, free will and determinism, and social ontology. Pre: Requires the completion of 3 credits Philosophy course.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 4224 - Epistemology (3 credits) 
Theory of knowledge. Is all knowledge based on experience? Does knowledge have a foundation? Can knowledge of the present and the nearby give us reasons for beliefs about the future, the past, or about events far away? 3 Philosophy credits required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 4304 - Political Philosophy (3 credits) 
Study of fundamental topics in political philosophy, such as distributive justice, equality, individual rights, constitutional government, and the justification of political authority. 3 Philosophy credits required.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: PPE 4304 
PHIL 4334 - Jurisprudence (3 credits) 
An examination of the nature of law and legal systems with attention to traditional theories of law and to such topics as judicial decision and discretion, law and morality, the justification of legal coercion. 3 Philosophy credits required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 4604 - Philosophy of Biology (3 credits) 
This course is designed primarily for students of biology or philosophy students with a strong interest in biology. Topics vary from year to year, but include the changing character of biology as a science, the special character of biological explanations and methods, and the place and value of reduction (e.g., of Mendelian to molecular genetics) in biology.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 4614 - Philosophy of Science (3 credits) 
An examination of the structure and methodology of science as well as key concepts such as explanation, confirmation, realism, and instrumentalism. One year of science and 3 philosophy credits required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 4964 - Field Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 4974 - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 4974H - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 4984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 4994 - Undergraduate Research (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 4994H - Undergraduate Research (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 5004 - Graduate Proseminar in Philosophy (3 credits) 
Develop key professional skills (writing, research, effective presenting, critical discussion). Gain familiarity with influential arguments and concepts from classic readings from 20th and 21st century analytic philosophy (including readings from metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind and language, philosophy of science and mathematics, ethics, political philosophy, feminist philosophy, and the philosophy of race). Conduct independent philosophical research using appropriate databases. Learn how to produce abstracts, conference-length papers, and professional documents (e.g., annotated bibliographies, personal statements, curriculum vitae (CV)) in a way that coheres with philosophy’s professional norms. Pre: Graduate standing.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 5204 - Topics in the History of Philosophy (3 credits) 
An advanced course focusing on particular topics in the history of philosophy. Special emphasis will be placed on ideas and disputes which were historically influential and continue to be philosophically significant. Consent required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 5204G - Intermediate Philosophy of Mind (3 credits) 
Current issues in the philosophy of mind, such as relation of mind and body, status of the mental, knowledge of owns own and other minds, personal identity, consciousness, mentality of animals and machines, topics in the philosophy of psychology. Graduate standing required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 5214G - Intermediate Metaphysics (3 credits) 
Examination of central problems of metaphysics. Topics may include: existence, necessary truth, the problem of universals, causation, the identity of the self through time, free will. Attention will be given both to the historical development of these problems and to contemporary philosophical responses to them. Graduate standing required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 5224G - Intermediate Epistemology (3 credits) 
Theory of knowledge. Exploration of topics including the foundations (or lack of foundations) of knowledge, the role of experience in knowledge, whether knowledge of the present and the nearby gives us reasons for beliefs about the future, the past, or about events far away, and related issues. Graduate standing required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 5306 - Main Themes in the Philosophy of Modern Science and Technology (3 credits) 
Problems, literature, and schools in the philosophy of science and technology. 5305: explanation and confirmation; 5306: theory change.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: STS 5306 
PHIL 5324 - Metaethics (3 credits) 
A systematic examination of metaethics, the branch of philosophical ethics that addresses questions about the nature of ethical discourse and its objects. Investigation of such issues as the meaning of ethical terms and judgments, the nature and grounds of ethical truth, the possibility of ethical knowledge, the rationality of ethical behavior, and the relations between ethical and scientific inquiry. Graduate standing required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 5505 - Symbolic Logic (3 credits) 
Modern deductive symbolic logic and its metatheory. 5505: Development of a system of first order logic. Truth functional sentential logic, monadic predicate calculus with identity. Proof techniques and translation between natural and artificial languages. 5506: Logical metatheory: consistency, completeness, and decidability of logical systems.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
PHIL 5904 - Project And Report (1-19 credits) 
Only for students pursuing a Master of Arts degree with a non-thesis option. Variable credit course.
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 5974 - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 5984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 5994 - Research and Thesis (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
PHIL 6014 - Special Topics in Philosophy (3 credits) 
Close examination of a discipline, topic, or group of questions from a major philosophical tradition. Such areas as philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and philosophy of mathematics, and such issues as causation, the nature of space and time, mental representation, logical positivism, and the linguistic turn will be examined. May be repeated for credit, with permission and different content, for a maximum of 12 hours. Completion of at least one of the philosophy M.A. core courses required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Repeatability: up to 12 credit hours 
PHIL 6204 - Advanced Topics in the History of Philosophy (3 credits) 
Intensive study of a particular figure, school, or group in the history of philosophy, in cultural and theoretical context, such as Socrates in the Athenian polis, Stoicism in the Hellenistic age, or Hume and the Scottish Enlightenment. May be repeated for credit, with permission and different content, for a maximum of 12 hours. Completion of at least one of the philosophy M.A. core courses required.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Repeatability: up to 12 credit hours 
PHIL 6324 - Advanced Topics in Ethics and Political Philosophy (3 credits) 
A seminar closely examining a topic or group of topics in moral, social, or political theory. Such issues as the foundations of ethics, practical reason, the concept of virtue, political obligation, the bounds of moral and political community, paternalism, liberty, and privacy will be explored. Views considered may include moral realism and antirealism, contractarianism, egalitarianism, libertarianism, and communitarianism. May be repeated for credit, with permission and different content, for a maximum of 12 hours.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 5334 or PHIL 5344 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Repeatability: up to 12 credit hours 
PHIL 6334 - Advanced Topics in Philosophy of Science (3 credits) 
Variable topics in advanced philosophy of science, including major theories of scientific explanation and their criticisms; philosophical foundations of statistics; naturalized philosophy of science. May be repeated for credit, with permission and different content, for a maximum of 12 hours.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Repeatability: up to 12 credit hours