Philosophy (PHL)

Who am I? What am I? This course is designed to help you answer these questions, and to understand how many related and subsidiary questions arise when we begin to think philosophically about such deceptively simple questions. How do humans relate together in society? What is the nature of the human soul? Are humans significantly different from animals? How? Are we free to be the authors of our own choices, or determined to act by factors beyond our control? What is the relation between faith and reason? Does God exist? Throughout the process of addressing these questions, an aim of this course is to better students’ logical and critical thinking skills, namely being able to (1) identify arguments, (2) construct good arguments, and (3) analyze others’ arguments.

Explores the humanist tradition in the West and the relevance of basic philosophical investigation to our contemporary lives through the investigation of major thinkers and their texts from ancient times to the present day. Expected to be offered:

Develops proficiency in an essential skill for the modern world the application of logi¬cal methods to thinking and self-expression in both oral and written communication. The course also provides insights into the underlying principles of reason, analysis, argu¬mentation, and scientific synthesis and their application to judging claims made by advertisers, social and political commentators, scientists, civic leaders and others. Expected to be offered: Fall semesters

A study of the nature of the science of ethics and the manner in which it applies to contemporary moral issues in medicine, in the life and ecological sciences, and in the world of business and commerce. ENG 117 recommended Expected to be offered: Sufficient Demand

Ancient Greek philosophy began with wonder and dissatisfaction: wonder at the incredible diversity of objects in a cosmos somehow unified into a single whole and dissatisfaction with available explanations. The poets Homer and Hesiod each offered comprehensive explanations of what there is, what’s happening, what should be happening, what we are, and what we should be doing. But those explanations were inconsistent with the evidence and were ostensibly based on unchallengeable divine revelation. The first philosophers offered competing accounts grounded in rational speculation. Because they offered reasons for their new explanations, the philosophers could be challenged and refuted in ways the Poets could not. And so began the conversation known as the history of philosophy. In this course students will gain a working knowledge of some of the key problems in Ancient Greek philosophy through the careful study of texts from selected Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, selected Stoics, and Sextus Empiricus. In these texts students will discover not only the foundational questions of such fields as ethics, epistemology, ontology, philosophy of science, theology, metaphysics, and political philosophy, but some of the clearest and most comprehensive work on those subjects that has ever been done. Moreover, students will find that to the Ancient Greek philosophers these “branches” of philosophy are inextricably intertwined almost to the point of being indistinguishable. The texts selected for this course will focus specifically on various theories of the nature, content, and ultimate foundation of reality and the place of humans in it; on the nature, possibility, and content of knowledge; and on the nature and trajectory of the human soul.

Medieval philosophy represents an extremely rich and influential development in the history of philosophy. Medieval authors characteristically pick up, develop, reject and modify themes developed in Greek, Roman, and early Christian thought, all in the service of the development of a comprehensive and adequate account of the nature of the cosmos, the human soul, the proper ordering of human society and our relationship with God. Medieval philosophers--Jewish, Arabic, and Christian—debated the relationship between faith and reason, and, ultimately, whether a decisive break with traditional canons of philosophy were required, and a new, dualistic foundation was necessary. We will follow these threads through the development of Medieval Aristotelian and Platonic thought, and the strong criticisms lodged by late medieval and early modern philosophers such as Descartes and William of Ockham. This course will proceed broadly historically, reading key texts from St. Augustine, St. Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas and René Descartes. Other important figures may include: St. Bonaventure, Avicenna, Averroes, Al-Ghazali, Moses Maimonides, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham.

In many respects, the intellectual revolutions wrought by modern philosophy may be said to have created the modern world. Mechanism and transcendental idealism in the philosophy of nature, the social contract, the concept of moral duty, existentialism, communism and philosophical atheism can all trace their roots to developments in modern political thought. In this course we will investigate these and other intellectual developments in a broadly historical manner, including readings from the works of David Hume, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and existentialist thinkers. Other crucially important authors may include: Thomas Hobbes, Benedict de Spinoza, G.W. Leibniz, Thomas Reid, Georg Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard, John Paul Sartre, Mary Wollstonecraft and Karl Marx.

An introduction to and analysis of the various theories of law and its sources. Particular attention paid to contemporary practices of jurisprudence in the areas of responsibility and punishment. ENG 117 recommended

A study of the process of artistic creation, involving the student in the consideration of the principles of the beautiful, of art, and of responsible critical evaluation of those objects in the universe which have been made; painting, sculpture, drama, literature, dance, music, architecture, and the “practical” arts. ENG 117 recommended

Intensive study of a particular philosopher, philosophical issue, historical movement, or historical period. ENG 117 recommended

What does it mean to be a good person? What makes the right thing to do right to do? Do moral claims bind relative to my cultural perspective, or are moral truths the same for all persons at all times? How should I apply my moral evaluations to the concrete situations of my daily life? This class will be devoted to developing an appreciation for the systematic answers that three major traditions of moral inquiry – utilitarian, deontological and Aristotelian – have developed to these and related questions. The majority of the semester will be spent investigating these three approaches to ethics. At the end of the semester we will take time to consider how these approaches help us to understand our own society and some of the controversies we face today.

A traditional yet contemporary approach to the question, “What is human nature?” Considers the conditions required for the correct application of the terms “animal” and “rational” and problems such as personal identity, dualism, perception, and free will.

A rational analysis of the existence and nature of a supreme being and its relation to the evolving, expanding universe. A careful study of the question/problem of the compatibility of the two.

Intensive study of a particular philosopher, philosophical issue, historical movement, or historical period. Consent of instructor

Expected to be offered: Sufficient demand

This course serves as a culminating experience for students in the Service Leadership & Community Engagement Minor. Students will (1) read and discuss philosophical writings that are foundational to CST, (2) synthesize disciplinary expertise, principles of Catholic Social Teaching, and service experiences and (3) participate in a dialogue with students and faculty from multiple disciplines. Students will complete a final project in which they identify and respond to the needs of a particular community they came to know through service experience and present their project at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.