Fall 2025
PHIL 1101 - Introduction to Philosophy (multiple sections; online sections available)
Course Description
Introduction to critical exploration of such issues as knowledge, reality, consciousness
and the good life; readings from Plato, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, or more recent
sources.
PHIL 1102 - Introduction to Ethics (multiple sections; online courses available)
Course Description
Introduction to such social and ethical questions as, 鈥淲hat makes a happy life? What
justifies ideas of good and evil? How should we live with others? What is the role
of gender and race in society?鈥� The subjects of justice, racism, and oppression, especially
as they figure into the American context, are highlighted.
PHIL 1611 - Elementary Logic (multiple sections; online courses available)
Course Description
In this course we will cover topics in both formal and informal logic. Studying logic
trains the mind to reason well. Logic has played a foundational role in education
for over two thousand years because reasoning well is essential to any intellectual
endeavor, whether it be in the sciences, the arts, or the humanities. We will explore
everyday uses of logic, historical systems of formal reasoning, and some modern formal
logic.
Required Textbook (M50 online versions; always consult your syllabus or instructor
before purchasing textbooks)
, 1 term Printed Access Card. 2019. ISBN: 9780357419410
PHIL 3001 - History of Ancient Philosophy
CRN 82044
TR
11:20 - 12:45am
Sean Driscoll
Course Description
History of philosophy from 7th century B.C. through early Middle Ages structured around
major themes that shaped classical period, attention to cultural and historical settings
in which they arose and to which they contributed; readings from philosophical and
nonphilosophical sources.
PREREQUISITE
PHIL 1101 or PHIL 1102, or permission of instructor.
PHIL 3411 - Contemporary Moral Problems
CRN 82005
MWF
10:20 - 11:15am
Alejandro Toledo
Course Description
Such important contemporary moral issues as pornography and obscenity, capital punishment, abortion, human rights, "reverse discrimination," and civil disobedience; underlying philosophical ideas for each issue considered and discussed.
PHIL 3453 - 19th & 20th Century European Philosophy
CRN
TR
1:00 - 2:25pm
James Bahoh
Course Description
This course will focus on ways several defining movements and figures of 19th- and 20th-century European (especially German and French) philosophy (1) challenge mainstays of traditional Western philosophy like the stability and independence of the human subject, the transparency of language and meaning, foundational principles of knowledge, and essence/substance metaphysics, (2) contend with profound social/political crisis, and (3) propose dramatically revised views on the nature of reality and the relation of theorization to reality. Of particular interest will be tensions between philosophies organized around the subject and often anti-humanistic philosophies of concept, form, and/or structure. Movements (often overlapping) that we might discuss in varying degrees of depth include existentialism, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, critical theory, feminism, structuralism, rationalism, deconstruction, and post-structuralism
PHIL 3514 - Biomedical Ethics (multiple sections; online courses available)
Course Description
Discussion of ethical problems raised by contemporary medical practices and biological
innovations from standpoint of contemporary ethical theories including abortion, euthanasia,
human experimentation and genetic engineering.
Course Description (M50 online versions)
In this course we will begin by learning about moral theory, logic/argumentation,
and concepts related to biomedical ethics such as autonomy, paternalism, informed
consent, and more. We will then explore case studies in the modules that follow. Such
topics include human research, pandemic ethics, abortion, euthanasia, and health care.
You will be expected to apply moral theory to cases studies as well as identify relevant
concepts.
Required Textbooks (M50 online versions; always consult your syllabus or instructor
before purchasing textbooks)
by Lewis Vaughn (multiple editions available)
PHIL 3515 - Climate Change, Ethics, and Environment
CRN 82005
Online/Asynchronous
Course Description
Most agree that we should treat people with respect and concern. In other words, we
should treat people ethically. But why should this ethical treatment extend to non-human
features of our world like oceans, forests, and non-human animals? This course will
investigate the sources of our ethical commitments to the environment with a special
focus on the effects of climate change and our obligations to reduce global warming.
Attention will also be paid to distinct ethical problems like those concerning animals,
biodiversity, sustainable energy, and environmental racism.
PHIL 3516-M50 - Philosophy of Law
CRN
Online
S谋la 脰zkara
PHIL 3550 - Issues in Political Philosophy (Identity, Individuality, Community)
CRN 96988
MW
12:40 - 2:05pm
Mike Monahan
Course Description
This course will focus on the tension between individual and community in modern and contemporary political thought. What makes me who I am, and how does my social environment shape me? How does this relation between individual and community inform our accounts of liberty or justice? Beginning with European enlightenment writings on the relation between the individual and social institutions, we will explore questions having to do with justice, political life, and individual/collective identity. We will focus on questions such as: What is the proper relationship between the individual and the state? What does it mean to be politically free? How much of my identity do I owe to my social situation? This class should be of interest to anyone interested in questions of identity, freedom, oppression, and justice.
PHIL 3741 - African American Philosophy
CRN
TR
9:40 - 11:05am
Lindsey Stewart
Course Description
This course is a philosophical investigation of the social and political ideas, themes, and topics that arise in black thought and life. With a focus on the US, we鈥檒l cover how different approaches to black liberation have unfolded in black philosophical traditions. Figures covered in this course include: Zora Neale Hurston, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Toni Morrison, Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, Cornel West, and James Baldwin.
PHIL 4422/6422 鈥� Analytic Philosophy of Language
CRN 82031/82043
Thursday
1:00 - 2:25pm
David Gray
Course Description
This course will explore several central themes in analytic philosophy, primarily through an investigation of the philosophy of language within the analytic tradition. It will start by investigating central themes in the development of analytic philosophy: refutations of Cambridge Idealism and psychologism, the realignment of the a priori knowledge with analytic statements and necessary truths, and the linguistic turn (that any analysis of cognition must come through an analysis of language) is the central feature of what has come to be known as analytic philosophy). We will then examine the development of central topics in the philosophy of language, including reference, meaning, names, descriptions, semantics, pragmatics (speech acts, conversational implicature, demonstratives), and interpretation. Assignments will include four 5-page papers and some homework assignments.
PHIL 4441/6441 - Recent Continental Philosophy (Phenomenology)
CRN 90752/90753
Monday
2:30-5:30pm
Shaun Gallagher
Course Description
Phenomenology is a basic starting point for understanding recent continental philosophy. Historically it operated as the anchor for the development of many 20th and 21st-c philosophies, including existentialism, hermeneutics, post-structuralism, and enactivism. It has also motivated the development of a variety of practical applications (applied phenomenology) including in the areas of psychiatry, performance studies, critical social theory, and qualitative research, especially in several medical fields. This course will cover basic topics in phenomenology, drawing from some of the classic authors (Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre). We will review phenomenological methods and some of their recent updates. We鈥檒l then discuss the basic concepts of intentionality, embodiment, temporality, self, agency, and intersubjectivity. Finally, we will investigate recent research in the phenomenology of performance (in sport and art), applications in qualitative research, and developments in the area of critical phenomenology.
PHIL 7030/8030 - Seminar in Continental Philosophy
CRN 82080/82131
Tuesday
2:30-5:30pm
Mary Beth Mader
PHIL 7040/8040 - Seminar in Normative Philosophy
CRN 88770/88771
Wednesday
2:30-5:30pm
Remy Debes
PHIL 7201/8201- Seminar in Classical Philosophy
CRN 82049/82130
Thursday
2:30-5:30pm
Sean Driscoll
PHIL 7514/8514 - Cognitive Science Seminar
CRN 88770/88771
Wednesday
2:20-5:20pm