PHI-PHILOSOPHY
 

PHI 2010           Introduction to Philosophy               3

Nature of philosophical thinking, discussion of fundamental and perennial problems of philosophy. (Gordon Rule Course: Wrtg) and (General Studies Course: HUM/VAL)

PHI 2100           Introduction to Logic              3

Methods and principles used in distinguishing correct from incorrect reasoning: definition, informal fallacies, traditional Aristotelian categorical logic. (Gordon Rule Course: Applied Math) and (General Studies Course: HUM/VAL)

PHI 2603           Ethics in Contemporary Society               3

Explores the fundamental problems of Western ethics, the classical and Judeo-Christian traditions, modern ideals of the good for the individual business, politics and the environment. (Gordon Rule Course: Wrtg) and (General Studies Course: HUM/VAL)

PHI 3130           Modern Logic           3

Training and skills of modern symbolic logic and their application to evaluation of arguments. Propositional logic, predicate logic.

PHI 3320           Philosophy of Mind               3

Introduces and examines proposed theories, from philosophy as well as the brain and behavioral sciences, regarding various aspects of the mind-body problem: mental representation, consciousness, mental imagery, innateness, the language of thought and the computer model of the mind, etc. (Gordon Rule Course: Wrtg)

PHI 3400           Philosophy of Science         3

Concepts and types of explanation used in sciences. May include differences between natural and social sciences, inductive reasoning and scientific explanation, and relation of science to society.

PHI 3452           Philosophy of Biology        3

Philosophy of biology focuses on evolutionary theory, examining such questions as “what is a gene”, “what does natural selection select” and “what are the moral/social implications of evolutionary theory”?

PHI 3640           Environmental Ethics              3

Introduces students to issues and problems in the field of environmental ethics. Theories of value are investigated in the effort to clarify the interrelations between humanity and nature. Discussions concerning the moral status of the non-human community will not be restricted to debates over value theory alone, but will also encompass metaphysical issues that bear upon environmental problems.

PHI 3670           Ethics            3

Philosophical theories concerning nature of the good, moral obligation, human excellence and application of ethical theory to problems of the individual in relation to society.

PHI 3700           Philosophy of Religion          3

Problem of religious language. Arguments for atheism and existence of God. Phenomenology of religious experience. Problems of evil and nature of God. Theories of immortality. (Gordon Rule Course: Wrtg)

PHI 3800           Philosophy of Art              3

Creative process-artist and percipient. Various art forms: painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, theatre, music. Theories of evaluation. Artist and community; commercialism, propaganda and pornography.

PHI 3880           Philosophy of Film            3

Investigates the major theoretical and conceptual issued surrounding the art of film. Philosophical concepts underlying film theories such as realism, formalism, hermeneutics and structuralism will be examined and applied to cinematography, editing, sound and mise en scene. Other conceptual issues may include perception, representation, narrative and ideology.

PHI 4300           Theory of Knowledge            3

Various theories of relation between human knowledge and reality; empirical, rationalistic, linguistic and phenomenological. (Gordon Rule Course: Wrtg)

PHI 4633           Biomedical Ethics         3

Designed to introduce students to the moral and conceptual foundations of ethics, to various ways of analyzing selected problems in the field, and applications of various theories to the professions.

PHI 5681           Man, Nature and Value           3

Explores the interrelationship that exists between man, nature and value. Emphasis will be given to historical development on ideas concerning man’s place in nature as well as to metaphysical foundations and the impact they have on the way value is conferred on the world. Issues treated will include; metaphysical theories of reality, belief systems and their influence on axiological positions, value theories of nature, anthropocentric and biocentric theories of ethics.

PHI 6425           Humanistic Understanding            3

Comparison of scientific explanation and humanistic understanding in the social sciences and humanities.

PHI 6767           Philosophy of Comparative Religion       3

Philosophical analysis and evaluation of philosophical and religious propositions of selected world religions. Special problems include: ultimate reality, personal or beyond all distinctions, hierarchy or coalescence of values, persons, real or illusory.