110 - Critical Thinking-3 S.H.
This computer-assisted, self-mastery course teaches you how to employ good reasoning skills and how to avoid being fooled by bad reasoning and rhetorical tricks. Competencies acquired in the course include the following: Identifying, evaluating, and constructing arguments; identifying informal fallacies; and testing syllogisms and propositional arguments for validity and overall cogency. Practice exercises and exams are done on computer. Offered each year.

120 - Introductory Philosophy-3 S.H.
An introduction to major areas in philosophy, considering some fundamental problems and concepts. Typical issues include some of the following: the existence of God, what we can know, what reality is, how mind and body are related, whether we have free will. Traditional and intellectually chic theories on these or other topics are critically reviewed. Offered each year.

130 - Moral Problems-3 S.H.
A practical course in ethics, involving concrete issues and their impact on the individual, society, and social policy. Topics may include: Abortion, euthanasia, sexuality and sexual morality, feminism, welfare, capital punishment, pornography and censorship, animal rights, world hunger, war and terrorism. Offered each year.

201 - Classical Philosophy-3 S.H.
A study of the philosophical ideas, values, and world views of ancient Greece, especially its views on the nature of the universe, humanity, knowledge, religion, ethics, and politics. Theories from the Presocratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be critically examined and contrasted with contemporary beliefs and values. Offered each year.

210 - Inductive Reasoning-3 S.H.
Introduction to inductive reasoning and how to avoid being tricked by faulty or pseudo scientific claims and arguments, and how to critically assess public policy in light of good scientific reasoning. Students study how to use experimentation and the scientific method to test theoretical, statistical, and causal hypotheses. Famous discoveries in the history of science are used as illustrations. Other topics include fundamental concepts of probability, sampling, causation and correlation. Offered each year.

220 - Philosophy of Democracy-3 S.H.
An introductory course in political philosophy, investigating the nature and implications of liberal democracy. Topics may include: Social-contract theory, notions of natural rights, the moral virtues of democracy, voting paradoxes, limitations of and various critiques of democracy. Offered each year.

230 - Moral Theory-3 S.H.
A study of major ethical theories, concepts, and issues; for instance, Kantianism, utilitarianism, ethical relativism, concepts of justice, human rights, moral responsibility and free will. Offered each year.

240 - Philosophy of Science-3 S.H.
Examines basic issues in the philosophy and foundations of science, such as the testing of hypotheses, the construction and confirmation of theories, the nature of scientific explanation and the concept of laws of nature. The course also investigates the distinction between science and pseudoscience, and studies to what extent each has influenced recent public policy, social debates, and school curricula. Offered each year.

250 - Symbolic Logic-3 S.H.
An examination of methods for putting ordinary deductive reasoning into symbols in order to test its validity. Topics include ways to translate English into symbols, uses of truth tables, rules for deduction in propositional and predicate logic, models for showing invalidity, and strategies for constructing proofs. Offered as appropriate.

260 - Problems in Philosophy-3 S.H.
A variable-content course considering salient problems in philosophy. May be repeated as University Studies credit as issues change. Offered as appropriate.

270 - Philosophy of Religion-3 S.H.
Topics will include: Arguments for and against the existence of God; the nature of religious belief, miracles, religious language, faith, and reason; as well as Freudian, Existentialist, and Postmodern approaches to religion. This course also briefly reviews the historical and theological background of the main Western religions. Offered as appropriate.

280 - Philosophy of Art-3 S.H.
An introduction to the fundamental concepts and issues in the philosophy of art. Topics include: The definition of art, art’s role and function, taste and judgment, interpretation and intention, representation and expression. The course covers a wide range of views and spans the length of Western philosophy, within the larger realm of social, political, moral, gender, and scientific issues. Offered as appropriate.

301 - Early Modern Philosophy-3 S.H.
This course examines the main themes of early modern philosophy by investigating the views of some of the principal European philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries: The rationalism of such philosophers as Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz; the empiricism of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume; and the constructivism of Kant. Offered each year.

302 - Contemporary Philosophy-3 S.H.
A study of major figures and issues from the 19th and 20th centuries. Philosophers may include Mill, Marx, and Wittgenstein. Issues may include the nature of knowledge, the nature of mind, and the nature of the state. Offered each year.

330 - Biomedical Ethics-3 S.H.
Ethical issues in health care; for example, abortion, termination of treatment, euthanasia, truth-telling and confidentiality, medical experimentation and informed consent, transplant surgery, artificial insemination, surrogate pregnancy, the allocation of medical resources. Offered each year.

332 - Philosophy of Law-3 S.H.
Consideration of the philosophical foundations of law. Topics may include the nature of law, concepts of responsibility and liability, theories of punishment, causation in the law, discrimination and equality, the relation of law and morality, the obligation to obey the law, civil disobedience, liberty and privacy, theories in private law (tort, contract, property). Offered each year.

335 - Constitutional Philosophy-3 S.H.
At the crossroads of political philosophy and philosophy of law, this course investigates the philosophical foundations of the American constitution and contemporary philosophical issues arising from its enforcement in a liberal democracy. Topics may include: Natural law theory, the separations of powers, theories of constitutional interpretation, theories of free speech, privacy doctrine, equal protection, affirmative action, criminal due process, and the Constitution’s relation to American society. Offered as appropriate.

401 - Independent Readings in Philosophy-1-3 S.H.
An individually planned program of readings. May be repeated to a maximum of 9 semester hours. Prerequisites: one philosophy course and instructor’s permission. Offered by arrangement.

430 - Topics in Social and Political Philosophy-1-3 S.H.
A variable-content course considering issues in social and political philosophy. May be repeated as topics change. Offered as appropriate.

460 - Great Philosophers-1-3 S.H.
An intensive study of a single philosopher. May be repeated for different philosophers. Prerequisites: one philosophy course and instructor’s permission. Offered as appropriate.

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