Philosophy Course Descriptions

Complete list of courses taught by the Philosophy Department. (Please note that not every course is offered each year. Visit our "Upcoming Courses" page to learn about current semester course offerings).

Lower-Division Courses:

PHIL 100. Meaning of Philosophy (3). General education humanities course. Exploration of the meaning of philosophic activity through an examination of several basic interpretations of the distinguishing intentions, characteristic procedures and essential functions of the philosophic endeavor. Introduces some of the fundamental problems and possible values of philosophy. Develops a broad understanding of the meaning of philosophy as a diverse and self-critical historical enterprise.
PHIL 105 Critical Reasoning. (3) General education humanities course. Helps students become better at reasoning. Focuses on different patterns of reasoning common in college-level studies and in everyday life. Some patterns are treated in concrete and content-specific ways, and others are treated in highly abstract ways. Students also learn to be critical by different kinds of standards. For example, students learn about how much precision to demand when reasoning about different kinds of topics, and how to evaluate considerations in terms of relevance. Ultimately, students learn how to strengthen their own capacities for reasoning and how to recognize and correct errors in their own thinking and in other people’s reasoning.
PHIL 125 Introductory Logic. (3). General education humanities course. Deals with the uses of logical concepts and techniques to evaluate and criticize reasoning, Studies some elementary systems of formal logic. Arguments evaluated are drawn from such diverse fields as law, science, politics, religion, and advertising.
PHIL 144 Moral Issues. (3). General education humanities course. An introduction to philosophical thought about ethics. Discusses a number of contemporary moral issues and considers various philosophical approaches to their solutions.
PHIL 150B Women & Computers: Two Historical Episodes (0.5). Recent historical studies reveal that, in the earliest days of the computer industry, there were women at the helm of the new electronic computing equipment. Eventually, as computer jobs become professionalized, the picture changes to one in which it is mostly men who are working with computers. In this course we will look at two historical studies in the history of computing that illustrate this: the birth and decline of the computing industry in Britain during and after WWII, and the use of computing machinery in the birth of space exploration in the United States (some of which was depicted in the film "Hidden Figures.")
PHIL 150C Philosophy of Humor (0.5) This is a LifeLong Learning course on humor in which we will take a broad interdisciplinary approach to humor. Along the way we’ll philosophize all the funny out of humor, muck into the politics of the absurd, and get down to some funny business. Is humor quintessentially human? Is your bank balance a joke? Does laughing at fart jokes demonstrate poor character? We’ll ask all these questions and more, but answer none! This course contains diversity content. Warning: Your professor is not funny. Side effects are typically mild to moderate.
FYPL 102A First-Year Seminar: Law (3). This course is a first-year seminar on law in which students take a broad interdisciplinary approach to U.S. law. Domains of law such as constitutional law, tort law and criminal law are introduced. Covers legal procedures, argumentation and reasoning. Cases and current events are used to illustrate basic concepts and raise philosophical issues. International law and comparison with other legal systems may be used to provide context and perspective. First-Year Seminars apply as an additional requirement in the WSU General Education program; they cannot be applied as a divisional requirement.
FYPL 102S First-Year Seminar: On Humor (3). Seminar on humor which takes a broad interdisciplinary approach to humor. Along the way, participants philosophize all the funny out of humor, muck into the politics of the absurd and get down to some funny business. Is humor quintessentially human? Is someone's bank balance a joke? Does laughing at fart jokes demonstrate poor character? The course asks all these questions and more, but answers none! Warning: the professor is not funny. Side effects are typically mild to moderate. First-Year Seminars apply as an additional requirement in the WSU General Education program; they cannot be applied as a divisional requirement. Course includes diversity content.

Upper-Division Courses:

300 Science and the Modern World. (3). General education humanities course. Develops an understanding of the methods and accomplishments of science and how they have affected the way people understand themselves, society and the universe. The approach is both historical, with respect to the re-creation of the prescientific world view and the developments of science, and analytical with respect to understanding the goals, methods and limits of contemporary science. No prerequisite, but prior completion of general education requirements in science is desirable. Course includes diversity content.
302 Values and the Modern World. (3). General education humanities course. Examines the philosophical pressures on values wrought by rapid modern cultural and technological change. Explores the relations between social values and social institutions, provides a framework for critically and objectively thinking about moral values, and considers various standards proposed for resolving moral dilemmas. Course includes diversity content.
303 Nineteenth Century Philosophy. (3). A study of selected 19th century philosophers or systems of thought such as Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Marx, Mill, Bradley, Kierkegaard, Peirce, Nietzsche, Comte, Dilthey, Schleier-Macher, idealism, materialism, positivism, empiricism and pragmatism.
304 Latin American Philosohy. (3). General education humanities course. Examines the origins of Latin America, how social-political forces have shaped Latin American identity, and the borders that separate Anglo America and Latin America. Engages historically influential Latin American philosophers as well as contemporary Latinx philosophers. Course includes diversity content.
305 Analytic Philosophy. (3). General education humanities course. Studies the rise of analytic philosophy in the 20th century, emphasizing the themes unifying philosophers who originated modern philosophical analysis. Includes the nature of analysis and the relationship between analysis and classical philosophical problems, such as the nature of reality, the nature of knowledge, the nature of language, the nature of morality.
306 Business Ethics. (3). General education humanities course. A critical examination of representative moral issues that arise in the context of business. Focuses on topics such as the nature of professionalism, the social responsibility of business, regulation, employee rights and obligations, sexual harassment, economic justice, environmental impact, the limits of property rights, and conflicting international mores and practices. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 105 with a grade of C or better.
311 Philosophy of Law. (3). General education humanities course. An introduction to philosophical problems arising in the theory and practice of law. Includes the objective basis of legal systems, the relationship between morality and legality, the justifiability of civil disobedience, the limits of legal constraints on the individual and the nature and justification of punishment. Attention to classical and contemporary readings. Course includes diversity content.
313 Political Philosophy. (3). General education humanities course. An examination of various philosophical issues concerning political systems. Discusses issues such as the nature of political authority, the rights of individuals, constitutionalism and civil disobedience. Course includes diversity content.
315 Late Modern Philosophy. (3). General education humanities course. A study of philosophical thought in the 18th century with selections from philosophers such as Berkeley, Hume, Reid, Adam Smith, Butler, Hutcheson, Wolff and Kant, and movements such as empiricism, rationalism, the Scottish common sense school and idealism.
320 Philosophy of Science. (3). General education humanities course. A study of the methods, goals, and world views of the sciences with attention to such topics as the structure and evaluation of scientific theories, the nature of explanation, the dynamics of scientific revolutions and the impact of science on human society and values.
321 The History and Philosophy of the Physical Sciences in the 20th Century. (3). The 20th century saw radical changes in our theories about the nature of the physical world. This course uses a brief initial survey of the so-called "classical" physics of the late 19th century as a springboard for exploring the rise and development of our current views about space, time, matter, energy, gravitation, cosmology and more. The emphasis is not on mastery of technical details but rather on understanding important results in the physical sciences from a humanistic perspective, including their cultural, philosophical and technological implications.
322 Early Modern Philosophy. (3). General education humanities course. A study of philosophical thought in the period from the Renaissance through the 17th century with selections from philosophers such as Pico, Vico, Galileo, Cusanus, Telesio, Erasmus, More, Hobbes, Bacon, Machiavelli, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Malebranche, and Locke.
325 Formal Logic. (3). Studies systems of formal logic including sentential and predicate logic. Emphasizes the uses of these systems in the analysis of arguments. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 125.
327 Bioethics. (3). General education humanities course. Examines ethical issues related to health care such as truth-telling to patients, confidentiality, euthanasia, abortion, prenatal obligations and distribution of health care. Course includes diversity content.
331 Ancient Greek Philosophy. (3). General education humanities course. Examines the development of Greek philosophy in its major phases, including an exploration of the Milesian and Eleatic traditions, Pythagoras, the Atomists, the Pluralists, the Sophists, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
338 Philosophy of Feminism. (3). General education humanities course. Cross-listed as WOMS 338. Explores philosophical issues raised by the feminist movement emphasizing conceptual and ethical questions. Course includes diversity content.
341 Contemporary Ethics. (3). General education humanities course. A study of contemporary developments in ethics. Highlights landmark works from the 20th century to the present. May explore contemporary approaches to an important ethical issue or investigate recent defenses of such ethical theories as Kantian deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics, contractualism, care ethics and feminist ethics. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 100, 125, or 144.
342 History of Ethics. (3). General education humanities course. Examines the development of ethics from its ancient Greek origins to the present, or focuses on the ethics of an important historical period such as the modern period. Highlights the substantive and methodological shifts, as well as the historical, social and philosophical pressures that make such shifts explicable. Engages such historically influential philosophers as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Hume, Kant, Mill and Nietzsche. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 100, 125, or 144.
345 Philosophy of Sex and Love. (3). Examines the ethical, metaphysical, and conceptual dimensions of sex and love. Includes the nature of sex, sexual perversion, homosexuality, pornography, sadomasochism, the nature and varieties of love, the features of love, and the relationship between love and sex. Uses selections from writings of both historical and recent authors.
346 Philosophy of Religion. (3). General education humanities course. Examines some basic religious problems such as the nature and grounds of religious belief, religious language, the existence and nature of God, human immortality, and the problem of evil.
350 Ancient Chinese Philosophy. (3). A survey of Chinese philosophy during the pre-Han period, roughly 500-200 B.C.E. Includes major figures Confucius, Mencius, Mo-Tzu, Hsun-Tzu, Chuang-Tzu, Lao-Tzu and Han-Fei-Tzu. Includes the major positions of Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, Taoism and Dialecticalism.
352 Contemporary Chinese Philosophy (3). General education humanities course. Surveys Chinese philosophy from the late 19th century to the present day. Covers major figures such as Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Also covers major schools of thought such as the New Culture Movement, Nationalism, Communism, Socialism, Maoism and the post-Mao Economic Reform Movement. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 100 or 144.
354 Ethics and Computers. (3). General education humanities course. Ethics with application to the ethical issues which may arise from the use of computers, including the moral responsibility of computer professionals for the effect their work has on persons and society; the moral obligations of a computer professional to clients, employer and society; the conceptual and ethical issues surrounding the control and ownership of software; and the justifiability of regulation of the design, use and marketing of computer technology. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): junior standing or departmental consent.
360 Ethical Theory. (3). General education humanities course. Studies selected topics in ethics. Investigates issues such as the meaning and justification of moral judgments, the nature of morality, the relations between normative categories and the concept of justice, and the problem of revolution in moral schemes. Prerequisite(s): one course in philosophy.
361 Metaethics. (3). General education humanities course. Studies selected topics in metaethics. Investigates, for example, ethical realism, moral relativism, expressivism, moral knowledge, moral motivation and moral value. Readings may include work from figures such as G.E. Moore, A.J. Ayer, R.M. Hare, J.L. Mackie, Gilbert Harman, Philippa Foot, Bernard Williams and Christine Korsgaard. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 100, 125, or 144.
365 Survey of Asian Philosophy. (3). General education humanities course. Surveys philosophical systems of Asia, including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Key points of similarity and contrast among these systems and between these systems and those dominant in Western societies, regarding the nature of the self and reality, and the sources of moral, political and social value are considered.
385 Engineering Ethics. (3). General education humanities course. Examines representative ethical issues that arise in engineering. Topics include: professional responsibility and integrity, whistle-blowing, conflict of interest, ethical issues in engineering consulting and research, engineering and environmental issues, and engineering in a global context. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): junior or senior standing.
421 Philosophy of Mind. (3). Critically examines recent developments in the philosophy of mind. Possible topics include the nature of consciousness, mental representation, the mind-body problem, mental causation, psychological explanation, and the computational theory of mind.
450 Truth and Reality. (3). A survey of philosophical theories of truth, including the correspondence, pragmatic, and deflationary theories. Topics to be covered include skepticism, realism and anti-realism, and social constructionism. Readings may include from figures such as James, Peirce, Dewey, Wittgenstein, Russell, Tarski, Quine, Davidson, Austin, Strawson, Field, Hacking, and Horwich.

Courses For Graduate/Undergraduate Credit:

501 Philosophy of Language. (3). Examines the relationships between philosophy and language. Focuses on questions such as: What is the relation between language and thought? Language and the world? What can the study of language contribute to the resolution of philosophical problems? Prerequisite: one 300-level or higher course in philosophy.
525 Evidential Reasoning. (3). Explores philosophical issues related to reasoning about evidence. Topics may include: induction, confirmation, falsification, the under-determination of theories by evidence, theories of probability, and scientific method. Examines some case studies of reasoning about evidence in, for example, poker, medicine, risk analysis, forensic sciences and the law.
526 Ethics of Big Data (3). General education humanities course. When we aim to collect and transform data into insight for better decisions, ethical values determine the core of what counts as better. Unintended consequences and systemic biases often misdirect the outcomes. This course examines ethical issues that have arisen or that may be expected to arise in the development and use of big data, data analytics, apps, automated personal assistants and smart technology. Topics may include privacy and transparency, pitfalls of personalized automation in medicine, alternatives to contracts of adhesion, identification and prediction in law enforcement and security, smartening agriculture, hardening social media against disinformation, and algorithmic oppression. Focuses on prevention and problem-solving for future professionals and anyone interested in data science, analytics, algorithm development and smart technology. May be tailored to address current events and student interest. Course includes diversity content.
530 Ethics of Space Exploration. (3). General education humanities course. Surveys various philosophical and ethical questions raised by the exploration of the space environment and in space policy discussions. Topics may include rationales for space exploration, space resource exploitation, and space settlement; planetary protection and preservation of the space environment; duties to extraterrestrial microbial life; and regulation and policy for space exploration. Prerequisite(s): at least one course in philosophy.
540 Theory of Knowledge. (3). A critical examination of the nature of knowledge and of the philosophical problems concerning skepticism; knowledge of the self; material objects; other minds; the past, present, and future; universals; and necessary truths. Includes selections from both historical and recent writings. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy.
546 Rationalism. (3). A study of the philosophical views that emphasize reasoning rather than sensory experience as the source of knowledge with particular attention paid to the philosophies of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz.
549 Topics in Ancient Philosophy. (3). Explores one decisive issue in philosophy from the time of Thales through the Stoics. The examination of an issue may confine itself to one period within the total span of ancient philosophy or it may trace the issue throughout the span, indicating its contemporary treatment. Some of the issues treated are: the nature of what is, the concept of the sacred, the meaning of truth, the relation of invariance and process, the existence of universal standards of thought and conduct, the problem of knowledge, skepticism, the nature of language and the character of philosophical inquiry.
550 Metaphysics. (3). An exploration of some basic topics in the theory of reality. Includes such notions as space, time substance, causality, particulars, universals, appearance, essence and being. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy.
555 Philosophy of the Social Sciences. (3). Studies such topics as the relations of social science with natural science and philosophy, methodological problems peculiar to social science, the nature of sound explanation concepts and constructs and the roles of mathematics and formal theories in social science.
557 Contemporary European Philosophy (3). An exploration of a theme, issue, philosopher or movement in contemporary European philosophy. Includes such philosophers as Husserl, Heidegger, Jaspers, Gadamer, Habermas, Marcuse, Adorno, Bergson, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Bachelard, Lacan, Derrida, Foucault, and Ricoeur. Examines philosophical movements such as phenomenology, idealism, existentialism, structuralism, process philosophy, hermeneutics and Marxism.
577 Philosophy of the Arts (3). General education humanities course. Intensively examines one or more fundamental problems or themes in the philosophy of art or in the special aesthetics of painting, music, sculpture, literature, drama, movies and so forth. Includes the problem of tragedy, the character of the aesthetic attitude, the function of the arts, the legitimacy of general art theory, the presuppositions of specialized art theory, the creative act, art and truth, art and life, and the nature and function of art criticism.
585 Studies in a Major Philosopher (3). A concentrated study of the thought of one major philosopher announced by the instructor when the course is scheduled. Repeatable for credit. Prerequisite: instructor's consent.
585R. Major Philosopher: Nietzsche (3). Examines Nietzsche's writings as philosophy and as literature, and considers the implications of Nietzsche's "perspectivism" for philosophy, morality and interpretation. Nietzsche's own writings are, of course central, although students also engage the celebrated book, "Nietzsche: Life as Literature," and consider Nietzsche's influence on contemporary approaches to literary, biblical and constitutional interpretation.
590 Special Studies (3). Topic for study announced by instructor. Repeatable for credit. Prerequisite: instructor's consent.
590AD Environmental Ethics. (3). A course surveying various philosophical and ethical questions raised by human interaction with, and impact on, the natural environment. Will focus on historical and contemporary, theoretical and applied, issues in environmental ethics. Topics will include: anthropocentrism versus non-anthropocentrism; environmental justice and rights; progress and innovation versus stewardship and restoration; the science of climate change.
590K Philosophy of Medicine. (3). Covers topics related to the metaphysics and epistemology of medicine, not excluding their human impact. Topics of philosophical investigation may include for example concepts of disease and disability, evidence based medicine, medical models and mechanisms, reductionism, constructivism, expert consensus, clinical judgment, categorization and classification, epidemiology, and outcome measurement. May include historical and multicultural approaches to health and medicine.
590O Models and Analogies (3). In this small seminar-style course, students look at the history and philosophy of the use of models and analogies in various sciences, up to and including the present day. Includes mathematical models as well as physical models, and includes not only physics, chemistry and biology, but social sciences, such as political science, economics and psychology. In the first part of the course, students read and discuss philosophical works about how models and analogies are involved in science, sometimes implicitly, and consider how it is that they can often extend knowledge and understanding, yet also how they can sometimes mislead. In the second part of the course, students take an in-depth look at examples of the use of models in various fields; the choice of topics are based on student interest.
699 Directed Reading. (2-3). For the student interested in doing independent study and research in a special area of interest. Repeatable for credit. Prerequisite: departmental consent.

Courses For Graduate Students Only:

850 Directed Reading. (3). For the graduate student desiring independent study and research in an area of special interest. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: departmental consent.