Spring 2023 Introductory Courses
PHIL 100. Introduction to 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.
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 9:30am-10:45am. Xiufen Lu. CRN: 24779
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 11:00am-12:15pm. Xiufen Lu. CRN: 23100
- IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 11:00am-12:15pm. Angela Sager. CRN: 26187
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.
- IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 9:30am-10:45am. Patrick Bondy. CRN: 24999
- IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 11:00am-12:15pm. Patrick Bondy. CRN: 23104
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.
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 9:30am-10:45am. Angela Sager. CRN: 23112
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 11:00am-12:15pm. James Schwartz. CRN: 23111
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 12:30pm-1:45pm. James Schwartz. CRN: 24782
- HONOR'S (PHIL 125H), IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 11:00am-12:15pm. James Schwartz. CRN: 26267
Spring 2023 First Year Seminars
FYPL 102A FYS: Law (3).
This course is a first-year seminar on law in which we will take a broad interdisciplinary approach to US law. Domains of law such as constitutional law, tort law, and criminal law will be introduced. Covers legal procedures, argumentation and reasoning. Cases and current events will be used to illustrate basic concepts and raise philosophical issues. International law and comparison with other legal systems may be used provide context and perspective. This course contains diversity content.
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 11:00am-12:15pm. Jeffrey Hershfield. CRN: 25116.
Spring 2023 Upper Division Courses
PHIL 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.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Anastasia Pine. CRN: 23091.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Anastasia Pine. CRN: 24825.
- IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 2:00pm-3:15pm. Angela Sager. CRN: 23090.
PHIL 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.
- IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 12:30pm-1:45pm. Xiufen Lu. CRN: 24733
PHIL 315/H. Late Modern Philosophy (3). Syllabus
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.
- IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 9:30am-10:45am. Susan Castro. CRN: 26152.
- HONORS (PHIL 315H), IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 9:30am-10:45am. Susan Castro. CRN: 26821.
PHIL 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.
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 2:00pm-3:15pm. Angela Sager. CRN: 23092.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Jeremy Gallegos. CRN: 23095.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Jeremy Gallegos. CRN: 23093.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Jeremy Gallegos. CRN: 23094.
PHIL 335. 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.
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 9:30am-10:45am. Patrick Bondy. CRN: 26788.
(tentative) PHIL 353 Philosophy of Espionage and Secret Intelligence (3).
General education humanities course. Considers the philosophical aspects of espionage and secret intelligence; the nature of information gathered through spycraft; the status of agents and organizations involved; how to interpret and evaluate information which cannot be taken at face value or is designed to deceive; the objectivity/relevance trade-off inherent in the roles and relationships between intelligence analysts and policymakers; and the recruitment and training of intelligence officers. Also considers the ethics of various intelligence activities, such as covert action, eavesdropping and the inducement of treason. The course is co-taught by experts in the fields of intelligence gathering, critical reasoning and applied ethics, with applications and real-world scenarios and examples.
- HYBRID. Tuesday/Thursday. 5:35-6:50pm. Brian Hepburn and Joseph Hatfield. CRN: TBD
PHIL 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.
- HYBRID. Monday/Wednesday. 11:00am-12:15pm. Day Radebaugh. CRN: 24675.
- HYBRID. Monday/Wednesday. 2:00pm-3:15pm. Day Radebaugh. CRN: 23121.
PHIL 355. Minds and Machines (3).
General education humanities course. People have constructed machines designed to imitate living creatures in some way long before there were electronic computers. When is a machine’s behavior appropriately called "intelligent?" Must it be capable of using a language? Must a machine be capable of learning in order to be regarded as intelligent? Must it be able to communicate with humans? What criteria are appropriate for judging that an animal's behavior is intelligent; should the same criteria be used for machine intelligence? What lessons about machine intelligence should be taken from debates over recent studies of intelligence in animals with nervous systems very different from humans (e.g., corvids, cephalopods)? Students consider these and other, related questions. Course takes a historical and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on works in philosophy, literature, science and history of science. Course includes diversity content.
- HYBRID. Monday/Wednesday. 2:00-3:15pm. Susan Sterrett. CRN: 26761.
PHIL 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.
- IN PERSON. Monday/Wednesday. 11:00am-12:15pm. Jeffrey Hershfield. CRN: 26155.
PHIL 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.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Brian Hepburn. CRN: 23120.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Brian Hepburn. CRN: 23096.
- ONLINE Asynchronous. Jason Matteson. CRN: 24738.
- HYBRID. Monday/Wednesday. 9:30am-10:45am. Day Radebaugh. CRN: 26186.
- HYBRID. Tuesday/Thursday. 2:00pm-3:15pm. Susan Sterrett. CRN: 25117.
PHIL 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.
- IN PERSON. Tuesday/Thursday. 2:00pm-3:15pm. James Schwartz. CRN: 26157.
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