PHL 170 Philosophy of Love and Sex (3 Credits)
Provides an overview of the primary historical and contemporary Western views on the nature and meaning of romantic love. Students will analyze the links philosophers have found among beauty, friendship, passion, loyalty and transcendence and will also create their own philosophies of romantic love.
PHL 199 Selected Topics: Philosophy (1-4 Credits)
Provides a learning experience in philosophy not currently available; this course is in development to be proposed as a permanent course.
PHL 200 Fundamentals of Philosophy (4 Credits)
Explores some of the major questions and philosophical subject areas of the Western World. Includes questions such as the existence of God, or not; how we know what we think we know; social and political philosophy; ethics; free will and determinism; the existence of other minds; questions concerning the existence of a mind-independent external world; and philosophical underpinnings of science.
PHL 201 Epistemology - Knowledge, Science, and the History of Reason (4 Credits)
Epistemology in the analytic tradition boils down to the "science of knowledge:" what does it mean to "know?" How do we know the things we supposedly know? What makes up the objects of possible knowledge? This course explores basic problems and different theories of knowledge along with related issues in metaphysics, for example: how to define the nature and limits of knowledge; rationalist vs. empiricist perspectives; assumptions about reality and existence; and arguments for and against the existence of God.
PHL 202 Problems of Philosophy - Ethics (3 Credits)
Explores basic problems in moral and social philosophy along with issues related to human nature, for example: how to define a good life or a good society; what is the nature of happiness, pleasure, virtue and justice; consequence vs. duty-based theories; the role of reason and/or passion; and arguments for and against natural law.
PHL 203 Problems of Philosophy - Logic (3 Credits)
Introduction to the study of reasoning and critical thinking. This involves identifying and evaluating deductive and inductive forms, distinguishing validity from truth/soundness, examining informal fallacies and the limits of language, constructing different types of arguments and applying these tools to issues in science, politics, morality and everyday life.
PHL 206 Philosophy of Religion (3 Credits)
Surveys topics and debates in the philosophy of religion, including arguments for and against the existence of God, the problem of evil, and contemporary challenges to revealed religions, such as religious pluralism, feminist theory, and the possibility of secular ethical frameworks.
PHL 209 Philosophy of Race and Decolonization (4 Credits)
Provides a framework for understanding the intersection of race and class. Focuses on the historical relationship between colonial powers and the production of global racial inequality. Examines the racialized institutions of mass incarceration in America and border violence more broadly—i.e, globally, and concludes by demonstrating how both serve to advance the interests of capital. Topics include colonialism, critical theory, Jim Crow, neoliberalism, the criminal justice system, resistance movements, and radical love. Selected authors include subaltern historians, Black scholars, imprisoned intellectuals, enemies of the State, resistance fighters, and poets.
PHL 298 Independent Study: Philosophy (1-6 Credits)
Individualized, advanced study to focus on outcomes not addressed in existing courses or of special interest to a student. P/NP grading.
PHL 299 Selected Topics: Philosophy (1-4 Credits)
Provides a learning experience in philosophy not currently available; this course is in development to be proposed as a permanent course.
