Complementary Courses

Material that relates to other programs of study

Note: Some of these courses may demand prerequisites. See the Philosophy Course Catalog for further details.

Anthropology

PHIL 313: Philosophy of Science
A philosophical examination of the nature, validity and significance of scientific inquiry. Special attention will be given to the descriptive, explanatory and predictive aspects of scientific theories.

Art & Art History

PHIL 304: Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
A philosophical examination of aesthetic perception and criteria of value. Special attention will be given to the elements of art and the function of form, symbol, expression and truth in art.

Biology

Classical Studies

PHIL 231: Greek Philosophy
A critical examination of representative Greek philosophers with special emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

Chemistry

Computer Science

PHIL 301: Symbolic Logic
An introduction to the principles of valid reasoning. Special emphasis will be given to modern symbolic techniques and some of their applications.

PHIL 330: Ethics and Data Science
This course is an introduction to some of the ethical and societal problems that are posed by recent developments in data science, artificial intelligence, and the pervasiveness of the Internet in everyday life.

PHIL 460: Advanced Logic
Systematic investigation of topics in logic drawn from such areas as system construction, proof theory, modal and deontic logic, and abstract set theory.

Data Science

European Studies

PHIL 263: Twentieth Century Continental Philosophy
This course examines major figures and themes in the tradition of twentieth century continental philosophy. Figures covered include Heidegger, Sartre, Foucault, Barthes, Derrida, Deleuze, and Lyotard.

Government

PHIL 215: Right & Wrong in the Contemporary World
A course focused on particular moral issues facing contemporary society and the ethical arguments provoked by them. Topics discussed in the course may include, among others, abortion, euthanasia, hate speech, capital punishment, surrogacy, genetic engineering, war and nuclear arms.

PHIL 305: Social & Political Philosophy
A philosophical examination of major theories dealing with social and political issues such as governmental authority, individual rights, distributive justice, democracy and the importance of community.

PHIL 310: Philosophy of Law
A critical examination of the concepts and arguments used in legal reasoning. Questions to be examined include: the nature of law, the grounds for obedience to law, the relationship of law to morality, and the grounds for legal punishment.

PHIL 403: Advanced Ethics & Social Philosophy
A study of selected normative and theoretical problems in moral philosophy, such as the justification of ultimate moral principles, theories of social justice, or freedom and moral responsibility.

Linguistics

PHIL 335: Philosophy of Language
A survey of recent philosophical questions about language and meaning. Topics such as the following will be considered: reference, analyticity, speech acts, and semantic and syntactic theories. Focus will be on such figures as Russell, Austin, Quine, and Wittgenstein.

Math

PHIL 301: Symbolic Logic
An introduction to the principles of valid reasoning. Special emphasis will be given to modern symbolic techniques and some of their applications.

PHIL 460: Advanced Logic
Systematic investigation of topics in logic drawn from such areas as system construction, proof theory, modal and deontic logic, and abstract set theory.

Medieval and Renaissance Studies

PHIL 232: Medieval Philosophy
Analysis of selected writings of major medieval philosophers such as Augustine, Erigena, Anselm, Maimonides, Aquinas, Duns Scotus and Occam.

Music

Neuroscience

PHIL 325: Neuroscience and Ethics
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of neuroethics, which explores both what the sciences of the mind can tell us about the nature of morality and how we should ethically respond to neuroscientific advances.

Physics

PHIL 375: Metaphysics
A study of competing philosophical accounts of the nature of reality and the basic constituents of ontology. Topics may include persons, events, material objects, properties, propositions, and possible worlds.

Psychology

PHIL 345: Philosophy of Mind
Critical analysis of contemporary theories concerning the nature of consciousness, the concept of the person and personal identity, and some theories of the relation of the mind to the body.

Religious Studies

PHIL 311: Philosophy of Religion
A philosophical investigation of the nature of religious experience, activity and belief. The course will also include an examination of such topics as those of God, freedom, immortality, arguments for existence of God and the problem of evil.

Sociology

Women's Studies

PHIL 320: Philosophy and Feminism
This course examines two ways philosophy and feminism intersect: philosophical arguments are used to support particular feminist theories and to criticize competing theories; and feminist theory is used to criticize traditional philosophical theories of ethics, knowledge, and science.