School of Humanities
Philosophy Undergraduate Course Descriptions
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Philosophy
Summer
PHI 151
Intro to Philosophy
Dr. Paula Smithka
Online – multiple sections
Aristotle says, “For it is owing to their wonder that people both now begin and at
first began to philosophize”.
Philosophy begins in wonder. It’s about asking fundamental questions—questions like,
“Does God exist?”; “What is the nature of reality?”; “Is what I perceive really the
way things are?”; “What is a Self?”; “Am I the same person over time?”; “What makes
an action morally right?” “What is justice?”
Study philosophy and unlock your mind!
Fall
PHI 151
Intro to Philosophy
Dr. Michael Dearmey
Online – multiple sections
An introduction to a great intellectual tradition, the oldest and most fundamental
of the sciences--philosophy the love of wisdom. From the ancient Greeks to the present
philosophers have asked basic questions about the nature of reality and the human
condition, and, using evidence and sound reasoning, have developed theories which
are meant to explain the nature of things. If you are intrigued by mysteries and puzzles
about the world, the wisdom sciences of philosophy are worth exploring.
PHI 151
Intro to Philosophy
Dr. Paula Smithka
M/W 9:30-10:45AM or M/W 11:00AM-12:15PM
Aristotle says, “For it is owing to their wonder that people both now begin and at
first began to philosophize”.
Philosophy begins in wonder. It’s about asking fundamental questions—questions like,
“Does God exist?”; “What is the nature of reality?”; “Is what I perceive really the
way things are?”; “What is a Self?”; “Am I the same person over time?”; “What makes
an action morally right?” “What is justice?”
Study philosophy and unlock your mind!
PHI 171
Ethics and Good Living
Dr. Ian Dunkle
Online
What is it to live well? This is one of the oldest and most foundational questions
in philosophy, and for good reason: what could be more important than understanding
how to live well?—Maybe, actually living well!—Granted. But how can we hope to live
well unless we have at least some idea of what that is?
Answering this question is hard, though, for several reasons, including these: First,
it seems to be ambiguous (to live uprightly? to maximize self-interest?). Second,
common answers are ambiguous; there are different senses in which something might
be good for you. Third, popular opinions on the good life contradict one another (consider
what your parents tell you about the importance and non-importance of pursuing a lucrative
career). But where else can we get a footing on the question except in popular opinions?
This course explores the central philosophical puzzles and controversies regarding
the good life and introduces students to major accounts offered in both the history
of philosophy and in contemporary value-theory. Throughout the course students will
also develop skills of critical thinking and argument analysis.
PHI 351
Critical Thinking
Dr. Ian Dunkle
Online CHAT – T/TH 11:00AM-12:15PM
How is it possible to learn what you don’t already know; how do we acquire knowledge?
Sure, you could just find someone who does know and listen passively to what they
say. But how will you know that they know what they’re talking about? And even if
they do, is having the ability to parrot someone else’s knowledge the same as having
that knowledge yourself? Acquiring knowledge seems paradoxical.
The solution: we acquire knowledge by building on prior knowledge through logical
inference. The purpose of this course is to study and master the art of advancing
knowledge through inference. We will study formal logical inference, informal logical
rules and fallacies, statistical inference, and causal reasoning. Unlike in a logic
course, our focus will always be on applying these skills to actual questions we all
care about.
Two main learning objectives of this course are: (1) to be able to analyze arguments,
represent them in standard form, and evaluate them; and (2) to become competent in
the sort of reasoning required for excelling on the LSAT.
PHI 451
Philosophy of Politics
Dr. Sam Bruton
Online
Turned off by present-day political squabbling and self-serving politicians but still
care about how society is organized and run? Then political philosophy is for you.
Learn what the greats have had to say about it: Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Marx.
We will also discuss some contemporary approaches, including libertarianism, communitarianism,
and egalitarianism, as well as some current debates in contemporary America. The class
will be fully online and asynchronous, with regular video lectures, discussion boards,
and short writing assignments. Join the conversation!
PHI 452/552
Health Care Ethics
Dr. Ian Dunkle
T/TH 2:30-3:45PM
In this course, students will learn how to reach morally sound decisions in healthcare.
The course will begin with moral theory as it applies to medical decision making.
Then we will consider each of the four general principles of biomedical ethics in
turn, surveying specific issues that arise in the application of each: these principles
are Respect for Patient Autonomy, Justice, Beneficence, and Non-maleficence. Some
of the specific issues we’ll cover along the way include how to respect the autonomy
of intellectually disabled persons; whether the use of AI in medical technology can
enhance healthcare professionals’ ability to promote autonomy; the extent to which
reproductive healthcare serves to benefit the patient; the extent to which contraceptive
healthcare is compatible with non-maleficence; and the extent to which various disabilities
represent illnesses or harms.
PHI 462/562
Evil
Dr. Michael Dearmey
Online
Theories of evildoing and wrongdoing, and what can be done to prevent or lessen the
worst forms of human behavior. The focus is on transnational evils, which involve
multiple agents, planning, and which transcend the boundaries of single nation states.
Included are genocide, slavery, child slavery, torture, terrorism, and the destruction
of the earth's biosphere.
Religion
REL 131
Comparative Religion
Dr. Timothy Gutmann
M/W 2:30-3:45PM
Comparative Religion: Why are we here? What ultimately matters in life? What do we
have in common with people around the world and through history, and how are we different?
For centuries, the term “religion” has been used to include ideas of what is sacred,
what is forbidden, what is out of this world, and what is everyday, and the stories
and ideas that inspire us to think these ways. Comparative Religion is a class for
everyone curious about religion, both the religion they know and what they want to
know more about. The way we will do this is by encountering others on their own terms,
their sacred books, their holy images, their reverent art and practice. We will be
thinking about how these ideas and traditions are similar and different from each
other. Doing this is what religious studies is all about, and we will be learning
a little about how scholars in this field approach sources such as ours to the extent
that they help us make sense of religion in its human complexity.
REL 131
Comparative Religion
Dr. Amy Slagle
T/TH 9:30-10:45AM
REL 345
Magic and the Occult
Dr. Amy Slagle
T/TH 1:00-2:15PM