200-Level Courses
- PHL 200: Introduction to Ethics (3)
- Credit for PHL 200 will not be granted to students who have already taken PHL 202 or PHL 204.
- Introduction to competing views of how one ought to live, designed to promote the development of a reasoned view of one's own. May include such topics as ethical relativism, the nature of justice and of rights, and the relationship of law and morality. Offered in the fall and spring semesters.
- PHL 201: Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (3)
- Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
- History of philosophy from Thales to Ockham. Offered in the fall semester.
- PHL 202: Honors Introductory Ethics (3)
- Prerequisite: Membership in the University Honors Program.
- Credit for PHL 202 will not be granted to students who have already taken PHL 200 or PHL 204. Course content varies; a current version centers around classical ethical theories, the question of whether ethics is subjective, and the nature of wickedness.
- PHL 204: Medical Ethics (3)
- Credit for PHL 204 will not be granted to students who have already taken PHL 200 or PHL 202.
- Introduction to ethics via the moral problems that arise when someone is ill or injured or dying. Topics include euthanasia, truth-telling and medical paternalism, AIDS, and whether healthcare should be guaranteed all citizens by the government.
- PHL 210: Science, Technology, and Society (3)
- Introduction to social philosophy and some of the ethical parameters of scientific technology and its application through engineering. Topics may include problems posed by advances in medical science and alternative means of electric power generation.
- PHL 217: Aesthetics (3)
- Introduction to problems in the philosophy of art, including the nature of art and beauty, the function of art, the objectivity of aesthetic evaluation, and politics and the arts.
- PHL220: Introduction to Political Philosophy (3)
- Prerequisite: One course in philosophy
- What are the proper aims of government, and the proper scope of its power? The views of Aristotle, Locke, Mill, and Marx will be explored, as well as the implications for current issues such as civil rights, income redistribution and welfare programs, and the protection of the environment.
- PHL225: Philosophical Issues in Criminal Law (3)
- What people do can be objectionable in a variety of ways. When should it be criminal? We begin with John Stuart Mill's position on this, then turn to some specific issues. For example, should it be criminal to help someone end his life? To fail to help someone you could save from great physical harm? To panhandle? To stalk someone? What should we take to make one crime more serious than another, and how should the punishment for a particular criminal be determined?
- PHL226: Philosophical Issues in Civil Law (3)
- Issues include the following: what should the legal rights of ownership be? Is the answer different if what is owned is intellectual property? What should the state have by way of a power of eminent domain? When should one party be liable for a harm that befalls another and what limits, if any, should there be to what that liability costs this party? When should a contract be void? What should it cost someone who defaults on a contract? How should bankruptcy work?
- PHL227: Philosophical Issues in Constitutional Law (3)
- The current version of this course focuses on limits the Constitution places on the state's pursuit of criminals. One question is what those limits ought to be. When should the police be able to search a person's home for evidence of criminal activity? What should count as a search? What should the rules be for police work done "on the streets"? What should count as entrapment? As compelling a person to confess? Another question is how Justices of the Supreme Court should determine the answers to these questions, when they are called upon to apply the Constitution. We explore the answers given by Robert Bork, Richard Posner and Ronald Dworkin.
- PHL235: Classic American Philosophy (3)
- Philosophers including Jonathan Edwards, Charles Peirce, William James, George Santayana, and John Dewey are read.
- PHL250: Introduction to Metaphysics (3)
- [No prerequisites.] An introduction to traditional problems of metaphysics. Topics may include the nature of the external world, persons, actions, identity, time, universals, and God.
- PHL 251: Renaissance and Modern Philosophy (3)
- A history of philosophy from the 16th century to the 20th century, which may include study of Hobbes, Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Bentham. Offered in the spring semester.