Philosophy

Degrees and Certificates

Classes

PHI 1000 : Knowledge, Reality, Self

Philosophical responses to the questions of how we can know, what is real, and what is the nature of human existence that explore the dialogue between Catholic, Christian, secular and skeptical perspectives on these questions.

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Credits 3

PHI 1990 : Topics

One-credit course on variable topics; course meets for a minimum of 14 hours.

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Credits 1

PHI 2010 : Logic & Critical Thinking

The study of logic and critical thinking. Topics include: argument identification and analysis; formal and informal logic; fallacies; inductive argument; the role of argumentative structures in various philosophical traditions.

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Credits 3

PHI 2020 : Symbolic Logic

Propostional and first-order predicate logic; logical structure of arguments; symbolic languages; correct and incorrect inferences; fallacies; truth-tables; natural deduction.

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Credits 3

PHI 2117 : The Good Doctor

The art and science, learning and dispositional attitudes necessary for the moral practice of medicine by a good doctor. Themes for the course drawn from philosophical resources, sociological theory, data and first-person medical narratives.

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Credits 3

PHI 2121 : Environmental Ethics

The relation of the physical and biological environment to ethical values. Priorities among environmental, economic and political values as a basis for ethical decisions.

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Credits 3

PHI 2130 : Business Ethics

Social justice and charity as principles of order in economic life and relationships: topics include consumer rights, corporate social responsibility, and ecology.

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Credits 3

PHI 2155 : Engineering Ethics

Engineering ethics through case studies focusing on professional responsibility, the role of technology in society and a holistic evaluation of the purpose of science and engineering.

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Credits 3

PHI 2160 : The Ethics of War

Just war theory, total war, nuclear deterrence and nuclear war, disarmament, genocide, war crimes and atrocities, terrorism, non-violent resistance, and pacifism.

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Credits 3

PHI 2170 : Mass Media Ethics

The impact of the changing communications technologies on the human person and society; freedom of the press, violence; pornography and censorship, confidentiality of sources, advertising ethics and codes of ethics and standards of practice.

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Credits 3

PHI 2180 : Computer Ethics

Codes of professional ethics, unauthorized access, ownership of software, and the social responsibility of computing professionals.

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Credits 3

PHI 2190 : Freedom

Human freedom analyzed from a metaphysical and political perspective; readings from classical and contemporary sources on such topics as determinism, slavery, rights, authority and dissent.

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Credits 3

PHI 2300 : Philosophy of Law

The nature and function of law, relation of law to ethics, the judicial process, the role of constitutions, the rights of citizens, law and international relations.

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Credits 3

PHI 2400 : Social & Political Phil

Social and political philosophers and the influence of their theories on the philosophical foundation of modern culture and society; emphasis on such conceptions as society, the state, justice and equality, and the social and political nature of persons.

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Credits 3

PHI 2410 : Philosophy of Sex & Love

Embodiment, the nature of sexuality, the types of love, sexual ethics, marriage, sexual differences, and sexual discrimination.

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Credits 3

PHI 2420 : Philosophy of Women

Nature and status of women from ancient times to the present, with consideration of the more general context of self-identity; contemporary feminist theories; feminism as a political movement.

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Credits 3

PHI 2430 : Eco-Feminism

Basic positions in eco-feminism as they relate to the philosophical and religious traditions of the West.

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Credits 3

PHI 2450 : Catholic Social Thought

Catholic Social Thought from Rerum Navarum to the present. Its Aristotelean-Thomistic grounding. The Church's challenge to analyses of contemporary social, political, and economic systems.

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Credits 3

PHI 2460 : Globalization

Philosophical issues of globalization including: international law and human rights, immigration and migration, human trafficking, cyber solidarity, fair trade, poverty tourism, protest in the global civic sphere, and religious dialogue across borders.

Credits

Credits 3

PHI 2470 : Irish Thought and Literature

An examination of main thinkers in the Irish tradition; the relation of reason (science) and religion; the importance of poetry; themes to be explored include (e)migrant thought, exile and home, English as colonizers, langage and voice, laughter and comedy.

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Credits 3

PHI 2480 : Africana Philosophy

Survey of theoretical writings and discourses by authors from Africa and the African diaspora at large, especially African-American and West-Indian authors.

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Credits 3

PHI 2490 : Latin Amer & African Amer Phil

Colonialism and anti-colonial struggles, slavery and abolition, the Black and Latinx radical traditions, intersectionality and materialist critique, race/gender/sexuality/class relations, mass incarceration and detention, media and culture, liberation struggles.

Credits

Credits 3

PHI 2500 : Philosophy of Exchange

Monetary exchange in philosophical perspective: money as a means and as an end; higher and lower forms of exchange; sacrificial economies; the politics of scarcity; sacred economics.

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Credits 3

PHI 2550 : Technology & Society

Case studies of specific technologies (such as television, automobiles, health technology) and critical examination of ethical Philosophical and policy issues that these technologies raise.

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Credits 3

PHI 2700 : Philosophy of Science

Philosophical implications of specific laws and theories; Newton's laws, energy, evolution, relativity, atomic theory. Methodological problems of observation, discovery, testing; scientific realism, revolutions in scientific thought.

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Credits 3

PHI 2710 : Information Knowledge Inquiry

The nature of human knowledge; sources of knowledge; justification of belief; conduct of inquiry; information; scientific reasoning; testimony; ecological rationality; and technologically extended knowledge.

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Credits 3

PHI 2760 : Philosophy & Literature

Philosophical ideas in selected literary works; examination of the relation of literature to philosophy; fiction and truth, modes of communication.

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Credits 3

PHI 2920 : Asian Philosophies

Sources of Eastern philosophies; aspects of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and/or Sufism.

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Credits 3

PHI 2930 : Indian Philosophy

Introduction to basic traditions of Indian philosophy; exploration of debates between these traditions on fundamental issues of epistemology metaphysics, and philosophy of religion.

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Credits 3

PHI 2993 : Internship

Departmentally related and academically creditable field work experience. See department chair for more information. Permission of Department Chair required.

Credits

Credits 3

PHI 2996 : Internship

Departmentally related and academically creditable field work experience. See department chair for more information.

Credits

Credits 6

PHI 3000 : Research Seminar Phil Majors

Research methods and information literacy in Philosophy leading to practiced philosophical writing based on instructor feedback and/or peer review.

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Credits 3

PHI 3030 : History of Medieval Philosophy

Philosophical movements from the early Middle Ages to the rise of modern philosophy; the influence of later Medieval speculation upon thinkers of the modern period; readings from Augustine, Aquinas, Bonaventure, and others.

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Credits 3

PHI 3100 : Augustine & Antiquity

Life and thought of Saint Augustine; the problem of certitude, the problem of evil, the nature of history, human knowledge and God, the soul-body relations, and political philosophy.

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Credits 3

PHI 3720 : Marx & Marxism

Marx on the theories of human nature, freedom and history; related developments in Marxist thought.

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Credits 3

PHI 3991 : Philosophy for Theology I

Historical and contemporary approaches to philosophical problems of theological relevance; philosophical methods for use in ministry; influence of Augustine on Western thought. Restricted to students in the Augustinian Novitiate Program.

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Credits 1

PHI 3992 : Philosophy for Theology II

The relationships that exist between modern and contemporary philosophy and Christian theology; philosophical methods for use in ministry. Restricted to students in the Augustinian Novitiate Program.

Credits

Credits 2

Prerequisites

PHI 3991

PHI 3991

PHI 4125 : Bioethics

Advanced issues in clinical and research ethics: neuro-enhancement, radical life-extension, phase 1 trials on the non-consenting, ethics of life and death, and ethics of pandemics.

Credits

Credits 3

PHI 4140 : Phil of Contemporary Music

Critical listening to rock pop, jazz, rap, funk, punk, dance, and ambient music; relation of music to noise; theories of Hanslick, Nietzsche, Adorno, Barthes, Foucault, Deleuze, and Cage.

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Credits 3

PHI 4150 : Philosophy & Film

Analysis of selected classics and current films from the perspective of basic philosophical concepts and questions.

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Credits 3

PHI 4200 : Philosophy of Language

Major classical and contemporary philosophical theories concerning language, including the relationship of language to thought, experience and reality; theories of meaning, communication, linguistics, translation, poetic and religious language.

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Credits 3

PHI 4300 : Death and Dignity

An account of the most influential philosophical interpretations of death, and an exploration of the fact of dying as a political and social phenomenon grounded on historical examples.

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Credits 3

PHI 4600 : Psychoanalysis & Philosophy

Philosophical implications of Freudian theory as it relates to the individual and culture; the role of the unconscious; interpretation, structure of the ego, human sexuality and the foundations of civilization.

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Credits 3

PHI 4610 : Philosophy of Mind

The nature of mind, soul, consciousness; the mind-brain relationship; classical and contemporary philosophical approaches; the nature of person identity and moral responsibility.

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Credits 3

PHI 4825 : Existentialism

The active, feeling and living human being as the starting point for thinking about existence as more than brute facts and rational truths. Alienation, absurdity, emptiness and dread but also the freedom, authenticity, commitment and creativity as human responses to the apparent meaninglessness of life.

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Credits 3

PHI 5000 : Adv Sem for Phil Majors

Special topic in philosophy or current interest to faculty and students. Course is open to Philosophy majors and minors and graduate students with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies in Philosophy.

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Credits 3

PHI 6000 : Senior Thesis

Inquiry in depth into one major philosophical problem or into the thought of one major philosopher; practice in the use of research and bibliographical techniques. techniques.

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Credits 3