Philosophy and Ethics Core

Name Title Credits School
ICPH 300 Core Seminar in Philosophy 3 College of Arts & Sciences
In this Core philosophy seminar, students will focus on a specific philosophic school of thought, question, or approach. In addition, the course will examine philosophy in relation to other disciplines, The content of the course will vary from semester to semester.

Prerequisite Course(s): Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

ICPH 301 The Philosophy of Human Nature 3 College of Arts & Sciences
This interdisciplinary course based in philosophy is a study of classic sources of ideas on the nature of humankind as found in Western religion, in the ancient world, and in modern philosophy. The course will examine contemporary theories of human nature that reflect upon the human being as a psychological or as a genetic mechanism, as a maker of tools, a speaker of language, as dominated by its animal nature, and as a being abandoned in a godless world.

Prerequisite Course(s): Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

ICPH 302 The Legacy of Socrates 3 College of Arts & Sciences
A seminar in philosophy focusing on the contributions and legacy of Socrates that examines the nature and significance of the Socratic method as the fundamental mode of logical inquiry. In its study of Socrates the seminar will follow an integrated and interdisciplinary approach that will touch on historical issues, dramatic and literary evidence, logical reasoning, and ethical and political matters.

Prerequisite Course(s): Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

ICPH 303 The Birth of Philosophy and Science 3 College of Arts & Sciences
An interdisciplinary philosophy seminar that will introduce the students to the origins and basic ideas of the earliest Greek philosophers. The course will deal with their contributions to philosophical thought and the scientific understanding of the universe. The seminar will address a variety of disciplines that include philosophy, history, astronomy, cosmology, mathematics, and physics, disciplines that can be abundantly found in the writings and theories of the Presocratics. From Thales of Miletus in the early sixth century BCE to Democritus in the fifth century the course will present the students their attempts to understand the nature of reality and the universe. The course will require active participation on the part of the students and a series of written reports.

Prerequisite Course(s): Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

ICPH 304 Ethics and Social Philosophy 3 College of Arts & Sciences
The aims of this seminar in ethics are threefold: to explore and analyze critically the chief historical and contemporary theories of morality and the good life; to study the philosophical underpinnings of these theories in the works of the great philosophers; to discover the relevance of ethical theories to the understanding and adjudication of social and personal moral conflicts, and to the conduct of life.

Prerequisite Course(s): Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

ICPH 305 Beauty, Morality, Taste, Tech, Phil Art and the Philosophy of Art 3 College of Arts & Sciences
This interdisciplinary philosophy course will study the impact of philosophy, art history, belief systems, social movements, and critical theory on the development of Western art and culture from beginning of written history to the present. In addition, comparable art practices from non-Western cultures will be studied.

Prerequisite Course(s): Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

ICPH 306 Bioethics 3 College of Arts & Sciences
An interdisciplinary philosophy seminar that introduces students to the field of bioethics- the study of ethical issues involving the biomedical and life sciences. The course includes readings of moral theories in philosophy and uses these concepts as a framework to examine key issues in bioethics. Topics covered in the course may include classic cases in bioethics as well as contemporary debates prompted by emerging technologies.

Prerequisite Course(s): Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

PHIL 110 Problems of Philosophy 3 College of Arts & Sciences
An introduction to philosophy by way of selected problems from various areas of philosophy. Topics include: the nature of a priori knowledge and of scientific explanation, the existence of God, whether or not there can be moral knowledge, and the problem of free will. The course objective is to acquaint students with these philosophical issues, and through detailed discussion, to teach them how to analyze ideas critically.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

PHIL 210 Philosophy and History of Religion 3 College of Arts & Sciences
This course acquaints the student with major elements associated with the development of religion as examined by psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians, as well as by selected theologians. Special attention is paid to the philosophical analysis of religious phenomena, clarifying issues, such as the existence of God and gods, the nature of religious experience, the belief in the soul, and other typically religious subjects.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

PHIL 220 Ethics and Social Philosophy 3 College of Arts & Sciences
An examination of some of the most critical issues of moral and social philosophy. These include subjects such as the linguistic analysis of terms such as good, evil, duty, right, and others. The basis of different moral systems will be studied, and selections from ethical and social philosophers will be read.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

PHIL 230 Technology, Society, and Values 3 College of Arts & Sciences
An examination of models and case studies concerned with the impact of machines on man, of technological systems on social structures, and modes of production on value systems. Special attention is paid to the ethical problems connected with newly emerging technologies.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

PHIL 250 Logic and the Scientific Method 3 College of Arts & Sciences
An introduction to the valid forms of reasoning and the methods of inquiry practiced by the natural, social, and behavioral sciences.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

PHIL 260 Philosophy and History of Science 3 College of Arts & Sciences
An examination of the principal moments in the development of scientific thought, with special emphasis on the analysis of the principles of scientific methodology. The contributions of individuals like Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Kant, Darwin, and Einstein will be carefully explored. Notions such as induction, deduction, proof, explanation, and truth will be subjected to extensive criticism.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3

PHIL 310 Seminar in Philosophy 3 College of Arts & Sciences
Selected topics in philosophy.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3