Please see Banner/Timetable for further information about sections, times, locations, and instructors. For general descriptions of all courses see the course catalog:

Lower Division Courses (100- & 200-level)

PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy – Multiple Instructors

An introduction to philosophy focusing on central problems, such as knowledge and belief, the meaning of life, the existence of God, freedom of the will, morality, human nature, and mind. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH requirement]     

PHIL 107: Honors – Introduction to Philosophy – Multiple Instructors

An introduction to philosophy focusing on central problems, such as knowledge and belief, the meaning of life, the existence of God, freedom of the will, morality, human nature, and mind. Honors version of PHIL 101. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH requirement]

PHIL 130: Critical Thinking – Multiple Instructors

An introduction to recognizing, analyzing, and evaluating arguments of other people as well as constructing arguments oneself.  Topics include argument reconstruction, informal logic, identifying fallacies, and sound reasoning. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies QR requirement]

PHIL 235: Formal Logic – Von Mizener

Introduction to formal deductive systems – propositional and predicate logic. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies QR requirement]

PHIL 244: Professional Responsibility – Multiple Instructors

Critical analysis of selected texts from philosophy and other fields dealing with responsibility and the nature of professionalism. Moral concepts, principles of professional responsibility, and analytical skills applied to selected case studies and other detailed descriptions of professional practice, such as in engineering/architecture, business/accounting, law/politics, the helping professions (social work, human services, ministry), and teaching. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH and OC requirements]

NOTE: sections taught by Prof. Windeknecht utilize a gamified pedagogy moving through the course in the style of Dungeons & Dragons

PHIL 246: Ethics of Science & Technology – Cureton

Ethics of AI: This course examines ethical issues arising from AI’s growing role in society. Topics include algorithmic bias, privacy, automation, AI in warfare, and the risks of advanced AI. Students will apply ethical theories—such as deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics—to assess AI’s impact on justice, fairness, and human well-being. Through readings, discussions, and case studies, students will develop critical thinking skills to navigate AI’s ethical challenges. No prior technical knowledge required. [satisfies AH and EI requirements]

PHIL 252: Contemporary Moral Problems – Multiple Instructors

An introduction to contemporary ethical issues, such as euthanasia, capital punishment, reproductive technologies, sexual ethics, diversity, war, world poverty, employment practices, and the environment. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

Upper Division Courses (300- & 400-level)

PHIL 320/327: Ancient Western Philosophy/Honors – Shaw

A study of major philosophical works during the ancient period, such as works by pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, the Epicureans, and others. Honors version available. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

PHIL 324/328: 17^th & 18^th Century Philosophy/Honors – Watson

A study of major philosophical works during the modern period, such as works by Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, du Châtelet, Leibniz, Hume, and Kant. Honors version available. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

PHIL 340/347: Ethical Theory/Honors – Gehrman

Ethical theories usually try to do two things. First, they give a systematic, comprehensive explanation of what makes actions right and wrong. Second, they usually give some sort of guide to deliberation, evaluation, and choice: a reliable method for reaching the morally right decision, and acting on it. In this course, we will look closely at a number of secular ethical theories, including utilitarianism, kinship ethics, character-based ethics, love ethics, and deontology. Our emphasis will be on philosophical methods and on rigorous, critical interpretation of texts. At the same time, with the help of a number of cases from real life, literature, and film, we will ask whether (and how) each type of theory can answer the basic questions of ethics for us, here and now. [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

PHIL 345: Bioethics – Cupples

Ethical issues in health care surrounding themes of reproductive justice, suffering and quality of life, public health and health promotion, social values and concepts of health and disease, medical research, enhancement and correction, aging, death, and dying, and environmental health.  Emphasis is on health disparities, social justice, and intersectionality.  Bioethics is a discussion-based course rather than a lecture, meaning regular attendance and class participation are essential to your success in this course.  Bioethics is also a writing intensive course.  This section of bioethics is cross listed in WGS. [satisfies EI and WC requirements]

PHIL 345: Bioethics – Feldt

Debates about healthcare in America are a stark reminder of not only the high-stakes issues at play, but also the way in which moral, legal, and social perspectives can often collide.  This is because various medical fields and the biological sciences, more generally, are riddled with value judgements — from classic life and death issues of abortion and euthanasia to larger questions about access to health care and medical research.  Bioethics, as a form of applied ethics, critically engages these matters in a systematic fashion, often with an eye towards informing public policy, and we will do the same in this course.  We will start by learning about some particularly useful aspects of moral reasoning, as well relevant aspects of the legal system, and then move into discussions centered on issues such as: the right to care, informed consent, end of life issues, privacy and confidentiality, reproductive health, and medical research.  To engage these issues, we will make frequent use of cases to spur discussion.  This course does not presuppose a background in philosophy and is aimed at providing skills and outcomes that would benefit those interested in careers in health care, research, or public policy. [satisfies EI and WC requirements]

PHIL 345: Bioethics – Harper

An exploration of ethical issues in medicine, the life sciences, biomedical technology, public health, and/or the environment, such as abortion, euthanasia, human experimentation, informed consent, fairness in health care delivery, and the doctor-patient relationship. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies EI and WC requirements]

PHIL 346: Environmental Ethics – Von Mizener

An exploration of issues concerning the nature of the environment and the place of humanity within it. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH, EI, and WC requirements]

PHIL 346/348: Environmental Ethics – Molter

An exploration of issues concerning the nature of the environment and the place of humanity within it. Honors version available. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH, EI, and WC requirements]

PHIL 350: Aesthetics – Moore

An exploration of the nature of art, artworks, and beauty as well as aesthetic appraisal and connections between art and morality. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

PHIL 360: Philosophy of Science – Molter

Science is the most reliable method we have for obtaining knowledge of the natural world. Yet philosophers disagree about what science is, and daunting arguments have been leveled against its rationality. Aristotle characterizes science as beginning with observation. From this we induce universal principles, such as earth moves down and fire moves up. Using these universals as premises in deductive arguments, we can then predict how various aspects of nature will behave. Hume objects, pointing out that induction requires that we assume the future will resemble the past, an assumption he says we are not warranted in making. If Hume is right, then one of two things follows: either the scientific method is not inductive, as it appears to be; or, if it is inductive, then science is not a rational method of inquiry. The history of philosophy of science is a history of responses to Hume’s objection to induction.

The first part of this course traces that history. We will consider arguments in defense of scientific induction and arguments for why scientific inference is really deductive or abductive. Along the way, we will consider the question of realism and antirealism, whether unobservables such as electrons really exist, and further, whether even tables and chairs can be known to exist, given our apparent isolation behind a veil of perception, which blocks direct knowledge of everything except our own sensations. The second part of this course moves from theory to practice, focusing on unresolved philosophical problems in contemporary science. Students will choose topics of interest and will be assigned to research teams based on their choices. Past classes have focused on dark matter, consciousness, the species problem in biology, interpretations of quantum mechanics, science denialism, and the compatibility/incompatibility of science and religion. Any philosophical problem in the sciences is a possible topic. Research teams will present their findings in the closing weeks of the semester, and the final project will be a poster presentation modeled after the poster session at the biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association.

PHIL 366: Philosophy of Cognitive Science – Carlisle

An introduction to major issues in the philosophy of cognitive science, such as the nature of mental representation, the computational theory of mind, the relationship between neural processes and cognitive functions, theories of consciousness, and the modularity of mind. Other topics may include the role of experiments in theory validation, evolutionary psychology, cognitive biases in human reasoning, and ethical and social implications of cognitive science research, such as issues related to disability, gender, and race. The course emphasizes interdisciplinary connections between theoretical work in philosophy and empirical work in psychology. (General Catalog Description)

PHIL 371: Epistemology – Coffman

An introduction to central debates in the theory of knowledge and rational belief, such as the nature of knowledge, how we can come to know things, and how to distinguish reasonable from unreasonable beliefs. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH requirement]

PHIL 372: Metaphysics – Palmer

Metaphysics is the philosophical study of reality. In this course, we will investigate some of the central issues in metaphysics, focusing on questions about the world in general (existence, mind-independent things, time, and causation) and we human beings (personal identity and free will). Our aims are to clarify the main positions on these issues and develop and defend our own views about them. These issues are tough; and deciding what to think about them is not obvious (at least not to me!). Hence, the class will be run ‘seminar-style’—emphasizing student involvement and discussion. I will encourage you, through class discussion and written work, to develop your own critical perspective on the material. [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

PHIL 382: Philosophy of Feminism – Multiple Instructors

A philosophical exploration of feminist perspectives on issues related to gender, sex, and sexuality, labor, sexism and racism, intersectionality, colonialism, oppression, and sexual violence. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

PHIL 383: Philosophy of Disability – Cureton

Philosophical exploration of disability and its connections to autonomy, dependency, wellbeing, justice, respect, and ableism. Topics may include prenatal testing, assisted dying, eugenics, provisioning accommodations, education, legal interpretations of disability, and intersectional connections. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH, EI, GCUS, and WC requirements]

PHIL 391: Social & Political Philosophy – Schrepfer

Philosophical inquiry into the nature and norms of social and political life.  Topics covered may include recognition and respect, friendship, community, cooperation, authority, justice, rights, stability, and toleration. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH and WC requirements]

PHIL 400: Reasoning and the Philosophy of AI – Thalos

Course description coming! [Coconvenes with graduate seminar]

PHIL 420: Plato on Moral Development – Shaw

We will read most or all of the Republic and significant portions of the Laws, with a primary focus on Plato’s views of moral development. [Coconvenes with graduate seminar]

PHIL 441: Global Justice & Human Rights – Schrepfer

A philosophical exploration of the nature and norms of international relations and global society.  Topics may include justice between diverse independent polities, human rights, fair trade, human development, and just war. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies AH, EI, GCI, SS, and WC requirements]

PHIL 450: Moral Obligation – Garthoff

This course is a detailed examination of moral obligation. We begin by situating obligation in the broader context of norms in general. In so doing we consider several types of successful action, including fittingness, efficacy, correctness, aptness, warrant, rationality, justification, and reasonableness. Following this we survey leading accounts of moral obligation, including deflationary Neo-Aristotelian and utilitarian approaches, contractualism, intuitionistic deontology, and Neo-Kantian constructivism. Next a novel account of obligation is introduced. This account is non-deflationary and preserves the overriding force of all-things-considered obligation; for these reasons it purports to be superior to J. J. C. Smart’s utilitarianism, Richard Kraut’s Neo-Aristotelianism, and the contractualist views of Bernard Williams and T. M. Scanlon. The account furthermore grounds moral obligation in independently plausible claims about value; for that reason it purports to be superior to Stephen Darwall’s contractualism, Christine Korsgaard’s constructivism, and the deontology of H. A. Prichard and W. D. Ross. We close by exploring how moral obligations are successfully discharged through both individual psychology and social practice, with a special emphasis on moral character and moral principles. [Coconvenes with graduate seminar]

PHIL 464: Feminist Philosophy of Science – Berenstain

Philosophical exploration of the relationship among scientific methodologies, scientific knowledge, and social understandings of sex and gender. Topics may include feminist empiricism, situated knowledge, conceptions of objectivity, scientific understandings of sex and sex differences, evolutionary psychology, scientific conceptions of sexuality, and their intersections with race and disability. The course will consider the role that social biases about gender and sexuality play in hypothesis formation, data interpretation, and theory evaluation in areas of science such as biology, psychology, and medicine. (General Catalog Description) [satisfies EI, SS, and WC requirements]

PHIL 480: Epistemic Dimensions of Agency – Coffman

We’ll explore three important questions at the intersection of Epistemology and Philosophy of Action: What are the cognitive conditions for intentional action? What are the cognitive conditions for morally appraisable action? What’s required for knowing, or having justification to believe, claims about blameworthy behavior? The course divides into five parts. In the course’s first two parts, we’ll acquire epistemological and action-theoretical background required to participate fruitfully in critical discussion of the above questions. The course’s third part will center on what we can call the ‘Problem of Intentional Action’—namely, the fact that the following three claims seem individually plausible but also jointly inconsistent: (1) You perform an action intentionally only if that action is under your control; (2) An action is under your control only if you know you’re performing that action; (3) You can perform an action intentionally without knowing you’re performing that action. In the course’s fourth part, we’ll explore the cognitive side of morally appraisable action. After considering Susan Wolf’s statement and defense of a “sanity requirement” for morally appraisable action, we’ll scrutinize a provocative recent argument for the conclusion that we’re only rarely (if ever) blameworthy for behavior we didn’t deem wrong when it occurred. The course’s fifth part will center on what we can call the ‘Problem of Knowledgeable Culpability’—namely, the fact that the following three claims seem individually plausible but also jointly inconsistent: (I) We can have wholly non-scientific knowledge that we’re blameworthy for some of our actions; (II) We’re blameworthy for some of our actions only if some of our actions aren’t predetermined; (III) If practical blameworthiness requires indeterminism (= II is true), then we can’t have wholly non-scientific knowledge that we’re blameworthy for some of our actions (= I is false). [Coconvenes with graduate seminar]