Philosophy

Professors Myles Brand, Michael Burke, Edmund Byrne (Emeritus), Anne Donchin, Nathan Houser, Laurence Lampert, Paul Nagy, Herman J. Saatkamp Jr.

Associate Professors Robert Frye (Emeritus), Ursula Niklas, John Tilley

Assistant Professors Andre DeTienne, Richard Gunderman

Adjunct Professor Arthur Burks

Adjunct Assistant Professors Cornelis de Waal, Scott Massey

Academic Advising: Cavanaugh Hall 331, (317) 274-8082 or (317) 274-3563

In the contemporary human context of rapidly changing conditions of life and learning, people trained in various specialized disciplines are becoming increasingly aware of a need to add perspective and breadth of vision to their professional thinking and to their personal and social living.

The curriculum in philosophy is designed to help students expand their horizons beyond skill acquisition and career preparation to include an understanding of the philosophical presuppositions of the present age, both as inherited from the past and as addressed to the future. The courses in this curriculum go beyond traditional undergraduate philosophy. The point of departure and, to a degree, the content of these courses is sought in current issues of lasting human concern.

Philosophical material is selected and studied with a view to adding a speculative and critical dimension to these issues, a fuller understanding of which requires familiarity with and the cooperation of various other disciplines. Such study helps us to understand and improve the human condition shared by all.

Undergraduate Major In Philosophy

Requirements

1. Either a survey of philosophy (P110 Introduction to Philosophy, S110 Introduction to Philosophy-
   Honors) or a basic course in ethics (P120 Ethics, S120 Ethics-Honors, P237 Environmental Ethics, P326 Ethical Theory, or P393 Biomedical Ethics).

2. A basic course in logic (P162: Logic or P265: Introduction to Symbolic Logic).

3. A minimum of 9 credit hours at the 300-400 level.

To assure a properly balanced program of study, courses are to be selected in consultation with a departmental advisor.

Double Majors

Undergraduate Minor in Philosophy

Requirements

1. One course from each of at least two of these three groups of basic courses: (1) P110, S110; (2) P120, S120, P237, P326, or P393; (3) P162 or P265

2. minimum of 6 credit hours at the 300-400 level.

Ph.D. Minor in Philosophy

Departmental Honors Program

Undergraduate Courses¹

P120 Ethics (3 cr.) A study of ethics in relation to personal and societal decision making. Typically addresses such topics as abortion, world hunger, assisted suicide, sexual morality, animal rights, moral education, virtue and character, and environmental ethics.

P162 Logic (3 cr.) A study of the principles of logic. The course covers a variety of traditional topics, selected for their practical value, within formal and informal logic. Among the topics typically covered are fallacies, syllogisms, causal hypotheses, logic diagrams, argument analysis, and truth-functional reasoning.

P210 Classical Philosophy (3 cr.) A survey of ancient and medieval philosophy, including Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas.

P237 Environmental Ethics (3 cr.) An introductory consideration of philosophical views regarding the extent of human responsibility for the natural environment.

P265 Introduction to Symbolic Logic (3 cr.) A study of the most important and widely applicable parts of modern symbolic logic: propositional logic and predicate logic. No prerequisite.

P280 Philosophical Problems: (variable title) (3 cr.) A concentrated study of important attempts to solve some philosophical problem, or set of problems, that confronts the contemporary world. May be repeated for credit.

P281 Philosophy of Religion (3 cr.) Philosophical views regarding such topics as the meaning and purpose of religion, religious experience, religious knowledge, and the existence and nature of God.

P314 Modern Philosophy (3 cr.) A study of Western philosophy from the rise of science to the disenchantment with absolutism, including such philosophers as Bacon, Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, Leibniz, Kant, and others.

P316 Twentieth-Century Philosophy: (variable title) (3 cr.) A study of one or more twentieth-century approaches to philosophy, such as pragmatism, analytic philosophy, phenomenology, existentialism, deconstructionist philosophy, or neo-Marxism. May be repeated for credit.

P317 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy (3 cr.)
A historical survey of philosophy in the nineteenth century from Hegel to Nietzsche, including utilitarianism, positivism, and philosophies of evolution.

P322 Philosophy of Human Nature (3 cr.) Theories of human nature and their philosophical implications.

P323 Society and the State in the Modern World (3 cr.) An analysis of the modern state in relation to changing concepts of knowledge, ethical ideas, human nature, social classes, the family, and property.

P325 Social Philosophy: (variable title) (3 cr.) Concentrated study of one or more major problems, positions, or authors. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

P326 Ethical Theory (3 cr.) A variable title course. Advanced consideration of one or more ethical theories or theoretical issues about the nature and status of ethics.

P331 Philosophy of Science (3 cr.) An introductory study of theories with regard to the nature, purpose, and limitations of science.

P358 American Philosophy (3 cr.) A study of the philosophical tradition in the United States, emphasizing major thinkers such as Peirce, Royce, James, Dewey, and Whitehead.

P365 Intermediate Symbolic Logic (3 cr.)
P: P265. Topics in metalogic, set theory, and modal logic.

P367 Philosophy of the Arts (3 cr.) A study of the language of the arts, designed to show the relationship of human creativity to political, moral, aesthetic, and cognitive value.

P368 Philosophy of Language and Communication (3 cr.) Philosophical study of such topics as meaning and truth, interpretation, language and gender, representation, and speech acts.

P369 Epistemology (3 cr.) Knowledge and justified belief: their nature, structure, sources, and limits.

P382 Philosophy of History (3 cr.) An analysis of some of the philosophical problems implicit in the study of history, such as the possibility of historical objectivity, and a survey of influential interpretations of history from Augustine to Heidegger.

P383 Topics in Philosophy: (variable title)
(3 cr.) An advanced study of special, experimental, or timely topics drawn from
the full range of philosophical discussion and designed to pursue interests unmet in the regular curriculum. May be repeated for credit.

P385 Metaphysics (3 cr.) A study of several of the principal problems of metaphysics, such as identity through time, the self, the mind-body problem, freedom and determinism, fate, causation, the problem of universals, and the existence of God. No prerequisites.

P393 Biomedical Ethics (3 cr.) A philosophical consideration of ethical problems that arise in current biomedical practice, e.g., with regard to abortion, euthanasia, determination of death, consent to treatment, and professional responsibilities in connection with research, experimentation, and health care delivery.

P394 Feminist Philosophy (3 cr.) An examination of philosophical problems imbedded in feminist theories, particularly those relating to the nature/nurture distinction, the value of sex-specific experiences such as motherhood, and conditions for achieving a just social order.

P414 Philosophy and Culture (3 cr.) In-
depth consideration of a topic involving the interrelationship between philosophy and culture. May be repeated for credit.

P418 Seminar in the History of Philosophy: (variable title) (3 cr.) A concentrated study of one major philosopher or philosophical school whose ideas have helped to form our age and contribute to an understanding of its problems. May be repeated for credit.

P448 Seminar in American Philosophy (3 cr.) An intensive study of a major American thinker, such as Edwards, Royce, James, Peirce, Dewey, or Whitehead, or of a leading theme, such as community, experience, or education. May be repeated for credit.

P468 Seminar in the Philosophy of Mind
(3 cr.) An in-depth study of some particular problem of current concern in one of the following: theory of meaning, conceptual analysis, information theory, theory of action, artificial intelligence. May be repeated for credit.

P488 Research in Philosophy I (1-4 cr.)
P: 9 credit hours of philosophy and consent of instructor. Independent research in philosophical theory approved by and reported to any member of the department. May be repeated for credit, but no more than 6 credit hours may be counted toward the major.

P489 Research in Philosophy II (1-4 cr.)
P: 9 credit hours of philosophy and consent of instructor. Independent research in applied philosophy approved by and reported to any member of the department. May be repeated for credit, but no more than 3 credit hours may be counted toward the major.

Graduate Courses

P520 Philosophy of Language (3 cr.) Advanced study of selected topics.

P522 Topics in the History of Modern Philosophy (3 cr.) Selected topics from the philosophies of one or more of the following: Continental rationalists (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz), British empiricists (Locke, Berkeley, Hume), and Kant. May be repeated twice with consent of instructor(s).

P540 Contemporary Ethical Theories (3 cr.) Fundamental problems of ethics in contemporary analytic philosophy from G. E. Moore's Principia Ethica to present.

P542 The Ethics and Values of Philanthropy
(3 cr.) An inquiry into the ethics and values of philanthropy rooted in a general understanding of philanthropy, as voluntary action for the public good, as an ethical ideal. A consideration of philanthropic activity in light of this ideal.

P543 Contemporary Social and Political Philosophy (3 cr.)

P560 Metaphysics (3 cr.) In-depth discussion of representative contemporary theories.

P562 Theory of Knowledge (3 cr.)
Advanced study of selected topics.

P590 Intensive Reading (1-4 cr.) A tutorial course involving in-depth consideration of a specific philosophical area or problem or author. May be repeated for credit.

P694 Biomedical Ethics (3 cr.) A rigorous examination of bioethical theory and practice. Stress is placed on moral and conceptual issues embedded in biomedical research, clinical practice, and social policy relating to the organization and delivery of health care.

P730 Seminar: Contemporary Philosophy
(4 cr.) Selected topics on the works of twentieth-century philosophers.

P748 Seminar in American Philosophy (3 cr.) Advanced study of a principal philosopher or a set of selected topics in classical American philosophy.