Philosophy 1000
In this course, as measured in class discussions, quizzes, short essays, exams and a research paper, students will:
- Explain, critique, and apply the principle theories of philosophy, including theories of ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and social philosophy
- Read the literature of the field critically; identify, explain, and critique arguments; and synthesize information from a variety of sources
- Articulate and apply a well-developed set of philosophical principles to a variety of real-life situations
- Participate effectively and critically in formal and informal discourse about philosophical issues
Two guiding goals for all GE Humanities and Philosophy courses:
- Students will study the ways others have asked “big questions” in creative ways and how they answered those questions.
- Students will study the enduring creative expressions of humans that reflect our experiences, as well as our feelings and ideas about ourselves, other humans, the past, and the universe.
Philosophy 1120
In this course, as measured in class discussions, quizzes, short essays, exams, and a research paper, students will:
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the historical foundations of various ethical systems such as those found in Aristotelian Virtue ethics, Kantian deontological ethics, Bentham’s and Mill’s Utilitarian theories, and the more current theories of Ross, Rawls, and Nozick
- Demonstrate the ability to apply the theories of various philosophers above to recurring human dilemmas and to current ethical problems
- Demonstrate an understanding of theories such as those of Kohlberg, Gilligan, and Perry about the process of moral development
- Demonstrate an increased awareness of how their own value systems may be derived from, disagree with, or reflect the views of philosophers of the past
- Demonstrate the ability to think critically in applying their own value systems to modern ethical dilemmas
Two guiding goals for all GE Humanities and Philosophy courses:
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Students will study the ways others have asked “big questions” in creative ways and how they answered those questions.
- Students will study the enduring creative expressions of humans that reflect our experiences, as well as our feelings and ideas about ourselves, other humans, the past, and the universe.
Philosophy 1250
In this course, as measured in class discussions, quizzes, short essays, exams, and a research paper, students will:
- Demonstrate mastery of basic logical concepts, such as: argument, premise, conclusion, validity, truth, soundness, induction, deduction, etc.
- Identify and discuss the logical problems associated with the informal logical fallacies
- Demonstrate an ability to represent arguments by means of Venn diagrams
- Test argument forms for validity using a variety of formal methods, such as: Venn diagrams, Truth tables, etc.
- Demonstrate an understanding of syllogistic logic and its associated fallacies
- Demonstrate an understanding of formal symbolic logic
- Construct basic formal proofs using the tools of symbolic logic and elementary rules of inference forms, such as: modus ponens, modus tollens, DeMorgan’s theorems, etc.
Two guiding goals for all GE Humanities and Philosophy courses:
- Students will study the ways others have asked “big questions” in creative ways and how they answered those questions.
- Students will study the enduring creative expressions of humans that reflect our experiences, as well as our feelings and ideas about ourselves, other humans, the past, and the universe.