Philosophy (PHL)
College of Liberal Studies
Department Chair: Eric Kraemer
245E Graff Main Hall, 608.785.8424
e-mail:
kraemer.eric@uwlax.edu
Professor: Kraemer;
Associate Professor: Ross;
Assistant Professors: Cocks,
Glass, Scherwitz.
Philosophy Major
(All colleges, excluding Teacher Certification
programs) — 30 credits
I.
Core Courses (18 credits):
PHL 100 or 200, 101, 201 or 303, 205, 206, 496
II.
Elective Courses in Philosophy
(12 credits)
Note: Majors must take four
philosophy courses at the 300/400 level including PHL 496. No
more than six credits of PHL 494/495/497 shall count toward the
major.
Philosophy Minor
(All colleges, excluding Teacher Certification
programs) — 18 credits
I.
Core Courses (nine credits):
PHL 100 or 200, 205, 206
II.
Elective Courses in Philosophy
(nine credits)
Philosophy Department Honors Program
Requirements
I.
Admission
A. Junior standing
B. 12 credits in the major
C. 3.25 cumulative grade point average in the major
D. Recommendation of two faculty members in the major
II.
Program
A. Completion of the regular major program
B. PHL 496
C. Thesis
III.
Evaluation
A. Cumulative grade point average of 3.60 in the major at
graduation
B. Cumulative grade point average of 3.50 in all university
courses
C. Presentation of the thesis to a colloquium of faculty and
students in the major
D. Final examination
+ above a course number indicates a
General Education
course.
+
PHL
100 Cr. 3
Introduction to Philosophy
An introduction to the major views on
important philosophic topics such as personal identity, freedom,
knowledge, morality, religion, and social justice. Students
cannot earn credit for the philosophy major/minor in both PHL
100 and PHL 200. Offered Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.
+
PHL
101 Cr. 3
Introduction to Logic
An introduction to logic, the science of valid
reasoning. This course introduces the student to both formal and
informal methods of reasoning and evaluating arguments. Offered
Fall, Spring.
+
PHL
200 Cr. 3
Introduction to the Literature of Philosophy
An examination of the expression, development
and conflict of the ideas and values in current and time-honored
works of philosophy from major world cultures. Topics to be
studied include religion, ethics, knowledge, personal identity,
justice and freedom. Prerequisite: ENG 110 or 112. Students
cannot earn credit for the philosophy major/minor in both PHL
100 and PHL 200. Offered Fall and Spring.
PHL
201 Cr. 3
Introduction to Ethics
A study of important ethical views in the
history of philosophy. An examination into the nature of virtues
and values, principles of right action, and character. There
will be additional introductory emphasis on selected issues in
applied ethics from multicultural points of view. Prerequisite:
PHL 100 or 200. Offered annually.
PHL
205 Cr. 3
History of Philosophy I
Introduction to principle questions of
philosophy and history of their analysis from the pre-Socratic
period to the Renaissance. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered
Fall.
PHL
206 Cr. 3
History of Philosophy II
Principal questions of philosophy, and history
of their analysis from the Renaissance through the
Enlightenment. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered Spring.
PHL
300 Cr. 3
Topics in Philosophy
Study of a philosophical topic of special
interest. Topics will vary according to the interests of the
instructor. For the current content, consult the instructor or
the department chair. Prerequisite: six credits in philosophy or
permission of the department chair. Repeatable for credit —
maximum six. Offered occasionally.
PHL/PSY 301
Cr. 3
Theory of Knowledge
An intensive examination of three major
questions: (1) What are the principal grounds of knowledge? (2)
How certain can we really be of what we think we know? (3) Are
there limits beyond which we cannot hope to extend knowledge?
Strong emphasis is placed on the problems of perception,
learning, and representation. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200 or
PSY 100. (Cross-listed with PSY 301; may only earn credit in PHL
or PSY, not both.) Offered alternate years.
PHL
302 Cr. 3
Symbolic Logic
This course offers the student a systematic
presentation of symbolic logic. Proof techniques as well as
consistency and completeness of the propositional calculus and
predicate calculus are discussed. The student is also introduced
to logical systems involving obligation and necessity as well as
to systems of three-valued logic. Prerequisite: PHL 101 or MTH
151. Offered occasionally.
PHL
303 Cr. 3
Ethical Theory
A study of traditional and contemporary
philosophical statements by which ethical problems may be
approached. An examination of the search for general standards
of value and of conduct as well as a critical examination of the
answers put forth by the main types of ethical theories.
Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered Fall.
PHL
307 Cr. 3
19th Century Continental Philosophy
A study of the major continental philosophical
movements of the 19th century. Beginning with Fichte's response
to Immanuel Kant, the course explores Romantic philosophy
(Schleiermacher and Schlegel), Idealism (Schelling and Hegel),
and post Hegelian philosophy (Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, and
Nietzsche). The course will take into consideration a number of
metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, and aesthetic issues.
Questions concerning self, religion, language, the natural
environment, beauty, and our relationship with others, will all
be broached. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered occasionally.
PHL
310 Cr. 3
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the science of what it is to be
something. Topics include: (1) how metaphysics differs from
natural science, (2) in what sense is anything general,
universal, particular, continuing, an event, a process, a
substance, a relation, abstract, subjective, or objective, (3)
in what ways possible worlds can differ from this one, (4) what
kind of thing could have body and a mind, (5) what the
difference between a thing and its parts in an arrangement is,
(6) what is required for two seemingly different things to turn
out to be the same thing, (7) how space and time differ from
each other and other things, and (8) what natural laws and
numbers are. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered occasionally.
PHL
311 Cr. 3
Philosophy of Language
A survey of issues concerning the meaning of
words. Their referential, syntactic and pragmatic features are
explored. Description and causal theories of reference of names,
description, indexicals, reflexives and kind terms and their
relation to various theories of truth, necessity, and
possibility are considered. The nature and roles of linguistic
rules of use, competence and their relation to word, speaker and
hearer meaning are explored in view of speech act theory.
Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered occasionally.
PHL
320 Cr. 3
American Philosophy
A survey of the American philosophical canon
under the rubric question of what should count as American
philosophy. We study Native American philosophies, the Puritans,
the Congregationalists and Quakers, the American enlightenment
philosophies, the transcendentalists, the evolutionary thinkers,
the social philosophers, the American idealists, the
pragmatists, and the neo-pragmatists. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or
200. Offered occasionally.
PHL
321 Cr. 3
American Indian Thought
Reflections of the Native American ways of
thinking as manifest in the literature of various select tribes,
on the essential characteristics of thinking commonly shared by
Native Americans, and on the fundamental differences of the
Native American ways of thinking and those of the dominant
(white) culture. The “primal world” of Native American thought
will be studied as an alternative to the western way of
thinking. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered
occasionally.
PHL
323 Cr. 3
Phenomenology, Existentialism and
Postmodernism
A study of the three major components of
Continental philosophy: existentialism, phenomenology, and
postmodernism. Existentialism: rejecting the rationalistic
conception of objective knowledge, a philosophy of the lived
experience of concrete individuals. Phenomenology: thinking and
learning to describe the world as it appears rather than in
terms of the preconceptions of a “totally rational” and
“absolutely certain” system. Postmodernism, including
post-structuralism and deconstruction: tending to the
fragmentation of text and of subject, recognizing the
impossibility of any definitive conception of reality, releasing
hidden layers (traces) of texts unto polymorphic
indeterminacies. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered annually.
PHL
324 Cr. 3
Feminism and Philosophy
Students explore various feminist and
anti-feminist frameworks addressing the philosophical question
of what it means to be a woman, what are the conditions of
women’s experiences, and what are the best kinds of goals,
strategies, and policies to maximize women’s lives.
Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered Fall.
PHL
326 Cr. 3
Philosophical Concepts in Literature
Philosophical Concepts in Literature explores
how literary technique in used in philosophical texts and how
philosophical issues are addressed in various literary forms.
Students discuss issues such as love, death, evil, tragedy,
identity, fortune, and the good life. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or
200. Offered occasionally.
PHL
331 Cr. 3
Philosophy of Religion
An examination of religion and religious
experience. Topics considered are: theories of the proper
description of God, arguments for and against the existence of
God, theories of the nature of the soul, arguments for and
against the existence of souls and reincarnation, the role and
evidential power of religious experience and organized religion
in justified belief. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered Fall.
+
PHL
332 Cr. 3
Philosophy of the Arts
An examination of aesthetic experience and the
questions that are relevant to works of art. Topics discussed
include: art and the emotions, aesthetic responses to everyday
experiences, morality and the arts, standards of taste, and how
to define art. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered annually.
PHL/PSY 333
Cr. 3
Philosophy of Mind
A study of the nature of the mind from both
philosophical and psychological perspectives. The course will
focus on important attempts to solve the mind-body problem, how
mind and body are related and also will address the related
problems of consciousness, intentionality, free will and
personal identity. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200 or PSY 100.
(Cross-listed with PSY 333; may only earn credit in PHL or PSY.)
Offered alternate years.
PHL
334 Cr. 3
Philosophy of Science
An examination of such topics as the attempt
to demarcate science from pseudo-science, the nature of
scientific inference, the structure of scientific explanation,
scientific reduction and the unity of science, the interplay
between theory and observation in science, the
realism/anti-realism debate, objectivity of science, and the
relationship between science and religion. Prerequisite: PHL 100
or 200. PHL 101 is also recommended. Offered Fall.
+
PHL
335 Cr. 3
Multicultural Philosophy in the United States
This survey course will examine philosophical
ideas and systems that are generated from a wide range of
cultural traditions found in the United States. The aim of this
search will be to broaden and deepen understanding and
appreciation of the diversities of philosophies in the United
States. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered alternate years.
+
PHL
336 Cr. 3
International Multicultural Philosophy
This survey course will examine philosophical
ideas and systems that are generated from a wide range of
cultural traditions worldwide. The aim of this search will be to
broaden and deepen our understanding and appreciation of the
multiplicity of philosophical perspectives which are part of an
increasingly diverse, interconnected, and globalized world.
Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered alternate years.
PHL
337 Cr. 3
Legal, Political and Social Philosophy
An examination of philosophical issues
concerning legal, political, and social structures. A discussion
of philosophical accounts of the nature and justification of law
and the state, of the relation of morality and the law, of the
relation of morality and the state, and of the nature of
legal-political obligation and responsibility. Philosophical
accounts of justice, liberty, rights, and obligation and the
relation of these topics to contemporary legal, political and
social problems will be covered. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200.
Offered alternate years.
PHL
339 Cr. 3
Medical Ethics
Examination of the principal moral problems
that arise in the medical context including abortion,
euthanasia, cloning, stem cells, human and animal
experimentation, and the allocation of scarce medical resources.
Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. May only earn credit in PHL 339 or
SOC 340. Offered occasionally.
PHL
340 Cr. 3
Business Ethics
Ethical issues in the conduct of business will
be examined by focusing on case studies in business that raise
ethical issues. A variety of ethical theories will be used to
illuminate the ethical features of business decisions and their
effects on employees and society. The goal is to improve ability
to identify factors and considerations that can play a role in
improving the ethical character of business. Prerequisite: PHL
100 or 200 or junior standing. Offered occasionally.
PHL
341 Cr. 3
Environmental Ethics
Philosophical reflections on humanity’s
relationship to the natural world. The course will examine
classic American perspectives (e.g. Leopold,
transcendentalists), Asian perspectives, Native American
perspectives, and contemporary environmental philosophies such
as social ecology, deep ecology, and eco-feminism. Course
discussions will include the historical roots of the
contemporary environmental crisis, the development of a personal
environmental philosophy, and the role of a citizen in advancing
environmental awareness and responsible land and water use.
Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered occasionally.
+
PHL
342 Cr. 3
Philosophy of Love, Sex and Friendship
An examination into the nature of a variety of
kinds of love including love of knowledge, love of friends,
erotic love, and parental love. Philosophical consideration of
topics such as the nature of desire, the politics of desire,
sexual intercourse, adultery, monogamy, polygamy, homosexuality,
and the obligations of friends as well as institutions of
marriage and parenthood. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered
alternate years.
PHL
345 Cr. 3
Latin American Philosophy
Introduction to the main questions in Latin
American thought. Questions will be centered in epistemology,
ethics, metaphysics and political philosophy. In particular, the
focus will be on the interaction between Latin American thought
(from pre-conquest to the present) and traditional Western
European thought. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered
occasionally.
PHL
349 Cr. 3
Asian Philosophy
Introduction to the main questions in the
Asian philosophical traditions. Questions will be centered in
ethics, religion, epistemology, and metaphysics. Conceptual
connections will be make with European and North American
philosophical traditions. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered
occasionally.
PHL
355 Cr. 3
Philosophy and Film
An investigation into the philosophy of film
and the philosophy within film. Topics may include personal
identity, knowledge, technology, ideology, morality, emotions,
and truth. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200. Offered alternate
years.
PHL
360 Cr. 3
Zen Buddhism
This course will explore the development of
Zen Buddhism through an analysis of Indian, Chinese, Japanese,
and Korean texts. Themes we will discuss include the
enlightenment experience, the nature of reality and knowledge,
the student/teacher relationship, koan practice (i.e. 'the sound
of one hand clapping'), and the relationship of Zen philosophy
to ethics and aesthetics (poetry, painting, etc.). The course
will make a point to situate Zen within the overall
philosophical environment of China and Japan. Prerequisite: PHL
100 or 200. Offered alternate years.
PHL
401 Cr. 3
World Ethics
An investigation of major ethical problems
facing the world as a whole from an international perspective,
including world medicine, international economic relations,
world environmental ethics, international individual rights
issues, world diversity concerns, and international conflict and
cooperation. Prerequisite: PHL 100 or 200 or
ECO/GEO/POL/ANT/SOC/HIS 202. Both are highly recommended.
Offered occasionally.
PHL
431 Cr. 3
Advanced Philosophy of Religion
Selected readings from recent scholarly
journals and Medieval philosophy are the focus of the course and
background for examination of topics such as: What justifies
that a human can be God? Can God make a world permitting
possible contradictions such as a world in which there is an
unstoppable cannonball and an immovable lamppost? Exactly how do
humans, persons and souls differ if they do? Prerequisite: PHL
101 and 331 strongly recommended. Offered Spring.
PHL
494 Cr. 3
Advanced Topics in Philosophy
Study of a philosophical topic of special
interest. Topics will vary according to the interests of
students and the instructor. For the current content, consult
the instructor or the department chair. Prerequisites: nine
credits in philosophy and consent of department chair. This
course is open to juniors and seniors. No more than six credits
in PHL 494, 495, and 497 are applicable to a philosophy major or
minor. Repeatable for credit — maximum six. Offered
occasionally.
PHL
495 Cr.
1-3
Individual Study in Philosophy
Directed reading and research under the
supervision of an instructor. Prerequisites: 12 hours in
philosophy and consent of the philosophy department staff. No
more than six credits in PHL 494, 495, and 497 combined are
applicable to a philosophy major or minor. Repeatable for credit
— maximum six. Offered Fall, Spring.
PHL
496 Cr. 3
Integrative Seminar
Integration of programmatic themes and methods
in the major. Prerequisites: 18 credits including PHL 100 or
200, 101, 201 or 303, 205 and 206. May be taken for Honors
credit. Offered Fall.
PHL
497 Cr.
1-3
Apprenticeship in Philosophy
This course allows students to combine their
individual talent and achievement with academically relevant
experiential learning. This course will provide majors and
minors in philosophy the opportunity for a variety of
significant work, service, and leadership tasks related to
philosophy. This is a hands-on course which complements and
enhances other academic work. Prerequisites: open to all
students with 18 credit hours in philosophy who are in good
standing; consent of supervising instructor and department
chair. No more than six credits in PHL 300, PHL 494, PHL 495,
and PHL 497 are applicable to a philosophy major. Pass/Fail
grading. Repeatable for credit — maximum six. Offered Fall,
Spring.