COURSESCourse Descriptions

The following descriptions are general course descriptions. Please obtain a course syllabus from the instructor for a more detailed description of class breadth and material covered. To see when a course is offered, please check the Philosophy Class Schedule.

PLEASE NOTE: The Course Catalog provides the only legal and binding course descriptions. The descriptions provided in department descriptions are for the student's convenience.

PHIL 1012 - Introduction to Philosophy: Relationship of the Individual to the World
- An introductory course in philosophy which focuses on some of the central questions of philosophy. For example: theories of reality and the nature of knowledge and its limits. The knowledge of these areas of philosophy is essential to the student for informed participation in the resolution of contemporary problems in today's society.
PHIL 1020 - Introduction to Ethics & Society: The Person and the Community
- A study of some of the traditional problems in ethics which tend to be focused on the individual morality within the larger context of social and political philosophy. Some specific contemporary moral problems may be addressed. For example: AIDS, abortion, famine, and individual rights versus the collective rights of society.
PHIL 1111 - Freshman Seminar
PHIL 1600 - Philosophy & Religion
- An introduction to philosophy through problems of religion, such as the existence of God, faith and reason, and religious language.
PHIL 2441 - Logic and Language
- An introductory course that considers the significance of logical form and language use in argumentation and persuasion. Topics covered include definition, types of discourse, informal fallacies, traditional syllogisms, rules of logical inference, and problem solving similar to that found on the L.S.A.T.
PHIL 2939 - Internship/Cooperative Education
- Experiences involving application of specific, relevant concepts and skills in supervised employment situations. Prereqs: 15 hrs of 2.75 GPA.
PHIL 3002 - Ancient Greek Philosophy
- A history of ancient Greek thought, including traditional myth, presocratic fragments, Plato's dialogues, and Aristotle's systematic philosophy.
PHIL 3005 - Roman and Medieval Philosophy
- A survey of philosophy in the Roman era, focusing on the Hellenistic schools (Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism), Neoplatonic thought, the advent of Christianity and the earliest Christian philosophers.
PHIL 3010 - Medieval Philosophy
- History of philosophy from Augustine through Scotus and Ockham, the 5th through the 14th centuries.
PHIL 3022 - Modern Philosophy
- History of philosophy from Descartes through Kant.
PHIL 3032 - 20th Century Analytic Philosophy
- A survey of representative philosophers, methods, and problems in the twentieth century analytic tradition.
PHIL 3150 - History of Ethics
- This course will survey the ethical thought of major figures in the history of philosophy beginning with Plato and ending with the 19th century. For example: Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and Mill. The course will proceed with class readings of primary philosophical texts.
PHIL 3160 - Ethics & Community
- Explores the relations between individual ethics and community. Building on a working knowledge of basic ethical theories, students will focus both on issues in ethical autonomy and ethical agency in community life. Invited community leaders will participate both as speakers and as mentors. PREREQ: PHIL 1020.
PHIL 3200 - Social & Political Philosophy
- An examination of basic issues in social and political philosophy including justice, freedom, individuality, power, and community.
PHIL 3250 - Business Ethics
- Surveys some of the major moral problems which arise in business, such as the nature and scope of the moral responsibilities of corporations, affirmative action, truth in advertising, etc. Begins with a study of moral reasoning, ethical theory, and the challenges of applying ethical theory.
PHIL 3300 - Special Topics in Philosophy
PHIL 3350 - Metaphysics
- Study of major theories of reality, including such problems as the nature of substance, space and time, and universals and particulars.
PHIL 3360 - Epistemology
- Study of major theories of knowledge, including such problems as perception, and the distinction between belief and knowledge.
PHIL 3400 - Philosophy of Science
- Examination of some major concepts and problems of scientific thought: explanation, confirmation, causality, measurement, and theory construction.
PHIL 3420 - Kosmos: Theories of the Universe
- A course in philosophical cosmology using material from the sciences, history, and philosophy. The goal is to illuminate our present theories concerning the nature of the universe and the place of life within it.
PHIL 3440 - Introduction to Symbolic Logic
- Covers truth, functional, and quantificational logic through polyadic first order predicate calculus and theory of identity. Attention is given to such problems in metatheory as proofs of the completeness and consistency of systems of logic.
PHIL 3500 - Ideology & Culture: Race & Sex
- Surveys the different ways we look at race and sex or gender. Possible areas of focus include: the concept of ideology, feminist theory, race theory, and the standpoint debate.
PHIL 3600 - Philosophy of Religion
- Nature of religion and methods of studying it.
PHIL 3610 - Biblical Traditions - Old Testament
- Investigates the history and nature of the Biblical text. We will follow the tradition of critical scholarship begun in the Enlightenment era and continued down to the present day, sometimes entitled "Secular Humanism". Topics will include theories of authorship of the Torah, its general nature and content, the historical books of the Bible, the Prophets, and the Wisdom Literature.
PHIL 3666 - Asian Philosophies and Religions
- We in the Western World encounter a vastly different world, a radically different "universe of meaning," when we examine the traditions of the East. Even what we tacitly assume to be "real" is claimed by the Hindus and Buddhists of India to be a grand illusion. The world of China is, again, very different from India. An examination of Tibetan and Japanese religious forms will round out our study of Asian thought.
PHIL 3680 - Differing Concepts of God
- God, gods, and goddesses have been imagined in many different modes, forms, aspects, and guises throughout human history. This class will investigate paleolithic models of God, the Great Goddess of the Neolithic era, the gods of mythological traditions, the Biblical God, the abstract God of the phiolosophers, the God of the pantheists, the deists, and the God of the mystics.
PHIL 3700 - Aesthetics
- Introduction to major theories of aesthetics and contemporary discussions of problems in aesthetics, that is, the nature of art, the problems of evaluation in art.
PHIL 3840 - Independent Study
PHIL 3939 - Internship/Cooperative Education
- Designed experiences involving application of specific, relevant concepts and skills in supervised employment situations. PREREQ: Junior standing and 2.75 grade point average.
PHIL 3981 - Chinese Philosophy
- China is a fascinating world with its own characteristic orientation to philosophical questions. Chinese thinkers produced the "Flowering of a Hundred Schools of Thought" in the Axial Age, the same period of time in which philosophy was coming to birth in ancient Greece. The course will cover some of the Chinese schools, including Confucianism, Taoism, Maoism, Legalism, Chinese "logic" and the later schools of Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism.
PHIL 4040/5040 - Skeptic and Believer
- The focus of this course is to examine the source of the tension in the mind of a believer that arises from the confrontation of skeptic and rationalist doctrines. We will examine several works in philosophy and European literature where this tension is best played out: Blaise Pascal's Pensees, F. Dostoyevski's The Brothers Karamazov, S. Kirkegaard's Fear and Trembling, F. Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil and A. Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus. We will also review the classical philosophical arguments of skepticism and rationalism (Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Spinoza, Hume) and see how they made their inroads into the world of the believer.
PHIL 4050 - Studies in Contemporary Philosophy
- A careful examination of selected major living philosophers and traditions.
PHIL 4070 - Topics in Feminist Philosophy
- Explores Simone de Beauvoir's statement, "one is not born, but rather becomes a woman" by looking at how women have been and continue to be constrained by philosophy, patriarchy, popular culture, and by their own desires and expectations.
PHIL 4101/5101 - Pragmatism: Classical American Philosophy
- The most significant philosophical tradition born in the United States is pragmatism. In this course we will examine several of the most important classical works of this tradition, as well as the influence of thinkers who have helped to shape pragmatism. We also will be seeking to address the contemporary relevance of this tradition. Figures who may be included in this course: Emerson, peirce, Royce, James, Dewey, Mead, Rorty. PREREQ: Introductory course in philosophy.
PHIL 4150 - 20th Century Ethics
- A survey of representative philosophers, methods, and/or problems in 20th century ethics.
PHIL 4200/5200 - Philosophical Problems & Contemporary Culture
- Issues and controversies in contemporary culture, their relation to modern theories of society, and their manifestations in the arts, science and technology, education, religion, and ethics.
PHIL 4230/5230 -Postmodernism and the Social Sciences
- Traces the history of a set of ideas collectively known as postmodern. Disrupting traditional frameworks of knowledge, these concepts have had an enormous impact on the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Course readings expose students to the cross-disciplinary impact of postmodernism on theory, content, and method. Prereq: Upper division standing .
PHIL 4242/5242 - Bioethics
- This course examines ethical theory: virtue ethics, consequentialist ethics, deontological ethics, and contemporary ethics as elucidated by historical and modern proponents. As part of this examination we will examine and define the constituents of the morally good life. As moral creatures we must know what living a morally good life means before we attempt to live one. We will also examine the particular moral principles that apply to biomedical endeavors. We will then examine the difficult ethical issues which face biomedical endeavors. These will include, legal and regulatory standards, abortion, provision of health care to marginalized populations, genetics, reproduction, and end of life issues, and research. Toward this end we will build on an understanding of ethical theories and principles to examine the dilemmas with which health care providers, society, and individuals are presented on a daily basis. At the conclusion of this course the student will be familiar with consequentialist, deontological, and virtue ethics. Further, the student will have experienced the rewards and difficulties of applying ethics to the dilemmas which increasingly face health care professionals, society and individuals. Finally, the student will have acquired, 1) tools with which to make ethical decisions, and 2) the ability to critically evaluate the ethical nature of decisions made by society as a whole.
PHIL 4260/5260 - Philosophy of Law
- Survey of theoretical positions on the nature of law with particular emphasis on American Law.
PHIL 4270 - Philosophy of History
- An examination of critical and speculative theories of history, including the problems of methodology, explanation, values, and the relationship between history and social philosophy.
PHIL 4300/5300 - Philosophy of Mind
- Consideration of the problems in the philosophy of mind, such as the mind-body problem, the problem of our knowledge of other minds, and the compatibility of free will and determinism, and discussion of such concepts as action, intention, motive, desire, enjoyment, memory, imagination, dreaming, and self-knowledge.
PHIL 4460 - Theories of Human Nature
- Consideration of such problems as the changeability and definability of human nature, and the possibility of a science of human nature.
PHIL 4470 - Concepts of the Soul
- Asks the questions: What is the nature of the human being?; What is our consciousness?; What makes us "human"?; We will examine the various theories put forward in Hinduism and Buddhism, the Chinese debate on human nature, the soul theories of Plato, Hobbes, Aristotle, Descartes, Rousseau, Freud, and Jung.
PHIL 4480 - Perspectives on Good and Evil
- We will examine the "problem of evil." As formulated in the philosophical tradition: if the deity is understood as perfect, then why is there evil? How can a perfect entity create imperfection? Why would an absolutely benevolent God cause or allow the innocent to suffer? The course will present the classical formulation of the problem, the traditional solutions offered, and the classical critiques of each answer. We will also look at the perspectives of the various religious orientations, each of which deals with the question of suffering differently.
PHIL 4510/5510 - Philosophy of Nature
- Critical comparison of different views of nature presupposed in science, art, religion, and environmental policy. Concepts of "natural" are examined in relation to such issues as animal rights, wilderness preservation, synthetic landscape, technology, pollution, and population control.
PHIL 4700 - Seminar in a Major Philosopher
- The major philosophical texts of one philosopher will be studied in this course. Philosophers to be studied will be major figures in the history of philosophy such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Hume. The course may be taken for credit more than once. PREREQ: PHIL 3002, PHIL 3022.
PHIL 4710 - Western Religious Thought
- Focuses on philosophers and theologians who have contributed to the evolution of the three great religious traditions of the West: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. We will target thinkers from three periods: the ancient or formative era, the medieval era, and the contemporary era. The specific philosophers chosen may vary in different semesters.
PHIL 4720 - Eastern Religious Thought
- Parallels the course in Western religious thought. The great religious traditions of the East, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, will be examined as they are presented in the writings of key philosophical representatives of each tradition.
PHIL 4730/5730 - Philosophy & Literature
- Consideration of the philosophical dimensions of literature.
PHIL 4735/5735 - Rationalism
- Addresses the fundamental questions of truth and reality through natural reason. Topics vary, and may include: Metaphysics, and the Rise of Modern Science; Women and the Enlightenment; Historical Problems and Linguistic Analysis. PREREQ: 6 hrs. in Western philosophy
PHIL 4740/5740 - Empiricism
- Consideration of the nature and importance of experience. The course will focus on British Empiricism, but additional themes which vary may include: American Pragmatism, Logical Positivism, Scientific Empiricism, Phenomenology of Experience. PREREQ: 6 hrs. in Western philosophy
PHIL 4750/5750 - Introduction to Phenomenology
- An examination of the contribution of phenomenology to selected topics in the theory of meaning, philosophy of mind, ontology, and epistemology, through a study of several philosophies such as Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty.
PHIL 4760/5830 - Kant
- A close study of Immanuel Kant's revolutionary thought. This course will focus on Kant's ontology, epistemology, and critical theory, as they are articulated in his Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of Practical Reason.
PHIL 4770/5770 - Hegel
- Systematic study of the thought of G.W.F. Hegel through his most important and influential works: The Phenomenology of Spirit, The Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences, The Science of Logic, Lectures on the Philosophy of History, and his Lectures on the History of Philosophy, Art, and Religion. The focus of the course will vary.
PHIL 4780/5780 - Heidegger
- Studies the thought of Martin Heidegger, one of the most important philosophers of the 20th Century. It will include texts from both Heidegger's early and later periods, and will focus on his analyses of human subjectivity and Being. PREREQ: 6 hrs. in Western philosophy
PHIL 4800/5800 - Plato
- A careful study of Plato's writings with an eye to the dialogue form, and discussion of Plato's significance for the history of ethics, political theory, psychology, metaphysics and epistemology.
PHIL 4810/5810 - Aristotle
- An examination of Aristotle's systematic philosophy and discussion of its contributions to logic, epistemology, physics, psychology, metaphysics, ethics, and political theory.
PHIL 4812 - Special Topics in Philosophy
PHIL 4820/5820 - Hume
- Consideration of the work of eighteenth century philosopher David Hume. Emphasis on unity of Hume's thought.
PHIL 4833/5833 - Existentialism
- Key themes of existentialist thought, for example: the meaning and nature of individual existence, being and absurdity, the nature and significance of choice and freedom, and the dynamic interplay between self and other.
PHILOSOPHY 4920. Philosophy of Media and Technology. A philosophical examination of interrelationships between contemporary media, technology and their impacts upon character of contemporary life and values. Topics may include ethics, epistemology, democracy, advertising, media literacy and criticism. Cross-listed with PHILOSOPHY 5920.
PHIL 4840 - Independent Study (Undergraduate)
PHIL 4950 - Honors Thesis
PHIL 4980 - Special Topics in Philosophy
PHIL 5013 - Philosophical Problems in the Social Sciences and the Humanities
- This course presents an overview of key theoretical issues currently emerging across academic disciplines. We will examine questions about reality, knowledge, and ethics that affect social research and writing in the humanities. Readings explore how contemporary philosophical and cultural discourses have altered theory and method. Assignments include influential theoretical pieces by key historical and contemporary thinkers, examples of application in social research, and interpretations of thought and affect in cultural contexts. Prereq: Graduate status. PHIL 5040 - Skeptic and Believer - The focus of this course is to examine the source of the tension in the mind of a believer that arises from the confrontation of skeptic and rationalist doctrines. We will examine several works in philosophy and European literature where this tension is best played out: Blaise Pascal's Pensees, F. Dostoyevski's The Brothers Karamazov, S. Kirkegaard's Fear and Trembling, F. Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil and A. Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus. We will also review the classical philosophical arguments of skepticism and rationalism (Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Spinoza, Hume) and see how they made their inroads into the world of the believer.
PHIL 5100 - Topics in the History of Philosophy
PHIL 5101/4101 - Pragmatism: Classical American Philosophy
- The most significant philosophical tradition born in the United States is pragmatism. In this course we will examine several of the most important classical works of this tradition, as well as the influence of thinkers who have been part of a dialogue that has helped to shape pragmatism. We also will be seeking to address the contemporary relevance of this tradition. Figures who may be included in this course: Emerson, peirce, Royce, James, Dewey, Mead, Rorty. PREREQ: Introductory course in philosophy.
PHIL 5150/4150 - 20th Century Ethics
- A survey of representative philosophers, methods, and/or problems in 20th century ethics.
PHIL 5200/4200 - Philosophical Problems & Contemporary Culture
- Issues and controversies in contemporary culture, their relation to modern theories of society, and their manifestations in the arts, science and technology, education, religion, and ethics.
PHIL 5230/4230 - Postmodernism and the Social Sciences
- Traces the history of a set of ideas collectively known as postmodern. Disrupting traditional frameworks of knowledge, these concepts have had an enormous impact on the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Course readings expose students to the cross-disciplinary impact of postmodernism on theory, content, and method. Prereq: Upper division standing .
PHIL 5242/4242 - Bioethics
- Examines some of the major moral issues confronting the nation's health care system. The class will search for solutions to such problems as financing health care for those unable to do so on their own, determining the extent of a patient's right to both refuse and demand certain types of medical treatment, and allocating scarce medical resources such as life-saving vital organs. The springboard for examining these issues will be the doctor/patient relationship framed by the moral principles of respect for persons and beneficence.
PHIL 5260/4260 - Philosophy of Law
- Survey of theoretical positions on the nature of law with particular emphasis on American Law.
PHIL 5300/4300 - Philosophy of Mind
- Consideration of the problems in the philosophy of mind, including the mind-body problem, the problem of our knowledge of other minds, and the compatibility of free will and determinism, and discussion of such concepts as action, intention, motive, desire, enjoyment, memory, imagination, dreaming, and self-knowledge.
PHIL 5510/4510 - Philosophy of Nature
- Critical comparison of different views of nature presupposed in science, art, religion, and environmental policy. Concepts of "natural" are examined in relation to issues of animal rights, wilderness preservation, synthetic landscape, technology, pollution, and population control.
PHIL 5600 - Special Topics in Philosophy
- Seminars not listed as courses in which the instructor meets regularly with three or more students to discuss special topics in philosophy.
PHIL 5601 - Special Topics in Philosophy-Consortium
- Seminars in which the instructor meets with three or more students to discuss topics in philosophy. This course is intended for students participating in the consortium with the University of Denver.
PHIL 5720 - Topics in Recent Philosophy
PHIL 5730 - Philosophy and Literature
- Consideration of the philosophical dimensions of literature.
PHIL 5735/4735 - Rationalism
- Addresses the fundamental questions of truth and reality through natural reason. Topics vary and may include: metaphysics and the rise of modern science; women and the enlightenment; historical problems and linguistic analysis.
PHIL 5740/4740 - Empiricism
- Consideration of the nature and importance of experience. The course will focus on British Empiricism, but additional themes which vary may include: American Pragmatism, Logical Positivism, Scientific Empiricism, Phenomenology of Experience.
PHIL 5750/4750 - Introduction to Phenomenology
- An examination of the contribution of phenomenology to selected topics in the theory of meaning, philosophy of mind, ontology, and epistemology, through a study of several philosophies such as Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty.
PHIL 5770/4770- Hegel
- Systematic study of the thought of G.W.F. Hegel through his most important and influential works: The Phenomenology of Spirit, The Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences, The Science of Logic, Lectures on the Philosophy of History, and his Lectures on the History of Philosophy, Art, and Religion. The focus of the course will vary.
PHIL 5780/4780 - Heidegger
- Studies the thought of Martin Heidegger, one of the most important philosophers of the 20th Century. It will include texts from both Heidegger's early and later periods, and will focus on his analyses of human subjectivity and Being.
PHIL 5800/4800 - Plato
- A careful study of Plato's writings with an eye to the dialogue form, and discussion of Plato's significance for the history of ethics, political theory, psychology, metaphysics and epistemology.
PHIL 5810/4810 - Aristotle
- An examination of Aristotle's systematic philosophy and discussion of its contributions to logic, epistemology, physics, psychology, metaphysics, ethics, and political theory.
PHIL 5820/4820 - Hume
- Consideration of the work of eighteenth century philosopher David Hume. Emphasis on unity of Hume's thought.
PHIL 5830/ 4760 - Kant
- A close study of Immanuel Kant's revolutionary thought. This course will focus on Kant's ontology, epistemology, and critical theory, as they are articulated in his Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of Practical Reason.
PHIL 5833/4833 - Existentialism
- Key themes of existentialist thought, for example: the meaning and nature of individual existence, being and absurdity, the nature and significance of choice and freedom, and the dynamic interplay between self and other.
PHIL 5840 - Independent Study (Graduate)
PHILOSOPHY 5920. Philosophy of Media and Technology. A philosophical examination of interrelationships between contemporary media, technology and their impacts upon character of contemporary life and values. Topics may include ethics, epistemology, democracy, advertising, media literacy and criticism. Cross-listed with PHILOSOPHY 4920.
PHIL 5939 - Internship/Cooperative Education
PHIL 6950 - Master's Thesis

Department of Philosophy

COURSESCourse Descriptions