Courses

Using the  study area buttons below find detailed information about the courses being offered. 
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Philosophy

• PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy I

  A study of the history, methods, and assumptions of the classical philosophical systems with special attention given to epistemology and metaphysics. The course emphasizes critical thinking and the development of understanding through reasoned argument.

• PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy II

  A continued study of the foundations established in PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy I with special consideration given to philosophy of religion, ethics, and social philosophy. Emphasis is again placed on the development of critical thinking skills.

• PHI 201 Ancient Philosophy

  A critical survey of ancient Greek philosophy from the Pre-Socratics through Plato and Aristotle, this course will examine Classical views on topics such as the nature of ultimate reality, the scope and limits of human knowledge, beauty, ethics, and politics.

  Prerequisite: PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy I or PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy II

• PHI 215 Philosophy and the Question of God

  This course will study the classical 'proofs for the existence of God', their background in Greek philosophy and early Christian thought, and their modern and postmodern forms. It will aim to expose students to the task of 'thinking God' as essential to the work of integrating faith and reason.
  
  Cross-listed:THEO 215 Philosophy and the Question of God

• PHI 300 Philosophy of Education

  This course provides a philosophical analysis of classic, modern, analytic, and contemporary theories of education. Particular attention is paid to varying conceptions of the nature, scope, purpose, and social implications of education. Along with contemporary Christian philosophers of education, the major theorists to be studied may include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Dewey, Illich, Freire, Gadamer, and Palmer.
  
  Cross-listed: EDUC 310 Philosophy of Education

  Prerequisite: PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy I or PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy II

• PHI 310 Medieval Philosophy

  This course will study philosophical works written between the 4th and the 14th centuries CE. Topics to be studied may include the existence and nature of God, language and knowledge, free will, intellectual and moral virtues, the relation between reason and revelation, and mysticism.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 313 Early Modern Philosophy

  A critical survey of major seventeenth- and eighteenth-century empiricist and rationalist philosophers including Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume.

  Prerequisite: PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy I

• PHI 314 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy

  A critical survey of the major European philosophers of the nineteenth century including Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Mill, and Marx.

  Prerequisite: PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy

• PHI 336 Contemporary Epistemology

  The course will be an exploration of some of the current issues in Western epistemology. Students will be introduced to some of the recent problems, positions, and philosophers especially in relation to the Social Sciences and Education. There will be interaction with both Anglo-American and Continental Philosophers such as Searle, Gadamer, Habermas, Rorty, and Plantinga.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 340 Philosophy of Technology

  An examination of the nature of human consciousness in its relation to technology in order to better understand the effect that the discourses of efficiency and technical rationality have on human freedom, on ethical awareness, and on justice within society.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 350 Bible in Modern Philosophy

  This course will survey the way modern, postmodern, and contemporary philosophers interpret the Bible. Students will take up the question of what it means to read the Bible in a philosophical context even as they examine the merits of such a reading for the life of faith.

  Prerequisite: PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy I or PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy II and BLST 109 Introduction to the New Testament or BLST 111 Introduction to the Old Testament

• PHI 380 War, Peace, and Society

  An analysis of the ethical issues connected with war, peace, and revolution. These topics will be critically examined with attention to broader socio-political movements such as imperialism, the Crusades, colonialism, and the modern nation-state, and to moral theories such as pacifism, holy war, just war, and deterrence.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 387 Social and Political Philosophy

  This course critically analyzes and evaluates philosophical theories of political and social organization. Attention is given to primary source documents and to the social and intellectual milieu surrounding these classic theories. Authors studied include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Machievelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Marx.
  
  Cross-listed: Social and Political Philosophy

  Prerequisite: PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy II

• PHI 393 Specialized Study

  Offered occasionally to provide in-depth study in a topic in Philosophy that is not covered in regularly scheduled courses.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 420 Existentialism

  A seminar examining the philosophical and literary movement known as existentialism, with its characteristic emphasis upon the human condition. Writers studied may include Pascal, Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Kafka, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, and Beauvoir.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 445 Philosophy of History

  This seminar examines the philosophical issues raised by history and historical description, explanation, and narrative. It will consider topics such as the nature of human historical agency, whether ideas, traditions, or material conditions can be identified as causes of historical events, whether there is purpose, necessity, and meaning in history, and whether history contributes to an understanding of human nature.
  
  Cross-listed: History 445 Philosophy of History

  Prerequisite: Prerequisite: HIS 280 and one of PHI 100 or PHI 101.

• PHI 455 Contemporary Topics in the Philosophy of Religion

  This seminar focuses on contemporary questions in the philosophy of religion. Themes to be considered may include religion, violence, and politics; the nature of religious experience; the relationship between faith and reason; religious language; and the philosophical analysis of the theological doctrines.
  
  Cross-listed: RLST 455 Contemporary Topics in the Philosophy of Religion

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 460 Nietzsche Seminar

  A philosophical examination of the major works of Friedrich Nietzsche. Critical attention is given to his theories of decadence, eternal recurrent, wills to power, askesis, resentment, and genealogical method.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 470 Studies in the History of Philosophy

  A seminar in the thought of a particular philosopher or movement. Course emphasizes careful reading and detailed analysis of primary sources.

  Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of Philosophy

• PHI 493 Specialized Study

  A seminar offered occasionally to provide in-depth study in a topic in Philosophy that is not covered in regularly scheduled courses.

  Prerequisite: credit hours of Philosophy and the completion of 75 credit hours of coursework