The course is designed for students in pre-law and students in the social sciences as well as students of philosophy to promote their understanding of the society in which they live and the justification for the laws that inform society. Restricted to Graduate students.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course will provide students with training in identifying and dealing with ethical issues in the Engineering discipline. The primary objective is for graduates of this course to be able to approach engineering problems ethically, i.e., they will learn to better understand how real world engineering issues can and should be analyzed for their ethical determinations and that solving technical, engineering problems entails situating those problems in an ethical context. Students will learn traditional ethical paradigms, such as virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarian ethics as a basis for cultivating their moral imagination and ethical sensitivities in order to better understand the perspective of others and the ability to better deal with professional, cultural, and social disagreements and ambiguities. Restricted to graduate students.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course provides an in-depth examination of the interdisciplinary character of science and ethical theory. On the one hand, students will be introduced to traditional and/or contemporary paradigms of science as a field of study and applied research. On the other hand, they will also be presented with traditional and/or contemporary paradigms of ethical theories of understanding normative constraints in the domain of scientific study and research. Students will be introduced to a range of approaches in scientific methodologies, including but not restricted to historical developments in the mathematical, empirical sciences, or social sciences coupled with an examination of how those sciences are normatively constrained by this or that ethical theory, such as utilitarian, deontological, or virtue ethics. Restricted to Graduate students.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This proseminar will serve as an introduction to graduate study in philosophy. Specifically, it is designed to help students develop the argumentative, reading, writing, and discussion skills necessary to complete the graduate program successfully. While the thematic emphasis will vary depending on the instructor, we will provide a survey of core research areas in the department and their broader philosophical context. In addition, the course will cover the mechanics of research in philosophy including the use of electronic databases and other resources. The course is also intended to serve as an orientation to academic philosophy and should permit students to evaluate their options as they plan their careers. Restricted to Graduate students.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

World Historical Philosophers (3-0) A detailed study of the life, writings and influence of one of a few selected philosophers. Usually Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Hegel are treated in a sequence of offerings of this course. May be repeated when the course content varies.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Basic Philosophical Issues (3-0) Contemporary philosophical theories of perception and cognition, philosophical anthropology, the technological society and new religious sensibilities have been topics.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Independent Study (0-0-3) Student research under supervision of the faculty. Prerequisite: Department approval.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
3 Other Hours

Topics in Philosophy of History (3-0) Topics will include matters such as the debate between idealist and materialist interpretations of history, the question of historical "laws" and determinism, the debate over "progress" in history, and the relation between the social and natural sciences. Prerequisite: One upper level Undergraduate Philosophy course or permission of Instructor.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Topics in Philosophy of Science (3-0) An examination of selected issues and themes in the philosophy of the natural sciences. While topics will vary according to the interests of the instructor, they will be drawn from ongoing debates in contemporary philosophy of science including, but not limited to, causality, confirmation, the relations between theory and observation, the demarcation between science and anti-science, feminist and postmodernist critiques of scientific rationality, the realist/anit-realist debate, progress, and the ethical implications of science and technoligy. This course may be repeated for credit with different instructors. Prerequisites: One undergraduate Philosophy course or permission of the instructor and department approval.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Students will begin work on the M.A. thesis, which is required for completion of the program. Prerequisite: Departmental approval. Restricted to Graduate Philosophy students.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
3 Other Hours

Students will complete work on the M.A. thesis, which is required for completion of the program. Prerequisite: Departmental approval. Restricted to Graduate Philosophy students.

Department: Philosophy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
3 Other Hours