DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY (PHIL) Thomas Senor Degrees Conferred: M.A., Ph.D. (PHIL)
Areas of Concentration: history of philosophy (including ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary), metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of science. Prerequisites to Degree Program: Admission to the program is subject to the approval of the graduate committee of the Department of Philosophy. For the M.A., the normal expectation is 18 hours in philosophy, including logic. Students with fewer hours in philosophy may be admitted with deficiencies. In addition to the materials required by the Graduate School, at least two letters of recommendation, a sample of written work, and GRE aptitude scores (if available) should be submitted to the Department chair. For the Ph.D., completion of an M.A. degree in philosophy is required.
Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree 1. 27 total hours of course work with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better, These hours must include: a. Satisfaction of the course distribution requirement, which
is as follows: one course each in ancient Greek philosophy, modern philosophy,
one history of philosophy course in an area other than ancient Greek and
modern philosophy, value theory, and metaphysics/epistemology; only courses
in which the student earns a grade of "B" or better will count towards
fulfilling the course distribution requirement. A student may petition
the graduate committee to take an exam in one or more of the above areas
which, if passed, would satisfy the distribution requirement for the area(s)
b. Symbolic Logic I or II with a grade of "C" or better, or equivalent, or exam in symbolic logic. c. Six hours of course work in graduate seminars. 2. An acceptable thesis and a successful oral comprehensive examination before the thesis committee. With the approval of the graduate committee, the comprehensive exam may be taken a second time.
Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree 1. 24 hours of course work beyond completion of the M.A. in philosophy (with the approval of the graduate committee, up to six hours may be taken in another discipline). Course work beyond the M.A. must satisfy the following conditions: a. The cumulative GPA must be 3.00 or better. b. Only courses in which a "B" or better is earned count toward completion of the 24 hours of course work required for the Ph.D. c. Symbolic Logic I or II, or equivalent, or exam in symbolic logic. (This requirement is waived for candidates who have completed the above M.A. program.) d. At least nine hours of graduate seminar work in philosophy. 2. Reading knowledge of one scholarly language in addition to English. Languages other than French, German, Latin, and classical Greek must be approved by the graduate committee of the Department of Philosophy. 3. Four comprehensive exams must be taken and passed: one in ancient Greek philosophy, one in modern philosophy, one in ethics, and one in another area of philosophy. With the approval of the graduate committee, exams may be taken a second time. 4. An acceptable dissertation, successfully defended before the dissertation committee. Through an agreement with the Academic Common Market, residents of certain southern states may qualify for graduate enrollment in the doctoral program in philosophy as in-state students for fee purposes. See page 163 for details.
COURSES: PHILOSOPHY (PHIL) PHIL4003 Ancient Greek Philosophy (FA) Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. PHIL4013 Platonism & Origin of Christian Theology (SP) The study of Plato, gnosticism, Middle and Neoplatonism, including Philo, Plotinus, and Procius, and the influence of Platonism on the Greek church fathers of the 2nd-5th centuries, principally Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, and Gregory of Nyssa, as well as Psuedo-Dionysius. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. PHIL4023 Medieval Philosophy (FA) Includes Augustine, Bonventure, Aquinas, Scotus, and Ockham. PHIL4033 Modern Philosophy-17th and 18th Centuries (SP) British and Continental philosophy, including Bacon, Descartes, Spinoza, Liebniz, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. PHIL4043 Nineteenth Century Continental Philosophy (FA) Study of major Continental European philosophers of the 19th century including Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche. Emphasis on the nature of persons, the question of freedom, and the importance of self- expression, as well as views on knowledge, reality, and the nature of philosophy. PHIL4063 Twentieth Century Continental Philosophy (SP) Study of major figures (e.g. Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Foucault, Derrida) and trends (phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, critical theory, deconstruction) in 20th century French and German thought. Topics include human beings and their place in the world, the role of history and culture, and the possibility of critical reflection. PHIL4073 History of Analytic Philosophy (SP) From Frege to recent figures, including Russell, Moore, Wittgenstein, Schlick, Carnep, Ayer, Ryle, Strawson, Quine, including a representative sample of works on the logical analysis of language, logical positivism, and ordinary language analysis. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. PHIL4083 Existentialism (SP) Readings in major figures associated with "Existentialism" (e.g. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau- Ponty). Emphasis on connections between the metaphysical views of these thinkers, their views of freedom, their conceptions of modernity, and their responses to it. PHIL4113 Social and Political Philosophy (SP) Selected philosophical theories of society, the state, social justice, and their connections with individuals. PHIL4123 Classical Ethical Theory (FA) Study of classical texts in the history of philosophical ethics from Plato to Nietzsche. Philosophers covered may include Plato, Aristotle, Butler, Hume, Kant, and Mill. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. PHIL4133 Contemporary Ethical Theory (FA) A study of contemporary texts in philosophical ethics from G.E. Moore to the present. Philosophers covered may include Moore, Stevenson, Hare, Foot, and Rawls. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. PHIL4143 Philosophy of Law (SP) A philosophical consideration of the nature of law, theory of adjudication, concepts of legal responsibility, liberty and the limits of law, and selected moral-legal issues (abortion, affirmative action, punishment, etc.). PHIL4203 Theory of Knowledge (FA) An examination of skepticism, the nature and structures of knowledge and epistemic justification, human rationality, and the justification of religious belief. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. PHIL4213 Philosophy of Science (FA) Examination of issues related to scientific explanation, empirical foundations of science, observation and objectivity, nature of laws and theories, realism and instrumentalism, induction and confirmation, models, causation, and simplicity, beginning with historical survey set in the context of the history of science but emphasizing works from the 1930s to the current period, often including issues in recent physics. PHIL4233 Philosophy of Language (SP) A survey of mainstream philosophical theories of meaning, reference, truth, and logical form. Attention given to the views of such figures as Frege, Russell, Tarski, Searie, Dumett, and the advocates of possible worlds semantics. PHIL4253 Symbolic Logic I (FA) Rigorous analyses of the concepts of proof, consistency, equivalence, validity, implication, and truth. Full coverage of truth-functional logic and quantification theory (predicate calculus). Discussion of the nature and limits of mechanical procedures (algorithms) for proving theorems in logic and mathematics. Informal accounts of the basic facts about infinite sets. (Same as MATH 4253) PHIL4263 Symbolic Logic II (SP) Topics include: soundness and completeness of propositional logic, soundness and completeness of quantification theory, the elements of model theory and recursion theory, G]odel's incompleteness theorems, and the limitative theorems of Tarski and Church. (Same as MATH 4263) Prerequisite: PHIL 4253 or MATH 4253. PHIL4303 Philosophy of Religion (SP) Types of religious belief and critical examination of their possible validity, including traditional arguments and contemporary questions of meaning. PHIL4403 Philosophy of Art (SP) Varieties of truth and value in the arts and aesthetic experience, focusing on the creative process in the art and in other human activities. PHIL4423 Philosophy of Mind (SP) An examination of such topics such as the relationship between mind and body, the mentality of machines, knowledge of other minds, the nature of psychological explanation, the relationships between psychology and the other sciences, mental representation, the nature of the self, and free will and determinism. PHIL4603 Metaphysics (IR) Theory and critical analysis of such basic metaphysical problems as mind and body, universals and particulars, space and time, determinism and free will, self-identity and individualism, with emphasis on contemporary perspectives. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. PHIL5763 Seminar: Aquinas (IR) PHIL5843 Seminar: Hume (IR) PHIL5883 Seminar: Wittgenstein (IR) PHIL5893 Seminar: Heidegger (IR) PHIL5903 Seminar: Social & Political Philosophy (IR) PHIL5913 Seminar: Ethical Theory (IR) PHIL5933 Seminar: Philosophical Theology (IR) PHIL5953 Seminar: Philosophy of Language (IR) PHIL5963 Seminar: Philosophy of Mind (IR) PHIL5973 Seminar: Metaphysics (IR) PHIL5983 Philosophical Seminar (IR) Various topics and issues in historical and contemporary philosophy. PHIL600V Master's Thesis (1-6) (FA, SP, SU) PHIL690V Graduate Readings (1-6) (FA, SP, SU) Supervised individual readings in historical and contemporary philosophy. PHIL700V Doctoral Dissertation (1-18) (FA, SP, SU) Prerequisite: candidacy. |