Go to: Division of Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, and Linguistics  

Faculty

Steven Arkonovich
Moral psychology, ethics.

Mark Adam Bedau
Philosophy of biology, philosophy of science, artificial life.

Troy Cross
Metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind.

Mark Hinchliff
Metaphysics, philosophy of language, epistemology.

Paul Hovda
Metaphysics, philosophy of language, logic, philosophy of logic.

Margaret Elizabeth Scharle
Ancient Greek philosophy.

Curriculum

Philosophy systematically investigates and attempts to understand and solve some of the most enduring and challenging problems: What do we know and how do we know it? Do we project our values onto the world or find them there? Do we invent mathematical truths or discover them? Are we responsible for what we do, or are we helpless victims of our genetic endowment, environment, and upbringing? How can we justify our judgments about the merits of novels, paintings, poems, films, and symphonies? Are we complex animals or simplified angels, minds or molecules? What are goodness, truth, and beauty? Is there anything in the world besides matter in motion?

Our courses address questions like these at different degrees of sophistication. The 200-level courses are intended for sophomores, 300-level courses for juniors, and 400-level courses for seniors. A qualified student, however, may gain admission to a course of any level by consent of the instructor.

Courses of interest to students of philosophy are also taught in the political science and mathematics departments in classical political philosophy, modern political philosophy, Hegel and Marx, judgment, and mathematical logic.

Some students study philosophy together with another subject, such as religion, mathematics, literature, political science, or biology. Students who wish to include philosophy in an interdisciplinary major are required to take Logic, Introduction to Philosophy, and four other philosophy courses (besides the senior thesis), to be chosen in consultation with an adviser in the philosophy department.

Our graduates are admitted to top philosophy graduate schools, and our program is consistently ranked among the top philosophy undergraduate programs in the country. Our majors advance to graduate study and careers in many fields in addition to philosophy, including law, mathematics, medicine, business, education, and the sciences.

Programs

• Philosophy

• Philosophy Minor

Courses

• PHIL 201 - Logic
• PHIL 203 - Introduction to Ethics
• PHIL 204 - Introduction to Epistemology
• PHIL 207 - Persons and Their Lives
• PHIL 208 - Introduction to Environmental Ethics
• PHIL 209 - Minds, Computers, Worlds
• PHIL 210 - Introduction to Ancient Philosophy
• PHIL 220 - Philosophical Topics
• PHIL 301 - Ancient Philosophy
• PHIL 302 - Modern Philosophy
• PHIL 306 - History of Modern Social and Political Philosophy
• PHIL 310 - Metaphysics
• PHIL 311 - Epistemology
• PHIL 312 - Ethical Theories
• PHIL 315 - Philosophy of Language
• PHIL 316 - Philosophy of Science
• PHIL 317 - Philosophy of Mind
• PHIL 318 - Philosophy of Biology
• PHIL 320 - Topics in Logic
• PHIL 370 - Junior Seminar (Philosophy)
• PHIL 411 - Advanced Topics in Metaphysics
• PHIL 412 - Advanced Topics in Epistemology
• PHIL 413 - Advanced Topics in Ethics
• PHIL 414 - Advanced Topics in Contemporary Philosophy
• PHIL 470 - Thesis
• PHIL 481 - Individual Work in Special Fields