Philosophy

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Classes

ENVST 170/PHIL 170 : Environmental Ethics

This course considers the role ethics and philosophy play in how wo/man relates to her and his human and natural environment. The central themes of the course are the relationship between human centered and nature centered views of the universe and wo/man’s responsibility for the care of the universe. Philosophies considered include but are not limited to Anthropocentrism, Confucianism, Taoism, Aristotelianism, Humanism, Transcendentalism, American Indian, EcoFeminism and Deep Ecology.

Units

3

PHIL 100 : Introduction to Philosophy

This course will introduce the student to the main themes of Western philosophy and the various approaches within philosophy. It will acquaint the students with the major thinkers of the philosophical tradition by analyzing and discussing challenging texts of the history of philosophy.

Units

3

PHIL 240 : Ethical Foundations and Issues: East and West

This course examines major philosophical approaches to ethics. The course includes Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, Confucian, Taoist and Existentialist approaches, among others. Issues that pose ethical dilemmas are examined. The purpose of the course is to teach the skills of critical reflection especially as they apply to understanding the foundations of ethics.

Units

3

PHIL 280 : Introduction to Philosophical Thinking

This course will introduce students to the methodology of philosophical thinking and the grand topics that have engaged philosophers over the ages including the problem of evil, the existence of the Deity and the problem of human life. Students will be introduced to the general sub-disciplines of philosophy, including the history of philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, normative ethics, applied ethics, aesthetics and political philosophy. They will study select contemporary periods. They will also be introduced to meta-philosophy, different styles of philosophy; e.g., analytic, system building, existentialism and phenomenology.

Units

3

PHIL 311 : Philosophy and Literature

This course examines philosophical viewpoints as manifested within selected literary texts. The relationship between the literary form of the text and the philosophical content, as well as the relationship between philosophy and literature, will be explored and conceptualized.

Units

3

Prerequisites

Any previous philosophy course.

PHIL 350 : Global Philosophy, East, West and South

This course chooses essential, primary philosophical texts from the East, the West and the Global South with an eye to comparing the methods of thinking and the philosophical goals to be achieved. The overall objective of this course is to improve the thinking abilities of the student, to learn the cultural differences between the philosophers from different civilizations and to pivot toward a global philosophy that integrates and distills the essential human values and wisdom that a world philosophy can offer to our students.

Units

3

PHIL 460 : Corporate Social Responsibility

This is an extensive course on how and why corporations make the decisions that they do regarding what constitutes the private good, the public good, both nationally and internationally. In what ways does the capitalist profit motive affect ethical decision making? What are the consequences? What constitutes good management, destructive management? What is an accident? A tragedy? A disaster? Who should ultimately be responsible? A philosophical examination of intensive case studies will analyze what responsibility corporations have for risk management, social welfare and environmental sustainability in the global interface of the 21st century.

Units

3