Course Descriptions

Please refer to the current Academic Bulletin for the most updated list of course descriptions for this major.

PHIL 100 Introduction to Philosophy
3 Semester Credit Hours

This course explores the relevance of philosophy in our lives. It examines questions regarding knowledge, understanding, ethics, etc. with the goal of learning to think philosophically. This course is discussion and critical thinking oriented. Offered every fall.

PHIL 300 Topics in Philosophy
1-3 Semester Credit Hours

This course permits advanced study of philosophy. Subject matter will vary. Topics might include the views of a particular philosopher, exploration of political philosophies, or current ethical questions. Offered on an irregular basis.

PHIL 301 Introduction to Ethics
3 Semester Credit Hours

This course attempts to discover right and wrong from a moral perspective. It is a critical examination of current ethical dilemmas with a focus on ethical reasoning, fair-mindedness, and discovering common ground. This course is discussion and critical thinking oriented. Offered every Spring.

PHIL 302 Critical and Logical Thinking
3 Semester Credit Hours

This course is a philosophical inquiry into the skills and dispositions required for understanding and applying reasoning and critical & logical thinking. We will also examine the neuroscience underlying how our unconscious and conscious brains “think.” This course is discussion oriented and centered on application. Offered on an irregular basis.

PHIL 350 Philosophy of the Christian Religion
3 Semester Credit Hours

A reading course in Christian controversies. The student will read early Church Fathers, as well as medieval, Reformation, and modern theologians. Philosophical critics of Christianity will be studied as well. Stress will be placed on significant moments of change in Christian doctrine, especially the Trinitarian debate (fourth-fifth centuries), the Protestant Reformation (sixteenth-seventeenth centuries) and interaction with modernist thought (eighteenth-twentieth centuries). Offered on an irregular basis.

PHIL 395 History of Philosophy I: Classical and Medieval Philosophy
3 Semester Credit Hours

One of two courses that explore the intellectual foundation of the modern world (with PHIL 396). This course explores the development of Western philosophical thought from the beginning of Greek philosophy through the close of the medieval period. Offered on an irregular basis.

PHIL 396 History of Philosophy II: Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
3 Semester Credit Hours

One of two courses that explore the intellectual foundation of the modern world (with Phil 395). This course traces Western philosophy from the close of the medieval period to the present. Offered on an irregular basis.