Description
Studying philosophy develops critical thinking and reasoning skills applicable to all aspects of our individual and collective lives. Critical thinking involves analyzing a problem from different perspectives and evaluating evidence in order to arrive at a conclusion or solution. Philosophical reasoning draws upon cultural and historical contexts in order to understand and evaluate different systems of belief in response to fundamental human questions about how we should live and interact with others. Philosophy courses help students think more clearly about reality, knowledge, and the pursuit of a meaningful life. Philosophy courses need not be taken in sequence. All philosophy courses are transferable to Portland State University, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon.
PHL 191. Analysis & Evaluation of Argument. 4 Credits.
Identifies and analyzes arguments by discerning simple logical patterns of argument, extracting arguments from the contexts in which they occur, restating them in clear and concise terms and clearing away needless language in formulating arguments. Illustrates common reasoning errors involving fallacies and provides logical alternatives. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 195. Science, Skepticism, & the Unknown. 4 Credits.
Introduces scientific method, assessment criteria for scientific observations and explanations and the difference between genuine and pseudoscience. Prerequisite: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 197. Manufacturing Reality: Critical Thinking and the Media. 4 Credits.
Addresses the growing impact of electronic media on our perceptions of truth and reality. Emphasizes skills to critically deconstruct and analyze the embedded values, messages, and techniques of electronic media as a basis for empowering students to formulate meaningful responses. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 201. Being and Knowing. 4 Credits.
Introduces philosophical questions and approaches associated with metaphysics (being) and epistemology (knowing) via the works of important figures in the history of philosophy. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 201H. Being and Knowing: Honors. 4 Credits.
Honors version of PHL 201. Introduces metaphysics and the theory of knowledge via the works of important figures in the history of philosophy. Prerequisites: 3.25 GPA, and (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 202. Ethics. 4 Credits.
Covers attempts by philosophers to account for the difference between right and wrong, for the notion of moral obligation and to answer the question: How should we lead our lives? Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 202H. Ethics: Honors. 4 Credits.
Honors version of PHL 202. Covers attempts by philosophers to account for the difference between right and wrong, for the notion of moral obligation and to answer the question: How should we lead our lives? Prerequisites: 3.25 GPA, and (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 204. Philosophy of Religion. 4 Credits.
Examines the philosophical questions and approaches involving religious concepts associated with faith, God, mysticism, morality, identity, language, and death. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 205. Biomedical Ethics. 4 Credits.
Promotes applying ethical concepts to biomedical situations and ethical dilemmas, including those confronted by nurses and other health care workers. Explores topics including patient rights, informed consent, end of life care, genetic engineering, and health care policy. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 206. Introduction to Environmental Ethics. 4 Credits.
Investigates the ethical questions that pertain to human choices regarding the environment. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 207. Ethics and Aging. 4 Credits.
Investigates central ethical issues pertaining to the care of older persons. Explores various ethical principles and frameworks and their application to various ethical issues and dilemmas that arise in caring for older persons. Examines how to identify ethical issues in caring for the older persons and helps develop more proficiency in ethical decision making. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 208. Political Philosophy. 4 Credits.
Introduces and analyzes political theories and concepts through study of the works of major figures in the history of political philosophy from Plato to the present. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 209. Business Ethics. 4 Credits.
Reviews some historical and contemporary ethical theories and ethical issues that arise in several aspects of business, such as, management, use of computers, marketing, accounting, and doing business in an international setting. Includes the social responsibilities of corporations, the rights of workers, truth in advertising, the environmental impact of doing business, affirmative action in hiring, sexual harassment in the workplace, respect for cultural differences, and the responsibilities of the individual in the corporate setting. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 210. Introduction to Asian Philosophy. 4 Credits.
Introduces the non-dualistic philosophies of India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, which offer a complementary approach to Greco-Euro-American traditions in logic, ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Cultural Literacy, Arts and Letters/AL, Cultural Literacy/DIV
PHL 211. Existentialism. 4 Credits.
Investigates existential philosophy from the 19th Century to the present. Introduces different branches of existentialist thought and the influence existentialism had on philosophy, literature, and culture in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Includes existentialist philosophers such as, but not limited to, some of the following: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Camus and Sartre. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 212. Introduction to Philosophy of Mind. 4 Credits.
Introduces historical and contemporary thought in the philosophy of mind, considering traditional philosophical questions about the nature of the human person in the light of recent research in the cognitive sciences. Prerequisite: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 221. Symbolic Logic. 4 Credits.
Introduces the concepts and techniques of modern symbolic logic for deductive inference. Presents basic propositional and predicate logic skills including: translating ordinary language into symbolic statements, using truth tables for various logical tests, applying inference rules and strategies in argument proofs, and evaluating the validity of complex deductive arguments. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 222. The Philosophy of Art and Beauty. 4 Credits.
Explores individual and cultural assumptions about the nature of art and aesthetic expression. Applies a philosophical approach to the study of art forms from many world cultures. Prerequisites: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.
This course fulfills the following GE requirements: Arts and Letters/AL
PHL 298. Independent Study: Philosophy. 1-4 Credit.
Provides advanced, individualized study in areas of philosophy not considered in other courses to meet special interests or program requirements. Requires a term project and readings approved by the instructor. Recommended: prior study in philosophy and instructor permission. Prerequisite: (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement. Audit available.