Undergraduate Course Descriptions
Course Descriptions
IAI = Illinois Articulation Initiative (See Undergraduate Catalog)
102-3 Introduction to Philosophy. (University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: H4 900] Introduction to
fundamental philosophical issues across a broad spectrum. Problems in metaphysics, epistemology and
ethics will be among the areas explored. Emphasis throughout is upon developing in the student an appreciation of the nature of philosophical questioning, analyzing and evaluating arguments and reflecting on the nature of human existence.
103-6 (3,3) World Humanities. (University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: (a) HF 904N] This course will
explore the rise, development and interaction of the major world civilizations as embodied in ideas and their
expressions in religion, philosophy, literature and art. The great traditions of Near Eastern, European,
Central Asian, Indian, Chinese and Japanese cultures will be examined. (a) The first semester will cover the
early civilization of the Near East, the classical world of Greece and Rome, early China and India. (b) The
second semester will look at the integrative civilizations of Buddhism, Medieval Christianity and Islam, and
Modern Europe.
104-3 Ethics. (University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: H4 904] Introduction to contemporary and perennial
problems of personal and social morality, and to methods proposed for their resolution by great thinkers
past and present.
105-3 Elementary Logic. (University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: H4 906] Study of the traditional and
modern methods for evaluating arguments. Applications of logical analysis to practical, scientific and legal
reasoning, and to the use of computers.
210-3 The American Mind. (University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: HF 906D] This course will survey
the diverse traditions, ideas and ideals that have shaped American culture in the past and today. Major
works from Native American, African American, feminist, Puritan, Quaker and American Zen Buddhist
writers may be used as well as those from such intellectual movements as the Enlightenment, Transcendentalism
and Pragmatism.
211-3 Philosophy and Diversity: Gender, Race and Class. (University Core Curriculum) This course is
a philosophical introduction to diverse perspectives within modern American culture. It will address through reading and discussion important contemporary moral and social issues from the perspective of nontraditional
orientations including African American, Native American and American feminism. The resources of
philosophy and other related disciplines such as psychology, sociology and literature will be used to develop a
culturally enriched perspective on important contemporary issues.
300-3 Elementary Metaphysics. An introduction to some of the basic issues in metaphysics, understood as
the study of ultimate reality. The approach is systematic and contemporary rather than historical. Topics
include space, time, individual substance, realism, anti-realism, idealism, personal survival, the nature of
persons, free will, and God.
301-3 Philosophy of Religion. An analysis of problems in the psychology, metaphysics, and social effects
of religion. Among topics discussed are the nature of mystical experience, the existence of God, and problems
of suffering, prayer, and immortality.
303I-3 Philosophy and the Arts. (University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: H9 900] An interdisciplinary
examination of (1) literary and other artistic works which raise philosophic issues and (2) philosophic writings
on the relationship between philosophy and literature. Possible topics include: source of and contemporary
challenges to the traditional Western idea that literature cannot be or contribute to philosophy; the role
of emotion, imagination and aesthetic value in philosophic reasoning; the role of literature in moral philosophy;
and philosophic issues of interpretation.
304-3 Ancient Philosophy. (Advanced University Core Curriculum course) The birth of Western philosophy
in the Greek world, examining such Pre-Socratics as Anaximander, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Parmenides;
focusing upon the flowering of the Athenian period with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The course will
conclude with a discussion of the Hellenistic systems of Stoicism, Epicureanism, and the Neo-Platonic mysticism
of Plotinus of the Roman period. Fulfills CoLA Writing-Across-the-Curriculum requirement. Satisfies
University Core Curriculum Humanities requirement in lieu of 102.
305-6 (3,3) Modern Philosophy. (Advanced University Core Curriculum course) A survey course covering
the major figures and themes in the development of modern philosophy up to Kant. Concentration on the
Rationalist and Empiricist traditions and the simultaneous development of modern science. (a) Metaphysics
and epistemology. (b) Moral and Political philosophy. Either 305a or 305b fulfills the CoLA Writing-Acrossthe-Curriculum requirement. 305a or b satisfies the University Core Curriculum Humanities requirement in
lieu of 102.
306-3 Nineteenth Century Philosophy. Survey of 19th century European philosophy, focusing on the
development of idealism and romanticism. Readings include selections from Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and
others.
307I-3 Philosophy of Science, Nature and Technology. (University Core Curriculum) Interdisciplinary
study of major humanistic critiques of technology, science and nature; analysis of topics such as ecology, the
information revolution, aesthetics and ethics in various branches of science and technology, relation of
science to technology.
308I-3 Asian Religions: A Philosophical Approach. (University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: H4
903N] This course examines three major areas of Asian religious traditions from a philosophical perspective:
South Asia, East Asia, and Buddhist traditions. Since it is not possible to be all inclusive, concentration will
be on those with continuing significant spiritual, philosophical, social, political, aesthetic and literary influence.
More specifically, it is an introduction to some of the major Asian religious traditions, such as Hinduism,
Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism, approached through philosophical reflection.
Emphasis is on classical traditions, since this provides a solid foundation upon which students are than able
to pursue further independent readings in more recent developments. Furthermore, this emphasis permits
an extended exploration of the interaction among contemporary economic, sociological and religious developments
and classical traditions.
309I-3 Philosophy of Politics, Law and Justice. (University Core Curriculum) An interdisciplinary
exploration of classical and modern theories of law and justice with special attention to their implications for
important contemporary political issues.
320-3 Deductive Logic. An introduction to first order logic, including the Boolean connectives, conditionals,
and identity. The emphasis is on the concept of logical consequence and the related concepts of tautological
and analytic (semantic) consequence. Other topics include truth functional and non-truth functional
connectives, truth-tables, informal proofs, proofs of non-consequence, derivations using a Fitch natural deduction
system, and translations to and from English.
340-3 Ethical Theories. (Advanced University Core Curriculum course) [IAI Course: H4 904] Nature of
ethics and morality, ethical skepticism, emotivism, ethical relativism, and representative universalistic
ethics. Bentham, Mill, Aristotle, Kant, Blanshard, and Brightman. Satisfies University Core Curriculum
Humanities requirement in lieu of 104.
344-3 The Biomedical Revolution and Ethics. Changes in biology and medicine have brought into sharp
focus such problems as allocation of scarce medical resources, use of human subjects in experiments, abortion,
euthanasia, genetic screening, truth-telling in medical practice, moral rights of patients and other
matters. This course brings ethical principles to bear on these issues.
351-3 The Mission of the University. This course focuses on the idea and practice of University education
and its particular mission (or missions). This class investigates the mission of the University in three ways.
First, it examines the history of the University. Second, it investigates the meaning of the University, primarily,
by studying key philosophical texts that deal directly with the nature of the University and its vocation.
Third, it provides a forum for collaboratively generating our own mission of the University. Prerequisite:
minimum of one 100 level course in the humanities.
360-3 Latin American Philosophy. The course deals with philosophy in Latin America from the 19th
century to the present. Central themes of the course include: identity theory, philosophy and culture, and
political philosophy.
371-3 Introduction to Contemporary Phenomenology. Introductory survey of individual thinkers and
questions in the contemporary phenomenological tradition: Husserl, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Levinas, and
Ricoeur.
375-3 Ecology and Ethics. An exploration of several views of the relationship between human beings and
the natural world. This course will examine the changing paradigms of environmental studies for insights
about our epistemological and moral approaches to nature. Both classical and contemporary literature on
nature will be used. Such topics as the Gaia hypothesis, ecofeminism, deep ecology, and the use of nature for
human purposes will be addressed.
385-3 Mystical Literature and Meditation. This course will introduce and explore the profound tradition
of literature that has nourished religious, ethical, as well as philosophical and literary, developments in
Western and Eastern cultures, but has often been overlooked, not only by the sciences, but also by the humanities:
the tradition of mystical literature. In addition to reading primary sources representative of Western
and Eastern mystical traditions, this course will include a weekly lab during which the student will be
exposed to meditative techniques and actual meditative practices. Finally, this course will integrate guest
speakers/practitioners, audio and visual supports pertaining to the course, and work on the Web, allowing
students to broaden their connections to others who also share an interest in this field of study and practice.
Prerequisite: at least one course (three hours) in the humanities on the 100 or 200 level.
389-3 Existential Philosophy. Surveys the two main sources of existentialism, the philosophies of Kierkegaard
and Nietzsche, with occasional reference to thinkers such as Sartre, Heidegger, Buber, Marcel, and
others.
400-3 Philosophy of Mind. An investigation of the philosophic issues raised by several competing theories
of mind, focusing on the fundamental debate between reductionistic accounts (e.g., central state materialism,
identity theories of the physical and mental) and views which reject such proposed reductions. Traditional
and contemporary theories will be examined. Designed for students in the life and social sciences with little
or no background in philosophy as well as philosophy students.
405-3 Democratic Theory. (Same as POLS 405) An examination of various species and aspects of democratic
thought, including the liberal tradition and its impact upon the United States. Prerequisite: POLS 114
or consent of instructor.
415-3 Logic of Social Sciences. (Same as SOC 415) An examination of the theoretical structure and nature
of the social sciences and their epistemological foundations. The relationship of social theory to social
criticism; theory and praxis. Historical experience and social objectivity. Social theory as practical knowledge.
420-3 Symbolic Logic. An introduction to first order logic with an emphasis on quantification. Topics include
the semantics of the quantifiers, first-order validity, quantifier equivalences, functions, informal
proofs, proofs of non-consequence, derivations using a Fitch natural deduction system, translations to and
from English, soundness and completeness, the axiomatic method, first order set theory, and mathematical
induction. Prerequisite: 320 or consent of the instructor.
441-3 Philosophy of Politics. (Same as POLS 403) The theory of political and social foundations; the
theory of the state, justice, and revolution. Classical and contemporary readings such as: Plato, Aristotle,
Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Dewey, Adorno and others. Prerequisite: 340 or Philosophy 102 or consent.
443-3 Philosophy of History. The rise of historical objectivity and the science of history. Classical and
modern theories of history. History as the foundation of social knowledge. The critique of history as universal
perspective. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
446-3 Feminist Philosophy. (Same as WMST 456) (a) Feminist Philosophy. A survey of feminist theory
and philosophical perspectives. (b) Special Topics in Feminist Philosophy. A special area in feminist philosophy
explored in depth, such as Feminist Ethics, French Feminism, Feminist Philosophy of Science, etc. (c)
Women Philosophers. Explores the work of one or more specific women philosophers, for example, Hannah
Arendt, Simone DeBeauvoir, etc.
460-3 Philosophy of Art. We will examine several important theories that define art by focusing in on only
one aspect, for example, imitation, expression, form, institutional setting, or even indefinability. What role
does imagination play in each of these accounts, and does this tell us something important about how people
experience their world?
468-9 (3,3,3) Kant (a) Theoretical Philosophy; (b) Practical Philosophy; (c) Aesthetics, Teleology and Religion.
469-3 Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy to Augustine. The career of philosophy during the Hellenistic,
Roman and Early Medieval period, especially as a means of personal salvation, exploring such figures
and movements as: Epicurus, Stoicism, the Middle Academy, Skepticism, Gnosticism, Plotinus, Early
Christianity, Augustine, and Boethius. Prerequisite: 304 or consent of instructor.
470-6 (3,3) Greek Philosophy. (a) Plato. A general survey of the Platonic dialogues from the Socratic
period through the middle, with some selections from the Late period. Such Dialogues will be emphasized as:Protagoras, Gorgias, Euthydemus, Charmides, Meno, Phaedo, Symposium, Republic, Phaedrus, Sophist and
Timaeus. (b) Aristotle. A general survey of the Aristotelian philosophy including the theory of nature, metaphysics,
ethics, and political philosophy. Readings will consist of selections from the corpus. Prerequisite: 304
or consent of instructor.
471A-3 History of Medieval Philosophy. An examination of some of the most important figures and
themes in medieval philosophical thought. Medieval debates in the area of metaphysics, natural philosophy,
epistemology, ethics and politics will be explored in reading the works of such figures as Augustine, Boe-thius, Abelard Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Ockham and
Nicholas of Cusa. Prerequisite: 304 or consent of instructor.
471B-3 The Medieval Thinker. An examination of the thought of one of the central and most influential
figures of the medieval world. Possible subjects of the course are Augustine of Hippo, Al-Ghazali, Moses
Maimonides, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Dante Alighieri or William Ockham. Prerequisite:
304 or consent of instructor.
472-6 (3,3) The Rationalists. (a) Descartes. A study of the Philosophy of Rene Descartes, concentrating on
his major writings, Meditations, Discourse on Method and Principles of Philosophy, as well as his philosophical
correspondence. May include study of Descartes’ relation to the later Rationalists. (b) Study of the philosophy
of one or more of Spinoza, Leibniz, Arnauld, Malebranche, Wolff. May include study of the relation of
these philosophers to Descartes. Prerequisite: 305 or consent of instructor.
473-6 (3,3) The Empiricists. (a) Locke; (b) Hume. Study of the principles of British empiricism as
represented by either Locke or Hume. May also include study of Berkeley. Prerequisite: 305 or consent of instructor.
475-3 Topics in Asian Philosophy. Extended examination of one or two major texts, figures or philosophical
schools in Asian philosophy. Topics vary; students are advised to consult with the instructor.
476-3 Islamic Philosophy. An understanding of medieval Islamic philosophy and theology focusing on the
period of time from Al-Kindi (9th Century) to Averroes (12th Century).
477-3 Indian Philosophy. An examination of several major traditions and texts of Indian philosophy, such
as the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta, Nyaya, and contemporary philosophy, with an emphasis
on their social and historical contexts.
478-3 Buddhist Philosophy. An examination of several major philosophical traditions or figures in Buddhism,
such as Madhyamika, Yogacara, Zen, Mind-Only, and the Kyoto school, emphasis on their social and
historical contexts.
479-3 Chinese Philosophy. An examination of several major traditions of Chinese philosophy, such as
Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism and Maoism, Neoconfucianism, emphasis on their social and historical contexts.
480-3 History of Analytic Philosophy. An introduction to the works of several major 20th Century philosophers
in the analytic tradition, including several of the following: Frege, Russell, Moore, Wittgenstein
(early and later), members of the Vienna Circle, Ayer, Ryle, Quine, Putnam, Davidson. Includes discussion of
challenges to the tradition that have developed within it.
482-3 Recent European Philosophy. Philosophical trends in Europe from the end of the 19th Century to
the present. Phenomenology, existentialism, the new Marxism, structuralism, and other developments.
Language, history, culture and politics.
486-3 Early American Philosophy. From the Colonial period to the Eve of World War I. This course will
trace the transplantation of European philosophy to the New World. Puritanism, Quakerism, the theory of
the American Revolution, the philosophical basis of the Constitution, transcendentalism, idealism, Darwinism
and pragmatism and such figures as: Jonathan Edwards, John Woolman, Thomas Jefferson, James
Madison, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Josiah Royce, Charles Sanders Peirce, and William James.
487-3 Recent American Philosophy. From World War I to the Present. The major American philosophers
of the 20th Century, covering such issues as naturalism, emergentism, process philosophy, and neopragmatism.
Figures include: John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, George Santayana, Alfred N. Whitehead, C. I.
Lewis, W. V. Quine, and Richard Rorty.
490-1 to 8 Special Problems. Hours and credits to be arranged. Courses for qualified students who need to
pursue certain topics further than regularly titled courses permit. Special topics announced from time to
time. Students are invited to suggest topics. Prerequisite: consent of department.
491-1 to 6 Undergraduate Directed Readings. Supervised readings for qualified students. Open to undergraduates
only. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Additional hours beyond three (3) must have approval
of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
499-3 Senior Thesis. A paper on a topic agreed to by the student and a faculty thesis director. The paper
should be of sufficient length to manifest the student’s mastery of a philosophical area and logical and critical
skills. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor and department.
