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Philosophy Minor
The following curriculum pertains to students who wish to complete a philosophy minor in conjunction with a major in another department, school or program.
With the undergraduate advisor, a student may design a minor program with an emphasis that complements a special interest. For example, programs may be designed for students with an interest in law, language, natural or social science, history of ideas, social theory, value theory or logic.
Program Requirements
Lower Division Requirements
The following suggested courses provide a good basis for upper division courses. Other combinations are possible, and the student who has particular upper division courses in mind should confirm prerequisites.
An introduction to some of the central problems of philosophy. Topics to be discussed include the different theories of reality; the nature and sources of knowledge, truth, evidence, and reason; the justification of belief and knowledge about the universe. These topics and problems will be considered as they arise in the context of issues such as: relativism versus absolutism; the existence of God; personal identity; the nature of the mind and its relation to the body; free will and determinism; the possibility of moral knowledge. Open to all students. Students with credit for PHIL 100 may not take this course for further credit. Writing/Breadth-Humanities.
An introduction to the central problems of ethics: for example, the nature of right and wrong, the objectivity or subjectivity of moral judgments, the relativity or absolutism of values, the nature of human freedom and responsibility. The course will also consider general moral views such as utilitarianism, theories of rights and specific obligations, and the ethics of virtue. These theories will be applied to particular moral problems such as abortion, punishment, distributive justice, freedom of speech, and racial and sexual equality. Sometimes the course will also focus on important historical figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Mill. Open to all students. Students with credit for PHIL 120 may not take this course for further credit. Writing/Breadth-Humanities.
An introduction to philosophical issues concerning the nature of science. Topics to be discussed include the distinction between science and pseudo-science, the nature of scientific method, the nature of explanation in the natural and social sciences, the phenomenon of scientific change, the relationship between scientific theory and observation, and the objectivity of social science. Students who have completed PHIL 244 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities/Science. Equivalent Courses: PHIL244. Breadth-Humanities/Science.
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A survey of philosophic thought from late antiquity to the Renaissance. Special attention will be given to the works of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas. The views of these great thinkers have helped to shape the ways in which we see the world. This course is therefore recommended to everyone with an interest in our intellectual heritage. Open to all students. Breadth-Humanities.
A survey of philosophic thought from the Renaissance to the 20th Century. Special attention will be given to the works of Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel and Mill. The views of these great thinkers have helped to shape the ways in which we see the world. This course is therefore recommended to everyone with an interest in our intellectual heritage. Open to all students. Breadth-Humanities.
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A critical overview of recent accounts of the nature and scope of human knowledge and of justified or rational belief, and of philosophical issues that these accounts are intended to address. Prerequisite: one of PHIL 100W, 144, 150, or 151, or COGS 100. Students who have taken PHIL 301 cannot take this course for further credit.
An examination of central problems of metaphysics such as space and time, universals and particulars, substance, identity and individuation and personal identity. Prerequisite: One of PHIL 100, 150, 151, or COGS 100.
Upper Division Requirements
Students must complete at least 15 upper division units.
Seminars and Special Topics Courses
A student may not enrol in a philosophy seminar or selected topics course which duplicates work for which the student has received credit in another philosophy seminar or special topics course.
Faculty Requirements
In addition to the above requirements, students must also satisfy their for the completion of their undergraduate degree.
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