Philosophy

Courses

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PHILOS R1B Reading and Composition Through Philosophy 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018
Training in writing expository prose in conjunction with reading philosophical texts. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.
Reading and Composition Through Philosophy: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: R1A offered by any department, or an equivalent course

Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Alternative to final exam.

Reading and Composition Through Philosophy: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 2 Individual Morality and Social Justice 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Summer 2019 8 Week Session, Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session
Introduction to ethical and political philosophy.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Individual Morality and Social Justice: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 3 The Nature of Mind 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Summer 2019 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session
Introduction to the philosophy of mind. Topics to be considered may include the relation between mind and body; the structure of action; the nature of desires and beliefs; the role of the unconscious.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

The Nature of Mind: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 4 Knowledge and Its Limits 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
Introduction to the theory of knowledge.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Knowledge and Its Limits: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 5 Science and Human Understanding 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2012
Introduction to the Philosophy of Science.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Science and Human Understanding: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 6 Man, God, and Society in Western Literature 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2013, Summer 2011 Second 6 Week Session
Philosophical issues as expressed in poetry, drama, and the novel. This course will compare and contrast the Greek, Medieval, and modern worlds, as reflected in their greatest literature, with special emphasis on the role of the community in reconciling conflicts between sub-groups in society and the individual's ability to understand and control his own life. We will also follow man's realization that the changing answers to these questions are themselves self-interpretations.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Man, God, and Society in Western Literature: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 7 Existentialism in Literature and Film 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Summer 2013 10 Week Session, Summer 2013 Second 6 Week Session
Christian, agnostic, and atheistic existentialism as expressed in the works of Dostoyevsky, Melville, Kafka, Antonioni, Goddard, etc.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Existentialism in Literature and Film: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 10 Comparative Ethics 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2015
A comparative study of topics in Chinese and Western ethical traditions. Topics include love, compassion, benevolence; rituals, filial obligations, the individual and the family; pride, shame, guilt; conscientiousness, courage, wisdom; trustworthiness, forms of integrity; concepts of the self; self-cultivation; human nature, destiny, the cosmic order; the concept of morality, morality and tradition. The course will conclude with a discussion of metaethical issues concerning the confrontation between rival ethical traditions and methodological issues in the study of comparative ethics.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Shun

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PHILOS 11 Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
A survey of basic issues in contemporary philosophy of religion, exploring arguments about God's existence, the status of religious experiences and beliefs, how souls might interact with bodies, and the relationship of God to morality.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 12A Introduction to Logic 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Summer 2019 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session
Syntax, semantics, and proof theory of sentential and predicate logic.
Introduction to Logic: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Credit Restrictions: Students can remove a deficient grade in PHILOS 12A by passing PHILOS W12A. Students who pass PHILOS W12A receive no credit for passing PHILOS 12A.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Introduction to Logic: Read Less [-]

PHILOS W12A Introduction to Logic 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Summer 2019 8 Week Session, Summer 2018 8 Week Session
Intended as a first course in logic for students with no previous exposure to the subject, the course treats symbolic logic. Students will learn to formalize reasoning in symbolic languages with precisely defined meanings and rules of inference. Symbolic logic is by nature a mathematical subject, but the course does not presuppose any prior coursework in mathematics—only an openness to mathematical reasoning.

The course concentrates on three systems of symbolic logic: propositional logic (or sentential logic); syllogistic logic; and predicate logic (or first-order logic). Students from philosophy, mathematics, computer science, and linguistics will find important connections between symbolic logic and their other coursework.
Introduction to Logic: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Credit Restrictions: Students can remove a deficient grade in PHILOS W12A by passing PHILOS 12A. Students who pass PHILOS 12A receive no credit for passing PHILOS W12A.

Hours & Format

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of web-based lecture and 4 hours of web-based discussion per week

Online: This is an online course.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Holliday

Introduction to Logic: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 13 Business Ethics 3 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Summer 1997 10 Week Session
This course addresses the nature of ethical motivation and agency, with special attention to the individual's role in a business organization. Topics include theories of ethical motivation; individual character and organizational culture; personal integrity; corporate agency; corporate responsibility to society.
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Hours & Format

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Merritt

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PHILOS 16 Introduction to Metaphysics 3 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Summer 2002 10 Week Session, Summer 2001 10 Week Session, Summer 2000 10 Week Session
This course is an introduction to some of the traditional questions in metaphysics--the study of what there is in the world and how what there is is structured. Topics will include free will and determinism, the mind-body problem, and personal identity. If time permits, we will also examine arguments for the existence of God.
Introduction to Metaphysics: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Introduction to Metaphysics: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 17 Concepts of the Person in Novel, Drama, and Film 3 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
In any culture, the way we act implies some view of what it is to be a person, and indeed what it is to be a particular kind of person, e.g., black or white, male or female, citizen or non-citizen. This view determines what roles and privileges are available to specific individuals and how these individuals will think of themselves and evaluate their actions and obligations. We will focus on works of philosophy, literature and film which have had a powerful and lasting impact on our culture.
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Hours & Format

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Concepts of the Person in Novel, Drama, and Film: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 18 Confucius for Today 4 Units [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
The teachings of Confucius (6th to 5th century B.C.) have had a profound influence on Chinese and East Asian cultures, and have attracted significant interest throughout the world. In what ways are they still of relevance to life in the twenty-first century? The course will consider the contemporary implications of Confucius’ teachings for such topics as: family, rituals, life and death, fate, contentment and anxiety, anger and resentment, courage, respectfulness, modesty and humility, trustworthiness, learning, self-cultivation, semblances of virtue. In addition to reading selected passages from the Analects, we will also consider commentaries by later Confucians and read contemporary philosophical articles on the relevant topics.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Shun

Confucius for Today: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 24 Freshman Seminar 1 Unit [+]Expand course description

Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment is limited to 15 freshmen.
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Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered...