Philosophy

Women's College and College of Adult Undergraduate Studies

Overview
Major
Minor
Four-Year plan
Course Descriptions

Maeve O'Donovan, Ph.D., Chair
Maria Kulp, Ph.D.
Desirée Melton, Ph.D.
Stephen Vicchio, Ph.D.

The philosophy department of the School of Arts and Sciences offers a major and minor in philosophy to students in the Women's College, and a minor to students in the College of Adult Undergraduate Studies. Philosophy courses are also offered in the university’s graduate programs. Philosophy, the oldest of the liberal arts, rests on Socrates' views that "all philosophy begins in wonder" and "the unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates promoted the practical uses of philosophy in everyday life and encouraged dialogue and vigorous debate as the most effective ways of discerning truth. In this Socratic spirit, the philosophy department seeks to assist the student in acquiring a fundamental and realistic understanding of herself and her world, to acquaint the student with the thinking of philosophers whose ideas have most influenced the development of our culture, and to engender in the student those habits of critical and systematic thinking that are necessary for a coherent view of the world. The philosophy department curriculum pays special attention to issues of social justice and diversity, providing courses in critical race theory, feminist philosophy, Islamic philosophy, and philosophy of disability.

Students with strong backgrounds in philosophy have chosen to attend graduate schools, including the Yale School of Divinity, American University, University of Chicago, University of Maryland School of Law, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, State University of New York at Binghamton, and University of Oklahoma. Others have accepted positions in the fields of education, business, law, politics and medicine.

Notre Dame's general education requirements include two courses in philosophy, one at the introductory 200-level and one at the 300-or 400-level.

To fulfill the general education requirement in values, a student may take PHL-322, 330, 334, 336, 339 or 471. PHL-323 fulfills the general education requirement in gender studies.

Students must earn of minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 in all courses taken to complete the requirements of the philosophy major.

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Program of Study

Required Courses for the Major in Philosophy (Credits)

The major consists of a total of 33 credits to include:

One introductory course (3)
IDS-172 Honors: The Axial Age: Philosophy of East and West
PHL-201 Introduction to Philosophy

One course in religion and human nature (3)
PHL-302 Philosophy of Human Nature
PHL-305 Philosophy of Religion
PHL-306 Problem of Evil
IDS-479 Honors: Philosophy through Literature

One course in metaphysics and epistemology (3)
PHL-321 Epistemology
PHL-374 Metaphysics
PHL-310 Logic
PHL-301 Honors: The Mind-Body Problem

One course in ethics (3)
PHL-330 Ethics
PHL-334 Business Ethics
PHL-336 Environmental Ethics
PHL-339 Medical Ethics
PHL-471 Honors: Morals and Mortality: Ethics of Exiting

One course in value theory (3)
PHL-322 Social & Political Philosophy
PHL-324 Critical Theories of Race
PHL-323 Feminist Philosophy
PHL-320 Aesthetics

Two courses from the historical sequence (6)
PHL-303 Ancient Philosophy
PHL-304 Medieval Philosophy
PHL-307 History of Modern Philosophy
PHL-309 History of Contemporary Philosophy

One seminar (3)
PHL-422 Major Themes in Philosophy
PHL-424 Major Figures in Philosophy

Two electives at the 300- or 400-level (6)
PHL-411 Senior Thesis (3)

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Minor in Philosophy

The philosophy department also offers a minor in philosophy that consists of 18 credit hours of course work in philosophy. Courses for the minor are chosen by the student and should be selected in consultation with a faculty member in the philosophy department.

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Philosophy Four-Year Plan

Sample program of study for the philosophy major. Students should select courses with the assistance of a faculty advisor.

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Course Descriptions

PHL-201 Introduction to Philosophy
Studies some of the major issues that have intrigued reflective people from time immemorial: How do we know? What is human nature? Is there life after death? Where did the universe originate? We will evaluate replies suggested from the time of Plato to the 20th century. Fulfills general education requirement for 200-level course. [3 credits]

PHL-301 Honors: The Mind-Body Problem
Introduces students to the problematic nature of the statement “our minds control our bodies.” Identifies the philosophical and psychological assumptions underlying this statement. Examines the contradictions and unrecognized implications of these assumptions. Explores alternative accounts of what is known, in philosophy and psychology, as mind-body interaction, including accounts that deny the existence of mind, and/or provides alternative models. Prerequisites: IDS-172 or PHL-201 and PSY-101. Fulfills general education requirement in upper-level philosophy. [3 credits]

PHL-302 Philosophy of Human Nature
Explores the meaning and nature of human existence. Investigates both classic and contemporary answers to the following questions: Is the person a body or a mind? Are we free or determined? What grounds do we have for belief in God? On what principles do we judge things right or wrong? Why should citizens obey the law? What things do we call art? When can I say "I know"? What is the meaning of life? Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-303 Ancient Philosophy
Explores the major philosophical thinkers and movements in Western philosophy from the pre-Socratics to the works of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisites: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-304 Medieval Philosophy
Examines the major philosophical thinkers and movements in Western philosophy from St. Augustine in the fifth century to responses to Thomas Aquinas in the 14th and 15th centuries.  Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisites: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-305 Philosophy of Religion
Investigates major thinkers and issues in the history of philosophy of religion, including: the attributes and existence of God, the problem of evil, the nature of miracles, survival after death, and other issues. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisites: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-306 The Problem of Evil
Analyzes the Judeo-Christian tradition's responses to the problem of evil: If God is all good, all knowing and all powerful, then why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-307 History of Modern Philosophy
Explores Western philosophic thought from the 17th and 19th centuries through the works of select Continental Rationalists and British Empiricists. Special emphasis is placed on their metaphysical and epistemological views. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200- level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-309 History of Contemporary Philosophy
Considers the questions (and answers) that dominate 19th and 20th century Western philosophy. Investigates the origins and themes of American pragmatism, Anglo-American philosophy of language, existential-phenomenology, critical theory and postmodernism. Offers an opportunity to make sense of emerging issues and debates in 21st century philosophy. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-310 Logic
This course will address topics in both informal and formal logic, with an emphasis on formal logic. Topics covered will include argument identification and structure, the translation of English statements into propositional form, the use of truth tables, and natural deduction in propositional logic. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level philosophy. [3 credits]

PHL-320 Aesthetics
Explores the philosophy of beauty. What is the nature, function and value of a work of art? What is the relationship between art and reality? What is the relationship between the artist and the audience? Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400- level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-321 Epistemology
Analyzes the nature and scope of human knowledge. Focuses on the ways in which knowing, believing and having an opinion differ, and investigates the limitations of reason and the boundaries of human understanding. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]
 
PHL-322 Social and Political Philosophy
Examines the origins and justifications of various social and political systems from ancient through contemporary times. Topics addressed may include: The moral justification of particular forms of government, the definition of community and the relationship of the individual to the community, and the importance of race and gender in society. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course and values. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-323 Feminist Philosophy
Investigates the meaning and significance of lived, bodily experience in the formation of human consciousness. Evaluates the history of Western Philosophy from the perspective of those who were once seen as marginal to it, and in doing so elucidates the many debates within Feminist Philosophy about the nature and limits of the philosophical enterprise. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course and gender. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-324 Critical Theories of Race
Examines the concept of race and the phenomenon of racism in the United States. Topics addressed may include: the concept of race as both constructed and real, the politics of racialized identity, theorizing multiple oppressions, white privilege and epistemologies of ignorance. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-330 Ethics
Introduces contemporary moral issues in light of systems suggested by major thinkers such as Aristotle, J. S. Mill and Kant. Includes considerations of topics such as abortion, euthanasia, cloning and capital punishment. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level and values. [3 credits]

PHL-334 Business Ethics
Discusses ethics as a dimension of social responsibility, the role of corporate culture in business, and emerging issues in business ethics, such as the ways in which differences will affect ethical decision making. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course and values. [3 credits]
 
PHL-336 Environmental Ethics
Addresses a variety of challenging issues in environmental ethics. Topics considered may include, among others: the status of non-human animals, farming and the environment, global climate change, inter-generational justice, issues of land use, the preservation of forests and wilderness, and the use and development of energy resources. Through an examination of some of these issues, the course also introduces students to a variety of moral theories, from both philosophical and religious perspectives. The social, gender, and environmental justice implications of ecological issues are a major concern of the course.Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course and values. Cross-listed with ENV 336. [3 credits]

PHL-339 Medical Ethics
Evaluates the traditional foundations of moral theory in the West, with special emphasis on issues in medical ethics. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course and values. Prerequisites: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-374 Metaphysics
Examines major thinkers and questions in metaphysics in the Western philosophical tradition. Studies the concept of "being," with special attention to the principles and classes of being, and investigates the notion of causality. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level philosophy course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-376 Honors: Human Flourishing
Requires students to examine, in a seminar format, the representations of human flourishing presented in Ancient philosophy and literature. Ancient texts, such as Homer’s Odyssey, Plato's dialogues, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, and Greek tragedies present myriad understandings of the relationship between moral goodness, luck, and human flourishing. These topics will be studied with a focus on primary texts, hand in hand with contemporary philosophical writings on relevant themes. Prerequisite: Morrissy Scholar or permission and 200-level PHL course. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-411 Senior Thesis
Student designs a research project culminating in a thesis on a philosophical issue. At the end of the semester, the student will give an oral presentation of her thesis to department faculty and students.Prerequisite: Morrissy Scholar or permission and 200-level PHL course. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-401 Topics
Students explore an area of emerging interest to contemporary philosophers. Past topics include: The Ethics of Autism, Happiness. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-422 Major Themes in Philosophy
Provides an in-depth exploration of a major theme, concept, framework, or idea central to the discipline of philosophy. May be taken twice on different themes. Past themes include: Philosophy of Mind & Disability, Virtue Theory & Anti-Theory. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-424 Major Figures in Philosophy
Provides an in-depth exploration of a major figure or group of figures, either historical or contemporary, central to the discipline of philosophy. May be taken twice on different figures. Past thinkers include: Islamic Philosophy, Immanuel Kant, Simone de Beauvoir. Fulfills general education requirements for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course. [3 credits]

PHL-427 Study Abroad: Connemara, Ireland
A short-term, retreat style learning opportunity that takes place at Kylemore Abbey, the oldest of Irish Benedictine abbeys. Lectures on Ireland’s history and geography, its poets and artists, are supplemented by readings in contemporary philosophy and Yoga contemplative practice. Participants will have daily opportunities to gather and reflect on the connections between philosophy, spirituality, and poetry, and are encouraged to bring supplies for expressing their thoughts more creatively (in drawings, paintings, and poetry). Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course or permission of instructor. [3 credits]

PHL-463 Independent Study
Provides an opportunity for independent work on an approved topic in philosophy. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite:200-level philosophy course; one 300-level course; and permission of instructor. [3 credits]

PHL-465 Directed Readings in Philosophy
Provides an opportunity to explore an area of the student's particular interest under the guidance of a member of the department to permit intensive examination of the area of special interest. Fulfills general education requirement for 300/400-level course. Prerequisite: one 200-level philosophy course; one 300-level philosophy course; permission of the instructor. [3 credits]

PHL-471 Honors: Morals and Mortality: Ethics of Exiting
Considers the structure and foundations of morality with special emphasis on ethical problems related to death and dying. Fulfills general education requirement in philosophy and values. Prerequisite: 200-level philosophy course, Morrissy scholar or permission. [3 credits]

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