Philosophy

Foundational methods and central issues in contemporary philosophy including logic, epistemology, metaphysics and ethics. Advising and orientation to the Philosophy major for freshmen in their first quarter at Cal Poly. 4 lectures.

Principles of argument analysis, evaluation and construction. Deductive and inductive reasoning, including analogical arguments, universal and statistical generalizations, and causal inferences. Principles of organizing and writing argumentative essays. Moral dimensions of rational discourse. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Area A3 with a grade of C- or better.

Critical examination of primary philosophical works with focus on the nature of reality and the sources and limits of human knowledge. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HNRS/PHIL 230. Fulfills GE Area C2 (GE Area C1 or GE Area C2 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Critical examination of primary philosophical works, with focus on the identification and evaluation of the central ethical, social and political themes and arguments presented in them. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HNRS/PHIL 231. Fulfills GE Area C2 (GE Area C1 or GE Area C2 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The nature of deductive logical systems. Methods of notation, translation and proof in sentential and predicate calculi including truth-trees and natural deduction systems. Introduction to meta-theory. 4 lectures.

Directed group study of selected topics. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 1 to 4 lectures.

Develop writing and research skills by composing a substantial research paper on a specific topic. Revisions based on instructor and peer feedback. Oral presentation of research project. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. 4 lectures.

Examination and analysis of philosophical areas, movements, texts, or figures. Topics may be of historical or contemporary importance. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 16 units. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Beginnings of Western philosophy and science in Ancient Greece. The Presocratics, Socrates, and Plato. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Development of Western philosophy and science in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Aristotle, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Skepticism. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Development of Western philosophy from Augustine to Ockham, including Anselm, Abelard, Roger Bacon, Bonaventure, Aquinas, and Duns Scotus. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Development of Western philosophy from the late Renaissance through Leibniz, with special emphasis upon the epistemology and metaphysics of the Continental Rationalists. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Development of Western philosophy from the Renaissance through Mill, with special emphasis on British Empiricism. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Primary issues and concepts found in German philosophy from 1780 to 1900, with emphasis on Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Major developments within 20th century British and American philosophy, with focus chiefly around Analytic philosophy. Other schools, such as Pragmatism, may be included, as may some philosophers outside of Britain and America whose work was influential in those countries. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Methods and uses of phenomenological analysis through study of 20th century philosophers and contemporary applications. Topics include phenomenological method, perception, meaning, and the role of experience in philosophical inquiry. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Major existentialist philosophers of the 19th and 20th century such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, and Marcel. Existentialist themes in historical or contemporary context. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The rational foundations of inquiry and explanation in the physical, biological and social sciences. Justification of scientific claims, the difference between science and pseudoscience, the relationship between science and other fields of investigation. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Analyses of the philosophical foundations and implications of technology. Technology and the human condition, technology and philosophical ethics, technology and political philosophy, technology and the metaphysics of human nature, and the relationship between science and technology. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Ethical decision-making as applied to issues such as the use of robots, the treatment of animals, sustainability, scientific fraud, feminist analysis of science and technology, as well as questions about whether technology is just a value-neutral tool or, rather, embodies certain values. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as HNRS 325/PHIL 323. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Introduction, short history, and overview of robot (meta)ethics, with applied ethics issues to include programming, environment, military uses, sex, legal implications, risk, liability, diversity, sustainability, healthcare, education, religion, and the home. Finally, future issues of robot rights and personhood. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Ethics of killing in warfare, including requirements of justice in declaring and waging war. Topics include terrorism, remotely piloted aircraft ('drones'), autonomous weapons ('killer robots'), cyber warfare, nuclear war, city bombing, and humanitarian intervention. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Analyses of various traditional and contemporary positions on the difference between right and wrong, if there is one. Theories of metaethics and normative ethics including the divine command theory, relativism, intuitionism, noncognitivism, virtue ethics, egoism, utilitarianism and duty-based ethics. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The history of moral thought from Homer and the Pre-Socratics to the 20th century, and focus on theories of moral goodness and rightness of action. Related issues and areas of thought, e.g. metaphysics, theology, science, politics, psychology freedom/determinism to be considered, where they shed light on moral thought. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Analyses of the philosophical foundations of political ideologies, including theories of political authority, legitimacy, obligation, and rights, and of the proper function of the state, and the relation of these theories to issues in meta-physics, theory of knowledge, and ethics. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Normative and analytic questions about law. Nature of law and legal systems. Justification of law. Moral obligation to obey the law. Nature and justification of punishment. Guilt and legal responsibility. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Examination of contemporary moral problems, solutions to these problems, and the arguments for these solutions, with emphasis on two or more of the following sample problem areas: abortion, suicide and euthanasia, capital punishment, family ethics, race relations, social justice, war, women's issues. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as PHIL 335/HNRS 336. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs); and USCP.

Critical examination of the relations between gender, sexuality, ethnicity, society and ethics from feminist perspectives, with special attention paid to problems in contemporary applied ethics. Joint focus on theory and application. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as PHIL/WGQS 336. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs); and USCP. Formerly WGS 336.

Critical examination of ethical problems that arise in business. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Critical examination of problems in biomedical ethics, proposed solutions to these problems, and the arguments for such solutions. Emphasis on two or more of the following sample problem areas: concepts of health and disease, human experimentation, informed consent, behavior control, genetic intervention, new birth technologies, euthanasia and physician-assisted dying. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Analyses of various positions on the moral status of nonhuman entities and problems such as the treatment of animals, wilderness preservation, population, pollution and global warming. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Moral problems as they arise in professions such as law, medicine, engineering, research and education: deception, paternalism, confidentiality, discrimination and others. Consideration of various professional codes of ethics. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Inquiry into the rational and nonrational bases of religious claims. Arguments for and against the existence of God. Discussion of miracles, revelation, the definition of God, the problem of evil, the relation of faith and reason, the nature of religious experience, the verification of religious claims. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Analysis of social alienation, political resistance, and the interplay between power and individual life in 20th- and 21st-century Continental philosophy. Emphasis on issues such as structural injustice, cultural membership and exclusion, work, media, and the political impact of technology. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Critical examination of philosophical views of art from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Treatment of theories from Plato and Aristotle through those of the twentieth century. Discussion of the problems raised by modern art. The relation between aesthetic values and metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Analysis of philosophical issues related to literature such as interpretation, authorial intention, linguistic expression, ethical responsibilities of writers and readers, and use of literary styles by philosophers. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Philosophies developed in South Asia including the metaphysical, epistemological, and logical presuppositions of the six Hindu schools, the Buddhist and Jain schools, and select theistic traditions. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Philosophies developed in China, Japan and East Asia, including Buddhism, Confucian moral philosophy, Daoist metaphysics and social ecology. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Primary issues and developments in European philosophy in the second half of the 20th century. Examination of the influence of postmodern philosophy in areas such as art, literature, architecture, culture studies, philosophy of language, and philosophy of religion. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Preparation for participation in Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl competitions. Preparation and discussion of current competition cases, development of research and presentation skills, and participation in competition. Field trips required. Total credit limited to 12 units. Credit/No Credit grading only. Course offered in hybrid format with classroom-based and online learning. 2 laboratories and competition time.

Individual investigation, research, studies or surveys of selected problems. Total credit limited to 8 units, with a maximum of 4 units per quarter.

Traditional and current ideas and arguments about substance, the relation of universals to particulars, space and time, events, causation and necessity, the self and free will. 4 lectures.

Analysis of the concept of knowledge. Development of competing theories of epistemic justification and truth. Inquiry into relationship between knowledge, belief, justification and truth. Examination of skepticism. 4 lectures.

Investigation of the philosophical foundations and interpretation of relativity theory and elementary quantum mechanics. Emphasis on philosophical issues relevant to contemporary philosophy of science such as scientific realism. Some discussion of very recent theories of space, time, and matter. 4 lectures.

Classic and current work in the problems and issues of the nature and unity of the self, consciousness, mental representations, and action, and of the relation of philosophy of mind to psychology, linguistics and computer science. 4 lectures.

Traditional and contemporary philosophical issues that arise from the structure of language. Relevant concepts include: syntax, semantics, pragmatics, meaning, reference, truth, identity, thought, reality. Important distinctions: use/ mention, relations/properties of relations, sentences/statements/-propositions. 4 lectures.

Advanced discussion of selected topics in the history of philosophy. Examination and analysis of important philosophical movements (e.g., positivism, postmodernism) or alternatively, of particular philosophers or philosophical works of exceptional importance (e.g., David Hume; Kant's Critique of Pure Reason). The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 16 units. 4 lectures.

Advanced discussion of selected topics in ethics and political philosophy. Examination and analysis of significant ethical or political theories (e.g., utilitarianism, contractarianism) or alternatively, of particular philosophers or philosophical works of exceptional importance (e.g., John Stuart Mill; John Rawls' A Theory of Justice). The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 16 units. 4 lectures.

Advanced discussion of selected topics in recent philosophy. Examination and analysis of important recent movements in central philosophical areas (e.g., metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind) or, alternatively, of particular philosophers or philosophical works of exceptional recent importance. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 16 units. 4 lectures.

Group and individual discussion of senior project advisor selection and initial research for senior project. Library research training, completion of exit interview, and career advising for Philosophy majors nearing graduation. Credit/No Credit grading only. Course may be offered in classroom-based or online format. 1 activity.

Selection, initial development, and formulation of a research plan for a project conducted under faculty supervision. Minimum of 30 hours per quarter. Credit/No Credit grading only.

Development and completion of a research project under faculty supervision. Results presented in a formal thesis. Minimum of 60 hours per quarter.

Directed group study of selected topics for advanced students. The Class Schedule will list topics selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 1 to 4 lectures.

Examine how interactions between religious traditions shape society at various levels. Case studies drawn from eastern and western religious traditions during the ancient and modern periods. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Area D2 (GE Area D2 or GE Area D3 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Exploration and analysis of the person of Jesus. Includes examination of our sources of knowledge about him, his self-understanding, and various interpretations of him in historical, comparative, and contemporary settings. 4 lectures.

Directed group study of selected topics. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 1 to 4 lectures.

Comparative study of the religions of Asia, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, and the religions of China. Topics include historical continuities/discontinuities, worldviews, sacred texts, practices, responses to modernity, the place of women across the traditions. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

An introduction to the global religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with a focus on their shared origin in the Patriarch Abraham. Topics include for each religion: the origins, worldview, scripture, practices, and relationship to modernity. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Origins, beliefs and practices of Judaism and central themes in the Hebrew Bible. The development of Judaism in the post-biblical and Talmudic period. Jewish philosophy, life, rituals and customs. The emergence of modern Judaism, Zionism and post-Holocaust philosophy. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Origins, beliefs and practices of Hinduism from the Veda and the Upanishads through the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas. Modern Hindu institutions, saints and sages, and social philosophy contrasted with the ancient. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Buddhist origins, viewpoints and practices will be seen in their development in India, Tibet, China, Japan, South Asia and America. The life of Buddha, Gautama, the rise of Theravada, Mahayana and Tantra. Encounters with Shinto and Confucianism. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The development of the Christian religion from the story of Jesus, the New Testament, Church formation, the role of St. Paul, dissenting ideas, Protestant and Catholic views, and contemporary issues of conscience, such as the Social Gospel and liberation theologies. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The development of Islamic civilization from the inspiration of the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad and the Sunni-Shi'i split to contemporary political and social issues. Emphasis of Sufi literature, art, architecture, and philosophies of Islam. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Examination of religion from an academic perspective by surveying the various historical approaches employed within the discipline of religious studies to collect, analyze, and interpret religious phenomena cross-culturally. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division D (GE Area D5 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Critical examination of religious ideas and institutions in the United States. Focus on interlocking systems of sex, gender, race, class and religion; individual and group experiences at the intersection of religion, politics and culture. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as RELS/WGQS 370. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs); and USCP. Formerly WGS 370.

Shaping influence of ascetics, mystics and the insane on global religious traditions. Topics may include the relationship between spiritual extremists and society, cultural construction of holiness and insanity, and literary depictions of spiritual extremists. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Historical and contemporary case studies of how various religions have condoned, motivated and justified violence. The place of sacrifice, martyrdom, self-injury and forced conversion in religious doctrines. Representations of religious violence in the media. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Descriptive analysis of how diverse religious traditions construct moral decisions about a variety of contemporary issues including sexuality, ecology, and justice. Challenges for religious value systems in secular and pluralistic societies. Course may be offered in classroom-based, online, or hybrid format. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

The root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its current manifestation. Possibilities for solutions from the perspectives of religious studies and political science. 4 lectures. Crosslisted as POLS/RELS 380.

Examination and analysis of religious and spiritual themes and traditions. Topics may be of historical or contemporary importance. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 16 units. 4 lectures. Fulfills GE Upper-Division C (GE Area C4 for students on the 2019-20 or earlier catalogs).

Individual investigation, research, studies or surveys of selected problems. Total credit limited to 4 units.

Directed group study of selected topics for advanced students. The Class Schedule will list topics selected. Total credit limited to 8 units. 1 to 4 lectures.

An in-depth examination and analysis of specific religious and spiritual themes, traditions, texts, and figures. Topics may be of historical or contemporary importance. The Class Schedule will list topic selected. Total credit limited to 16 units; repeatable in the same term. 4 lectures.