Chair: Mario Sáenz
Professors: Sáenz, Schonsheck
Associate Professors: Arnault, Flower, Kagan
Assistant Professors: Brockelman, Day, Lahey, MacKendrick
Adjunct Faculty: Arentz, Daly, Giegengack-Jureller, Hight, Malikow, Radcliffe, Zammiello
Emerita: Hanley
Emeritus: R. O'Brien, C. Kelly, Kent

The goal of Le Moyne's department of philosophy is to orient students in the development of critical and speculative thought, under conditions of intellectual and affective freedom, and with a sense of openness towards alternative visions of life-experience. The study of philosophy at Le Moyne is pluralistic in approach. As such, it allows majors and non-majors alike to focus on those philosophical themes that best respond to their individual concerns and vocational aspirations. These include graduate study in philosophy or related disciplines (e.g., religious studies; women's studies; critical, literary, and film theory; etc.), professional studies (in law, medicine, or the ministry), and other career studies (in civil rights, ecology, etc.)

The core program of studies is meant to serve not only specialists, but all students, to the extent that questions proper to philosophy are common to everyone and should be thematically studied by every liberally educated person. The core program is intended to clarify philosophic questions about human life and reality generally and to help them develop a philosophic understanding of their world and a method for enlarging that understanding in the future. See page 31 for regulations concerning sequence of core courses.

The philosophy curriculum for majors emphasizes the study of the history of philosophy and provides the opportunity to reflect on principal thematic clusters. These include Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy; Philosophy and Culture; Philosophy of religion; Histories and Genres of Philosophy; Logic; Epistemology; and Philosophy of Science. A student who majors in philosophy must take (1) the requirements of the core, (2) a course in logic (PHL 217 or PHL 312), (3) two courses in the history of philosophy (to be chosen from PHL 313, PHL 314, PHL 315, and PHL 318), and (4) five additional major elective courses.

PHILOSOPHY MAJOR

*Intermediate level in a foreign language is required. For those students who require the introductory course, 12 hours will be necessary to achieve this level.

A student wishing to minor in philosophy must complete five courses in philosophy, at least one of which must be a philosophy elective. All philosophy electives except PHL 490-499 are open to non-majors. Most electives in philosophy may be taken as soon as PHL 201 has been completed.

CORE COURSES

PHL 101. Philosophical Foundations of Western Thought (3).

This course explores the nature of philosophical inquiry through a consideration of the writings of major figures in the history of Western thought up to 1650. Philosophers to be considered will include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and Descartes. Some effort will be made to reflect on the world views these philosophers represent, the cultural assumptions and values (e.g., ethnocentrism, gender and racial biases) operative in these world views and the effects of these assumptions on philosophical thinking.

PHL 201. Philosophical Perspectives on the Human Situation (3).

This course examines a variety of interpretations of the human situation, drawn from the following categories: (1) the Western intellectual tradition since 1650; (2) contemporary thought; and (3) non-Western thought (e.g., Eastern, African, Latin American). Issues pertaining to (a) gender and the human situation and (b) race and the human situation will also be considered.

PHL 301-303. Ethics (3).

These courses investigate the philosophical foundations of normative ethics in an effort to clarify the status of moral values in human life. The topics considered in these courses include the study of moral concepts, the characteristics of moral reasoning and the nature of moral responsibility. (Any one of these courses satisfies the third year core requirement in ethics.)

PHL 301. General Ethics (3).

This course investigates the nature and kinds of values that affect the quality of human life. It examines the basis of moral responsibility, the notions of good, right and ought, as well as the special characteristics of moral reasoning. Within the time available, specific types of conduct are examined as morally good or bad, in the light of the grounds of goodness discovered and the method of reasoning found appropriate to moral judgment. Prior to registration, faculty teaching sections of this course will publish an appropriate syllabus to help guide students in their choice of courses. Prerequisites: PHL 101, 201.

PHL 302. Issues in Ethics (3).

This course attempts to investigate the ethical dimension of the human condition by focusing on a specific set of ethical problems or by focusing on a particular perspective of special interest to those carrying on the investigation. This course might well include such issues as capital punishment, euthanasia and the quality of the environment. It might also study various questions and problems that arise when one considers issues of gender and race. Prior to registration, faculty teaching sections of this course will publish an appropriate syllabus to help guide students in their choice of courses. Prerequisites: PHL 101, 201.

PHL 303. Great Traditions in Ethics (3).

This course aims at an understanding of the activity of making moral judgments or affirming one value or set of values over another. At issue are, typically, the meaning of the words spoken when people make ethical assertions, the possibility of justifying or proving the truth of such assertions and the implications of discovering situations in which the ethical dimension is problematic. Integral to this course is a study of these questions in the light of the great traditions of ethical thinking as they have come to light in the various wisdom literatures. Prior to registration, faculty teaching sections of this course will publish an appropriate syllabus to help guide students in their choice of courses. Prerequisites: PHL 101, 201.

PHL 304. Issues in Medical Ethics (3).

Using a practical, context-specific approach that is sensitive to the philosophical, scientific, social, legal and economic dimensions that shape and define the field of bioethics, this course is devoted to a detailed study of ethical issues debated in the health professions. Specific topics will vary, but may include some of the following: death and dying, the medicines, choices in reproduction, presymptomatic testing for genetic disease, AIDS and social justice, allocation of medical resources, and access to health care. Open only to students in the Physician Assistant Program.

PHL 357 (CFM 408). Ethics and the Health Professions (3).

See course description for CFM 408.

PHL 400-419. Seminars in Philosophy (3).

A selection of integrative seminars designed to investigate the presuppositions, structures and images that underlie the human attempt to understand and participate in the world. Each seminar will focus on a theme of general scope and significance and, in so doing, will enable students to come to a reflective understanding of their own assumptions and values in the context of what they have encountered in their previous years of study. Emphasis will be placed on student discussion and active integration of material through written work and class presentations.

PHL 401. Philosophy Seminar: Dualisms Which Have Shaped Our Culture (3).

The structuring of reality as a duality or opposition-self/other, mind/body, reason/emotion, male/female, limitation/transdecendence, spirituality/materiality, -is a dominant theme in Western philosophical thought. Such structures have also powerfully affected our social and personal realities: the way we treat those who are different from us, which human qualities we see as valuable and which we deem inferior, the way we interpret our own experiences, the way we perceive and evaluate the world around us. This course will examine the philosophical sources and continuing contemporary expression of some of the central dualisms that have shaped our culture. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which dualisms have shaped the development of Western ideas about objectivity, medical technology, health, disease, disability, the female body, aging, death and dying. Prerequisites: PHL 101, 201, 301, or 302 or 303.

PHL 402. Philosophy Seminar: Romance, Myth and Logos: A Philosophical Study of the Structures of Meaning (3).

Whether through a poem, a philosophical reflection, a piece of music or work of art, whether through falling in love, the power and challenge of one's life's vocation or a meandering boat ride up the Merrimac River, each of us has experienced the sublime state of meaningfulness. Some may have also experienced, in the evaporation of such meaning, the specter of meaninglessness. This course brings the tools of philosophical analysis to bear upon the phenomenon of meaning or meaningfulness. Through careful phenomenological study of the richly variated "family" of meaning-structures, each participant is provided with an opportunity for a critical understanding of the nature of humankind's engagement with meaningfulness. The course is predicated upon a presumed intimacy between our concern with meaning and the phenomenon romance. Thus, the distinctive but intertwined roles of mythos and logos in the creation of romance will serve as thematic threads into the investigation of meaning. The purpose of this experience is to afford each participant a greater appreciation of the birth and death of meaning, the manner in which it sustains us, and the full-blown range of its opportunity.

PHL 403. Philosophy Seminar: Heroism and the Human Spirit (3).

This seminar will involve varied readings from world literature, augmented by some extra readings from philosophy and psychology in search of responses to the question, "What makes a person great?" Of central concern will be the issue of the nature of the heroic; we will also be concerned with some other philosophical problems which arise in connection with this question [such as: the problem of evil; personal identity; determinism, free will and fatalism; death; the mind-body problem and the problem of other minds; philosophical anthropology and philosophical psychology as well as some philosophy of psychology; philosophical analysis of religious experience].

PHL 404. Philosophy Seminar: Perspectives of Wisdom, a Multicultural Approach (3).

This course invites students to explore wisdom perspectives. Students are asked to identify wisdom figures from various cultures, their own and others. Students are encouraged to reflect upon the nature of wisdom, its contents, and its modes of communication, e.g. literature, music, rituals, tradition, witness, etc. Popular and classical expressions of perspectives of wisdom from various cultures (to be selected by members of the seminar) will be reviewed to aid students in their critical evaluation of their own perspectives of understanding to deal with some capital life issues (happiness, suffering, death, evil, war, peace, birth, marriage, family, ecology, etc.).

PHL 405. Philosophy Seminar: Exploring Knowing and Learning (3).

This course focuses on an interdisciplinary exploration of human knowing as exemplified in the various majors of students in the course. After some discussion of basic philosophical issues regarding human knowing, students will engage in a critical examination of their own major fields of study through research and interviews with their professors in an effort to understand the key elements in that discipline's approach to knowing. After sharing the results of their investigation with the class, students will develop learning strategies appropriate for their own discipline.

PHL 406. Philosophy Seminar: Limitation and Transcendence in the Human Condition (3).

We can learn a great deal about the human condition from the struggles of human beings coping with the loss (or threat of loss) of aspects of experience that many of us take for granted most of the time: personal freedom, health and well-being, integrity and dignity, mobility, cultural stability, economic security. Looking at diverse cultural, historical and personal contexts (colonial Africa, American slavery, the Holocaust, the current AIDS crisis, physical disability), this course will explore the human being's struggle to find new sources of meaning and strength under conditions of profound challenge and limitation. An encounter with human differences as well as an exploration of what human beings have in common, the course also hopes to provide students with an opportunity to reflect philosophically on their own lives and the challenges they have met or will be faced within the future. Assigned material will consist of short stories, novels, autobiographies, and films.

PHL 407. Philosophy Seminar: Ethics, Art and Literature (3).

Investigations into questions concerning the relations between philosophical theories of ethics and actual works of art, including novels, paintings, plays, poetry and films, have recently been increasing. This course explores the thesis that philosophical theories of ethics, which state their case at a high level of generality, must be complemented and/or completed by detailed, individual case studies. It challenges students to bring human actions, their own and others, into relief through casting the lights of rival theories of ethics upon them. It works to reveal the differing social consequences of the adoption and/or truth of this or that theory of ethics for everyday life. Selected works of art are studied to determine what is gained and what is sacrificed in particular lives by putting trust in this or that theory. Finally, the course explores various philosophical questions concerning the expression of values in art and in literature. Electives in philosophy may be taken upon completion of PHL 201 unless otherwise noted.

PHL 408. Philosophy Seminar: Philosophy and Revolution (3).

This course will examines some of the connections that have been made between philosophical discourse and radical transformative practices in politics, culture, the economy and society. It will consider whether and how philosophical discourse contributes to the enlightenment necessary for revolutionary and liberatory transformations of the established order, or, alternatively, whether and how it becomes an obstacle to those transformations. Some of the ideas studied will include Plato's conception of philosophy as liberation from the imprisonment of the cave, modern and post-modern conceptions of social revolution and its likelihood, desirability, relation to human liberation and, finally, contemporary treatments of the relation between revolution, on the one hand, and neocolonialism, violence, patriarchal society, racial oppression and class exploitation, on the other hand.

PHL 409. Philosophy Seminar: Philosophy, Faith and Mystic Union (3).

This seminar explores the concept of divinity developed in a contemporary project in philosophical theology. It then moves on to a consideration of the notion of religious faith as expressed by various authors in a biblical tradition. Finally, it investigates what it means to directly experience God by analyzing the several states of mystic union articulated by some of the great mystics.

PHL 410. Philosophy Seminar: Health, Society and the Law (3).

The historical development of western ideas of health, disease and illness will be studied from the perspective not only of philosophy, but also of medicine and psychiatry, psychology, religion, sociology, economics and the law. The seminar will explore the development of concepts of mental illness, dementia and mental "retardation", as well as the definition of sexual preferences and "perversions" as diseases, and the role of international groups, such as the World Health Organization, in the social construction of definitions of human health. Prerequisites or corequisites: PHL 101, 201, 302.

PHL 411. Philosophy Seminar: Metaphysical Romances of the Person: Issues of Identity and Issues of Dignity (3)

Persons often discover during their initial exposure to studies in analytical ethics that ethical problems are rarely engendered from what might be understood as purely ethical seeds. It is discovered that, typically, they are engendered from seeds of a more hybrid nature; that, at bottom, ethical attitudes are, themselves, rooted in underlying visions of a metaphysical, often religious, nature concerning what it is to be human. Conflicts over how we are to treat persons in certain circumstances are usually but symptoms of deeper, conceptual conflicts between views of the nature of person. Similarly, people commit to treating persons in these ethically problematical circumstances in the ways that they do less in the name of certain, distinctive ethical values and more in the name of their absorption in these more metaphysical "Romances". The study of ethics, then, calls for a further exploration of the human condition, an exploration of what can only be understood as the metaphysical circumstances of this condition. Prerequisites or corequisites: PHL 101, 201, 302.

PHL 412. PHILOSOPHY SEMINAR: PHILOSOPHY AND ARCHITECTURE (3).

This course will examine philosophical issues raised by the practice of architecture-the relationship between space and place, the concept of "home," the boundary between "art" and "science," the demand that art reflect "our time," and the nature of the city. Beginning from some basic background in the history and language of architecture, the seminar will examine how philosophical questions arise from the everyday concerns of the architect. The course is taught concurrently with a seminar in the architecture school at Syracuse University and will involve weekly interaction with architecture students.

*The letters in parentheses at the end of each course description refer to thematic clusters described under "Major Program" on page 174.

PHL 217. Introduction to Formal Logic (3).

Students will have the opportunity of discovering and exploring the structure and interrelations of the various kinds of propositions that occur in deductive reasoning. Logic will be presented as applying to the actual world incidentally, but to possible types of order explicitly. Propositional logic, predicated logic, classes and relations will be part of its content. Quantified expressions will be studied. Some attention will also be given to the non-deductive processes of the scientific method and the analysis of probabilities. Throughout the course there will be a wide selection of problem-solving challenges. (E)

PHL 310. Aesthetics (3).

Beginning with the fact of aesthetic experience, this course proposes to investigate the main problems that develop from an attempt to understand such experience. It aims at a philosophical interpretation of the processes of aesthetic creation and response and of their characteristic objects, both natural and human-made. (B)

PHL 311. Philosophy in the United States (3).

This course examines the development of philosophical thought in the United States from the colonial period to the middle of the twentieth century. The main emphasis falls upon the rise of pragmatic philosophy, as exemplified in the writings of Charles Sanders Pierce, William James and John Dewey. Other traditions such as Puritanism and Transcendentalism are considered, along with readings dealing with race and gender issues. (B,C,D)

PHL 312. Informal Logic (3).

An introduction to critical thinking, this course focuses on developing skills in evaluating and constructing arguments. Fallacy detection and analysis will be of central concern. The influence and importance of gender and culture on argument, both as product and as process, will also be stressed. (A,E)

PHL 313. Survey of Ancient Philosophy (3).

A study of the development of Greek and Roman philosophy. This course aims at the formation of a sympathetic insight into the foundations of Western thought. Major items include the reflection of ancient philosophers upon the nature of the physical universe, the role of human beings in society and the nature of morality. (C)

PHL 314. Philosophic Thought of the Middle Ages (3).

A survey course in the development of the philosophic foundations of Medieval humanism. The major thinkers from Augustine to William of Ockham will be examined through both primary and secondary sources with special emphasis on the themes that unify the speculative thought of this rich period. (C,D)

PHL 315. History of Modern Philosophy (3).

A survey of Western philosophical thought from Descartes to Kant. The course traces the main lines of development of continental rationalism and Anglo-Saxon empiricism, culminating in the attempt at a synthesis in the transcendental philosophy of Kant. (C)

PHL 316. Philosophy of the Body (3).

Examining both classical and contemporary texts, this course will present a variety of perspectives-metaphysical, phenomenological and cultural-on the body as a subject of philosophical exploration. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between culture and body, contemporary attitudes toward the body and various dimensions of the experience of embodiment. Prerequisite: PHL 301 or 302 or 303. (A,B)

PHL 317. Symbolic Logic (3).

Building upon a foundation of an introductory course in logic, this course will examine the construction and comparison of axiomatic systems. It will study the propositional calculus that is developed in Principia Mathematica and the axioms and theorem of Boolean class calculus. Duals, paradoxes, multivalue logic, and modal logic will be included in the content of this course. It will included opportunities for developing problem-solving skills. Prerequisite: PHL 217. (E)

PHL 318. Nineteenth-Century European Philosophy (3).

A survey of European thought after Kant. This course will focus on the rise and fall of idealism, the rise of positivism, and historico-materialist as well as existential reflections on culture, society and the human sciences. Figures studied may include Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Comte, J. S. Mill, Dostoevsky, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. (C)

PHL 319. Theory of Knowledge (3).

The adequate appreciation and mastery of any intellectual discipline demands that the individual have a firm grasp of scope, operation, structure and limitations of human knowledge. This course intends to provide the student with a grasp of what knowledge is, how it is acquired, how it is evaluated, what distinguishes valid from invalid knowledge, evidence, theory construction, etc. Special attention is given to the theory of cognitive paradigms, i.e., the position that different theoretical models generate different sets of facts and different descriptions of reality. The course is recommended for philosophy and psychology majors and should be of particular interest to students majoring in the natural or social sciences. (E)

PHL 326. Analytic Philosophy (3).

A presentation and examination of selected texts in the analytic tradition from J. S. Mill and Frege to Kripke. Focus is on topics such as reference, naming, predication, necessity and truth with an emphasis on their import for questions concerning the meaning of existence. (C,E)

PHL 328. Existentialism (3).

An examination of existentialist views on human choice, personal commitment and subjectivity. This course will study the relationship between self and world as well as the existentialist notion that the meaning of that relationship is always open; it will explore the existentialist view that the gap between self and world is unbridgeable. The ambiguity and/or the absurdity of human life will be considered by means of a sustained reflection on existentialist philosophical, literary and cinematic works. (B,C,D)

PHL 329 (ANT 329). Constructing the Primitive: Philosophical, Anthropological and Local Perspectives (3).

See course description for ANT 329. (B,E)

PHL 330. Postmodern Thought (3).

This course concentrates on European thinkers from 1870 to present. Themes include the role of the unconscious, the imagination, and desire in the creation of values and the presentation of knowledge. (C)

PHL 331. Contemporary Continental Thought (3).

An exploration of developments in German, French and North American continental philosophy since the 1950s, with an emphasis on current issues and debates. Topics discussed may included the critiqued of humanism, deconstructionism, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, European feminism and critical theory. (B,C)

PHL 334. Questioning the Existence of God (3).

An inquiry in a rational way into the things human reason can disclose concerning God. The course examines the logical and methodological issues involved in various arguments for the existence of God as well as objections raised to the whole enterprise of theistic proofs. (D)

PHL 335 (REL 383). Philosophies of Judaism (3).

An examination of a variety of Jewish philosophical tendencies as responses to fundamental crises and challenges. The course will focus on several paradigmatic philosophies of Judaism in terms of the following: (a) the human person (philosophical anthropology); (b) revelation and obligation; (c) theology; and (d) Jewish identity and existence. The influence and importance of gender and culture in the development of these philosophies will also be stressed. (D)

PHL 336. Asian Philosophy (3).

An examination of the main philosophical traditions of India and the Far East: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. This course will focus upon mysticism as a primary determinant of Eastern thought and will seek to place these philosophies in their historical and cultural setting. (C,D)

PHL 339. Evil, Freedom, and God (3).

This course focuses on various classical and contemporary treatments of the problems that the existence of evil and human freedom pose for the recognition and intelligibility of an underlying omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient agency. (D)

PHL 341. Values in Transition (3).

This course examines the shift in values affecting contemporary cultures. Philosophic analysis of the nature of values and the conditions of possibility for their continuity, growth or stalling blends with analysis of social science findings on the relativity of mores and institutions in the study of this timely question. (B)

PHL 344. Gender, Culture and Experience (3).

This course offers an interdisciplinary exploration into the role that gender has played in history and culture and continues to play in the experience of all of us. Are there differences in the ways that men and women experience, value and reason? What are the cultural consequences of the gender-division and organization of social life? What mythological, psychological and conceptual roles are played by the categories "masculinity" and "femininity"? These and other related questions will be approached via novels, poems, historical and empirical studies, philosophical and other theoretical works. (A,B)

PHL 349. Social and Political Philosophy: Historical (3).

This course investigates central issues in social and political philosophy from ancient times through the 19th century. Specific issues may vary, but will include some of the following: attempts to design the ideal state, attempts to provide a moral justification for the actions of states (the problem of power vs. authority), philosophical foundations of individual property rights, principles limiting the scope of legitimate governmental actions, principles of just revolution. (A,C)

PHL 350. Social and Political Philosophy: Contemporary (3).

An examination of methodological and substantive issues in contemporary social and political philosophy. Methodological issues center around the question: "What sort(s) of arguments (if any) justify the existence of states?" Substantive issues center around the questions: "What state functions are morally permissible? Morally obligatory?" Some current social issues are examined in light of the theories discussed; e.g., moral limits (if any) on political dissent, income redistribution, covert non-compliance with laws. Prerequisite: PHL 301 or 302 or 303. (A,C)

PHL 351. Philosophy of Law (3).

This is not a course in the study of law. It is a course designed to afford students who have an interest in the law (not necessarily professional) an opportunity to reflect on the philosophical presuppositions of the law and the philosophical problems that arise within the general domain of jurisprudence. Based on readings (historical and contemporary) written by both philosophers and jurists, the course typically addresses general theories of law, law and morality, judicial reasoning, and crime and punishment. Students should expect to do a great deal of linguistic analysis as well as some case study. (A)

PHL 353. Latin American Social Philosophy (3).

This course will study some of the major philosophical trends in Latin America in the light of both the search for cultural identity and the discovery of difference in the heart of sameness. Therefore, it will also consider those philosophies of social change which (a) provide a critique of hegemonic ideologies, (b) try to rediscover the submerged validity of pre-conquest and non-Western world views and (c) seek a dialogical integration of the diversity of voices in Latin America. (A,C)

PHL 354. Critical Theory and Technological Society (3).

An examination of modernity, rationality and technological society through the lens of the twentieth century critical theory movement (also known as the Frankfurt School). Emphasis will be upon (a) critical theory's relation to Hegelian and Marxist theories, (b) its reflections on the rise of positivism and "scientism" in epistemology, and (c) the distinction between instrumental reason and communicative rationality. Figures studied may include Adorno, Horkheimer, Benjamin, Marcuse, and Habermas. (A,B,C,)

PHL 355. Philosophy of Science (3).

This is a meta-mathematical/meta-scientific course in philosophical analysis. The concepts to be investigated are drawn from the fields of mathematics, physics and cosmology (e.g., number, shape, gravity, force, energy, matter, space, time, infinity, singularity). Focused attention will be given to the traditional "paradoxes" associated with the attempt to understand these concepts as well as to the more contemporary "anomalies" brought to light in the investigations of physics and astrophysics. (E)

PHL 356. Philosophy and the Social Sciences (3).

A critical examination of certain assumptions, methods and goals of the social sciences, particularly with reference to ways of observing, describing and explaining human behavior. Issues raised are whether the social sciences can be sciences; the meaning and possibility of "value-free" inquiry (the fact-value distinction); whether one can understand human activity without moral categories; the relation of the philosophical enterprise to that of the social sciences. These issues are studied as they present themselves in sociology, psychology, political science and anthropology. (A)

PHL 357 (CFM 408). Ethics and the Health Professions (3).

See course description for CFM 408. (B)

PHL 359. Freud and Philosophy (3).

An investigation of Freud's contributions to philosophy. The course will be divided between an intensive examination of texts from the founder of psychoanalysis (The Interpretation of Dreams, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Moses and Monotheism, etc.) and readings of philosophical interpretations and evaluations of Freud. Topics covered may include the therapeutic claims of psychoanalysis, Freud and politics, psychoanalysis and the arts (literature, etc.) and psychoanalysis and feminist theory. (B,E)

PHL 362. Philosophy and Literature (3).

This course will explore the various literary and philosophical dimensions of the imagination in order to appreciate how poets, novelists and philosophers have interpreted the world we live in through the ages. Representative works from the English Renaissance to the present will be analyzed and discussed. (B)

PHL 363. MOVIES AND MORAL CONVERSATION (3).

This course will present and examine a tradition of moral thinking, present from Plato and Augustine to Emerson and Nietzsche, and recently traced in a series of Hollywood comedies and melodramas. This tradition is concerned with (1) ideas of conversation (between citizens, friends, husband and wife) and (2) discovering an interest in one's own experience (both reflectively and self- critically) as prerequisites to independent moral thinking. The work of the course will draw from philosophical and literary texts (by Plato, Milton, Emerson, Mill, Ibsen, Rawls, Cavell, and others) as well as from classic and recent American films (Adam's Rib, Now Voyage, Moonstruck and others). Guided discussions and weekly film screenings. Prerequisites or corequisites: PHL 101 and PHL 201. (B)

PHL 370-379. Special Topics in Feminism (3).

These courses will allow students to pursue the philosophical study of gender through a focused examination of feminist writings, historically organized or on a particular topic or theme. Among those topics which may be offered under this rubric: Gender, Knowledge and Science; Gender, Race and the Law; Gender, Culture and Reproduction; History of Feminist Thought Through the Nineteenth Century; Twentieth-Century Feminist Thought; French Feminist Thought; Contemporary Feminist Theory. (A,B,C,)

PHL 374 (WMS 374). Special Topics in Feminism: Gender Issues and Ethics Practicum (3).

How has the social subordination of women affected social practices and ethical theory? How should we think of equality, autonomy, rights, and community in contexts such as reproduction, family and social welfare, sex-related violence, and the continuing differences in the domestic responsibilities and economic welfare of women and men? In this course, students will participate in off-campus field projects that have a social-service or social-action focus. Students will be asked to use their volunteer experiences, as well as selected readings, to deepen their understanding of specific social issues, to become sensitive to the gendered dimensions of social issues, and to interrogate the master categories of social ethics. (A)

PHL 380-385. Special Topics in Philosophical Ethics (3).

These courses provide an opportunity for in-depth study in the area of philosophical ethics. The specific content and approach taken will vary according to faculty expertise. Selections may include, but are not limited to, Ethics and Social Policy, Economic Justice, Morality and Discrimination, and AIDS and Social Justice. (A)

PHL 390-399. Independent Study.

A student who wishes to pursue an independent study project for academic credit must submit, prior to registration, a proposed plan of study that includes the topic to be studied and goal to be achieved, the methodology to be followed, schedule of supervision, end product, evaluation procedure and number of credits sought. The proposal must be approved by the supervising faculty member, the department chair and the academic vice president and dean. It will be kept on file in the assistant academic vice president's office. (F)

PHL 490-499. Research in Philosophy.

An upper-class philosophy major who wishes to write a substantial philosophical essay on a topic already studied in a philosophy elective should submit a proposal to this effect prior to registration. The proposal, indicating the topic to be researched, the number of credits sought and the schedule of supervision, must be approved by the research director, the department chair and the academic dean. The proposal will be kept on file in the academic dean's office. (F)