Courses in the Philosophy:

PHIL 1331 … Propaedeutics.  An introduction to philosophic thought through the study of texts illuminating basic questions about truth and learning, the relation among the disciplines, and the possibility of knowledge of truth.

PHIL 1332 … Philosophy of Man.  As a philosophic investigation of the person as a natural unity of mind and body, spirit and matter, this course examines, through natural reason, fundamental questions about the nature and meaning of life, the reality of ìsoulî as the vital or life-giving principle in living things, and the features of the rational soul characterizing personal beings.

PHIL 2331 … Ethics.  This course offers an introduction to moral philosophy through an investigation of the tradition of ethical thought that has informed Western civilization.  The course examines various conceptions of human activity and the practical life, questions concerning moral choice and the nature of good and evil, and distinctions between utility, right, and duty

PHIL 2332 … Metaphysics.  Metaphysics is the systematic study of being as such and seeks to identify the principles, structures, and properties pertaining to the universe of existing things.  Students examine basic metaphysical issues such as substance and accidents, necessary and contingent being, personal and impersonal being, and existence.  In the context of learning about the basic philosophical problems of materialism, dualism, and idealism, inquiries are also made about issues such as the problem of evil, the nature of creation, and freedom and determinism are studied.

PHIL JS331 … Philosophy of Nature.  A philosophic investigation of the contingent order of that which is natural or ìborn.î  Examining issues such as the relation between metaphysics and physics, a priori and a posteriori knowledge, and the problem of scientific methodology, attention will be given to the classical problems of space and time, the nature and structure of matter, the nature of light, and the problem of origins.

PHIL JS332 … Aesthetics.  The philosophic study of the transcendental beauty, its characteristics and its history; art as an intellectual virtue; and of the relation between knowing and making.

PHIL JS333 … Political Philosophy.  This course offers an introduction to the philosophical study of political activity.  Students become acquainted with various manifestations of the political community in the West since the time of the ancient Greeks.  Students examine the distinctive character of the Greek polis, the Roman res publica, the Medieval realm, the American republic, and the modern state, while investigating the assigned authorsí attempts to answer questions concerning the limits of political activity, the nature of law and the character of the political community.

PHIL JS334 … Epistemology.  The philosophy of knowledge, or epistemology, investigates fundamental problems concerning how man is able to know.  Of special concern are the relations among the sciences, the different types of knowledge, and different modes of knowing as studied in relation to history, religion, first principles, poetry and mathematics.

PHIL JS335 … Topics in Philosophy. Topics outside the courses that make up the required curriculum and are approved by the Fellows are offered from time to time. These courses do not fulfill degree requirements unless approved for this purpose by the Dean at registration.