Courses

Philosophy courses currently offered at Lindenwood University.

PHL 102 Moral Life: A Study in Ethics (3) This course will introduce the student to various moral theories and patterns of moral reasoning and their consequences. It will cover both theoretical and applied ethics and stress the development of good moral character and the habit of sound moral reasoning. Topics covered will include: the nature of morality, moral theories, relativism, virtue and vice, as well as issues in personal and social ethics.

PHL 150 Introduction to Philosophy (3) This course is designed to introduce the student to philosophy by studying the ways in which a number of important philosophical schools have attempted to deal with such major concerns as proof of the existence of God, the challenges of science and materialism to free will, the basis for human knowledge, and the justification of moral beliefs.

PHL 190 Philosophy of Human Nature (3) This course is an introduction to topics relating to human nature. It will examine questions in epistemology, psychology, philosophy of mind, ethics, and religion. Questions will include: What kinds of things can we know? What is the mind? Do humans consist only of matter? Do humans have free will? Is human nature essentially good or bad or neither? Can human nature tell us anything about God? Emphasis will be on primary readings.

PHL 214 Ethics (3) Course provides students with a general understanding of the development and status of ethics as a theoretical discipline and its relation to social and political philosophy. Students will read Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Mill, among others. Only original sources are used.

PHL 215 Traditional Logic (3) This is a course in logic in ordinary language. It will focus on Aristotelian logic and will include Terms and Definitions, Fallacies, Propositions and Immediate Inferences, Syllogisms, and Compound Syllogisms. The course is recommended for students in the Humanities, Business, Political Science, Communication, or those seeking a course in practical reasoning. Course meets the Philosophy/Religion Gen. Ed. requirement only.

PHL 216 Modern Symbolic Logic (3) This is a course in Modern Symbolic Logic. It will cover translation, propositional logic, predicate logic, natural deduction, quantification, and identity. This course is required for Philosophy majors and recommended for students in the Sciences, Mathematics or Computer Science, and students interested in formal systems. No Prerequisite Required. Course meets the Math Gen. Ed. requirement only.

PHL 240 Bioethics (3) This course is an introduction to the field of bioethics and ethical issues in healthcare. Topics will include the relation of general moral theory to the medical field; the nature of medicine and the role of doctors, nurses, and others; moral questions related to the elimination of disease, medical enhancements, and questions relating to life and death; and issues related to technology in medicine, such as cloning and genetic engineering. .

PHL 265 Philosophy of Science (3) This course is an introduction to the philosophy of science. Topics covered include: The nature, scope, and limits of science; the nature of scientific inference, explanation, and theories; questions about realism and antirealism, the unity of science, and science and religion. Emphasis is placed in the relationship between the natural sciences and the humanities.

PHL/PS 305 Political Philosophy (3) Introduces students to the writings of well-known classical and modern political philosophers and theorists. Instead of secondary accounts or summaries of these writers, students read original thoughts of political thinkers.

PHL 311 Ancient Philosophy (3) Investigates key ideas of the major philosophers from 600 B.C. to 40 B.C. The course proceeds by reading from the translated works of the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Sophists, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Greek and Roman Stoics, and Cicero. Topics include ethics, politics, metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and the nature of God and man.  Only original sources are used.

PHL 312 Medieval/Renaissance Philosophy (3) This course studies the arguments of Christian, Arabian, and Jewish philosophers of the Medieval-Renaissance period, covering the years 100 A.D. to 1550 A.D. Topics included the relation of faith and reason, theory of universals, the nature of mysticism, the idea of the gentleman, realpolitik, and the divine right of kings, in addition to the perennial problems of metaphysics, epistemology, and the nature of God and man. Only original sources are used.

PHL 313 Modern Philosophy (3) An investigation of the original texts of the major philosophers of the Enlightenment-rationalists and empiricists-tracing the emergence of modern science, the great political revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries and rising romanticism of the early 19th century. Emphasis on the works of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, and Hegel. Only original sources are used.

PHL 318 Asian Philosophy (3) This course is an introduction to the philosophies of India, China, Japan, and other countries in Asia and Asia minor. The course will focus primarily on Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist traditions. It will exam questions in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and social and political philosophy in both an historic and contemporary Asian thought. Prerequisite of one PHL or REL course. Course meets the CC requirement.

PHL/REL 325 Philosophy of Religion (3) A survey of the philosophical investigation of religion. Topics examined may include arguments for and against the existence of God; the basis in reason and experience for religious faith; problems or religious language; the conflicting claims to truth of different religions and human destiny after death. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or religion or permission of instructor.

PHL 340 Topics in Bioethics (3) Prerequisite of one PHL or REL course.

PHL 345 Metaphysics (3) This course will examine the nature of reality, of being in its most general aspects.  It will include discussion of what kinds of things are real, nonbeing, properties, identity, materialism/dualism, free will, time, existence or non-existence of God, etc.  The course requires at least one PHL or REL course.

PHL 355 Epistemology (3) This course will examine the nature and scope of knowledge.  Topics addressed incclude the nature of knowledge, knowledge and belief, truth, rationalism/empiricism, justification, skepticism, relativism, etc.  The course requires at least one PHL or REL course.

PHL 365 Topics in Philosophy of Science (3) Prerequisite of one PHL or REL course.

PHL 280/380/480 Selected Topics in Philosophy (3) Course may focus on a specific problem in philosophy, a particular philosopher, a major work of philosophy, or a topic or branch of philosophy not covered in other courses. Prerequisites: Philosophy course above 100-level, advanced standing, or permission of instructor. This course may be repeated for different topics.

PHL 493 Senior Seminar (3) This course is the capstone experience for the philosophy major. The course will focus on addressing the question: What is Philosophy? The student will be required to read and become familiar with a variety of views on the nature of philosophy with an emphasis on historical context and development. This course is an independent study.