Philosophy

Fall 2025 Classes

PHL 100 – Introduction to Philosophy

Are you looking for answers to life's important questions? This course offers students an introduction to important conversations about philosophical topics such as the nature of reality, personal identity, freedom, knowledge, morality, religion, and social justice with the aim of students developing their own well-considered views.

Daniel Schneider    TuTh 9:25-10:50 am

                                *Combined section class

Sheryl Ross            TuTh 3:55-5:20 pm

                               *Combined section class

PHL 101 – Introduction to Logic

This course offers students an introduction to several methods of logic: the science of reasoning. In this course, students examine the nature of statements and arguments, identify rules for distinguishing good arguments from bad, learn methods for constructing and testing proofs, and practice good reasoning in general.

Stewart Eskew          MW 3:55-5:20 pm 

                                 *Combined section class

Ryan Madison           INTERNET

PHL 206 – History of Ancient Philosophy

In this course, students read ancient texts from pre-Socratic thinkers such as Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides. Students also read several dialogues of Plato, explore the metaphysics of Aristotle and the stoicism of Epictetus. Students discuss the differences between science and myth, philosophy and religion, opinion and knowledge, and explore questions about the nature of reality, its oneness and plurality, the nature of justice, and the purpose of life.

Daniel Schneider    TuTh 11:00-12:25 pm

PHL 303 - Ethics & Meta-Ethics Theory

This course is an examination of classic and contemporary issues in the field of meta-ethics. Topics include addressing questions concerning the meaning of moral claims and principles, moral objectivity, moral psychology and motivation, moral disagreement, the nature of moral knowledge and justification, and the nature of moral reasons.

Stewart Eskew           MW 2:15-3:40 pm

PHL 304 – Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

This course is an examination of the principal moral problems that arise in the development and use of artificial intelligence technology. Topics include an introduction to the principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice, the nature of AI, as well as the ethical complexities surrounding various issues in AI ethics including responsibility, transparency, AI as a rights holder, moral personhood, data collection, the attention economy, human enhancement, and AI consent.

Stewart Eskew    TuTh 12:40-2:05 pm

PHL 330 – Philosophy of Food

This course explores the aesthetic, ethical and existential features of food. Topics may include the ethics of hunting; whether food can be art; the Tao of food; the phenomenology of terroir, localism, and cosmopolitanism; whether manners are a moral or aesthetic good; and whether certain foods are Veblen goods.

Sheryl Ross        Tu 5:30-8:15 pm

PHL 331 - Philosophy of Religion

An examination of religion and religious experience. Topics considered are: theories of the proper description of God, arguments for and against the existence of God, theories of the nature of the soul, arguments for and against the existence of souls and reincarnation, the role and evidential power of religious experience and organized religion in justified belief.

Daniel Schneider      TuTh 2:25-3:40 pm

PHL 332 – Philosophy of the Arts

An examination of production, appreciation, and criticism of art. Topics may include the nature of art, the nature of beauty, the function(s) of art (if any), the moral status of works of art, aesthetic evaluation, the antimony of taste, the paradoxes of fiction, tragedy, and horror, and public financing of art. Theories may include the imitation/representation theory, expressionism, formalism, aesthetic experience theory, and institutional theory.

Sheryl Ross          W 5:30-8:15 pm

PHL 333 - Philosophy of Mind

A study of the nature of the mind from both philosophical and psychological perspectives. The course will focus on important attempts to solve the mind-body problem, how mind and body are related and also will address the related problems of consciousness, intentionality, free will and personal identity. (Cross-listed with PHL/PSY; may only earn credit in one department.)

Sam Cocks         MWF 9:55-10:50 am