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COURSES OF STUDY
PL 206 Darwinism and Philosophy (1)
An examination of philosophical questions raised by a Darwinian
account of the evolution of life such as the creation-evolution debate,
evolutionary accounts of altruism, morality, free will, and human
behavior generally. Also listed as HON 206, this course may be
counted by Honors Program students toward fulfillment of their course
requirements.
PL 207 Human Destiny (1)
An investigation into differing philosophical accounts of human
existence and the idea of destiny. The aim is to discover ways we
might respond to enduring philosophic questions concerning human
destiny within a multicultural context. Topics include the meaning
of life, the relationships between soul and body, death and value,
anthropocentrism and teleology, gnosis and salvation, science and
religion, freedom and prediction.
PL 241 Logic (1)
A study of semantics, traditional deductive logic, and an introductory
approach to symbolic logic.
PL 250 Contemporary Philosophy (1)
An examination of the major themes of philosophy in the twentieth
century with particular emphasis on the way skeptical doubts
concerning the idea and attainability of truth have issued in an
increasingly dominant form of cultural relativism in such diverse arenas
as law and literature, anthropology, the history of science, and moral
and political theory.
PL 251 History of Western Philosophy I (1)
Ancient philosophy from Thales to Plotinus.
PL 252 History of Western Philosophy II (1)
Modern philosophy from Descartes through Kant.
PL 253 Ethical Theory (1)
An examination of the theoretical grounds of ethical reasoning
encompassing such issues as the respective roles of reason and emotion
in ethical judgment, utilitarian and social-contract conceptions of
justice, and the reality of ethical values.
PL 256 Confucianism and Daoism (1)
An examination of the central texts and philosophical problems of
Confucianism and Daoism. Texts include philosophical translations of
the Confucian
Analects
and
Zhongyong
,
the
Laozi Daodejing
,
Zhuangzi
,
and others.
