ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2016-2017
177
PH 412 Quantum Mechanics (1)
The postulates of quantum mechanics, solutions of the Schrödinger equation for systems
in one and three dimensions, matrix representations, angular momentum operators,
approximation methods, and time dependence. Prerequisite: PH 402.
PH 499 Senior Project in Physics (1)
Independent research in a subject (experimental or theoretical) that brings to bear the
student’s accumulated knowledge and skills in the discipline. A project report, written in
the style of a scientific journal article, is required. Prerequisite: senior standing.
Exploration term.
PL - Philosophy
PL 200 Ethical Choice (1)
A beginning-level course about moral decision making. Part of the course focuses on case
studies of ethical choices pertaining to property, welfare, violence, punishment, war, and
similar topics. The other part of the course is an introduction to ethical theory focusing on
the processes by which moral norms are established and critically evaluated.
PL 201 Introduction to Philosophy (1)
Basic problems and forms of inquiry that have shaped the Western philosophical
heritage. The course may focus on problems of morality, religion, political philosophy,
and theories about the nature and limits of human knowledge.
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.)
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 208 Philosophy of Religion: In Search of Deity (1)
A philosophical examination of the human search for the transcendent/divine, primarily
in the Western tradition. The course considers topics such as the early roots of the search
for deity by looking at the origins of the Hebrew and Christian religions, the concept of
God in the Middle Ages, the atheistic reaction after the Enlightenment, existentialism and
religion, and neo-classical theology.