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The Program
Major in Philosophy
Honors
Concentration in Professional Ethics
Minor in Philosophy
Courses
Philosophy - B.A.
Philosophy - Minors
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Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
College of Arts and Sciences
132 Park Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-4150
(716) 645-2444, ext. 132
Fax: (716) 645-6139
Web: Philosophy
John T. Kearns, Chair
Philosophy is sometimes called the "mother of sciences" because it represents the oldest and most enduring type of education. Philosophy studies the foundation of values, examines the nature of justice, knowledge, and reality, and sets the mind working with accuracy and imagination.
The student of philosophy learns the fundamental theories and concepts that have framed our intellectual heritage, as well as essential tools to investigate and develop the ideas that shape our lives today. Philosophy is especially equipped to teach skills that are important for success in almost any endeavor: how to think critically, how to construct arguments and examine reasons, and how to formulate and express ideas clearly in speech and writing.
A major in philosophy provides a solid foundation for advanced study in almost any field, for entering a profession, or for entering the job market with confidence. Because it trains the student to think clearly and critically, it is excellent preparation for the many professions that require these skills.
Students interested in a philosophy major, honors, specialized program in professional ethics, or minor, and students interested in selected study of philosophical questions or issues, are invited to contact the director of undergraduate studies, Professor Baumer, at (716) 645-2444, ext. 134, or at whbaumer@acsu.buffalo.edu to discuss their interests and receive additional information.
The undergraduate major includes study in each of the basic areas of philosophy-ethics, logic, metaphysics and epistemology, history of philosophy-and selection of electives expanding upon these or composing a concentration in a specific period, topic, or philosophical approach. For more information, see the list of requirements under Philosophy-B.A., page 196. Students interested in exploring further a major in philosophy are invited to contact the director of undergraduate studies.
Philosophy offers an honors program for majors in their senior year of study. This is an opportunity to explore philosophical ideas and problems more deeply.
This series of courses is available either as a major or as a minor in philosophy. The courses address ethical issues in the health sciences and biomedical research, law, communications, engineering and architecture, and business. They include careful consideration of various approaches to ethics and the application of these to professional ethics questions.
A minor in philosophy can be a significant contribution to studies in many areas of the arts and sciences. Requirements for a minor include study of logic, ethics, and some areas of the history of philosophy. A minor also provides ample opportunity for selection of courses addressing issues of special interest to the student. For more information, see the list of requirements under Philosophy Minor, page 197.
There are several areas in which the theories and approaches of philosophy are especially useful and in which philosophy offers specialized minors. These include the arts, law, logic, professional ethics, and philosophy of science. Each of these is designed for students majoring or planning postbaccalaureate study in that area. For more information, see the lists of requirements under Philosophy of the Arts-Minor, Philosophy of Law-Minor, Logic-Minor, Professional Ethics-Minor, Philosophy of Science-Minor on the following pages.
The minor programs are administered by the director of undergraduate studies.
101 Introduction to Philosophy (3) (F; Sp)
General topics in various areas of philosophy showing different sides of issues to develop critical thought and philosophical method. LEC
107 Ethics (3) (F; Sp)
Introduces value theory; good and bad; justification of obligations to others; relationship of free choice and determinism; contemporary moral problems analyzed by ethical principles. LEC
108 Knowledge and Reality (3)
Introduces epistemology; metaphysics; knowledge as a reflection of the properties of the real world and its relation to different viewpoints; the world as material objects; the mind and matter; the role of scientific and technical knowledge in today's world. LEC
115 Critical Thinking (3) (F; Sp)
Techniques of problem solving, decision making, and evaluating pros and cons of an issue; organizing data; forming strategies and giving reasons; perceptual, cultural, emotional, intellectual, and expressive blocks to thinking; simple inductive reasoning and statistical fallacies. LEC
117 Professional Ethics (3)
Introduces ethical issues encountered in such professions as medicine, engineering, public service, the media, business, social work, accounting, law, and manufacturing with an environmental impact, as well as to the central concepts of professionalism. LEC
135 Reasonable Persons (3)
Study of how reasonable particular thinkers were in thought and deed. Biographies include Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, John Stuart Mill, Ernest Renan, Henry Sidgwick, William James, Elsie Clews Parsons, Bertrand Russell, Dian Fossey. SEM
136 Freedom and Necessity (3)
Studies the relation between the purposeful will of human beings and the natural, social, and political laws. SEM
137 Reproductive Ethics (3)
Social and personal ethical issues of reproduction raised by medical, legal, religious, and philosophical sources and traditions; issues arising from reproductive and reproduction-affecting technology. SEM
154 Asian Wisdom (3)
The spirit, thought, and action of Asians culled from the contemporary relevance of classical readings. Texts include Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen. SEM
162 Law, Morality, and Authority (3)
Enforcement of morals by law; the proper authority of the state or society over the individual. SEM
215 Introduction to Deductive Logic (3) (F; Sp)
Definition, formal and informal errors of reasoning, and principles of deductive reasoning; the Aristotelian tradition. LEC
221 Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (3)
Philosophy and methodology of science; scientific experimentation; the problem of induction; nature of scientific explanation; basis of probability; fundamental characteristics of scientific theories. LEC
236 Business Ethics (3)
Current ethical positions and their applications to problems in business. LEC
238 Ethics of Survival (3)
Social and ethical issues at stake with regard to ecology, energy, population, hunger and poverty, human rights, war, the nuclear arms race. LEC
239 Law and Morality (3)
Legal enforcement of morals; the question of passage of laws against things considered immoral generally, such as pornography and promiscuity. LEC
314 Philosophy of Religion (3)
Analysis of selected concepts in religious thought. LEC
315 Symbolic Logic (3)
Introduces the formal techniques of deductive reasoning. LEC
321 Philosophy of Natural Sciences (3)
Nature of theories within the physical sciences and the family of philosophical issues that surround their characterization; causation; explanation; induction. LEC
322 Philosophy of Social Sciences (3)
Theories within the social sciences and the issues of how, if at all, they are fundamentally different from the theories of physical sciences. LEC
329 Metaphysics (3)
Theories of reality; freedom and determinism; the reality of the self, the mind, and the body. LEC
333 Epistemology (3)
Epistemology: nature, sources, kind, scope, and certainty and validity of knowledge. LEC
335 Contemporary Ethical Theory (3)
Attempts in moral philosophy to find a justification for the basic ethical principles; conception of an ethics based on natural law. LEC
336 History of Ethics (3)
History of ethics from ancient times through the Enlightenment; ancient Hebrew and Greek, medieval, and modern moral theories. LEC
337 Social and Ethical Values in Medicine (3) (F; Sp)
Current ethical positions and their application to ethical and social questions in medicine. LEC
339 Philosophy of Law (3)
Conscientious violators, preferential treatment of minorities and women, plea bargaining in light of ethical theories and legal cases; case studies related to questions of different theories of law and the nature of legal reasoning. LEC
340 Law and Responsibility (3)
Responsibility for intentional acts and for reckless and negligent acts; strict liability; no fault liability. Examines legal cases in view of underlying philosophical and social foundations. LEC
341 Social Philosophy (3)
Conceptions of the good society and programs for improving contemporary societies; democracy, equality, discrimination, civil disobedience, revolution, liberalism, conservatism, communism, capitalism. LEC
342 Political Philosophy (3)
Surveys political theories in a systematic or historical way. LEC
343 Law and Responsibility (3)
Philosophical problems arising in both criminal and civil responsibility; the question of personal liability and consequence for behavior. LEC
345 Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art (3)
Surveys historically or systematically various concepts of beauty and art. LEC
346 Philosophy in Literature (3)
Introduces philosophy through literature, such as Voltaire's Candide and Sartre's Nausea, which present philosophical issues in vivid forms. LEC
354 Chinese and Japanese Philosophy (3)
Foundations of Taoism, Confucianism, neo-Confucianism, and Maoism. LEC
355 Buddhist Philosophy (3)
Introduces early Buddhist principles: development of the Buddhistic perspective in seeing the world and humans. LEC
359 American Philosophy (3)
Early development of American philosophical thought; leading movements and thinkers, such as idealism, pragmatism (Peirce, James, Dewey), and realism. LEC
360 Ancient Philosophy (3)
Pre-Socratic philosophers; sophists; Socrates; Plato, especially The Republic; Aristotle, especially Nicomachean Ethics; study through sources in translation, lectures, and modern text. LEC
366 Medieval Philosophy (3)
History of philosophy from Plotinus to the end of the Middle Ages. LEC
370 Early Modern Philosophy (3)
History of metaphysics and epistemology from the Renaissance to Kant. LEC
380 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy, Kant to Nietzsche (3)
Philosophy from Kant to the twentieth century; idealism, post-Hegelian philosophies; positivism; utilitarianism; evolutionism; intellectual movements at the close of the nineteenth century. LEC
385 Latin American Thought (3)
Latin American search for philosophical and cultural identity, coning from the particular perspective of Latin American thinkers, and current theories of values. LEC
386 Dialogue and Interpretation (Hermeneutics) (3)
Introduces the theory of understanding and interpretation on the textual and interpersonal levels. How do we communicate with other people with different minds and also meaningfully interact with them? LEC
388 Twentieth-Century Philosophy (3)
Representative movements and issues in present-day philosophy in Europe and America. LEC
391 Existentialism/Phenomenology (3)
Existentialist views on such topics as anxiety, freedom, commitment, interpersonal relations, and death. LEC
401-402 Philosophy Honors Tutorial (2-6/2-6)
Prerequisite: permission of department
Six credit hours of honors tutorial work in independent study required for graduation with departmental honors. TUT
412 Philosophy of Religion
415 Logical Theory I (3)
Modern studies in propositional logic; formal techniques that can be used to analyze inferences; philosophical topics and problems related to propositional logic. Some acquaintance with logic desirable. LEC
416 Logical Theory II (3)
Prerequisite: PHI315
Continuation of PHI415. Predicate logic, generalization, and related philosophical issues. LEC
417 Modal Logic (3)
Philosophical topics and problems arising from modern studies in logic. LEC
418 Philosophy of Mathematics (3)
Philosophical topics and problems of mathematics and its logical foundations. LEC
419 Philosophy of Logic (3)
Philosophical topics and issues of logic, historical and contemporary. LEC
420 Topics in Philosophy of Science
427 Philosophy of Linguistics
428 Philosophy of Language
432 Sensation and Perception
434 Freedom and Determinism
438 Topics in Ethics
440 Hegel's Philosophy of Law
442 Contemporary Issues of Social Philosophy
443 Topics in Legal Philosophy
444 Aesthetics
449 Philosophy of Education
450 Philosophy of History
452 Eastern Philosophy
454 Chinese Philosophy
455 Buddhist Philosophy
456 History of Philosophy
457 History of Science I
458 History of Science II
462 Plato
463 Aristotle
465 Ancient Philosophy
467 Islamic Philosophy
468 Renaissance Philosophy
469 Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
471 Descartes
472 Hobbes
473 Spinoza
474 Leibniz
475 Locke and Berkeley
476 Hume
477 Kant
479 Topics in Sixteenth Century and Eighteenth Century Philosophy
487 Topics in Nineteenth Century Philosophy
491 Heidegger and Sartre
492 British Analytic Philosophy
493 Twentieth Century Pragmatism
494 Logical Positivisim (3)
Development and theses of logical positivism from 1900. LEC
495 Introduction to Wittgenstein (3)
Study of Wittgenstein's philosophical development and positions. LEC
498 Topics in Twentieth-Century Philosophy (3)
Examines selected topics and issues in philosophy from 1900 to
present. LEC
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
One philosophy course with a minimum grade of "C"
One course in ethics (choose from: PHI107 Ethics, PHI239 Law and Morality, PHI335 Contemporary Ethical Theory, PHI336 History of Ethics, PHI337 Social and Ethical Values in Medicine)
One course in logic (choose from: PHI215 Introduction to Deductive Logic, PHI315 Symbolic Logic)
One course in metaphysics and epistemology (choose from: PHI108 Knowledge and Reality, PHI329 Metaphysics, PHI333 Epistemology)
Two courses in history of philosophy (choose from: PHI360 Ancient Philosophy, PHI366 Medieval Philosophy, PHI370 Early Modern Philosophy, PHI380 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy, Kant to Nietzsche, PHI388 Twentieth-Century Philosophy)
Seven additional philosophy electives, of which four must be at the 300/400 level.
No more than two 100-level courses shall count toward the total requirement of 36 hours.
See Baccalaureate Degree Requirements (page 254) for general education and remaining university requirements.
First and Second Years
One ethics course
One metaphysics and epistemology course
PHI215 or PHI315
Third and Fourth Years
Two history of philosophy courses
PHI electives (two or three courses above the 100 level)
PHI electives (four 300/400-level courses)
Total required credit hours in philosophy - 36
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
One philosophy course with a minimum grade of "C"
Logic-one of the following:
PHI115 Critical Thinking
PHI215 Introduction to Deductive Logic
Ethics-one of the following:
PHI107 Ethics
PHI239 Law and Morality
PHI337 Social and Ethical Values in Medicine
History of Philosophy-one of the following:
PHI360 Ancient Philosophy
PHI366 Medieval Philosophy
PHI370 Early Modern Philosophy
PHI380 Nineteeth-Century Philosophy, Kant to Nietzsche
PHI388 Twentieth-Century Philosophy
Philosophy Electives (9 cr)
Three additional courses at the 300/400 level. No more than two independent study tutorials may count toward the fulfillment of this requirement.
Acceptance Criteria
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
One philosophy course with a minimum grade of "C"
Required Courses
PHI215 Introduction to Deductive Logic
PHI315 Symbolic Logic
One of the following: PHI415 Logical Theory I, PHI416 Logical Theory II, PHI418 Philosophy of Mathematics, PHI419 Philosophy of Logic
Three additional courses, including two at the 300/400 level
Acceptance Criteria
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
One philosophy course with a minimum grade of "C"
Required Courses
PHI115 Critical Thinking or PHI215 Introduction to Deductive Logic
PHI239 Law and Morality
PHI339 Philosophy of Law
PHI340 Law and Responsibility
PHI341 Social Philosophy or PHI342 Political Philosophy
One additional 300/400-level course
Acceptance Criteria
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
One philosophy course with a minimum grade of "C"
Required Courses
PHI115 Critical Thinking
PHI117 Professional Ethics
PHI337 Social and Ethical Values in Medicine or PHI339 Philosophy of Law
PHI335 Contemporary Ethical Theory or PHI336 History of Ethics
Two additional 300/400-level courses
Acceptance Criteria
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
One philosophy course with a minimum grade of "C"
Required Courses
PHI215 Introduction to Deductive Logic
PHI315 Symbolic Logic
PHI221 Introduction to the Philosophy of Science or PHI321 Philosophy of Natural Sciences
PHI370 Early Modern Philosophy
Two additional 300/400-level courses
Acceptance Criteria
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall
One philosophy course with a minimum grade of "C"
Required Courses
PHI108 Knowledge and Reality
PHI115 Critical Thinking
PHI344 Aesthetics Theory and Criticism or PHIL345 Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
PHI360 Ancient Philosophy or PHI354 Chinese and Japanese Philosophy
Two additional 300/400-level courses
Total required credit hours in philosophy - 18
Questions and Comments about this site should be sent to:
- Academic Affairs
- Phone: (716) 645-6003
- Fax: (716) 645-2549
Last updated: Thursday, 09-Dec-2004 15:21:19 EST
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