Philosophy

Introduces the methods, problems, and theories of the main branches of philosophy and the indestructible questions raised in regard to reality, truth, morality, power, meaning, purpose, and valid reasoning. Topics to be considered include the basis for beliefs concerning the nature and existence of God, experience and reason in the development of knowledge, the mind and its place in nature, freedom and determinism, and the basis and nature of morality.

Explores the principles of reasoning and development of symbolic techniques for evaluating arguments. The main components of deductive symbolic logic are introduced, and students gain skill using these techniques, which are used in mathematics, logic, computer science, statistics, and linguistics. Introduction to symbolic logic, including sentential and predicate logic, is taught with a focus on translating English statements into symbolic notation and evaluating arguments for validity using formal proof techniques. Students are able to distinguish types of arguments, consequences of claims, inconsistency, and the relationship between truth and logic, and detect and avoid ambiguities in language.

Examines major questions or issues addressed by religion in general. It also examines major representative systems of religious beliefs including the practices, historical development, and sociological development and context. The religious systems will be analyzed via specific doctrines and writings of each. Different aspects of religious beliefs and practice such as the absolute, the human problem, the human solution, rituals, the meaning of history, life after death, community and ethics, and attitudes toward other religions will be explored.

This course is a philosophical examination of major contemporary ethical issues. Topics may include biomedical ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, human sexuality, and ethics related to life-and-death decisions. The emphasis is on acquiring the philosophical skills necessary to guide self and others in the process of ethical decision making. Cases are used for study and discussion. Available in honors format.