Certain philosophy courses contain special units of instruction known as "Bridge-readings." "Bridge-readings" comprise a packet of articles that connect philosophical traditions to other disciplines. The purpose of such readings is to encourage students to identify philosophical precedents and issues within their major course of study. Instead of taking the final examination, students are invited to write a final paper that explores the interdisciplinary connections between the philosophy course and their major discipline. Interdepartmental assistance is often available to support such interdisciplinary efforts. (See examples of possible readings for Psychology & Literature).
Some philosophy courses require texts that may be read in their original language. Students with reading competency are encouraged to examine the original, untranslated text and to be evaluated on the philosophical issues that arise in the translation process (currently only German and Spanish). Such courses promote linguistic competency and a familiarity with a country's philosophical heritage.

100-Level Introductory Courses: (Recommended for first-year students)

Ethics: Because moral and ethical concerns are inherent to the study of humans, we recommend Ethics as an important cognate course for students in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Because moral and ethical issues are themselves provocative, challenging, and unavoidable, all students should find the questions addressed in this area of philosophy interesting.

Theories of Knowledge: Also known as "epistemology," the study of how we gain knowledge is particularly relevant to students working in the Natural Sciences. Because question of how we acquire knowledge and justify our beliefs is interesting in its own right, all students should find this course relevant.

Logic and Reasoning: This course introduces students to the analysis of arguments. The course begins with the classification and analysis of "informal" fallacies in everyday communication and progresses to both "propositional" and "predicate" logic, which analyze the various forms arguments can take. This course is highly recommended for students in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Pre-law track.

Ecological Philosophy: This course satisfies the Environmental Studies Concentration electives and is recommended to all students with an interest in environmental responsibilities.

Existentialism and Film: Because this course uses films as artworks that raise important questions about how humans make sense of their lives, it is particularly well suited to students in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Highly recommended for students interested in Film Studies.

200-Level Intermediate Courses:

     History and Traditions Courses:

      Special Subfield Course:

300-Level Advanced Courses: (Recommended for Juniors, Seniors, and Sophomores who have already taken a philosophy course).

 
  • Pre-law Students
  • Pre-med Students
  • Math & Science Students
  • English Students
  • Political Science Students
  • Psychology Students
  • Sociology/Anthropology Students
  • Economics/Business Students





    Humphrey House
    2nd Floor
    Phone: (269) 337-7043
    • ADVICE ON CHOOSING A PHILOSOPHY COURSE
    RELATED TO YOUR MAJOR AND PERSONAL INTERESTS
    Our advice here is meant to give you some idea of why, given your intellectual emphases, certain philosophy courses might be of particular interest to you. Of course, we in the Philosophy Department think that in many cases the philosophy courses relating to specific majors and fields of study are crucial. Philosophy is, basically, the discipline that studies all topics, attempting to answer through reasoning questions that cannot (apparently) be answered empirically. Thus it is relevant to everything - and, we would argue, can enlighten broaden, and enrich one's understanding of nearly everything. (A brief example regarding "artificial intelligence"). At some point in the future, we may have to decide whether an "artificial intelligence" program is conscious and should be treated as a morally important person. This is a question important to sociologists, psychologists, computer programmers, politicians, legal theorists, and others. Yet none of them can answer the question without philosophy. This is because no amount of data about hardware, software, biology, or legal history provides the resources to decide. Practitioners of these other disciplines are enriched and empowered to the extent that they are aware of historical and contemporary philosophical theories of consciousness, ethics, and personhood, and can use philosophical tools to work on the issue. Although of course we welcome your presence in courses not directly related to your major or career, we encourage you to take philosophy courses related to your major field of study. In particular, we encourage students to satisfy the philosophy distributional requirement by taking courses of such relevance, to complete the minor in philosophy, or to consult closely with the department to construct an individually tailored interdisciplinary minor. In any case, our main advice is to take courses that spark your personal interest - the rigor and demands of philosophical inquiry are best engaged when this is the case, and you are likely to get the most out of your studies. In each of the pages linked at left, we provide a list of courses especially relevant to that area of interest, and explain why that is so. We also give you an idea of pertinent skills students in those classes are likely to be exposed to and gain proficiency in. We also list some thought-provoking questions illustrating what might be the particularly philosophical perspective on that topic.

    To better understand what a course is about, please read the catalogue and our Extended Course Descriptions: both explain the type of questions, issues, and concerns addressed in a course. Students may review the actual Course Syllabus, which lists required readings, assignments, reading schedule, important themes, and supplementary readings. The bookstore is also a resource for choosing a course of interest: the Table of Contents, Introduction, and Preface of required books will give you a clear idea of important subjects. Many courses have special units of interdisciplinary instruction -- Bridge Readings Courses (BR): -- that allow a student to relate a philosophy course to another discipline. Some philosophy courses invite students to read the original, untranslated texts, a special form of teaching known as Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC). After reading our recommendations for choosing a course based upon your major and/or personal interests, please feel free to contact us -- Chris Latiolais or Ashley McDowell -- if you have any questions about the philosophy curriculum.

    The department offers various levels of courses. 100-level courses are recommended to first-year students who have never had a philosophy course. For 200-level courses and 300-level courses, it is recommended that students take at least one philosophy course beforehand, unless the 200- or 300-level course is related to their field of study, e.g. Philosophy of Science for science majors, Ancient Philosophy for Classics majors, etc. These middle- and upper-level courses presume some familiarity with philosophical methods and writing, so students are cautioned to consider the extra challenge and workload this may entail. Nevertheless, students who have strong writing abilities, skills in critical analysis, or background in some historical period or area of study may find courses at the 200 level appropriate. We strongly recommend that first-year students not take 300 level courses as their first encounter with philosophy if they have had not first secured the instructor's permission after close consultation.