PHL - Philosophy Course Descriptions
Studies what it is to say that human beings are persons and have freedom and subjectivity; the different powers of the human person, including the powers of understanding, willing, feeling, and loving; the difference between body and soul in human beings, and the unity of the two; and the question of the immortality of the soul. Some classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read. This is a particularly fundamental course that underlies many of the other courses.
Begins by asking what metaphysical questions are. One then poses selected metaphysical questions, such as what becoming is, what time is, what goodness is, what it means for a thing to exist, what the transcendental properties of being are, and, as the supreme question of metaphysics, whether God exists. Some classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read.
Inquires into the significance of moral good and evil in the life of the human person; into moral virtue and vice (or moral character); into moral obligation; right and wrong actions; moral laws and the problem of exceptions; and the place of conscience in the moral life. One also studies the con- temporary debate between consequentialist and deontological ethics, and the claims of ethical relativism. Some classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read.
Is studied not just as an instrument or technique, but as a part of philosophy worthy of being studied in its own right. One inquires into the nature and kinds of concepts and of propositions; the truth and falsity of a proposition; the distinction between synthetic and analytic propositions; syllogistic and other kinds of formal argument; informal arguments; logical fallacies; and the attempt to mathematize logic. One also studies the differences among Aristotelian, Hegelian, empiricist, and other approaches to the issues of logic.
Inquires whether is it possible for the human mind to know anything as it really is, and studies the philosophers who have affirmed and those who have skeptically denied this possibility. One inquires into the place of knowledge in the existence of the human person, asking what it is about persons that enables them to know; one also inquires into the social and historical conditions of knowing. One proceeds to distinguish different kinds and degrees of knowledge, as well as different sources of error. Attention is given throughout to the role of the senses in knowing. Classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read.
Is to be distinguished from PHL 425 (Philosophy of God). The philosophy of religion is an area of philosophy that has only recently been recognized by philosophers. It deals with religious experience and with revelation; with basic religious acts such as faith or despair; with aspects of religious language; with the social dimension of religious existence; with religious perversions, such as idolatry; and with the religious needs and yearnings of the human person.
Studies not the foundational categories of ethics, such as virtue or obligation, but rather very concrete ethical problems, such as questions of sexual morality, abortion, surrogate motherhood, killing in self-defense, a just war, or the nature of our responsibility for the environment. The content of the course will vary from semester to semester, according to the issues chosen by the professor.
Begins with the pre-Socratics and with Socrates and then studies, above all, the thought of Plato and of Aristotle. The main developments in the Hellenistic period, including Stoicism, Skepticism, and Epicureanism are also introduced.
Begins with Plotinus and Augustine and proceeds through Anselm, Bonaventura, Aquinas, and Scotus, to the thinkers of the late Middle Ages.
As scholasticism in the Western tradition continued to wane, influential Modern philosophers took their inspiration from the new ideals of the Enlightenment. This course investigates prominent philosophers of this era, from Descartes to Kant, inclusive. Other thinkers covered in this course include Hobbes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Reid.
Studies primarily the philosophy of St. Thomas himself, whose life and times are reviewed, and who is studied through texts representative of his work. One also studies some of the main trends of subsequent Thomistic philosophy, including some of the leading contemporary Thomists such as Gilson, Maritain, Fabro, Lonergan, and Rahner.
Surveys the major philosophical developments that took place in antiquity and during the medieval period in the Moslem world, in India, and in China. As Maritain noted, a sound philosophical education today requires some exposure to the contributions of the East. The student's grasp of Western philosophy will be strengthened through this course since philosophical development in India and in Greece have much in common.
Starts with the life of St. Francis and the early Franciscan movement, and then studies, above all, the thought of St. Bonaventure, Blessed John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. Then attention is drawn to recent thinkers whose work has been influenced by, or resembles, the work of these three.
This course provides a broad overview of the Western tradition of social and political thought. It is organized chronologically in order to emphasize continuity and innovation within the tradition. Authors read often include ancients like Plato and Aristotle; medievals like St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Marsilius of Padua; modern thinkers from Hobbes to Bossuet; and contemporary writers from Bentham to Lenin to Pope St. John Paul II. Special attention is paid to philosophical assumptions about nature and the human person that lead to such disparate political philosophies.
Notes
This course does not satisfy either the POL 291 or POL 292 course requirements of the Political Science major or minor or the Humanities and Catholic Culture major.
Provides a basic foundation in and study the history of political philosophy, which is essential for the study of the rest of the discipline of political science. It briefly examines the philosophical foundations for political authority and studies the writings of the greatest political thinkers of the classical and medieval periods, such as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, St. Augustine of Hippo, and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Continues the study of the history of political philosophy started in POL 291. It studies the writings of the major political thinkers of the modern period, such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, J.S. Mill, Marx, Nietzsche.
Continues the study of the history of political philosophy started in POL 291 and POL 292. It studies the writings of the major political thinkers of the contemporary period, such as Dewey, Foucault, Derrida, Gramsci, Marcuse, Derrick Bell, and Judith Butler.
Studies first the metaphysics of beauty, which involves issues such as beauty and being, beauty and good, and divine beauty. Then one studies beauty in the fine arts, in literature, and in nature. In addition, the place of beauty in the life of the human person is studied. The course even includes questions that do not directly concern beauty, such as the essence of the tragic and of the comic.
Chronologically the last in the history of philosophy course sequence, it covers philosophy after Kant (d. 1804) through the major ideas and figures of the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on several key traditions of philosophy that emerge--especially the Continental or Phenomenological and the Analytic traditions. In addition to a proper historical overview and contextualization of this period of contemporary philosophy, select key figures, positions, and arguments are examined, spanning many distinct but related philosophical topics (e.g., metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, the philosophy of language, philosophical methodology, the philosophy of mind, etc.)
The course studies this important movement in modern philosophy, analyzes and evaluates its main branches, and unfolds its place in relation to the philosophical tradition. Lectures and readings will address various major themes of the movement, such as: existentialism as a philosophic revival in the 20th century and its antecedents in the 19th century, the contingency of the human being, the limits of reason, the call to transcendence in human life, the instability of human existence, estrangement, the finality and the immanence of death, solitude and the secret inner state of each individual, the concept of nothingness, the call to personal metanoia, the problem of attachment to this world, and the mystery of other persons. Authors covered will typically include Sartre, Camus, Heidegger, Marcel, Buber, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard.
Asks what it means to say with Aristotle that man is a social animal, and then studies how modern philosophies of intersubjectivity (Hegel, Scheler, Levinas, von Hildebrand) have contributed to our understanding of the relation of each person to others. One also inquires into the structure of communities such as the family, the state, and mankind, and also how the individual can participate in them in a manner appropriate to his personhood.
Studies the philosophical views expressed in works of literature such as The Divine Comedy, Camus' The Plague, and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, examine these views in terms both of their assumption and their philosophical implications. One studies the difference between philosophical statement of truths and the distinctively literary expression of them.
Studies questions first raised by Aristotle in his Physics, such as questions regarding space, time, matter, and number. One is also introduced to the philosophical problems arising from contemporary science, such as from the theory of relativity or the theory of evolution. The philosophical assumptions of some of the sciences are explored. Questions of scientific method are raised.
Inquires whether the existence of God can be proved and studies some of the main attempts to prove it (including the cosmological, the teleological, the ontological, and the moral proofs). One studies the problem of speaking about God without anthropomorphism (that is, speaking in such a way as not to reduce God to finite being). One comes to grips with the main objections to traditional theism, such as those of Kant and Hume, and those of process theology, and with the attempt to disprove the existence of God on the basis of the evil in the world.
Studies the different orders of law, especially the natural moral law and the positive law of the state, and their interrelations; this involves issues such as justice, authority, the is-ought" distinction, the common good, and state punishment. Aquinas' Treatise on Law is typically read, as are modern authors such as Hegel, Kelsen, and Reinach."
Allows one to study this special area of the philosophy of the human person, looking closely at the personal response of love and the interpersonal relationship constituted by love. One studies the role both of the will and of the emotions in the act of loving. The relations between love and happiness, love and unity, and love and morality are explored. Different types of love may be examined, such as eros, agape, love of friendship, and familial loves. Betrothed love and its expression in and through the body sexually are also discussed. Both classical (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Scotus, Bernard of Clairvaux) and modern (e.g., Kierkegaard, Buber, Marcel, von Hildebrand, Pieper, Wojtyla) sources are utilized.
Studies closely some classics of philosophy, such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Metaphysics, some part of the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas, Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, and Husserl's Logical Investigations. Sometimes the seminar may center around several related texts. The idea is to study the great works of philosophy in greater depth than is normally possible when they are dealt with in other courses.
Inquires into what the meaning of a word is and into the kind of reality that meaning has. One studies the performative" functions of language, which philosophers have only recently noticed, and also the emotive and prescriptive force of language. One is introduced to recent philosophical studies of grammar and also to the question of function of language in religion. One inquiries into the place of language in the existence of persons, asking whether language is only an instrument of communication and action, or a realm in which the human person dwells."
In this course, students hone their skills as philosophical writers and thinkers by (1) studying and employing established methods for advancing and establishing philosophical claims (familiarity with research practices and standards found in professional philosophical writing and presentation); (2) completing and submitting the capstone philosophy project, the senior theses. The course covers both phenomenological and analytic methodology, library research in philosophy, techniques for writing original philosophical articles and critiques, proper citation, etc. These skills are learned for the sake of enhancing the quality of the senior thesis.
Studies what it is to say that human beings are persons and have freedom and subjectivity; the different powers of the human person, including the powers of understanding, willing, feeling, and loving; the difference between body and soul in human beings, and the unity of the two; and the question of the immortality of the soul. Some classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read. This is a particularly fundamental course that underlies many of the other courses.
Notes
Undergraduate-level prerequisite course and does not count toward graduate program requirements.
Begins by asking what metaphysical questions are. One then poses selected metaphysical questions, such as what becoming is, what time is, what goodness is, what it means for a thing to exist, what the transcendental properties of being are, and, as the supreme question of metaphysics, whether God exists. Some classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read.
Notes
Undergraduate-level prerequisite course and does not count toward graduate program requirements.
Inquires into the significance of moral good and evil in the life of the human person; into moral virtue and vice (or moral character); into moral obligation; right and wrong actions; moral laws and the problem of exceptions; and the place of conscience in the moral life. One also studies the con- temporary debate between consequentialist and deontological ethics, and the claims of ethical relativism. Some classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read.
Notes
Undergraduate-level prerequisite course and does not count toward graduate program requirements.
Inquires whether is it possible for the human mind to know anything as it really is, and studies the philosophers who have affirmed and those who have skeptically denied this possibility. One inquires into the place of knowledge in the existence of the human person, asking what it is about persons that enables them to know; one also inquires into the social and historical conditions of knowing. One proceeds to distinguish different kinds and degrees of knowledge, as well as different sources of error. Attention is given throughout to the role of the senses in knowing. Classic texts from the tradition of Western philosophy are read.
Notes
Undergraduate-level prerequisite course and does not count toward graduate program requirements.
One studies first the metaphysics of beauty, which involves issues such as beauty and being, beauty and good, and divine beauty. Then one studies beauty in the fine arts, in literature, and in nature as well as the place of beauty in the life of the human person. The course also includes questions that do not directly concern beauty, such as the essence of the tragic and of the comic.
One asks what it means to say with Aristotle that man is a social animal, and then studies how modern philosophies of intersubjectivity (Hegel, Scheler, Levinas, von Hildebrand) have contributed to our understanding of the relation of each person to others. One also inquires into the structure of communities, such as the family, the state, mankind, and how the individual can participate in these communities in a manner appropriate to their personhood.
One studies questions first raised by Aristotle in his Physics, such as the questions regarding space, time, matter, and number. One is also introduced to the philosophical problems arising from contemporary science, such as from the theory of relativity or the theory of evolution. The philosophical assumptions of some of the sciences are explored. Questions of scientific method are raised.
One inquires whether the existence of God can be proved, and studies some of the main attempts to prove it (including the cosmological, the teleological, the ontological, and the moral proofs). One studies the problems of speaking about God without anthropomorphism (that is, speaking in such a way as not to reduce God to a finite being). One comes to grips with the main objections to traditional theism, such as those of Kant and Hume, and those of process theology, and with the attempt to disprove the existence of God on the basis of the evil in the world.
One studies the different orders of law, especially the natural moral law and the positive law of the state, and their interrelations; this involves issues such as justice, authority, the is-ought distinction, the common good, and state punishment. Aquinas' Treatise on Law is typically read, as are modern authors such as Hegel, Kelsen, and Reinach.
One studies this special area of the philosophy of the human person, looking closely at the personal response of love and the interpersonal relationship constituted by love. One studies the role both of the will and of the emotions in the act of loving. The relations between love and happiness, love and unity, and love and morality are explored. Different types of love may be examined, such as eros, agape, love of friendship, and familial loves. Betrothed love and its expression in and through the body sexually are also discussed. Both classical (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Scotus, Bernard of Clairvaux) and modern (e.g., Kierkegaard, Buber, Marcel, von Hildebrand, Pieper, Wojtyla) sources are utilized.
One inquires into what the meaning of a word is, and into the kind of reality that meaning has. One studies the "performative" functions of language that philosophers have only recently noticed, and also the emotive and prescriptive force of language; one is introduced to recent philosophical studies of grammar, and also to the function of language in religion. One inquires into the place of language in the existence of person, asking whether language is only an instrument of communication and action, or a realm in which the human person dwells.
A treatment of selected issues in bioethics, such as: the dignity and identity of the human person, problems in end-of-life decisions, reproductive technology, the professional-patient relationship, theory of action and the principle of double effect, conscience and the health-care professional.
Examination and analysis of basic health care law, including that regarding beginning and end of life, reproductive issues, informed consent, confidentiality, right to refuse medical treatment, standard of care, malpractice, genetics, definition of death and organ transplantation.
3 A clinically based practicum course in bioethics consists of supervised placement in ethics rotations in Pittsburgh-Steubenville area hospitals and hospices, and reading, writing, and discussion regarding clinical issues.
Previous courses in ethics and bioethics are prerequisites, and admission requires prior arrangement with the instructor.
One studies closely some classic texts of ancient or medieval philosophy, such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Metaphysics, St. Augustine's De Trinitate, the works of St. Anselm, some part of the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas, or some major work in the Franciscan tradition. The intent is to study the great works of philosophy more seriously than is possible when they are dealt with in other courses. This closer textual study will enable the students to deepen their understanding of the philosophical tradition in which they stand. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary from semester to semester.
The course begins by setting personalism in relation to Plato and Aristotle and Plotinus. Special attention is given to the Christian inspiration of the personalist critique of Greek thought. The influence of St. Augustine as the first great personalist thinker is examined. The Christological and Trinitarian debates of the 4th and 5th century are investigated. The “theological personalism” of Metropolitan John Zizioulas (1931-2023) is studied, who traces this personalism back to the Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th and 5th century. Next, major attention is given to the understanding of the person in St. Thomas Aquinas and then the Franciscan tradition for its thought on individual being and personal being. The influence of St. Francis Assisi is acknowledged. The so-called “turn to the subject” is next taken up, beginning with the Cartesian cogito. Among modern thinkers, particular attention is paid to Locke, Kant, and St. John Henry Newman; and also to the group of American philosophers who constitute American Personalism. Attention will also be given to the place of personalism in Vatican II.
3 One studies closely some classic texts of modern or contemporary philosophy, such as Descartes' Meditations, Kant's Critiques, the works of Nietzsche, Husserl's Logical Investigations, Sartre's Being and Nothingness, Scheler's Formalism in Ethics, Wittgenstein's Tractatus, Maritain's Degrees of Knowing, or Longergan's Insight. The intent is to appropriate critically the philosophical tradition in which we stand. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary from semester to semester.
The course engages various dialogues between prominent personalist thought and movements within philosophy. The course will determine whether personalism represents a rupture with the philosophia perennis, or an enhancement and deepening of it. Some of the following topics may be addressed, but are by no means exhaustive: a) Thomistic personalism; b) Self and Other; c) Embodiment; d) Persons and animals, etc.
One studies not some main period of philosophy such as the medieval period. Rather this course introduces the student to a serious study of a specific school of philosophical thought, philosophical tradition within the history of philosophy, or philosophical problem within a historical setting. Examples include the influence of Neo-Platonism on medieval philosophy, analytic philosophy, the Muslim medieval tradition, contemporary Thomism, phenomenology, the influence of Scholastic philosophy on modern philosophy, existentialism, pragmatism, and the impact of Christian revelation on philosophy, or the concept of the agent intellect in medieval philosophy. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary.
Two influential thinkers in the personalist tradition are Dietrich von Hildebrand and Karol Wojtyla. The former philosopher broke new ground with his teaching on value, self-transcendence, love, the heart, moral good and evil, beauty. Karol Wojtyla broke new ground with his personalist teaching on interiority, freedom, man and woman, embodiment, and religious liberty. The work and influence of both personalists are examined in the course in depth.
One studies in depth a particular issue in philosophical anthropology. Examples include the problem of individuation, the nature of subjectivity, the relation between the soul and body, the immortality of the person, and issues involving acts of the human person such as love, freedom, or aesthetic enjoyment. Possible issues also include some topics that fall within social philosophy or the philosophy of community such as the nature of intersubjectivity, types of social acts, the nature of marriage and the family, the nature of the common good, and the relation between human beings and the state. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary.
This course examines in depth a particular topic in metaphysics. Examples include the transcendental properties of being, the relation between substance and accident, the problem of universals, what time is, and the relation between being and value. Possible topics include those that fall within the area of natural theology such as the cosmological arguments for the existence of God, the problem of God and evil, and the various attributes of God. This course also encompasses questions of ontology such as the ontology of certain aesthetic objects and the ontology of relations. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary.
This course focuses on a particular topic in epistemology. Examples include the role of sense perception in knowledge, the nature of error, the difference between knowledge and opinion, the various forms of evidence in knowledge, and the social and historical conditions of knowledge. This course also encompasses issues in the philosophy of religion such as the relation between faith and knowledge and revelation as a source of religious knowledge. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary.
In this course one studies in depth a specific question or area of ethics such as sexual or environmental ethics, the nature of moral virtue and vice, the nature of conscience, and what natural law is. This course encompasses some topics that fall within the scope of political philosophy such as the nature of rights, the forms of justice, and the relation between moral obligation and duty. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary.
This course focuses on the specific topic in philosophical logic. Examples include principles of probability, tense logic, the nature of reference, set theory, the nature of conditional propositions, principles of modal logic, propositions and states of affairs, negative states of affairs, the status of logical laws, and logical atomism. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary.
A critical study of ethical principles for choices in health care issues: including natural law, other influential ethical theories, beginning of life, the health care professional-patient relationship, informed consent, truth-telling, issues surrounding procreation, genetic choices, end of life issues.
This course deals with issues such as informed consent, physician paternalism, terminating life- support, artificial reproduction, genetic engineering, cloning, stem-cell research. Catholic teaching on these issues is presented and examined.
A thesis of 45 to 75 pages, which is to be orally defended, is required of all MA Philosophy students. The permission of the Director of MA Philosophy is needed in order to enroll in PHL 910. Students should consult the Director of MA Philosophy for further information regarding the conditions that must be met before they can enroll in Thesis Research and the guidelines for writing the thesis.
Registration for this optional non-credited course indicates that the student is involved in studies necessary for the completion of the MA degree in philosophy. At the end of each extension period the student must demonstrate progress toward the completion of the thesis. Master's students are allowed to register for PHL 999 no more than two (2) times. A matriculation fee is required. This fee entitles the student to the use of the library and other basic services.