Detailed study and discussion of a problem or topic in contemporary philosophy, selected according to the interests and needs of the students enrolled. Examining Cultures, Engaging Thought, and Logic requirements must be fulfilled before enrolling in Senior Seminar. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: senior standing or permission of instructor.
- Teacher: Suzanne Bessenger
An advanced study of ethical and aesthetic issues concerning the environment. Topics include the definition of nature; whether humans are inside or outside of nature; the moral standing of animals, plants, species, and ecosystems; the tension between environmental preservation and economic development; and, the value of wilderness. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: CPHL 1133 or 2214 or EVST 2250, or permission of instructor.
- Teacher: David Schwartz
This course introduces students to the philosophical movement of Existentialism. Students will learn the historical roots of the movement and study a variety of existentialist thinkers from the 19th and 20th centuries, including Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Camus, and Sartre. Themes of the course include the nature of moral values, human freedom, the subjectivity of experience, and the anxiety of existence. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: CPHL 1133 or CPHL 1183 or permission of instructor. (HE)
- Teacher: Kaija Mortensen
- Teacher: David Schwartz
A careful analysis of issues arising in medical practice and scientific research. Topics include abortion, euthanasia, surrogate parenting, allocation of scarce resources, experimentation on living subjects (human and nonhuman), the doctor/patient relationship. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of instructor. (HE)
- Teacher: David Schwartz
An introduction to philosophy through reading classical and contemporary authors on traditional issues. Topics will be selected from among the following: the ethics of belief, the grounds and limits of knowledge, mind and its place in nature, personal identity, determinism and free will, theories of the self, and the possibility of transformative experience. Credit hours: 4. (HE)
- Teacher: Kaija Mortensen
This course engages in the theoretical, experiential, and skill-based study of contemplative practices. Combining academic study of contemplative traditions with critical first-person practice of contemplative techniques, every meeting will involve guided meditation and discussion of readings from various cultural traditions (such as Buddhism, Daoism, ancient Greek traditions, etc) and disciplinary perspectives (psychology, philosophy, art, religion, etc.) Credits hours: 4.
- Teacher: Suzanne Bessenger