300
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.