Philosophy

College of Arts & Sciences

• Introduction to Philosophy

  CAS PH 100
  

  Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God's existence, and the significance of human life. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.

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• Introduction to Ethics

  CAS PH 150
  

  Many of us want to lead meaningful lives. But what is it for a life to be meaningful? What makes some lives better or more meaningful than others? Can life as a whole have some significance or meaning? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.

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• Politics and Philosophy

  CAS PH 155
  

  Online offering. What is justice? What are the foundations of property rights, liberty, and equality? Are anarchism and utopianism defensible? This course is an introduction to major themes and questions in political philosophy. It includes a study of classical and modern texts, as well as contemporary political issues. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.

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• Reasoning and Argumentation

  CAS PH 160
  

  A systematic study of the principles of both deductive and informal reasoning, calculated to enhance students' actual reasoning skills, with an emphasis on reasoning and argumentation in ordinary discourse. Emphasizes argumentation and criticism in ordinary life and also presents formal models of reasoning designed to elicit underlying patterns and structures of reasoning and argumentation that are widely applicable. Includes simultaneous training in the skills of argument analysis, argument pattern recognition, argument construction, and argument interpretation and creation. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.

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• Medical Ethics

  CAS PH 251
  

  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one philosophy course or sophomore standing. - Surveys ethical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. Examines topics such as the right to healthcare, research on human subjects, euthanasia, abortion, cloning, genetic selection, disabilities, and the biomedical enhancement of human capacities. Students can expect to gain not only training in the concepts and methods of moral philosophy and the logic of argumentation, but also the resources needed for assessing ethically difficult questions that healthcare professionals routinely face. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.

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• Mind, Brain, and Self

  CAS PH 266
  

  Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - This course is devoted to exploring the relationships among consciousness, the mind, and the brain, the nature of the self or person, and other related topics. This course will also examine whether and to what extent these issues can be addressed by contemporary natural science. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.

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• History of Ancient Philosophy

  CAS PH 300
  

  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Semina r (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing and First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or CAS WR 120). A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics include the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. 4 cr.

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• History of Modern Philosophy

  CAS PH 310
  

  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one philosophy course or sophomore standing. - An examination of seventeenth- and eighteenth‐century philosophy from Descartes to Kant, with emphasis on the nature and extent of knowledge, the relation of mind to body, the nature of personal identity, the problem of free will, and the problem of evil. Readings from Rene Descartes, Princess Elizabeth, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Benedict Spinoza, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Research and Information Literacy. 4 cr.

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