Current Course Information, 2020
The following list represents the current offerings; for the full range of courses offered philosophy and religious studies, please consult the Undergraduate Course Descriptions in the UNF catalog.
Fall 2020
Introductory Level Courses
PHI 2010: Introduction to Philosophy
PHI 2100: Critical Thinking: The Art of Reasoning
PHI 2101: Introduction to Logic
PHI 2630: Critical Thinking, Ethical Issues
Upper Level Courses
PHH3104: Socrates and
the Sophists – Dr. Carelli
This course introduces
students to Socratic thought on a focused, intensive level. Students will read
the central dialogues of Plato that present Socrates arguing against the most
influential teachers of ancient Athens, the Sophists. In the process of reading
these works, students will analyze Socrates's arguments that virtue consists in
wisdom and that the life of continuous self-examination and striving for virtue
is superior to the life of political power based on rhetorical prowess.
Students will also determine for their own lives whether they prefer the life
of a philosopher, and the values on which it is founded, or the life of the
Sophist and master of rhetoric.
PHH3810: Introduction to
Buddhism – Dr. Mattice
Description: In this course we will critically engage
Buddhist philosophy and religion, from its origins in ancient India to its
spread across Asia and its impact on the contemporary world. The course will
include a focused survey of key ideas, practices, and texts, and a more
in-depth examination of one particular idea, practice, or text.
PHI3084: Philosophical
Methods – Dr. Creller
Description: This course is an investigation of various
central methods in philosophical inquiry. The course covers analytic,
continental European, comparative (non-Western/Western), and historical
perspectives. Attention is paid to developing students’ abilities to interpret
philosophical material, construct and evaluate arguments, and write
philosophical essays. Specific topics will vary by instructor. This course is
required for the philosophy major and minor, and is a prerequisite for all 4000
level courses.
PHI3601: Ethics – Dr.
LaChance Adams
Ethics considers
questions such as "How should I live?" and "How do I decide the
right thing to do and why should I do it?" This course deals with those
questions in the areas of moral metaphysics, meta-ethics and normative theories
of moral conduct which come from the history of philosophy back to the time of
Plato and Aristotle. Other theorists to be discussed include Immanuel Kant and
John Stuart Mill, and may include figures such as Thomas Hobbes, David Hume and
John Dewey, as well as contemporary theorists.
PHI3640: Environmental
Ethics – Dr. Buchwalter
This course will cover
intrinsic and instrumental value approaches to environmental ethics,
alternative environmental ethical approaches, and special environmental ethical
issues. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with all the major
approaches to environmental ethics and with a few particularly philosophically
interesting environmental ethical issues. Students will appreciate and
understand the complexity and intricacy of the arguments involved in adopting
one approach or position over another.
PHI3880: Philosophy of
Film – Dr. Fenner
Philosophy of Film is a
course in the aesthetics of film. The course is divided into four parts: (1)
film aesthetics, focusing on aesthetics vocabulary and the aesthetic components
of film; (2) film as art, focusing on art theory and the film artist; (3) film
form, focusing on the mechanics and aesthetics of film form, on film genre, and
on film theory; (4) film criticism, focusing on criticism, censorship, and
critical film reviews.
PHI3930: Selected Topics
– Dr. Matheson
Course topic is on
intellectual virtues and vices. What traits of reasoning and perceiving are
good or evil from the perspective of knowledge or truth?
PHI4220: Philosophy of
Language – Dr. Koegler
Description: The course explores the lasting significance of
the linguistic turn in philosophy, including its different philosophical
perspectives in analytic philosophy, speech act theory, semiotics and
poststructuralism, and philosophical hermeneutics. Central questions include:
What is the role of language for human consciousness and experience? How is
linguistic meaning constituted, and what are its essential components? What is
the basic structure of language, and how does it affect our access to reality?
What is the relation between language and truth? What is the role of language
and linguistic meaning for the constitution of culture, society, and politics?
The course clarifies concepts like consciousness, meaning, reflexivity, truth,
reference, normativity, and social practices through the philosophy of
language.
PHI4641: Business Ethics
– Dr. Haney
Description: This course examines the theoretical foundations
of business ethics as well as various ethical issues which arise on personal,
corporate, national and global levels in the business world. The course will
include: an examination of a philosophical context for business ethics; and
exploration of relevant ethical and social-political theories; consideration
and discussion of real-world business ethical issues. Readings and lectures
will be complemented by class discussion and an ongoing focus on case studies.
PHM3020: Philosophy of
Love and Sex – Dr. LaChance Adams
This course is an
examination of contemporary views of love and sex as well as their roots in
earlier philosophical conceptions. The course covers such topics as erotic love
and the self, homosexuality and heterosexuality, non-erotic love, and the ways
love, sex, and marriage may affect women and men differently.
PHM3400: Philosophy of
Law – Dr. Buchwalter
Introduction to
philosophical issues in legal theory. Focus is on such concepts as justice,
rights, civil liberties, authority, responsibility and punishment. Attention is
also given to the relation of law to psychiatry and to morality.