• Home
• About
• Academics
  • Graduate
  • Undergraduate
• Advising
• Events
• Directory
• Employment
• Contact Us

Graduate Program

• Overview
• Program Summary
• Courses
• Admissions
• Funding
• Placement

Graduate Courses

PHIL 5070: The Continental Tradition in Philosophy PHIL 5120: Aesthetics PHIL 5200: Philosophical Applications of Symbolic Logic PHIL 5250: Decision Theory PHIL 5340: Moral and Philosophical Foundations of Health Care PHIL 5400: Philosophy of Mind PHIL 5440: Practical Ethics PHIL 5550: Advanced Philosophy of Science PHIL 5600: Philosophy at Pre-College Levels PHIL 5700: Philosophical Topics PHIL 5980: Readings in Philosophy PHIL 6000: Colloquium PHIL 6100: Seminar in the History of Philosophy PHIL 6200: Philosophy of Language and Logic PHIL 6310: Ethical Theory PHIL 6320: Theory of Knowledge PHIL 6330: Metaphysics PHIL 6500: Philosophy of Religion PHIL 7000: Master's Thesis PHIL 7100: Independent Research

PHIL 5070: The Continental Tradition in Philosophy An examination of the Continental tradition in Philosophy. Topics may vary from term to term. Examples include: phenomenology, existentialism, post-modernism, structuralism, deconstructionism, critical theory, and hermeneutics. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5120: Aesthetics An investigation of the many philosophical issues which arise from the study of the arts and aesthetic experience. Topics include such issues as the ontology and identity of works of art, whether art can be defined so as to distinguish art from non-art, the status of aesthetic values, the relation of ethics to aesthetics, the status of feminist perspectives in the arts, and significance of the arts in human life. Credits: 3 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5200: Philosophical Applications of Symbolic Logic This course is designed to expose graduate students to the range of philosophical applications of modern symbolic logic. Starting with the sentential and predicate calculi, the course explores various extensions which may include alethic modal logic, deontic logic, tense logic, relevance logic and counterfactuals. In addition, the course will address salient issues in the philosophy of logic and may include an investigation of the logical paradoxes and/or the controversy surrounding quantified modal logic. Credits: 3 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5250: Decision Theory Can there be a formal theory of what it is to be rational in one's beliefs and actions? This course is an introduction to decision theory, which claims to be just such a theory of rationality. Attention will be given to both its mathematical development and the issues it raises in the philosophy of science, the theory of knowledge, and action theory. A working knowledge of high school algebra is assumed. Credits: 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5340: Moral and Philosophical Foundations of Health Care In this course philosophical reflection and biological science are combined in a critical examination of the nature and purpose of the health sciences. Topics to be considered include: the aims of the health sciences, the interplay of fact and value in health care, competing images of humankind embedded in health science, patient autonomy, dignity and medical paternalism. Credits: 3 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted to the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5400: Philosophy of Mind A study of the philosophical problems surrounding our understanding of the nature of mind, mental states, and consciousness, and their relation to mater, and states of the brain and/or central nervous system. Possible topics include cognitive science, artificial intelligence, the relation of mind to body and/or behavior, teleological and mechanistic explanations of human behavior, the philosophical foundations of psychology, behaviorism, functionalism, the nature of intentionality, the concept of a person, the privacy of mental states, knowledge of other minds, and questions regarding free will and determinism. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. in Philosophy program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5440: Practical Ethics This course will examine the relationships between ethical theory and practice, especially in the area of professional life. We will consider questions concerning moral imagination, deliberation, and justification, as well as how principles and norms guide our complex activities. Case illustrations from various professions (e.g., medicine, laws, government, science, psychiatry, etc.) will be used to highlight some of these issues. Credits: 3 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate students. TOP

PHIL 5550: Advanced Philosophy of Science A detailed examination of some of the central problems in contemporary philosophy of science. Topics may vary from term to term. Typical topics include: nature of scientific explanation, theory structure and change, scientific realism vs. various anti-realisms, or issues in the special sciences, e.g., the physical, biological or social sciences. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5600: Philosophy at Pre-College Levels A content-oriented course that explores topics, reading materials, and ways of approaching them in the teaching of philosophy at the pre-college level. A special emphasis is put on critical and creative thinking. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5700: Philosophical Topics An examination of special philosophical topics. Topics to be listed in the Schedule of Course Offerings. Credits: 1 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is made by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit, with advisor's approval, when topics vary. May be offered in an accelerated format. Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 5980: Readings in Philosophy Research on some selected period or topic under supervision of a member of the Philosophy faculty. Credits: 1 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit. Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. TOP

PHIL 6000: Colloquium A seminar in which one or more faculty involve the students in their current research. Topics may vary from term to term. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit. Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 6100: Seminar in the History of Philosophy A close reading and discussion of selected classics written by major philosophers from the ancient, medieval, or modern period. Selections may vary from term to term. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is granted by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit. Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 6200: Philosophy of Language and Logic An examination of the relation of language to the world, and/or the philosophical basis of standard and nonstandard logics. Possible topics include the nature of reference and predication, the distinctions between a priori and a posteriori, between analytic and synthetic, and between necessary and contingent propositions, the roles of proper names, general terms, and pronouns, and the truth conditions of sentences, as well as questions concerning the philosophy of modal logic, tense logic, free logic, deontic logic, epistemic logic, paraconsistent logic, first and second order logics, and probability calculus. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is made by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit, with advisor's approval, when topics vary. Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 6310: Ethical Theory A study of theories of ethics and morality. Topics may vary from semester to semester. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is made by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 6320: Theory of Knowledge An examination of the nature of truth, belief, and evidence. Topics may vary from term to term. Examples include: questions about the nature of perception, a priori and a posteriori knowledge, skepticism, epistemic foundations, epistemic justification, and other related topics. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is made by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit. Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 6330: Metaphysics An examination of the underlying nature of reality. Topics may vary from term to term. Examples include: questions about the fundamental kinds of entities that comprise reality, the existence of God, universals and particulars, space and time, causation and free will, mind and matter, identity and change, and other related topics. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is made by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: May be repeated for credit. Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 6500: Philosophy of Religion An examination of philosophical issues related to religion. Topics may vary from term to term. Examples include: the nature and existence of God, the problem of evil, theistic and scientific explanations, pantheism, the relation between faith and reason, the nature of religious experience, life after death, miracles, religious epistemology, and the theological foundations of ethics. Credits: 2 to 4 hours Restrictions: Graduate students must be admitted into the M.A. program, unless an exception is made by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. Notes: Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 7000: Master's Thesis Please refer to The Graduate College section of the WMU Catalog for course description. Credits: 1 to 6 hours Restrictions: Prerequisite: Department and Graduate College approval; approved application. Notes: May be repeated for credit. Graded on a Credit/No Credit basis. Open to Graduate students only. TOP

PHIL 7100: Independent Research Please refer to The Graduate College section of the WMU Catalog for course description. Credits: 1 to 4 hours Restrictions: Prerequisite: Approved application and department approval. Notes: May be repeated for credit. Graded on a Credit/No Credit basis. Open to Graduate students only. TOP