NATURE AND PERSON – Students are introduced to the goals, methods, and principal doctrines of philosophy by studying writings from some of the most significant ancient, medieval, and modern philosophers; and by beginning to reflect philosophically on their teachings on nature,
man, and God. While focusing especially on man as microcosm of being and person as ‘that which is most perfect in all of nature’, this course considers such topics as the principles of nature, including substance and accident, the four causes, and soul; the difference between body and soul and their unity in human persons; the principal powers within and immortality of the human soul; philosophical accounts of the nature of God; and the meaning and destiny of man, including his relation to God. Authors studied include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas; and may include Descartes, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, and Wojtyla.

ETHICS – This course introduces the student to the nature of morality, and its meaning in human life. Fundamental ethical data pertaining to the moral life will be covered, including the nature of moral values, freedom, the moral law and obligation, autonomy, the structure of the moral act, moral evil, and virtue. Students will study representative accounts of theistic ethics, natural law ethics, virtue ethics, utilitarianism, Kantian duty ethics, and moral subjectivism. Authors studied include thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hume, Kant, and Mill.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION – This course will focus on the nature of religion and its value and meaning for human life. Topics considered include the nature of religious experience, religious language, the relation between the “God of religion” and the “God of philosophy”, a variety of religious acts and attitudes, and atheism. Ancient, medieval, and modern authors are read.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206

ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY – This course studies the development of Western philosophy from its origins in ancient Greece through the Later Roman empire, including the Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Hellenistic philosophers, and Plotinus. Major emphasis is given to the sapiential character of ancient philosophy—including the systematic questions that challenged classical thinkers to (i) seek to know the nature and first cause of the cosmos, the place of man therein, the meaning of good and evil, and (ii) pursue philosophy as a way of life.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206

LOGIC – This course introduces students to the basic structures of sound thinking and will focus mainly on classic Aristotelian logic. It will help them to think and argue more clearly, as well as to analyze effectively the arguments and ideas of others. Our study of the science and art of proper reasoning includes analysis of the operations of the intellect, viz. understanding, judgment, and reasoning; and the way these operations produce their proper products, viz. the term, proposition, and syllogism. The student will also be introduced to modern symbolic logic. Logic will not be treated as a mere technique, but as a field that deserves to be studied for its own sake.

MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY – This course studies the development of Western philosophy from the fourth through fourteenth centuries, paying special attention to the sapiential character of Medieval philosophy and the developing Neo-Platonic syntheses—especially the great synthesis of Aquinas—as philosophy engages and integrates the (i) claims of divine revelation, (ii) the influx of the texts of Aristotle and commentaries thereon, and (iii) Jewish and Islamic philosophy. Authors studied include Augustine, Proclus, Boethius, Psuedo-Dionysius, Eriugena, Anselm, Averroes, Maimonides, Aquinas, Bonaventure, Scotus, and Ockham.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302

EPISTEMOLOGY – This course investigates man’s capacity for objective knowledge and defends that capacity against various philosophies that have denied it. It will distinguish between different kinds of knowledge, and pay particular attention to the role of the senses, imagination, reasoning, and intelligence in knowing. Readings are taken from Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Newman.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206

PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE – This course examines the reality of love as the foundation and fulfillment of human existence. The student will consider the essence of love as involving the whole person, intellect, will, and affectivity. The different kinds of love will be examined, which will include an analysis of spousal love as the highest natural embodiment of love and the true meaning of human sexuality in light of this love, and culminate in a philosophical reflection on supernatural love and the transformation of all loves in caritas. Readings are taken from thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Pieper, Kierkegaard, von Hildebrand, and others.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES: METAPHYSICS – Students study metaphysics, a central pillar of sapiential philosophy. While focusing on classical, and especially Thomistic, metaphysics, they will master key metaphysical concepts like participation, act/potency, essence/existence, and the transcendentals; analyze proofs for the existence of God; and understand being as participated in God, teleological, hierarchical, and analogical. Within this perspective, students will also examine various classical and contemporary issues—which may include the relationship between science and theology, faith and reason, the doctrine of evolution, the existence and actions of God, and God and evil.

(required for non-majors)
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206

METAPHYSICS – This course focuses on the major themes of the philosophy of being via ancient, medieval, and modern texts. It will consider the principles of being (and especially God), including what it means for a thing to exist, the transcendental properties of being, act and potency, essence and existence, participation, the principles of change and of contingent being, corruptibility and immortality, time and eternity, proofs for the existence of God, and accounts of the divine attributes the divine governance of the universe, and the ‘nature’ and place of evil in the universe. After reviewing the metaphysical insights of Plato, Aristotle, and the early medievals, special attention is paid to Thomistic metaphysics, and the relationship of classical metaphysics as a whole to the modern challenges and developments brought by Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, and others.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302, 303, 305

AESTHETICS – This course is an inquiry into the nature of beauty, art, and related phenomena. Consideration is given to aesthetic problems as reflected in literature, film, theater, and fine arts. Concepts of beauty in nature and in art, artistic creation, the aesthetic response, and art criticism are examined and criticized. Ancient, medieval, and modern authors are read.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY – This course investigates the nature of the political community, understood as the comprehensive human association, by comparing and contrasting texts from classical and modern authors. The course focuses on the relationship between the political community and the end of human life, as it is understood in ancient, medieval, and modern authors. The goal of the course is to understand more clearly our own lives in relation to the communities to which we belong.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302, 305

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE – This course studies science in its distinction from philosophy and as an effort to understand nature. The course focuses on the character and goal and methods of scientific inquiry as a human activity. The goal of the course is to understand the nature and power of modern science in the contemporary world.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302

ST. AUGUSTINE – This course focuses, from a philosophical perspective, on the thought of St. Augustine. Participants will study especially from his great works, including On Free Choice of Will, Confessions, Literal Commentary on Genesis, City of God, and On the Trinity. While topics will vary from year to year, the major emphasis is upon the sapiential dimension of Augustine’s philosophy and therefore how he grounds his account of nature, man, history, politics, divine creation, and exegesis, in a metaphysical understanding of God. Attention will also be paid to recognizing the historical and philosophical context of Augustine’s thought as well as to its broad influence and subsequent developments in later eras. As circumstances allow, the course may sometimes focus specifically on later, and especially Medieval, Reformation, and Modern forms of Augustinianism.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS – This course focuses, from a philosophical perspective, on the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic doctor. While concentrating on specific topics--e.g., nature, man, metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, God, and divine providence--participants study especially from Thomas’ great works, including both his specialized treatises and commentaries on Aristotle, Boethius, and Dionysius. Attention will be paid to recognizing the historical and philosophical context of Aquinas’ thought as well as to its broad influence and subsequent developments in later eras. As circumstances allow, the course may sometimes focus specifically on later, and especially Reformation and Modern forms of Thomism.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302, 305

FRANCISCAN PHILOSOPHY – This course begins with a brief characterization of the early Franciscan movement, and then focuses on the thought of the three great scholastic thinkers that grew out of it: St. Bonaventure, Blessed Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. Towards the end of the course the relevance of the Franciscan tradition for contemporary thought will be discussed as well.

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN – Newman’s influence on Catholic thought in the 19th and 20th centuries has been widely recognized. He has been called “the last Father of the Church,” a “Christian Socrates,”and “Father of Vatican II.” Though not a systematic philosopher, his works are replete with philosophical insights that are particularly important for today. This course will study many of his most important works, highlighting their philosophical dimension.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206

PLATO – The course begins with consideration of the characteristics of ‘Platonism’ as a set of philosophical theses espoused by various authors, and of the history of Platonism. It proceeds to a study of Socratic ethics and of Plato’s own assertions and arguments, via close reading of the dialogues. Topics include soul and body, truth and knowledge, the relation between religion and ethics, the relation between metaphysics and ethics, education, moral psychology, theories of love and motivation. Comparisons and contrasts with other authors from the history of philosophy, as well as developments (Plato’s developments of earlier authors, and later authors’ developments of Plato), will be pointed out and discussed along the way.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302

ARISTOTLE – This course focuses on the philosophy of Aristotle by studying selected works in their relation to one another. The aim is to understand Aristotle as nearly as possible as he understood himself by attempting to get a comprehensive understanding of individual works and by relating those works to the themes that unite Aristotle’s philosophical thinking. Typically, texts that complement one another will be chosen, such as On the Soul and Nicomachean Ethics. A central concern of the course is contemplative activity, understood as the best life for human beings, understood as political animals. To the extent that it illuminates Aristotle, his thought will be contrasted with that preceding him (especially Plato’s) and that following him (especially medieval and modern thought).
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302

RECENT PHILOSOPHY – This course studies important philosophers and philosophical movements in the West after Hegel. Among the philosophers likely to be covered are Mill, Kierkegaard, James, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, and Wittgenstein. Among the movements likely to be covered are positivism, pragmatism, phenomenology, historicism, existentialism, analytic philosophy, and personalism. The goal of the course is to provide students with a close examination of the authors and themes that dominate 19th and 20th century thought.
Prerequisites: PHIL 205, 206, 302, 305, 413

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY – This course surveys the most important authors in modern and contemporary philosophy. Modern philosophy emerges in a complex reaction to both medieval and ancient thought. Modern philosophers, such as Machiavelli, Bacon, and Descartes initiated a reform of the goals and character of philosophy. Contemporary philosophy emerges in a complex reaction to the project begun by modern philosophers. The goal of the course is to understand the world in which we live by reference to the philosophy that has shaped and continues to shape it.
Prerequisites: 205, 206, 302, 305

SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY – Content varies according to the specific research interests of professors and prospective students. It offers the opportunity to cover topics not already (or sufficiently) studied in the above course listings.

SENIOR SEMINAR – When offered, this course will function as the final course in the philosophy sequence and, as such, will be designed for and required of all philosophy majors. In a seminar format, students examine a topic in depth and course requirements will include preparation of a Research Thesis to be presented at the end of the semester. Seminar topics are determined by the seminar director in consultation with the philosophy faculty and generally involve topics in metaphysics, epistemology, or the thought of a particular philosopher or philosophical tradition.
Prerequisites: All required courses except PHIL 403

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM – The department administers a comprehensive written examination to graduating seniors during the final semester of their senior year. This examination, counting for two-credits and covering the principal doctrines, themes, and authors studied in the philosophy courses required for majors, will especially test the student on their mastery of: the philosophy of being, philosophy of mind, the history of western philosophy, moral philosophy, and the relationship between philosophy and theology. 2 credits.