Philosophy
The 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant once suggested three questions for philosophy, “What can I know?” “What must I do?” and “What may I hope?” Philosophers argue over many things, among them what questions we ought to pose, and that suggests a further question, “What should we ask?” The ancient Athenian philosopher Socrates lived by asking questions, so he exemplified this questioning spirit. Socrates told the Athenians that the unexamined life was not worth living, suggesting that we should examine life and ourselves, not just the world before us. And philosophers after him have often thought that a desire to know, a desire for answers to our questions, was tied to the development of character.
The Philosophy Department engages students in their own pursuit of such questions. They read historical and contemporary philosophy to see the questions asked by others and to help them to develop and ponder their own questions in preparation for a life of critical reflection and thoughtfulness. Such a life can be led along many career paths. Philosophy majors have gone on to law school and other professional schools, have gone into business and public service, and have gone on to graduate school in philosophy.
There are few prerequisites on our courses, but initial digits will suggest something about their level. All courses in the 100s are appropriate introductions to philosophy. Students with interests in a particular area (e.g., the philosophy of race, the philosophy of law, the philosophy of science, philosophy and literature) might begin with a 200-level course in that area. Most students in 300-level courses will have had previous courses in philosophy. The senior seminar is required of majors but open to others.
Student Learning Goals
The Philosophy Department at Wabash College prepares a student so that he . . .
Is able to recognize the names of and discuss the views of and relations among at least some significant figures in the history of philosophy
Understands and is able to talk about the views of a philosopher in some depth outside the context of the history of philosophy
Is acquainted with some contemporary figures or styles of philosophical work
Has a basic ability to give an account of what is said and of the author's reasons for saying it as well as to pose and suggest answers to questions of interpretation
Is ready to discuss ideas without recourse to examples; is able to formulate and develop new concepts
Is disposed to offer and ask for reasons for assertions; can assess the overall strengths of a statement of reasons as well as identify and describe gaps and weak points in argument
Is able to articulate objections to his own positions
Considers possible ethical, social, and political implications of arguments not directly addressing those issues, and considers how experiences of those from historically marginalized groups might lead to different interpretations of an argument
Can locate philosophical issues in non-philosophical contexts, and applies philosophical thinking to conceptual difficulties in ordinary life and also in contexts where there are existing disciplined patterns of thinking.
Requirements for the Major
Students majoring or minoring in philosophy are encouraged (but not required) to take PHI 240 and 242 in their sophomore year as this will establish a foundation for further coursework.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient & Early Modern Philosophy | ||
| PHI-240 | Ancient Philosophy | 1 |
| PHI-242 | Foundations of Modern Philosophy | 1 |
| Logic | ||
| PHI-270 | Elementary Symbolic Logic | 1 |
| Continental Tradition | ||
| PHI-345 | Continental Philosophy | 1 |
| Ethics, Social or Political Philosophy | ||
| Select at least one credit from the following work in ethics, social, or political philosophy: | 1 | |
| Philosophical Ethics | ||
| Philosophy of Law | ||
| Environmental Philosophy | ||
| Philosophy of Gender | ||
| Philosophy of Race | ||
| Philosophy of Commerce | ||
| Topics in Ethics & Social Philosophy | ||
| Seminar in Ethics & Social Phil | ||
| Epistemology, Metaphysics, & Related Areas | ||
| Select one from the following: | 1 | |
| Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology | ||
| Philosophy of Science | ||
| Topics Logic & Philosophy of Science | ||
| Analytic Philosophy | ||
| Seminar in Metaphysics & Epistemology | ||
| Seminar in Logic & Philosophy of Science | ||
| Philosophy Electives | 2 | |
Students must complete at least one 300 level course in addition to 345. | ||
| Senior Seminar | ||
| PHI-449 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Comprehensive Examinations
Students write for two days, three hours each day. The department has usually invited majors to submit a list of four books from a number of periods in the history of philosophy to serve as the basis for the questions on the first day. Second day questions usually explore broad philosophical issues, with students free to draw on any material in answering them. The department’s goal is to give students the chance to tie their major together, reflect on this part of their education, and demonstrate their strengths in the field.
Requirements for the Minor
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient & Early Modern Philosophy | ||
| PHI-240 | Ancient Philosophy | 1 |
| PHI-242 | Foundations of Modern Philosophy | 1 |
| Ethics, Social or Political Philosophy | ||
| Select at least one credit from the following: | 1 | |
| Philosophical Ethics | ||
| Philosophy of Law | ||
| Environmental Philosophy | ||
| Philosophy of Gender | ||
| Philosophy of Race | ||
| Philosophy of Commerce | ||
| Topics in Ethics & Social Philosophy | ||
| Seminar in Ethics & Social Phil | ||
| Electives | ||
| At least one credit from courses in philosophy with a number of 300 or above | 1 | |
| Philosophy Elective | 1 | |
| Total Credits | 5 | |
PHI-104 Introduction to Philosophy: Nature
This course will serve as an introduction to
philosophy by examining the ways philosophers have
used nature historically to justify the social
order: by identifying essences that prescribe
roles, legitimating social hierarchy by dividing
the world between what is closer to nature and
what overcomes or surpasses nature, distinguishing
between good and natural actions and bad and
unnatural ones, and distinguishing between culture
and the material of culture. This course will
examine the philosophical positions behind these
claims and critiques of these positions. The
course will take up the example of gender at
various places across the semester to think about
the implications of various conceptions of nature
in the history of philosophy.
Students are discouraged from taking more than one
course numbered 109 or below.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Equated Courses: GEN-104
PHI-105 Intro to Philosophy: Videogames
This course serves as an introduction to
philosophy by means of thinking about videogames.
In part, this means that thinking about videogames
sheds light on venerable philosophical questions
concerning, for example, free will, moral
responsibility, and our knowledge of reality. In
addition, videogames raise challenging new
questions about the nature of art and its place in
our lives. For example: Can a videogame be a work
of art? Is it immoral to play videogames with
violent or misogynist content? Can playing
videogames be an important part of a good life? In
this course, we tackle these questions by studying
some important works of classical and contemporary
philosophers, and playing a number of recent games
from a philosophically engaged perspective. This
course counts toward the Film Studies Minor.
Students are discouraged from taking more than one
course numbered 109 or below.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-106 Intro to Philosophy: Humans & Robots
This course will serve as an introduction to
philosophy by thinking about robots and artificial
intelligence as threats to or enhancers of human
existence. The course will draw on the history of
philosophy in conversation with existing, planned
and imagined technology of robots in news stories,
film, and television to ask: What does it mean to
be human? Have technological advances in robots
and algorithms have made it impossible for us to
distinguish between the human and non-human? Is
there a distinctly human sense of language? What
might it mean to consider new leaps in machine
learning in terms of self-consciousness? How much
of a human can be replaced by biomedical
technology and still remain (the same) human?
Students are discouraged from taking more than one
course numbered 109 or below.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-109 Introduction to Philosophy
A course in some selected philosophical topic or
range of topics designed to provide an example of
philosophical reflection and inquiry.
Not open to junior or senior majors without
permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-110 Philosophical Ethics
Thought about what is good, what is right, and
what ought to be done pervades our lives.
Philosophy can contribute to this thought by
providing ways of organizing it and reflecting on
it critically-which is done in this course using
both historical and contemporary sources.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-124 Philosophy and Film
This course uses film to investigate a variety of
philosophical issues-issues in such areas as
ethics, the theory of knowledge, or
existentialism, specific issues such as free
will, human responsibility, or human
subjectivity, or issues concerning such topics as
dystopian futures. The course may also explore
philosophical questions about film. Students
will typically be expected to watch one film that
will be the focus of the class discussion each
week and additional films on their own that are
related to the theme of the week. The final
project may be a paper or perhaps a
student-produced film that uses film to
investigate a philosophical issue.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-144 Intro to Existentialism
An introduction to some of the primary texts in
philosophy of human existence of the 19th and
20th centuries, including works of fiction,
philosophy, and psychology from such writers as
Kierkegaard, Dostoyevski, Nietzsche, Camus,
Sartre, de Beauvoir, and Jaspers.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-187 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-188 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-213 Philosophy of Law
An introduction to philosophical issues
concerning the analysis of legal concepts and the
moral justification of the law. Typical issues
include the nature of law and its relation to
morality, issues of moral justification arising
in specific branches of the law (e.g., criminal,
tort, or contract law), and the nature and
justification of international law.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
Equated Courses: PPE-213
PHI-215 Environmental Philosophy
Environmental philosophy explores the relationship
between human beings and the natural world. It
raises questions about the meaning of nature, the
place of human dwelling within nature, the moral
status of nonhuman animals
and ecosystems, human responsibility for
environmental challenges such as pollution,
climate change, and species extinction, and
environmental and intergenerational justice. This
course raises such questions from multiple
perspectives that may include conventional
approaches in environmental ethics like
utilitarianism and deontology
as well as ecofeminism, deep ecology, and
political ecology.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion,
Equated Courses: PPE-215
PHI-216 Philosophy of Gender
This course examines theories of the meaning of
gender, sex, and sexuality. It considers what the
source of gender inequality is in society and what
is required for achieving gender equality. Topics
could include cultural difference in the meaning
and operations of gender, how gender influences
our concept of knowledge, and the role of gender
in moral theory. Meets the Diversity Requirement
for the PPE major.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
Equated Courses: PPE-216
PHI-217 Philosophy of Race
This course covers the history of the development
of the concept of race, the metaphysical
framework for thinking about the "reality" of
race, the various ways to consider the meaning of
race, and the relation between the meaning of
race and the experience of racism. Questions
about how difference and equality function in the
law and the application of the law, concepts of
white privilege and community investment in
racial distinctions, intersectional analyses
that think race together with gender, class and
sexuality and the concept of race in colonial and
post-colonial settings are likely topics. Meets
the Diversity Requirement for the PPE major.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion, , Global Citizenship, Justice, and Diversity
Equated Courses: BLS-283
PHI-218 Philosophy of Commerce
This course will consider broadly how concerns
for the oikos, the household, the root of our
word economics, serve, support and potentially
undermine our efforts to live well. The concepts
of property, markets, labor, corporations,
collective and individual responsibility,
economic vs. political freedom, wealth, debt, and
value will be subjected to philosophical
scrutiny. Philosophical investigation of these
ideas will be joined to broad philosophical
questions, including but not limited to: their
treatment in the history of philosophy, the role
of these concerns in the good life, the
development of markets in the context of the
emergence of modern subjectivity, the relation of
desire and its production to the need for
markets, and the account of what it means to be
human that these concepts assume or encourage.
The goal of this course is for students to have a
robust understanding of the historical and
contemporary arguments, assumptions and views
these economic concepts presuppose about what it
means to be human. Application of these
considerations to contemporary debates in public
life will be encouraged.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
Equated Courses: PPE-218
PHI-219 Topics in Ethics & Social Philosophy
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-220 Aesthetics
A survey of work in the philosophy of art both
prior to and during the 20th century. Topics
considered include the concept of art and a work
of art, the relation between art and truth, the
objectivity of aesthetic evaluation, the nature
of representation, and issues concerning meaning
and interpretation.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion, Literature/Fine Arts
PHI-240 Ancient Philosophy
A survey of Ancient Greek philosophy, including Pre-Socratics, Plato, and Aristotle; Hellenistic philosophy may also be included. This course focuses on acquiring and improving abilities in philosophical reading, thinking, and expression. Students will be asked to consider the questions and problems raised by ancient thinkers on the basis of close textual analysis and to see how these questions and problems remain relevant through lectures and discussion. Topics include nature, human knowledge, the good, and ultimate being. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion, Literature/Fine Arts
Equated Courses: CLA-240
PHI-242 Foundations of Modern Philosophy
Readings and discussion of the classical modern
philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries,
focusing on questions such as scientific method
and the possibility of knowledge, the nature of
reality, ethics and the relation of the
individual to society, and the existence of God.
Readings from among Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz,
Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, and
Rousseau. This course is offered in the spring
semester.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-249 Topics in the History of Philosophy
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-269 Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-270 Elementary Symbolic Logic
An introduction to the principles of deductive
logic for connectives ("and," "not," "or," "if")
and quantifiers ("all," "some"). Attention is
given to the logical structure of English
sentences and its representation in symbolic
notation and to formal proofs establishing the
logical properties and relations of sentences.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion, Quantitative Literacy
PHI-272 Philosophy of Science
An introduction to philosophical issues
concerning the logical structure and historical
development of natural science. Among the general
issues considered will be the relations among
theory, observation, and experiment; the reality
of theoretical entities; and the significance of
scientific revolutions. Some attention is usually
given also to philosophical issues regarding
specific sciences, principally biology and
physics.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-279 Topics Logic & Philosophy of Science
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-287 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-288 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-299 Special Topics in Philosophy
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-319 Seminar in Ethics & Social Phil
Seminar discussion at a more advanced level of a
topic or area in ethical theory, applied ethics,
or social and political philosophy.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-345 Continental Philosophy
Seminar discussion of major themes or figures in
the Continental tradition from the 19th century
to the present, which may include work in
phenomenology and existentialism, Marxism and
critical theory, poststructuralism, and feminism.
Readings may be drawn from Hegel, Marx,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Habermas, Sartre, Beauvoir,
Foucault, Derrida, or others. This course is
offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: PHI-240 (or taken concurrently), and PHI-242
Corequisites: Prerequisite: PHI-240 (or taken concurrently)
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-346 Analytic Philosophy
Seminar discussion of major themes or figures in
the Analytic tradition.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-349 Seminar in the History of Philosophy
Seminar discussion at a more advanced level of a
historical period, figure, or topic.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-369 Seminar in Metaphysics & Epistemology
Seminar discussion at a more advanced level of a
topic or area in metaphysics or the theory of
knowledge.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
PHI-379 Seminar in Logic & Philosophy of Science
Additional topics in formal or informal logic or
the philosophical study of science and its
historical development offered at a more advanced
level.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-387 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-388 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-399 Proseminar
An advanced course in some selected philosophical
topic.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-449 Senior Seminar
A detailed study of a major philosopher or
philosophical topic. Required of majors and open
to other students. Normally taken in the senior
year. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
PHI-487 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
PHI-488 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1