The study of philosophy will give you the intellectual resources you need to better understand yourself, your world, and your society. Philosophy concerns itself with the fundamental issues of justice, morality, knowledge, and reality. We will explore the ideas of great thinkers from a variety of movements and traditions. Whether we realize it or not, these ideas have shaped our civilization-and even our consciousness.
PHIL 100 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100 or 105.
A survey of philosophical vies on fundamental questions concerning consciousness, reality, God, knowledge, free will, moral values, and political ideals. Incorporates an introduction to the methods of logic and critical thinking. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (C2). (CAN PHIL 2.)
PHIL 103 CRITICAL THINKING (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours and one lab hour by arrangement per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 836.
An informal logic and language course that develops general learning skills, aids to understanding, creative problem-solving, effective communication, and processes of evaluation that are helpful to other areas of study. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (A3).
PHIL 109 CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING (3)
Three lecture hours and one lab hour by arrangement per week. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or ENGL 105 with a grade of C or better.
Designed to develop critical thinking and writing skills. Presents techniques for analyzing, constructing and reconstructing deductive and inductive arguments as used in the social and natural sciences. Develops the ability to create and refine logically rigorous arguments in essay form, with particular emphasis on advanced techniques of writing. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (A3).
PHIL 160 HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 836.
The history of ancient philosophy, the early Greek Philosopher through the Medieval Period. Special emphasis on the Pre- Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas. Topics include philosophy and religion, myth, science, and society. Transfer: UC; CSU (C2).
PHIL 175 HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY: 16TH- 18TH CENTURY (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100.
The history of Western Philosophy from Descartes through Kant, set in the context of the scientific revolution, the Protestant Reformation, and the emergence of modern political institutions. Specifics include Erasmus, Bacon, Pascal, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume and Rousseau. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (C2).
PHIL 195 HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY: 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100 or 105, or equivalent.
A survey of 19th and 20th century philosophy in its historical and cultural context. Examination of intellectual movements such as liberalism, positivism, Marxism, Darwinism, psychoanalysis, existentialism, and post-modernism. Critical reading of influential thinkers such as Hegel, Marx, J.S. Mill, Kierkegaard, Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud, Bertrand Russell, Wittgenstein, J.P. Sartre, J.J. Ayer, Quine, and Daniel Dennett. Transfer credit.: CSU (C2).
PHIL 200 INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC (3)
Three lecture hours and one lab hour per week by arrangement. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100 or ENGL 105, or equivalent; and eligibility for MATH 120 or equivalent.
An introduction to symbolic logic with an emphasis on proof systems for propositional and predicate logic. Includes translation of English sentences into a symbolic language, patterns and techniques of deductive and inductive inference, and basic probability theory. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (A3). (CAN PHIL 6).
PHIL 240 INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100 or 105.
A critical examination of philosophical views about ethics including accounts of human nature and human potential; theories of value, rightness and justice; ideals of character, personal aims, action, ways of living, and other topics. Contemporary moral issues will be explored in depth. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (C2). (CAN PHIL 4.)
PHIL 280 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. recommended: Eligibility for ENG 100 or 105, or equivalent.
An introduction to political philosophy. Readings and critical discussion of political philosophies (such as liberalism, conservatism, communitarianism, libertarianism, socialism, feminism, etc.) through readings by influential thinkers (such as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Mill, Marx, Rawls, and contemporary writers). Topics include theories of human nature, conceptions of justice, the relationship between the individual and the state, the distribution of wealth and power, the significance of ideology, and the role of markets. Also listed as PLSC 280. Transfer credit: CSU (C2, D3).
PHIL 300 INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS (3)
Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100 or 105.
An exploration of the religions of the world, their origin, history, beliefs, practices, art, and rituals. Includes varieties of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other selected traditions. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (C2).
PHIL 312 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100 or 105, or equivalent.
An introduction to philosophical thinking about religion, with an emphasis on issues central to traditional monotheism. This course teaches how to critically examine arguments concerning the origin of religion, the existence of God, the historicity of miracles, the veridicality of religious and mystical experience, the existence of spirits or souls, the possibility of life after death, the equal validity of all religions, and other topics. Transfer credit: CSU (C2).
PHIL 320 ASIAN PHILOSOPHY (3)
(Credit/No Credit or letter grade.) Three lecture hours per week. Recommended: Eligibility for ENGL 100.
A general survey of the philosophical developments in India, China and Japan. Major philosophical theories of these countries will be compared and evaluated. The philosophical impact on Asian existence, human destiny, ethical and metaphysical views will be examined. Course includes an introduction to the challenges of comparative study. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (C2).
