Philosophy and Religious Studies

• Faculty
• Course Work
• Home Page - http://www.gmu.edu/departments/philosophy/
• Undergraduate Programs
  • B.A. Degree with a Major in Philosophy
    • Traditional Philosophy Major
    • Religious Studies Track in Philosophy
• Minor in Religious Studies
• Philosophy-Economics Double Major
• Philosophy-English Double Major
• Philosophy-Psychology Double Major
• Minor in Philosophy
• Certificate in Philosophy and Computer Science

Faculty

Professors: Bergoffen, Lavine (Robinson Professor), McFarlane (Emeritus Professor)

Associate Professors: Burns, De Nys, Fletcher, Froman (Chair), Holman, McDermott, Paden, Ro, Rothbart, Skousgaard, Yance (Emeritus Associate Professor)

Assistant Professors: Cherubin, Gopin, Kinnaman, Nguyen, Shiner

Lecturers: Caudill, D. Gregory, M. Gregory, Oberoi, San Juan, Skousgaard, Sojka, Steenhuisen

Course Work

This department offers all course work designated PHIL and RELI in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog.

Undergraduate Programs

B.A. Degree with a Major in Philosophy

The degree program in philosophy serves the needs of students with various interests and career goals. Major concentrations are available for students who wish to pursue graduate studies in philosophy; emphasize philosophy in acquiring a broad liberal arts education; prepare for certain professions, such as law, the ministry, or government service; or complement other interests by taking a double major in philosophy and a related field of study.

The department offers a traditional philosophy major, a specially designed philosophy-English major in cooperation with the English Department, a specially designed philosophy-psychology major, a specially designed philosophy-economics major, and a specially designed religious studies within the philosophy major. Each of these programs leads to a B.A. in Philosophy.

Traditional Philosophy Major

In addition to the general requirements for a bachelor of arts degree, philosophy majors must complete at least 33 credits in philosophy (with grades of C or better). At least 21 credits must be courses at the 300 level or above, including 6 credits at the 400 level or above.

These credits must be distributed in the following way:

1. All majors must take the following:

   PHIL 173 Introduction to Logic or
   PHIL 376 Symbolic Logic
   PHIL 301 History of Western Philosophy: Ancient
   PHIL 303 History of Western Philosophy: Modern

2. All majors must submit a minimum of three credits each from category A and category B courses:

   Category A: The Analytic Tradition

   PHIL 332 20th-Century Analytic Philosophy
   PHIL 355 Contemporary Ethical Theory
   PHIL 371 Philosophy of Natural Sciences
   PHIL 373 Theory of Knowledge
   PHIL 374 Philosophy of Mind
   PHIL 520 Current Issues in Philosophy of Science
   PHIL 573 Current Issues in Theory of Knowledge
   PHIL 574 Current Issues in Philosophy of Psychology
   
   Category B: The Continental Tradition

   PHIL 325 Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought
   PHIL 335 19th-Century Philosophy
   PHIL 336 Contemporary Continental Thought: Existentialism
   PHIL 337 20th-Century Continental Thought: Phenomenology
   PHIL 340 Hermeneutic Philosophy
   PHIL 531 Freud and Philosophy
   
   When the subject matter is appropriate, and at the discretion of the professor, PHIL 391, 392, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, or 426 may count as Category A or Category B courses.

3. All majors may submit no more than three credits from the following list toward the major. (No credits from this list are required for the major.)

   Category C: Ethics
   
   PHIL 305 Business Ethics
   PHIL 306 Criminal Justice Ethics
   PHIL 309 Medicine and Human Values
   PHIL 510 Seminar in Ethics of Health Care
   PHIL 555 Environmental Ethics

   For students who plan to pursue graduate studies in philosophy, the following courses are recommended:

   Ethics or Social and Political Philosophy
   Metaphysics
   Philosophy of Mind or Theory of Knowledge
   20th-Century Analytic Philosophy
   Contemporary Continental Thought (Existentialism and Phenomenology)
   19th-Century Philosophy
   Philosophy of Social Sciences

Religious Studies Track in Philosophy

This program offers students the opportunity to reflect on reciprocal relations, past and present, between philosophy and religion, and to approach contemporary questions and issues in religion, both substantive and methodological, through philosophical ideas pertinent to them. Students who plan to pursue a program in philosophy and religious studies must complete at least 33 credits in philosophy and religious studies.

All students pursuing this track must take the following:

PHIL 173 Introduction to Logic or
PHIL 376 Symbolic Logic
PHIL 301 History of Western Philosophy: Ancient
PHIL 303 History of Western Philosophy: Modern
PHIL 313 Philosophy of Religion
RELI 420-423 Seminar in Religious Studies or
RELI 490 Comparative Study of Religions

Students must also submit a minimum of 12 credits from among the following courses (at least three credits must be in an Eastern tradition and at least three credits must be in a Western tradition):

RELI 313 Hindu Religion and Philosophy
RELI 314 Chinese Philosophies and Religious Traditions
RELI 315 The Buddhist Tradition
RELI 337 Mysticism: East and West
RELI 352 Judaism Between the Old and New Testaments
RELI 370 Judaism: Life and Thought
RELI 371 History of Western Christian Thought I
RELI 372 History of Western Christian Thought II
RELI 374 Islamic Thought
RELI 376/377 Special Topics in Religious Thought

Students must take six additional credits in religious studies or philosophy.

Minor in Religious Studies

The minor in religious studies introduces students to the world's religious traditions. Within the minor, students may pursue biblical studies or Western or Eastern religious traditions. The minor consists of 18 credits, at least 9 of which must be taken at the upper level. Three credits must be taken from RELI 100 The Human Religious Experience, RELI 211 Religions of the Near East, or RELI 212 Religions of the Orient.

Philosophy-Economics Double Major

Students interested in pursuing the specially designed cooperative double major in philosophy and economics must fulfill all requirements for each major. They may count up to six credits from the following courses toward both majors:

ECON 380 Comparative Economic Systems
ECON 403 Austrian Economics
ECON 410 Public Choice
ECON 412 Game Theory and Economics of Institutions
ECON 481 The Development of Economic Thought

Students must satisfy the requirements of the economics major by taking 12 credits in philosophy. At least six of these must come from the following list:

PHIL 305 Business Ethics
PHIL 311 Philosophy of Law
PHIL 315 Philosophy of History
PHIL 325 Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought
PHIL 326 Contemporary Theories of Justice
PHIL 337 20th-Century Continental Thought: Phenomenology
PHIL 340 Hermeneutic Philosophy
PHIL 357 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
PHIL 373 Theory of Knowledge

Philosophy-English Double Major

Students interested in pursuing the specially designed joint major in philosophy and English must fulfill the distribution and core requirements of each major. Students pursuing this program must take one class in philosophy and one in English from the following list of theoretical or methodological courses (six credits). Both courses count toward both majors (i.e., the philosophy course is counted as part of the English major credits and vice versa).

ENGL 337 Special Topics in Myth and Literature
ENGL 494 Special Topics in Criticism
ENGL 551 Literary Criticism
PHIL 356 Philosophy of Art
PHIL 372 Philosophical Methods
PHIL 375 Metaphysics

Students must take six credits from one of the following pairs of historical courses. Both courses count toward both majors. (Some classes of ENGL 444, 446, and 496 and PHIL 391, 392, 421, 422, 423, and 424 may fulfill these requirements with the prior permission of the departments.)

1. ENGL 471 Chaucer, ENGL 400 Literature of the Middle Ages, or ENGL 431 Medieval Intellectual Topics

   PHIL 302 History of Western Philosophy: Medieval

2. ENGL 401 English Poetry and Prose of the 16th Century or ENGL 472 (346) Spenser

   PHIL 301 History of Western Philosophy: Ancient

3. ENGL 405, 406, 423, 450

   PHIL 303 History of Western Philosophy: Modern

4. ENGL 425 Literature of the American Renaissance

   or ENGL 452 Development of the American Novel to 1914

   PHIL 391 Special Topics

5. ENGL 380, 390 (contemporary literature or language study)

   PHIL 332 20th-Century Analytic Philosophy

6. ENGL 447, 448, or 454 (continental literature or influence)

   PHIL 336 or 337 Contemporary Continental Thought: Existentialism or Phenomenology

7. ENGL 369 Women and Literature

   PHIL 333 Feminism and Philosophy: Issues

Students must take PHIL 512 or ENGL 512. The topic of this course varies from term to term; possible topics include structuralism, technology, form and matter, and conceptions of the future. The course is cross-listed and team taught. Prerequisites are senior standing, six credits of 300-level English and six credits of 300-level philosophy, and permission of instructor.

Philosophy-Psychology Double Major

Students pursuing the joint major in philosophy and psychology must fulfill all the requirements for each major, except that they may count up to six credits from each of the following lists toward both majors:

Philosophy

PHIL 357 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
PHIL 372 Philosophical Methods
PHIL 373 Theory of Knowledge
PHIL 374 Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 531 Freud and Philosophy
PHIL 574 Current Issues in Philosophy of Psychology

Psychology

PSYC 372 Physiological Psychology
PSYC 461 Special Topics (as appropriate)
PSYC 506 Theories of Personality

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated Ñwriting intensiveÉ in their majors at the 300 level or above. Traditional philosophy majors may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing PHIL 421 or 425. Students in the religious studies track of the philosophy major may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing RELI 490.

Minor in Philosophy

The minor in philosophy introduces students to the major traditions and issues that define philosophical thought. The minor also permits students the flexibility to pursue individual interests. A grade of C or better is required for the course to count toward the minor. The minor consists of 18 credits distributed as follows:

1. PHIL 173 Introduction to Logic or PHIL 376 Symbolic Logic (3 credits)
2. Any course at the 100 level or above, excluding

   PHIL 105 Critical Reasoning (3 credits)

3. PHIL 301 History of Western Philosophy: Ancient (3 credits)
4. One course from the following (3 credits):

   PHIL 302 History of Philosophy: Medieval
   PHIL 303 History of Philosophy: Modern
   PHIL 335 19th-Century Philosophy

5. Any course at the 300 level or above (3 credits)
6. Any course at the 400 level or above (3 credits)

   (No single course can be used to fulfill two or more requirements above.)

Certificate in Philosophy and Computer Science

The philosophy-computer science certificate is designed to acquaint students with areas of overlap between philosophy (including logic) and computer science (e.g., the philosophical and logical foundations of computer science, ethical issues relevant to technology in general and computer science in particular, and the use of computational models in dealing with some traditional philosophical problems).

The program is designed so that it can be integrated into both computer science and philosophy major programs and probably the majors of some of the other sciences as well. Students pursuing this program must take several required courses in philosophy, computer science, and math, as well as six additional credits from a list of philosophy electives. The relevant courses are as follows:

Course Requirements

PHIL 312 Philosophy of Technology
PHIL 372 Philosophical Methods
PHIL 376 Symbolic Logic
PHIL 574 Current Issues in Philosophy of Psychology

(When the topic is relevant, this may also be taken as PHIL 421-424 Seminar in Philosophy.)

CS 112 Computer Science I
CS 211 Computer Science II
CS 330 Formal Methods and Models
CS 480 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
MATH 125 Discrete Mathematics

Electives
(Students must take six credits.)

PHIL 332 20th-Century Analytic Philosophy
PHIL 371 Philosophy of Natural Sciences
PHIL 373 Theory of Knowledge
PHIL 374 Philosophy of Mind