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Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

This course introduces students to the analysis of various metaphysical and epistemological questions and problems in philosophy, typically including, the nature and limits of knowledge, the existence of God, the Mind-Body Problem, the Freedom vs. Determination debate, and the Absolutism vs. Relativism debate. Related topics in ethics may also be included.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

This course provides an introduction to the nature of ethical theory (moral philosophy), an analysis of significant ethical theories, and an exploration of the problems encountered in the continuing quest for a satisfactory ethical theory for contemporary society. Some of the main topics in normative ethics and meta-ethics are covered.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

This course will acquaint the student with some of the ancient Greek contributions to the Western philosophical and scientific tradition and examine a broad range of central philosophical themes concerning: nature, law, justice, knowledge, virtue, happiness, and death. There will be a strong emphasis on analyses of arguments found in the primary texts.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

This study of the principal philosophical developments since the Renaissance emphasizes the relation of philosophy to the growth of science and social and cultural changes in the modern period.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

This course is a philosophic examination of major ethical debates in contemporary American society. Topics may include capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, racial and sexual equality, affirmative action, sexual morality, pornography, “victimless crimes,” bio-medical research, animal rights, and environmental issues. Preparatory to those investigations, time is devoted to studying some of the most important moral theories and various types of moral reasoning.

A course in general logic emphasizing its applications to practical situations. The course covers both inductive and deductive techniques.

This is a beginning course in modern logic covering symbolic notation and translations, and decision procedures for validity and invalidity of arguments in sentential logic and predicate logic.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

This is an introduction to moral philosophy as applied to a range of normative issues raised by contemporary biology and medicine. The course introduces the main moral theories and strategies for moral decision-making, and such topics as assisted or alternative reproduction, abortion, circumcision and female genital cutting, cloning and genetic engineering, overpopulation, suicide, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, animal and human experimentation, research, practitioner-patient relationships, and allocation of scarce medical resources.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

An introductory-level survey of some of the philosophical questions that arise from contemplation of art and the artistic process. The main theories of art and beauty will be interpreted and evaluated with respect to the relevance each has for contemporary society. Principles and theories concerning art and beauty will be applied to various works of contemporary art in the major fields. The significance of aesthetic experience and its relevance to life will be examined. The role of the artist and the artist’s intention in the creative process will also be analyzed.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

Satisfies Global Citizenship

This course introduces the field of environmental ethics with an emphasis on global environmental problems and global citizenship. The conceptual foundations of environmental attitudes and values are examined through an historical survey of philosophies of nature and human/nature relations. Ethical theories are presented and used to analyze contemporary environmental problems, e.g. mistreatment of animals, pollution, climate change, species extinction, natural resource depletion, environmental racism etc. The ethical assumptions underlying various national and international responses to environmental problems will be analyzed and evaluated.

PHILOS 20 is the same course as ENVRN 20. Students may earn credit for one but not both.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

The cultural settings and basic concepts of the major philosophical and religious systems of India, China, and Japan are studied. Rituals and literature are used to compare and contrast Asian and non-Asian belief systems.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities)

This is an introduction to several traditional philosophical problems connected with religious belief. Among the issues to be discussed are the existence and nature of God, the problem of evil, mysticism, the rationality of religious belief, and the relationship between reason and revelation.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities) OR Area 4 (Social & Behavioral Sciences)

In this inter-disciplinary course students examine fundamental ideas about politics in the writings of major Western philosophers from the ancient to the contemporary period, and use those ideas to consider and debate current political issues.

PHILOS 51 is the same course as POL SC 51. Students may earn credit for one, but not both.

Cal-GETC Area 3B (Humanities) OR Area 4 (Social & Behavioral Sciences)

This interdisciplinary course in philosophy and political science examines arguments and discourses developed within contemporary political thought. How those discourses critique and/or are rooted in modern ideologies, such as liberalism and socialism will be considered. The theoretical perspectives presented in the course will be used to critically examine important issues in contemporary politics. Students will situate themselves as citizens and political agents in relation to those issues.

PHILOS 52 is the same course as POL SC 52. Students may earn credit for one, but not both.

Please see “Independent Studies” section.

Please see “Independent Studies” section.

• Corequisite: Any course in Philosophy.

This course — taken in tandem with another course in the discipline — enables a student to apply course content in a meaningful and relevant way to a particular activity. In this hands-on course, students engage in applied learning through unpaid experiential activities organized by the student (in conjunction with SMC’s applied/service learning center) and approved by the instructor. Students will develop a customized reading list relevant to their particular activity, complete a minimum of 15 hours of volunteer work with that activity, and submit academically-sound written reports regarding the activity. By applying course material to their experience, students develop a deeper understanding of the discipline.