Catalog Entries |
Current
Apr 19, 2024 |
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 | Select the Course Number to get further detail on the course. Select the desired Schedule Type to find available classes for the course. |
| PHI 120 - Perspectives In Philosophy |
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Perspectives In Philosophy-An Introductory Course Prerequisite: None We see everything from a perspective. Whether spatial or temporal, physical or mental, individual or social, a perspective can narrow or widen our vision; it can obstruct or broaden our possibilities of understanding and taking action. In this course, you will be introduced to some of the most important, classical, and contemporary philosophical perspectives about different topics that will expand your horizon and intellectual perspective. We'll reflect together on the implications these perspectives have , have had, or may have in ways of engaging with the world. Topics to be covered may include: The mind-body problem, free will, questions about knowledge, art, love, justice, and the good life. The course will also help you develop the skills necessary for continued study of philosophy-analytical and critical reading, writing, and speaking. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: CSUS Common Course, GER IC1-Cultural Traditions 1, ELAC DC-Arts & Humanities, ELAC LO-Critical Thinking, LAC T1LT-Literature & Thought |
| PHI 1XX - Philosophy Elective |
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Philosophy Elective Prerequisite: Transfer Credit Evaluation Only 0.500 TO 6.000 Credit hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture |
| PHI 200 - Peace & Human Rights |
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Peace & Human Rights Prerequisite: None This course will explore theories and practices on peace and human rights from a broadly multicultural perspective. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 210 - Asian Philosophies |
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Asian Philosophies Prerequisite: None A study of the fundamentals of Eastern philosophy and religion including Chinese philosophy Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Zen, and an examination of the similarities and differences between Asian and Western viewpoints. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: GER IC2-Cultural Traditions 2, ELAC DC-Arts & Humanities, ELAC LO-Communication, Middle Level Writing Intensive, LAC T1LT-Literature & Thought, TWLD - AATW Minor |
| PHI 215 - Logical Inquiry |
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Logical Inquiry Prerequisite: None Everybody thinks that critical thinking is essential to the 21st century student. But what is critical thinking? There is not one definition, but it is agreed that it refers to the ability of thinking things carefully, which requires the capacity to examine any belief or any argument in light of the elements that support it and the conclusions to which they lead. This course will provide you with the essential tools needed to become skillful in the art of careful understanding-you will learn to discern between good and fallacious arguments; and will be capable to analyze, reconstruct, assess, and formulate arguments about important and complex issues which lack clear answers, using both informal and formal methods. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: CSUS Common Course, GER IA-Inquiry and Analysis, ELAC DC-Arts & Humanities, ELAC LO-Critical Thinking, Public Policy Skill Courses, LAC T1LT-Literature & Thought |
| PHI 220 - Ethics |
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Ethics Prerequisite: None This course will introduce you to the rational exploration of morality, that is, to philosophical analysis of the rules , criteria, principles, values, and parameters through which individual and societies determine between right and wrong. We will critically consider the major approaches to ethics- virtue ethics, deontology, consequentialism, ethics of care, indigenous / non- Western, and environmental ethics. The goal of this course is to provide the opportunity to reflect on one's own moral principles and strive towards a critical and systematic approach to real-world ethical issues by applying the conceptural tools that philosophical study of morality provides. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: CSUS Common Course, GER IC1-Cultural Traditions 1, ELAC DC-Arts & Humanities, ELAC LO-Ethical Reasoning, LAC T1LT-Literature & Thought |
| PHI 230 - Hist Early Western Philosophy |
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History Of Early Western Philosophy Prerequisite: None The development of Western philosophy from the pre-Socratics in Greece through Medieval Europe. Emphasis on Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: GER IC1-Cultural Traditions 1 |
| PHI 231 - Hist Modern Western Philosophy |
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History Of Modern Western Philosophy Prerequisite: None Many ideas which we take for granted today have their origins in the works of 17th and 18th century European philosophers, at the beginnings of what is known as the modern western philosophical tradition. Foundations of the liberal democratic political system; modern judicial concepts of rights, freedoms, punishment, and obligation; moral perspectives which shape our policies on public health and education; concepts of thinking, cognition, and understanding which influence how we relate to the environments around us-the list is too long to mention. We will be studying these influential people, understanding the reasons they give for the conclusions they wish to draw, evaluating the quality, persuasiveness, and shortcomings of their positions, exploring the implications of their conclusions, and extending and applying their reasoning to current areas of interest. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: GER IC1-Cultural Traditions 1, ELAC DC-Arts & Humanities, ELAC LO-Ethical Reasoning |
| PHI 232 - Medieval Philosophy |
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Medieval Philosophy:Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Prerequisite: None This course explores some of the most important figures and ideas in three philosophical traditions of the Medieval period: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish. A variety of medieval tests (monastic, scholastic, mystical, and vernacular) will be read. Among the topics to be examined are: the existence and nature of God, the problem of evil, free will and its relation to God's omnipotence, omniscience and providence, the ontological status of the natural world, the soul and the intellect, the good life for human beings, the normative claims of culture, tradition and prophetic revelation, the relation between faith and reason, mystical visions and divine authority, the role of women in medieval philosophy. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: LAC T1H-Historicl Perspective |
| PHI 250 - Crit. Thinking and Comp. Reas. |
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Critical Thinking and Complex Reasoning Prerequisites: None This course will examine both Critical Thinking and Complex Reasoning, CTCR, and its impact upon our lives. Critical thinking can be described as a deliberate mental process which enables a person to think clearly, consistently, coherently and rigorously. Complex reasoning involves being able to recognize what is often complex information which bears upon a subject, this includes context like 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 265 - Topics In Philosophy |
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Topics In Philosophy 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 2XX - Philosophy Elective |
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Philosophy Elective Prerequisite: Transfer Credit Evaluation Only 0.500 TO 6.000 Credit hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture |
| PHI 310 - Philosophy/Psychology Religion |
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Philosophy And Psychology Of Religion Prerequisite: PHI 120 An investigation of the phenomena of religious experience, and an analysis of religious myths and symbols in light of contemporary philosophy, psychology, and anthropology. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: GER IVA-Social Sciences |
| PHI 311 - Buddhist Philosophy |
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Buddhist Philosophy Prerequisite: LAC student with T1A, T1LT, T1H or T1SS course or ELAC student. This course is an introduction to the central questions, positions, and arguments for those positions developed by Buddhist thinkers. We will discuss topics such as the nature of human existence, the possibility of overcoming suffering, ethical Buddhist principles, the relation between body, mind, and consciousness, and Buddhist theories of self, impermanence, causality, and freedom. Note that we will study the teachings of the Buddha as philosophy rather than religion. After clarifying the socio-cultural context within which Buddhism emerged (6th c. BCE) the course will explore some of the major philosophical schools and commentarial traditions of Buddhism such as Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, and Yogacara. We will examine the arguments provided in favor of various Buddhist positions and will engage in the critical analysis of such arguments. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: LAC T2CP-Cultural Perspective |
| PHI 313 - Yoga, Philosophy and Practice |
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Yoga, Philosophy and Practice Prerequisite: LAC student with T1A, T1LT, T1H, or T1SS course or ELAC student. This course is an experiential and interdisciplinary introduction to yoga philosophy. Drawing from somatic practices of various contemporary schools of yoga and from the reading of texts in Yoga philosophy and contemporary phenomenology, this course seeks to introduce students in the exploration of yoga through philosophical topics such as self-awareness, mind/body, well-being, self-care as well as through physical, intellectual, and contemplative practices that yoga offers. This will involve the study of some ancient and classical sources of Yoga philosophy as well as contemporary philosophical materials that reflect on somatic practices. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: LAC T2CP-Cultural Perspective |
| PHI 314 - Modern Social/Political Thght |
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Modern Social And Political Thought Prerequisite: A minimum of 30 credits earned is required. A broad introductory survey of social and political thought from Machiavelli to the emergence of modern ideologies. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: GER IVA-Social Sciences, ELAC DC-Arts & Humanities, ELAC LO-Ethical Reasoning |
| PHI 316 - Ancient Political Thought |
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Ancient Political Thought Prerequisite: None A broad survey of Ancient Thought with emphasis on Attic Tragedy, Plato and Aristotle. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 320 - American Philosophy |
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American Philosophy Prerequisite: None A study of the philosophical elements of American politics, education, religion, etc. from their beginnings in British and French thought, including Locke, Jonathan Edwards, Jefferson, Emerson, James, Pierce, Royce, Santayana, Dewey, Whitehead, etc. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 330 - Existentialism/Phenomenology |
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Existentialism And Phenomenology Prerequisite: None An inquiry into the meaning of the existentialist movement and the phenomenological method, including the writings of philosophers such as Keirkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Buber, Marcel. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 340 - The Philosophy of War |
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The Philosophy of War Prerequisite: None This course engages classic and contemporary controversies in war, including just war theory, the specter of nuclear war, and genocide studies in a global context. Topics include the role of art, psychology, and propaganda within warfare, as well as the Geneva Convention and authors such as Homer, Sun Tzu, Augustine, Nietzsche, Gandhi, Arendt, and the Freud- Einstein correspondence on the challenge of wars and the fate of humankind. Students will address philosophical controversies about human nature, international justice, and the limits of diplomacy to develop literacy about the theoretical and practical challenges of war. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 341 - Philosophy of Law |
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Philosophy of Law Prerequisites:None This course investigates the philosophical questions about the nature of law. What is law and what makes for valid law? Main theories of law will be studied, for example: positive theory of law, natural law theory, and Critical Legal Studies. Other questions that may be included are: the relation between law, ethics, and justice, feminist critiques to jurisprudence, law and political systems. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 360 - Global Ethics |
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Global Ethics Prerequisites:LAC student with T1SS or ELAC student The course addresses leading issues of global ethics and international justice that stem from the moral significance, or insignificance, of national boundaries. Traditional principles of morality and justice often developed for self contained societies/nations are examinted from a global perspective that takes into account the conditions of and relations between people/institutions on different parts of the planet. Topics include the ethics of war, global climate change, immigration, affluent consummer behavior in a world of alleged exploitative labor and resource extraction in developing nations, global poverty, and fairness in international cooperation. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: GER IC2-Cultural Traditions 2, LAC T2IS-Individual&Societies |
| PHI 361 - Feminist Philosophies |
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Feminist Philosophies Prereq: LAC student with T1SS course or ELAC student This course is comprehensive exploration of the various ways in which feminist thought has developed throughout its various "waves". It includes the study and comparison of the assumptions and aims of various types of feminism (liberal, radical, Marxist, psychoanalytic, existentialist, multicultural, postmodern). Topics may include the feminist view on the body, early feminist philosophers' assumptions behind the fight for women's rights, the masculine gaze and body image, notions of gender and sex, the intersectionality between race, color, and disability, and other experiences involving embodiment through reading selections of the work of important feminist philosophers. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: LAC T2IS-Individual&Societies |
| PHI 362 - Bioethics |
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Bioethics Prerequisite: A minimum of 30 credits earned is required. This course is an introduction to bioethics,the study of ethical issues at the intersection of technology, medicine, life sciences, and humanities. It will expose students to the development of main bioethical principles and their application to a variety of cases. It will also explore bioethical dilemmas emerging in areas such as: new genetic and reproductive technologies, organ transplantation,environmental impact of gene drives, use and abuse of humans in research and in the clinic, end-of-life care, medical resource allocation, and other bioethical issues of contemporary relevance. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: ELAC DC-Arts & Humanities, ELAC LO-Ethical Reasoning |
| PHI 365 - Topics In Philosophy |
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3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 366 - Consciousness,Minds & Machines |
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Consciousness, Minds, and Machines Prerequisites:None This course investigates questions, both ancient and contemporary,regarding the nature of the mind, consciousness and their relationship to the body from a multiplicity of philosophical traditions. This course may also inquire into the puzzles of personal identity, (what makes you "you"?), the implications of artificial intelligence (how intelligent can it get?), and also alien/non-human minds (do plants think?). 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 367 - Philosophy of Art and Music |
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Philosophy of Art and Music This course explores the philosophic implications of art and the aesthetic dimension from the perspectives of ancient, modern, and contemporary philosophers, as well as from the perspectives of various artists and critics. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 370 - Human Rights: Natural & Civil |
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Human Rights: Natural And Civil Prerequisite: None Human Rights involves the claims and entitlements that encompass both endowed natural and civil rights. This course is based upon this premise and the proposition that these rights can only be expressed in a political regime which emphasizes political participation of its citizens on a basis of legally guaranteed and socially supported equality. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 371 - Jainism: Nonviolence And Love |
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Jainsim: Nonviolence and Love Prerequisite: None In this course, students will learn the Jain way of life. It is a religion, a culture and a tradition. Furthermore, it affects the social/political views of its members because it is devoted to a non-violent way of life. Jains believe that one should not harm any living being and should have the greatest compassion for all creatures. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 3XX - Philosophy Elective |
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Philosophy Elective Prerequisite: Transfer Credit Evaluation Only 0.500 TO 6.000 Credit hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture |
| PHI 400 - Peace & Human Rights Seminar |
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Peace & Human Rights Seminar Prerequisite: None Capstone requirement for the Peace & Human Rights minor. Specific topics will vary. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Seminar PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 420 - Philosophy Of Science |
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Philosophy Of Science Prerequisite: None A study of the logic of laws formation and theories through an analysis of description, explanation, prediction and the relationship of the latter three to regulative ideas. Both the rational and empirical roles in the scientific method will be investigated. 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 460 - Phil. Research and Reflection |
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Seminar in Philosophical Research and Reflection Prerequisite: PHI 210 and LAC student with at least two Tier II courses or ELAC student. This is a capstone course for those students majoring in philosophy, and as such, it is in the form of a seminar, and writing intensive course. All students enrolled in the class will write a research paper of at least 20 pages. Students will choose relevant subjects in comparative philosophy or Critical Thinking and Complex Reasoning (CTCR). 3.000 Credit hours 3.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department Course Attributes: LAC T3-LiberalArts Experience, Writing Intensive |
| PHI 480 - Independent Study |
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Independent Study Prerequisite: Consent of instructor 1.000 TO 6.000 Credit hours 1.000 TO 6.000 Other hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Independent Study PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 498 - Teaching Assistantship |
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Teaching Assistantship Prerequisite: Department Chairperson Approval The teaching assistantship allows advanced undergraduate students to gain practical teaching and research experience by supporting class work in topics relevant to philosophy and under the supervision of the class instructor. 1.000 TO 10.000 Credit hours 2.000 TO 20.000 Other hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Internship PoliSci, Philosophy, & Geog Department |
| PHI 4XX - Philosophy Elective |
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Philosophy Elective Prerequisite: Transfer Credit Evaluation Only 0.500 TO 6.000 Credit hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture |
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