Philosophy
(413) 662-5137
www.mcla.edu/phil
Chairperson: Zachary Finch, Ph.D. (sabbatical Spring 2027)
Email: D.Zachary.Finch@mcla.edu
Spring 2027 Acting Chair: Paul Nnodim, Ph.D.
Email: Paul.Nnodim@mcla.edu
Philosophy Major
The Department of English and Philosophy offers a four-year program leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Through reading, discussing, and writing about philosophical topics of perennial concern, the program invites and prepares students to bring a constructively critical attitude to every aspect of their lives. The intellectual skills and dispositions associated with the concentrated study of philosophy can enrich our students’ daily experience and complement any career.
Those graduating with a major in Philosophy will be able to:
- Critically examine and assess their own fundamental assumptions, beliefs, and presuppositions in light of philosophical inquiry;
- Demonstrate familiarity with and competence in major areas of philosophy, including ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, logic, and social and political philosophy;
- Communicate philosophical ideas and arguments with clarity, precision, coherence, and intellectual sophistication in written and oral form;
- Read, interpret, and critically evaluate a wide range of philosophical texts with analytical rigor and contextual understanding;
- Understand and apply the principles of logical reasoning and critical thinking in the analysis and evaluation of competing claims;
- Engage in thoughtful, respectful, and intellectually productive dialogue characterized by collaborative inquiry, reasoned disagreement, and openness to alternative perspectives.
Philosophy Courses
PHIL 100 Introduction to Philosophy3 cr
Immerses students in a detailed exploration of philosophy, undertaking a thorough examination of its fundamental tenets and concerns, including: the intricacies of freedom and justice; the demands and nature of morality; theories of reality and knowledge; questions surrounding religious belief, life's meaning, and the significance of mortality; the nature of aesthetic value; and the balance between individual rights and societal justice viewed through a comprehensive intercultural perspective. It accentuates the relevance of philosophy to contemporary world issues and obliges students to dissect, elucidate, and participate in rigorous philosophical conversation.
Attributes: Core Human Heritage (CHH)
PHIL 120 Art and Philosophy3 cr
Adopts a philosophical approach to the experience, understanding and critical assessment of the products and processes of the creative arts. Our inquiries will center on two traditional questions of aesthetic theory: What is art? What is art's special value? This course will be more theoretical than hands-on, though direct, continued experience in the various creative arts will be encouraged and figure prominently in most discussions and assignments.
Attributes: Core Creative Arts (CCA)
PHIL 120H Honors: Art and Philosophy3 cr
Adopts a philosophical approach to the experience, understanding and critical assessment of the products and processes of the creative arts. Our inquiries will center on two traditional questions of aesthetic theory. What is art? What is art's special value? This course will be more theoretical than hands-on, though direct, continued experience in the various creative arts will be encouraged and figure prominently in most discussions and assignments.
Attributes: Core Creative Arts (CCA), Honors Program (HONR)
PHIL 200 Logic and Critical Reasoning3 cr
Examines and applies the principles of cogent, sound or critical reasoning and writing, leading to a deeper understanding of language and of the use of logical argumentation. Considers, in the context of real life arguments and claims, (in the rhetoric of philosophy, history and other disciplines) formal and informal principles of clear and systematic thinking and writing.
Attributes: Core Human Heritage (CHH)
PHIL 200H Honors: Logic and Critical Reasoning3 cr
Examines and applies principles of cogent, sound or critical reasoning and writing, leading to a deeper understanding of language and of the use of logical argumentation. Considers, in the context of real-life arguments and claims (in the rhetoric of philosophy, history, and other disciplines) formal and informal principles of clear and systematic thinking and writing.
Attributes: Core Human Heritage (CHH), Honors Program (HONR)
PHIL 240 Ancient Philosophy3 cr
Explores the ancient roots of western intellectual history, including contributions of non-European societies, in the context of the politics, economics, language, religion and technology of their times. Students will apply philosophical and historical tools to investigate the development of important ideas and schools of thought in the ancient world and the consequences of those ideas in the present.
Prerequisite: PHIL 100
PHIL 242 Modern Philosophy3 cr
Explores the roots of western intellectual history since the European Renaissance, including the politics, economics, language, religion and technology in which they arose. Students will apply philosophical and historical tools to investigate the development of important ideas and schools of thought in the modern world and their consequences in the present.
Prerequisite: PHIL 100
PHIL 285 Special Topics in Philosophy3 cr
Challenges students at the sophomore level to understand, construct and criticize both informal (natural language) and formal (categorical and propositional) arguments. The course considers in detail the very notion of argument, argument structure and the criteria for constructing cogent arguments, and distinguishes arguments supported by evidence and reason from mere opinion and belief. Students will learn to apply these logical concepts in their writing, conversing and reading.
Prerequisite: PHIL 100, sophomore status
Repeatable: Unlimited Credits
PHIL 300 Epistemology and Metaphysics3 cr
Considers the origins, nature and presuppositions of knowledge, as well as its relation to such concepts as belief, fact, truth, justification and reality. Examines various accounts of the most general features of reality, using categories such as being/becoming, real/apparent, identity/difference, existence, change, time, space and causality.
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course
PHIL 302 Social and Global Justice3 cr
Delves into the complex and multifaceted discussions surrounding social and global justice. Students will explore the fundamental philosophical underpinnings of justice, rights, fairness, and equality, and how these principles intersect with broader social, political, and economic contexts on a global scale.
Prerequisite: 100-level or 200-level PHIL course, junior status
PHIL 303 Global Philosophy Through Thought Experiment3 cr
Explores global philosophical traditions through the distinctive approach of thought experiments. Invites students to immerse themselves in a multifaceted exploration of philosophical ideas and practices from diverse cultural and historical contexts, from ancient Greek paradigms to Eastern philosophy, African Ubuntu philosophy, and Indigenous worldviews.
Prerequisite: 100-level or 200-level PHIL course, junior status
PHIL 322 Business Ethics3 cr
Examines the values of a business society and the ethical dimensions of decision-making in business, with the aim of enabling the student to develop a meaningful set of values by which to live and contribute creatively in a business society.
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course
Attributes: Cross-Cultural and Social Justice (CCSJ), Leadership Minor (LDRS)
PHIL 325 Ethics, Animals and the Environment3 cr
Addresses recent and historical perspective on the nature and scope of human moral obligations to the natural environment. Discusses the content and merits of competing ethical theories and their implications for both intra-human affairs and our place in nature as one of its creatures.
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course
Attributes: Cross-Cultural and Social Justice (CCSJ), Environmental Studies (ENVI)
PHIL 335 Philosophy of Education3 cr
Seeing education as the principal means to full personhood raises important questions about autonomy, authority, creativity, and knowledge. This course will examine various philosophical perspectives on these questions and their implications for classroom practice.
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course
PHIL 350 Contemporary Moral Issues3 cr
Views such issues as war and peace, world poverty, sexual morality and spirituality from the perspectives of traditional and contemporary ethical theories.
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course
Attributes: Cross-Cultural and Social Justice (CCSJ)
PHIL 360 Social and Political Philosophy3 cr
Investigates conceptual and moral questions posed by life in community with others. These include justifications of democracy, political freedom, natural rights, political obligation, social justice and the challenge of anarchism.
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course
Attributes: Cross-Cultural and Social Justice (CCSJ)
PHIL 375 Ethics and Animals3 cr
Explores the potentially morally significant relationships between humans and various kinds of non-human animals, applying moral propositions that we, as a society, subscribe to, to see whether they have unacknowledged implications for non-humans.
Prerequisite: Junior status
PHIL 375H Honors: Ethics and Animals3 cr
Explores the potentially morally significant relationships between humans and various kinds of non-human animals. Explores moral propositions that we, as a society, subscribe to, to see whether they have unacknowledged implications for non-humans.
Prerequisite: Junior status
Attributes: Honors Program (HONR)
PHIL 385 Special Topics in Philosophy3 cr
Challenges students at the junior level, to understand, construct, and criticize both informal (natural language) and formal (categorical and propositional) arguments. The course considers in detail the very notion of argument, argument structure, and the criteria for constructing cogent arguments, and distinguishes arguments supported by evidence and reason from mere opinion and belief. Students will learn to apply these logical concepts in their writing, conversing, and reading.
Prerequisite: 100-level or 200-level PHIL course, junior status
Repeatable: Unlimited Credits
PHIL 485 Special Topics in Philosophy3 cr
A philosophical topics course tailored to changing student needs and interests, each offering focuses on a period in the history of philosophy (e.g. Greek philosophy, medieval philosophy, 20th century American philosophy, etc.), the works of an individual philosopher (e.g., Plato, Hegel, Hume, Kant, Descartes, etc.), or the critical examination of a philosophically challenging concept (e.g., freedom, value, meaning, truth, relativism, rights, justice, etc.)
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course
Repeatable: Unlimited Credits
PHIL 495 Teaching Assistantship in Philosophy3 cr
Provides assistance to philosophy majors who intend to pursue active teaching careers in the discipline. Students will be assigned to a department member to assist in the teaching of lower-level courses.
Prerequisite: Minimum of 18 credits of PHIL coursework, department approval
Repeatable: Maximum of 6 credits
PHIL 500 Directed Independent Study1-3 cr
Open to juniors and seniors who wish to read in a given area or to study a topic in depth. Written reports and frequent conferences with the advisor are required.
Prerequisite: 100-level PHIL course, 200-level PHIL course, junior status, department approval
Attributes: Honors Program (HONR)
Repeatable: Maximum of 12 credits
PHIL 540 Philosophy Internship3-9 cr
Philosophy is applicable to a wide range of professions and activities (e.g. law, business, education, public service). The philosophy internship is designed to allow advanced students with a particular focus or career goal to design and pursue such applications with faculty supervision including a significant component of writing about their experiences. Up to 9 credits per semester, three of which may apply to minimum major requirements.
Prerequisite: Senior status, department approval
Repeatable: Maximum of 15 credits