Fall 2017 Courses
PHI 110: Logic
MWF 1-1:50pm, SCI 45, Dr. Patrick Mayer
PHI 200: Constitution, Democracy, and Secession
TR 12:45-2pm, DH 202, Dr. Patrick Mayer
PHI 200: Engineering Ethics (cross-listed as ENR 200; can also be counted for PHI 220: Introduction to Ethics)
TR 9:30-10:45am, DH 204, Dr. Jennifer Kling
In this course, we will consider the various ethical issues, problems, and dilemmas likely to arise over the course of an engineering career, and how we ought to think about them. Engineering ethics, as it is sometimes called, stresses analytical reasoning and emphasizes clear thinking regarding the application of professional and theoretical ethical codes and systems to specific cases. We will focus on the National Society of Professional Engineer's (NSPE) ethical code, and will also survey some of the major ethical theories proposed by philosophers, including utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Then, we will discuss and determine how to apply these ethical standards appropriately to particular ethical dilemmas that arise in mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering. In addition, we will also make an effort to learn how to communicate ethical ideas and concepts of a high intellectual order clearly, vigorously, and creatively.
PHI 201: Introduction to Philosophy
TR 11-12:15pm, DH 204, Dr. Jennifer Kling
In this course, we will tackle six of life's big questions (which you might or might not already have contemplated to some degree). Throughout the class, we will be reading both historical and contemporary philosophical texts, with an eye to understanding what philosophers think about these questions and why. However, our efforts will not be merely an academic exercise where we will only study what others have thought. Instead, in this course you will be joining in an active and ongoing effort to better understand the world in all its complexity and our place in it. This class fits into a broader program of liberal education, insofar as it seeks to question and grasp issues surrounding human nature, morality and ethics, the production of knowledge, the nature of reality, and the structure of political systems. It has no prerequisites and is designed for students with no background in philosophy, although students with a philosophy background are welcome. For students who are interested in continuing in philosophy, this course will provide a taste of the wide range of problems in philosophy, which will allow you to leave with a better understanding of which areas you would like to study in more detail in the future.
MWF 1-1:50pm, SCI 45, Dr. Patrick Mayer
PHI 200: Constitution, Democracy, and Secession
TR 12:45-2pm, DH 202, Dr. Patrick Mayer
PHI 200: Engineering Ethics (cross-listed as ENR 200; can also be counted for PHI 220: Introduction to Ethics)
TR 9:30-10:45am, DH 204, Dr. Jennifer Kling
In this course, we will consider the various ethical issues, problems, and dilemmas likely to arise over the course of an engineering career, and how we ought to think about them. Engineering ethics, as it is sometimes called, stresses analytical reasoning and emphasizes clear thinking regarding the application of professional and theoretical ethical codes and systems to specific cases. We will focus on the National Society of Professional Engineer's (NSPE) ethical code, and will also survey some of the major ethical theories proposed by philosophers, including utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Then, we will discuss and determine how to apply these ethical standards appropriately to particular ethical dilemmas that arise in mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering. In addition, we will also make an effort to learn how to communicate ethical ideas and concepts of a high intellectual order clearly, vigorously, and creatively.
PHI 201: Introduction to Philosophy
TR 11-12:15pm, DH 204, Dr. Jennifer Kling
In this course, we will tackle six of life's big questions (which you might or might not already have contemplated to some degree). Throughout the class, we will be reading both historical and contemporary philosophical texts, with an eye to understanding what philosophers think about these questions and why. However, our efforts will not be merely an academic exercise where we will only study what others have thought. Instead, in this course you will be joining in an active and ongoing effort to better understand the world in all its complexity and our place in it. This class fits into a broader program of liberal education, insofar as it seeks to question and grasp issues surrounding human nature, morality and ethics, the production of knowledge, the nature of reality, and the structure of political systems. It has no prerequisites and is designed for students with no background in philosophy, although students with a philosophy background are welcome. For students who are interested in continuing in philosophy, this course will provide a taste of the wide range of problems in philosophy, which will allow you to leave with a better understanding of which areas you would like to study in more detail in the future.