All philosophy majors must complete the SeniorCapstone Experience. This will take the form of asenior thesis. Students will be given four creditsfor successful completion of their Senior CapstoneExperience. Each senior philosophy major will workin close association with a faculty mentor fromthe Department of Philosophy and Religion. Theassociation between student and mentor will be anintensive one spanning the whole course ofdevelopment of the thesis-from the initialformulation of a thesis proposal in the spring ofthe student's junior year to the final completionof the thesis by the conclusion of the senioryear.

A study of selected systems of thought designed toacquaint the student who has no training inphilosophy with basic philosophical concepts andwith the techniques and advantages of a thoughtfuland reflective approach to problems. Topics takenup vary with the individual instructor. Offeredevery semester.

This course introduces students to the basic ideasbehind the major ethical theories in WesternPhilosophy by studying their application tonumerous moral issues, problems, and controversiesin our time. Possible topics for discussion andwriting assignments include but are not limitedto: moral consideration of animals and theenvironment, respect for biodiversity, populationand consumption, pollution, climate change,responsibilities to future generations, corporatesocial responsibility, workplace ethics,advertising ethics, whistleblowing, engineeringethics, cyber ethics, the ethics of globalization,the ethics of war, euthanasia, medicalexperimentation on human subjects, thephysician-patient relationship, health care andsocial justice, reproductive assistancetechnology, and eugenics.

A systematic overview of the rules and methods ofargument. The course has three parts. The firstpart examines the features of arguments one findsin everyday speech and writing. The second partcovers Classical Aristotelian methods ofsyllogistic reasoning. The third part teaches themodern use of abstract symbols to represent andassess the formal structure of proofs. This lastpart involves the skills of formal andquantitative reasoning. Please note that thiscourse can only combine with two natural sciencecourses to fulfill the Natural Science andQuantitative Distribution. It may not combinewith a second quantitative course.

This course offers an introductory study of thecentral ideas in living western religions. Thecourse concentrates on Judaism, Christianity, andIslam. The readings focus on the primary religioustexts of each religion. Consideration is alsogiven to philosophical issues common to westernreligions.

With a view toward developing better interculturalunderstanding, this course introduces students tothe spiritual perspectives of Eastern cultures,and to the philosophical issues at play in them.Our readings are mostly selected from primaryclassical texts dealing with Hinduism, Buddhism,Zen Buddhism, and Taoism. This course is reading,speaking, and writing intensive - and the courseformat is interactive class discussion.Prerequisite: Eagerness to engage texts.

A learning contract is developed prior toenrollment in an internship. Evaluation of studentperformance is completed by the faculty mentorbased on the fulfillment of the contract terms andwritten evaluation by the internship sitesupervisor. Students must work at least 45 hoursfor each internship credit and be enrolled in thecourse prior to beginning work. Graded A-F orPass/Fail.

Topics not regularly offered in a department'snormal course offerings, chosen based on currentstudent interest and faculty expertise. Specialtopic courses can only be offered 3 times; afterthis, the course must be approved as a regularcourse. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty memberand a student researching a topic of interest thatis relevant to a student's major or minor.Research is conducted on campus. Students must beenrolled before the research can begin. GradedA-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required percredit.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty and astudent letting the student study a topic ofinterest not offered at WC. 45 hours are requiredper credit.

Political philosophy applies the tools ofphilosophical analysis to the challenges ofpolitics and social life. Most fundamentally,political philosophy seeks to answer thequestion, how should we organize our society? Thecourse content may focus on such themes as rights,justice, equality, freedom, power, oppression,exploitation, multiculturalism, obligations ofthe State, and duties of citizenship.

A study of the historical development of Westernphilosophical thought in ancient times. The mainemphasis of this course is on the Pre-Socratics,and on works of Plato and Aristotle.

A study of the development of Western philosophicthought from the early Modern period throughKant. Emphasis is placed on the work of such majorfigures as Descartes, Hume, Leibniz, Spinoza,Locke, Berkeley, and Kant.

This course examines medieval philosophicalthought and argumentation from its origins in theGreco-Roman world through the early 15th century.Major figures from Judaism, Christianity, andIslam usually include Philo, Augustine, Anselm,Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides, Aquinas, Scotus,Ockham, and others. Topics include the problem ofuniversals, faith and reason, God, ethics,political theory, and the rise of science.

An examination of some of the major ethicaltheories in Western philosophy. Applications ofthese theories to concrete ethical problems areconsidered. Special attention is given toConsequentialist, Deontological, and Virtuetheories. Readings are drawn from classicaland contemporary authors.

As we become a global community, the need forsecular ethical discourse becomes increasinglyimportant. This course explores how internationalculture, policy, and standards impact ethicalpractices around the world. Current events,anecdotes, and personal experiences are broughttogether to highlight ethical theory in action intoday's global environment. General topicsinclude: the Absolutism-Relativism debate, theEthics of Globalization, Global Business Ethics,Global Bioethics with emphasis on feministissues, Global Environmental Ethics, and theEthics of Warfare and Terrorism.

An examination of the moral theories of some majorphilosophical positions from traditions East andWest: for example, Aristotle and Kant from theWestern philosophical tradition, as well as Buddhaand Confucius from the Eastern tradition. The aimis to systematically explore the understanding ofwhat these positions interpret the best or mostmoral life to be, and of what varying views ofhuman nature are correlated with them. Moreover,this exploration faces the question of how onedecides what the best or most moral life is, andalso other central questions concerning therelationship of ethics to religion and science.

An interdisciplinary, team-taught course with theDepartment of English and the Department ofPhilosophy and Religion that delves into theworld's wisdom traditions through the lenses ofliterature, philosophy, and religion. Studentsexamine renowned works such as the Epic ofGilgamesh, Socratic dialogues, Stoic spiritualdiaries, Christian and Islamic mystical texts,Hindu epics, Japanese Buddhist poetry, and more.Participants transcend the boundaries of history,geography, ideology, genre, and academicdisciplines. The course aims to fosterintercultural competence in students seen ascrucial for a liberal arts education andmeaningful contribution to real world settings.

This course explores the questions: What ismeant by claiming that something is humorous orfunny and why? What is the relationship betweenhumor, reason, and the emotions? How might oneunderstand the ethics of laughter and humor?Insights from scholars including Plato,Aristotle, Hobbes, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer,Freud, Bergson and contemporary authors arediscussed in a seminar-style class setting. Theapplication of theory to everyday life is examinedand discussed through the presentation ofnon-philosophical examples of humor and jokes inboth print and audio-visual mediums.

This course examines classic debates inmetaphysics and the nature of knowledge. Closeattention is given the study of philosophicalargumentation and methods. Topics usually includeknowledge, mind, reality, universals, identity,time, God, and freedom.

This course introduces the philosophical concepts,sociological foundation, political implementation,and spiritual/religious practices of the Asian Ru(Confucian) tradition. It presents Ruism'sdevelopment across Asian countries such as Korea,Japan, and Indonesia, and studies its historicalinteraction with Western cultures. ClassicalChinese philosophies, such as Daoism, Mohism, andLegalism, are introduced as well to contextualizethe origin and evolution of Ru thought. Studentsacquire special skills of meditation in motionto practice Ru wisdom in the everyday and secularworld.

A learning contract is developed prior toenrollment in an internship. Evaluation of studentperformance is completed by the faculty mentorbased on the fulfillment of the contract terms andwritten evaluation by the internship sitesupervisor. Students must work at least 45 hoursfor each internship credit and be enrolled in thecourse prior to beginning work. Graded A-F orPass/Fail.

Topics not regularly offered in a department'snormal course offerings, chosen based on currentstudent interest and faculty expertise. Specialtopic courses can only be offered 3 times; afterthis, the course must be approved as a regularcourse. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty memberand a student researching a topic of interest thatis relevant to a student's major or minor.Research is conducted on campus. Students must beenrolled before the research can begin. GradedA-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required percredit.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty and astudent letting the student study a topic ofinterest not offered at WC. 45 hours are requiredper credit.

A seminar focusing on major ethical theories andprinciples as they apply to individuals,companies, corporations, and consumers in thebusiness world. Typical issues treated are:corporate social responsibility, governmentversus self-regulation, employee and consumersafety, whistle-blowing, deceptive advertising,conflicts in accounting, the environment, insidertrading, issues in internation business, etc.

A study of the nature and history of theenvironmental movement and our ethicalresponsibilities with regard to such currentissues as the preservation of species, animalrights, the value of ecosystems, ozone depletion,and deep or radical ecology.

An examination of major philosophical discussionsin the Western religious tradition. Among thetopics dealt with are: the existence of God,faithand reason, religious language and experience,evil and suffering, science and religion, theafterlife, and the challenges of modernity toreligious belief.

This course begins with an exploration of thenature of scientific revolutions, along with anexamination of some case studies of suchrevolutions from the history of science. We go onto examine some current theories concerning theevolution of microbial life, as well as issuesassociated with the Darwinian understanding ofbiological evolution. Our primary concern is thephilosophical presuppositions and implicationsof such theories. On the methodological side, wetreat such issues as induction, falsification, thehypothetical-deductive method, scientific facts,experimentation, etc.

Biomedical ethics explores the ethical problemsthat arise in the context of modern medical careand biomedical research. As such, biomedicalethics involves the lives and decisions ofpatients, family members, doctors, nurses, andmedical researchers. The course content focusesonthe application of ethical theories to problemssuch as the rights of patients, duties ofphysicians, the distribution of resources,conflicts of interest in the managed care system,assisted suicide, euthanasia, end of lifedecisions, abortion, nature of disease, the useofhuman subjects in research, and the use ofgeneticand reproductive technologies.

Using music, ritual, and liturgical analyses,this course investigates the historical, social,political, and intellectual circumstances thatled to the eventual success of Christianity as amajor religion of the world. Examples are drawnfrom Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

The course explores the philosophical issuessurrounding a number of areas of the lawincluding, the nature of law, constitutionalinterpretation, legal responsibility, punishment,capital punishment, and legal limits to personalliberty. Readings are drawn from classical andcontemporary authors.

A learning contract is developed prior toenrollment in an internship. Evaluation of studentperformance is completed by the faculty mentorbased on the fulfillment of the contract terms andwritten evaluation by the internship sitesupervisor. Students must work at least 45 hoursfor each internship credit and be enrolled in thecourse prior to beginning work. Graded A-F orPass/Fail.

Topics not regularly offered in a department'snormal course offerings, chosen based on currentstudent interest and faculty expertise. Specialtopic courses can only be offered 3 times; afterthis, the course must be approved as a regularcourse. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty memberand a student researching a topic of interest thatis relevant to a student's major or minor.Research is conducted on campus. Students must beenrolled before the research can begin. GradedA-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required percredit.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty and astudent letting the student study a topic ofinterest not offered at WC. 45 hours are requiredper credit.

A seminar in one major moral philosopher,movement, or issue in ethics, such as Kant,Rawls,Utilitarianism, Natural Law, the Nature ofRights,etc.

This distinctive study abroad course involvesintensive study at the University of Oxford.Students conduct individual research projects andattend seminars under the direction of OxfordUniversity faculty. The topic of the Seminarengages issues at the intersection of religion,politics, and culture. The course begins withinstructional meetings in the spring andconcludes with an oral defense of a substantialresearch paper in the fall. The course involves49 hours of direct instructional contact andadditional experiential learning in the form ofstructured trips and attendance of a Shakespeareplay in Stratford upon Avon.

The course studies the nature, aims, and methodsof philosophical inquiry. Readings explorequestions in meta-philosophy, what philosophy isand how it is done. Study of the technicalpractices of philosophizing and philosophicalwriting prepares students for advanced work in themajor.

A learning contract is developed prior toenrollment in an internship. Evaluation of studentperformance is completed by the faculty mentorbased on the fulfillment of the contract terms andwritten evaluation by the internship sitesupervisor. Students must work at least 45 hoursfor each internship credit and be enrolled in thecourse prior to beginning work. Graded A-F orPass/Fail.

Topics not regularly offered in a department'snormal course offerings, chosen based on currentstudent interest and faculty expertise. Specialtopic courses can only be offered 3 times; afterthis, the course must be approved as a regularcourse. Graded A-F or Pass/Fail.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty memberand a student researching a topic of interest thatis relevant to a student's major or minor.Research is conducted on campus. Students must beenrolled before the research can begin. GradedA-F or Pass/Fail. 45 hours are required percredit.

An agreement between a sponsoring faculty and astudent letting the student study a topic ofinterest not offered at WC. 45 hours are requiredper credit.