Course Offerings

Are ghosts real? How about God? Is science our only source for truth? What about common sense? How are emotion and reason related? Is a life of duty better than one of pleasure? Is there a “best” kind of life? Typically, differences among people are rooted in deeper concepts -- such as truth, reality, and happiness. Philosophy has developed questions and (some) theories about what these concepts mean and how they might apply to everyday life.

Terms offered: fall, spring, summer. Max hours: 3 Credits. GT: Course is approved by the Colorado Dept of Higher Education for statewide guaranteed transfer, GT-AH

We’re commonly told to “do the right thing,” and everybody seems to agree that we should. But what is right? What is wrong? How can we see and know the difference? This course helps students examine and analyze the ethical concepts, situations, and problems raised by these fundamental questions. Specific problems will vary with contemporary concerns, e.g., poverty, war, injustice, famine, abortion, punishment, and environmental sustainability. The course goal is to help students sharpen their ethical reasoning skills so they can better navigate and contribute to the ethical, social, and political arenas in which they will live their lives.

Terms offered: fall, spring, summer. Max hours: 3 Credits. GT: Course is approved by the Colorado Dept of Higher Education for statewide guaranteed transfer, GT-AH3

Introductory course developing skills in argumentation, critical thinking, and scientific reasoning. We will cover a wide array of topics including rules of logical inference, informal fallacies, problem-solving, and probabilistic reasoning. These are crucial analytical and critical thinking skills tested on LSAT and MCAT. In this course, we discuss issues central to advancement in the sciences, and towards knowledge in general which is a skill broadly desired by employers.

Max Hours: 3 Credits. Terms offered: spring, summer, fall. GT: Course is approved by the Colorado Dept of Higher Education for statewide guaranteed transfer, GT-AH3.

How does physical matter relate to minds and the mental realm? How does objective reality relate to what seems subjective- human knowledge, perception, and feeling, etc? What is the role of logical thinking in connecting the objective and subjective areas of reality? Can philosophy ground knowledge so that scientific inquiry is safe from the challenges of skepticism? These are just a few of the problems posed by the "modern" period in philosophy, from roughly the end of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century. This course examines such epistemological questions and surveys key metaphysical themes that modern thinkers inherited from ancient and medieval philosophy. Figures typically include Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, and Kant, among others. Cross-listed with PHIL 5022. 

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. Typically Offered: Spring.

Happiness is something we all want, but what is it? Happiness can be difficult to define, let alone to achieve. Is it a state? A feeling? An illusion? Is happiness something we can even control? Is it related to morality and ethics? This course will consider various philosophers' writings on happiness and the good life, and may include comparisons that range across time, culture, and other disciplines (such as economics and positive psychology).

Term offered: Spring. Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. 

What is “racism” or “sexism”? What is oppression? How do these ideas become invisible so that they structure ways people think, act? How do they inform policies, laws, and institutions? And what modifies or overturns such ideas? By answering such questions, this course helps students reflect on the formation of their own lives, practices, beliefs, and values. Topics may include ideology theory, naturalism, the equal protection clause, recent scientific discussions, socio-legal history, and social constructionism.

Terms offered: fall, spring, summer. Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.

Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Cultural Diversity.

Examines one of the most influential movements in recent European thought, beginning with existentialism's 19th century roots, and continuing on to the existentialist philosophers of the 20th century. Figures covered may include Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre and de Beauvoir. Strongly Recommended: PHIL 3002 or 3022, a minimum grade of "C" in each previous philosophy course. If the student does not have this coursework, consulting with the instructor prior to registration is strongly recommended. Cross-listed with PHIL 5833, HUMN 5833, and SSCI 5833. 

Term offered: fall. Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. Typically Offered: Fall.

What is a legal "law"? What justifies its ability to force our compliance? How is law distinct from morality? What makes some laws immoral? Is ignorance of the law ever a valid excuse? We all find ourselves entangled with the law at some point. Sometimes we're the victim and sometimes we stand accused; even beyond those special circumstances, we all have to live with the law and the many ways it regulates (or controls) our conduct. While this course is recommended for pre-law students, this course will teach every student to be intellectually critical of what law is, how it can be and is justified, and how to assess it on grounds that reach beyond the law, such as logic or ethics. Both historical and contemporary sources will be used to survey theoretical positions on the nature of law. Figures may include (among others): Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Locke, Kant, Holmes, Mackinnon, Dworkin, Hart, Devlin, as well as more contemporary Supreme Court justices and case law. Suggested prerequisite one or two previous courses in philosophy, and a minimum grade of C in each course are strongly recommended; if the student lacks this coursework, consult with the professor prior to registration. Cross-listed with PHIL 5260.

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. Term offered: Fall. 

This course explores contemporary feminist thought in philosophy and literature in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include lesbianism, black feminism, Chicana feminism, transgender identity, women and work, and others. Cross-listed with ENGL 4308, ENGL 5308, PHIL 5308, WGST 4308, WGST 5308. 

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. Term offered: Spring. 

This course examines some of the central philosophical questions concerning nature of scientific investigation, such as the logical relation of evidence to hypothesis, the objective adjudication of competing hypotheses, the logical function of modeling in empirical inquiry, the criterion for a classificatory system to underwrite induction and explanation, the explanatory relationships between the differing sciences, as well as the theoretical and pragmatic function of scientific law and its relationship to explanation. Cross-listed PHIL 5350. 

Term offered: summer. Max Hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. Typically Offered: Summer.

Examines Aristotle's systematic philosophy and discusses its contributions to logic, epistemology, physics, psychology, metaphysics, ethics, and political theory. Strongly Recommended: PHIL 3002 or 3022, a minimum grade of "C" in each previous philosophy course. If the student does not have this coursework, consulting with the instructor prior to registration is strongly recommended. Cross-listed with PHIL 5810. 

Term offered: fall. Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. Typically Offered: Fall.