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.

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.

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

What is beauty? What makes something art? Can art tell us the truth—or distort reality? Can it liberate us, manipulate us, or change the way we live?

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. 

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.

What is philosophy?  What is the nature of reality? What is the difference between knowledge and opinion?  What is the best kind of life for a human being to lead? Ancient Greece was the birthplace of Western philosophy, and this course traces the history of ancient Greek thought, from Homer and Hesiod through the pre-Socratic thinkers (e.g. such figures as Thales, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Zeno of Elea, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and Democritus) to Plato, Aristotle and later Hellenistic thought. 

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade

How does physical matter relate to minds and the mental realm? How does objective reality related 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.

Max Hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. 

We in the Western world encounter a vastly different world, a radically different "universe of meaning," when we examine the traditions of the East. Even what we tacitly assume to be "real" is claimed by the Hindus and Buddhists of India to be a grand illusion. The world of China is, again, very different from India. An examination of Tibetan and Japanese religious forms will conclude our study of Asian thought.

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade

Covers truth-functional and quantificational logic through polyadic first-order predicate calculus and theory of identity. Attention is given to such problems in metatheory as proofs of the completeness and consistency of systems of logic. Cross-listed with MATH 3440.

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.

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

Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Cultural Diversity.

Why do motives matter in ethics?  What is an ethical duty? How do sensations and ideas combine to make reality unified and coherent? Kant's philosophy answers these questions by providing a profound synthesis of the philosophers before him. Kant's work still influences ethics, politics, metaphysics, epistemology, and science today. This course involves students in close study of Kant’s revolutionary thought as it appears in several of his major works. 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 5830.

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade

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. 

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. 

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 help all students to be intellectually critical of what law is, how it can 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. 

This course introduces students to Latin American Philosophy by exploring its indigenous roots, its recurring themes of struggle against colonial domination, and the way this tradition works with and against European and Anglo-American philosophical ideas. Students will also learn about how questions of identity, especially those of ethnicity, have developed within this area of philosophy. Cross-listed with PHIL 5341.

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade. 

Examines the contribution of phenomenology to selected topics in the theory of meaning, philosophy of mind, ontology, and epistemology, through a study of such philosophers as Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty. 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 5750.

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade.