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

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.

Data-driven technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly becoming central to our lives, shaping individuals and social institutions in both subtle and profound ways. Like any other new technology, AI has the potential to improve our lives, but also alter or diminish what we value. These are ethical stakes, worth serious attention. Careful analysis can help make sense of AI hype and identify how potential harms might be mitigated. This course gives students a tool kit to reason critically about some of the ethical and societal issues AI raises. The course has three main sections. Section I, “Personhood, Identity, Freedom, and Ethical Tools,” familiarizes students with the tools of logical, philosophical inquiry; they will understand the importance of such basic concepts as personhood, autonomy, agency, freedom, determinism, intelligence, information, and data. Most important, they will learn how such theories can apply to real world problems and new situations. Section II, “Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine-Human Relationships,” offers some historical context about this present technological moment, investigating what we mean by terms like “technology” and “progress.” A primer on machine learning and AI offers additional context, and we investigate the significance to AI of calling AI “intelligent,” “autonomous,” or “agential.” The ethical dimensions of human-machine relationships are found out in this section. In Section III, “Contemporary Opportunities and Challenges with Artificial Intelligence,” theories and concepts introduced earlier help tackle pressing contemporary issues such as algorithmic bias, economic and social displacement, data privacy and surveillance, disinformation, manipulation and propaganda, and disruptions by AI in art/entertainment, warfare, medicine, and self-driving cars. Finally, the environmental sustainability of AI will be considered. Cross-listed with PHIL 5001

Grading Basis: Letter Grade

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. Cross-listed with PHIL 5002.

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

Why is "Nonviolence" central to many of the religious traditions of South Asia? What has nonviolence looked like historically and how has its meaning and practice changed in the modern world? In traditions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, the practice of nonviolence relates to ethics through concepts of "karma" in our actions. This course begins with an investigation of the theories of karma and the roles they play in these traditions' ideas about the self, the other, and the world. We will take a focused look at the way each tradition regards the idea and practice of ahimsa, nonviolence, as both an ethical and personal good. That is, how does each tradition consider what is proper social action and how do they relate it to the attainment of salvation (i.e. moksha, nirvana)? The course puts Indian thought in conversation with western philosophies to question how we might develop a critical vocabulary for the comparative study of ethics. Turning to the modern era, we will examine Gandhi's philosophy and practice of nonviolent action in the anti-colonial struggle for India's independence, as well as how Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King adapted Gandhi's ideas to the struggle for civil rights in the US. Finally, we will examine recent critiques of nonviolence from American philosophers, activists, and communities of color to see ways that nonviolence continues to play a role in rethinking major issues for fostering equality and equity in the US and global contexts, including policing and religious and ethnic nationalism. Cross-listed with ETST 3003, HIST 3003, INTS 3003, RLST 3003, HIST 5003 

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

History of philosophy from Augustine through Scotus and Ockham, the 5th through the 14th centuries. Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade

What is justice? What justifies a government as moral? Why should individuals obey the state’s laws? Can anarchism work? Is private property necessary to a free society? Is social justice? What is freedom — and what is oppression? Is gender, ethnic, and religious diversity necessary for a just society? Why? This course will raise these kinds of questions as it examines basic issues in social and political philosophy (e.g. justice, freedom, individuality, power and community). Cross-listed with PHIL 5200.

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

This course provides Philosophy majors and other philosophically interested students with the skills and tools necessary for effectively navigating philosophical discussions. In this course we will cover issues such as validity and soundness, as well as several systems useful for demonstrating validity. The course will in addition address important issues in the philosophy of language, including the very important question of definitions, as well as the use of thought experiments and avoidance of informal fallacies. Finally, since philosophical reasoning increasingly involves knowledge of the methods of scientific reasoning, those skills will also be included in the course. Cross-listed with PHIL 5441.

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

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. Typically Offered: Fall.

Seminar on key debates & figures in historical & contemporary feminist philosophy. Topics may include: rights, embodiment, gender, sexuality, race, reason, & violence. Figures may include: Wollstonecraft, Stanton, Beauvoir, Judith Butler, and bell hooks. Cross-listed with PHIL 5500, WGST 4500 & 5500.

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

Explores debates about psyche and body, mind and world, self and others, and consciousness and nature. Examines the philosophical questions related to those debates that arise within theories of perception, affect and cognition offered by influential psychological models. Cross-listed with HUMN 5750, SSCI 5750 and PHIL 5755. 

Max hours: 3 Credits. Grading Basis: Letter Grade