Apr 19, 2024  
2020-2021 Academic Catalog 
    
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2020-2021 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions

Course Numbering System

The following lists include all courses normally offered at Albion College. However, not all courses are offered every year. When possible, courses offered in alternate years are designated. For details, students should consult the Class Schedule for each semester, available online at: www.albion.edu/registrar. The College reserves the right to add or withdraw courses without prior announcement, as conditions may require.

Unless otherwise stated, 100 level courses are intended for freshmen, 200 level for sophomores, 300 and 400 level for juniors and seniors.

A list of courses which meet the core and category requirements, organized by departments, is available online at www.albion.edu/registrar.

Further information may be obtained at the Registrar’s Office in the Ferguson Student, Technology, and Administrative Services Building.
 

Philosophy
  

  • PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy

    (1 Unit)
    A study of the basic methods, controversial problems and philosophical systems, with special consideration given to the relation of philosophy to other disciplines. Because of the central role of argument and evidence in philosophical inquiry, this course is an introduction to conceptual clarification, logical analysis and general critical thinking. Examines topics such as knowledge and skepticism, the mind-body problem, personal identity, moral relativism, moral responsibility, free will and determinism, power, social justice, racism, sexism, violence, war, the existence of God, the existence of theoretical entities. Kirby, Mittag.
  

  • PHIL 102: Philosophy East and West

    (1 Unit)
    Compares different schools of eastern philosophy with those of western philosophy in their approaches to important epistemological, metaphysical and ethical issues. These issues include, for example, the nature of the self and its relation to the external world; personal identity; and determinism, free will and moral responsibility. Covers similarities and differences in the philosophical questions asked, arguments given and methodologies adopted by both eastern and western philosophers. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 107: Logic and Critical Reasoning

    (1 Unit)
    A study of the basic conceptual tools used to recognize, evaluate and express arguments. Designed for the student who wishes to reason more effectively and critically. Topics: inductive and deductive standards, truth, validity, fallacies, paradoxes, regresses, counterexamples, analogies, reductios, definitions, sophistries. Mittag.
  

  • PHIL 187: Selected Topics

    (1/4 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 188: Selected Topics

    (1/2 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 189: Selected Topics

    (1 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 201: Ethics

    (1 Unit)
    An examination and evaluation of the major ethical theories, both classical and contemporary, and the application of these theories to a current moral problem. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 202: Social Philosophy

    (1 Unit)
    An issues and historically oriented introduction to a broad range of philosophical subject matter and methodologies through a clarification and analysis of argumentation used to justify selected social and political institutions and practices—e.g., individual liberties, properties of personhood, the nature of the state, obligations and rights, etc. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 206: Contemporary Moral Problems

    (1 Unit)
    An introduction to a broad range of philosophical subjects and methodologies through an examination and analysis of contemporary moral problems—e.g., abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, sexual morality, gender and racial discrimination, corporate crime, pornography and censorship, the death penalty, ecology, world hunger, etc. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 207: Symbolic Logic

    (1 Unit)
    A study of the formal conceptual tools used by modern deductive logic to express and evaluate arguments. Emphasizes the use of propositional and quantifier logic to clarify and evaluate arguments. Mittag.
  

  • PHIL 211: Ancient Philosophy

    (1 Unit)
    A survey of the beginnings of western philosophical thought focusing on the writings of the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle and others. Kirby.
  

  • PHIL 212: Modern Philosophy

    (1 Unit)
    Philosophical thought in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, focusing on the writings of such philosophers as Descartes, Leibnitz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Kirby.
  

  • PHIL 214: Twentieth Century Philosophy

    (1 Unit)
    Major movements in and methods of contemporary philosophical thinking with special attention to the analytic and existential thinkers. Offered in alternate years. Kirby.
  

  • PHIL 220: Philosophy and History of Science

    (1 Unit)
    Considers the following questions: What is science? What is scientific explanation? What are the ontological commitments of a scientist? To what extent does the culture of a scientific community affect results of that community? Kirby.
  

  • PHIL 234: Philosophy of Religion

    (1 Unit)
    Same as RS 234 . Staff.
  

  • PHIL 287: Selected Topics

    (1/4 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 288: Selected Topics

    (1/2 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 289: Selected Topics

    (1 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 301: Environmental Ethics

    (1 Unit)
    Examines theoretical and practical perspectives on ethical issues in relation to the environment. The theoretical issues range from whether we should assign moral value to species other than the human (and if so, on the basis of what criteria) to whether we have moral obligations to preserve the environment for future generations (and if so, what this would imply for the present generations). The practical issues range from creating incentives for restricting population growth without abdicating responsibilities toward the world’s hungry, to the issue of what short-and long-term policies and practices need to be adopted to deal effectively with reducing pollution and hazardous waste while working toward a recycling, sustainable global society. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 302: Leadership Ethics

    (1 Unit)
    Examines the ethical foundations of leadership. Involves an in-depth discussion of foremost leadership theories and their applications to different contexts; critically examines the morally distinct aspects of leadership by looking at the relationships among power, self-interest, and morality; and analyzes leadership from within the ethical frameworks of virtue, duty, and utility along with discussing the ethical challenges of diversity (culture relativism, race, and gender) to traditional leadership ethics. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 303: Business Ethics

    (1 Unit)
    An examination of selected moral problems posed by corporate conduct—e.g., profit-maximization vs. social responsibility, corporate crime and the criminal justice system, business vs. environmental concerns, preferential hiring vs. reverse discrimination, employee autonomy vs. corporate loyalty, deception vs. honesty in advertising, corporate vs. government regulation. Clarification and critical examination of different ethical perspectives for resolving these moral dilemmas. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 304: Ethics and Public Policy

    (1 Unit)
    Emphasizes the ethical foundations of public policy. Rights, obligations, justice, autonomy, the nature of the good life: should these play a role in determining public policy, and if so, how? Focuses on the interaction between ethical values and public policy in areas such as health care, law, government, foreign policy, citizenship, education and media. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 306: Neuroscience and Ethics

    (1 Unit)
    An introduction to the dialogue that has developed between cognitive neuroscientists and moral philosophers. Cognitive neuroscience brings to the study of ethics an interest in the way the brain processes information and in the kinds of brain states that subserve thought and action—in short, it is answering the question of what kind of information-processing creatures we are. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 308: Biomedical Ethics

    (1 Unit)
    The application of major ethical theories to some of the moral problems raised by recent developments in medical technology. Does increased medical knowledge (the end) justify experimentation with human subjects (the means)? How much should a patient be told and who decides? Do parents have the right to give birth to a defective infant and thereby apparently pollute the gene pool? To whom is the genetic counselor responsible—fetus, parent, future generations? Is there a right to die? Who should be the ultimate decision-maker—physician, patient, pastor? Is health care a right or a privilege? In answering these dilemmas, are there any moral rules to follow or does each person decide what is best in the situation? Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 309: International Ethics and Global Development

    (1 Unit)
    Explores the ethics of development in an international context. What should development be? Who should play a role in bringing about development? Examines multiple answers to these questions via an understanding of global development ethical theories and approaches such as the basic human needs approach, the human rights approach, the theory of development as freedom, the capabilities approach, theories of justice, as well as utilitarianism and deontological approaches. Applies these development ethics frameworks to important international issues such as poverty, gender inequality, violence and insecurity, over-consumption and globalization. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 310: Metaphysics

    (1 Unit)
    Explores what kinds of things exist. Do abstract entities exist? Is there such a thing as free agency in a world that is deterministic (or, for that matter, in a world that is not deterministic)? Is time something that is mind-dependent or mind-independent? Are we committed to the existence of electrons? Is causation anything above and beyond regularity? Kirby.
  

  • PHIL 315: Knowledge, Truth and Reason

    (1 Unit)
    Prerequisite: One prior course in philosophy.
    A critical examination of recent work in the theory of knowledge, i.e., of classic contemporary papers on skepticism, knowledge and the justification of belief. Mittag.
  

  • PHIL 318: Philosophy of Mind

    (1 Unit)
    An introduction to the philosophy of mind. Explores the relation of the mind to the physical world and evaluates prominent competing theories about the nature of the mind, including the identity theory, dualism, behaviorism, functionalism and eliminative materialism. Also covers artificial intelligence, phenomenal consciousness, the adequacy of folk psychological explanation and theories of mental content. Mittag.
  

  • PHIL 325: Philosophy of Language

    (1 Unit)
    Words and sentences of a language have meanings, thereby allowing us to use sentences to communicate our thoughts, some of which are true. But how do words and sentences get their referents and meanings? What are meanings? This course focuses on central developments in the philosophy of language throughout the twentieth century. Topics include theories of meaning and reference, speech acts, pragmatics, and conversational implicature. Mittag.
  

  • PHIL 335: Philosophical Issues in the Law

    (1 Unit)
    Designed both for students interested in philosophy and for those interested in political science, history, economics, or sociology. Provides an explanation of legal concepts and institutions from the philosophical perspective. Develops in the student: (1) an understanding of some of the major philosophical issues in the law and (2) the ability to reflect critically upon them. Madhok.
  

  • PHIL 380: Aristotle: A Western Foundation

    (1 Unit)
    Considers how Aristotle’s philosophy continues to exercise influence today, especially concerning controversies over the nature of existence, identity, the soul and the way one should live. Explores and evaluates the arguments of a philosopher who was the finest pupil in Plato’s Academy, the personal instructor of Alexander the Great, and the founder of the Lyceum. Kirby.
  

  • PHIL 381: Readings in Philosophy

    (1 Unit)
    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
    Recommended for advanced students. Careful and critical study of one or more of the outstanding works in philosophy. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 382: Readings in Philosophy

    (1 Unit)
    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
    Recommended for advanced students. Careful and critical study of one or more of the outstanding works in philosophy. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 387: Selected Topics

    (1/4 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 388: Selected Topics

    (1/2 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 389: Selected Topics

    (1 Unit)
    An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 391: Internship

    (1/2 Unit)
    Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 392: Internship

    (1 Unit)
    Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.
  

  • PHIL 401: Seminar

    (1/2 Unit)
    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
    Recommended for advanced students. Topics of special interest including “Justice,” “Metaphysics,” “Moral Realism,” “Russell.” Staff.
  

  • PHIL 402: Seminar

    (1 Unit)
    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
    Recommended for advanced students. Topics of special interest including “Justice,” “Metaphysics,” “Moral Realism,” “Russell.” Staff.
  

  • PHIL 411: Directed Study

    (1/2 Unit)
    Staff.
  

  • PHIL 412: Directed Study

    (1 Unit)
    Staff.