Philosophy Minor

Daniel vanHeyst

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Philosophy examines and critiques the foundations of all disciplines and looks into the principles of logic, reality, knowledge and values with a critical eye. At King’s students perform this task as a Christian philosopher, from a biblical point of view.

WHAT KINDS OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREES DOES KING’S OFFER?

Available As A Concentration For:
3-Year Bachelor of Arts
4-Year Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies


Available As A Minor For:
B.A. B.Com., B.Mus., 4-Year B.Sc. (BIOL & CMPT majors)

Courses Available Include: (for full course descriptions, see the registry pages here)
studies in: logic, metaphysics, epistemology and the history of philosophy

PHIL 221 - Introduction to Logic
PHIL 230 - Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 310 - History of Political Thought I: Classical and Medieval Political Thought
PHIL 311 - History of Political Thought II: Modern Political Thought
PHIL 320 - Philosophy of the Environment
PHIL 321 - Metaphysics
PHIL 322 - Epistemology
PHIL 327 - Greek Philosophy
PHIL 332 - 20th Century Continental Philosophy
PHIL 334 - Philosophy of the Sciences
PHIL 339 - Philosophical Ethics
PHIL 343 - Medieval Philosophy
PHIL 345 - Philosophy from Descartes to Kant
PHIL 347 - Late European Modern Philosophy
PHIL 351 - The Philosophy Of Friedrich Nietzsche
PHIL 391 - Philosophy of Religion
PHIL 399 - Special Topics in Philosophy
PHIL 495 - Senior Philosophy Seminar
PHIL 499 - Directed Studies in Philosophy

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Course Schedule | Philosophy Department | Potential Careers

 
Introduction to Logic, 2009-10, Winter 3(3-0-0)
This course is a study of the logical principles of critical thinking and the typical forms of valid and invalid reasoning. This course does not fulfil philosophy foundations requirements.
Introduction to Philosophy, Every Year, Fall and Winter 3(3-0-0)
This course is an introduction to philosophy based on a reading of representative texts from the philosophical tradition. The issues connecting the texts to be read center on the nature of human being and experience.
History of Political Thought I: Classical and Medieval Political Thought, 2009-10, Fall 3(3-0-0)
Examines major developments in the history of Western political thought from the ancient Greeks and Romans through the Christian period up to the Renaissance, with particular attention given to key writings by Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas. Examines themes such as the justice, the state, politics, plurality, constitutionalism, power, war and the individual. This course does not fulfil philosophy foundations requirements. Same as POLI 310.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230, POLI 200 or POLI 201
History of Political Thought II: Modern Political Thought, 2009-10, Winter 3(3-0-0)
Examines the major social and political ideas developed in the modern era, focusing on select writings of major political philosophers such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx and Nietzsche. This course does not fulfil philosophy foundations requirements. Same as POLI 311.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230, POLI 200 or POLI 201
Philosophy of the Environment Every Year, Winter 3(3-0-0)
A historical and systematic study of the structure and normed character of the various relationships between human beings and their environment. The ethical, aesthetic, or metaphysical ramifications of certain major environmental problems such as pollution, overpopulation, or resource exhaustion will be considered.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Metaphysics, 2008-09, Fall 3(3-0-0)
A study of some central themes and problems in metaphysics which arise out of contemporary work in these areas. The course attempts to show the relevance of these issues to other areas of life and study. Often opinions and attitudes are shaped by unspoken metaphysical prejudices. The course takes a critical look at such presuppositions.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Epistemology, 2008-09, Fall 3(3-0-0)
This course is an introduction to the theory of knowledge. Detailed examination is made of the concepts of justification, truth and belief. Particular attention is paid to the significance of philosophical skepticism for epistemology. Issues concerning the relativity and objectivity of knowledge, as well as debates about realism and anti-realism are also examined. Emphasis is placed on recent philosophical reflection on these issues, but students are also introduced to classical positions.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Greek Philosophy, 2009-10, Fall 3(3-0-0)
A study of the major figures and philosophies in Pre-Socratic and classical Hellenic thought.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
20th Century Continental Philosophy, 2008-09, Winter 3(3-0-0)
An examination of some recent figures and movements in continental philosophy. Attention is given to philosophers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Gadamer, Ricouer, Adorno, Habermas, Foucault and Derrida as well as to movements such as phenomenology, existentialism, philosophical hermeneutics, neo-Marxism, structuralism and post-structuralism. Attempts are made to discover historical connections not only among various philosophies but also between those philosophies and selected developments in the arts, the sciences and European society.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Philosophy of the Sciences, 2008-09, Fall 3(3-0-0)
The meaning and nature of science will be examined by means of a multidisciplinary dialogue. Students will be invited to understand the sciences in relation to each other, to the world, and to their faith commitments.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Philosophical Ethics, 2009-10, Winter 3(3-0-0)
A critical examination of the nature of morality by means of an analysis of classical and contemporary texts. Questions examined include: What is the nature of moral judgment? How are moral decisions justified? What is the relationship between virtue and moral behavior? What is the relationship between happiness and moral duty? Why be moral at all?
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Medieval Philosophy, 2008-09, Winter 3(3-0-0)
The course introduces the student to the main figures and ideas in the history of philosophy from 350 A.D. to 1350 A.D. Beginning with Augustine and the Church Fathers, the course covers the development of philosophy in Western Europe through Aquinas and his immediate successors. Special attention is paid to such issues as the relation of faith and reason, the idea of Christian philosophy, and the concepts of divinity, creation, human freedom and sin.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Philosophy from Descartes to Kant, 2009-10, Fall 3(3-0-0)
This course is a survey of the origins and development of philosophy from Descartes to Kant. Special attention is paid to the relationship between epistemological ideas and political, ethical and religious thought.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Late European Modern Philosophy, 2009-10, Fall 3(3-0-0)
This course is an attempt to lead students into an understanding and critical engagement of the central 19th Century debate among European philosophers between the idealists (represented most importantly by G.W.F. Hegel) who advocated an understanding of the world as a rational system, and their critics (of whom S. Kierkegaard is the most vivid example) who, in the name of an otherwise lost individuality, advocated an "irrational," personal basis for understanding and life. This course will engage this philosophical issue and period with an eye toward the ongoing implications of the debate for philosophy, but also for theology, and for the human sciences.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
The Philosophy Of Friedrich Nietzsche, 2009-10, Fall 3 (3 - 0 - 0)
This course will introduce students to the major themes of Nietzsche's philosophy. The course will focus on Nietzsche's account of morality and religion. The course will also examine his discussion of the causes and consequences of nihilism and the death of God, as well as the solution he proposes for overcoming nihilism (the overman and the eternal recurrence).
Prerequisite: PHIL 230
Philosophy of Religion, 2009-10, Winter 3(3-0-0)
An inquiry into selected philosophical issues concerning religion such as the presuppositions underlying various accounts of the origin of religion, the relationships among faith, reason and revelation, the possibility of giving a rational defense of religious belief, and such topics as the problem of evil, immortality and the supernatural. Same as THEO 391.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230 or PHIL 230 and THEO 250
Special Topics in Philosophy, 2009-10, Winter 3(3-0-0)
A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the philosophy faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Senior Philosophy Seminar, Every Year, Winter 3(0-3-0)
All students with philosophy as a first subject of concentration in the B.A. program are required to take this course. Students develop skills in philosophical scholarship by preparing and presenting a written project involving interdisciplinary research on an appropriate topic.
Prerequisites: Six credits in philosophy at the 300-level
Directed Studies in Philosophy, Every Year, 1 to 3 (varies)
An opportunity to do intensive study on a special topic or figure of particular interest to the student. Students work closely with a member of the philosophy faculty in tutorial meetings. Students must apply in advance to a member of the philosophy faculty.
Prerequisites: Six credits in philosophy at the 300-level, and consent of instructor