Philosophy

www.smu.edu/philosophy

Professor Robert Howell, Department Chair

Professors: Eric Barnes, Doug Ehring, Robert Howell
Associate Professors: Philippe Chuard, Justin Fisher (Director of Cognitive Science Minor), Alida Liberman, Matthew Lockard (Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies), Jennifer Matey, Luke Robinson (Director of Ethics Minor), Brad Thompson (Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies)
Senior Lecturers: Kenneth Daley, Stephen Hiltz
Lecturer: Joshua Crabill

General Information

The Philosophy Department is well known for strength in ethics, moral psychology, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind and philosophy of science. Students focus on the development of skills in reasoning, their understanding of arguments and viewpoints, the critical evaluation of varied perspectives, and clear written and oral communication. The critical thinking skills developed in the major and minors are of benefit to students in many disciplines and are especially useful as preparation for law school.

The department offers a B.A. in philosophy and minors in philosophy and in ethics. Courses include core areas of philosophy and specialized topics such as animal rights, philosophy of law and philosophy of mind. The department also jointly operates two interdisciplinary minors in cognitive science  (with Psychology) and neuroscience  (with Biology and Psychology).

Departmental Distinction

Departmental distinction is awarded to philosophy majors graduating with at least a 3.5 GPA in philosophy and who successfully complete a writing project under the guidance of a faculty member.

Programs

• Philosophy, B.A.

• Ethics Minor
• Philosophy Minor

Courses

• PHIL 1300 - Introduction to Critical Thinking
• PHIL 1301 - Elementary Logic
• PHIL 1305 - Introduction to Philosophy
• PHIL 1306 - Introduction to Philosophy: Minds, Machines, and Persons
• PHIL 1316 - Introduction to Ethics
• PHIL 1317 - Business Ethics
• PHIL 1318 - Contemporary Moral Problems
• PHIL 1319 - Technology, Society, and Value
• PHIL 3161 - Philosophy of Science
• PHIL 3301 - Intermediate Logic
• PHIL 3302 - Problems in the Philosophy of Religion
• PHIL 3305 - Philosophy and Gender
• PHIL 3310 - Advanced Topics in Philosophy
• PHIL 3312 - Introduction to Philosophy of Language
• PHIL 3313 - Knowledge and Skepticism
• PHIL 3314 - Metaphysics
• PHIL 3315 - Philosophy of Mind
• PHIL 3316 - Minds, Brains, and Robotics
• PHIL 3317 - Philosophy of Perception
• PHIL 3318 - Colors, Sounds, and Other Appearances
• PHIL 3319 - Identity, Persons, and Other Objects
• PHIL 3320 - Causation
• PHIL 3321 - Time, Space, and Metaphysics
• PHIL 3322 - Pleasure and Pain
• PHIL 3323 - Philosophy of Psychology and Neuroscience
• PHIL 3324 - Consciousness: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches
• PHIL 3333 - Topics in Philosophy
• PHIL 3351 - History of Western Philosophy (Ancient)
• PHIL 3352 - History of Western Philosophy (Modern)
• PHIL 3362 - Creativity, Discovery, and Science
• PHIL 3363 - Aesthetic Experience and Judgment
• PHIL 3364 - Philosophy of Biology
• PHIL 3371 - Social and Political Philosophy
• PHIL 3372 - Liberty
• PHIL 3373 - Philosophy of Criminal Law
• PHIL 3374 - Philosophy of Law
• PHIL 3375 - Topics in Moral Philosophy
• PHIL 3376 - Bioethics
• PHIL 3377 - Animal Rights
• PHIL 3378 - The Good Life: An Inquiry into Individual and Social Ethics
• PHIL 3379 - Environmental Ethics
• PHIL 3380 - Ethics: Morality, Self-Interest, and Justice
• PHIL 3381 - Neuroethics
• PHIL 3382 - The Ethics of Sport
• PHIL 3383 - Feminist Philosophy
• PHIL 4393 - Independent Study