Chairpersons: Co-Chairs, Jay Ciaffa and Timothy Weidel
Director of the Philosophy Graduate Program: Danielle Layne
Professors: M. Alfino, K. Besmer, D. Bradley, P. Burke, D. Calhoun, J. Ciaffa, B. Clayton (Emeritus), B. Henning, T. Jeannot, D. Kries, D. Layne, W. Pomerleau (Emeritus), E. Schmidt, M. Tkacz, R.M. Volbrecht (Emeritus)
Associate Professors: T. Clancy, S.J., T. Di Maria, M. Howard, C. Lassiter, Q. Liu, E. Maccarone, T. Weidel
Assistant Professors: K. Fisher, D. Spearman, M. Turnbull
The department offers one major and one minor:
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy major (optional Kossel concentration)
Minor in Philosophy
Philosophy has played a central role in Jesuit education since its inception, a tradition that is reflected by the place of philosophy in the Gonzaga University Core curriculum. Philosophy courses included as part of the University Core curriculum for all undergraduate programs aid students in developing skills of thought and logical analysis (PHIL 101), introduce students to sustained reflection on basic questions of human nature and personhood (PHIL 201), and examine the practical and theoretical considerations relevant to human morality and value (PHIL 301). The department offers 400-level philosophy courses on a wide variety of topics, which serve to integrate work in the University Core curriculum, and to encourage students to reflect on their future roles in the world.
The Philosophy Department also offers courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major or minor in philosophy. Beyond the philosophy courses that fulfill the University Core (101, 201, 301, 432), students must complete an additional 9 credits of upper-division course work for a Philosophy Minor, and an additional 24 credits for a Philosophy Major. The major includes a 3-course sequence in the history of philosophy; topical seminars that focus on philosophical research, discussion, and writing; and a broad range of 400-level electives, which allows students to develop a program of studies tailored to their own interests. Each student is required to take at least one course in contemporary philosophy, and one course in ethics or political philosophy. Majors must take at least two philosophy seminars and minors must take at least one. These seminars are identified by their numbers (PHIL 400-430) and they will all carry a Writing Enriched designation, which fulfills a requirement of the University Core curriculum.
Students may also earn a Philosophy Major by completing the department's Kossel Concentration in Philosophical Studies. The Kossel Concentration follows the course of studies established for the training of college seminarians by the Program of Priestly Formation of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The goal of the Kossel Concentration, as stated in the Program, is for students (1) to organize and synthesize their study of the liberal arts through the study of philosophy and (2) to prepare for the study of theology in the post-baccalaureate seminary. Although specifically designed for the students of Bishop White Seminary, the Kossel Concentration is open to all Gonzaga students. The curricular requirements for the Kossel Concentration include all of the requirements of the regular Philosophy Major, but students in the Kossel Concentration must devote their elective courses to traditional areas of Catholic philosophy. They must also complete extra courses in Latin. The Kossel Concentration is named after the late Clifford Kossel, S.J., who taught philosophy at Gonzaga for most of his adult life.
An undergraduate Major in Philosophy is useful preparation for a variety of careers. The focus on logic, argumentation, and moral theory is valuable to students with career plans in law. Students with interests in business, public policy, or government service can benefit from the many courses which provide reflective analysis on the ways in which political, moral, and social values are embedded in social institutions. A degree in philosophy can be valuable when applying to a variety of professional schools which actively look for liberal arts majors and to employers who do the same.
Master of Arts in Philosophy (PHIL) 4+1 Program:
Majors interested in pursuing a Master of Arts in Philosophy (PHIL) may apply to the graduate program at the end of the academic year immediately preceding their final year of undergraduate study. Those who meet the PHIL admissions standards will be granted provisional acceptance. During their final year of undergraduate study, these students will be able to enroll in up to nine graduate-level PHIL credits in addition to their undergraduate course load, with no additional or separate charge for graduate credits. "4+ 1" students will be limited to a maximum of 18 credits per semester, including graduate credits, in each of the two semesters of their final year of undergraduate study.
Lower Division
This course helps students develop the foundational skills of critical reading, thinking, analysis, and writing. Students will analyze and evaluate different approaches to formal and informal arguments, reconstruct arguments from a range of sources, assess the quality of various types of evidence, and demonstrate careful use of statistics.
Equivalent:
PHIL 102H - OK if taken since Fall 1996
This course helps students develop the foundational skills of critical reading, thinking, analysis, and writing. Students will analyze and evaluate different approaches to formal and informal arguments, reconstruct arguments from a range of sources, assess the quality of various types of evidence, and demonstrate careful use of statistics.
Equivalent:
PHIL 102H - Successful completion
Topic to be determined by faculty.
The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces new Gonzaga students to the University, the Core Curriculum, and Gonzaga’s Jesuit mission and heritage. While the seminars will be taught by faculty with expertise in particular disciplines, topics will be addressed in a way that illustrates approaches and methods of different academic disciplines. The seminar format of the course highlights the participatory character of university life, emphasizing that learning is an active, collegial process.
Philosophical study of human nature, the human condition, the meaning and value of human life, and the human relationship to ultimate reality, with attention to such issues as the nature and possible existence of the soul, the relation between body and mind, belief and knowledge, freedom vs. determinism, and the possibility of human immortality. Fall and Spring.
Equivalent:
PHIL 201H - OK if taken since Fall 1996
Philosophical study of human nature, the human condition, the meaning and value of human life, and the human relationship to ultimate reality, with attention to such issues as the nature and possible existence of the soul, the relation between body and mind, belief and knowledge, freedom vs. determinism, and the possibility of human immortality. Fall. For Honors students.
Prerequisite:
HONS 190 Minimum Grade: D
and PHIL 101H Minimum Grade: D
and PHIL 101 Minimum Grade: D
Equivalent:
PHIL 201 - OK if taken since Fall 1996
Two basic dimensions of philosophical investigation are inquiry into the nature and meaning of our being human (the philosophy of human nature) and inquiry into the right life and conduct of a human being (ethics). This course undertakes these closely related investigations from a personalist perspective.
Topic to be determined by faculty.
Upper Division
A general theory of the goals of human life and the norms of moral behavior; the theory will be applied to several specific moral problems. Fall and Spring.
Equivalent:
PHIL 301H - Successful completion
A general theory of the goals of human life and the norms of moral behavior; the theory will be applied to several specific moral problems. Spring.
Equivalent:
PHIL 301 - OK if taken since Fall 1996
A survey of major figures and developments in ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophy from Thales to Plotinus, using texts in translation. Philosophy major, or minor status, or by permission of Department Chair. Fall.
Equivalent:
PHIL 401 - Taken before Summer 2016
A survey of the major philosophical movements in the Latin, Greek, and Arabic traditions from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries. Spring.
Prerequisite:
PHIL 305 Minimum Grade: D
Equivalent:
PHIL 405 - Taken before Summer 2016
A survey from Descartes through Hegel. Spring.
Prerequisite:
PHIL 305 Minimum Grade: D
Equivalent:
PHIL 410 - Taken before Summer 2016
A service learning seminar that may be taken in conjunction with specified sections of PHIL 301. Students discuss and apply ways by which to communicate with Spokane-area youth (primarily middle- and high-school age) what they are learning about ethics and character.
Concurrent:
PHIL 301
Through the internship, students will become familiar with the kinds of ethical issues that arise in a major medical facility such as Sacred Heart Medical Center and understand how those issues are addressed. Students will be asked to reflect on the difference between abstract, theoretical discussions of health care ethics and their concrete, particular manifestations in the lives of patients, families, and professional staff.
Topic to be determined by faculty.
A philosophical understanding of the integration of faith and reason is foundational to the Catholic intellectual tradition. This seminar will provide students the opportunity to study the nature of human knowledge and the human knower in the context of such integration. Topics will include the philosophical anthropology of the human knower, classical dialectics, and natural philosophy. The resources of perennial philosophy in the scholastic tradition will be used to develop a comprehensive account of the human knower in the natural habitat of the intelligible universe. Fall, even years.
A philosophical understanding of the integration of faith and reason is foundational to the Catholic intellectual tradition. This seminar will provide students the opportunity to study classical metaphysics in the context of such integration. Topics will include the existence of divine being, the analogy of being, ontological participation, and the transcendental predicates of being. The resources of perennial philosophy in the scholastic tradition will be used to develop a comprehensive account of natural being as well as an analogical account of divine being. Fall, odd years.
Examination of recent developments in the philosophy of science and its treatment of the nature and methods of the physical, biological, and social sciences.
Equivalent:
PHIL 443 - Taken before Summer 2016
Treatment of the nature and functional capacities of the mind and the philosophical problems raised by analysis of the mind, including mind and body, materialistic reductionism, other minds, freedom, and personality.
Equivalent:
PHIL 448 - Taken before Summer 2016
This course is primarily concerned with problems about the origin, nature, function, and uses of language in its relation to ideas in language users’ minds and the things in the world that the users inhabit. Readings will cover both the analytic and continental traditions and Western and Eastern thinkers.
The concepts of knowledge and belief have been of central philosophical concern since the pre-Socratics. In this course, we will consider historical and contemporary contributions to answer the following questions: (1) What is the value of knowledge? (2) What can I know? (3) What can I learn from others? (4) What can I know of myself? (5) Can I know something without being able to say how I know it? (6) How does society shape what I and others know? Historical sources will include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Reid, and Hume.
Equivalent:
PHIL 440 - Taken before Summer 2016
Many Modern theories of social justice rest upon models developed in classical antiquity. Similarly, many modern institutions and laws relating to justice have ancient precursors. This course examines major classical texts dealing with justice: selected Pre-Socratic texts; Plato, Republic; Thucydides, History of Peloponnesian war, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book V, selections from Cicero; selections from other Hellenistic and late Roman authors (including Augustine).
Equivalent:
PHIL 481 - Taken before Summer 2016
SOSJ 412 - Successful completion
SOSJ 412 - Successful completion
Some major writings of Marx, the social and intellectual history of Marxism, the relationship between Marxist theory and revolutionary practice, and contemporary problems in Marxism.
Topics will be determined by the instructor.
Topics will be determined by the instructor.
A study of major figures in the American philosophical tradition.
Postmodernism has been the single most influential philosophical movement in the late 20th Century. As a response to philosophical modernism and as a broad cultural movement, affecting virtually every field of knowledge and cultural practice, postmodernism challenges us to rethink some of the most basic assumptions of the Western philosophical tradition. This course begins with a review of the meaning of philosophical and cultural modernism. We then consider several of the major founding thinkers of the postmodern movement: Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Francois Lyotard. From its beginnings in the revolutionary atmosphere of the French student rebellion, we move to post-modern thinkers in the analytic and post-analytic tradition, including the later Ludwig Wittgenstein and Richard Rorty. The course concludes with a survey of postmodern culture sampling specific developments in fields such as architecture, music, and contemporary art.
Philosophers such as Bergson and Whitehead, who regard creative process as the essence of the real.
Some proponents of phenomenological philosophy stemming from Husserl.
An examination of the nature and norms of political life, with attention to major historical themes in the light of contemporary relevance.
Equivalent:
PHIL 451 - Taken before Summer 2016
An in-depth exploration of the work of a single figure or movement in the history of philosophy.
Allied with phenomenology, philosophical hermeneutics struggles not only with interpreting patterns of meaning in classical philosophical texts, but also with interpreting patterns of meaning in human existence, based on the model of the text.
Topic will be determined by the instructor.
A systematic ordering and development of the perennial questions concerning being and existence; unity, diversity, truth, value, causality, and transcendence; the existence and nature of God.
The Core Integration Seminar (CIS) engages the Year Four Question: “Imagining the possible: What is our role in the world?” by offering students a culminating seminar experience in which students integrate the principles of Jesuit education, prior components of the Core, and their disciplinary expertise. Each section of the course will focus on a problem or issue raised by the contemporary world that encourages integration, collaboration, and problem solving. The topic for each section of the course will be proposed and developed by each faculty member in a way that clearly connects to the Jesuit Mission, to multiple disciplinary perspectives, and to our students’ future role in the world.
A survey of the history of Chinese philosophy focusing on the Confucian tradition and taking other traditions such as Taoism and Buddhism into account.
Equivalent:
INST 396 - OK if taken since Fall 1996
This course examines Lewis, the Christian intellectual, as his participation in the Christian theistic tradition and his philosophical training exhibit themselves in his fictional, philosophical and theological works.
Equivalent:
PHIL 417 - Taken before Summer 2016
This course examines both fiction and non-fiction works by Walker Percy (1916-1990), with particular emphasis on his development of existential themes and C.S. Peirce's semiotics. We investigate Peter Augustine Lawler's description of Percy as a proponent of "postmodernism rightly understood."
Equivalent:
PHIL 418 - Taken before Summer 2016
This course looks at answering the question "What is time?" This is done by looking at ancient and modern arguments surrounding the structure, experience and models of time.
Survey and analysis of influential accounts of love and friendship, including treatments of erotic/romantic love, friendship, and charity, within a framework provided by C.S. Lewis classic study 'The Four Loves'. Special attention will be given to the relation between views of love and the nature of happiness, proper treatment of others, human desire and psychology, character, self-love, and religious devotion.
The study of modern symbolic logic (propositional and predicate). Metalogical issues (the syntax and semantics of formal systems) are discussed.
Analyzes the concepts of sex, sexuality, and gender by working with authors across traditions and disciplines. We will be particularly concerned with the roles that sex, sexuality and gender have on identity formation/subversion while also questioning whether some or all of these concepts are essential/natural or socially constructed.
Equivalent:
WGST 434 - OK if taken since Fall 2016
Philosophical inquiry into the historical relationship between Christian religious doctrine and the knowledge imparted by the sciences, with focus on particular episodes such as the Galileo affair and the Darwinian revolution.
This course in comparative philosophy studies the relationship between wisdom and contemplative practice in three major philosophical/religious traditions: Greek/Hellenic, Judeo/Christian, and Yogic/Samkhya. Students will acquire both a general understanding of the concept of wisdom in each tradition and a specific understanding of how each of these traditions connects wisdom to practice.
This course will examine the core issues in African American philosophy. These issues will include: (1) the nature and purpose of African American philosophy; (2) questions concerning racial, cultural, and ethnic identity; (3) the varied forms, causes, and consequences of racism; (4) 'separatist' vs. 'assimilationist' strategies for addressing racial injustice; and (5) debates concerning reparations and affirmative action.
In one form or another, the nature of happiness has always been a central concern of philosophical reflection. In recent years, a new body of psychological research has made interesting contributions to our understanding of happiness. Specifically, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's work on 'flow' and Martin Seligman's research on happiness will be considered. This course will sample some of this research and bring it into dialogue with traditional philosophical texts from Western and Eastern philosophy, such as Epicureanism, Stoicism, Taoism, and modern movements such as Existentialism, Liberalism, and Marxism. We will also consider very recent philosophical work on the nature of happiness. Along with this study, we will ask historiographic questions about how the philosophical problem of happiness is temporally and culturally conditioned.
Equivalent:
PHIL 419 - Taken before Summer 2016
The moral structure of the international community in the context of problems such as war, foreign aid, and transnational migration.
Equivalent:
INST 350 - OK if taken since Fall 1996
The movement from Kierkegaard to the present.
Equivalent:
PHIL 424 - Taken before Summer 2016
Ethical concepts and issues in the medical field: personhood, relationship between health care professional and patient, experimentation, rights to health care, and allocation of health care resources.
Equivalent:
PHIL 352S - Successful completion
Explores women's experiences of oppression and some of the ways in which this has marginalized their concerns and their perceptions of the moral dimension. Feminist contributions to rethinking the concept of moral agency, the traditionally sharp distinction between the public and private domains, the relevance of personal relationships to ethics, and the process of moral development and moral decision-making are considered. Spring, odd years.
Equivalent:
WGST 435 - OK if taken since Fall 2009
The philosophic basis of business and its relation to social development. Responsibilities of the business community to society and the individual. The relationship between economic theories and philosophical approaches.
The detailed philosophical study of humanity's understanding of its relationship to the natural environment, concentrating on historically prominent conceptions of that relationship, and the philosophical foundation of the contemporary environmental movement. Fall and Spring.
Equivalent:
ENVS 358 - OK if taken since Fall 2007
An examination of ethical issues surrounding the consumption, production and transportation of food. Issues such as organic food, GMOs, vegetarianism, local and slow food movements, and hunger may be covered. Ethical issues surrounding both local and international food issues are treated.
Equivalent:
ENVS 381 - OK if taken since Fall 2013
Many have described global climate change as the defining challenge of the 21st century, noting that unless dramatic changes are made today, future generations will suffer terrible consequences, such as rising seas, wars over fresh water, tens of millions of environmental refugees, and the extinction of species such as the polar bear. This course will investigate the complex technological, historical, economic, scientific, political, and philosophical issues surrounding this issue. Global warming skeptics are especially encouraged to enroll. Spring and Summer.
Equivalent:
ENVS 350 - OK if taken since Spring 2010
This course will show how fictional literature can illustrate philosophical insights and how philosophical ideas can help illuminate works of literature.
This course is designed to fulfill one of the requirements of the Solidarity and Social Justice minor. It builds on the background provided by other courses in the SOSJ minor and the University Core by focusing more explicitly on the role public reason plays in the pursuit of solidarity and social justice. The course will ask “What is justice and how is it related to human solidarity? How do we ground claims about solidarity and social justice through an appeal to reason? What role should reason play in shaping our models of justice and what role can it play in the promotion of solidarity and social justice?”
Equivalent:
PHIL 408 - Taken before Summer 2017
SOSJ 410 - OK if taken since Fall 2015
SOSJ 410 - OK if taken since Fall 2015
This course will critically consider famous theories of justice, as well as their applications to some social and moral problems.
Equivalent:
PHIL 409 - Taken before Summer 2017
SOSJ 411 - OK if taken since Fall 2017
SOSJ 411 - OK if taken since Fall 2017
A study of the nature of religious experience and practice, and how religious language and belief relate to science, morality and aesthetics. Included is also a study of what is meant by 'God,' divine attributes and proofs for and against God's existence.
This course will address a cluster of fundamental problems of faith and reason--the nature of knowledge, especially in connection with religious claims, evidence for the existence of God, the relevance of recent advances in cosmology to the Christian world view, the problem of evil and suffering, and the challenge of atheism.
The sources, structure, and function of human law and its relations to moral law.
An analysis of beauty, creativity, and taste according to the theories of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and selected contemporary philosophers. Several representative works from all areas of the fine arts are examined in the light of the aesthetic principles of classical philosophy.
Equivalent:
VART 466 - OK if taken since Fall 1996
Examines contemporary applied theories of art in a variety of visual art media including painting, sculpture, film, and photography.
This course in applied philosophy involves reflection and self-understanding of our technology-saturated world. Examinations of well-known philosophers' writings on technology will be covered. Course goals include a deeper, more reflective understanding of the nature of technology, its role in our lives, its ethical implications, its political ramifications and its relation to society.
An in-depth exploration of the work of a single figure or movement in the history of philosophy.
Many current films raise first-order philosophical questions or issues, though few films are particularly good at solving those same problems or resolving the conflict underlying the issues. This course seeks to explore many contemporary films (none older than "Blade Runner") and the philosophical issues they raise, both by their explicit content and by their implicit content. Metaphysical issues about the mind and body relationship, the nature and extent of free will, and the nature of personal identity will be included. Some epistemological issues having to do with how well we can expect to have access to reality, and what might be among the impediments to the access will also be included. The course generally avoids treating ethical or moral issues, but also takes an interest in the use of the emotions in films, the treatment of violence and human sexuality in films and the nature of comedy in films. Some attention will also be given to film techniques, especially from the point of view of the audience.
Equivalent:
FILM 470 - OK if taken since Fall 2023
Topics and credit by arrangement. Spring or Fall.
Prerequisite:
HONS 190 Minimum Grade: D
Topics and credits by arrangement.
Topics to be determined by the instructor.
Topics will be determined by the instructor.
Topics will be determined by the instructor.
To be determined by the department.
Professional work experience in Philosophy-related field. Student is responsible for identifying an agency and faculty supervisor. Does not count towards program electives for the major or minor.
Course requires permission of instructor and Department Chair.