UT Dallas 2017 Undergraduate Catalog

School of Arts and Humanities

Philosophy (BA)

Philosophy is one of the most broad-based, rigorous, interdisciplinary, and socially engaged of the liberal arts. Philosophy engages deep, important, and persistent questions, questions concerning the nature of the good life, why we believe and how we know, the nature of the self and its connection with the world and with society, and the foundations of justice. Philosophy engages such questions through critical analysis of textual evidence, clear and rigorous argumentation, and questioning of unexamined personal and cultural assumptions. The study of the history of philosophy from all cultures is central to this pursuit.

Far from being an abstruse, removed, and self-contained pursuit, Philosophy at UT Dallas is engaged and interdisciplinary. It is closely connected with the interdisciplinary Arts & Humanities program, drawing on and contributing to the study of history, literature, and the arts. It is particularly suited to the STEM excellence of UT Dallas, with a practical and theoretical emphasis on the philosophy of science, technology, and medicine. Finally, the UT Dallas Philosophy BA program is highly pluralistic and intellectually diverse, with emphases in continental, analytic, feminist, American, and non-Western philosophical traditions.

Since the following catalog course descriptions are very general, students are urged to consult the detailed course descriptions available on the web site for the School of Arts and Humanities.

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

Degree Requirements (120 semester credit hours)1

View an Example of Degree Requirements by Semester

Faculty

Professor: Charles R. Bambach

Associated Professors: Matt Brown, Peter Park

Senior Lecturer: Lawrence Amato

I. Core Curriculum Requirements: 42 semester credit hours2

Communication: 6 semester credit hours

COMM 1311 Survey of Oral and Technology-based Communication

RHET 1302 Rhetoric

Mathematics: 3 semester credit hours

Choose one course from the following:

PHIL 2303 Introduction to Logic

Life and Physical Sciences: 6 semester credit hours

CGS 2301 Cognitive Science

or select any 6 hours of core science courses (including one with a lab component).

Language, Philosophy and Culture: 3 semester credit hours

PHIL 1301 Introduction to Philosophy

Creative Arts: 3 semester credit hours

Choose one course from the following:

ARTS 1301 Exploration of the Arts

AHST 1303 Survey of Western Art History: Ancient to Medieval

AHST 1304 Survey of Western Art History: Renaissance to Modern

AHST 2331 Understanding Art

DANC 1310 Understanding Dance

THEA 1310 Understanding Theatre

FILM 2332 Understanding Film

MUSI 1306 Understanding Music

American History: 6 semester credit hours

Choose two courses from the following:

HIST 1301 U.S. History Survey to Civil War

HIST 1302 U.S. History Survey from Civil War

HIST 2301 History of Texas

HIST 2330 Themes and Ideas in American History

HIST 2332 Civil War and Reconstruction

Government / Political Science: 6 semester credit hours

GOVT 2305 American National Government

GOVT 2306 State and Local Government

Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 semester credit hours

SOC 1301 (SOCI 1301) Introduction to Sociology

PSY 2301 (PSYC 2301) Introduction to Psychology

or select any 3 semester credit hours from Social and Behavioral Sciences core courses

Component Area Option: 6 semester credit hours

Choose 2 courses from the following or other Component Area Option courses:

ARHM 2340 Creativity

ARHM 2342 Connections in the Arts and Humanities

ARHM 2343 Science and the Humanities

ARHM 2344 World Cultures

II. Major Requirements: 45-51 semester credit hours

Major Preparatory Courses: 0-6 semester credit hours3

PHIL 1301 Introduction to Philosophy4

PHIL 2303 Introduction to Logic4

Major Core Courses: 9 semester credit hours

ARHM 3342 Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies in the Arts and Humanities

PHIL 3321 Philosophical Traditions I

PHIL 4328 Philosophy Capstone Project

Major Distribution Courses: 12 semester credit hours

6 semester credit hours of lower- or upper-division courses in History of Philosophy

PHIL 2316 History of Philosophy I

PHIL 2317 History of Philosophy II

PHIL 3322 Ancient Philosophy

PHIL 3323 Early Modern Philosophy

PHIL 3324 19th and 20th Century Philosophy

3 semester credit hours of upper-division courses in Theoretical Philosophy

PHIL 3373 Philosophy of Mind

PHIL 4308 Theories of Knowledge

PHIL 3328 History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine

3 semester credit hours of upper-division courses in Practical Philosophy

PHIL 3375 Contemporary Ethical Issues

PHIL 3320 Medical Ethics

PHIL 4323 Ethical Theories

PHIL 4324 Social and Political Philosophy

PHIL 4325 Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics

Major Elective Courses: 15 semester credit hours

15 semester credit hours of upper-division Philosophy electives, including Major Figures, Great Texts, Traditions, and Special Topics courses.

Students may select any combination of upper-division courses in Arts and Humanities, Visual and Performing Arts, Art History, Visual Arts, Communications, Creative Writing, Dance, Theatre, Film Studies, Humanities, Literature, Language, and/or Music. Students should consider taking some of the following courses with significant philosophical content:

LIT 3316 The Literature of Science Fiction

LIT 3317 The Literature of Fantasy

LIT 3328 Ethics in Literature

LIT 3330 Linguistics

LIT 3334 Literature of Science

LIT 4330 Dante

LIT 4348 Classical Rhetoric

HIST 3302 Gender in Western Thought

HIST 3376 American Intellectual History I

HIST 3377 American Intellectual History II

HIST 4358 Daoism

HIST 4380 Topics in Intellectual History

COMM 3351 Communication Theory

COMM 3352 Media and Culture

COMM 4360 Communication Ethics

III. Elective Requirements: 27-33 semester credit hours

Free Electives: 27-33 semester credit hours

Both upper-and lower-division courses may be used as electives, but students must complete at least 51 semester credit hours of upper-division courses to qualify for graduation. Students may want to consider using some free elective credit to complete one of the approved minors offered by UT-Dallas, and should consult their academic advisor for more information about their choices.

Students should further consider using some of their free electives to supplement their degree by taking some of the following courses with significant philosophical content:

CS 3385 Ethics, Law, Society, and Computing

ECON 4301 Game Theory5

ECON 4381 History of Economic Ideas

ECS 3361 Social Issues and Ethics in Computer Science and Engineering

OBHR 4310 Business Ethics5

PSCI 3301 Political Theory

PSCI 3306 Political Economy

PSY 3360 Historical Perspectives on Psychology

SOC 3303 Classical Social Theory

Incoming freshmen must enroll and complete requirements of ARHM 1100.1

1. Incoming freshmen must enroll and complete requirements of UNIV 1010 and the corresponding school-related freshman seminar course. Students, including transfer students, who complete their core curriculum at UT Dallas must take UNIV 2020.

2. Curriculum Requirements can be fulfilled by other approved courses from institutions of higher education. The courses listed are recommended as the most efficient way to satisfy both Core Curriculum and Major Requirements at UT Dallas.

3. 0 semester credit hours beyond Core Curriculum, if the student has not previously completed other courses to satisfy these core curriculum requirements.

4. A required Preparatory course that also fulfills a Core Curriculum requirement. Semester credit hours may be counted in Core Curriculum.

5. These courses may have prerequisites not listed in the degree plan, and may add to the student's time to degree.

Updated: 2018-01-11 09:29:48 v12.6dc775