This is an ARCHIVED version of the Kwantlen University College Calendar for
2004-2005 and is provided for historical reference only. See the current version of the
Calendar for updated information.
The on-line version of the University College Calendar is the Official version.
In the event of conflict between the printed version and the online version, the
on-line version will prevail.
Effective date of this course calendar information, unless otherwise indicated, is Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005.
Philosophy
Courses at the 1200 level in Philosophy have prerequisites at the
1100 level in Philosophy or in other disciplines. Students who plan
to major in Philosophy at UBC, SFU, or UVic should consult with
a Kwantlen University College educational advisor or a Philosophy
instructor.
PHIL 1100 cr-3
Introduction to Philosophy
Students will study some of the central topics in the major areas of
philosophy. They will examine a variety of philosophical
perspectives on such issues as the nature of reality, the limits of
human knowledge, and the nature of morality.
Students will examine the meaning and justification of moral
judgments. They will examine various theories concerning whether
or not moral judgments have an objective basis. They will also
study and evaluate leading theories of right action, and they will
apply these theories to contemporary moral problems.
Students will examine some central problems in environmental
philosophy. They will investigate such topics as the nature of our
obligations to non-human animals, the environment, and future
generations.
Students will examine arguments for and against the existence of
God, as well as other traditional problems of theology, from a
philosophical perspective.
The single distinguishing characteristic of scholarly writing is the
careful presentation and defence of the author’s ideas. The
practical skills of close reading, the use of argumentation, and the
art of rhetoric, are the tools for this job. This course prepares
students to exercise their skills in their writing in other courses.
This is an introduction to elementary techniques of formal logic.
Two artificial languages are developed, sentential logic and
predicate logic. The construction of these languages will aid in
understanding the nature of rational argument.
This is a course not only for science students but for all who are
interested in the style of reasoning and kinds of claims made in the
name of science. Scientific reasoning involves probability and
hypotheses in ways which require careful analysis. This course
provides an introduction to scientists’ methods of argument and
experiment, and to inductive argument generally.
Epistemology is the philosophical study of the nature of
knowledge and our ways of acquiring it. Students will examine such
topics as the justification of beliefs, the nature of truth, and the
possibility of foundations of knowledge using the work of major
contemporary philosophers.
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy which enquires into the
nature of reality. Using classical and contemporary readings,
students will study some of the main traditional topics of
metaphysics such as the mind-body interaction problem, space and
time, free will and fatalism, and theories of reality and truth.
Prerequisites Any 1100 level PHIL or CRIM 1251 or HUMN 1100
This course will introduce contemporary symbolic logic, provide a
working understanding of some symbolic languages, introduce
propositional logic and first-order predicate logic, and discuss
syntax and semantics at an elementary level. Soundness and
completeness of first-order logical systems will be proved.
Prerequisites: PHIL 1150 or College Math at 1100 level or above.
Students will acquire a detailed historical and conceptual
framework for the assessment of 20th Century philosophical
analysis. They will study issues raised by Russell and others near the
beginning of the 20th Century. Then they will consider the
historical and conceptual unfolding of various alternative
approaches to these issues by later 20th Century analytical
philosophers. Students will focus on a technical examination of
concepts such as: truth, reference, description, and meaning.
Students will investigate central questions about the nature and
foundations of ethical judgement. They will examine a variety of
perspectives on such issues as the objectivity and prescriptivity of
moral judgement.
Students will critically examine selected representative schools of
philosophy in Asian traditions, including Hinduism, Confucianism,
Taoism, and Zen Buddhism. They will explore such topics as
reality, self, knowledge, ethics, and death.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level Philosophy course
Students will examine selected central problems in social and
political philosophy. They will investigate such topics as the
justification of the state, the tension between individual freedom
and social constraint, and theories of social justice.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level PHIL course
Students will consider selected problems associated with various
philosophical approaches to morality. They will investigate
standard moral perspectives such as Utilitarianism, Kantianism,
Contractarianism, Feminist Ethics, and Virtue Theory, in order to
assess their philosophical strengths and weaknesses by introducing
theoretical as well as practical considerations.
Prerequisites: HUMN 1100 or any 1100-level PHIL course
PHIL 3033 (formerly ENTR 3033) cr-3
Business Ethics
Students will study various ethical and meta-ethical theories, and
will apply them in standard business contexts, such as employer/
employee relations, risk analysis, occupational and product safety,
environmental protection, and multi-national practices. They will
acquire the tools to allow them to make ethical business decisions.
PHIL 3040 cr-3
Philosophy of Art
Students ill investigate central questions about the nature and value
of art (e.g., painting, sculpture, music, literature, and film). They
will critically examine attempts to answer questions such as the
following: What is art? Is there a difference between aesthetic
judgments and mere judgments of taste or subjective preference?
What is beauty? Should moral considerations affect our evaluations
of art?
Prerequisites: Any 1100 level PHIL course or HUMN 1100
Transferable: refer to individual agreements with receiving institutions
PHIL 3118 cr-3
Ethics and Public Policy
Students will critically examine ethical issues in public policy
through readings in classic and/or contemporary texts. They will
consider topics such as policy governing life and death, sex and
reproduction, freedom of speech, punishment, and the
environment.
Prerequisites: Any 1100 level PHIL course or HUMN 1100
Transferable: refer to individual agreements with receiving institutions
PHIL 3430 cr-3
Philosophy of Mind: Consciousness
Students will investigate central questions about the nature of
consciousness and the place of the mind in the physical world.
They will examine competing approaches to the explanation of
mental phenomena.
Prerequisites: Any 1100-level PHIL course or HUMN 1100
Transferable: contact the specific receiving institution
Philosophy Faculty
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