George Mason University 1997-98 Catalog Catalog Index
Course Descriptions

Search the 1997-1998 Catalog:

Philosophy and Religious Studies


Faculty

Professors: Bergoffen, Lavine (Robinson Professor), McFarlane (Emeritus Professor)

Associate Professors: Burns, De Nys, Fletcher (Associate Provost), Froman (Chair), Holman, McDermott, Ro, Rothbart, Skousgaard, Yance (Emeritus Associate Professor)

Assistant Professors: Cherubin, Gopin, Kinnaman, Nguyen, Shiner

Lecturers: Caudill, D. Gregory, M. Gregory, Oberoi, San Juan, Skousgaard, Sojka, Steenhuisen


Course Work

This department offers all course work designated PHIL and RELI in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog.


Undergraduate Programs in Philosophy and Religious Studies

B.A. Degree with a Major in Philosophy

The degree program in philosophy serves the needs of students with various interests and career goals. Major concentrations are available for students who wish to pursue graduate studies in philosophy; emphasize philosophy in acquiring a broad liberal arts education; prepare for certain professions, such as law, the ministry, or government service; or complement other interests by taking a double major in philosophy and a related field of study.

The department offers a traditional philosophy major, a specially designed philosophy-English major in cooperation with the English Department, a specially designed philosophy-psychology major, a specially designed philosophy-economics major, and a specially designed religion track within the philosophy major. Each of these programs leads to a B.A. in Philosophy.


Traditional Philosophy Major
In addition to the general requirements for a bachelor of arts degree, philosophy majors must complete at least 33 semester hours in philosophy (with grades of C or better). At least 21 semester hours must be courses at the 300 level or above, including 6 credit hours at the 400 level or above.

These hours must be distributed in the following way:

  1. All majors must take:

  2. All majors must submit a minimum of three credits each from category A and category B courses:

    Category A: The Analytic Tradition
    PHIL 332 20th-Century Analytic Philosophy
    PHIL 355 Contemporary Ethical Theory
    PHIL 371 Philosophy of Natural Sciences
    PHIL 373 Theory of Knowledge
    PHIL 374 Philosophy of Mind
    PHIL 520 Current Issues in Philosophy of Science
    PHIL 573 Current Issues in Theory of Knowledge
    PHIL 574 Current Issues in Philosophy of Psychology

    Category B: The Continental Tradition PHIL 325 Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought
    PHIL 335 19th-Century Philosophy
    PHIL 336 Contemporary Continental Thought: Existentialism
    PHIL 337 20th-Century Continental Thought: Phenomenology
    PHIL 340 Hermeneutic Philosophy
    PHIL 531 Freud and Philosophy

    When the subject matter is appropriate, and at the discretion of the professor, PHIL 391, 392, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, or 426 may count as Category A or Category B courses.

  3. All majors may submit no more than three credits from Category C as credit toward the major:

    Category C: Ethics
    PHIL 305 Business Ethics
    PHIL 306 Criminal Justice Ethics
    PHIL 309 Medicine and Human Values
    PHIL 510 Seminar in Ethics of Health Care
    PHIL 555 Environmental Ethics

For students who plan to pursue graduate studies in philosophy, the following courses are recommended:


Religious Studies Track in Philosophy
This program offers students the opportunity to reflect on reciprocal relations, past and present, between philosophy and religion, and to approach contemporary questions and issues in religion, both substantive and methodological, through philosophical ideas pertinent to them. Students who plan to pursue a program in philosophy and religious studies must complete at least 33 semester hours in philosophy and religious studies.

All students pursuing this track must take:

Students must also submit a minimum of 12 credits from among the following courses (at least three credits must be in an Eastern tradition and at least three credits must be in a Western tradition):

Students must take six additional credits in religious studies or philosophy.


Sample Schedule for Bachelor of Music
with a Concentration in Music Education
First Semester
Natural science
English composition
Foreign language
PHIL 100, 111, or 173
Social science
Total Hours


4
3
3
3
3
16

 Second Semester
Natural science
Literature
Foreign language
PHIL 151
Communication
Total Hours


4
3
3
3
3
16
Third Semester
Literature
Social science
Philosophy elective
Foreign language
PHIL 301
Total Hours


3
3
3
3
3
15

 Fourth Semester
English composition
Foreign language
Non-Western culture
PHIL 303
Philosophy elective
Total Hours


3
3
3
3
3
15
Fifth Semester
Social science
Non-Western culture
PHIL 332
Philosophy elective
ENGL 302
Total Hours


3
3
3
3
3
15

 Sixth Semester
Social science
PHIL 336 or 337
Philosophy electives
Nonphilosophy elective

Total Hours


3
3
6
3

15
Seventh Semester
PHIL 421
Fine arts
Electives
Total Hours


3
3
9
15

 Eighth Semester
PHIL 422 or 425
Electives

Total Hours


3
12

15


Minor in Philosophy

The minor in philosophy introduces students to the major traditions and issues that define philosophical thought. The minor also permits students the flexibility to pursue individual interests. A grade of C or better is required for the course to count toward the minor. The minor consists of 18 credits distributed as follows:

  1. PHIL 173 Introduction to Logic or PHIL 376 Symbolic Logic (3 credits)

  2. Any course at the 100 level or above, excluding PHIL 105 Critical Reasoning (3 credits)

  3. PHIL 301 History of Western Philosophy: Ancient (3 credits)

  4. One course from the following (3 credits):

  5. Any course at the 300 level or above (3 credits)

  6. Any course at the 400 level or above (3 credits)
(No single course can be used to fulfill two or more requirements above.)


Minor in Religious Studies

The minor in religious studies introduces students to the world's religious traditions. Within the minor, students may pursue biblical studies or Western or Eastern religious traditions. The minor consists of 18 credit hours, at least 9 of which must be taken at the upper division. Three credits must be taken from RELI 100 The Human Religious Experience, RELI 211 Religions of the Near East, or RELI 212 Religions of the Orient.


Philosophy-Economics Double Major

Students interested in pursuing the specially designed cooperative double major in philosophy and economics must fulfill all requirements for each major. They may count up to six credits from the following courses toward both majors:

Students must satisfy the requirements of the economics major by taking 12 credits in philosophy. At least six of these must come from the following list:


Philosophy-English Double Major

Students interested in pursuing the specially designed joint major in philosophy and English must fulfill the distribution and core requirements of each major. Students pursuing this program must take one class in philosophy and one in English from the following list of theoretical or methodological courses (six credits). Both courses count toward both majors (i.e., the philosophy course is counted as part of the English major hours and vice versa).

Students must take six credits from one of the following pairs of historical courses. Both courses count toward both majors. (Some classes of ENGL 444, 446, and 496 and PHIL 391, 392, 421, 422, 423, and 424 may fulfill these requirements with the prior permission of the departments.)

  1. ENGL 471 Chaucer, ENGL 400 Literature of Middle Ages, or ENGL 431 Medieval Intellectual Topics

    PHIL 302 History of Western Philosophy: Medieval

  2. ENGL 401 English Poetry and Prose of 16th Century or ENGL 472 (346) Spenser

    PHIL 301 History of Western Philosophy: Ancient

  3. ENGL 405, 406, 450, 423

    PHIL 303 History of Western Philosophy: Modern

  4. ENGL 425 Literature of American Renaissance or ENGL 452 Development of the American Novel to 1914

    PHIL 331 Philosophy in the United States

  5. ENGL 380, 390, 556 (contemporary literature or language study)

    PHIL 332 20th-Century Analytic Philosophy

  6. ENGL 376, 377, 378, 447, 448, or 454 (continental literature or influence)

    PHIL 336 or 337 Contemporary Continental Thought: Existentialism or Phenomenology

  7. ENGL 369 Women and Literature
    PHIL 333 Feminism and Philosophy: Issues

Students must take PHIL 512 or ENGL 512. The topic of this course varies from term to term; possible topics include structuralism, technology, form and matter, and conceptions of the future. The course is cross-listed and team taught. Prerequisites are senior standing, six hours of 300-level English and six hours of 300-level philosophy, and permission of instructor.


Philosophy-Psychology Double Major

Students pursuing the joint major in philosophy and psychology must fulfill all the requirements for each major, except that they may count up to six credits from each of the following lists toward both majors:

Philosophy

Psychology

PAGE Program

The general education requirements (with the exception of foreign language) for the B.A. degree are satisfied by successful completion of the Program for Alternative General Education (PAGE). See PAGE category in this catalog, and see PAGE office for sample schedule for majors in philosophy. PAGE courses will be available through May 1998.

Writing-Intensive Requirement

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated "writing intensive" in their majors at the 300 level or above. Traditional philosophy majors may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing PHIL 421 or 425. Students in the religious studies track of the philosophy major may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing RELI 490.

Certificate Program in Philosophy and Computer Science

The philosophy-computer science certificate is designed to acquaint students with areas of overlap between philosophy (including logic) and computer science (e.g., the philosophical and logical foundations of computer science, ethical issues relevant to technology in general and computer science in particular, and the use of computational models in dealing with some traditional philosophical problems).

The program is designed so that it can be integrated into both computer science and philosophy major programs and probably the majors of some of the other sciences as well. Students pursuing this program must take several required courses in philosophy, computer science, and math, as well as six additional credits from a list of philosophy electives. The relevant courses are as follows:

Course Requirements


Return to College of Arts and Sciences
Return to Catalog Index