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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts · Courses

PHIL

26 courses with the subject PHIL, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.

PHIL 100Introduction to Philosophy

Immerses students in a detailed exploration of philosophy, undertaking a thorough examination of its fundamental tenets and concerns, including: the intricacies of freedom and justice; the demands and nature of morality; theories of reality and knowledge; questions surrounding religious belief, life's meaning, and the significance of mortality; the nature of aesthetic value; and the balance between individual rights and societal justice viewed through a comprehensive intercultural perspective. It accentuates the relevance of philosophy to contemporary world issues and obliges students to dissect, elucidate, and participate in rigorous philosophical conversation.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 120Art and Philosophy

Adopts a philosophical approach to the experience, understanding and critical assessment of the products and processes of the creative arts. Our inquiries will center on two traditional questions of aesthetic theory: What is art? What is art's special value? This course will be more theoretical than hands-on, though direct, continued experience in the various creative arts will be encouraged and figure prominently in most discussions and assignments.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 120HHonors: Art and Philosophy

Adopts a philosophical approach to the experience, understanding and critical assessment of the products and processes of the creative arts. Our inquiries will center on two traditional questions of aesthetic theory. What is art? What is art's special value? This course will be more theoretical than hands-on, though direct, continued experience in the various creative arts will be encouraged and figure prominently in most discussions and assignments.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 200Logic and Critical Reasoning

Examines and applies the principles of cogent, sound or critical reasoning and writing, leading to a deeper understanding of language and of the use of logical argumentation. Considers, in the context of real life arguments and claims, (in the rhetoric of philosophy, history and other disciplines) formal and informal principles of clear and systematic thinking and writing.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 200HHonors: Logic and Critical Reasoning

Examines and applies principles of cogent, sound or critical reasoning and writing, leading to a deeper understanding of language and of the use of logical argumentation. Considers, in the context of real-life arguments and claims (in the rhetoric of philosophy, history, and other disciplines) formal and informal principles of clear and systematic thinking and writing.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 240Ancient Philosophy

Explores the ancient roots of western intellectual history, including contributions of non-European societies, in the context of the politics, economics, language, religion and technology of their times. Students will apply philosophical and historical tools to investigate the development of important ideas and schools of thought in the ancient world and the consequences of those ideas in the present.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 242Modern Philosophy

Explores the roots of western intellectual history since the European Renaissance, including the politics, economics, language, religion and technology in which they arose. Students will apply philosophical and historical tools to investigate the development of important ideas and schools of thought in the modern world and their consequences in the present.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 285Special Topics in Philosophy

Challenges students at the sophomore level to understand, construct and criticize both informal (natural language) and formal (categorical and propositional) arguments. The course considers in detail the very notion of argument, argument structure and the criteria for constructing cogent arguments, and distinguishes arguments supported by evidence and reason from mere opinion and belief. Students will learn to apply these logical concepts in their writing, conversing and reading.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Repeatable
Repeatable: Unlimited Credits
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 300Epistemology and Metaphysics

Considers the origins, nature and presuppositions of knowledge, as well as its relation to such concepts as belief, fact, truth, justification and reality. Examines various accounts of the most general features of reality, using categories such as being/becoming, real/apparent, identity/difference, existence, change, time, space and causality.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 302Social and Global Justice

Delves into the complex and multifaceted discussions surrounding social and global justice. Students will explore the fundamental philosophical underpinnings of justice, rights, fairness, and equality, and how these principles intersect with broader social, political, and economic contexts on a global scale.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 303Global Philosophy Through Thought Experiment

Explores global philosophical traditions through the distinctive approach of thought experiments. Invites students to immerse themselves in a multifaceted exploration of philosophical ideas and practices from diverse cultural and historical contexts, from ancient Greek paradigms to Eastern philosophy, African Ubuntu philosophy, and Indigenous worldviews.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 322Business Ethics

Examines the values of a business society and the ethical dimensions of decision-making in business, with the aim of enabling the student to develop a meaningful set of values by which to live and contribute creatively in a business society.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 325Ethics, Animals and the Environment

Addresses recent and historical perspective on the nature and scope of human moral obligations to the natural environment. Discusses the content and merits of competing ethical theories and their implications for both intra-human affairs and our place in nature as one of its creatures.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 335Philosophy of Education

Seeing education as the principal means to full personhood raises important questions about autonomy, authority, creativity, and knowledge. This course will examine various philosophical perspectives on these questions and their implications for classroom practice.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 350Contemporary Moral Issues

Views such issues as war and peace, world poverty, sexual morality and spirituality from the perspectives of traditional and contemporary ethical theories.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 360Social and Political Philosophy

Investigates conceptual and moral questions posed by life in community with others. These include justifications of democracy, political freedom, natural rights, political obligation, social justice and the challenge of anarchism.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 375Ethics and Animals

Explores the potentially morally significant relationships between humans and various kinds of non-human animals, applying moral propositions that we, as a society, subscribe to, to see whether they have unacknowledged implications for non-humans.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 375HHonors: Ethics and Animals

Explores the potentially morally significant relationships between humans and various kinds of non-human animals. Explores moral propositions that we, as a society, subscribe to, to see whether they have unacknowledged implications for non-humans.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 385Special Topics in Philosophy

Challenges students at the junior level, to understand, construct, and criticize both informal (natural language) and formal (categorical and propositional) arguments. The course considers in detail the very notion of argument, argument structure, and the criteria for constructing cogent arguments, and distinguishes arguments supported by evidence and reason from mere opinion and belief. Students will learn to apply these logical concepts in their writing, conversing, and reading.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Repeatable
Repeatable: Unlimited Credits
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 400Contemporary Legal Philosophy

Select two of the following applied ethics courses:

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Edition
2023-2024
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 410Constructing Reality3

Focusing on the increasingly popular notion that human beings, individually or corporately, actively construct, in part or in whole, the world. This notion transcends disciplinary boundaries, finding expression in such diverse fields as biology, philosophy, psychology, physics, anthropology, sociology, mathematics, theology, literary theory, cybernetics and linguistics.

Subject
PHIL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
cr
Type
course
Edition
2023-2024-undergraduate
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
Prerequisite
A 100 or 200 level philosophy course
PHIL 410HHonors: Constructing Reality3

Focusing on the increasingly popular notion that human beings, individually or corporately, actively construct, in part or in whole, the world. This notion transcends disciplinary boundaries, finding expression in such diverse fields as biology, philosophy, psychology, physics, anthropology, sociology, mathematics, theology, literary theory, cybernetics and linguistics. Attributes: Honors Program (HONR) MCLA Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024 311

Subject
PHIL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
cr
Type
course
Edition
2023-2024
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
Prerequisite
A 100 or 200 level philosophy course
PHIL 485Special Topics in Philosophy

A philosophical topics course tailored to changing student needs and interests, each offering focuses on a period in the history of philosophy (e.g. Greek philosophy, medieval philosophy, 20th century American philosophy, etc.), the works of an individual philosopher (e.g., Plato, Hegel, Hume, Kant, Descartes, etc.), or the critical examination of a philosophically challenging concept (e.g., freedom, value, meaning, truth, relativism, rights, justice, etc.)

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Repeatable
Repeatable: Unlimited Credits
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 495Teaching Assistantship in Philosophy

Provides assistance to philosophy majors who intend to pursue active teaching careers in the discipline. Students will be assigned to a department member to assist in the teaching of lower-level courses.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Repeatable
Repeatable: Maximum of 6 credits
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 500Directed Independent Study

Open to juniors and seniors who wish to read in a given area or to study a topic in depth. Written reports and frequent conferences with the advisor are required.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Repeatable
Repeatable: Maximum of 12 credits
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu
PHIL 540Philosophy Internship

Philosophy is applicable to a wide range of professions and activities (e.g. law, business, education, public service). The philosophy internship is designed to allow advanced students with a particular focus or career goal to design and pursue such applications with faculty supervision including a significant component of writing about their experiences. Up to 9 credits per semester, three of which may apply to minimum major requirements.

Subject
PHIL
Type
course
Repeatable
Repeatable: Maximum of 15 credits © 2025-2026 Back to top Close this window Print Options Send Page to Printer Print this page.
Edition
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Catalog
2025-2026 Edition Undergraduate Course Catalog
Source
catalog.mcla.edu

Source: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 61