47 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.
A study of the principles of correct reasoning, with emphasis on the analysis of everyday arguments. Topics usually include the common fallacies, definitions, deduction, induction, and argument by analogy. Attributes: HHSM HHUM SQ YLIB
This course explores various philosophical concepts and theories, applying these to subjects and situations relevant to the particular theme of the affiliated Learning Community. Typically offered:
Conflicts are part of human relationships, and they may arise between individuals, groups of people, institutions, or nations. The challenge is to understand conflicts as an opportunity for better relationships and how to transform them to create sustained peace. This course examines injustice, violence, and conflict mostly through the lens of circle processes, conflict transformation, restorative justice, and the idea of sustained peace. The aim of the class is to help students understand and analyze i Attributes: LC YLIB
This class will focus on Indigenous philosophies, with a special emphasis on the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois), whose traditional territory encompasses most of what we now call “New York State.” Readings will set a foundation for thinking ecologically and for reconsidering the place of human beings within the many relations that constitute our home (Mother Earth). This reorientation will lead to sustained examinations of what it means to be living our lives in Rochester, NY. The underlying questi Typically offered:
Ethics involves considerations of right and wrong (good and bad) and how to relate to each other in ways that avoid or minimize harms while bringing benefits to the world. This course will combine ethics with leadership to consider how ethical leaders can interact with others to make the world a better place. We will look at various forms of leadership, but we will focus primarily on the transformational leadership model. Course content will link leadership and ethics with social justice issues, such as Typically offered:
Everyone wants to be happy but just what is “happiness”? In this course, we will examine the rich philosophical exploration of this topic, from the Ancient Greeks, Medieval clerics, Renaissance essayists, and Modern thinkers, to present day “Happiness Studies.” We’ll explore such topics as “Is happiness a virtue?” “What is the relationship between friendship and happiness?” “Is happiness an emotion, a rational concept, or a combination of both?” and “Is it possible to help others to be happy?” Attributes: LC YLIB
This course explores the role that philosophy plays in dealing with conflict in society. We will discuss the nature and roots of conflict, the morality of violence, the principles of civil discourse, the methods of nonviolent resistance to injustice, the dynamics of social change, and the prospects for perpetual peace. We will also use this material to analyze historic and recent case studies, and develop action plans to address ongoing social conflicts. Attributes: LC YLIB
A course designed to acquaint the beginner with a range of philosophical issues and to help him or her appreciate the distinctive character and value of philosophical reflection and argument. Typically offered: Fall, Spring & Summer Attributes: P2 YLIB
Total: 43 credits 2025-2026 Catalog » Academic Programs » Undergraduate » School of Ar
Students study and practice skills central to academic and professional research through the development of independent, inquiry-based projects. In their projects, student assert, support, and integrate their own positions into scholarly conversation based in research. Students develop competency in the location, evaluation, analysis and documentation of sources that represent a range of different perspectives on important issues. Typically offered:
This course introduces students to Philosophy through an examination both of thoughtful films and of relevant writings by noted philosophers. It covers major areas of philosophy such as theories of knowledge (epistemology); the study of ultimate reality (metaphysics); the evaluation of life-purpose, conduct, and character (ethics); theories concerning what is a legitimate and/or ideal state (political philosophy); and theories of beauty and art (aesthetics). Attributes: P1 YLIB
Course exploring contributions of Galileo on the heavenly bodies (Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler), Vesalius on human anatomy, Brunelleschi on linear perspective, and Leonardo da Vinci on mathematics, illustrating the Neoplatonist view that the underlying reality of the world we perceive is essentially mathematical, while Machiavelli’s contributions relate to a model of power. Attributes: YLIB
Students will gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they need to become contributing citizens in a diverse and complex society. These experiences help ensure a commitment to collaboratively working across and within community contexts and structures to achieve civic aims in a democracy. Typically offered:
This course emphasizes the role parks play in enhancing community connections. Public parks in the Rochester area serve as primary “texts” for the course. Students will research the history, philosophy, benefits, and challenges related to parks, exploring how these challenges can be addressed. The course also delves into the impact of 19th-century park designer and land architect Frederick Law Olmsted, whose work has shaped parks across the U.S., including Rochester, New York. A key assignment involves Attributes: CCE YLIB
A study of how philosophy began in ancient Greece and came to maturity in the work of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and subsequent “schools” of thought such as the Stoic, Skeptic, and Epicurean. Attributes: P2 YLIB
A study of some prominent strands of American thought from colonial and revolutionary times through the pragmatists to the present, including authors such as Edwards, Madison, Emerson, Thoreau, Peirce, William James, and Dewey. Attributes: AMHU P2 YLIB
This course takes its inspiration from Richard Feynman’s famous quote: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool.” We’ll examine some of the many ways humans might be fooling themselves (and others) on a wide variety of topics: e.g., scams, hoaxes, urban legends, phenomena like ESP and UFOs. We’ll look at techniques and tools - from logic, psychology, and science - which can help prevent us from being fooled. Along the way, we will touch on some eth Attributes: CIA YLIB
Basic questions on such topics as the nature of existence, universals and particulars, material objects, knowledge, truth, causality, infinity, existence of God, and the freedom of the will are raised as part of an effort to develop a philosophy of being. Attributes: P2 YLIB
A philosophical study of God and faith. Topics usually include arguments for God’s existence, the attributes of God, the nature of religious belief, miracles, the problem of evil, religious experience, and religious language. Attributes: P2 YLIB
Introduces students to thinking philosophically about the nature of art and its relation to other human experiences. Among the topics considered are the aesthetic experience, the relation between morality and art, ugliness in art, and truth in art. Attributes: P1 YLIB
A course based on the conviction that novels, plays, short stories, and other types of literature frequently have a philosophical dimension that profoundly repays closely reasoned attention. Notable literary works are typically juxtaposed with philosophical works dealing with similar themes. Attributes: P2 YLIB
Indigenous Issues Today will explore the challenges Indigenous nations and peoples continue to face in North America and around the world. Because of St. John Fisher University’s placement in traditional Seneca Nation territory, special emphasis will be given to the topics of New York State and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). Students will be exposed to Indigenous philosophies, histories and cultures, the disrupting legacies of colonization, and considerations of working with different people. Typically offered:
The course examines modern approaches to the philosophy of education, with emphasis on the work of thinkers such as Plato, Rousseau, Maritain, Whitehead, and Dewey. Topics include educational theory, the role of the school in society, the philosophical assumptions of curriculum development, and the problems of teacher accountability. Attributes: CC YLIB
Electives - 9 credits All of the following courses either provide skills that are vital to advanced critical thinking Choose THREE electives from the following group. Only one Fisher Core course can be used as an
This course introduces students to ethical theory through examining thoughtful films and through selected writings of noted philosophers. It will cover the major theories of ethics, including natural law, deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, and the ethics of care by carefully analyzing moral positions found in motion pictures. Typically offered:
The formal study of validity, of deductive systems and their properties, and of some aspects of the philosophy of logic. Topics covered include some or all of the following: propositional calculus, predicate logic, paradoxes of logic, and meta-logic. The completion of PHIL 100C Basic Logic prior to enrollment in this course is desirable but not essential. Attributes: P4 YLIB
Choose ONE :
Choose ONE :
An examination of such issues as the justification of civil authority, the nature and purpose of law, the existence of natural rights, private interest versus the public good, and nation-states as bearers of moral responsibility. Typically offered:
Choose TWO :
A study of selected philosophers in the 17th and 18th centuries, typically ranging from Descartes to Kant, with special attention to the classical idealists and empiricists. This course may be repeated with change of content as PHIL 413 (chair’s permission required). Attributes: P2 YLIB
An attempt to appreciate the ways and parameters of knowing and demonstrating proper methods in natural science, social science, and philosophy. In addition, the course may also examine the bearing of discoveries in the sciences on longstanding philosophical questions. Attributes: HHSM HHUM SQ YLIB
Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, examines how we come to know what we know. This course covers historical and contemporary approaches to the question of what knowledge is, what makes a belief true, and how beliefs are justified. Philosophical skepticism, the position that we actually know nothing at all, will also be discussed, as will possible responses. Other topics include feminist epistemology, naturalism, induction, the ethics of belief, and the nature of the scientific method. Attributes: P2 YLIB
SIX additional philosophy electives* Total: 33 credits *Although 100 level courses in philosophy may be used to fulfill this requirement, no courses from the foundational ar 2025-2026 Catalog » Academic Programs » Undergraduate » School of Arts and Sciences » Philosophy
Students develop an inquiry-based project by conducting in-depth research using discipline-specific practices that result in transferable research and writing. Students build on the critical thinking and writing competencies they have previously acquired to engage topics and ideas in the field. Students formulate important questions or problems, identify and examine appropriate sources, and use evidence in order to substantiate their own claims. They acknowledge and address alternative explanations in s Typically offered:
Investigation of the work of a major philosopher or philosophical movement, under the direction of one of the Philosophy Department staff. Registration is normally restricted to philosophy majors in their junior or senior year. Completion of the Independent Study/Tutorial Authorization form is required. Typically offered: Fall, Spring & Summer Attributes: YLIB
Source: St. John Fisher University's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 61
