35 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.
This course is a general introduction to the main themes and problems in the academic study of philosophy. It covers a number of areas and authors so that the student gets some idea of the discipline as a whole. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (f, w)
An introduction to Logic as it applies to everyday reasoning and writing. Students learn to identify and assess arguments, recognize fallacious reasoning patterns, and write out in perfect, smooth English the core structures of arguments. Logic and analytical writing skills are intensively increased. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (f, w, x, INQ)
This course provides an introduction to the 20th century philosophical movement of existentialism and its relationship to literature. Through reading a selection of short philosophical texts, short stories, and novels we will explore key themes such as death, absurdity, faith, freedom, and responsibility. Guiding our inquiry will be the question of why, unlike other philosophical movements, was existentialism so occupied with literature? Indeed, many of the most famous existentialists, such as Sartre, Camus, and Kierkegaard, wrote both philosophy and fiction. In addition, many of the writers analyzed by existentialists were fiction writers such as Kafka and Dostoyevsky. Also listed and described as ENG 150. Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 333
A general introduction to philosophy, examining issues in metaphysics, ethics, logic, and epistemology, using Star Trek as our vehicle. No prior knowledge of Star Trek or philosophy required. Can androids and computers possibly be persons—capable of thought, emotions, and moral significance? This relates to what we are. Are we soul or matter, free-willed or determined, moral agents or non-responsible robots? Is time travel really possible? How do we know what is real, anyway? Could there be any meaning of life? What is logic? Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (MOD)
Philosophic analysis of current moral problems (e.g., abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, poverty, immigration, racial and gender bias, environmental ethics, global justice, business ethics, artificial intelligence, and regulating the internet). Emphasis is on - clarifying issues and examining competing lines of argument. This course will provide an opportunity for students to come to their own well-reasoned and informed position on issues that are important to them. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (f, w, INQ)
This seminar applies classical and modern moral theories to environmental issues. It includes philosophical examination of current ecological theory as it relates to environmental science. Central topics include pollution, global warming, population growth, animal rights, environmental degradation, conservation of the biosphere, and responsibilities to future generations. You are encouraged to think for yourself logically about these and other environmental philosophical issues. Also listed and described as ES 182. No prerequisite. Open to first-year students.
This course deals with the beginnings of Western philosophy among the Greeks, from the Pre- Socratics to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—and their successors: stoics, skeptics, and epicureans. The perspective is not only historical, but actively philosophical as we think along with these philosophers about issues, including whether reality is material or non-material and eternal, or both; whether knowledge is possible and if so, of what; the nature of happiness; and whether morality depends on the existence of God. No prerequisite. Open to first-year students. (PRE, SMN) Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 334
Study of the philosophical systems of foundational 17th- and 18th-century philosophers, including Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Conway, Locke, Berkeley, Cockburn, Hume, and Kant. Issues include: Is knowledge possible, and if so, how—through reason, through experience (as Science holds), both, or neither? Is all of reality dependent on mind? Are we souls, substantial bodies, or merely transitory phenomena? Does God exist? Do we have free will, or are we necessitated to be what we are and to do what we do? No prerequisite. Open to first-year students. (MOD)
This course is about the beautiful, the good, the true, and you. It deals with the question of how beauty relates to morality and to knowledge about nature, society, and the self. You will gain a basic understanding of classical, modern, and contemporary aesthetic theories, but you will also be on a journey of self-discovery as we explore the concept of authenticity and what it means to be true to yourself. - The course includes - a trip to an art gallery. This will allow you to experience beautiful art. - The ultimate goal of the course is to understand more about yourself, society, and nature through the understanding and experience of art. Open to first-year students. (AES, SMN)
The study of valid reasoning. Course goals include the basic grasp of three areas of logic (propositional, Aristotelian, and predicate/quantifier) and familiarity with the metatheory of propositional logic, which concerns truth. Also listed and described as MATH 211. Open to first-year students. (Q)
You have conscious experiences. You know what it is like to feel, to see, to smell. Could a computer possibly know that, or must computers be “in the dark,” lacking consciousness? If computers can be conscious, can they have moral rights? Is that what lies in our future? Could there conceivably be a fully functional physical human brain/body (functioning just like yours) that was merely a consciousness-less machine, a metaphysical zombie. If so, then how could consciousness be explained in mere physical terms? The answers to these and related questions bear on the issue: “Is consciousness something physical or something non- physical?”, a contemporary heir to the famous historical questions, “Are we bodies or souls?” and “What are we?” You will learn to think logically and write logically.
In this class we will be looking at a variety of theories of fiction, each of which attempts to answer a number of questions, including: What is a fictional character? Is there such a thing as truth in fiction? How do we as readers and writers of fiction relate to the fictional worlds of stories? How is it that the plight of a character in a novel, while make-believe, can evoke very real emotions? Open to first-year students. (AES)
We assess philosophical/logical foundations allegedly underlying the very notion of law and of certain types of law. Some hold that law rests on moral foundations from the consent of the people, from God, or both. Do these views make sense? "No crime without a guilty mind (intent)" supposedly guides criminal law. But not all crimes require it. What justifies that disparity? Some laws allegedly are un-Constitutional, whereas some laws upholding "community standards" have been judged Constitutional despite being discriminatory. So, what should it mean to be Constitutional--found "literally" in the Constitution, implied by the Framers’ intentions, or...? What does the notion of a right mean, for example in the right to free speech, the right to religious freedom, and in other alleged rights? These topics and many more. This course meets in conjunction with PHIL 337. Open to first year students at the 237 level. (MOD)
This course looks at various ideas of justice in the history of human thought, including Plato's view that Justice in a State corresponds to Justice in an individual, the theory of Utilitarianism, Robert Nozick's Libertarianism, the Social Contract Theory, Natural Law theories, and contemporary theories such as Martha Nussbaum's Capabilities approach to Social Justice. Topics include both corrective justice (punishment, compensation, rehabilitation, and redistribution) and distributive justice (fair distributions of social benefits and burdens), and what it is to be a Just person. Readings and viewings will include both classic and contemporary texts in philosophy and literature and some documentary films. Open to First Year Students.
Do right and wrong, good and bad, exist as objective properties of reality, or are they merely projections of our subjective feelings? Are there any supportable principles which determine how we ought to act in order to act ethically--for instance "The Golden Rule", or perhaps the principle of Utilitarianism? What could happiness possibly be, and how is living a moral life related to living a happy life? What roles do reasoning and feelings have in being ethical? Could we, in rational, principled ways, answer such questions as whether abortion is morally permissible, whether we ought to be allowed to own assault rifles, or whether bigoted speech ought to be tolerated--or are rational answers impossible? These explorations and more. You will also learn some logic. Open to first-year students.
In this course we explore ethical issues in medicine and biotechnology. Topics covered may include the ethics of abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, stem cell research, cloning, the treatment of permanently comatose or vegetative patients, human and animal research, and the distribution of health care. Discussions of these topics involve our notions of a person, justice, consent, privacy, rights, and duties. Special emphasis is placed on the variety of ethical approaches to these questions. Open to first-year students. (INQ)
Do citizens have a moral obligation to obey the law? Governments may have the might to rule us, but can they ever have the moral right to rule us, and if so, how? Is there any sound argument in support of a moral right to private property ownership? Is there any good reason to believe in the existence of natural rights? Thinkers addressed will include Plato, Locke, Rousseau, and contemporary philosophers. Also listed and described as POLS 254.
Are there any good reasons to believe that God exists - evidential reasons, pragmatic reasons, moral reasons? Does the fact that evil exists - particularly horrible suffering - logically rule out the existence of an all-good, all-powerful God? Is it moral for an educated person to believe in the sole truth of one religion, implying that other religions are not true? Does morality depend on the existence of God? Contemporary and past philosophers will be examined on these and Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 337
This course examines the metaphysics (theories of reality), the epistemologies (theories of knowledge), the ethics, and the logics of the philosophical-religious systems of Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and Taoism. Some attention is given to their historical developments and practices. In addition, they will be compared to the views of Plato and other western philosophers. Readings include primary sources and contemporary analyses. No prerequisite. Open to first-year students. (GLO, PRE)
Independent study conducted below the advanced level. Application must be made with faculty prior to registration. Offered any term.
Also listed and described as ENG 303.
In this course, the central figures of 19th-century philosophy are introduced through a focused study of their principal texts and common concerns. Authors addressed include Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. We address questions concerning each author’s view of human nature, truth, history, the self, culture, and the individual’s relationship to society. Prerequisite: PHIL 202, PHIL 252, or permission.
Also listed and described as ENG 307.
Twentieth-century Europe has experienced an explosion of philosophical movements. We examine theories of existentialism, phenomenology, post-structuralism, deconstruction, critical theory, and feminism. After looking briefly at the roots of the some of these movements in the thought of Nietzsche, Freud, Hegel and Marx, authors we will study include Husserl, Heidegger, Arendt, Merleau-Ponty, Foucault, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Lyotard, Derrida, Habermas, and 197
Course material includes any of the following topics in the study of the concept of knowledge: definitions of knowledge – what does it mean to know? The problem of induction: how can we justify believing the future will conform to the past, without presupposing this? Skepticism about an external world, skepticism about other minds. And a priori knowledge. Questions raised include: “Is knowledge possible?”, “Can we know anything about the future?”, “Is there a world external to my mind?”, and “Does all knowledge come from experience?”. Recent literature on these topics will be emphasized.
Course material includes any of the following topics in metaphysics: free will and determinism, the mind-body problem, the nature of consciousness, the philosophy of time and space, Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 338
We assess philosophical/logical foundations allegedly underlying the very notion of law and of certain types of law. Some hold that law rests on moral foundations from the consent of the people, from God, or both. Do these views make sense? "No crime without a guilty mind (intent)" supposedly guides criminal law. But not all crimes require it. What justifies that disparity? Some laws allegedly are un-Constitutional, whereas some laws upholding "community standards" have been judged Constitutional despite being discriminatory. So, what should it mean to be Constitutional--found "literally" in the Constitution, implied by the Framers intentions, the “original” meaning, or...? What does the notion of a right mean, for example in the right to free speech, the right to religious freedom, and in other alleged rights? These topics and many more. This course meets in conjunction with PHIL 237. Open to first year students at the 237 level. (MOD)
This course is about one of the most important social problems of our era: poverty in the midst of plenty. We examine poverty as a problem for individuals, families, and societies. We focus on the United States, perhaps one of the most impoverished of any developed nation. How should we define and measure poverty? Who is poor, and who is not? Are there different kinds of poverty? What is it like to live in poverty? What are the causes of poverty? What are its effects on individuals (particularly children), families, communities, and societies? What values does it undermine? What moral and legal rights should the poor have, and what obligations do societies, governments, organizations, and individuals have to the poor? Do the poor also have obligations to themselves, others, and society? What are the plausible remedies for the negative aspects of poverty? Readings and lecture/discussions draw on economics, political science, psychology, philosophical and religious ethics, public policy analysis, sociology, journalism, and professional social work. Offered in conjunction with PHIL 241. Open to first-year students at the 241 level. (f, w, x, DIV, DJP, MOD)
REVOLUTIONS (4) We all are somewhat familiar with the Scientific Method, but exactly what is supposed to be its Logic? This course examines several well-known theories of the Logic of the Scientific Method and alleged problems that arise for each theory. But there have been moments in the history of Science which have presented unexpected challenges to Science's basic understanding of reality, and these have also contributed to questions about what has been accepted as the Scientific Method. Some philosophers and theorists of Science have suggested that, in some cases, Science advances not by any Logical method, but rather by sudden shifts in the way reality is perceived--Scientific Revolutions. We will also examine some theories in Science which themselves seem to raise philosophical issues for our understanding of reality and knowledge, including Einstein's theories of Relativity. Taught in conjunction with PHIL 250. Open to First Year Students at the 250 level. Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 339
Independent study conducted at the advanced level. Application must be made with faculty prior to registration. Offered any term.
Application must be made with faculty prior to registration. May be proposed any term.
write a seminar paper.) COURSES IN PHILOSOPHY:
Required both regular terms and Short Term. Theses are evaluated and decisions made in spring term. Open only to qualified philosophy majors with permission of the philosophy department. Does not count toward major requirements. Physical Education, Athletics, and Hollins Outdoor
Source: Hollins University's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 59
