Applicants to the Graduate Program in Philosophy must take the Graduate Record Examination and submit a writing sample of not more than 20 typed pages on a philosophical topic. The department is committed to the study of a range of traditions and approaches in philosophy. It requires that each student receive broad training in all basic areas of the discipline. Joint courses and programs are available with several other departments.
The M.A. is offered under either Plan I or Plan II.
In addition to the general requirements for the Ph.D. stated elsewhere in this catalog, the department requires that each student enroll in a minimum number of graduate-level seminars, demonstrate reading competence in one foreign language and satisfactorily complete a preliminary and a comprehensive examination.
The Philosophy Department encourages students who wish to obtain Master’s Degrees in two departments to see Dual Graduate Degrees. Cooperative study leading to a Ph.D. in American Studies, with a concentration in Philosophy, is available. Consult American Studies in this catalog.
A detailed explanation of all requirements for both the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees and of the functions of the departmental Graduate Advisory Committee is available upon request. Prospective students are urged to secure this material.
Students need to meet the following requirements (beyond the Graduate Studies minimum requirements) in order to receive a graduate minor in philosophy:
Courses
PHIL 101. Introduction to Philosophy. (3)
Philosophical issues and methodology illustrated through selected problems concerning values, knowledge, reality; and in social, political and religious philosophy.
Meets New Mexico Lower Division General Education Common Core Curriculum Area V: Humanities and Fine Arts (NMCCN 1113).
PHIL 102. Current Moral Problems. (3)
Ethical issues arising in contemporary society, e.g., sexual morality, preferential treatment, racism, punishment, war, world food distribution. (I)
PHIL 108. Introduction to Asian Philosophies. (3)
Philosophical issues and methodology illustrated in relation to South and East Asian thought: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. (I)
PHIL 156. Reasoning and Critical Thinking. (3)
The purpose of this course is to help students learn how to analyze, critique and construct arguments in context, in other words, how to read and write argumentative essays. (I)
Meets New Mexico Lower-Division General Education Common Core Curriculum Area I: Communications.
PHIL 201. Greek Thought. (3)
An introductory survey of early and classical Greek philosophy, literature, and history. Figures: the Presocratics, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle; Homer and Sophocles; Herodotus and Thucydides. (I)
Meets New Mexico Lower-Division General Education Common Core Curriculum Area V: Humanities and Fine Arts.
PHIL 202. From Descartes to Kant. (3)
A historical study of philosophical trends and controversies that characterize the development of early modern philosophy. This survey will cover the philosophies of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. (I)
Meets New Mexico Lower-Division General Education Common Core Curriculum Area V: Humanities and Fine Arts.
PHIL 211. Greek Philosophy. (3)
A survey of classical Greek Philosophy. The Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. Concepts of nature and culture, theories of the self, concepts of being; happiness, virtue, and the good life. (I)
PHIL 241. Topics in Philosophy. (3, no limit Δ)
An introductory survey of a philosophical tradition or topic of debate.
PHIL 244. Introduction to Existentialism. (3)
An examination of the works of writers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Kafka and Sartre who emphasize such issues as death, decision, rebellion and faith. (I)
PHIL 245. Professional Ethics. (3)
Examination of social and ethical problems associated with the business, engineering, medical and legal professions.
Meets New Mexico Lower-Division General Education Common Core Curriculum Area V: Humanities and Fine Arts.
PHIL 333. Buddhist Philosophy. (3)
This course traces the evolution of such topics as karma and rebirth and the nature of the liberated mind as discussed in the Buddhist traditions of India, Tibet, East Asia and the modern West. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 334. Indian Philosophy. (3)
Upanishads, Bhagavad-gita, Jainism, Buddhism, the six Hindu systems and recent developments. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 336. Chinese Philosophy. (3)
The development of Chinese thought from pre-Confucian times through the T’ang dynasty. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 341. Topics in Philosophy. (1-3, no limit Δ)
An investigation of some important philosophic debates. (T)
PHIL 343. Contemporary Continental Philosophy. (3)
A survey of main themes in Dilthey, Husserl, Scheler, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, Hermeneutics, Structuralism, Deconstruction and the Frankfurt School. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 350. Philosophy of Science. (3)
This course is a survey of the main epistemological, ontological and conceptual issues that arise from or concern the methodology and content of the empirical sciences. (B)
PHIL 352. Theory of Knowledge. (3)
An examination of the nature and possibility of knowledge. Topics include skepticism, the analysis of knowledge, and the nature and structure of epistemic justification. (B)
Prerequisite: 202.
PHIL 354. Metaphysics. (3)
Problems and theories of metaphysics. Topics may include: investigation into the structure of things and their properties, identity and individuation, causation, necessity and possibility, universals, mind and body, space and time, God, truth and naturalism. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 356. Symbolic Logic. (4)
(Also offered as MATH **356)
This is a first course in logical theory. Its primary goal is to study the notion of logical entailment and related concepts, such as consistency and contingency. Formal systems are developed to analyze these notions rigorously. (B)
PHIL 358. Ethical Theory. (3)
Inquiry concerning goodness, rightness, obligation, justice and freedom. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 361. Modern Christian Thought. (3)
(Also offered as RELG 361)
Background of the intellectual issues facing Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions today. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Religious Studies or Philosophy.
PHIL 363. Environmental Ethics. (3)
Close reading of contemporary writings by naturalists, lawyers, theologians and philosophers on the philosophical aspects of environmental problems. (B)
PHIL 365. Philosophy of Religion. (3)
(Also offered as RELG 365)
Philosophic analysis of some major concepts and problems in religion. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Religious Studies or Philosophy.
PHIL 368. Biomedical Ethics. (3)
A survey of recent work on bioethics. Topics may include: allocation of scarce resources, autonomy and consent, end of life and beginning of life, killing and letting die, genetic engineering, future therapies. (B)
PHIL 371. Classical Social and Political Philosophy. (3)
From Plato to Hobbes. (B)
Prerequisite: 101 or 201 or 211.
PHIL 372. Modern Social and Political Philosophy. (3)
From Hobbes to present. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 381. Philosophy of Law. (3)
Examination of philosophical issues pertaining to law, including the nature of law, responsibility, rights, justice, the justification of punishment, and the justification of state interference with individual liberty. (B)
Prerequisite: 358.
PHIL 390. Latin American Thought. (3)
Positivism through contemporary thought. (B)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 410 / 510. Kant. (3)
PHIL *411. Hegel. (3)
A close study of Hegel’s Phenomenology and Elements of the Philosophy of Right, emphasizing his conception of the method and aims of philosophy, and the fundamentals of his metaphysics, ethics, and social theory. (AI)
Prerequisite: 202.
PHIL *414. Nietzsche. (3)
A study of Nietzsche’s philosophical thought. Topics may include: Nietzsche’s ethical critiques; the will to power thesis; agency and free will; truth; meaning; eternal recurrence and the affirmation of life. (AI)
Prerequisite: 6 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL *415. History and Philosophy of Mathematics. (3)
(Also offered as MATH **415)
A historical survey of principal issues and controversies on the nature of mathematics. Emphasis varies from year to year. (AS)
Prerequisite: 356 or MATH 163 or MATH 181 or MATH **356.
PHIL *421. Early Heidegger. (3)
(AI)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL *422. Wittgenstein. (3)
(AI)
Prerequisite: 6 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL *423. Later Heidegger/Post-Heideggerian Philosophy. (3)
This course will examine the “later” (post-1937) Heidegger and/or some major critical appropriations of Heidegger’s later thinking by Badiou, Baudrillard, Blanchot, Cavell, Derrida, Dreyfus, Foucault, Irigaray, Lacan, Levinas, Marcuse, Rorty, Vattimo, Zizek, or others. (AI)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 426. Seminar in Asian Philosophers. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
Figure varies.
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL *434. South Asian Mystical Traditions. (3)
(Also offered as RELG *434)
This course will examine a wide range of mystical thought and experience in South Asia from the first millennium BCE through the medieval period in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. (AT)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy or Religious Studies.
PHIL *438. Indian Buddhist Philosophy. (3)
(Also offered as RELG *438)
A survey of Hinayana and Mahayana philosophical thought as it developed in South Asia, together with its religious, historical and social context. (AT)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy or Religious Studies.
PHIL *441. Topics in Philosophical Figures and Movements. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
Topic varies. (OA)
Prerequisite: one Philosophy course 200-level or above.
PHIL 442. Seminar in Individual Philosophers. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
Figure varies. (OA)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL *444. Nineteenth-Century Philosophy. (3)
From Kant through Hegel, Marx, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Mill, Nietzsche. (AS)
Prerequisite: 202.
PHIL 453. Asian Studies Thesis. (3)
(Also offered as COMP, HIST, POLS, RELG 453)
Supervised research in one or more disciplines leading to an undergraduate thesis for the major in Asian Studies. (AT)
PHIL 454 / 554. Seminar in Metaphysics and Epistemology. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
This seminar offers graduate and advanced undergraduate students exposure to contemporary literature and current professional discussion on issues in metaphysics and/or epistemology. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL *455. Philosophy of Mind. (3)
A study of certain issues connected with the nature and status of minds. Topics include the mind-body problem, intentionality, consciousness, and mental causation. (AS)
Prerequisite: 202.
PHIL 457 / 557. Seminar in the History of Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
A close and critical examination of issues in the history of philosophy. Emphasis may be placed on a particular philosophical figure or on the development of a particular trend in the history of philosophy. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 458 / 558. Seminar in Moral and Political Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
A study of advanced topics in ethics. Possible topics include: practical reason; the connection between ethics and agency; metaethics; the nature of normativity. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 462 / 562. Seminar in American Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
An intensive study of texts and movements in American philosophy from the eighteenth century to contemporary pragmatism. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 464 / 564. Seminar in Philosophy of Religion. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
Advanced topics in philosophy of religion. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 466 / 566. Seminar in Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
An in-depth examination of the genesis of modern aesthetics in the 18th and early 19th centuries, with a special focus on the aesthetic theory of Immanuel Kant. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL *467. Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics. (3)
Philosophical investigation of concept and theories of art and literature. Possible topics include the nature, definition and criteria of art; its functions; form and content; aesthetic experience; evaluation; artist’s/author’s status; meaning; reception; hermeneutics and representation. (AS)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 468 / 568. Seminar in Psychoanalytic Theory and Continental Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
This seminar offers students an in-depth introduction to psychoanalysis considered in relation to philosophy. It focuses on Freudian and/or Lacanian versions of analytic thought and their consequences for various philosophical discussions. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 469 / 569. Seminar in Continental Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
This seminar offers graduate and advanced undergraduate students an in-depth engagement with a specific philosopher or philosophical orientation situated in the context of twentieth-century Europe. It focuses on French and/or German philosophies in particular. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL *480. Philosophy and Literature. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
Selected philosophical movements and their relationships to literary masterpieces. (AS)
Prerequisite: one course in Philosophy.
PHIL 486 / 586. Seminar on Major Continental Philosopher. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
A close reading of a leading figure in contemporary continental philosophy, typically focusing on that thinker’s most influential work, such as Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, Levinas’s Totality and Infinity, Gadamer’s Truth and Method, etc. (OA)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 497. Honors Seminar. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
For departmental honors in philosophy. (OA)
{Offered upon demand}
PHIL 498. Reading and Research. (1-3, may be repeated 3 times Δ)
PHIL 499. Senior Thesis. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
For departmental honors. (OA)
{Offered upon demand}
PHIL 510 / 410. Kant. (3)
PHIL 526. Seminar in Asian Philosophers. (3)
PHIL 542. Seminar in Individual Philosophers. (3 to a maximum of 18 Δ)
PHIL 551. M.A. Problems. (1-3, may be repeated 6 times Δ)
PHIL 554 / 454. Seminar in Metaphysics and Epistemology. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
This seminar offers graduate and advanced undergraduate students exposure to contemporary literature and current professional discussion on issues in metaphysics and/or epistemology. (GS)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 557 / 457. Seminar in the History of Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
A close and critical examination of issues in the history of philosophy. Emphasis may be placed on a particular philosophical figure or on the development of a particular trend in the history of philosophy. (GS)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 558 / 458. Seminar in Moral and Political Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
A study of advanced topics in ethics. Possible topics include: practical reason; the connection between ethics and agency; metaethics; the nature of normativity. (GS)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 562 / 462. Seminar in American Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
An intensive study of texts and movements in American philosophy from the eighteenth century to contemporary pragmatism. (GS)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 564 / 464. Seminar in Philosophy of Religion. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
Advanced topics in philosophy of religion. (GS)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 566 / 466. Seminar in Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
An in-depth examination of the genesis of modern aesthetics in the 18th and early 19th centuries, with a special focus on the aesthetic theory of Immanuel Kant. (GS)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 568 / 468. Seminar in Psychoanalytic Theory and Continental Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
This seminar offers students an in-depth introduction to psychoanalysis considered in relation to philosophy. It focuses on Freudian and/or Lacanian versions of analytic thought and their consequences for various philosophical discussions. (CP)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 569 / 469. Seminar in Continental Philosophy. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
This seminar offers graduate and advanced undergraduate students an in-depth engagement with a specific philosopher or philosophical orientation situated in the context of twentieth-century Europe. It focuses on French and/or German philosophies in particular. (CP)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 586 / 486. Seminar on Major Continental Philosopher. (3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
A close reading of a leading figure in contemporary continental philosophy, typically focusing on that thinker’s most influential work, such as Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, Levinas’s Totality and Infinity, Gadamer’s Truth and Method, etc. (CP)
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours Philosophy course work.
PHIL 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)
(OM)
Offered on a CR/NC basis only.
PHIL 651. Ph.D. Problems. (1-3, may be repeated 6 times Δ)
(OP)
Offered on a CR/NC basis only.
PHIL 670. Seminar in Sanskrit Philosophical Texts. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
This course is designed to give students at the intermediate to advanced level practice in reading philosophical literature in Sanskrit. The texts chosen will be those that are most relevant to the students' research interests. (IP)
PHIL 679. Seminar in Vedanta. (3)
An in-depth study of major themes of the Vedanta tradition of Brahmanical thought, based on a reading of original Sanskrit texts of the two leading schools, Advaita and Visista Advaita. Knowledge of Sanskrit expected. (IP)
PHIL 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)
(OP)
Offered on a CR/NC basis only.
