Skip to Content


Philosophy

Overview Degrees/Certificates Courses Faculty

Philosophy (PHIL) Courses

PHIL 300 Introduction to Philosophy

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Eligibility for ENGWR 300 or ENGRD 310.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area II(b); AA/AS Area I; CSU Area A3; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
  • C-ID:C-ID PHIL 100
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

In this course, students will apply the critical thinking techniques of analysis, evaluation, and synthesis to areas of philosophical inquiry including meta-philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, history of philosophy, and existentialism. Students will practice distinguishing fact from opinion, employing inductive and deductive reasoning, identifying logical errors and fallacies, and developing oral and written arguments to support their own philosophical perspectives or challenge the perspectives of others. The quality of the course's required writing will reflect the standards of a college-level writing course.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • distinguish fact from judgment and belief from knowledge.
  • construct arguments which demonstrate critical thinking and the mastery of inductive and/or deductive reasoning techniques.
  • critique arguments for logical errors or fallacies in language and thought.
  • evaluate assumptions and presuppositions by engaging in discussion about essential philosophical questions.
  • formulate oral and written arguments on major philosophical issues such as the existence or non-existence of God; the nature of truth; the requirements of reality; the concept of the self; the nature and limits of knowledge; and the nature of values: aesthetic, moral, and religious.

PHIL 310 Introduction to Ethics

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Completion of or current enrollment in ENGWR 300 or ENGRD 310.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
  • C-ID:C-ID PHIL 120
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This course introduces the student to classical and contemporary ethical theories and their application to a variety of contemporary moral issues such as capital punishment, animal rights, affirmative action, abortion, euthanasia, torture, and same-sex marriage.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • evaluate a variety of concepts such as ethical egoism, utilitarianism, deontological ethics, virtue ethics, morals vs. ethics, happiness, moral principles, moral maxims, ethical absolutism, ethical relativism, duty, and rights.
  • compare and contrast a variety of ethical theories with respect to specific ethical issues such as abortion, capital punishment, animal rights, torture, and affirmative action.
  • analyze arguments from primary sources concerning good, evil, right, wrong, and other ideas addressed in the course.
  • assess presuppositions underlying various moral perspectives.

PHIL 320 Logic and Critical Reasoning

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area II(b); CSU Area A3
  • C-ID:C-ID PHIL 110
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This course provides an introduction to basic principles of good reasoning with an emphasis on deductive logic. It examines the functions of language, the nature of arguments, common fallacies committed in communication, definitions, the logic of categorical statements, sentential logic, and types of inductive reasoning. Emphasis is placed on developing analytical skills and applying principles of valid reasoning to the arguments encountered in everyday life.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • identify, distinguish, and evaluate deductive and inductive patterns of reasoning.
  • explain and apply the basic evaluative concepts of logic, including validity, strength, soundness, and cogency.
  • identify various formal and informal fallacies of reasoning in multiple contexts.
  • analyze deductive patterns of reasoning using formal techniques, such as Venn diagrams, truth tables, or natural deduction.

PHIL 325 Symbolic Logic

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area II(b); CSU Area A3
  • C-ID:C-ID PHIL 210
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This course is an introduction to the concepts and principles of propositional and predicate logic. It includes a study of the syntax and semantics of symbolic logic, truth tables, methods of formal proof for validity and invalidity, and the logic of relations and identity. This course is recommended for students of the sciences, computer programming, mathematics, and philosophy.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • evaluate the validity and soundness of arguments expressed in English.
  • translate statements of English into the formal languages of propositional and predicate logic.
  • construct truth tables to evaluate arguments for validity, and sets of statements for consistency and equivalence
  • prove the validity of arguments in propositional and predicate logic using formal proof techniques, such as natural deduction.

PHIL 330 History of Classical Philosophy

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
  • C-ID:C-ID PHIL 130
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This course is a survey of the origin and development of Western Philosophy during the period of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The views of pre-Socratic thinkers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are emphasized. This course is especially recommended for all philosophy, history, and humanities majors.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • explain various Pre-Socratic philosophers' metaphysical, epistemological, and/or ethical views.
  • explain and critically evaluate Plato's metaphysical, epistemological, and/or ethical views.
  • explain and critically evaluate Aristotle's metaphysical, epistemological, and/or ethical views.
  • explain and critically evaluate various ancient Roman philosophers' metaphysical, epistemological, and/or ethical views.

PHIL 331 History of Modern Philosophy

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Advisory:Completion of or current enrollment in ENGWR 300 or ENGRD 310.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
  • C-ID:C-ID PHIL 140
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This course is a survey of the development of modern philosophy, from the Renaissance to Romanticism. The works of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant receive special attention.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • identify and describe the new patterns of thinking that emerge as modern science develops.
  • describe and analyze the role of reason as used by rationalist philosophers.
  • describe and analyze the role of experience as it is developed by empiricist philosophers.
  • describe and analyze the main philosophical positions of Kant, and explain how these views were meant to solve the problems and paradoxes of Kant's predecessors.

PHIL 350 Philosophy of Religion

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This course is an introduction to traditional philosophical problems connected with religious belief. Issues to be discussed are the existence and nature of God, the problem of evil, the nature of religious language, the possibility of religious knowledge, the existence of miracles, religious experience, and mysticism. The rationality of religious belief will also be examined.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • compare and contrast theories or positions on issues such as the existence of God, the afterlife, religious faith, or other topics relevant to the course.
  • analyze and evaluate arguments from primary sources concerning the existence of God, the afterlife, religious faith, or other topics relevant to the course.
  • evaluate religious concerns or questions unique to specific historical and/or cultural places and times.
  • formulate reasons to justify one's beliefs concerning the existence of God, the afterlife, religious faith, or other topics relevant to the course.

PHIL 352 Introduction to World Religions

  • Units:3
  • Hours:54 hours LEC
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU; UC
  • General Education:AA/AS Area I; AA/AS Area VI; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This course introduces students to the major world religious traditions, including indigenous traditions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students will study the practices and beliefs of each tradition and will read selected material from the sacred writings of each tradition. Also, the influence of these religions on contemporary issues in the United States including ethnicity, ethnocentrism, racism, ageism, class differences, and sexual orientation is considered.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • investigate the origin, development, beliefs and practices of each of the major world religions and, where relevant, the lives and teachings of their founding figures.
  • critique the role of religion in human spirituality and morality through the ages.
  • examine the role of religion in the increasingly pluralistic and multicultural nexus of modern society.
  • examine the issues of ethnicity, racism, age, class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnocentrism as they relate to the adherents of major world religions.

PHIL 495 Independent Studies in Philosophy

  • Units:1 - 3
  • Hours:54 - 162 hours LAB
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Transferable:CSU
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

PHIL 499 Experimental Offering in Philosophy

  • Units:0.5 - 4
  • Prerequisite:None.
  • Catalog Date:January 1, 2025

This is the experimental courses description.