http://philosophy.as.miami.edu
We offer an M.A. and a Ph.D. in philosophy.
The M.A. program is designed for those who want to pursue philosophy at a deeper level than in their B.A. degree, or who wish to transition into philosophy from other academic disciplines. Students may choose this program to improve their chances of acceptance into a highly-ranked Ph.D. program, or for other reasons. There are no distribution requirements: students may tailor their coursework to their own interests. Students must also write and defend a thesis, which can be used as a writing sample for Ph.D. program applications. (Note that acceptance into the M.A. program does not guarantee acceptance into our own Ph.D. program later on; the application procedures are separate.)
The Ph.D. program is specifically designed to prepare students for careers as professional teachers and researchers in philosophy, not only by way of coursework and research supervision, but also through professional mentoring and opportunities for philosophical development both inside and outside the classroom. Students normally enter with either a B.A. or an M.A. degree in philosophy. Students who enter without an M.A. and who fulfil the relevant requirements are awarded the M.A. degree as they work towards the Ph.D.
Each entering student is assigned a mentor from among the faculty, and faculty members lead professional development seminars on such topics as teaching, preparing work for publication, and preparing for the job market. A dedicated placement director work with each student to maximize their success at securing good post-graduation employment.
The Department prides itself on providing an inclusive, friendly and congenial atmosphere for doing philosophy, with many opportunities for informal interaction among students and faculty including workshops, conferences, colloquia and post-colloquium dinners.
PHI 606. Mathematical Logic. 3 Credit Hours.
Logics, truth, proof, logical consequences, model theory, formalization, and computation. Meta-theory of first-order logic, computability theory, and Goedel' s Incompleteness theorems. Related results by church, Turing, and Tarskl. Discussion of their philosophical significance.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 611. Formal Logic. 3 Credit Hours.
First and second-order quantification theory; metalogic.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Spring.
PHI 631. Ethical Theory. 3 Credit Hours.
G. E. Moore to the present.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 632. Legal Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
The philosophical foundations of legal theory and litigation in U.S. law. Topics include the philosophical underpinnings of contemporary criminal law and tort law, the problems of legal causation and intent, the concept of a reasonable person, the nature of corrective justice, the Kantian basis for human rights, and the free speech dilemma.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 634. Political Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of some central issues and developments in political philosophy.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 642. Epistemology. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of the basic topics and questions in epistemology: knowledge acquisition and justification, perception, fallibilism, and skepticism.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 644. The Philosophy of Language. 3 Credit Hours.
A central feature of human language is that it is meaningful; this is what allows us to use language to record and share information about the world, and to communicate the ideas, thoughts and emotions that make up our private mental lives. But what is linguistic meaning? One historically influential idea is that linguistic meaning is to be analyzed in terms of truth. This course will examine this idea, and consider several philosophical debates that have arisen from it, or in which it has played an important role. Along the way students will gain an understanding of some of the most central concepts and issues in contemporary philosophy of language.
Prerequisite: PHI 357 (249) or at least one of PHI 341 - 346.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 646. Evidence and Knowledge in Medicine. 3 Credit Hours.
Basic methodologies in medicine in the context of philosophical theories of evidence.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Spring.
PHI 647. Mind and Language. 3 Credit Hours.
Philosophical problems about signs, linguistic and mental representations, intentionality, action, and consciousness.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 648. Induction, Probability, and Scientific Method. 3 Credit Hours.
Foundations of inductive reasoning and role of experiment in science.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 649. Metaphysics. 3 Credit Hours.
A selection of topics dealing with the main problems of metaphysics: existence, modality, universals, identity and persistence through time, causation, the self and physicalism.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 653. Philosophy and Film. 3 Credit Hours.
Combining readings in philosophy and film theory and criticism with close analysis of selected films, this course is premised on a conviction in the potential fruitfulness, both for film studies and philosophy, of thinking philosophically about the ontology of the medium, the history and the art of film, the ways we experience movies, and their impact on our lives. A main focus will be on the writings of Stanley Cavell-the most important author in the Anglo/American philosophical tradition to make writing about film a substantial part of his philosophical project-and philosophical responses by to his work.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 655. Philosophy of Education. 3 Credit Hours.
Problems concerning the nature and aims of education.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 660. History of Logic. 3 Credit Hours.
Aristotle, the Stoics, the Scholastics, Leibniz, Boole, DeMorgan, Peirce, Frege,and Russell and Whitehead.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 662. History of Ethics. 3 Credit Hours.
A selection of ethical theories from Aristotle to Rawls.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 670. Presocratics and Plato. 3 Credit Hours.
Fragments from the Presocratics and the dialogues of Plato.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 672. Aristotle and Hellenistic Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of central philosophical topics in Aristotle and Hellenistic Philosophers (Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics).
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 673. Medieval Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
The patristic period through the scholasticism of the late middle ages.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 674. Early Modern Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of early modern philosophy from Hobbes and Descartes to Hume.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 677. Kant. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of selected issues in Kant's theoretical or practical philosophy.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 681. Pragmatism. 3 Credit Hours.
Peirce, James, Dewey, and others.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 683. The Phenomenological Tradition. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of the phenomenological movement (Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and others) and of its impact on contemporary thought.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 684. History of Analytic Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
The development of analytic philosophy from its beginnings in the work of Frege and Russell through logical positivism to contemporary philosophy.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 695. Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
A selected philosopher or philosophical problem. May be repeated for credit.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 696. Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
A selected philosopher or philosophical problem. May be repeated for credit.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 697. Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
A selected philosopher or philosophical problem. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Six credits in Philosophy and junior standing.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 698. Independent Study in Philosophy. 1-3 Credit Hours.
Directed reading on a topic or philosopher. May be repeated for credit.
Components: THI.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 701. Proseminar (First Semester). 3 Credit Hours.
Covers the core texts from the history of analytic philosophy. First semester of the year-long pro-seminar for first-year graduate students in Philosophy.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 702. Proseminar (Second Semester). 3 Credit Hours.
Covers the core texts and issues of analytic philosophy in the second half of the twentieth century. Second semester of the year-long pro-seminar for first-year graduate students in Philosophy.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 703. Seminar on Philosophical Writing & Methodology. 3 Credit Hours.
Students will work on improving their philosophical writing by preparing a polished version of an original philosophical research paper. They will also develop their philosophical research skills, and will learn how to present and discuss their research in a conference setting. The goal is to have, by the end of the semester, a very good abstract to submit to a conference; a polished and practiced presentation of a paper; and most importantly a written version of a paper that is ready (or close to ready) for submission to a journal.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 711. Topics in Logic. 3 Credit Hours.
Problems in philosophical logic; non-standard logic.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 731. Seminar in Ethics. 3 Credit Hours.
Problems in normative ethics, meta-ethics, and value theory.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 736. Values, Norms, and Actions. 3 Credit Hours.
The role of values and norms in practical reasoning and decision making.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 742. Seminar in Epistemology. 3 Credit Hours.
Problems concerning knowledge: skepticism, belief, certainty, truth, and justification.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 744. Seminar in Philosophy of Mind. 3 Credit Hours.
Problems concerning mental phenomena: theories of perception, action, consciousness.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 747. Seminar in Philosophy of Language. 3 Credit Hours.
Nature and uses of language; concepts of reference, truth, and meaning.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 748. Philosophy of Science. 3 Credit Hours.
Selected topics in the philosophy of science, such as realism, explanation, and conceptual and methodological issues in the special sciences.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 749. Seminar in Metaphysics. 3 Credit Hours.
Problems related to the nature and kinds of being.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 751. Seminar in Philosophy of Art. 3 Credit Hours.
Problems related to beauty and the philosophy of art.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 772. Seminar in Ancient Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
A discussion of selected topics in ancient philosophy.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 777. Seminar in Modern Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
A discussion of selected topics in modern philosophy from Hobbes and Descartes to Kant.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 778. Idealism. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of Idealism, both contemporary and historical.
Components: SEM.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 795. Seminar in Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
A selected philosopher or philosophical problem. May be repeated for credit.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 796. Seminar in Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
A selected philosopher or philosophical problem. May be repeated for credit.
Components: LEC.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 798. Independent Study in Philosophy. 1-3 Credit Hours.
Directed reading on a topic or philosopher. May be repeated for credit.
Components: THI.
Grading: GRD.
Typically Offered: Offered by Announcement Only.
PHI 810. Master's Thesis. 1-6 Credit Hours.
The student working on his/her master's thesis enrolls for credit, in most departments not to exceed six, as determined by his/her advisor. Credit is not awarded until the thesis has been accepted.
Components: THI.
Grading: SUS.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, & Summer.
PHI 830. Doctoral Dissertation. 1-12 Credit Hours.
Required of all candidates for the Ph.D. The student will enroll for credit as determined by his/her advisor, but for not less than a total of 12 hours. Up to 12 hours may be taken in a regular semester, but not more than six in a summer session.
Components: THI.
Grading: SUS.
Typically Offered: Fall & Spring.
PHI 840. Post-candidacy doctoral dissertation. 1-6 Credit Hours.
Required of all candidates for the Ph.D. who have advanced to candidacy. The student will enroll for credit as determined by his/her advisor, but not for less than a total of 12. Not more than 12 hours of PHI 840 may be taken in a regular semester, nor more than six in a summer session.
Components: THI.
Grading: SUS.
Typically Offered: Fall & Spring.
PHI 850. Research in Residence. 1 Credit Hour.
Used to establish research in residence for the Ph.D., after the student has been enrolled for the permissible cumulative total in appropriate doctoral research. Credit not granted. May be regarded as full-time residence as determined by the Dean of the Graduate School.
Components: THI.
Grading: SUS.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, & Summer.
