College of Arts and Humanities
Department of Philosophy
227 Armstrong Hall
507-389-2012
Philosophy courses at Minnesota State University can be taken as part of the cross-disciplinary studies program, or to supplement other disciplines.
Course Descriptions
PHIL 500 (3) The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant
This course will undertake a close reading and study of Immanuel Kant's Critique
of Pure Reason and other texts.
PHIL 510 (3) Philosophy of Language
Theories of meaning, speech acts and semantics, relation of language to the world.
PHIL 537 (3) Contemporary Philosophy
Major philosophers and philosophies of the late 20th Century.
PHIL 540 (3) Philosophy of Law
Discussion of philosophical issues in law by way of connecting legal problems to well-developed and traditional problems in philosophy, e.g., in ethics, political philosophy, and epistemology, and investigates the philosophical underpinnings of the development of law. The course takes an analytical approach to law (as opposed to historical, sociological, political, or legalistic approaches) and devotes a substantial part of the semester to a major work on law written by a philosopher.
PHIL 545 (3) Feminist Philosophy
Study of philosophy done from a feminist perspective in areas such as metaphysics, epistemology or ethics.
PHIL 550 (3) Special Topics
Intensive study of a single philosopher or topic.
PHIL 555 (3) Existentialism & Phenomenology
In-depth analysis of major European existentialists such as Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Sartre.
PHIL 560 (3) Philosophy of the Arts
Aesthetic principles, theories, and the creative process. Theories of visual arts, music, literature, dance, etc.
PHIL 565 (3) Philosophy of Film
This course investigates some of the central philosophical issues in our thinking about film, including questions about narrative, ontology, ethical criticism of film , the role of artistic intentions in interpretation, artistic medium, and the art/entertainment distinction
PHIL 574 (3) Philosophy of the Mind
The nature of consciousness, mind and body relations, and freedom of action.
PHIL 575 (3) Philosophical Issues in Cognitive Science
This course examines the conceptual and philosophical complexities of efforts to understand the mind in science. Topics include the differences and similarities between humans and other animals, the nature of psychological explanation, and reductive strategies for explaining consciousness, internationality and language.
PHIL 580 (3) Philosophy of Science
Nature of explanations, causality, theoretical entities, and selected problems.
PHIL 581 (3) Philosophy of Biology
This course examines conceptual and philosophical issues in biology, the nature and scope of biological explanation and conflicts between evolutionary and religious explanations for the origin of life.
PHIL 590 (1-6) Workshop
Special event of less than semester duration.
PHIL 591 (1-6) In-Service
PHIL 677 (1-6) Individual Study
Individual study of a philosopher or problem.
PHIL 691 (1-6) In-Service
Individual service project