18
credits
For students entering the program at the Sophomore level
(holders of a recognized Baccalaureate or Freshman diploma - equivalent to 30 credits)
Courses
Minor Requirements
PHI201Introduction to Philosophy
3 credits
The course will introduce students to philosophical thinking and practice. It will cover, on the one hand, the main philosophical currents, highlighting their specificity and their creative input and, on the other hand, the most representative authors in the history of philosophical thought. In an effort not to separate these themes and the fundamental questions of mankind, the course attempts to show the relationship that develops between the aforementioned notions, with the aim of addressing their impact on certain world views that constantly interpolate us within contemporary societies.
PHI210Greek Philosophy
3 credits
This course is divided into two parts: the first part examines preSocratic sources that give students the proper tools to acquire philosophical thinking in their quest for the nature of things, and in their attempt to unveil both natural and human phenomena. It thus includes the main schools of thought such as the School of Miletus (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes), the Pythagorean school (Pythagoras), the Ionian school (Heraclitus), the Eleatic school (Parmenides), as well as the Sophists. The second part deals with Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
PHI327Philosophical Anthropology
3 credits
The question What is man? Lies at the heart of philosophical inquiry. Starting from the necessary anthropocentrism of philosophy, the two-part course first explores teh meaning of the question of man’s nature throughout history, right up to the challenges posed by cyborg, the computational world and gender theory. It examines the difficulties of defining the human through current mutations, drawing on thinkers of classical humanism and posthumanism. In a second phase, the course outlines the fundamental categories of philosophical anthropology, offering an in-depth analysis of being in-relation and a discussion of its political, social and cultural implications, with reference to contemporary thinkers on otherness.
PHI447Moral and Political Philosophy
3 credits
The course focuses on three main axes: firstly, it examines the influence of morality on politics, arguing that morality should guide human rights and dignity through virtues and social justice (Plato, Aristotle, Kant). Secondly, it highlights the idea, supported by many philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and Machiavelli, that politics should sometimes break free from moral considerations to ensure the stability and power of the state. In a third axis, it emphasizes the notion that for the well-being of both politics and morality, these two domains should be separated within a society, where the discussion revolves around matters of law. It is then more appropriate to speak of civility rather than morality (Alexis de Tocqueville).
PHI448Arab Philosophy in the Middle age
3 credits
The course of ArabMuslim philosophy is envisaged in the form of problems: the theory of Knowledge - the topic of Reason in ArabMuslim philosophy and the question of the compatibility of Reason and Faith (Mu‘tazila, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd); God - the traditional proofs of his existence and attributes (Ibn Sina); the Universe - the hierarchy of beings, creation or noncreation of the world (Ibn Sina, Ghazali, Ibn Rushd); morality and politics (AlFarabi); sociology and history (Ibn Khaldûn); and the Mystique (Ibn ‘Arabi, Al Hallaj).
PHI449Islamology
Mission
The principal mission of this minor is to provide students with necessary knowledge and primary competencies in relation to their major program. It also presents a panoramic overview of the entire history of philosophy and its major thinkers, providing students with the skills of analytical and critical thinking.
Program Educational Objectives
1. Students will learn the basic notions in philosophy that serve as a framework for all the humanities programs.
2. Students will demonstrate all the skills necessary to pursue a graduate course and acquire the skills necessary to excel in any field of research.
3. Students will be formed to be innovators and pioneers in their graduate program as well as in future pursuits.
Program Outcomes
a. Students will correlate the various fields of human sciences, and target the interaction between philosophy and other sciences.
b. Define the key concepts of philosophy and delineate the historical and theoretical issues that give it meaning and value.
c. Recognize that philosophical wisdom is transboundary, and prioritize the Arab world, and reframe Greek philosophy within ArabIslamic thought.
d. Build up an ethical-political knowledge and integrate it into action, and validate the parameters of meaning in their various linguistic, artistic and religious expressions.