Philosophy (PHIL)

Subject-area course lists indicate courses currently active for offering at the University of Louisville. Not all courses are scheduled in any given academic term. For class offerings in a specific semester, refer to the Schedule of Classes.

500-level courses generally are included in both the undergraduate- and graduate-level course listings; however, specific course/section offerings may vary between semesters. Students are responsible for ensuring that they enroll in courses that are applicable to their particular academic programs.

Course Fees

Some courses may carry fees beyond the standard tuition costs to cover additional support or materials. Program-, subject- and course-specific fee information can be found on the Office of the Bursar website.


PHIL 501. Independent Study1-3 Units

Description: Opportunity for the student, under the supervision of a sponsoring faculty member, to pursue individualized study related to research or practice that is not included in regular courses in the curriculum.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 502. Philosophy Capstone Seminar - CUE3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): 24 hours of PHIL courses; major in Philosophy.

Description: Seminar with variable content consisting in sustained and rigorous primary philosophical study and reflection; required of all philosophy majors as close to graduation as feasible.

Course Attribute(s): CUE - This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 505. Selected Topics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): To be determined by instructor, in the light of the topic chosen for that semester.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 512. Advanced Symbolic Logic3 Units

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 412 or consent of instructor.

Description: Topics in the theory and application of modern logic.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 516. African-American Philosophy3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 205 or PHIL 303 or PHIL 304.

Description: Analysis of works and theories of major recent and contemporary African-American philosophers within the themes of Pan-African debates.

Note: Cross-listed with PAS 516.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 518. Feminist Philosophical Literature3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.

Description: Examination of central works by feminist philosophers in such subdisciplines as ethics, political philosophy, and epistemology.

Note: Cross-listed with WGST 560.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 519. Topics in Philosophy of Race and Racism3 Units

Description: Focused examination of philosophical issues involved in interdisciplinary inquires into the nature and functioning of race and racism.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 521. Ethical Theory - WR3 Units

Prerequisite(s): One course in ethics or consent of instructor.

Description: Recent developments in ethical theory, such as examinations of the status of moral facts; moral realism; impartiality and personal attachments; or moral agency.

Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 528. Philosophy of Mind3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Two semesters of philosophy or consent of instructor.

Description: Philosophical analysis of contemporary theories about the mind.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 529. Philosophy of Emotions3 Units

Prerequisite(s): One course in philosophy or consent of instructor.

Description: Philosophical studies in the nature, interrelations, and moral and aesthetic value of specific emotions, such as pride, shame, guilt, regret, jealousy, envy, resentment, anger, hate, contempt, love, joy, happiness, contentment.

Note: Cross-listed with PHIL 629.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 531. Aesthetics3 Units

Description: An examination of philosophical theories of art, works of art, creative activity, and aesthetic experience, from Plato to the present.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both PHIL 531 and PHIL 631.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 535. Political Philosophy3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Two courses in philosophy and/or political science.

Description: The main concepts of contemporary political thought: rights, law, power, ideology, legitimacy, democracy, tyranny, the state, and justice, with the focus on the topic of political action in both its individual and collective forms.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both PHIL 535 and PHIL 635.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 536. Philosophy of Science3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): Two courses in philosophy and two courses in biology, chemistry, physics, or geology or consent of instructor.

Description: Critical analysis of methodological, valuational, and metaphysical problems in the natural and social sciences.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 636.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 538. Critical Social Theory3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Description: A critical examination of interdisciplinary theories that seek to understand and explain social formations while at the same time uncovering ways that such formations can be unjust and irrational.

Note: Cross-listed with SCHG 538.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 540. Epistemology - WR3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor.

Description: Conceptual and historical background to analysis of knowledge claims; intensive study of theoretical approaches to knowledge, such as naturalized epistemology; socialized epistemology, feminist epistemology, postmodern critiques of normative conceptions of knowledge.

Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).
Note: Credit may not be earned for both PHIL 540 and PHIL 640.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 545. Topics in Philosophy of Religion3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Spring Odd Years

Description: Philosophy of religion is the branch of philosophy that discusses the nature and existence of transcendent being and its implications for us. What can reason alone tell us about such matters? Various issues for discussion: what religious belief is, religious experiences, relation of faith and reason, divine attributes, evidence for/against existence of God, possibility of miracles, immortality, language about God, religion and science, religious diversity, religion and morality.

Note: Cross-listed with PHIL 645.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 553. Plato and Platonism3 Units

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 301 or consent of instructor.

Description: Plato's dialogues, and the course of Platonist thought through Plotinus and the Christian philosophers, to modern times.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 554. Aristotle and Aristotelianism3 Units

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 301 or consent of instructor.

Description: Aristotle's basic works and their influence on St. Thomas Aquinas and others in the Middle Ages.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 557. African Philosophy3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 301, or PHIL 302, or PHIL 303, or PHIL 304.

Description: Descriptive and analytical introduction to the ideas and themes in African philosophy through careful readings of texts which address a cluster of topics.

Note: Cross-listed with PAS 557.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 572. Phenomenology3 Units

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 303 or consent of instructor.

Description: The development of the phenomenological method and its use from Husserl to the present.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 573. Existentialism3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Two semesters of philosophy or consent of instructor.

Description: The thought of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, Marcel, and others, and its significance.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 580. Foundations of Bioethics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): One Philosophy course at 300-level or above, or consent of instructor.

Description: Grounding in the major theories and methods of bioethical decision-making, including contemporary controversies about the role of theory, principles, cases, narrative, and virtues.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 680.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 581. Current Controversies in Health Care Ethics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): One Philosophy course at 300-level or above, or consent of instructor.

Description: Topics in health care ethics currently attracting the most attention in both professional and public discussions. A variety of viewpoints on these topics will be considered.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 582. Health and Social Justice3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): Admission into Bioethics MA program, or consent of instructor.

Description: An interdisciplinary approach to a wide array of issues pertaining to health and health care that arise at the intersection of gender, race, sex, disability, class, and culture.

Note: Cross-listed with PHIL 682, WGST 682, BETH 682, WGST 582.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 583. Health Care, Justice & Community3 Units

Prerequisite(s): One Philosophy course at 300-level or above, or consent of instructor.

Description: Examines theories of justice and equality as they apply to issues in health care delivery, considers explanations for why disparities exist, and the practical ways that communities have addressed inequalities.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 590. Fundamentals of Diversity3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Description: This course will provide an overview of the theory and practice of diversity. Diversity is understood as the many sociocultural differences between individuals and the differences that those differences make for those individuals. In this course, we will explore the historical context of oppression, the oppression framework for understanding diversity, privilege, social identity, the role of the body in diversity, stereotypes, and the personal experiences of both those who are oppressed and those who are privileged. Students will also have a substantial opportunity to examine how these general themes impact their particular area of study, work, or interest.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 601. Independent Study1-3 Units

Description: Directed study and research.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 602. Independent Study1-3 Units

Description: Directed study and research.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 603. Philosophical Writing and Research3 Units

Description: Development of analytical abilities in philosophical reading and writing; argument analysis and construction in various modes and styles.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 605. Special Topics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): To be determined by instructor, in the light of the topic chosen for that semester.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 616. African-American Philosophy3 Units

Description: Analysis of works and theories of major recent and contemporary African-American philosophers within the themes of Pan-African debates.

Note: Cross-listed with PAS 616.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 619. Topics in Philosophy of Race and Racism3 Units

Description: Focused examination of philosophical issues involved in interdisciplinary inquiries into the nature and functioning of race and racism.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 621. Ethical Theory3 Units

Prerequisite(s): One course in ethics, or consent of instructor.

Description: Recent developments in ethical theory, such as examination of the status of moral facts; moral realism; impartiality and personal attachments; or moral agency.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 621.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 629. Philosophy of Emotions3 Units

Prerequisite(s): One course in philosophy or consent of instructor.

Description: Philosophical studies in the nature, interrelations, and moral and aesthetic value of specific emotions, such as pride, shame, guilt, regret, jealousy, envy, resentment, anger, hate, contempt, love, joy, happiness, contentment.

Note: Cross-listed with PHIL 529.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 631. Aesthetics3 Units

Description: An examination of philosophical theories of art, works of art, creative activity, and aesthetic experience, from Plato to the present.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both PHIL 531 and PHIL 631.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 635. Political Philosophy3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Two courses in philosophy and political science.

Description: The main concepts of contemporary political thought: rights, law, power, ideology, legitimacy, democracy, tyranny, the state, and justice, with the focus on the topic of political action in both its individual and collective forms.

Note: Credit cannot be earned for both PHIL 535 and PHIL 635.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 637. Philosophy of the Social Sciences3 Units

Description: Critical analysis of methodological, valuational, and metaphysical problems in the social sciences.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 638. Critical Social Theory3 Units

Description: A critical examination of interdisciplinary theories that seek to understand and explain social formations while at the same time uncovering ways that such formations can be unjust and irrational.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 640. Epistemology3 Units

Description: Conceptual and historical background to analysis of knowledge claims; intensive study of theoretical approaches to knowledge, such as naturalized epistemology, socialized epistemology, feminist epistemology, postmodern critiques of normative conceptions of knowledge.

Note: Credit may not be earned for both PHIL 540 and PHIL 640.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 641. Recent Philosophy of Language3 Units

Description: Intensive study of current theory and research in the philosophy of language.

Note: Cross-listed with LING 641.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 657. African Philosophy3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

Description: Descriptive and analytical introduction to the ideas and themes in African philosophy through careful readings of texts which address a cluster of topics.

Note: Cross-listed with PAS 657.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 680. Foundations of Bioethics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Restricted to graduate students.

Description: Grounding in the major theories and methods of bioethical decision-making, including contemporary controversies about the role of theory, principles, cases, narrative, and virtues.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 680 and PHIL 580.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 681. Current Controversies in Health Care Ethics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Restricted to graduate students.

Description: Topics in health care ethics currently attracting the most attention in both professional and public discussions. A variety of viewpoints on these topics will be considered.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 681, PHIL 581.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 682. Health and Social Justice3 Units

Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered

Prerequisite(s): Admission into Bioethics MA program, or consent of instructor.

Description: An interdisciplinary approach to a wide array of issues pertaining to health and health care that arise at the intersection of gender, race, sex, disability, class, and culture.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 682, WGST 682, PHIL 582, WGST 582.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 683. Health Care, Justice, and Community3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Restricted to graduate students.

Description: Examines theories of justice and equality as they apply to issues in health care delivery, considers explanations for why disparities exist, and explores practical ways that communities have addressed inequalities.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 683 and PHIL 583.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 684. Clinical Ethics3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Admission into the Bioethics MA program or consent of instructor.

Description: Application of ethical principles, virtues, and cases in the context of clinical care, with a practical approach toward ethics consultation and conflict resolution.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 684.

Course Attribute(s): CBL - This course includes Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students will engage in a community experience or project with an external partner in order to enhance understanding and application of academic content.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 685. Health Care Ethics Internship 3 Units

Grading Basis: Pass/Fail

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisite(s): Admission to Bioethics MA program or consent of instructor.

Description: Capstone for Bioethics MA program. Students will complete a community internship and present their results to their peers and program faculty.

Note: Cross-listed with BETH 685.

Course Attribute(s): CBL - This course includes Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students will engage in a community experience or project with an external partner in order to enhance understanding and application of academic content.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 690. Fundamentals of Diversity3 Units

Description: This course will provide an overview of the theory and practice of diversity. Diversity is understood as the many sociocultural differences between individuals and the differences that those differences make for those individuals. In this course, we will explore the historical context of oppression, the oppression framework for understanding diversity, privilege, social identity, the role of the body in diversity, stereotypes, and the personal experiences of both those who are oppressed and those who are privileged. Students will also have a substantial opportunity to examine how those general themes impact their particular area of study, work, or interest.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 691. Capstone in Diversity Literacy3 Units

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Diversity Literacy program or consent of instructor; PHIL 690.

Description: Students will build upon their prior coursework to conceive and develop a culminating project that advances diversity in each student's chosen field.

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 695. Thesis Guidance3 Units

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes

PHIL 696. Thesis Guidance3 Units

For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes