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Spring 2025 Advisement Newsletter & Course Offerings

Philosophy

Course Instructor Meetings
PHL 100-01 Introduction to Philosophy McAndrew Monday/Thursday
9:30-10:50am
PHL 100-02 Introduction to Philosophy McAndrew Tuesday/Friday
9:30-10:50am
PHL 100-03 Introduction to Philosophy McAndrew Tuesday/Friday
11am-12:20pm
PHL 120-01 Introduction to Logic Le Morvan Tuesday/Friday
2-3:20pm
PHL 120-02 Introduction to Logic Le Morvan Tuesday/Friday
3:30-4:50pm
PHL 120-03 Introduction to Logic Roberts Monday/Thursday
9:30-10:50am
PHL 120-04 Introduction to Logic Roberts Monday/Thursday
11am-12:20pm
PHL 135-01 Contemporary Moral Issues Kamber Monday/Thursday

12:30-1:50pm

PHL 135-02 Contemporary Moral Issues Kamber Monday/Thursday
2-3:20pm
PHL 135-03 Contemporary Moral Issues Taylor Monday/Thursday
9:30-10:50am
PHL 135-04 Contemporary Moral Issues Taylor Monday/Thursday

11am-12:20pm

PHL 205-01 History of Modern Philosophy McAndrew Monday/Thursday 11am-12:20pm
PHL 270-01/370-01 Topics in Philosophy: Philosophy and Film Kamber Monday/Thursday
3:30-4:50pm
PHL 421-01/PHL 270-02/PHL 370-02/LNG 370-01/HON 370-01 Philosophy of Language/Animals Don’t Talk Preti Monday/Thursday
12:30-1:50pm

 

Classical Studies

Course Instructor Meetings
CLS 250-01 Introduction to Greek Mythology Dakin Tuesday/Friday
11am-12:20pm
CLS 250-01 Introduction to Greek Mythology Pilney Tuesday/Friday
2:00-3:20pm
CLS 250-01 Introduction to Greek Mythology Pilney Tuesday/Friday
3:30-4:40pm
CLS 270-01 Topics in Classical Studies: Warfare in the Greek and Roman Dakin Tuesday/Friday
9:30-10:50am

 

Religion

Course Instructor Meetings
REL 100-01 Basic Issues in Religion Rech Asynchronous
REL 113-01 Islam and Islamic Thought Hamedeh Asynchronous
REL 113-02 Islam and Islamic Thought Hamedeh Asynchronous
REL 121-01 Modern Judaism Greenbaum Monday/Thursday
11am-12:20pm
REL 121-02 Modern Judaism Greenbaum Monday/Thursday
12:30-1:50pm

 

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE FOR ADVISEMENT & REGISTRATION

As always, we urge you to see your advisor prior to registration. It is important that you receive appropriate advice and that we keep your records updated. Be sure to sign up! Please note that all Philosophy majors have an advising hold that must be lifted prior to registration. You must meet with your advisor to lift this hold. Registration for the Spring 2025 semester begins Tuesday, November 5, 2024, and runs through Friday, November 15, 2024. Please check your PAWS account to determine when you are eligible to register.

Your advisor should be listed in your PAWS account on the right side of your student center screen. If you can’t find your advisor on PAWS, please inquire with the program assistant at ordini@tcnj.edu.

Philosophy Department courses are listed under several different headings in PAWS. Philosophy courses can predictably be found under PHL.  However, be aware that you will find Classical Studies Courses under CLS, Religion Courses under REL and some courses may be cross listed with other departments such as HON. Please see the Advising Policy for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at: Advising Resources for Students | School of Humanities and Social Sciences (tcnj.edu)

BE PREPARED FOR ADVISEMENT

Review the requirements for your program and create or revise your 4-year plan. Check the courses offered. Devise a tentative schedule for the Spring including back-up courses in case your preferred choices are filled. Put all desired courses in your PAWS shopping cart. Put in multiple sections if they are offered. Bring your 4-year plan to your advisement appointment. Show up for your appointment and show up on time! Your advisors make extra time in their very busy schedules to meet with you; once you have signed up, honor your commitment. In an emergency, contact your advisor to reschedule.

 

Course Descriptions Include: 

PHL Course Descriptions 

PHL 100 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

A course that examines the fundamentals of philosophical argument, analysis and reasoning, as applied to a series of issues in logic, epistemology, metaphysics and ethics. Topics covered may include: logical validity, theories of knowledge and belief, the nature of mind, the nature of reality, arguments for the existence of God, and theories of the nature of right and wrong.

 

PHL 120 – INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC

A course on the basic principles and techniques of correct reasoning in ordinary life and the sciences. Study of the formal systems of sentence logic and predicate logic. Translation of natural language statements and arguments and analysis and evaluation of deductive arguments through the construction of proofs. Focus particularly on the power and precision of the natural language with the aim of helping students increase their ability to think and write with creativity, precision and rigor.

 

PHL 135 – CONTEMPORARY MORAL ISSUES

A course that aims to familiarize students with basic concepts and theories in ethics, and with how they may be applied to a range of contemporary moral issues.  Topics addressed may include racism, sexism, abortion, euthanasia, cloning, capital punishment, our obligations to the disadvantaged, the treatment of non-human animals, just war, and the like. Students will be encouraged to learn from great thinkers of the past and of the present, to examine their own moral values and beliefs, and to take reasoned and informed stands on the issues treated.

 

PHL 205 – HISTORY OF Modern PHILOSOPHY

A course tracing the development of major philosophical ideas in the West from the beginning of the 17thcentury to the close of the 18thcentury. Philosophers whose works are examined typically include some or all of: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Special emphasis is placed on the development of epistemology and metaphysics during this foundational historical period.

 

PHL 270-01/370-01 Topics in Philosophy: Philosophy and Film

Movies, like works of literature, drama and opera, are artworks that present and interpret human conduct in different times, places, and cultural contexts. As such, they are subjects of study for the philosophy of art. The movies we will be considering over the course of this semester are interesting both because of their relevance to philosophical problems and because of their artistic merit. Students taking this course will be required to watch approximately one movie each week, read one or more essays pertinent to that movie. They will also be asked to develop and present a group presentation on a course-appropriate film and topic.

 

PHL 421/PHL 270-02/PHL 370-02/LNG 370-01 Philosophy of Language /Animals Don’t Talk

This course that examines the structure of the human mind and human language, so we can analyze the various ways that other creatures (like animals and AIs) differ from us. No–animals don’t talk (and neither does AI!). Along the way, we will also consider the various roles that language plays in human social structures.

 

REL Course Descriptions

REL 100 – BASIC ISSUES IN RELIGION

Course examining religious phenomena and their relationship to human understanding of oneself and society providing an opportunity to examine religion sympathetically but critically.

REL 113 – ISLAM AND ISLAMIC THOUGHT

Course examining Islam and some of the intellectual traditions that have flourished in conjunction with it. Students will study the historical origins and essential teachings of this religion and explore some of the literary and philosophical traditions that developed from or in close connection with Islam.

REL 121 – MODERN JUDAISM

 

 

CLS Course Descriptions

CLS 250 – INTRODUCTION TO GREEK MYTHOLOGY

An introduction to ancient Greek mythology through primary texts in English translation such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, Sophocles’ Ajax, etc. Focuses on the Trojan War cycle of myths and its greatest heroes in order to understand how the ancient Greeks explored important aspects of their society through literature that ostensibly presents mythological events and characters. Attention is also given to visual representations of myth in sculpture and on vases and to differentiating the ancient Greek concept of “myth” from our own.

CLS 270 – TOPICS IN CLASSICAL STUDIES

This is a Topics Course with no prerequisites, offered primarily for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. It may not be appropriate for freshmen.

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