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PHILOSOPHY
University Professor P.J. Caws
Professors W.B. Griffith, R.P. Churchill, D. DeGrazia (Chair), G. Weiss
Assistant Professors M. Friend, E.J. Saidel, J.C. Brand-Ballard, T. Zawidzki, G. Van Cleemput
Master of Arts in the field of public policy with a concentration in philosophy and social policy—An interdisciplinary program that brings the normative, historical, and analytical-logical skills of philosophical inquiry to bear upon contemporary problems of social policy. The program is affiliated with the School of Public Policy and Public Administration. Prerequisite: a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Students are expected to have completed the prerequisites to graduate courses.
Required: the general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Two options are available at the discretion of the faculty: (1) a minimum of 24 credit hours of approved graduate course work plus the successful completion of a thesis (Phil 299–300), or (2) a minimum of 36 credit hours of graduate course work that does not include a thesis. All students are required to take four courses selected from Phil 230, 231, 238, 242, 250, 255, 262, 281; and, for the public policy core, four courses, one from each of the following groups: (a) PSc 229, 212, 224; (b) Econ 217, 221, 237, 248; (c) PSc 203, WStu 240, ENRP 210, Hist 214; (d) PAd 296 or equivalent as approved by the advisor. Electives may focus on a particular policy area (e.g., biomedical/health care, urban/welfare, or environmental policy), or may explore varied approaches and policy issues. Each candidate must pass a Master's Comprehensive Examination based on the particular interdisciplinary composition of the student's program of study. Prospective candidates should consult the program director.
With permission, a limited number of 100-level courses in the department may be taken for graduate credit; additional course work is required. See the Undergraduate Programs Bulletin for course listings. |
| 201–2 |
Readings and Research (3–3) |
Griffith and Staff |
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Advanced readings and reports. Investigation of special problems. (Academic year) |
| 214 |
Structuralism and Hermeneutics (3) |
Caws |
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The notion of structure in the human sciences: its antecedents, linguistic expression, and development in philosophy, anthropology, psychoanalysis, historiography, and criticism. Strategies for the decoding of structure in hermeneutics. The apparent metamorphosis of structuralism in postmodern thinkers. |
| 230 |
Ethical Issues in Policy Arguments (3) |
Griffith |
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Critical analysis of ethical foundations of public policy arguments, e.g., about protection of the environment or health and safety, equality of opportunity. Case studies of appeals to "welfare improvements," to norms of duty, to "the social contract," and to rights–claims. Attention to historical contexts and biases. Open to undergraduates only with permission of instructor. (Fall) |
| 231 |
Economic Justice (3) |
Griffith |
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Ethical and economic analysis of equity and efficiency of current U.S. income distribution patterns. Theories of justice; economic theories of distribution; assessment of redistribution policies. Open to undergraduates only with permission of instructor. (Spring) |
| 238 |
Feminist Ethics and Policy Implications (3) |
Weiss |
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Feminist critiques of traditional ethical reasoning; alternative feminist ethical frameworks examined and applied to contemporary social problems (e.g., reproductive technology, genetic engineering). Prerequisite: Phil 125 or 131 or permission of instructor. Same as WStu 238. (Spring, alternate years) |
| 242 |
Philosophy, Law, and Social Policy (3) |
Brand-Ballard |
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Examination of basic questions about the role law can and should play in society. Topics include the nature and basis of rights; theories of constitutional interpretation; proposals for legal and political reform of Western liberal democracy. (Spring) |
| 250 |
Topics in Health Policy (3) |
DeGrazia |
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Topics in health policy from the perspective of philosophical ethics, including human and animal research, the enhancement of human traits, justice and health care allocation. (Spring) |
| 255 |
Philosophy of Social Science (3) |
Brand-Ballard |
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An examination of philosophical problems arising from efforts to gain a systematic understanding of society and culture. Topics include the relationship of social science to natural science, feminist social science, rationality, cultural relativism, hermeneutics, and critical theory. |
| 262 |
Normative Issues in Foreign Policy (3) |
Churchill |
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Selected issues on foreign policy from a normative perspective; emphasis on human rights, economic globalization, global poverty, sustainable development, and the ethics of military intervention. |
| 281 |
Environmental Philosophy and Policy (3) |
Churchill, Brand-Ballard |
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Development of philosophical frameworks for analyzing and appraising a wide range of environmental issues and modes of analysis. Attention to both classical problems (pollution, biodiversity) and the new "sustainable economy/ ecology" paradigm shift, and to both microeconomic and biocentric modes of analysis and argument. |
| 299–300 |
Thesis Research (3–3) |
Staff |
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