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Advanced Courses
PHIL 321 Philosophy of Nature An enquiry into the nature of the physical world based on the philosophy of nature of St. Thomas Aquinas. Includes readings from St. Thomas’s Principles of Nature and his Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics.
PHIL/CECS 322 Plato A reading of several dialogues from different periods of Plato’s development, with reference to Plato’s influence on later philosophy.
PHIL/CECS 323 Aristotle Reading and analysis of extensive selections from the Organon, Physics, On the Soul, Metaphysics, Ethics, and Politics. The magnitude of Aristotle’s philosophical achievements, his profound influence on later ages, and the extent to which his work was used by the medieval schoolmen also will be considered.
PHIL/CECS 324 Philosophy of St. Augustine The background, life, and writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, with special reference to his contributions to philosophy and his influence on Western thought.
PHIL 325 Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas The background, life, and writings of St. Thomas, with special reference to his contributions to the various branches of philosophy.
PHIL 326 The Passions An introduction to the thought of St. Thomas on the passions through a close reading and discussion of selected texts from his writings.
PHIL 327 Philosophy of Psychology An investigation of the rise of modern psychology in the thought of Freud, the way it differs from a Thomistic philosophy of man and the way certain modern thinkers have placed the insights of Freud on a Thomistic basis. Other prominent modern psychologists will also be considered.
PHIL 328 Philosophy of Education An investigation of the nature of teaching and learning with special emphasis on classical and Christian thinkers and a consideration of contemporary problems.
PHIL/THEO 329 Applied Rational Psychology A study of the psychology of the human person using Thomistic principles of human nature. Theory and examples are studied to develop a proper understanding of the science of psychology as subordinated to a proper philosophic understanding of human nature. Defects of modern psychology are examined in so far as they arise from modern misunderstandings of human nature and of what a science is.
PHIL 401 Recent Philosophy A study of philosophy in the 19th and 20th centuries, with selected readings in primary sources. Required of Philosophy majors. Prerequisite: PHIL 302 or permission of the Chairman.
PHIL 403 Epistemology An investigation into the nature of human knowing based on the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas. The course may compare and contrast material from other thinkers.
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PHIL 404 Philosophy of God An advanced metaphysical study of the existence, nature, and attributes of God, based on the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas with consideration of other philosophies. Required of Philosophy majors.
PHIL 412 Modern Moral Theories An investigation of some of the major moral theories of the modern era beginning in the 16th century. Theories are examined in themselves and analyzed from the viewpoint of the Aristotelian/Thomistic tradition.
PHIL/SCIE 420 Philosophical Issues in Modern Science The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the basic scientific discoveries of the 20th Century regarding the origin of the universe, the existence of a creator, and the immaterial nature of man and how they relate to the Thomistic understanding of the same issues. Topics include “Big Bang” Cosmology, Anthropic coincidences, human mind and the computer, Quantum Mechanics and reality, and philosophical issues in contemporary evolutionary biology.
PHIL 421 The Will and the Virtues A systematic study based on the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas of the nature of the will, the relation between intellect and will, the nature of habit and virtue, the types of virtue, and particular virtues, especially the cardinal virtues.
PHIL 422 Philosophy of Art and Beauty A Thomistic philosophical investigation of art, both fine and useful art, the nature of beauty and its perception, the roles of the intellect and the will in aesthetic enjoyment, and different theories of the nature of art and of the artistic act.
PHIL/LATN/THEO 423 Latin Readings in St. Thomas Aquinas An advanced study of scholastic Latin and an in-depth reading of selections from St. Thomas’s Summa Theologiae and other treatises. The portions of the Summa studied will vary. This course may be repeated for credit. (Cross-listed in Latin and Theology.)
PHIL 425 Contemplation and the Philosophical Life An investigation of the nature and nobility of contemplation and the contemplative life, as well as of issues related to the pursuit of wisdom, such as discipleship, tradition, and philosophy as a craft.
PHIL 427 Issues in Contemporary Philosophy A special study of some current theme, movement, or style of philosophizing, such as the thought of Karol Wojtyla, philosophy of science, philosophy of war, phenomenology, linguistic analysis, or contemporary Catholic philosophical movements.
PHIL 428 Ethics of John Paul II An analysis of the ethical thought of John Paul II. The objective is to understand not only how the late Holy Father brings together different traditions in ethics, but also and primarily what he has to say about the truth about human beings and the goodness of their behavior, especially in their relations with one another, and especially in the relations of man and woman with each other. Readings will be taken from Love and Responsibility and Person and Community: Selected Essays.
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PHIL 489 Honors Seminar A seminar on a special topic in philosophy to be determined by the department chairman in consultation with interested and qualified students. Prerequisites: Minimum 3.25 GPA and permission of the Department Chairman. (4 credit hours)
PHIL 490-99 Special Topics or Directed Studies in Philosophy A special study of some area such as axiology, cosmology, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, moral philosophy, natural law, or philosophy of history.
PHIL 512 Senior Seminar and Thesis Direction of the student with his senior thesis, a major scholarly paper on a philosophical topic of his interest. The student receives instruction and individual assistance in development of a topic, research methods, outlining, organizing, and writing a philosophical paper. The student may be required to defend his thesis in an oral presentation.
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Political Science and Economics
It is the purpose of the Department of Political Science and Economics of Christendom College to help restore all things in Christ by educating, through the regular courses, and training, through the Politics Practica, Catholic leaders in the public forum. Knowledge of the principles of a just political, social, and economic order are essential to a renewal of the temporal sphere. In line with this purpose, the College through its two required core courses in the fields of Political Theory and the Social Teachings of the Church gives the student the knowledge of classical and Catholic political and legal philosophy up to St. Thomas Aquinas, and demonstrates the deterioration of the classical natural law understanding in the major modern thinkers. Since ideas have consequences, the destructive results of much of modern thought are explained and analyzed. The student is then introduced to how the Church, through its authoritative teachings, has dealt with problems in the political, social, and economic sphere from the early Church Fathers through Vatican II and the writings of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
The upper division political science courses give the student a more in-depth comprehension of the great political thinkers, of the nature and actual function of the American governmental system, of constitutional law and jurisprudence, and of international relations and the governments and politics of other lands and regions.
The department also includes a minor and courses in various sub-fields in economics. The purpose of the science of economics, as famous British economist Alfred Marshall said, is to raise up the poor. This is a Christian duty, but many well meaning Christians have either no idea or merely false ideas about how to do this. Good intentions are no substitute for sound economic theory. The economics minor gives the student the full range of economic knowledge, from economic philosophy, economic history, to advanced social teachings and technical courses.
Requirements for PSAE Major and Minor
The requirements for the PSAE major are twenty-seven (27) credit hours from the upper level Political Science and Economics curriculum. The following courses are required of all majors, totaling twelve (12) credit hours:
PSAE 311 American Government Institutions PSAE 362 Rhetoric and Public Speaking PSAE 401 Natural Law Theory PSAE 512 Senior Seminar and Thesis
Students must take another fifteen (15) credit hours of electives, one of which must be an
