Course Descriptions

To foster the pursuit of wisdom, graduate courses investigate the intersection of human experience and the nature of reality, and they do so in dialogue with the classics of the Western philosophical tradition.

Graduate philosophy courses include topics such as...

  • Philosophy of Law
  • Philosophy of History
  • Philosophy of Technology
  • Asian Thought
  • Scholastic Tradition
  • Phenomenological Tradition

Courses also cover the following areas:

Historical Sequence

HIstorical courses are offered sequentially in a three-year cycle in order to give students the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the entire history of Western philosophy. Courses include the following text seminars:

  • Antiquity
  • Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
  • The Later Middle Ages
  • Early Modernity
  • Later Modernity
  • Postmodernity

Topical Courses

Topical courses are devoted to reflection in some of the fundamental areas of philosophical inquiry. Building on readings from the tradition of Western philosophy, they are aimed not merely at textual exegesis, but at understanding the "things themselves." These courses include: 

  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • Philosophical Anthropology
  • Philosophy of God
  • Metaphysics
  • The Nature of Tradition

Research Seminars

The Research Seminars are advanced courses usually restricted to doctoral students. They reflect current faculty research, both on particular thinkers and on specialized topics. Topics include: 

  • Plato
  • Aristotle
  • Cicero and Augustine in Dialogue
  • Maimonides
  • Descartes's Thinking
  • Spinoza
  • Hegel's Encyclopaedia: Logic, Nature, Spirit
  • Wittgenstein
  • Lonergan's Insight
  • Christianity and Postmodernism
  • The Notion of Being
  • Metaphysical Themes
  • Themes in Social and Political Philosophy
  • Res extensa
  • Philosophy of Imagination

News

Words of Wisdom, Advice Bolster Educators Now Teaching from Afar

In our current condition, with most of the U.S. sheltering in place and/or learning and working from our homes, it's hard to imagine that just 20 days ago, teachers and those aspiring to be teachers gathered together for the fourth annual Excellence in Education conference at the University of Dallas, organized, run and sponsored by UD's Education Department, but so they did, and so we will all do -- gather together, that is -- some day again.

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Help Us Help UD Students Affected by COVID-19

Many of you have reached out to ask what you can do to help, and I am grateful for your generosity. In response, I have created the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to immediately help UD students in this rapidly evolving situation.

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