2012-2013 Academic Year Calendar - Marianopolis

Liberal ArtsPhilosophy (340)Philosophy is variously defined as thelove of wisdom, the science of thesciences, or as the unrelentingexamination of the fundamentalprinciples underlying science,religion and morality. Perhaps mostcharacteristic of the philosophicalenterprise in general is the unendingand uncompromising pursuit of truth,arrived at through critical evaluationand careful consideration of all sidesof an issue.Ancient Philosophy340-910-MS (3-0-3) 2 creditsThis course provides a survey ofancient Greek philosophy, from thepre-Socratic thinkers and Socrates,through to Plato and Aristotle. Thesethinkers and their ideas are examinedin terms of their historical context,especially insofar as they influencedone another. As well as examiningthe major philosophical areas ofmetaphysics, theory of knowledge,and ethics; this course gives specialemphasis to the way in which thesethinkers laid the foundation forwestern thought in the natural andthe social sciences.Early Modern Philosophy340-912-MS (3-0-3) 2 creditsThis course offers a survey of themajor figures in Western philosophyduring the 17th and 18th centuries, aperiod which marked the transitionfrom the medieval to the modernapproach in both philosophy andscience. After a general survey of theperiod itself, we focus on some of thecentral issues in philosophy duringthis period: epistemology (what canwe know?), metaphysics (what is thenature of reality?) and ethics (howshould we act?). In examining thework of Descartes, Hume and othermodern thinkers students willdiscover theories that have shapedthe development of both philosophyand science in the modern world.Religious Studies (370)Judaism, Christianity and Islam:An Introduction to Jewish,Christian and Muslim Scriptures370-121-MS (3-0-3) 2 creditsThe purpose of this course is tointroduce students to the scriptures ofthe three great monotheistic religionsof the West. The course is subdividedinto three units of study. Studentsbegin with Judaism and the Hebrewscriptures, proceed to Christianity andthe New Testament, and concludewith Islam and the Qur’an. In eachcase, students explore a few foundingscriptural passages and somesubsequent interpretations of them.Methodology (300, 360)Required Courses for Liberal ArtsStudents:Research Methods in Liberal Arts300-302-MS (2-1-2) 1.66 creditsThis course identifies and explainsthe principal stages and fundamentalconcepts of research common to allthe Liberal Arts, and instils a senseof how expository prose, essential toworks of research, should be written.Principles of Logic & Mathematics360-124-MS (3-1-3) 2.33 creditsThis course strives to explore anddemonstrate the nature of mathematicalreasoning. The student isintroduced to the rules of logicand logical reasoning and how themethods of logic can be employedto construct valid arguments.Mathematical reasoning is presentedas the application of logical principlesto appropriate sets of axioms orpostulates and different methods ofproof are explored. Throughout thecourse, the student is encouraged toconstruct logical arguments andproofs and apply these methods tomathematics.History & Methodology of Science360-125-MS (3-1-3) 2.33 creditsThe identity of and our attitude toscience is determined by the waywe organize both the ideas and themethods used to verify them. Theconventional, or lineal, approachshows science as advancing froma mythopoeic understanding ofexistence to our current empiricalone, a process as orderly andobjective as contemporary scienceitself. When approached from either acontingency or from a culturalperspective, however, science has ahuman face more fascinating andevocative than it is objective andorderly.Integrative Project: Liberal Arts360-126-MS (1-2-3) 2 creditsThe integrative project is designedto allow students to bring togetherseveral disciplines in a final project.It is the culmination of their LiberalArts studies. The choice of projecttopic is flexible enough to allow themmaximum freedom. Research ispresented in a seminar and the finalproject in the form of an essay, panelpresentation, debate or a creativeproject, such as a play or exhibitionof art work.107