MORE INFORMATION
Richard Brooks, chair
Philosophy and Religious Studies
Salisbury 406
(262) 472-4775
brooksr@uww.edu

Admissions Office
UW-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI 53190
(262) 472-1440
Fax:
(262) 472-1515
uwwadmit@uww.edu
Web site

The College of Letters and Sciences offers a minor in philosophy and courses in religious studies. Philosophy critically explores issues and problems arising across the vast spectrum of life, such as the meaning of life, the nature of a good life, values of social life and examines questions concerning the nature of good reasoning, knowledge, reality, truth, goodness and beauty.

The philosophy program at UW-Whitewater serves to acquaint students with basic issues, problems and methods of philosophy, as well as with the history of philosophy. The program prepares students to think critically and creatively concerning philosophical issues and problems, to interpret facts, to present balanced expositions of issues and to understand the ways in which philosophical questions and issues arise from human experience. Religious studies explores ideas and issues relating to religious experience, focusing on the intellectual, cultural and personal dimensions of religion in human life. Course offerings also include introductions to the various world religions. The religious studies courses at UW-Whitewater serve to acquaint students with basic issues, information and methodologies of religious studies.

These courses prepare students to think objectively and creatively concerning religious issues and ideas, to understand cultural traditions, to make a comparison among religions and to assess the role of religion in human experience.

The skills gained through philosophy and religious studies courses are valuable for a person’s private and professional life. The knowledge gained in philosophy complements such fields of study as history, English, psychology, liberal studies, sociology and political science. The ability to communicate effectively, to solve problems, to evaluate competing points of view and to develop new approaches to life’s unpredictable problems are skills important to any endeavor. Religious studies courses focus on those beliefs, values and issues that have ultimately concerned humans and thereby prepare a person for life in general. The ability to think objectively, to appreciate cultural diversity, to assess influential human ideas, to understand different views of life’s meaning, to process new information and to love knowledge are abilities important to any endeavor. The philosophy minor provides good preparation for careers in:

• Law
• Education
• Administration
• Public service

The path along the Old Main drumlin provides a welcome place to reflect upon life’s great questions.

At UW-Whitewater, students are taught exclusively by faculty members. There are no teaching assistants. The philosophy faculty includes David Cartwright, ethics and history of philosophy; Crista Lebens, feminist philosophy and social philosophy; Ann Luther, aesthetics and ethics; and Warren Shibles, ordinary language philosophy and philosophical psychology. The religious studies faculty includes Richard Brooks, Western religious thought and Biblical literature; Wade Dazey, Eastern religious traditions and religious issues; and Richard Yasko, Eastern religious traditions and thought.

The philosophy minor program offers logic and a series of courses in the history of philosophy, ethics, religion and contemporary issues.

PHILOSOPHY MINOR (18 credits)

Required courses
Contemporary Moral Issues or Introduction to Ethics
Logic
Classical Philosophy or Modern Philosophy or American Philosophy or Contemporary Philosophy

Elective courses
Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to Aesthetics
Social Philosophy
Philosophy of Natural & Social Sciences
Feminist Philosophy
Critical Issues in Modern Religion
Eastern Religious Thought
Women and Religion
Business Ethics
Environmental Ethics
Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Death and Dying