Eric Funkhouser
Department Chair
318 Old Main
479-575-7441

Barry Ward
Director of Graduate Studies
318 Old Main
479-575-7441

Email: phildept@uark.edu

Department of Philosophy Website

Degrees Conferred:
M.A., Ph.D. (PHIL)

Areas of Study: History of philosophy (including ancient, medieval, modern, early analytic, and continental), metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of science.

Requirements for M.A. in Philosophy

Prerequisites to Degree Program: Admission to the program is subject to the approval of the graduate committee of the Department of Philosophy. For the M.A., the normal expectation is 18 hours in philosophy, including logic. Students with fewer hours in philosophy may be admitted with deficiencies. In addition to the materials required by the Graduate School, at least two letters of recommendation, a sample of written work, and GRE aptitude scores (if available) should be submitted to the department chair. For the Ph.D., completion of an M.A. degree in philosophy is required.

Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree: (Min. 33 hours.)

  1. 27 total hours of course work with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better. These hours must include:
    1. Satisfaction of the course distribution requirement, which is as follows: one course each in ancient Greek philosophy, modern philosophy, value theory, and metaphysics/epistemology. Only courses in which the student earns a grade of “B” or better will count towards fulfilling the course distribution requirement. A student may petition the graduate committee to take an exam in one or more of the above areas, which, if passed, would satisfy the distribution requirement for the area(s) in question.
    2. Symbolic Logic I or II with a grade of “C” or better, or equivalent, or exam in symbolic logic.
    3. Nine hours of course work in graduate seminars.
  2. An acceptable thesis and a successful oral examination before the thesis committee. With the approval of the graduate committee, the oral exam may be taken a second time.

Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to master's degrees.

Requirements for Ph.D. in Philosophy

Prerequisites to Degree Program: Admission to the program is subject to the approval of the graduate committee of the Department of Philosophy. In addition to the materials required by the Graduate School, at least two letters of recommendation, a sample of written work, and GRE aptitude scores (if available) should be submitted to the department chair. For the Ph.D., completion of an M.A. degree in philosophy is required.

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree:

  1. 24 hours of course work beyond completion of the M.A. in philosophy (with the approval of the graduate committee, up to six hours may be taken in another discipline). Course work beyond the M.A. must satisfy the following conditions:
    1. Only courses in which a “B” or better is earned count toward the 24 hours of course work required for the Ph.D.
    2. Symbolic Logic I or II, or equivalent, or exam in symbolic logic. (This requirement is waived for candidates who have completed the above M.A. program.)
    3. At least nine hours of graduate seminar work in philosophy.
    4. By the time final course work is taken, students must have satisfied course distribution requirements comparable to those for the M.A. degree (1a., above).
  2. Qualifying Examinations:
    1. Comprehensive Exam: The student must pass a comprehensive examination of his or her main area of specialization.
    2. Prospectus Exam: The student must write a dissertation proposal and pass an oral preliminary dissertation examination covering the proposal and the topic of the dissertation.
  3. An acceptable dissertation, successfully defended before the dissertation committee.

Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to doctoral degrees.

Through an agreement with the Academic Common Market, residents of certain Southern states may qualify for graduate enrollment in the doctoral program in philosophy as in-state students for fee purposes.

Graduate Faculty

Adler, Jacob, Ph.D., A.B. (Harvard University), Associate Professor, 1984, 1991.
Barrett, David A., Ph.D., M.A. (University of Arkansas), B.A. (Hendrix College), Instructor, 2014.
Funkhouser, Eric M., Ph.D. (Syracuse University), M.A., B.A. (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Professor, 2002, 2016.
Herold, Warren, Ph.D. (University of Michigan), Instructor, 2014.
Hyman, Jeremy S., C.Phil. (University of California, Los Angeles), M.A. (Princeton University), B.A. (University of Michigan), Instructor, 2018.
Lee, Richard N., Ph.D. (Stanford University), B.A. (Luther College), Associate Professor, 1982, 1988.
McMullen, Amanda, Ph.D. (University of Miami), B.A. (Stetson University), Assistant Professor, 2019.
Minar, Edward H., Ph.D., A.M., A.B. (Harvard University), Professor, 1994, 2013.
Reece, Bryan, Ph.D. (University of Toronto), M.St. (University of Oxford), M.A. (University of Oklahoma), B.A. (Oklahoma Baptist University), Assistant Professor, 2020.
Senor, Thomas D., Ph.D., M.A. (University of Arizona), B.S. (University of Oregon), Professor, 1989, 2012.
Stevens, Christopher W., Ph.D. (University of Maryland College Park), M.A. (City University of New York-The Graduate Center), B.A. (Humboldt State University), Instructor, 2015.
Ward, Barry M., Ph.D. (Rutgers State University-New Brunswick), M.Sc., B.A.Mod. (Trinity College, Dublin), Professor, 2002, 2022.

Courses

PHIL 5003. Ancient Greek Philosophy. 3 Hours.

Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4003 and PHIL 5003. Prerequisite: Three hours of philosophy coursework. (Typically offered: Fall)

PHIL 5033. Modern Philosophy-17th and 18th Centuries. 3 Hours.

British and Continental philosophy, including Bacon, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4033 and PHIL 5033. (Typically offered: Spring)

PHIL 5093. Special Topics in Philosophy. 3 Hours.

This course will cover subject matter not covered in regularly offered courses. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4093 and PHIL 5093. Course cannot be repeated when topic is the same as one for which the student has been previously enrolled. (Typically offered: Irregular) May be repeated for degree credit.

PHIL 5103. Modern Jewish Thought. 3 Hours.

A survey of the main trends in Jewish thought from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4103 and PHIL 5103. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5113. Social and Political Philosophy. 3 Hours.

Selected philosophical theories of society, the state, social justice, and their connections with individuals. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4113 and PHIL 5113. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5123. Classical Ethical Theory. 3 Hours.

Study of classical texts in the history of philosophical ethics from Plato to Nietzsche. Philosophers covered may include Plato, Aristotle, Butler, Hume, Kant, and Mill. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4123 and PHIL 5123. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5133. Contemporary Ethical Theory. 3 Hours.

A study of contemporary texts in philosophical ethics from G.E. Moore to the present. Philosophers covered may include Moore, Stevenson, Hare, Foot, and Rawls. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4133 and PHIL 5133. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5143. Philosophy of Law. 3 Hours.

A philosophical consideration of the nature of law, theory of adjudication, concepts of legal responsibility, liberty and the limits of law, and selected moral-legal issues (abortion, affirmative action, punishment, etc.). Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4143 and PHIL 5143. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5193. Existentialism. 3 Hours.

Explores texts by major existentialist philosophers including Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and relevant literary works. Topics may include critiques of traditional views of human nature, the self, the meaning of life and existing authentically. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5203. Theory of Knowledge. 3 Hours.

An examination of skepticism, the nature and structures of knowledge and epistemic justification, human rationality, and the justification of religious belief. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4203 and PHIL 5203. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5213. Philosophy of Science. 3 Hours.

Examination of issues related to scientific explanation, empirical foundations of science, observation and objectivity, nature of laws and theories, realism and instrumentalism, induction and confirmation, models, causation, and simplicity, beginning with historical survey set in the context of the history of science but emphasizing works from the 1930s to the current period, often including issues in recent physics. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4213 and PHIL 5213. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5233. Philosophy of Language. 3 Hours.

A survey of mainstream philosophical theories of meaning, reference, truth, and logical form. Attention given to the views of such figures as Frege, Russell, Tarski, Searie, Dumett, and the advocates of possible world's semantics. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4233 and PHIL 5233. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5253. Symbolic Logic I. 3 Hours.

Rigorous analyses of the concepts of proof, consistency, equivalence, validity, implication, and truth. Full coverage of truth-functional logic and quantification theory (predicate calculus). Discussion of the nature and limits of mechanical procedures (algorithms) for proving theorems in logic and mathematics. Informal accounts of the basic facts about infinite sets. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4253 and PHIL 5253. Prerequisite: PHIL 2203 or MATH 2603. (Typically offered: Fall)
This course is cross-listed with MATH 5263.

PHIL 5303. Philosophy of Religion. 3 Hours.

Types of religious belief and critical examination of their possible validity, including traditional arguments and contemporary questions of meaning. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4303 and PHIL 5303. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5313. Contemporary Jewish Thought. 3 Hours.

A survey of trends in Jewish thought in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, focusing on the ways in which Jewish thinkers have responded to the events affecting Jews and the conditions of Jewish life from approximately 1900 to the present. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4313 and PHIL 5313. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5323. Philosophy of Race and Gender. 3 Hours.

Examines the metaphysical, ethical, aesthetic, political, and legal dimensions of race and gender. Topics include theories of race and gender, Latinx feminism, the ethics of racist humor and removing historical monuments, misogyny and misandry, transgender and nonbinary identities, and the role of self-interpretation in sexual orientation. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5333. Feminist Philosophy. 3 Hours.

Explores feminist contributions in traditional philosophical areas such as ethics, political philosophy, and epistemology. Topics include feminist analyses of the family, pornography, sexual harassment, violence against women, and race relations; and ways different schools of feminist thought describe women's oppression, its causes, and resistance to it. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5403. Philosophy of Art. 3 Hours.

Varieties of truth and value in the arts and aesthetic experience, focusing on the creative process in the art and in other human activities. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4403 and PHIL 5403. (Typically offered: Spring)

PHIL 5423. Philosophy of Mind. 3 Hours.

An examination of such topics such as the relationship between mind and body, the mentality of machines, knowledge of other minds, the nature of psychological explanation, the relationships between psychology and the other sciences, mental representation, the nature of the self, and free will and determinism. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4423 and PHIL 5423. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5433. Philosophy of Psychology. 3 Hours.

Explores philosophical issues concerning the domain, foundations and methodology of psychology, and the relation of psychological explanations to other scientific and philosophical investigations of the mind. Topics include cognitive architecture and the evolution of minds, extended or embodied cognition, perception and introspection, consciousness and attention, social cognition, thought and language. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5603. Metaphysics. 3 Hours.

Theory and critical analysis of such basic metaphysical problems as mind and body, universals and particulars, space and time, determinism and free will, self-identity and individualism, with emphasis on contemporary perspectives. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both PHIL 4603 and PHIL 5603. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy. (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5823. Seminar: Spinoza. 3 Hours.

Seminar: Spinoza (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5883. Seminar: Wittgenstein. 3 Hours.

Seminar: Wittgenstein (Typically offered: Irregular)

PHIL 5983. Philosophical Seminar. 3 Hours.

Various topics and issues in historical and contemporary philosophy. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring) May be repeated for up to 3 hours of degree credit.

PHIL 600V. Master's Thesis. 1-6 Hour.

Master's Thesis. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer) May be repeated for degree credit.

PHIL 690V. Graduate Readings. 1-6 Hour.

Supervised individual readings in historical and contemporary philosophy. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

PHIL 700V. Doctoral Dissertation. 1-18 Hour.

Doctoral Dissertation. Prerequisite: Candidacy. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer) May be repeated for degree credit.