CORCORAN SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY.
Professor Lefevre.
Adjunct Professor Balz.
Mr. Hurt.
Mr. McCu.
Mr. FitzHugh.
Students are advised not to undertake the work of this School before
their second session in the College.
For Undergraduates.
Philosophy B1: Deductive and Inductive Logic: Theory of Knowledge.—During
the first and second terms, the class will be engaged with
a study of the science of logic. The lectures will deal in an introductory
manner with the general character of the thinking process, its laws of
development, and the methods by which thought actually proceeds to solve
the problems presented to it. Special attention will be directed to the
analysis of logical arguments and to the detection of fallacies in reasoning.
The third term will be devoted to a study and critical exposition of different
Theories of Knowledge. Text-book: Creighton's Introductory
Logic; other books to be announced. (B. A. or B. S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Two Sections: I. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 1-2. II. Tuesday,
Thursday, Saturday, 12-1. Rotunda, N. E. Professor
Lefevre, Adjunct
Professor
Balz.
Philosophy B2: Ethics.—The aim of this course is (1) to trace in
broad outline the history of actual moral practices and ideals among mankind
in primitive, ancient, and modern times; and (2) to bring out the
distinctive features of moral action and to secure an insight into the
leading principles underlying it. Some of the more important systems
of ethics will be studied for the purpose of gaining an appreciation of
the general development and different types of theories of morality. The
entire course will be directed with a view to aiding the student in reaching
a constructive result. (B. A. or B. S. credit, 3 session-hours.) Monday,
Wednesday, Friday, 11-12. Rotunda, N. E. Professor Lefevre.
Philosophy B3: General Psychology.—This course is intended to give
a general survey of the main problems, principles and methods of Psychology,
either as a part of a liberal education or as preparation for professional
study in Education, Medicine, or Law. The following topics
will be treated: Structure and function of the Nervous System, Sensation,
Perception, Attention, Mental Imagery, Memory, Volition, Reasoning,
Association of Ideas, Movement and Action, Emotions, etc. These
topics will be treated from the physiological, experimental, dynamic, and
descriptive points of view. Reading of texts, lectures, discussions, and
reports. (B. A. or B. S. credit, 3 session-hours.) Tuesday, Thursday,
Saturday, 1-2. Rotunda, N. E. Adjunct Professor Balz.
For Undergraduates and Graduates.
Philosophy C1: The History of Philosophy: Philosophy B1, or B2,
or B3, or the equivalent, prerequisite.—This course is intended primarily
for those who wish to know something of the history of thought and the
influence which philosophical ideas have exerted in the development of
civilization. The lectures will give a general account of philosophical
speculation from its beginnings among the Greeks to the present time.
The endeavor will be made to present the various philosophical systems
in their relation to the science and general civilization of the ages to
which they belong, and to estimate their social and political significance.
A large part of the year will be devoted to the theories and problems of
modern times. Reading of texts and commentaries, lectures, discussions,
and essays. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10-11. Rotunda, N. E. Professor
Lefevre.
Philosophy C2: Social Psychology: Philosophy B1, or B2, or B3,
or the equivalent, prerequisite.—In this course, general psychological principles
will be applied to the study of the social relations of the self, and
the influences which determine feeling and action in the individual as a
member of the group, e. g., the sentiments of religious, political, and social
crowds. The attempt is made to approach social facts from the mental
side. The study of social consciousness, as involved in the genesis and
growth of social institutions, the psychology of education, the psychology
of religion, and the evolution of social consciousness, will engage the attention
in this course. Reading of texts, lectures, discussions, and reports.
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, 9-10. Rotunda, S. E. Adjunct Professor
Balz.
For Graduates.
Only one of the following courses will be given in any one session.
Philosophy D1.—(Open to students who have taken or are taking Philosophy
C1.) Empiricism and Rationalism. The empirical movement as
represented by Locke, Hume, and Mill, and the rationalistic movement as
represented especially by Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, will be studied
with reference to their distinctive methods. Reading of texts and commentaries,
lectures, discussions, and essays. Professor Lefevre, Adjunct
Professor Balz.
Philosophy D2.—(Open to students who have taken or are taking
Philosophy C1.) The Critical Philosophy of Kant. The greater part of
the year will be devoted to the careful study of the Critique of Pure
Reason and the Critique of Practical Reason. Collateral reading of standard
commentaries and of selected recent literature on the subject will be
required. Special attention will be given to Kant's relation to previous
philosophical systems, to the development of his own philosophy, and to
the interrelation of his three Critiques. Reading of texts, lectures, discussions,
and reports. Professor Lefevre, Adjunct Professor Balz.
Further advanced work in Philosophy, including the critical study of
recent tendencies, will be arranged in accordance with the needs of individual
students.
For summer-school courses in Philosophy, on which college credit
will be allowed, see p. 273.
