Web Site of the Department

Acting Head of Department : Berna Kılınç

Associate Department Head: Nurbay Irmak

Professors : Berna Kılınç, Stephen Voss, Nurbay Irmak

Associate Professors : Chryssi Sidiropoulou, Lucas Thorpe

Assistant Professors : Sun Demirli, Yildiz Silier, Barry Stocker

*Part-time


 

The Department offers an M.A. and a Ph.D. program. Both programs are carried out in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Institute of Social Sciences.

Students enrolled in either program are required to take at least one course in each of the four core areas of philosophy which are, 1) metaphysics and epistemology, 2) the history of philosophy, 3) the logic and philosophy of science, and 4) aesthetics, ethics and political philosophy.

MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM

The objective of the M.A. program is to equip the students with advanced and specialized knowledge in the field, and to help them acquire skills for doing research.

This is a two-year program consisting of 22 credit hours of course work spread over two semesters and followed by an M.A. thesis and its oral defense.

Students with a B.A. degree in philosophy are normally eligible for admission to the M.A. program. Students who have undergraduate degrees in other fields may also be admitted. Such applicants are expected, however, to develop skills and knowledge in the core areas of philosophy by taking an additional number of undergraduate courses as part of the M.A. program.

Total Credits: 22 Credits
Total ECTS: 140 Credits

*Graduate courses that are opened each term are categorized in three groups:

Group 1: ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of law.
Group 2: logic, philosophy of science, epistemology, metaphysics and ontology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind.
Group 3: history of philosophy.

Electives are to be chosen as follows:

1 course from Group 1
2 courses from Group 2
1 course from Group 3

The remaining 2 courses may be taken from any group or from elective courses not falling into any of these groups. Among these remaining courses, at most 1 can be at the 400 level; and at most 1 can be from outside the department. However, for these sorts of courses the student must get the approval of the graduate advisor. 400 level courses and courses taken outside Philosophy Department do not fulfill any area requirements.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM

The Ph.D. program aims at training and research in various areas of philosophy. The Ph.D. program is open to students holding an M.A. degree in philosophy.

The requirements for the program are: 1) The completion of 24 hours credit course work beyond the M.A., 2) a qualifying examination in two of the four core areas of philosophy, 3) a reading examination in a language other than Turkish and English, related to the topic of the dissertation, 4) a formal proposal of the dissertation, 5) completion of the dissertation, and 6) its oral defense.

The Ph.D. program is open to students holding an M.A. degree in philosophy defense.

Total Credits: 21 Credits
Total ECTS: 272 Credits

*Graduate courses that are opened each term are categorized in three groups:

Group 1: ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of law.
Group 2: logic, philosophy of science, epistemology, metaphysics and ontology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind.
Group 3: history of philosophy.

Electives areas to be chosen as follows:

1 course from Group 1
2 courses from Group 2
1 course from Group 3

The remaining 2 courses may be taken from any of the three groups above, or from elective graduate courses not falling into any of these groups. At most 1 elective can be a graduate course offered by another department.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

PHIL 501 Metaphysics (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Metafizik)
An intensive study of one or a number of major metaphysical issues such as existence, universals and particulars, individuation, identity and essence, events and processes, causation, determinism, space and time.

PHIL 502 The Metaphysics of Material Objects (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Maddesel Nesneler Metafiziği)
The relationships, such as composition and constitution, between matter, material objects, and their parts. The nature of matter, the persistence conditions of ordinary objects, and the relationships between human persons and their bodies.

PHIL 503 Cosmology/ Philosophy of Nature (4+0+0) 4 
(Kozmoloji/ Doğa Felsefesi)
A historical and systematic analysis of the concept of nature with special attention upon such issues as the ontological status of natural things, types of change and becoming, necessity and contingency, principles of serial connection and causality, solidarity of the universe.

PHIL 504 Advanced Issues in Ontology (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Varlık Felsefesinin İleri Konuları)
Issues in ontology, such as metaphysical, cognitive, linguistic, conceptual, and social-political matters.

PHIL 505 Theory of Knowledge (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Bilgi Kuramı)
A comprehensive survey of one or a number of chosen problems such as the nature, limit and source of human knowledge, truth, skepticism, foundationalism and holism, justification, theories of perception, criteria of knowledge and its classification.

PHIL 506 Advanced Issues in Epistemology (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Bilgi Felsefesinin İleri Konuları)
An intensive study in theory of knowledge such as evidential, doxastic, ontological, social-political, cognitive, historical and evolutionary matters.

PHIL 507 Advanced Issues on Truth (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Doğru Üzerine İleri Konular)
An examination, from analytic and continental perspectives, of issues concerning truth, such as ontological, phenomenological, socio-political, and historical matters.

PHIL 508 Formal epistemology (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Formel Bilgi Felsefesi)
Formal treatment of key concepts in epistemology, such as belief, conditional belief, degrees of belief, knowledge, belief revision, and evidence.

PHIL 509 Philosophy of Time (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Zaman Felsefesi)
A philosophical study of the nature of time and temporal beings. Whether the flow of time is objective, whether the past or the future exist, the paradoxes concerning time travel, the nature of change and persistence.

PHIL 515 Topics in History of Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Felsefe Tarihi Konuları)
An in-depth examination of one or more philosophical schools or major thinkers from any period of the history of philosophy including 20th century.

PHIL 517 Topics in Contemporary Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Çağdaş Felsefe Konuları)
A study of some topic chosen by the instructor in any one or more trends of thought in contemporary philosophy.

PHIL 519 History of Science and Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Bilim Tarihi ve Felsefe)
An investigation of the relationship between history of science and philosophy with a special emphasis on the nature of scientific revolutions.

PHIL 521 Philosophical Logic (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Felsefî Mantık)
The nature of logic and the use of logic(s) to deal with philosophical issues such as vagueness, logical consequence, relevance, conditionals, and modalities.

PHIL 522 Mathematical Logic (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Matematiksel Mantık)
A meta-logical study of first-order predicate logic. Recursive functions and decidability. Godel's incompleteness theorems. Second-order predicate logic.

PHIL 524 Philosophy of Science (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Bilim Felsefesi)
An examination of central problems in the philosophy of science, including methodology and the growth of knowledge, the structure of scientific theories, explanation, confirmation, and verisimilitude.

PHIL 525 Philosophy of Language (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Dil Felsefesi)
A detailed examination of various aspects of contemporary philosophy of language. Theories of meaning, reference, sentential form, the relation of meaning to truth, topics such as mental representation, speech acts, and the ontological dimensions of meaning.

PHIL 526 Philosophy of Social Sciences (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Toplum Bilimleri Felsefesi)
An examination of problems raised in the study of human behavior and society. Some of the problems to be discussed include method, objectivity, explanation, individualism and holism.

PHIL 528 Theories of rationality (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Akılcılık Kuramları)
Survey of the main theories of rationality. Probabilistic and logical models of decision-making under risk, ignorance, and uncertainty. Norms of reasoning versus cognitive facts

PHIL 529 Modality (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Kipler)
Theories of logical, natural, conceptual, and metaphysical modalities. Deontic and epistemic modalities.

PHIL 534 Aesthetics (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Estetik)
A study of one or more aesthetic theories developed by such thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Schopenhauer, Croce, etc.

PHIL 536 Ethics (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Etik)
A critical examination of some of the major substantive and meta-ethical systems and their application to concrete moral problems.

PHIL 538 Topics in Political Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Politik Felsefe Konuları)
An in-depth study of some of the major issues and controversies in political thought.

PHIL 543 Philosophical Approaches to Issues in Feminism (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Feminizmin Konularına Felsefi Yaklaşımlar)
Debates between liberal, radical, and socialist feminism and ecofeminism. Analysis of issues such as the links between patriarchy and capitalism, domestic violence, psychological and ideological roots of women's oppression, dual systems theory, the domestic labor debate, sex/gender theory and intersectionality, the issue of representation, formation of agents of resistance against discourses of victimization.

PHIL 544 Philosophy in Literature (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Edebiyatta Felsefe)
A discussion of literary expressions of philosophical ideas on the basis of selected works of literature.

PHIL 545 Hermeneutical Philosophy (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Yorumsama Felsefesi)
Issues in the post-Kantian hermeneutical tradition and its development from philology to textual hermeneutics, to historical studies, and to a general account of human understanding. Selected texts by philosophers such as Hegel, Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Derrida.

PHIL 550 Plato (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
A critical investigation of Plato's philosophical position, tracing its development on the basis of his early, middle and late dialogues.

PHIL 552 Aristotle (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
A critical survey of Aristotle's writings on the basis of texts selected from such works as the Physics, Metaphysics, De Anima, and Organon.

PHIL 557 Kant (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
An in-depth analysis of the theoretical and practical employment of pure reason according to Kant.

PHIL 558 Hegel (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
An in depth study of the philosophy of Hegel on the basis of some of the major works of the philosopher.

PHIL 559 Marx (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Marx)
An in-depth study of the philosophy of Marx based on some of his major works.

PHIL 560 Nietzsche (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Nietzsche)
An in-depth study of the philosophy of Nietzsche based on some of his major works.

PHIL 565 Heidegger (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Heidegger)
An in-depth study of the philosophy of Heidegger based on some of his major works

PHIL 570 Derrida (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Derrida)
An in-depth study of the philosophy of Derrida based on some of his major works.

PHIL 571 Rationalism (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
An investigation of rationalist principles in terms of the writings and arguments of such thinkers as Descartes and Spinoza.

PHIL 572 British Empiricism (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(İngiliz Ampirizmi)
An in depth study of the works of Locke, Berkeley and Hume.

PHIL 573 Existentialism (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Varoluşçuluk)
A survey of the existentialist movement in philosophy starting with Kierkegaard and running through Nietzche, Heidegger and Sartre.

PHIL 574 Phenomenology (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Fenomenoloji)
An examination of Husserl's method of phenomenological analysis and its impact upon such thinkers as Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre.

PHIL 575 Postmodernism (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Postmodernizm)
A study of the philosophical principles and objectives of Postmodernist trends of thought.

PHIL 578 Pragmatism (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Pragmatizm)
A study of the philosophical positions of such thinkers as Royce, Pierce, William James and Dewey.

PHIL 579 Graduate Seminar (0+1+0) Non-credit ECTS 10
(Lisansüstü Seminer)
Seminars offered by faculty, guest speakers and/or graduate students designed to widen students' perspectives on specific topics of interest and to expand their range of scientific research techniques and publication ethics.

PHIL 580-588, 591-599 Special Topics in Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Felsefede Özel Konular)
Study of special topics in philosophy not covered in other courses at the master's level.

PHIL 589 Readings in Philosophy (1+0+0) 1 ECTS 2
(Felsefe Okumaları)
Supervised reading in areas of special interest to the student.

PHIL 590 Directed Study (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Yönlendirilmiş Çalışma)
Reading and research on a topic of interest chosen by the student and approved by the instructor.

PHIL 611 Presocratics (4+0+0) 4 
(Presokratikler)
An intensive study of presocratic philosophy on the basis of the existing fragments and out standing commentaries.

PHIL 613 Medieval Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 
(Ortaçağ Felsefesi)
Boethius and St. Augustine on being; St. Anselm and the ontological argument; Abelard and conceptualism; the syntheses of Avicenna, Albert the Great and St. Thomas; Bonaventure and the theological reaction; the criticism of John Duns Scotus; and Ockham on realism.

PHIL 615 Islamic Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 
(İslam Felsefesi)
An inquiry into Islamic philosophy on the basis of the works of major philosophers at the Islamic world and with the main problems of the tradition.

PHIL 631 The Analytic Tradition (4+0+0) 4 
(Analitik Gelenek)
A topical survey of the analytical school of thought, its principles, problems and influence.

PHIL 635 Naturalism (4+0+0) 4 
(Doğalcılık)
An in-depth study of selected material with a view to elucidating the fundamental principles and discussions of the naturalistic perspective.

PHIL 637 Contemporary Philosophy (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Çağdaş Felsefe)
A discussion of some of the major issues and problems in contemporary philosophy on the basis of selected texts.

PHIL 642 Philosophy of History (4+0+0) 4 
(Tarih Felsefesi)
Various epistemological and methodological problems and issues concerning historical knowledge. Comparison between positivist and nonpositivist approaches to history.

PHIL 644 Philosophy of Action (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Edim Felsefesi)
An examination of theories concerning the analysis of human action, intention, describability of action and its ontic consequences, reasons and causes, differences between voluntary and merely intentional action, freedom of the will and responsibility.

PHIL 646 Philosophy of Religion (4+0+0) 4 
(Din Felsefesi)
A philosophical discussion of some of the pervading problems and concepts of religious though and doctrine.

PHIL 652 Philosophy of Mind (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Zihin Felsefesi)
An in depth study of recent developments in the philosophy of mind such as behaviorism, central-state materialism, functionalism, problems of supervenience, representation and content.

PHIL 654 Philosophy of Mathematics (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Matematik Felsefesi)
The existence of mathematical entities, their nature and knowledge. Some of the positions to be studied include logicism, intuitionism and formalism.

PHIL 674 Topics in the Philosophy of Science (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Bilim Felsefesi Konuları)
An in-depth study of some of the major issues and controversies in the philosophy of science.

PHIL 676 Topics in Logic (4+0+0) 4 
(Mantık Konuları)
An examination of one or more topics such as modal logic, many-valued logic, free logic and the like, and philosophical problems that arise in connection with them.

PHIL 678 Topics in Aesthetics (4+0+0) 4
(Estetik Konuları)
A study and discussion of some of the major issues in Aesthetic theory.

PHIL 679 Doctoral Seminar (0+1+0) ECTS 2
(Doktora Semineri)
Seminars offered by faculty, guest speakers, and Ph.D. students on various research topics in philosophy.

PHIL 680 Directed Study (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 10
(Yönlendirilmiş Çalışma)
Research on a topic of interest chosen by the student and approved by the instructor.

PHIL 682 Freedom and Determinism (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Özgürlük ve Determinizm)
An examination of the problem of human freedom and determinism in relation to action and intention, taking into consideration the metaphysical and/or moral implications.

PHIL 684 Philosophical Methods (4+0+0) 4 ECTS 10
(Felsefi Metodlar)
A discussion and elucidation of the fundamental methods of philosophical thought and the modes of philosophical expression.

PHIL 689 Studies in Philosophy (3+0+0) 3 ECTS 30
(Felsefe Çalışmaları)
Guided readings on topics related to the individual research interest of the student.

PHIL 690 Master's Thesis ECTS 60
(Yüksek Lisans Tezi)
Proposal and completion of a research project on a topic of the student's special interest under the supervision of a thesis director.

PHIL 700 Graduate Seminar (0+1+0) 0 ECTS 20
(Lisansüstü Seminer)
Seminars offered by faculty, guest speakers and graduate students designed to widen students' perspectives on specific topics of interest and to expand their range of scientific research techniques and publication ethics.

PHIL 790 Doctoral Dissertation ECTS 120
(Doktora Tezi)
Design and completion of a major research project under the supervision of a dissertation advisor on a specific topic in the area of a specialization selected in accordance with particular interest of the student.