Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities

(To become Faculty of Arts and Science starting September 2019)

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

96 credits
For students entering the program at the Sophomore level
Progamme Accreditation


General Education Common Core
PHI433Far­Eastern Philosophy
3 credits
The course is divided into two parts: the first part educates students to draw their knowledge from the sources of Far­Eastern philosophy and enhance their knowledge of the cultural environment therein. The second part allows students to comment on a range of texts relating to the two Chinese and Hindu traditions: LaoTse, Confucius, the schools and sacred writings of Indian Brahmanism, Buddhism and Vedanta.
PHI201Introduction to Philosophy
3 credits
The course will introduce students to philosophical thinking and practice. It will cover, on the one hand, the main philosophical currents, highlighting their specificity and their creative input and, on the other hand, the most representative authors in the history of philosophical thought. In an effort not to separate these themes and the fundamental questions of mankind, the course attempts to show the relationship that develops between the aforementioned notions, with the aim of addressing their impact on certain world views that constantly interpolate us within contemporary societies.
PSY201Introduction to Psychology
3 credits
SOC201Introduction to Sociology
3 credits
MTR222University Working Methodology
3 credits
Common Core Electives
3 credits
The course covers the range of religious sects and trends that have marked the history of Islam. The focus will be on the Umayyad and Abbasid periods that experienced the early schism in Islam within the divergence of views, in conjunction with the mastery of the profound meaning of the Qur'an, the invitation of the Prophet, the authenticity of the hadith, etc.; and the notion of government and the dimension of legality, frequently confused with moral and religious legitimacy. As a first step, the course covers the schools born at a pivotal moment in the history of Islam: the Kharijites, the Qadarites the Mu'tazilites, the Ash'arites, etc. Secondly the course will deal with ijtihad, the tqalîde among Maliki, Hanbali, and Hanifites Shafi'is on the Plan Sunni Islam, and Shi'ite strategy, Ja'fari, 'Alawite, etc., on the plan Shia Islam. The work will focus on this project of studies and interpretations relating to the concept of power in Islam. Wide room for manoeuver will be reserved for fiqh, the kalam, the allegorical exegesis, and falsafa - globally and within the framework of the course.
PHI456Modern and Contemporary Arab Thought
3 credits
PHI448Arab­Muslim Thought in the Middle Ages
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI210
The course of Arab­Muslim philosophy is envisaged in the form of problems: the theory of Knowledge - the topic of Reason in Arab­Muslim philosophy and the question of the compatibility of Reason and Faith (Mu‘tazila, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd); God - the traditional proofs of his existence and attributes (Ibn Sina); the Universe - the hierarchy of beings, creation or non­creation of the world (Ibn Sina, Ghazali, Ibn Rushd); morality and politics (Al­Farabi); sociology and history (Ibn Khaldûn); and the Mystique (Ibn ‘Arabi, Al­ Hallaj).
PHI458Contemporary Philosophy I: Phenomenology
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI455
The main objective of this course is to study phenomenological thought in two particular ways. The first one analyzes the principles of phenomenology, in the manner elaborated by Edmund Husserl. The second one brings to light the numerous manifestations of the phenomenological practice and its particular development by the French phenomenological school, which is essentially represented by M. Merleau­Ponty, J. Derrida, E. Levinas, M. Henry and J.­L. Marion.
PHI459Contemporary Philosophy II: Existentialism
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI458
Starting with the knowledge of Existentialism,”Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre”, the course initially questions their take on existential and “existentiale” philosophy, on contemporary thought, as well as on the distinction between Heidegger’s philosophy and that of Sartre. Secondly, the course discusses major ontological questions raised by Existentialism such as freedom, anxiety, responsibility, death, and God. Finally, the course examines how structuralism in its foundations (Lévi­Strauss, Michel Foucault), presents itself as a critique of Existentialism.
PHI455German Idealism
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI333
This course aims to analyze the truth systems constructed by Fichte, Hegel, Schelling and the great fundamental institutions that structure all idealist comprehension of the truth. This course will be divided into three parts. Firstly we will study Fichte and his vision of the fundamental task of philosophy. In this manner, we will look at the themes of the self-awareness, the Being and the Apparition according to his masterpiece “The Science of Knowledge” of 1812, and we will also examine Fichte’s three images of the Absolute and philosophy of religion, as they are developed in “Die Anweisung zum seligen Leben oder auch die Religionslehre”. Secondly, we will read “The Phenomenology of Spirit” of Hegel, which is based on the major philosophical orientations that form the systematical structure of the truth. The main analysis is over the dialectic of knowledge and the three moments of the autorealisation of the Spirit: Art, Religion and Philosophy. Lastly, we will study the evolution of Schellingian thought from 1801, with the emergence of the philosophy of absolute identity - until Schelling’s intermediate philosophy in Stuttgarter Privatvorlesungen.
PHI210Greek Philosophy
3 credits
3 credits
PHI420Logic and Philosophy of Knowledge
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI333
PHI301Medieval Philosophy
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI210
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI210
PHI333Modern Philosophy
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI301 or PHI210
PHI447Moral and Political Philosophy
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI210
PHI327Philosophical Anthropology
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI210
PHI325Philosophical Reading
3 credits
An analytical and critical reading of a philosophical text in its entirety is a necessary and formative exercise. After an introduction to the author and his work, and in context of the work in question, a reading workshop, directed and supervised by the teacher, will develop around the statements of work, comments and thematic overviews, for the establishment of a reference file. The workshop will be provided each semester by a different teacher, for a greater variety of approach. The work chosen by the teacher in charge of the course generally will correspond to its competences. It must, however, be a major and referential work in the history of thought. A list of authors will be established for this purpose, such as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Husserl, Arendt, Derrida, Merleau­Ponty, etc. The work chosen will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
PHI419Philosophy and Sciences
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI333
This epistemology course centers around a double axis: firstly it tackles the gnoseological question with an inquiry into the genesis of knowledge or the basic stages of the transition from anthropomorphism to anthropocentrism (Kepler, Galileo, Newton). Secondly it tackles methodology in reference to exact sciences and deals with the requirements of the elaboration of a scientific method: its different stages, the means it uses, in order to avoid, overcome or circumvent all sorts of epistemological conundrums that stand in the way of an objective scientific progress (Bachelard, Popper), with a thorough critical study of the validity of its founding criteria (Wittgenstein).
PHI485Philosophy and Societies
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: PHI447
This course introduces students to a philosophical reflection upon the concept of society. Firstly, it attempts to identify the origin of society, through the problem related to the two corollary concepts of nature and culture. Secondly, the course tackles factors maintaining a social link, explaining the relationship between the state as artifact according to Aristotle, and political societies. There are thus different possible societies such as the individualistic society, communitarian society, holistic society, closed society, open society, etc. Finally, starting from a general approach to social institutions, the course questions the concept of distributive justice and what follows as a dilemma between procedural justice and communitarian justice; which leads ipso facto to a topical problem, that of justice as a social, political and legal recognition.
3 credits
The purpose of the course is to propose several approaches to the current teaching of philosophy in high schools, and to highlight the various and complex problems specific to this area. It is divided into three parts: the first is an appropriation of various acquired theories relative to the plan of pure didactics. The second is an appropriation of the acquired theories related to the specialized philosophy didactic. The third is testing these theories acquired by a teaching internship in schools, which confirms the skills already acquired by the student concerning both pedagogical and philosophical plans.




The principal mission of the philosophy degree program is to provide undergraduates and graduates with a broad and intensive training in philosophy and offer them the opportunity to develop critical thinking competencies, in order to analyze the major issues of our time and to have the ability to handle complex logical arguments.
These skills will empower them to enter the labor market and gain access to higher education and research.

Program Educational Objectives

1. Graduates will become qualified teachers and professionals in philosophy in secondary education schools.
2. Graduates will make careers in interdisciplinary environments such as journalism and media.
3. Graduates will demonstrate all the skills necessary to pursue a graduate course and carry out excellent research.
4. Graduates will become leaders in the conversion of thinking.

Program Outcomes

a. Students will correlate the various fields of human sciences, and target the interaction between philosophy and other sciences.
b. Define the key concepts of philosophy and delineate the historical and theoretical issues that give it meaning and value.
c. Recognize that philosophical wisdom is transboundary, and prioritize the Arab world and the Far Eastern world.
d. Rigorously approach a research methodology that combines epistemological, ethical and technological principles.
e. Assess the contribution of classical philosophy and tradition as the foundation of modernity.
f. Reframe Greek philosophy within Arab­Islamic thought.
g. Develop a rational approach to compare the different currents or tendencies and philosophical schools.
h. Create questioning situations that highlight reflection upon ontological and anthropological problems.
i. Build up an ethical­political knowledge and integrate it into action.
j. Formulate a metaphysical problem within a strictly philosophical perspective.
k. Validate the parameters of meaning in their various linguistic, artistic and religious expressions.
l. Structure and diagram a philosophical work and report critical synthesis.
m. Put into practice the knowledge acquired, evaluate training, and master the fundamental skills pertaining to teaching philosophy and pedagogy
Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
Tel.: (+961) 9 600 000
Fax : (+961) 9 600 100
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