Field Description
Philosophy involves an ongoing attempt to analyze, interpret, and rationally explain what people believe, value, and do. Philosophy courses acquaint students with the great ideas of Eastern and Western civilization and assist them in developing philosophical orientations of their own. Courses in philosophy serve both philosophy majors and those who wish to study philosophy as part of the common heritage of educated men and women.
The Major
The major requires 24 credits in philosophy, including three courses in the history of philosophy (chosen from
, , , , , , , , and ), one course in logic ( or ), and a capstone course, chosen from among the special topics courses ( and ), the senior seminar (), or one honors course ().A student who uses , , or to satisfy the philosophy requirement of the base curriculum may not also use that course toward the 24 credits required for the major.
A student who uses toward the base curriculum has fulfilled the logic requirement of the major but must complete the 24 credits required for the major in addition to .
All courses in the Department of Philosophy listed below are 3 credits except and , which have variable credits.
Program Learning Goals
Upon completion of a major in Philosophy, students will be able to:
Logical Reasoning
- Understand the notions of ‘truth’, ‘soundness’, and ‘validity.’
- Identify and understand various forms of logical fallacy.
- Identify, understand, and construct logically well-formed arguments.
Philosophical Argumentation
- Understand what constitutes a philosophical (e.g., metaphysical, epistemic, ethical) position or argument.
- Distinguishes pre-philosophical from philosophical positions or arguments.
- Describe and evaluate, orally and in writing, philosophical positions and arguments.
- Express and develop, orally and in writing, philosophical positions and arguments.
- Exhibit dialectical complexity in their reasoning in support of or in countering philosophical positions or arguments.
Key Philosophers and Key Positions
- Identify, understand, and express, orally and in writing, key philosophical positions in a variety of philosophical genres and traditions.
- Identify, attribute, understand, and express, orally and in writing, salient arguments of key philosophers (such as: Aquinas, Aristotle, Avicenna, Confucius, Darwin, Hume, Hypatia, Kant, Lao Tzu, Marx, Mill, Plato, Sartre, Socrates, Taylor-Mill, Wollstonecraft).
- Reflect critically and empathetically on matters such as their own and others’ personal, racial, gender, ethnic, and cultural identity.
- Reflect critically and empathetically on matters such as their own and others’ moral, political, and epistemic agency.
Critical Thinking
- Reflect critically and empathetically on matters such as their own and others’ personal, racial, gender, ethnic, and cultural identity.
- Reflect critically and empathetically on matters such as their own and others’ moral, political, and epistemic agency.
Major Course Requirements
Base Curriculum Courses: | ||
Major Issues in Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Logic and Moral Reasoning | 3 credits | |
Global Ethics | 3 credits | |
Program Prerequisite: | ||
Ethics and Critical Thinking | 3 credits | |
Required Courses: | ||
History of Philosophy (choose three) | ||
Philosophies from India | 3 credits | |
Classical Buddhism | 3 credits | |
Classical Chinese Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Existentialism in Philosophy and Literature | 3 credits | |
Ancient Greek Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages | 3 credits | |
Modern European Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Nineteenth Century Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Philosophy in the Twentieth-Century | 3 credits | |
Logic (choose one) | ||
Logic and Moral Reason | 3 credits | |
Symbolic Logic | 3 credits | |
Capstone (choose one) | ||
Special Topics in Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Special Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology | 3 credits | |
Senior Seminar | 3 credits | |
Philosophy Honors I-III | 3 credits | |
Electives: | ||
Social and Cultural Philosophy | ||
Global Ethics | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Law | 3 credits | |
The Philosophy of Rights and Property | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Psychology () | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Film and Photography | 3 credits | |
Science Fiction and Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics | 3 credits | |
Political Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Art | 3 credits | |
Crime and Punishment | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Knowledge and Reality | ||
Major Issues in Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Existentialism in Philosophy and Literature | 3 credits | |
Symbolic Logic | 3 credits | |
Thought and Reality () | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Psychology () | 3 credits | |
Minds and Computers | 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Science | 3 credits | |
Applied and Professional Ethics | ||
Ethics, Economics, and the Business System | 3 credits | |
Moral Problems of Life and Death | 3 credits | |
Art and Public Policy | 3 credits | |
Environmental Ethics | 3 credits | |
Computer Ethics | 3 credits | |
Variable or Independent | ||
Special Studies in Philosophy | 3 credits | |
Independent Study | variable | |
Senior Seminar | 3 credits | |
Philosophy Honors I-III | variable |
The Minor
The philosophy minor requires the completion of two philosophy courses numbered 3000 or higher and one capstone course (
Special Topics in Philosophy or Special Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology.)Courses
Courses in Philosophy (PHI)
Ethics and Critical Thinking | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Major Issues in Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Logic and Moral Reasoning | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Global Ethics | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophies from India | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
American Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Classical Buddhism | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Classical Chinese Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Great Works of Philosophy I | 4 hours; 3 credits | |
Great Works of Philosophy II | 4 hours; 3 credits | |
Existentialism in Philosophy and Literature | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Symbolic Logic | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Law | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
The Philosophy of Rights and Property | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Thought and Reality ( ) | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy and Psychology ( ) | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Mind and Computers | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Communication Law and Free Speech ( ) | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Ethics, Economics, and the Business System | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Moral Problems of Life and Death | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Art and Public Policy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Film and Photography | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy and Literature | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Science Fiction and Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Ancient Greek Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Modern European Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Nineteenth Century Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy in the Twentieth-Century | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Environmental Ethics | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Experimental Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Political Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Art | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Philosophy of Science | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Crime and Punishment | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Computer Ethics ( ) | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Special Studies in Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Special Topics in Philosophy | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Special Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Independent Study I | Hours and credits to be arranged | |
Independent Study II | Hours and credits to be arranged | |
Independent Study III | Hours and credits to be arranged | |
Senior Seminar | 3 hours; 3 credits | |
Honors Philosophy I | 3 hours; 3 credits per semester | |
Honors Philosophy II | 3 hours; 3 credits per semester | |
Honors Philosophy III | 3 hours; 3 credits per semester |