Philosophy B.A.
Philosophy Major
The B.A. Philosophy major requires a minimum of 120 total hours to graduate. This total includes UNIFI/General Education requirements, coursework in the major, plus electives to complete the minimum of 120 hours.
The philosophy major is designed to provide depth and breadth in the study of philosophy, emphasizing the skills of logical reasoning, analytic reading, effective writing, and ethical reasoning, as well as focused study of the history of western philosophy, and fundamental conceptions of human nature and human practices. The major is also flexible, so that students can take courses of interest to them. Courses in the philosophy major give students an opportunity to gain useful conceptual tools, increase their flexibility of mind, and improve their ability to view issues from multiple perspectives. Philosophy is one of the best pre-law majors; philosophy majors typically do extremely well in admission tests to graduate and professional schools.
The philosophy major stresses learning goals that enable students to achieve the skills deemed essential by employers, in particular, strong critical thinking and communication skills. Because the major is organized around learning goals, students know exactly why they are taking each class. As they explore philosophy, they also see that each class is helping them to become college graduates who possess knowledge and skills valued by employers as well as professional and graduate schools.
Philosophy Major - Learning Goals and Courses
What is a learning goal?
A learning goal is a set of skills or body of knowledge that a student should expect to acquire or expand their mastery of by completing a particular major.
By establishing learning goals, majors in Philosophy know exactly why they are taking each class. These learning goals divide the classes taken by majors in Philosophy into categories that are easily understood and that guide the student through the major and the learning process.
Learning Goal 1: Skills: Philosophy majors will demonstrate proficiency in critical thinking, analytical writing, reading and understanding complex materials; as well as analyzing, evaluating, and constructing arguments.
Courses that support Learning Goal 1:
| Logical Reasoning | ||
| Required: | 3 | |
| Elementary Logic QR | ||
| Reading for Arguments and Assumptions | ||
| Students who have completed Learning Goal 4 will have satisfied this requirement. | ||
| Analytic Writing | ||
| Students who have completed Learning Goal 4 will have satisfied this requirement. | ||
Learning Goal 2: Ethical Reasoning: Philosophy majors will understand ethical theories and use this understanding to think through moral and ethical problems in a principled and systematic way.
Courses that support Learning Goal 2:
| Required: | ||
| PHIL 2500 | Ethics * | 3 |
Learning Goal 3: History of Philosophy: By reading key texts from the rich western philosophical tradition, Philosophy majors will gain useful conceptual tools, increase their flexibility of mind, and improve their ability to view issues from multiple perspectives.
Courses that support Learning Goal 3:
| Required: at least three course from the following: | 9 | |
| Dawn of Western Thought: Ancient Philosophy | ||
| Faith and Reason: Philosophy in the Middle Ages | ||
| The Age of Reason: Philosophy in the Renaissance and Enlightenment | ||
| The Limits of Reason: Modern Philosophy | ||
Learning Goal 4: Philosophy majors will investigate conceptions of what it means to be a person and to engage in fundamental human activities.
Courses that support Learning Goal 4:
| A. Understanding Human Nature | ||
| Required: at least two courses from the following: | 6 | |
| Consciousness and Mind: Philosophical Perspectives | ||
| Death, Sex and the Body: Phenomenology and Foucault | ||
| Character, Wisdom, and Mind: Philosophical Perspectives | ||
| Nietzsche, Nihilism, and Technology * | ||
| B. Understanding Human Practices | ||
| Required: at least two courses from the following. At least one of these courses must be in "analytical philosophy": either PHIL 3350 or PHIL 3620. (Taking both of these courses will completely satisfy this requirement.) | 6 | |
| Philosophy of Religion | ||
| Political Philosophy * | ||
| How We Know: Philosophical Perspectives | ||
| Philosophy of Law | ||
| Philosophy of Language: Wittgenstein | ||
Learning Goal 5: Career Preparation: Philosophy majors will be able to relate their major to their careers and to their future goals.
| Required: | ||
| PHIL 4490 | Professional Development Seminar | 3 |
| Through thoughtful reflection and critical discernment, students synthesize their work in the major, clarifying what they have done and linking their achievements with life goals, while they also explore how deep learning outcomes in the major offer preparation for a career, graduate or professional school. | ||
Electives: in order to reach 36 hours, students can choose from courses not used above or from the following courses in Philosophy. No more than two courses in applied ethics (PHIL 1540, PHIL 1560, PHIL 1580, PHIL 2550, PHIL 2570, PHIL 3110, PHIL 3510, PHIL 3974) count toward the philosophy major:
| Justice and the Good Life: Philosophical Perspectives R | ||
| The Art of Critical Thinking and Writing WC | ||
| World Philosophies HCG | ||
| Ethics in Business | ||
| Science, Technology, and Ethics (STE) R | ||
| Ethics for Professional Life | ||
| Environmental Ethics * | ||
| Good Sex: The Ethics of Human Sexuality * | ||
| Perspectives on Death and Dying *^HCG | ||
| Individual Readings in Philosophy | ||
| Bio-Medical Ethics *^R | ||
| Ethics, Responsible AI, and Business | ||
| Studies in Philosophy | ||
| Total hours 36 | ||
- *
Courses followed by asterisk (*) count toward the Ethics minor (15-hour minor).
- ^
Courses followed by the symbol (^) also satisfy the Liberal Arts Core Capstone requirement.
- QR
Courses followed by (QR) also satisfy the UNIFI Quantitative Reasoning category.
- R
Courses followed by (R) also satisfy the UNIFI Responsibility category.
- WC
Courses followed by (WC) also satisfy the UNIFI Written Communication category.
- HCG
Courses followed by (HCG) also satisfy the UNIFI Human Condition: Global category.
Four-Year Plan
Philosophy, B.A.
This is a sample plan of study with a suggested sequencing of classes for the major. University electives may be applied to earn additional academic majors, minors, or certificates. Students should regularly meet with their academic advisor to plan their specific semester schedule to include UNIFI/General Education program and/or university elective hours required.
| Freshman | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hour | |
| PHIL 1040 | Justice and the Good Life: Philosophical Perspectives (or PHIL 1050 or PHIL 1560) | 3 |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 12 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHIL 1030 | Elementary Logic | 3 |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 12 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Sophomore | ||
| Fall | ||
| PHIL 2210 | Dawn of Western Thought: Ancient Philosophy | 3 |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 12 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHIL 2220 | Faith and Reason: Philosophy in the Middle Ages (or RELS 2220) | 3 |
| PHIL 2500 | Ethics | 3 |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 9 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Junior | ||
| Fall | ||
| PHIL 2230 | The Age of Reason: Philosophy in the Renaissance and Enlightenment | 3 |
| PHIL 4490 | Professional Development Seminar (if Even Fall) | 3 |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 9 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHIL 2240 | The Limits of Reason: Modern Philosophy | 3 |
| Any Philosophy Course | 3 | |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 9 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Senior | ||
| Fall | ||
| PHIL 4490 | Professional Development Seminar (If Even Fall) | 3 |
| Any Philosophy Course | 3 | |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 12 | |
| Hours | 18 | |
| Spring | ||
| Any Two Philosophy Course | 6 | |
| UNIFI/General Education or University Electives | 6 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
Philosophy, B.A.
Learning Goal 1: Skills: Philosophy majors will demonstrate proficiency in analyzing evaluating, writing, and constructing arguments.
- 1-A: Logical Reasoning: Philosophy majors will be able to analyze, evaluate, and construct arguments using techniques of both formal and informal logic.
- 1-B: Reading for Arguments and Assumptions: Philosophy majors will be able to read numerous complex philosophical texts and proficiently (1) identify the author's thesis, (2) reconstruct the author's argument for the thesis, (3) identify explicit and implicit assumptions in the argument, and (4) evaluate the argument by identifying its logical strengths and weaknesses.
- 1-C: Analytic Writing: Philosophy majors will be able to produce written documents with clarity and rigor.
Learning Goal 2: Ethical Reasoning: Philosophy majors will use their understanding of ethical theories to think through moral problems in a principled and systematic way.
- 2-A: Philosophy majors will be able to explain some of the major ethical theories.
- 2-B: Philosophy majors will be able to reconstruct philosophers’ arguments for their theories.
- 2-C: Philosophy majors will be able to identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of major ethical theories.
- 2-D: Philosophy majors will be able to illustrate how major ethical theories can be applied to practical issues.
Learning Goal 3: History of Philosophy: By reading key texts from the rich Western philosophical tradition, Philosophy majors will gain useful conceptual tools, increase their flexibility of mind, and improve their ability to view issues from multiple perspectives.
- 3-A: Philosophy majors will be able to explain key views of the major figures in the history of philosophy.
- 3-B: Philosophy majors will be to reconstruct philosophers’ arguments for their views.
- 3-C: Philosophy majors will be able to analyze philosophers’ arguments for their views and identify some of their strengths and weaknesses.
Learning Goal 4: Philosophy majors will investigate fundamental conceptions of what it means to be a person and to engage in essential human activities.
- 4-A: Through reading key philosophical texts, philosophy majors will be able to explain important philosophical views of what it is to be human.
- 4-B: Through reading key philosophical texts, philosophy majors will be able to explain important philosophical views of basic human practices (language, knowledge, science, religion, politics, art, etc.).
Learning Goal 5: Philosophy majors will be able to relate their major to their career and to their future goals.
- 5-A: Philosophy majors will be able to relate their major to their career and to their future goals, and demonstrate skills that are highly valued by employers.