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I. OVERVIEW
A. Purpose and goals of our
undergraduate program
Philosophical
reflection on fundamental questions of reality, knowledge, and value is
an essential element of human culture and a liberal education. The Department
of Philosophy is committed to advancing and transmitting an understanding
of these questions and the history of struggles to answer them, and to
developing analytical and critical resources for engaging these questions
as they arise in individual and common experience. At the undergraduate
level this commitment finds expression in a broad spectrum of courses
taught by a distinguished, internationally recognized, faculty. From this
rich offering students may either choose electives or satisfy certain
General College distribution requirements as well as the Philosophical
Perspective. These same courses also contribute to a wide variety of interdisciplinary
programs and curricula in the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition,
the department offers a substantial major in philosophy which serves as
an excellent foundation for more specialized training in philosophy or
other graduate and professional disciplines, such as law, medicine, business
and management. Philosophy may also be usefully taken as a minor or, as
is frequently done, as part of a double major.
II. THE CURRICULA
Educational goals and skills
acquisition
1. Areas of content knowledge students are expected to master
Because
the fundamental aim of instruction in philosophy at the introductory level
is to encourage reflective and critical habits of mind, the specific content
of introductory courses is less important than the invitations it provides
to participate in an enterprise that aims to develop enhanced skill in
writing, analysis, and critical argument. Hence, the Department offers
a relatively wide range of points of entry into the field, including general
surveys of some main problems, historical introductions to major philosophical
figures, and a variety of topical courses that focus on specific problems
(such as the moral problems of modern medicine).
The Department also has content-related goals for its majors. They are
expected to acquire some knowledge of the significant historical figures
in philosophy, such as Plato and Aristotle to Descartes, Hume, and Kant.
A course in logic is recommended, since it provides the tools by which
complex arguments may be made more accessible to critical understanding
and evaluation. Beyond these specific requirements, we expect majors to
choose from among a wide range of topical and historical courses in which
they can get a broad understanding of the philosophical enterprise and
focus in greater depth on a few of its problems. These courses provide
students with a basic understanding of aspects of the current state of
the discipline, a grasp of representative philosophical issues and ways
of dealing with them, a capacity to apply philosophical methods to intellectual
problems, and a sense of how philosophy bears on other disciplines and
on human life more generally.
2. Thinking, expression, and research skills students are expected
to acquire
Study
of philosophy emphasizes effective and critical reading, writing, and
speaking. It cultivates students’ abilities to recognize problems
and grasp arguments; to read texts critically; to engage in discussion;
and to write papers involving interpretation, argument, and library research.
These skills can be developed in courses organized historically, by problems,
or by field. They are developed through contact with original sources;
opportunities for discussion as well as lectures; and extensive experience
in writing. Most philosophy courses require a substantial number of papers
as well as examinations. Equally important for adequate instruction is
the opportunity for open discussion with peers as well as faculty instructors.
Philosophy is, by its nature, a dialogical enterprise, which can be learned
only through active participation in the practice. The formal methods
used to examine various types of reasoning are part and parcel of it.
After completing the philosophy major, students should have developed
skills in formulating questions, reading texts, constructing and evaluating
arguments, and discussing ideas. They should have a reasonably extensive
knowledge of at least some important philosophical figures, fields, and
problems; and they should have engaged in some self-conscious reflection
on inquiry itself, its methods, and its role in human life and in society.
3. The Major in Philosophy
A
major in philosophy requires nine philosophy courses, one course in each
of three of the following four areas:
A.
History of philosophy:
Courses
numbered: 110, 110H, 112, 210, 213, 215, 220, 224, 228, 229, 411, 412,
421, 422, 423, 427, 428
B.
Metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language:
Courses
numbered: 134, 134H, 145, 146H, 230, 230H, 335, 345, 330, 340, 445,
432, 433, 440
C. Logic and philosophy of science:
Courses
numbered: 155, 155H, 157, 150, 150H, 154, 357, 356, 353, 455, 459, 454,
450, 453, 456, 451, 452, 457
D.
Value theory:
Courses
numbered: 160, 160E, 160H, 163, 163H, 185, 165, 165H, 170, 170H, 164,
280, 272, 275, 275H, 266, 266H, 274, 273, 364, 368, 360, 362, 370, 460,
485, 471, 470, 462, 480, 463, 476, 482, 475, 468
No
more than three (3) of the 9 courses may be at level 199 or below.
4, The Minor in Philosophy
A
minor in philosophy requires five courses - at least one course in each
of three (3) of the four areas listed above: (a) History of Philosophy,
(b) Metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language,
(c) Philosophy of Science and Logic, and (d) Value Theory. No more than
three (3) may be from courses numbered 199 and below.
PHIL
155 is recommended for all students who major or minor in philosophy.
5, Advising
The
Director of Undergraduate Studies is the official advisor for all philosophy
majors, although most of them also seek advice in various ways from other
faculty members and graduate students. Students whose primary major is
in philosophy are encouraged to stop by to get advice about the upcoming
semester, to talk about matters germane to their major and to their academic
situation generally, and just to talk. They are welcome to stop by for
such talk and advice anytime. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is
Professor John Roberts. He has an office
in Caldwell Hall and can be reached either by email (by clicking on his
name) or by phone at 962-7291.
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