Philosophy Undergraduate Program

Major

What can I do with a Philosophy major?

Philosophy studies enduring issues about ourselves and our place in the world, including issues about the natural world, our knowledge of nature, the immortality of the soul and the rationality of religious belief, mind and action, freedom of the will and responsibility, moral value, political legitimacy, and just institutional design. The history of philosophy, conceived as the study of the texts and ideas of influential philosophers (e.g. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Leibniz, Kant, and Hegel), is also part of philosophy. But philosophy does not look only to the past. It also studies philosophical issues that emerge from scientific and technological changes. Moreover, philosophy is as much about method as subject matter. Philosophers develop multi-purpose analytical skills about how to read and interpret texts and how to construct and assess arguments in a clear and rigorous fashion. Many students with a primary major in philosophy pursue graduate work and, ultimately, an academic career in philosophy or go on to professional schools. In particular, many philosophy majors find that undergraduate work in philosophy is good preparation for law school. (One study showed that the mean LSAT score for philosophy majors was higher than it was for both pre-law and political science majors.) Other students combine a major (or minor) in philosophy with another primary major. We have majors who are also majoring in history, political science, psychology, cognitive science, computer science, economics, mathematics, and biology. Sometimes this can be a strategic choice to enhance a professional school application, but more often it reflects students discovering a passion for philosophy in the course of pursuing another major. - David Brink, Department Chair

Resources

Requirements

Part I: General Requirements

The B.A. in Philosophy requires a total of 15 courses.
All courses applied toward the major must be taken for a letter grade.
All courses applied toward the major must be passed with a grade of a C- or better.
A GPA of a 2.0 must be maintained for all courses applied toward the major.
Courses numbered 191-199 (Honors and Directed Studies) do not apply toward the requisite 15 courses.
Courses repeated for credit can be applied toward the major only by petition

Part II: Distribution Requirements

The major in Philosophy must satisfy the seven-course Core Requirements. These requirements are described in the General Catalog. To satisfy the Core Requirements, the major must take SEVEN courses from the tabel below. Choose ONE course from each of the Core Requirements boxes. Each course can satisfy only one requirement.

Core Requirements for Major in Philosophy

Core Requirement	Course #	Course Title
Lower-Division Logic	10	Introduction to Logic
Upper-Division Logic	120	Symbolic Logic I
Ancient Philosophy	31 100 101 102	History of Philosophy: Ancient Philosophy Plato Aristotle Hellenistic Philosophy
Modern Philosophy	32 33 104 105 106 107	History of Philosophy: The Origins of Modern Philosophy History of Philosophy: Philosophy in the Age of Enlightenment The Rationalists The Empiricists Kant Hegel
History of Philosophy	31 32 33 100 101 102 104 105 106 107 108 109	History of Philosophy: Ancient Philosophy History of Philosophy: The Origins of Modern Philosophy History of Philosophy: Philosophy in the Age of Enlightenment Plato Aristotle Hellenistic Philosophy The Rationalists The Empiricists Kant Hegel 19th Century Philosophy History of Analytic Philosophy
Moral/Political Philosophy	160 161 166 167	Ethical Theory Topics in the History of Ethics Classics in Political Philosophy Cotemporary Political Philosophy
Metaphysics/Epistemology	130 132 134 136	Metaphysics Epistemology Philosophy of Language Philosophy of Mind

In addition to the core requirements, EIGHT philosophy electives are required. Some students may wish to take a sampling of philosophy courses to complete their electives while others might want to focus their elective classes. If you wish to have a focus for your electives, please see Optional Areas of Emphasis below.

To download the Philosophy Department Major Requirements handout and worksheet, click here.

Optional Areas of Emphasis

The areas of emphasis are available as a planning tool to help students focus their elective courses on a certain area of philosophy. Students are not required to choose an area. It is suggested that four courses be completed in order to complete an area. An area of emphasis will NOT be noted on a transcript or diploma.

The optional areas of emphasis are:

1. Law, Ethics, and Society

This area targets the nature and source of our moral rights and obligations, the authority of the state and law, the basis of value and goodness. Several courses in this area target ethical issues in medicine, the environment, technological change, economic inequality, and matters concerning race, gender, class, ethnicity, and nationality. In this area, students will learn how moral and legal reasoning can reshape the political debates over abortion, the death penalty, privacy on the Internet, genetic testing, religious tolerance, free speech, affirmative action and other issues. This area is excellent preparation for law school as well as for postgraduate study and careers in public policy.

125: Games and Decisions
148: Philosophy and the Environment
152: Philosophy of Social Science
160: Ethical Theory
161: Topics in the History of Ethics
162: Contemporary Moral Issues
163: Bio-medical Ethics
164: Technology and Human Values
166: Classics in Political Philosophy
167: Contemporary Political Philosophy
168: Philosophy of Law
170: Philosophy and Race

2. Science, Technology, and Medicine

This emphasis focuses on the insights and challenges presented by science. Modern science and technologies affect our view of ourselves and of nature, introducing novel promises and problems. For instance, how do we balance technical, economic, environmental, and ethical values in making decisions concerning which technologies or drugs to develop? Modern science has also changed our understanding of nature. Quantum physics, the genetic revolution, and neuroscience (to name a few) present problems and have important implications for human life. Finally, there are questions about science itself. What are the methods of modern science? Do they vary from one science to another? Can the sciences be value free? This area will appeal especially to those students interested in pursuing careers in philosophy, science, clinical medicine, medical research, the social sciences, science journalism and public policy.

123: Philosophy of Logic
145: Philosophy of Science
146: Philosophy of Physics
147: Philosophy of Biology
148: Philosophy and the Environment
149: Philosophy of Psychology
150: Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences
151: Philosophy of Neuroscience
152: Philosophy of Social Science
153: Philosophy of History
163: Biomedical Ethics
164: Technology and Human Value

3. Mind, Brain, and Cognitive Sciences

Traditional Epistemology (the theory of how and what we know) and Philosophy of Mind (the theory of that-which-perceives-and-thinks) have recently been joined by several scientific disciplines in a collective search for illuminating theories. Psychology, Cognitive Neurobiology, Computer Science, and Sociology have all made explosive contributions to a tradition as old as Plato and Aristotle. For example, our growing understanding of the biological brain has given new life to our traditional attempts to understand the nature of the Mind. New accounts of the various mechanisms of cognition - both at the cellular and the social levels - have provided entirely new perspectives on the nature of consciousness, the self, knowledge and free will, and on the nature of science itself. This area is excellent preparation for careers in cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, science journalism and philosophy.

132: Epistemology
134: Philosophy of Language
136: Philosophy of Mind
145: Philosophy of Science
147: Philosophy of Biology
149: Philosophy of Psychology
150: Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences
151: Philosophy of Neuroscience
180: Phenomenology

4. Historical Perspectives on Philosophy, Science, and Religion

Throughout its history, philosophy has developed in a complex relationship with the natural sciences and religion. Philosophical ideas have both contributed to and challenged our understanding of nature and God, and developments in the sciences and religion have posed new challenges for philosophical thinking. The Historical Perspectives emphasis focuses on the fertile interplay between philosophy, science, and religion in several key periods: ancient Greece, the Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment Europe. The aim is not simply to document the history of philosophical ideas, but to use this history as a way of better understanding contemporary debates about the basic questions of human life. This area prepares students for post-graduate work in philosophy, and for any career that requires breadth of knowledge, intellectual flexibility, as well as communicative and analytical skills.

100: Plato
101: Aristotle
102: Hellenistic Philosophy
104: The Rationalists
105: The Empiricists
106: Kant
107: Hegel
108: Nineteenth Century Philosophy
109: History of Analytic Philosophy
161: Topics in the History of Ethics
166: Classics in Political Philosophy
180: Phenomenology
181: Existentialism
183: Topics in Continental Philosophy

Please note: The optional areas of emphasis do not carry a transcript or diploma notation.

Declare a Philosophy Major

Please use the online major/minor tool to declare a philosophy major.
University Requirements

Double Major

Double major petitions are available in your college academic advising office. University Requirements

Honors Program

The Philosophy Department offers an honors program for outstanding students in the major. Majors who have a 3.7 GPA in philosophy and 3.25 overall GPA at the end of their junior year and who have taken at least four upper-division courses are eligible to apply. Interested students must consult with a faculty sponsor by the last day of classes during the spring term of their junior year. Admission to the honors program requires nomination by a faculty sponsor and the approval of the undergraduate faculty advisor. In addition to the usual major requirements, an honors student is required to complete a senior honors thesis by the end of winter quarter. During the fall and winter quarters, the student will be registered for PHIL 191A and PHIL 191B and will be supervised and evaluated by the student's faculty sponsor. A departmental committee will read and assess the completed thesis and determine if philosophy honors are to be awarded. Honors students are expected to maintain an average of 3.7 or better for all work taken in the program. Qualified students wishing to participate according to a different timetable than the one described above can discuss this with their faculty sponsor and the undergraduate advisor. Honors nomination forms are available in the philosophy department.

Education Abroad Program

EAP is a university-wide program. Philosophy majors and minors are encouraged to study abroad. Many courses have been accepted for major requirements upon return, but all must be petitioned. Please visit the Programs Abroad Office's page on Study Abroad in Philosophy for more information.