Philosophy

Associate Professor Margaret Cowan, Chair, Division of Humanities

A liberal arts education is literally about the “arts of freedom.” To be truly free, requires one to question and to think for oneself. Philosophy, which literally means the “love of wisdom,” lies at the heart of a liberal arts education because it asks students to question, explore, and pursue truth wherever it may lead. In philosophy, rigor, honesty, and humility are requisite to exploring questions about reality and truth, justice and morality, life and death, language and culture, society and politics, and God and the meaning of existence. Students who major or minor in philosophy learn to think and write critically, and to read and analyze texts carefully. Such skills are excellent preparations or professions in law, politics, business, education, ministry, and medicine.

The Major in Philosophy consists of at least 46 hours in philosophy and related areas. Required courses are Philosophy 162, 211, 348, 351, 352, and Humanities 201 and 347. Three courses are chosen from Philosophy 201, 205, 206, 207; one course is chosen from Philosophy 326 or 329; and one course is selected from Political Science 306, Economics 334 and Sociology 401. An additional 3 hours are chosen from other Philosophy offerings at the 300-level. Also required are 6 hours chosen from Music 306 and Religion 326, 346, or 348.

The Minor in Philosophy consists of 15 credit hours of philosophy, including Philosophy 162.

Course Descriptions

162. Introduction to Philosophy and Logic: 3 credit hours; An introduction to some of the central questions and themes in philosophy. By acquiring basic skills and concepts in logic, students learn to pursue those questions with logical rigor and critical thinking.
201. Ancient and Medieval Philosophy: 3 credit hours; Co-requisites: Composition 120 and FRS 140; Examines the birth of self-critical reflection from the pre-Socratic philosophers through Plato, Aristotle, and Greco-Roman philosophy up through the philosophy of the high middle ages, e.g., Aquinas and Occam.
205. Early Modern Philosophy from 16th to the 18th Century: 3 credit hours; Prerequisites: Composition 120 and FRS 140; Exploration of the questions, themes, and perspectives of the early modern philosophers, ranging from the continental Rationalists (Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz) to the British Empiricists (Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley). Other early modern thinkers like Pascal or Rousseau may also be addressed.
206. Enlightenment & Late Modern Philosophy – 18th - 20th Century: 3 credit hours; Prerequisites: Composition 120 and FRS 140; Beginning with the pivotal Enlightenment critiques of Hume and Kant, this course will explore how 19th century thinkers (such as Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche) and early 20th century thinkers (such as Heidegger, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Whitehead) responded to and developed philosophy in wake of the Enlightenment.
207. Contemporary Philosophy: 3 credit hours; Prerequisites: Composition 120 and FRS 140; Exploration of some of the major philosophical movements in the 20th and early 21st centuries, such as existentialism, phenomenology, logical positivism, linguistic and analytic philosophy, and process philosophy.
211. American Philosophy: 3 credit hours; Prerequisites: Composition 120 and FRS 140; An exploration of central themes, thinkers, and schools of thought in American philosophy, ranging from New England transcendentalists (Emerson & Thoreau) to pragmatists (Piece, James, Dewey) to neo-pragmatists (Rorty) to contemporary political theorists (Rawls, Sandel).
326. Philosophy of Religion: 3 credit hours; Prerequisite: Any philosophy course or junior standing; Religious symbols and systems studied from a philosophical perspective. Among questions the course considers are the nature of religious language, approaches to religious truth, various conceptions of divinity, and whether or not humans are naturally religious.
329. Modern Critiques of Religion: 3 credit hours; Prerequisite: Any philosophy course or junior standing; An exploration of religious beliefs, attitudes and practices from the standpoint of religion’s critics, both those within and without religious traditions.
348. Comparative Philosophy: 3 credit hours; Prerequisite: Any philosophy course or junior standing; The study of competing philosophical conceptions of the world and of reality as expressions of human, cultural, and intellectual diversity. Western and non-Western philosophies will be compared and critically examined.
349. Selected Topics in Philosophy: 3 credit hours; Prerequisite: Any philosophy course or junior standing; An in-depth exploration of a philosophical topic, the course may examine a selected area of philosophy, some selected problem, or some specific thinker or school of thought in Western and/or non-Western philosophy.
351-352. Senior Study: 6 credit hours; Prerequisites: FRS 140, English Proficiency Exam, junior standing and Humanities 347; The Senior Study requirement is fulfilled with this two-course sequence. The courses involve individual study with the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Ordinarily taken in the spring term of the junior year and the fall term of the senior year.