Philosophy (B.A.)

Student Learning Outcomes for Philosophy:

Students will be able to:

• Formulate cogent arguments and skillfully critique the arguments of others.

• Articulate a logically and psychologically consistent worldview, to include normative, metaphysical and epistemological elements.

• Articulate what makes life meaningful for them.

• Exhibit the capacity for critical analysis through forceful, logical argumentation in clear and consistent forms of oral and written expression. This includes both inductive and deductive reasoning.

• Exhibit a comprehensive familiarity with the main historical answers to the central problems of Western philosophy.

• Demonstrate, per our three tracks, the key applications of philosophy to a particular first-order field of study or career choice to include: applied ethics, other humanities such as English and the sciences. This illustrates our stress on interdisciplinary study.

• Demonstrate the ability to harmonize divergent points of view.

Students who major in philosophy follow one of three possible tracks: Philosophy of Science, Professional Ethics or Humanities. Each track combines six Department-based courses, three courses from outside the Department, and an interdisciplinary Senior Thesis.

For all the Philosophy major tracks, students must inform Registration and Records of which discipline they are using for the sequential course requirement. The first 100-level, the first 200-level, and the first 300-level courses completed in the selected discipline will be used to fulfill the sequential requirement.