Course Information
Here we provide information on course requirements, course descriptions and an Academic Rhode Map for each program, a semester-by-semester plan to help you toward graduation in four years.
Philosophy is quite unlike any other field. It is unique both in its methods and in the nature and breadth of its subject matter. It is a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for understanding, a study of principles of conduct. It seeks to establish standards of evidence, to provide rational methods of resolving conflicts and to create techniques for evaluating ideas and arguments. Philosophy develops the capacity to see the world from the perspective of other individuals and other cultures; it enhances one's ability to perceive the relationships among the various fields of study; and it deepens one's sense of the meaning and variety of human experience.
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Here we provide information on course requirements, course descriptions and an Academic Rhode Map for each program, a semester-by-semester plan to help you toward graduation in four years.
Upon completion of this program, students will have:
Philosophy involves interpretation, analysis and argumentation about reality, knowledge, ethics and other basic aspects of human experience and thought. These are very subtle subjects and working on them productively requires a careful attention to complex details that often can only be done in writing. So writing is important throughout philosophy: not just for professional presentations and publications but also for the studies and exchanges that are conducted by anyone who wants to understand philosophical subjects well.
Philosophy’s Writing in the Discipline plan designates the following courses, which are taken by all philosophy majors:
The logic course introduces and exercises formal techniques of argument evaluation that promote the skills of identifying, supporting and critiquing philosophical positions in our other courses. The other three WID courses are writing intensive, and they progressively exercise writing skills of explaining and evaluating some of the most influential philosophical positions and debates.
In PHIL 205 or PHIL 305, students learn to write with special conventions of symbolic logic, and practice formal analysis and evaluation of arguments. These promote the skills of written identification and critique of philosophical positions in our other courses.
In PHIL 351 and PHIL 356, students practice formal writing with clear analysis and evaluation of philosophical positions. They receive instruction and feedback about using good grammar and good reasoning to defend or criticize philosophical positions, and they are introduced to the responsible use of relevant scholarly resources.
In PHIL 460, students receive guidance and feedback on a substantial term paper that engages with recent scholarship and follows disciplinary conventions of philosophical publications.
Cumulatively over the course of this plan, students receive lots of instruction and feedback from their teachers on the forms and contents of their philosophical writing. They exercise their skills frequently in shorter writing assignments and have multiple opportunities for longer papers. They also engage in peer collaboration and peer review under the teachers’ supervision.
When students have satisfied philosophy’s requirements for writing in the discipline, they should understand the typical goals and forms of philosophical writing, and they should have practiced using common conventions of philosophical publications. More generally, they should have sustained practice in using clear academic prose to analyze and evaluate arguments about reality, knowledge, ethics and other basic aspects of human experience and thought.​​
Declaring a minor allows you to explore other areas of interest and make interdisciplinary connections. Minor areas at Â鶹Դ´ complement and reinforce all major areas of study. By declaring a minor, you can set yourself apart as a candidate for job, internship and volunteer opportunities.
The Department of Philosophy pursues questions in every dimension of human life. Its techniques apply to problems in any field of study or endeavor.