Philosophy (B.A., B.S.)

Program Summary

Philosophy is for everyone. Philosophy is the oldest of the academic disciplines, and aims at examining fundamental principles and assumptions that underlie both other disciplines and our day-to-day lives in the hope of identifying what it means to live well. In the philosophy program, we study classical and contemporary philosophical texts, reconstruct and evaluate the arguments philosophers make, emphasizing the use of tools such as formal and informal logic, analysis, careful reading, and interpretive charity. Some of the central questions to be found in philosophy include: What is the nature of knowledge? What sorts of things exist? What is the nature of value, morality, and justice? What is the nature of a political state, and what makes it legitimate? What is a good life, and how do we ensure we are living it?

We aim to cultivate intellectual virtues and skills necessary to read difficult texts closely, communicate clearly and with precision, and to adopt reasonable positions on life’s most difficult questions, all while remaining open to new or alternative perspectives. The nature of philosophy lends itself to pairing naturally with just about any other discipline. Since the major is not particularly credit intensive (coming in at 36 credits), picking up philosophy as a first or second major is a great way to set yourself up for success!

Program Information

Six Philosophy Requirements

1. Language Emphasis Requirement:
   Each B.A. student is required to work with a philosophical text in the language that fulfills the B.A. language requirement. The B.S. majors must work in a formal language: math, logic, or a computer language. The major must coordinate with a philosophy faculty member and when necessary with a relevant language (or science) faculty member. The major will produce a three-to-five page paper that demonstrates the language ability grounded in a philosophical text. This requirement will usually function as part of the Senior Seminar.

   Emphasis I	B.S.	Analytic	Minor in Mathematics - Pure Mathematics Emphasis (Minor) , Computer Science (Minor) , or Economics (Minor)
   Emphasis II	B.A.	Ancient or Medieval	Arabic, Chinese, Greek, or Latin
   Emphasis III	B.A.	Modern or Contemporary	Arabic, Chinese, Greek, or Latin
   Emphasis IV	B.A.	Topics - Ethics, Political Philosophy, Metaphysics, or Epistemology	Any language

    
   1. Area Requirement:
      There are 24 units required to fulfill the area requirements. All philosophy majors must fulfill all areas:

      Area I	Logic	PHIL 1250  and PHIL 3200
      Area II	Ethics and Politics	PHIL 3500  and PHIL 3700
      Area III	Being and Knowledge	PHIL 3300  and PHIL 3400
      Area IV	History of Philosophy	PHIL 4110  and PHIL 4120

      
       
2. Senior Seminar Requirement:
   All philosophy majors must take PHIL 4010 - Senior Seminar . The course is open to all philosophy majors, not just seniors. Prerequisite: Successful completion of one (1) course in each area of the major. This course is offered every other year in the spring.
    
3. Elective Units:
   There are 27 credit hours required in the core for the B.A. in philosophy. The remaining nine (9) credit hours may be selected from any remaining philosophy course.
    
4. Grade Requirement:
   Only philosophy courses with letter grades count. Only courses with a grade of “C-” or better may count for the major. The overall GPA in philosophy courses must be at least 2.0.
    
5. Residence Requirement:
   Some of the requirements fulfilled elsewhere may transfer to SUU and count toward the major. Such cases require the approval of the Chair of the Department of Languages and Philosophy . The senior seminar must be completed at SUU.