Mar 29, 2024  
2016 Undergraduate Catalog 1.2 (SUMMER - FALL) 
    
2016 Undergraduate Catalog 1.2 (SUMMER - FALL) [ARCHIVED CATALOG - Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Philosophy (B.A.)


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(Bachelor of Arts Degree)

The study of philosophy has been fundamental to the education of people in all great civilizations. The major offers a thorough grounding in the history of philosophy, ethics, logic and critical thinking. An examination of the nature and historical development of the most fundamental ideas of Western philosophy is included, as is the systematic study of major theories of ethics and logical and epistemological principles. The objective is to foster the abilities students require to understand and evaluate the competing claims of different value systems and alternative world views.

Total credit hours required for degree: 120

Learning Objectives

Students should know:

  • The fields into which philosophy is divided and the major issues within each field
  • The basic tenets of major figures in ancient, modern and contemporary philosophy
  • The basic tenets of historically significant moral theories

Students should be able to demonstrate:

  • An ability to interpret philosophical texts written in the analytic tradition
  • An ability to interpret philosophical arguments
  • An ability to interpret explanations, including moral and causal explanations
  • An ability to avoid fallacies, confirmation bias, and the uncritical acceptance of ideas, including one’s own ideas

Students should be able to apply:

  • Metaphysical concepts, such as logical possibility and truth, and epistemological concepts, such as epistemic justification and evidence, to philosophical issues
  • Important moral concepts, such as moral justification and consent, to philosophical issues
  • Moral theories to ethical issues

Students should be able to evaluate:

  • An argument by assessing the truth of the premises and the support they provide for the conclusion
  • Explanations, including moral and causal explanations

Academic Requirements


See Core  section of this catalog.

Core: 34 - 55 Credit Hours


Major Course Requirements


Major-Related Course Requirements


One of the following: 3 Credit Hours


(to be determined in consultation with advisor)

  • One 200-level or higher course in history
  • One 200-level or higher course in quantitative reasoning

Honors Requirement


(optional, by invitation only)

45 or 48 Credit Hours


Electives


The student must complete sufficient elective course to earn at least the minimum credit hours required for the degree, and at least 90 of the 120 required credit hours must be in the liberal arts and sciences.

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