Philosophy

Philosophy has long concerned itself with fundamental questions regarding existence, value, and truth—What is real? Why are we here? What is the nature of our moral obligations? To that end, our curriculum will use the history of philosophy to ground you in its major disciplines, including ethics and metaphysics, and will include an especial focus on Greek philosophy, the early modern and modern period, and 20th century continental philosophy. You will be introduced to the fundamental methods of philosophical inquiry with a historical overview of Western philosophy, from ancient to contemporary philosophical thought, which will allow you to develop your own philosophical interests within a broad range of topic-oriented courses across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

The educational goals for this major are as follows:

• Philosophical Analysis: you will identify, comprehend and differentiate philosophical concepts, definitions, theses, and arguments paying attention to their discursive organization via slow and careful reading.
• Reflective Orientation: you will use conceptual analysis to articulate a problem or question that arises within an academic discipline or a social practice.
• Historical Contextualization: you will sketch the historical context of a philosophy and position it accurately within the history of philosophy.
• Interdisciplinary Imagination: you will gain the capacity to build bridges between philosophy and other academic disciplines, and to bring philosophy to bear on extra-philosophical objects.
• Written Arguments: you will write a structured and persuasive analytic argument that develops an enquiry in the genre of an academic essay.
• Lucid Speech: you will gain the capacity to clearly articulate and defend a philosophical position orally whilst maintaining correct syntax and an appropriate lexicon Analysis.

Your core classes will cover the history of philosophy and philosophical logic, while also reinforcing your ability to articulate philosophy’s different disciplines. As you choose courses that focus on your philosophical disciplines of interest, including epistemology and aesthetics, and progress in your studies, our interdisciplinary curriculum will encourage you to take a comparative look at philosophy with another discipline or practice, like cinema or political economy. 

With every single one of our majors, you’ll find a carefully curated medley of core courses and electives, which will provide you with the tools you need to establish an unshakeable foundation in the principles and concepts fundamental to your growth within your disciplines of choice. Many majors also enable you to specialize further within the broader area of study.

BROWSE ALL MAJORS AND REQUIREMENTS

We aim to help you develop a range of skills, capacities, and modes of inquiry that will be crucial for your future since employers and graduate schools are looking for the critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills that are associated with a liberal arts education, including sophisticated writing abilities, willingness to pose difficult questions, and an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts surrounding a topic or decision.