BA in Philosophy
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates tells a story about the navigator on a ship who is thrown overboard by the sailors who want control of the ship. The sailors, who are concerned only with steering the ship, see the navigator as a useless stargazer—worries about where the ship is headed are not important to them… or so they think. Unfortunately, many students go through college without ever asking where their studies are taking them. But it is one thing to make a living, and another to have a life worth living.
The study of philosophy sharpens critical and analytical skills which allows students to perform better in all of their studies. But more importantly, philosophy gives students the means to understand, direct, and guide their studies. To decide the right thing to do, to wonder if a law is just, to critique an article in the newspaper, to ask what you can do to help others or yourself is… to practice philosophy.
Degree Requirements (30 Hours Required)
Foundation: 2 courses, 6 hours required
1310 Introduction to Philosophy (Required)
1330 Critical Thinking OR 2350 Logic
History: 2 courses, 6 hours required
3320 Modern Philosophy
3321 19th and 20th Century Philosophy
3345 Ancient Greek Philosophy
4385 Seminar in History of Philosophy
Moral and Political: 1 course, 3 hours required
3335 Medical Ethics
3341 Contemporary Ethical Theory
3347 Philosophy of Law
4350 Classical Political Theory
4360 Modern Political Theory
4386 Seminar in Social/Political
4387 Seminar in Moral Philosophy
Mind, Knowledge, and Culture: 1 course, 3 hours required
3310 Theories of Knowledge
3312 Science and Culture
3350 Eastern Thought
3360 Philosophy of Religion
4388 Seminar in M & E
Electives: 4 courses, 12 hours (6 hours of which must be upper-level), from any unused course above and:
2320 Ethics and Society
3315 Philosophy and Narrative
3370 Existentialism
3372 Philosophy and the Arts
4333 Feminist Theory
4380 Topics in Philosophy
4390 Independent Study
Why Study Philosophy?
>There is an old joke that the one question a philosophy major asks after graduation is, “Do you want fries with that?” The truth is that no degree will guarantee you a job, much less a life worth living. Moreover, the chance to learn to think well and investigate the most important and interesting questions in life is itself a reward—not merely a means by which to do something. Nevertheless, a philosophy degree is typically a stepping stone to further training, not an admission ticket to a job—and you should be aware of that before making philosophy your major. There are, however, some ‘practical’ benefits to studying philosophy as well.
Philosophy plays a central role in shaping our lives. We often think that to understand our world we must study the facts: environmental influences, government policies, resource allocations, and so on. Yet facts alone have never influenced anyone. We care about facts only if they mean something to us. No one cares whether the White House lawn has an odd or even number of blades of grass. In this sense, concepts are much more powerful than facts. Since what we know depends on the facts we gather, and since the facts we gather depend on the concepts we have, if we are to act on what we know (or believe we know), our concepts will determine how we act. Hence, the philosophical ideas we hold–our concepts of security, success, beauty, love, social responsibility, and so on–will direct and change our lives and the lives of those we influence.For example, although fields such as medicine and engineering seem much more effective in changing lives (and they certainly are important fields), the men who die in war do not die because of medicine or engineering; they die because of ideas in the minds of those who control armies. There is nothing more powerful in the world than an idea, it’s just that most people don’t see it. According to Jean Paul Sartre, a philosopher (the rational person) is one who is willing to tolerate doubt and complexity for the sake of truth:
The rational man seeks the truth gropingly, he knows that his reasoning is only probable, that other considerations will arise to make it doubtful; he never knows too well where he’s going, he is “open,” he may even appear hesitant. But there are people who are attracted to the durability of stone. They want to be massive and impenetrable, they do not want to change: where would change lead them? This is an original fear of oneself and a fear of truth. And what frightens them is not the content of truth which they do not even suspect, but the very form of the true–that thing of indefinite approximation. It is as if their very existence were perpetually in suspension. They want to exist all at once and right away. They do not want acquired opinions, they want them innate; since they are afraid of reasoning, they want to adopt a mode of life in which . . . one never seeks but that which one has already found, in which one never becomes other than what one already was. (”Portrait of an Anti-Semite”)
Philosophy is the only major that is focused primarily on thinking skills, and hence, is valuable in a quickly changing job market. Employers repeatedly state that it is far easier to teach employees the content of the field than to teach them skills of thinking critically, presenting clear arguments, identifying essential points, and problem solving. A philosophy major is one of the best ways to develop these skills.
How Can I Use a Degree in Philosophy?
Most people think of philosophers as university professors (and many are), but here are some famous philosophers who have excelled in other areas:
Steve Allen (writer & comedian)
Woody Allen (director & comedian)
Max Baer Jr. (actor: Jethro on “The Beverly Hillbillies.”)
William Bennett (former Drug czar & NEH leader, BOOK OF VIRTUES)
William Jefferson Clinton (Former President)
Mary Higgins Clark (mystery writer)
Philip K. Dick (science fiction writer)
David Duchovny (actor on X-FILES)
Umberto Eco (novelist)
John Elway (quarterback, Denver Broncos)
Ivan Frolov (editor of PRAVDA)
Rebecca Goldstein (novelist & MacArthur prize recipient)
Don Harron (Canadian comedian, author of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES libretto)
Harrison Ford (actor)
Christy Haubegger (editor of LATINA)
Vaclav Havel (former President of Czeckoslovakia)
Peter Hoeg (author of SMILLA’S SENSE OF SNOW)
Mark Hulbert (financial columnist for FORBES magazine)
Carl Icahn (business person & corporate raider, bought TWA)
Bruce Lee (martial arts & actor)
Michael Lerner (editor of TIKKUN)
Peter Lynch (director)
Steve Martin (comedian & actor)
Kate Millett (author of SEXUAL POLITICS)
Tom Morris (corporate motivational speaker)
Bob Moses (civil rights activist)
Robert Motherwell (painter)
Iris Murdoch (novelist)
Lachlan Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch, media magnate)
Robert Musil (Austrian novelist)
Freeman Patterson (photographer, author of THE ART OF SEEING)
Neil Peart (drummer for rock group, RUSH)
Chaim Potok (novelist)
Pope John Paul II (vicar of Christ)
Joan Rivers (comedian)
Patricia Rozema (film-maker, I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING)
Mick Schmidt (former Philadelphia Philly)
Gene Siskel (movie reviewer, SISKEL & EBERT AT THE MOVIES)
John Silber (former president of Boston University)
Susan Sontag (essayist)
George Soros (money manager, Soros Foundation)
Dave Thomas (SCTV)
Alex Trebeck (JEOPARDY)
David Foster Wallace (novelist & MacArthur prize recipient)
Robert Weaver (doyen of Canadian literature, head of CBC’s ANTHOLOGY)
Moses Znaimer, (Owner of CITY-TV and MUCH-MUSIC, Toronto)
Philosophy majors consistently score higher on LSAT, GRE, and GMAT scores than other majors. Anyone considering entering law school, seminary, medicine, journalism, or pursuing other graduate degrees should call those institutions and ask them about the value of a philosophy degree.