Majors and Concentrations

In the 2021-2022 academic year, the Philosophy Department will phase in a new set of requirements for the regular major and the integrative major (formerly known as the contract major). The new requirements for the Philosophy major will apply to all students who enter the college in Fall 2021 and after. Students who came to the college prior to the fall of 2021 or who declared the philosophy major prior to the fall of 2021 have the option of continuing with the old requirements for the Philosophy major and staying with the old general education curriculum. Students who wish to change to the new set of requirements for the Philosophy major will require changing to the new OLE Core general education curriculum for your general education requirements. The Department recommends that students consult their advisors and/or the Department Chair before making this decision.

The “old” regular major requires nine courses in philosophy, with two required courses in the history of Western philosophy and one required course in formal logic. Phil 235 Ancient Greek Philosophy covers 6th century BCE – 3rd century CE (Presocratics through Plotinus) and Phil 236 Modern Philosophy covers 17th–18th CE (Descartes through Kant). The “old” contract major requires 7 courses in philosophy, which must include Phil 235, Phil 236, and Phil 240 Formal Logic or a non-credit bearing logic project; 3 level II or level III courses in another department or program that complements the courses in philosophy; and a rationale that states why these three courses should count towards a philosophy major.

Beginning in Fall 2021 we are replacing the old regular major with the new regular major:

Regular major
-9 courses total, 8 requirements
-Phil 240 Formal Logic
-3 level III seminars
-4 level II distribution requirements (one in each category)

I. Metaphysics & Epistemology
PHIL 241: Philosophical Theology
PHIL 244: Philosophy of Science
PHIL 246: Space and Time
PHIL 231: Philosophy of Mind

II. Value Theory
PHIL 243: Aesthetics
PHIL 250: Biomedical Ethics
PHIL 251: Science, Ethics, and Religion
PHIL 252: Ethics and the Good Life
PHIL 253: Democracy: Rule of the Ignorant?
PHIL 254: Law, Politics, and Morality
PHIL 256: Friendship, Love, and the Good Life
PHIL 257: Environmental Ethics
PHIL 258: Ethics, Economics, and the Marketplace
PHIL 259: Global Health Ethics
PHIL 260: Kant’s Moral Theory in Literature and Film
PHIL 278: Moral Theory

III. History of Western Philosophy
PHIL 235: Ancient Greek Philosophy
PHIL 236: History of Modern Philosophy

IV. Expanding Perspectives (satisfied by level II or level III)
PHIL 245: Philosophy and Feminism
PHIL 249: Asian Philosophy
PHIL 255: Race and Social Justice
PHIL 371, 372, 372, 374, or 375 (if devoted to a topic that satisfies category IV)

And we are replacing the old contract major with the new integrative major:

Integrative major
7 Philosophy courses
– must include Phil 235 Ancient Greek Philosophy or Phil 236 History of Modern Philosophy
– must include two level III seminars
3 courses from another department or program:
– courses must be at level II or level III
Rationale

Additionally, the Philosophy Department has created several tracks to provide students with models of different approaches to designing an integrative major. Click here for more information on these tracks.

Integrative Major

7 Philosophy courses
– must include Phil 235 Ancient Greek Philosophy or Phil 236 History of Modern Philosophy
– must include two level III seminars
3 courses from another department or program:
– courses must be at level II or level III
Rationale

Additionally, the Philosophy Department has created several tracks to provide students with models of different approaches to designing an integrative major. Click here for more information on these tracks.

Departmental Distinction is awarded to graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence in our discipline. This is the highest honor the Department can award. The Department awards Distinction according to the criteria below.

Criteria for Departmental Distinction in Philosophy

The two primary criteria for awarding Distinction are (i) the candidate’s GPA in philosophy and (ii) the quality of the candidate’s philosophical writing as shown by a portfolio of papers submitted for Distinction. Excellence in philosophical writing is characterized by:

clarity in the statement of a position,
care in the analysis of an issue,
cogency of argument,
overall coherence in statement and argument,
the range of considerations brought to bear on the issue,
the imagination, creativity, and style with which all of this is done, and
the display of intellectual virtues, such as humility regarding what one knows and respect of those with whom one disagrees

While quality of philosophical writing is the primary criteria, participation in, or leadership of, extra-curricular philosophy events such as Phil Forum or Phi Sigma Tau may also figure in the Department’s evaluation as secondary considerations.

Procedure for Applying

The application for distinction in philosophy shall consist of a portfolio of philosophy papers that are of superior philosophical quality. The portfolio will normally consist of two or three papers that students have written for their courses. Students are encouraged to revise their papers in accordance with the instructor’s comments and with the student’s further reflection. A paper used in a Distinction portfolio may also be submitted for the Ringstad Prize (but it will need to be submitted separately).

Portfolio papers will be evaluated by the Chair and at least one other member of the Department. They will present their evaluation to the Department as a basis for its vote. The Chair will invite all seniors with a GPA in philosophy of 3.5 or higher to apply for Distinction. Seniors with a GPA in philosophy lower than a 3.5 will not ordinarily be considered for Distinction unless there are exceptional circumstances; such students should discuss their circumstances with the Chair before the deadline. The entire sequence of Great Conversation, Science Conversation, or Public Affairs Conversation can count towards one elective of the major. So, for students who are counting one of these programs towards their philosophy major the Department will consider their GPA in their entire sequence of the program as their GPA for the elective course.

Distinction portfolios will be due in late spring. In mid spring the Department Chair will send out an email with instructions on where, how, and what to submit.

The aim of the Philosophy Department is to engage students in disciplined and imaginative thinking about philosophical issues. Philosophical questions fall primarily into four groups: questions about the nature of reality (metaphysics), about reasoning and inference (logic), about knowledge (epistemology), and about values and society, including moral values (ethics) and aesthetic values. These questions, which arise naturally in the course of a liberal education, are not only fascinating in their own right, they also touch on issues central to understanding and improving human life in our own society and in the world. Because they involve complex and controversial issues, there are no easy answers. Yet it matters greatly which answers are accepted, and it is therefore important to engage in discussion with others who face these questions and to seek to learn from the philosophers of the past and present.

Engaging in philosophy develops skills in careful and fair-minded interpretation, creative but rigorous argumentation, and perceptive, wise evaluation of complex issues. These valuable abilities are applicable to any subject matter and in any human context and are useful for negotiating the ambiguities of today’s career paths.

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