Philosophy
Majors & Minors
Through our courses, students develop the empathy to understand diverse religious and philosophical traditions, the clarity to write about complex ideas with precision, and the critical thinking skills to examine the historical institutions, doctrines, and practices that shape human life.
The curriculum is very flexible, and is often pursued in conjunction with other majors and minors. We also participate in the 3 + 1 + 1 master's degree program with the University of Glasgow.
Sample Courses
From Machiavelli’s leadership egoism to Enron’s accounting scandal, this course examines the moral questions of the business world. In particular, the course emphasizes the development and application of critical thinking skills (e.g., fallacies, informal arguments, validity) for moral evaluation. Satisfies the logical reasoning foundation requirement.
Should AI decide who gets hired, approved for a loan, or trusted to tell the truth? This course examines urgent questions about bias, privacy, creativity, responsibility, and human freedom. Students will learn how AI works while exploring who benefits, who is harmed, and who should be held accountable. Through controversial case studies and lively debates, students will learn to challenge AI rather than simply accept it. Counts toward the Investigating the Natural World requirement.
Environmental concerns have become extremely important. Underlying the contemporary discussion of environmental responsibility are some basic religious questions: What is the place of human beings in the natural world? Are there limits to the responsibility that humans have toward other species? Answers to these questions are informed by answers to more obvious religious questions: What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose, if any, in the cosmos? These questions will be explored by looking at religious traditions, both ancient and contemporary, east and west. Finally, the course will explore a rising concept, ecological spirituality.
Hiking the Appalachian Trail can be understood as a kind of modern spiritual journey. This course is an experiential exploration of the Appalachian Trail, comparing and contrasting the experience of walking through the wilderness with traditional pilgrimages, and learning about others’ experience and reasons for hiking the trail. Class members will learn through reading, journal writing, interpersonal communication and hiking how pilgrim backpackers experience communitas in relation to both persons and their environment.