Major & Minor Requirements

 “To do philosophy nowadays is to attend to the ways things are by attending to the concepts according to which we understand them. It is to look – closely, carefully, patiently – at how things hang together by looking at how they are presented in thought. I have used the word “thing”, which is one of the English language’s great contributions to world literature, deliberately here, because philosophy can literally be about anything and everything: there is philosophy of science, philosophy of literature, philosophy of mind, of language, of politics and indeed, of philosophy itself. That is because what makes it the case that one is doing philosophy is not the topic, the identity of the things one is thinking about (and so philosophy has no special domain), but the peculiar way in which one thinks about them. And I have used the word “attend” for this peculiar way of thinking because philosophy is not only about argument and analysis, though these are certainly its cardinal tools, but also about contemplation, the clearing of a place in thought as a way to gain both clarity and clarification.” 1

Philosophy encompasses many sub-fields.  The following is a brief description of those in which the Philosophy Department faculty regularly teach and conduct research. 

Logic

Logic is concerned to provide sound methods for distinguishing good from bad reasoning. It helps us to assess how well our premises support our conclusions, to see what we are committed to accepting when we take a view, and to avoid adopting beliefs for which we lack adequate reasons.

Ethics

Ethics is the study of moral principles and standards of human conduct that should guide how people make decisions and live their lives.  It seeks answers to questions like the following: which acts are right, and which ones are wrong?  What makes right acts right, and wrong acts wrong?  When is blame appropriate or inappropriate, and why?  What makes for a good person, or a good life - and must one be a good person to live a good life? 

Political and Legal Philosophy

These fields concern the justification—and limits—of government, ideals of individual freedom and the common good, the relationship between law and morality, the justification of punishment, and many other questions of justice. 

Metaphysics

Metaphysics concerns the nature of reality, existence, and identity.  For example, is the world composed solely of physical things, or does it also include mental, spiritual, or abstract things (such as numbers)?  What sort of changes can a thing undergo while remaining the same thing?  What exactly is causation?

Epistemology

Epistemology concerns the nature and value of knowledge, rationality and justification. What does it mean to know something?  What makes one belief better than another? Are we responsible for our beliefs? What are the limits of self-knowledge?

Philosophy of Science

Philosophy of science clarifies both the quest for scientific knowledge and the results yielded by that quest. It does this by exploring the logic of scientific evidence; the nature of scientific laws, explanations, and theories; and the possible connections among the various branches of science.

Philosophy of Mind

The philosophy of mind addresses not only the possible relations of the mental to the physical (for instance, to brain processes), but the nature of mental phenomena more generally including belief, desire, emotion, feeling, sensation, passion, will, personality, and others.

History of Philosophy

This field studies both major philosophers and entire periods in the development of philosophy such as the Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Nineteenth Century, and Twentieth Century periods. It seeks to understand important ideas and great figures in their context, as well as their importance for contemporary issues.