Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

Philosophy attempts to bring clarity and unity to our beliefs. It does not tell us what to believe. But it does help us to clarify our beliefs and organize them into a coherent view of the world so that we may act in an intelligent manner.

The Department of Philosophy has three major objectives:

• Develop skills in thinking and writing clearly about arguments and ideas;
• Improve skills at assessing the justification of various beliefs and values;
• Understanding diverse philosophical views of the present and past, both globally and locally.

A graduate from Thiel College with a major in philosophy will be able to understand and articulate:

• Major arguments in the history of philosophy, from both ancient and modern sources;
• Major theories in ethical reasoning;
• Major metaphysical and epistemological theories;
• Philosophical worldviews from diverse cultures and traditions;
• Philosophical positions from varied works in the humanities and social sciences;
• The application of logical argumentation needed to develop a coherent worldview;
• Effective communication in written and oral forms in the discipline.

Major Requirements

In order to major in philosophy, a student must complete at least 30 credit hours in philosophy (ten courses total):

Six Required Courses:

1. PHIL 127 Introduction to Philosophy
2. PHIL 137 Critical Thinking
3. 3. PHIL 147 History of Philosophy: Socrates to Aquinas OR PHIL 157 History of Philosophy: Descartes to Sartre
4. 4. PHIL 227 Introduction to Chinese Philosophy OR PHIL 250 World Philosophy
5. 5. PHIL 267 Ethics
6. 6. One Applied Ethics Course: PHIL 277, 297, or 387 Business Ethics, Environmental Ethics, or Medical Ethics

Two Elective Philosophy Courses at the 200 level or higher

Plus, Two Cross-disciplinary Courses:

1) One Philosophically related Humanities Course from the following list:

• Religion: REL 140 (History of Christianity), 210 (Religion and the Sciences), 230 (Philosophy and Religion), 250 (Psychology of Religion), 275 (Krishna to Hindutva: Intro to Hinduism);
• English: ENG 290 (Literature of World Mythology), 317 (Linguistics), 347 (Literary Theory and Criticism), 385 (Women in Literature);
• History: HIST 241 (European Women’s History), 260 (East Asian History), 331 (19th Century Europe), 332 (20th Century Europe), 370 (Latin America: Culture, Conquest, Colonization), 371 (Latin America: Reform and Revolution), 450 (Gender and Sexuality in 19th Century Europe)

2) One Philosophically related Social Science Course from the following list:

• Communications: COMM 345 (Communication Ethics);
• Political Science: POSC 230 (Globalization), 236 (Public Policy), 300 (Intro to Legal Studies), 388 (The Death Penalty), 405 (Terrorism);
• Psychology and Neuroscience: PSY 203 (Positive Psych) PSY 223 (Social Psych), 342 (Cognitive Psych), 352 (S & P), 435 (Hist. & Phil. of Psych); NSCI 101 (Brain and Behavior)
• Sociology: SOC 211 (Anthropology), 251 (Minorities), 321 (Deviance), 342 (Sociological Theory), 351 (Social Stratification), 421 (Gender and Society);

Philosophy majors are top scorers on graduate entrance exams such as the LSAT and GRE and many philosophy majors apply their skill-sets to careers that demand a high degree of competence in analytic problem-solving. Thiel College philosophy graduates are currently employed in the various fields:

• College Professors
• Lawyers
• Clergy
• Business Owners
• Accountants
• Elementary School Teachers