Philosophy
Kevin S. Decker, Program Director
program web page
Faculty
Kevin S. Decker, Christopher C. Kirby, Terrance MacMullan, Mimi Marinucci, David Weise.
Degrees
Minor–Philosophy
Certificate–Applied Ethics and Practical Philosophy
Required courses in these programs of study may have prerequisites. Reference the course description section for clarification.
Undergraduate Program
The Philosophy Program offers general interest courses that deal with our philosophical heritage and contemporary thought and a minor in philosophy that encompasses some principal concerns of the discipline. It also offers a BA in Philosophy that combines intermediate and advanced classes in logic and the history of philosophy with selected offerings from cooperating programs.
The skills learned in philosophy are useful in all academic areas. Immanuel Kant noted that philosophy teaches us to think for ourselves, so that we do not passively receive what we are told. It also encourages us to put ourselves imaginatively in the place of everyone else, so that we occupy the standpoint of universal humanity. Above all, it enjoins us to think consistently. Study of philosophy contributes to a broad, liberal arts education valuable for its own sake as well as a preparation for a career in some related professional, social or humanistic discipline. As an American Philosophical Association pamphlet notes, employees in the business community “want and reward many of the capacities which the study of philosophy develops: for instance, the ability to solve problems, to communicate, to organize ideas and issues, to assess pros and cons and to boil down complex data. These capacities represent transferable skills.’’ Logical skills are especially beneficial in conceptual professions like accounting and law.