Philosophy/Religious Studies
The mission of the philosophy program is to facilitate students’ development into persons with open, flexible, creative and critical minds, primarily through the development of their skills of interpreting and critically evaluating ideas, beliefs, values and conceptions of the world.
Philosophy students will gain philosophical knowledge about philosophical terms, figures, ideas and arguments. Students will learn to formulate their own ideas about these concepts and express these ideas in writing and in discussion with classmates and professors. Philosophy students will also learn to identify and analyze philosophical arguments.
Study in philosophy will benefit students with diverse areas of interest. Students learn a variety of portable skills that studies have shown are valued by employers of all types.
Program Competencies
Students will develop:
- An understanding of the significance of basic assumptions and presuppositions and skill at identifying and evaluating them.
- An understanding of the major ideas of prominent philosophers — Eastern and Western, past and present — in the areas of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics.
- The ability and disposition to think critically and to understand, evaluate and construct arguments in the context of cultural diversity.
- An understanding and appreciation of diverse values and perspectives on life and the competence to begin to construct one's own life philosophy.