Area of Knowledge: Philosophy Component

Requirement

In the AOK Civilizations category, all four courses must emphasize either history or philosophy or religious studies. Two courses must be in history. Two courses must be in religious studies or philosophy.

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Rationale

The study of philosophy helps students develop their own critical, independent thought and promotes the exercising of such thinking in self-criticism, both personal and cultural.

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Goals

Students will be introduced to significant philosophical inquiries, traditions, and problems, including knowledge of (primarily, but not exclusively) Western philosophy and self-knowledge. Students will come to appreciate diverse investigations and traditions in the history of philosophical thought, to formulate issues and questions, and to critically evaluate philosophers’ arguments and their own. In this process, students should gain a deeper understanding of values and of the forces operating on the formation of values. Students will also cultivate thoughtful attitudes toward self, others, and the world.

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Learning Objectives

Students shall:

1. Comprehend the central claims, arguments, assumptions, and methods of philosophic texts.
2. Make cogent arguments for their judgments in connection with philosophic texts, and consider and reply to important (possible or actual) objections to their judgments.
3. Develop arguments by carefully formulating their claims, defining terms, considering the implications and consequences of their position(s).
4. Formulate claims, questions, and arguments in an articulate way in discussion and respond with discrimination to the claims, questions, and arguments of others.
5. Develop skills of philosophic analysis in clear and cogent papers and writing exercises.
6. Consider and apply their philosophic understanding of ideas, arguments or methodologies to other humanities fields and/or to those in the sciences or social sciences.

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Criteria

1. The texts or readings, or a substantial number of them, should be philosophic in nature. Practically, this will mean that a substantial number of them are in fact written by philosophers.
2. The thinking cultivated in such courses should be fundamentally philosophical. That is, the instructor and students will characteristically ask themselves whether something they (or the authors they read) believe is reasonable to believe, and pursue the implications and consequences of their replies in some systematic way that is attentive to conceptual analysis and the construction and critique of arguments.
3. There should be writing and discussion exercises in which students develop skills in writing philosophic essays and pursuing philosophic ideas and arguments in discussion.