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Philosophy

Philosophy is the attempt to make rational sense of all things. As such, it tries to discover and explain the ultimate origin, purpose, and meaning of all things, including, and especially, human existence.

Philosophers throughout the ages have considered the following sorts of questions especially worthy of serious consideration:

•  what does it mean to be human? 
•  what is truly valuable and worthwhile? 
•  how should I treat myself and others? 
•  what is the nature of reality? 
•  are there such things as objective truth, beauty, and goodness? 
•  what can I know about God’s nature and existence? 
•  is there a rational basis for my religious beliefs?

Why should I study philosophy?Philosophy
More than two thousand years ago Socrates pointed out what is still true today: the unexamined life is not worth living. In other words, since you are by nature a rational being, you have no choice but to examine your life, and the discipline that is best suited to this endeavor is philosophy.

Although many valuable insights and some partial answers to these questions are found in almost every area of study, ultimately it is the task of philosophy to make sense out of all of these disparate elements and to fit them together into the “big picture” (i.e., into a philosophy of life and a world view).

For this reason philosophy is, in fact, one of life’s most practical pursuits, because it helps you in the search for ultimate meaning in life, a pursuit that you cannot avoid if you are truly interested in living well and finding genuine happiness, both at home and in your chosen profession, vocation, or career.

What can I do with a philosophy major?
In addition to helping you in the search for life’s meaning, there are many other reasons for majoring in philosophy, particularly as you look ahead to your life after college. The philosophy major provides an excellent preparation for many careers, among them law, computer science, health care, publishing, business, education, journalism, and public administration, by helping to refine your analytical and verbal skills, so that you can:

•   think critically and deeply about life’s fundamental questions
•   express your ideas clearly and logically
•   solve problems by understanding and evaluating conflicting points of view. 

       
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The Philosophy major
The philosophy major provides excellent preparation for many careers such as:law, computer science, health care, publishing, business, education, journalism and public administration.

If you plan on teaching philosophy, the philosophy major is an excellent preparation for advanced study on the graduate level. It is not surprising that philosophy majors as a group consistently rank in the top percentiles of those taking graduate school entrance exams such as the GRE and LSAT.

Philosophy as a second major

Your other major probably considers questions about values and methodology to some extent, and philosophy can help you to explore them further. In other words, philosophy can add depth and breadth to the work that you do in your other major and, thus, will not only enrich it, but also will better prepare you for your profession in your first field, or for graduate study.

   
Faculty
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