Declaring Your Major or Minor

Download the Declaration Form (PDF)

The Major and Minor

The philosophy program is divided into five basic fields: logic, ethics, metaphysics, epistemology and the history of philosophy.

Logic is the practice of using sound methods to distinguish good from bad reasoning. It helps us assess how well our premises support our conclusions, see what we are committed to accepting when we take a view, and avoid adopting beliefs for which we lack adequate reasons. Logic also helps us find arguments where we might otherwise only see a set of loosely related statements, discover assumptions we did not know we held, and formulate the minimum claims we need to establish if we are to prove our point.

Ethics addresses the meanings of our moral concepts—such as right action, obligation, and justice—and formulates principles to guide moral decisions, whether in private or public life. What are our moral obligations to others? How can moral disagreements be settled rationally? What rights must a just society accord its citizens? What constitutes a valid excuse for wrongdoing?

Metaphysics seeks basic criteria for determining what sorts of things are real. For instance, are there mental, physical, and abstract things (such as numbers), or is there just the physical and the spiritual, or merely matter and energy? Are people physical beings through and through or do they have properties that cannot be reduced to anything physical?

Epistemology concerns the nature and scope of knowledge. What does it mean to know [the truth], and what is the nature of truth? What sorts of things can be known, and can we be justified in our beliefs about what goes beyond the evidence of our senses, such as the inner lives of others or events of the distant past? Is there knowledge beyond the reach of science? What are the limits of self-knowledge?

Curriculum Overview 

The major requires nine courses:

  • At least five semester courses counted toward the major must be taught by faculty of the philosophy department.
  • At least four courses must be upper-level (99 and above), distributed as follows:
    • At least one must be among the following core upper-level courses in moral, social and political philosophy: PHIL 107-112, 114-116.
    • At least two must be among the following upper-level courses in metaphysics and epistemology: PHIL 130-147 and 150. PHIL 99 counts as an upper-level elective, but does not satisfy this distribution requirement.
  • At least one course must be in the history of philosophy (PHIL 161a, 162b, 168a, 170a, 179a, 180b, 181a).
  • At least one course must be in logic (PHIL 6a,106b).
  • A maximum of one semester of 98a and b or 99a and b can be counted toward the major. (PEER 94A does not count.)

The minor requires five courses:

  • At least three semester courses counted toward the minor must be taught by faculty of the philosophy department.
  • At least one course must be upper-level (100 and above).
  • A maximum of one semester of PHIL 98a and b can be counted toward the minor; PEER 94a does not count.