Philosophy Minor
Courses in this minor challenge students to articulate the foundations of their beliefs, judgments, and choices; to subject their implicit commitments to critical analysis; to reevaluate their values; and to pursue an examined life that is worth living. In a world inundated by banal information, philosophers are lovers of radical wisdom who approach life with the courage of their own convictions.
A minimum of four courses, 16 credits, are required for the minor. Students select courses from the list below and must include at least one course at the 300 or 400 level. In addition to any PH course, Honors students may elect to use HS 202 Sophomore Honors Seminar toward the Philosophy minor.
Courses
- HS 202 - Sophomore Honors Seminar II (Honors students only)
- PH 105 - Introduction to Ethics
- PH 200 - Contemporary Ethics
- PH 203 - Special Topics in Ethics or Value Theory
- PH 204 - Environmental Ethics
- PH 205 - Virtues, Vices, and Temptations
- PH 206 - Free Will, Responsibility, and Agency
- PH 210 - Narrative Ethics
- PH 212 - The Ethics of Eating
- PH 215 - Political Philosophy
- PH 220 - On Friendship
- PH 221 - How to Be Human
- PH 300 - Special Topics in Philosophy
- PH 305 - Great Philosophers
- PH 307 - Genesis
- PH 308 - Moral Sentiments
- PH 310 - What Is Autophilosophy
- PH 498 - Directed Study in Philosophy (note prerequisites)
Faculty
Elizabeth Baeten*, associate professor in Philosophy, has a particular interest in evolutionary biology, evolutionary ethics, and evolutionary psychology, which she explores in several of her courses. She teaches sophomore honors seminar, introduction to ethics, and moral sentiments.
Eric Michael Dale, senior affiliated faculty, is a specialist in German continental philosophy of the 18th–20th centuries and an expert on religious philosophy. He teaches topics courses on modern philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Socrates, and Aristotle.
Robb Eason, senior affiliated faculty, has research interests in epistemology and the philosophy of mind, philosophy of technology, philosophy of science, the history of philosophy, and neuroethics. He teaches contemporary ethics, ethics of eating, free will, responsibility and agency, and topics courses on the ethics of genetic engineering and synthetic biology and brains, bodies, and minds.
Bianca Janssen Groesbeek, affiliated faculty at Kasteel Well, has an interest in biology and philosophy, especially in human evolution and animal behavior, and the philosophy of science. She teaches sophomore honors seminar, a topics course on the impact of evolved morality on our moral decisions, and environmental ethics.
David Kishik, associate professor in Philosophy, is the author of a series of paraphilosophical books. He teaches sophomore honors seminar, how to be human, narrative ethics, genesis, and what is autophilosophy. Pablo Muchnik, associate professor in Philosophy, specializes in Kant, early modern philosophy, ethics, and political philosophy. He teaches sophomore honors seminar; great philosophers: Nietzsche; virtues, vices, and temptations; political philosophy; and a topics course on problems of exclusion.
Charles Oliver, affiliated faculty, specializes in the history of philosophy and social and political thought. His current research focuses on Plato and the poets, the link between science and ethical theory in early modern philosophy, and philosophy of art. He teaches narrative ethics, environmental ethics, and a course on friendship.
Please note this may not be a comprehensive list, as our affiliated faculty rotate on a semesterly basis. Please refer to the semester registration listings to identify any additional faculty participating in the minor.
* Minor Coordinator