Philosophy

 

  • Mission Statment

    The philosophy program seeks to impart knowledge and skills that fall under the three following general categories:

    • Liberal Education: teaches the ideas of influential past and contemporary thinkers who have sought to understand the world and our experience of it.  These ideas concern such topics as the nature of truth and reality, the limits of knowledge, standards of right and wrong, the experience of beauty, and world religions.
    • Methodology: emphasizes methods of sound practical reasoning, deductive logic, and language analysis.
    • Application: critically analyzes non-philosophical disciplines.  For example, the philosophy of democracy analyzes the value assumptions behind democratic forms of government, while medical ethics seeks to identify and resolve dilemmas arising from conflicts between medical technology and the quality of life.