Dec 27, 2024

2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog

2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.

Philosophy [BA]

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The Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy program nurtures habits of thinking, writing, and communicating that prepare students to respond well to the complex realities of professional, social, and personal life. Our pluralistic, socially engaged faculty guides students in critically analyzing prevailing values, norms, and institutions. We empower students to imagine and create flourishing lives and communities.

Learn

All philosophy courses focus on careful reading, thinking, and clear expression. You may select from a wide array of content—from applied ethics to non-Western philosophy—to meet the requirements of the major, which includes courses in value theory (ethics, aesthetics), social justice, knowledge and reality, the history of western philosophy, logic and critical reasoning, and global and feminist perspectives. Students master the skills of reading, critical thinking, and analysis essential to success in the professional world; and develop the abilities to think and write clearly as well as the capacity to grasp the intricacies of difficult problems facing the world today.

Opportunities

Philosophy majors develop widely transferable skills, including critical reasoning and critical writing, the ability to solve problems, the facility to communicate clearly and effectively, and the capability to analyze and assess a situation from diverse points of view. These skills are valuable in every profession.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Philosophy majors have a higher average starting salary than any other major in the Humanities. Further, Philosophy and Mathematics majors have higher mid-career salary growth than any other major.

Philosophy majors do exceptionally well on exams for graduate or professional schools. They score higher than any other major on the verbal and analytic writing portions of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and well above the mean on the quantitative reasoning section. Philosophy majors rank second overall on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and third overall on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

Graduates of philosophy programs are employed in many different areas, including:

Law and public policy
Computer programming
Technical writing
Editing, journalism, and public relations
Criminal justice
Business
Higher education

Department Information

History & Philosophy 701 Pray-Harrold, 734.487.1018

Peter Higgins, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

Please see the Philosophy Section website for advising information.

General Education Requirements:

For specific requirements, see General Education or view the General Education Worksheet [PDF] .

Major Requirements: 33 hours

This major requires students to complete 33 credit hours, including a minimum of 15 credit hours at the 300-level or above, and a maximum of six hours at the 100-level.

Required Courses: 18 hours

Satisfactorily complete at least one course in each of the following six core areas.

I. Logic and Reasoning

Select one course from the following
PHIL 120 Introduction to Critical Reasoning [GEKH] 3 hrs
or PHIL 130 Introduction to Logic 3 hrs
PHIL 181 Logic and Model Theory [GEQR] 3 hrs
PHIL 280 Philosophy and the Fundamentals of Scientific Reasoning [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 281 Symbolic Logic 3 hrs
II. History of Western Philosophy

Select one course from the following
PHIL 330W Ancient Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 331W Modern Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 332W 19th Century Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
III. Ethics and Value Theory

Select one course from the following
PHIL 212 Philosophy of Art [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 216 Philosophy, Technology, and Digital Life [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 220 Ethics [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 221 Business Ethics [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 223 Medical Ethics [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 224 Ethics and Food [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 229 Environmental Ethics [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 260 Existentialism [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 310W Aesthetics [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 472W Philosophy and Narrative [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 420W Ethical Theory [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 429W Topics in Environmental Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
IV. Social Justice

Select one course from the following
PHIL 225 Philosophy & Society [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 326W Philosophy & Sexuality [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 355W Philosophy of Law [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 423W Philosophical Perspectives on Disability [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 424W Food Justice [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 425W Theories of Justice [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 426W Topics in Gender and Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 427W Social Epistemology [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 448 Environmental Values, Justice, and Policy 3 hrs
V. Knowledge and Reality

Select one course from the following
PHIL 215 Philosophy of Religion [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 325W Theory of Knowledge [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 375W Metaphysics [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 442W Philosophy of Mind [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 443 Philosophical Approaches to Moral Psychology 3 hrs
PHIL 460W Philosophy of Language [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 470W Twentieth Century European Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 476 Topics in Metaphysics 3 hrs
PHIL 480W Philosophy of Science [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 481W Philosophy of the Life Sciences [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 495W Phenomenology [GEWI] 3 hrs
VI. Eastern and Global

Select one course from the following
PHIL 226 Feminist Theory [GEGA or GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 228 Global Ethics [GEGA or GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 246 Introduction to African Philosophy 3 hrs
or AFC 246 - Introduction to African Philosophy 3 hrs
PHIL 291 Introduction to Asian Philosophy [GEGA] 3 hrs
PHIL 292 Philosophy of Buddhism [GEKH] 3 hrs
PHIL 320 Gender, World Religions, and Social Justice 3 hrs
PHIL 391W Early Chinese Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 413 Global Justice 3 hrs
or PLSC 413 Global Justice 3 hrs
PHIL 493W Comparative Philosophy [GEWI] 3 hrs
PHIL 494 Topics in Chinese Philosophy 3 hrs

Restricted Elective Courses: 15 hours

Select an additional 15 credit hours from above or any PHIL course (100-499), not already taken.

Course		Credit hrs.

Minor Requirement:

This major requires a minor. Please see Programs for a list of available minors or contact your major advisor.

Program Total:

Students must earn a minimum total of 120 credits at the 100-level or above.

Critical Graduation Information

Each undergraduate student will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements (or their equivalents) of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

Minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University

Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult this catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

Earn a minimum total of 120 credit hours at the 100-level and above.
- Courses numbered below 100 are not counted toward this degree requirement.
- At most, eight credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses are counted toward this requirement.
Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below), including completing a Writing Intensive (GEWI) course in the student’s major.
Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details).
Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor. A double major automatically satisfies the need for a minor unless one of the two majors requires a specific minor. Students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits over the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
- Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
- Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used to calculate an EMU GPA.
Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses a student takes at EMU and those applied to their major or minor are used to calculate their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements - EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.