The undergraduate major in philosophy begins in the 核心课程, and then traces the quest for wisdom from ancient Greece to the present. It culminates in advanced courses on Ethics and 哲学 of God. 一路走来, students cultivate the essential skills of professional life: close reading, 合理的对话, 和明确的, 严谨的写作和公开演讲.

“Are you not ashamed of your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation, and honors as possible, while you do not care for nor give thought 智慧 and truth 以及你灵魂的最佳状态?”

So Socrates addressed his contemporaries, and so philosophy addresses us today, inviting 我们应该把智慧、真理和美德看得高于一切.

In the 云顶集团 哲学系, we take this Socratic summons seriously. In doing so, we also give our students the best possible foundation for success in 各种各样的职业. After all, the love of wisdom and professional excellence have something crucial in common: they require a well-trained mind.

Reflecting on the life and conversations of Socrates, Aristotle discerned three, nested arenas within which the pursuit of wisdom unfolds: the universe as a whole, with its first principles and causes; the well-lived life of human beings in community, and 我们每个人为生活服务的富有成效的工作.

永恒的美丽

“The foremost type of understanding … has to do with things that are both separate 从物质和不可移动. (它)是神学的，因为不难看出这一点 the divine is anywhere to be found, it is in things of this sort.”

More than three hundred years before Christ, Aristotle affirmed that the ultimate task of the philosopher is to ascend, carefully but courageously, from the changing 物质世界的不变的，看不见的原因. 这是不能回避的 the world, but to understand the world as a whole by discovering traces of the divine 在所有存在的事物中.

We too affirm that to cast one’s mind toward God is the chief task of all who aspire 智慧. We undertake this task in our third core course, 哲学 of Being, and 在我们的高级课程“上帝哲学”中. 

美好的一生

“One who is just, … when he does anything, whether acquiring wealth, taking care of his body, engaging in politics, or in private contracts—in all of these, he believes that the action that preserves this inner harmony and helps to achieve it.”

In the Republic, Plato presents the philosopher as a captain guiding a ship through stormy seas, steering with one eye on eternal truth and the other on everyday life. These two realities, the divine and the human, come together when we realize our integrity is more important than our external accomplishments or possessions.

We study human beings and their integrity in our first two core courses, 哲学 and the Ethical Life and The Human Person, and in our senior-level course on Ethics. 

职业成功

“I say that a cultivated intellect, because it is a good in itself, brings with it a power and a grace to every 工作 and occupation which it undertakes.”

在这些话中，圣. John Henry Newman sums up the practical benefits of the “philosophical habit of mind” that, he argues, is the proper end of a university education. 同样的, Aristotle argues that the philosopher’s ability to give reasons and discern causes 能够而且常常必须坚定地转向现实吗.

The ability to grasp and articulate principles informs the practical vision of the 受过教育的人. This ability is the difference between having only the 5,000-foot view of a task or problem and having the 30,000-foot view as well. 也许这就是 why, in terms of mid-career earnings, philosophy majors outpace business majors nationwide.

哲学专业概览

“有些人会为了钱跋山涉水. 你们也当这样为智慧劳力.” – St. 托马斯·阿奎那

核心课程

哲学 and the Ethical Life; The Human Person; 哲学 of Being

Reading the great philosophers with their peers from other majors, students enter an exciting conversation that blends the perspectives of philosophy, literature, politics, 神学，自然科学等等.

历史课程

From Ancient to Medieval 哲学; From Medieval to Modern 哲学; From Modern 到后现代哲学

Those who pursue advanced study through the 哲学 Major begin to 搜索 for the truth through a deeper study of what the great philosophers have said. 在对话中 of these thinkers with one another and with their contemporaries, aspects of the truth 发出光来. 

逻辑

逻辑

Through the study of logic, students learn to assess the claims and arguments of others, and to craft precise claims and compelling arguments ourselves.

研讨会和教程

Contemporary Philosophical Approaches; Junior Seminar; Senior Seminar; Senior Thesis

In seminar discussions and individual tutorials with a professor, majors learn key philosophical skills: careful reading; respectful conversation; thoughtful assessment of historical and contemporary sources; cogent argument; and attractive, effective 表达:书面和口头表达.  这次培训的高潮是毕业论文和 the Senior Conference in 哲学, in which students present their most mature philosophical 工作.

选修课

Majors must take at least one elective in philosophy, but many more are on offer. Popular choices include Aesthetics, Bioethics, 哲学 of Language, and Thought 约翰·保罗二世. The major also leaves plenty of room for electives in other subjects.