Philosophy
Program Minors
Philosophy Minor Requirements
?A total of 15 credit hours are required for the minor in Philosophy. A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each course.
Required Courses: 9 hours
- PHIL 1012 - Introduction to Philosophy
- PHIL 3002/5002 - Ancient Greek Philosophy
- PHIL 3022/5022 - Modern Philosophy (It is recommended, but not required, that PHIL 3002 be taken before PHIL 3022)
Electives: 6 hours
- Lower Division Elective in Philosophy
- Upper-Division Elective in Philosophy
Learning Outcomes for a Philosophy minor:
- Recognize and comprehend the salient elements of philosophy's significant historical figures, periods, and areas.
- Understand how philosophical frameworks and theories expand the meanings and implications of existing cultural areas (e.g. those found in science technology, the arts, politics, medicine, social justice.
Philosophy of Science Minor Requirements
?A total of 15 credit hours are required for the minor in Philosophy of Science. A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each course.
Required Courses: 9 hours
- PHIL 2441: Language, Logic, & Scientific Reasoning
- PHIL 3340: Investigating Nature
- PHIL 4350/5350: Philosophy of Science?
Any two of the following courses: 6 hours
- PHIL 3022/5022: Modern Philosophy
- PHIL 3032: Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy
- PHIL 3350: Metaphysics
- PHIL 3360: Epistemology
- PHIL 3440: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
- PHIL 4101/5101: Pragmatism
- PHIL 4242/5242: Bioethics
- PHIL 4300/5300: Philosophy of Mind
- PHIL 4740/5740: Empiricism
- PHIL 4920/5920: Philosophy of Media and Technology
- PHIL 4812/4980: Special Topics in Philosophy
- (e.g., Philosophy of Biology or Philosophy of Language)?
Learning Outcomes for a Philosophy of Science minor:
- Recognize and comprehend the salient elements of philosophy's significant historical figures, periods, and areas.
- Understand how philosophical frameworks and theories expand the meanings and implications of existing cultural areas (e.g. those found in science technology, the arts, politics, medicine, social justice.
?Ethics Minor Requirements
?A total of 15 credit hours are required for the Ethics minor. A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each course.
Required Course: 3 hours
- PHIL 1020 - Introduction to Ethics and Society
Any four of the following courses: 12 hours
- PHIL 3150 - History of Ethics
- PHIL 3200/5200 - Social & Political Philosophy
- PHIL 3250 - Business Ethics
- PHIL 3280 - War and Morality
- PHIL 3430/5430 - Environmental Ethics
- PHIL 3500 - Ideology & Culture: Racism & Sexism
- PHIL 3550 - Philosophy of Death and Dying
- PHIL 4150 - Twentieth Century Ethics
- PHIL 4242/5242 - Bioethics
- PHIL 4260/5260 - Philosophy of Law
For those students who major in philosophy and minor in ethics, no course can satisfy the requirements for both. For example, if a student takes PHIL 4150 - 20th Century Ethics, it cannot satisfy the requirement in the major for a course in 19th or 20th century philosophy.
Learning Outcomes for an Ethics minor:
- Recognize and comprehend the salient elements of philosophy's significant historical figures, periods, and areas.
- Understand how philosophical frameworks and theories expand the meanings and implications of existing cultural areas (e.g. those found in science technology, the arts, politics, medicine, social justice.
More specifically, the above includes training (most typically in writing) about how to:
- Interpret texts by careful reading and synthesis of meanings.
- Identify and criticize philosophical arguments.
- Develop original arguments supported by texts and logical reasoning.
- Outline major philosophical frameworks.
Related Minors in Interdisciplinary Fields
The Minor in Law Studies at UCD is an interdisciplinary course of studies intended to help students become intelligent and critical scholars of legal and political discourse. While the minor may be useful for students contemplating law school, it is also intended to appeal to a wider group of students interested in issues relating to law and society and careers in public policy-related fields.
Social justice is a goal of every healthy society and the best guarantee for sustaining peace. Achieving social justice involves the creation a global society where all members are granted the same basic human rights and equal access to public resources. This Area believes that twenty-first century students need global perspectives on citizenship that are informed by and can contribute to processes of civic engagement locally and in all parts of the world. The Social Justice program encourages our students to recognize how race, class, and gender intersect with citizenship. It reinforces the many ways that our students are already engaged as citizens. And it helps solidify their power to effect change. ?
Social Justice has deep and extensive connections to the history of philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas, Locke, Mill, Dewey, Rawls, Nussbaum, Sandel, and Sen, to name just a handful. Thus, a variety of philosophy department courses can apply to the Social Justice minor, including PHIL 3200 Social and Political Philosophy, PHIL 3280 War and Morality, PHIL 3500 - Ideology & Culture: Race & Sex, PHIL 4101/5101 Classical American Philosophy: Pragmatism, and PHIL 4920/5920 Philosophy of Media and Technology. Other courses may also count once the approval of an advisor is given.
?Questions of sustainability are currently among the most important facing humankind and are receiving tremendous attention in the media, in government, and in international planning circles. Issues of sustainability do not arise from single causes, nor can solutions be developed based from within narrow disciplinary frameworks. The UCD College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has created the Minor in Sustainability to provide students with the cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills in this critically important area.?
