About the Department

Philosophy Faculty

Philosophy Department Website

Philosophy is the attempt to answer certain persistent human questions, which fall into three traditional groups:

• Axiology (the theory of value)
• Metaphysics (the theory of being)
• Epistemology (the theory of knowledge)

Characteristic questions include the following:

• What is good?
• What is real?
• What is knowledge, and how can one achieve it?

By studying these questions of ethics, value, knowledge, and reality, you can develop analytical skills of critical thinking and problem solving; understanding connections across complex ideas; communicating and listening well; and weighing others' different values and points of view — skills which can be applied to any field and in any profession.

Our Mission

Our mission is to equip students with an understanding of both the history of philosophy and the problems of philosophy, and to do so in a way that underscores the relationships between philosophy and the Christian faith. We seek to graduate students who can speak and write with clarity about important philosophical, religious, moral, and social issues.

Majors

Minors

Program Learning Outcomes

For Philosophy Majors (and, to a lesser extent, minors)

• The ability to formulate (orally and in writing) a full range of philosophical problems and proposed solutions to them, including solutions proposed by salient figures in the history of philosophy.
• The ability to write clear and well-argued essays on philosophical topics.
• The ability to engage clearly and thoughtfully in rational dialogue.
• The ability to develop the intellectual virtues of curiosity, intellectual honesty, rigorous thinking, and charity (in interpreting others).

For All SPU Students

• The ability to write clearly about a series of important issues at the intersection of religion, philosophy, and science (e.g., the faith/reason issue, the problem of evil, and the soul/body issue).
• The ability to develop intellectual virtues of curiosity, intellectual honesty, and charity (in interpreting others).