Philosophy: Ethics

Department: Philosophy
Department Chair: Amy Hilden
Program Option: B.A.

The philosophy: ethics major at St. Kate’s will teach you how to think — to understand the history of philosophical thought, to evaluate an argument, to carry out an ethical analysis, to distinguish a well-reasoned argument from a fallacious one, to defend and articulate your own perspective and to write with clarity and precision. Philosophy reflects upon matters of history, medicine and healthcare, psychology, literature, art, theology, law, business, politics and science.

This major provides preparation for all careers that require critical thinking, precise analysis and clear written and oral communication, and in particular to careers requiring ethical analytic skills, such as business, communications, and healthcare. Recent studies show that philosophy majors tend to score very well on the Graduate Records Exam (GRE), the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), required for graduate studies — five percent or more — than others who sit for the exams.

A philosophy major is good preparation for a career in law and medicine or for graduate study leading to careers in college teaching. Combined with another interest, a philosophy major can lead to careers in fields like communication, information management, business and healthcare administration. There is a growing demand for doctoral-educated philosophers, especially women, to teach at the college level. The philosophy: ethics major focuses on the history and contemporary discourse of moral philosophy, as well as the application of ethical theories and principles to contemporary practices and problems.

St. Kate’s philosophy faculty hold a wide variety of intellectual interests and will share with you in the classroom and through your independent studies their breadth of knowledge and perspectives into the study of philosophy.

St. Kate’s philosophy courses focus on student and faculty discussion, not lecture. Through your courses, you will learn how exciting ideas can be and to question situations and issues you encounter in everyday life.

If you would like to major in philosophy, you will prepare a proposed program with your advisor, then submit the proposed program and a sample paper for a philosophy class to the department for approval.

The major in Ethics consists of ten courses and is offered in both the Day and Weekend Programs. You must submit an application to the department to be admitted to the major and should consult early with a departmental advisor. Application to major forms are available online.

See also: Pre-Law.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

PHIL 2001 Philosophical Tools and Methods
PHIL 2100 Critical Thinking or PHIL 2150 Logic
PHIL 2200 Ethics
PHIL 2300 Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 3500 Classical Greek Philosophy
PHIL 3600 Modern Philosophy
PHIL 3800 Contemporary Ethical Theory
PHIL 4850 Senior Seminar
Two electives in applied ethics

Philosophy: Ethics majors satisfy the Writing Requirement for Majors by completing PHIL 2200. You complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing-intensive courses (CORE 1000 and CORE 3990) and one other writing-intensive course in this or another department.

URL: http://minerva.stkate.edu/academiccatalog0709.nsf/pages/philosophy_ethics
This page was created on 05/02/2007 and last updated on 05/02/2007.
Comments, questions and feedback about this site may be addressed to registrar@stkate.edu.