The philosophy major at Loyola is extremely customizable and easily suited to your goals. Of the 11 courses required for the major, only 3 are fixed: PHIL 274 Logic, PHIL 304 History of Ancient Philosophy, and PHIL 309 Classical Modern Philosophy. Beyond that, you have flexibility to chart your own course. You can also choose to specialize in one of four areas: Ethics & Values (E&V); Law, Society, & Social Justice (LSSJ); Mind & Science (M&S); or Existence, Meaning, & Culture (EMC). (See Philosophy Major Specializations for more details.)

For further information, please contact the Philosophy Undergraduate Program Director Dr. Kristen Irwin.

Curriculum

Note that Philosophy majors are exempt from the general LUC PHIL 130 Philosophy & Persons CORE requirement.

All majors must take at least eleven (11) courses in philosophy. Seven of these courses must be at the 300-level (eight, if PHIL 301 Symbolic Logic is taken). Note that 300-level courses have a prerequisite of two philosophy courses. Each student's major program must include:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Major Requirements
Ethics
Select one of the following:		3
PHIL 181	Ethics
PHIL 182	Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 283	Business Ethics
PHIL 284	Health Care Ethics
PHIL 285	Contemporary Ethical Issues
PHIL 286	Ethics and Education
PHIL 287	Environmental Ethics
PHIL 288	Culture and Civilization
PHIL 289	Philosophy and Gender
300-level equivalent
Epistemology
Select one of the following:		3
PHIL 130	Philosophy & Persons
PHIL 271	Philosophy of Religion
PHIL 272	Metaphysics
PHIL 273	Philosophy of Science
PHIL 275	Theory of Knowledge
PHIL 276	Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 277	Aesthetics
PHIL 279	Judgment and Decision-Making
300-level equivalent
Formal Logic
PHIL 274	Logic	3
or PHIL 301	Symbolic Logic
Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 304	History of Ancient Philosophy	3
Classical Modern Philosophy
PHIL 309	Classical Modern Philosophy	3
Philosophy Capstone Seminar
Select one philosophy capstone seminar in a historical period or in a contemporary issue: 1		3
PHIL 395	Seminar in Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 396	Seminar in Medieval Philosophy
PHIL 397	Capstone Seminar in Classical Modern Philosophy
PHIL 398	Capstone Seminar in Contemporary Philosophy
PHIL 399	Capstone Seminar on a Topic in Philosophy
Philosophy Electives
Five other elective philosophy courses, of which at least four must be at the 300-level		15
Total Hours		33

¹

The department offers one capstone in each Philosophy Major Specialization each year.

(Optional) Philosophy Major Specializations

Specializing within the major is not required. Declaring a general philosophy major is common and allows for the greatest flexibility in your course selection.

That said, choosing to pursue a philosophy specialization can help you to identify what fields within philosophy you find most fascinating and relevant, and plan a course of study within your major that emphasizes your interests.

The four areas of specialization within the philosophy major are: Ethics & Values (E&V); Law, Society, & Social Justice (LSSJ); Mind & Science (M&S); and Existence, Meaning, & Culture (EMC). To declare a Philosophy Major Specialization, contact the Philosophy Undergraduate Program Director.

Students pursuing a Philosophy Major Specialization must complete the Philosophy Major Requirements, listed above. Students should select elective courses that best align with their chosen Philosophy Major Specialization (see the Suggested Sequence of Courses for each specialization for more information).

Specialization in Ethics and Values

Courses in the E&V specialization focus on ethical and moral issues, investigating how meaning, value, and moral responsibility operate to constitute an ethical human life. E&V courses each address some of the following topics: meta questions about value, the status of moral judgments, the nature of freedom, etc.; normative questions that encompass personal ethical choices, how individuals and groups should live together in a society, or ways to make ethical judgments; and applied questions about, for example, health care, education, or the environment. Potential topics include: Is moral value culturally relative? What makes something good? What is a good human life? Should voluntary euthanasia be legalized? What obligations does each person have, both to themselves and each other? Here concerns about moral rights, needs, capabilities, and character often play a role in deciding how we should go about making choices, especially when other people’s interests are involved.

Suggested Sequence of Courses

Plan of Study Grid

Freshman
Fall		Hours
Ethics Course 1		3
	Hours	3
Spring
Epistemology Course		3
	Hours	3
Sophomore
Fall
PHIL 274	Logic	3
PHIL 304 or PHIL 309	History of Ancient Philosophy or Classical Modern Philosophy	3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level E&V Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Junior
Fall
PHIL 309 or PHIL 304	Classical Modern Philosophy (whichever course not previously taken) or History of Ancient Philosophy	3
PHIL Elective Course (100-, 200-, or 300-level)		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level E&V Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Senior
Fall
PHIL 300-level E&V Elective Course 2		3
PHIL 300-level Elective Course		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL E&V Capstone Seminar		3
	Hours	3
	Total Hours	33

¹

PHIL 181 Ethics (suggested)

²

Suggested E&V 300-level Elective Courses: PHIL 310 Issues in Philosophy of Human Nature, PHIL 321 Ethics and Society, PHIL 324 Topics in Ethics, PHIL 388 History of Ethics

Specialization in Law, Society and Social Justice

Courses in the LSSJ specialization focus on questions of justice—which is to say questions of how we should best live together, structure our societies, and justify our systems of law— developing the ability to critically examine our existing communities, societies, and laws. Students with an LSSJ specialization gain a solid understanding of the philosophical foundations of law, politics, and governance, as well as insight into theories of social justice, economic justice, racial justice, gender justice, environmental justice, etc. LSSJ specialists are thus well-equipped to pursue advanced study of these questions (for example, in law school), to engage in socio-political critique, and/or to strive for positive social and political change.

Suggested Sequence of Courses

Plan of Study Grid

Freshman
Fall		Hours
Ethics Course 1		3
	Hours	3
Spring
Epistemology Course		3
	Hours	3
Sophomore
Fall
PHIL 274	Logic	3
PHIL 304 or PHIL 309	History of Ancient Philosophy or Classical Modern Philosophy	3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level LSSJ Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Junior
Fall
PHIL 309 or PHIL 304	Classical Modern Philosophy (whichever course not previously taken) or History of Ancient Philosophy	3
PHIL Elective Course (100-, 200-, or 300-level)		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level LSSJ Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Senior
Fall
PHIL 300-level LSSJ Elective Course 2		3
PHIL 300-level Elective Course		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL LSSJ Capstone Seminar		3
	Hours	3
	Total Hours	33

¹

PHIL 182 Social and Political Philosophy (suggested)

²

Suggested LSSJ 300-level Elective Courses: PHIL 321 Ethics and Society, PHIL 323 Philosophy of Law, PHIL 326 Political Philosophy, PHIL 327 Topics in Political Philosophy

 Specialization in Mind and Science

Courses in the M&S specialization focus on topics in epistemology (the study of knowledge) and metaphysics (the study of reality and first principles), with a particular emphasis on philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind. Topics in epistemology include the nature of justification, certainty, belief, truth, and good reasoning; the nature of scientific inquiry; the roles of values in science; and decolonizing knowledge. Metaphysics covers issues that lie at the foundation of other disciplines, including the nature or existence of reality, soul, body, mind, God, freedom, and human persons. Addressing both historical and contemporary approaches to these topics, an M&S specialization complements further study in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, biology, physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, and other related disciplines.

Suggested Sequence of Courses

Plan of Study Grid

Freshman
Fall		Hours
Ethics Course		3
	Hours	3
Spring
Epistemology Course 1		3
	Hours	3
Sophomore
Fall
PHIL 274	Logic	3
PHIL 304 or PHIL 309	History of Ancient Philosophy or Classical Modern Philosophy	3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level M&S Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Junior
Fall
PHIL 309 or PHIL 304	Classical Modern Philosophy (whichever course not previously taken) or History of Ancient Philosophy	3
PHIL Elective Course (100-, 200-, or 300-level)		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level M&S Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Senior
Fall
PHIL 300-level M&S Elective Course 2		3
PHIL 300-level Elective Course		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL M&S Capstone Seminar		3
	Hours	3
	Total Hours	33

¹

PHIL 273 Philosophy of Science (highly suggested) or PHIL 276 Philosophy of Mind (highly suggested)

²

Suggested M&S 300-level Elective Courses: PHIL 311 Issues in Metaphysics, PHIL 325 Ethics & Case Based Reasoning, PHIL 330 Theory of Knowledge, PHIL 333 Language: Theories Ancient & Modern, PHIL 355 Neuroethics, PHIL 369 Philosophy of Medicine, PHIL 381 Philosophy of Science, PHIL 382 Philosophy of Social Science, PHIL 383 Philosophy of Psychology

Specialization in Existence, Meaning and Culture

Courses in the EMC specialization ask about how we find meaning, both as individuals and as parts of communities and cultures that precede and might outlast us. What does it mean to be a person? What is it like to be a person? How do we respond to, critique, and carry on the past? EMC courses are broadly conversant with and build upon 19th and 20th century European philosophy, focusing on issues in phenomenology (the study of experience), hermeneutics (the study of interpretation), existentialism, philosophical anthropology, feminist philosophy, gender theory, critical race theory, and aesthetics. Topics in these areas intersect with, but are not reducible to, issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Specific approaches may be historical and/or conceptual, analytic and/or continental, intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary.

Suggested Sequence of Courses

Plan of Study Grid

Freshman
Fall		Hours
Ethics Course 1		3
	Hours	3
Spring
Epistemology Course		3
	Hours	3
Sophomore
Fall
PHIL 274	Logic	3
PHIL 304 or PHIL 309	History of Ancient Philosophy or Classical Modern Philosophy	3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level EMC Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Junior
Fall
PHIL 309 or PHIL 304	Classical Modern Philosophy (whichever course not previously taken) or History of Ancient Philosophy	3
PHIL Elective Course (100-, 200-, or 300-level)		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL 300-level EMC Elective Course 2		3
	Hours	3
Senior
Fall
PHIL 300-level EMC Elective Course 2		3
PHIL 300-level Elective Course		3
	Hours	6
Spring
PHIL EMC Capstone Seminar		3
	Hours	3
	Total Hours	33

¹

PHIL 181 Ethics (suggested)

²

Suggested EMC 300-level Elective Courses: PHIL 318 Philosophy of Art, PHIL 319 Studies in Philososphy & Literature, PHIL 326 Political Philosophy, PHIL 327 Topics in Political Philosophy, PHIL 360 Contemporary European Philosophy

Suggested Sequence of Courses

The below sequence of courses is meant to be used as a suggested path for completing coursework.  An individual student’s completion of requirements depends on course offerings in a given term as well as the start term for a major or graduate study.  Students should consult their advisor for assistance with course selection.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the BA in Philosophy students will be able to:

• Analyze major texts in the history of philosophy.
• Articulate major philosophical problems and their solutions, such as questions concerning truth and knowledge, reality, moral values, and justice.
• Distinguish and explain different philosophical methodologies or approaches.
• Explain and apply ethical frameworks.
• Evaluate or construct arguments.