Philosophy Major (BA)

Please see the UNLV College of Liberal Arts, Interdisciplinary Degrees web page at www.http://phil.unlv.edu/ for information about department programs, faculty and facilities.

Please see advising information at the UNLV Wilson Advising Center at www.liberalarts.unlv.edu/WAC/.

Accreditation

Institution - Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities www.nwccu.org

Learning Outcomes

Goal I: To exhibit facility in the theory and practice of argumentation, reasoning, and critical thinking;

Students shall be able to:

1. Master the practice of reasoning well including
   
   • The ability to construct clear and concise summarizations and assessments of the reasoning in complex passages by
     
     • Extracting their conclusions,
     • Distilling the lines of reasoning in support of those conclusions, and
     • Evaluating how well such reasoning supports those conclusions.
   • The ability to construct cogent arguments for their own conclusions and to express their reasoning in a coherent and convincing manner.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of, and competence with, the theory, of argumentation and logic through their abilities to:
   
   • Describe different approaches to logical theory, and to articulate their aims and scope,
   • Define and apply central concepts and techniques of logical theory,
   • Describe major results of logical theory, and
   • Sketch how to arrive at those results.

Goal II: To demonstrate an understanding of the classics of Western philosophy form antiquity to the present;

Students shall be able to:

• Identify major works or figures from at least three periods of the history of Western philosophy,
• Articulate and, when appropriate, compare or contrast, the overall philosophical positions taken by these works or figures,
• Summarize the major motivations or arguments for these positions,
• Present objections that have been raised or could be raised to these positions,
• Assess the relative merits of these arguments and objections.

Goal III: To demonstrate knowledge about central problems in major branches of contemporary philosophical theory, such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of science;

Students shall be able to:

• Identify central issues or debates in at least three core areas of contemporary philosophical theory,
• Articulate and, when appropriate, compare or contrast, different views that might be taken with respect to these issues,
• Summarize major motivations or arguments for these alternative positions,
• Assess the relative merits of these arguments and objections.

University Graduation Requirements

• Please see Graduation Policies for complete information