Undergraduate Program

 

Philosophical study at Boston College provides the opportunity for open-ended inquiry and reflection on the most fundamental questions about ourselves, our world, and our destiny. 

The Philosophy Department offers a balanced program of courses in the history and problems of philosophy, allowing for concentration in the following areas: continental European philosophy from Kant to the present, medieval philosophy, social and political philosophy, and philosophy of science. 

The range of courses available within the department and elsewhere allows the student considerable flexibility in planning an individualized and personal program of study. With the guidance of faculty advisors, students may design a well balanced program that will thoroughly ground them in the history of philosophy and yet allow for development of their major interests. 

Our program is strongly committed to interdisciplinary programs such as Perspectives and Pulse, which have been cited as models of innovative undergraduate instruction. 

Undergraduate Director is Prof. Ronald Tacelli,  [Campanella 370   Ext. 2-3859]  

   See also the Undergraduate Program description here
   "More BC Undergrads Opting for the Examined Life..." ...more»

A GUIDE FOR UNDERGRADUATES

Why Philosophy?
The Core Curriculum
The Major in Philosophy
The Minor in Philosophy
Special Programs
Fifth Year B.A./MA. Program
Undergraduate Philosophy Association
Scholarly Journals

WHY PHILOSOPHY?

Numerous studies have shown that Philosophy provides excellent training in critical thinking and logical analysis. Philosophy is regularly recommended as an undergraduate major for students preparing for many of the professions. Philosophy majors consistently rank in the top percentiles of those taking the GRE and LSAT. As a mode of inquiry, Philosophy provides students with the analytical and verbal skills necessary for success in any profession. 

Although many practical benefits accrue to the study of philosophy, an undergraduate curriculum, especially a liberal arts curriculum, should not focus on narrowly pre-professional courses. Philosophy, the discipline at the heart of a liberal arts curriculum, is by its essence an open and rational inquiry. Philosophy provides a forum for the serious discussion of the most important questions, a discussion where students and instructors learn from one another and from the careful reading and critical analysis of the works of the greatest philosophers. Our experience is that students find our department a congenial place to investigate basic questions of life, questions that are often not addressed in the increasingly fragmented and specialized curricula of many contemporary colleges and universities. 

THE CORE

In recent years, an ever expanding need for specialized competence in almost every field has encouraged at many colleges and universities the proliferation of narrowly focused and highly technical courses. This trend has seriously weakened the coherence and credibility of traditional liberal education. The result is a fragmentation of intellectual life. Many students and even faculty now find it difficult to communicate with one another across the linguistic and cultural barriers created by their professional specializations. Boston College undergraduate programs, and the core curriculum in particular, are designed to counter these tendencies.

Philosophy core courses are designed to introduce students to what the greatest thinkers in our tradition (from Socrates to Aquinas to Nietzsche) have had to say about such issues as our origin and destiny, the foundations of ethical and political life, the relationship between faith and reason. Contemporary criticisms of the various traditions in philosophy are also taken seriously; we take these critiques not as occasions for debunking the past but as opportunities for fresh reconsiderations of perennial questions. 

 The core requirement for all Boston College students includes six credits in Philosophy. There are a number of ways in which students can fulfill the requirement. Here is a brief description of philosophy core courses and of the requirements they fulfill. 
 

    Philosophy of the Person. This course presents the philosophical tradition not as an object of historical curiosity but as a source of fundamental human questions and of the most thoughtful attempts to answer these questions. We choose authors who deal with questions of existential import our origin and destiny, the foundations of ethical and political life, the relationship between faith and reason. (Fulfills the six credit Philosophy core requirement.) 
    Perspectives I: Perspectives on Western Culture. This course focuses on the major philosophical and theological texts of the Western tradition from classical and biblical times to the present. (Fulfills the six-credit Philosophy core requirement and the six-credit Theology core requirement.) 

    Perspectives II: Modernism and the Arts. This course discusses the philosophical influences on the architecture, literature, music, and visual art of the "Modernist" period. (Fulfills the six-credit Philosophy requirement and the three-credit Literature core requirement and the three-credit Fine Arts core requirement.) 

    Perspectives III: Horizons of the Social Sciences. Least traditional and most ground-breaking in its interdisciplinary approach, the third Perspectives course reflects on the philosophical underpinnings of the social sciences of economics, law, political science, and sociology. (Fulfills the six-credit Philosophy requirement and the six-credit Social Science core requirement.) 

    Perspectives IV: New Scientific Visions. This course examines the cultural and philosophical impact of key scientific discoveries as they are described in the original works of great innovators, such as Euclid, Cardin, Vieta, Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Darwin, Einstein, Bohr. Intelligent discourse about science presupposes familiarity with the language and methods employed by scientists and mathematicians. Hence this course gives concrete and detailed attention to mathematical demonstrations and to scientific experiments. (Fulfills either 1) the six-credit Philosophy core requirement and the six-credit Natural Science core requirement, or 2) the three-credit Mathematics core and three-credits of the Natural Science core.) 

    Person and Social Responsibility (PULSE). This course offers its students the opportunity to integrate supervised social service or social advocacy field work with the study of philosophy and theology. Students read and discuss many of the same texts treated in Perspectives I. Their discussions of these texts are enriched by their encounters and experiences at their field placements. Some 300 students (10 sections) participate in this program each year. (Fulfills the six-credit Philosophy core requirement and the six-credit Theology core requirement.) 

Our department is strongly committed to interdisciplinary programs. Our interdisciplinary core programs, Perspectives and Pulse, are increasingly cited as models of innovative undergraduate instruction. These programs have been awarded substantial grants from the Bank of Boston, the Dayton Hudson Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more on the "Perspectives" program, click here

For more on the PULSE Program, click here

For more on the Core Curriculum, click here

THE MAJOR

The requirement for the Major in Philosophy is 30 credits or 10 three-credit courses in Philosophy. Since the six-credit core is considered part of the major, students need 8 courses beyond the core to fulfill the requirements for the Major. Perspectives and PULSE courses, not used for core credit, may also count as electives in the Philosophy Major. 

Students who choose Philosophy as one part of a double major still need a total of 10 courses to fulfill the major, BUT 2 of these may be, with the approval of the Undergraduate Director or Department Administrator, courses from another discipline, as long as they have some philosophical relevance and do not fulfill other core or major requirements. 

In keeping with the department's view of Philosophy as offering undergraduates the opportunity to diversify their education and to pursue questions and to read books intrinsically worth considering, we require no specific set of courses for a Major. This does not mean that students are encouraged to choose their courses arbitrarily and without advisement from faculty. Each Philosophy Major is assigned an advisor from the Philosophy Department. Students should make ample use not only of their advisor, but also of other faculty and more advanced students. There are a number of ways to construct a rigorous and coherent Philosophy Major; students will need advice early and often about the selection of courses. 

For students interested in pursuing graduate work in Philosophy, we offer a broad spectrum of electives in ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary philosophy. The undergraduate director has organized a program of advisement which includes an annual workshop devoted to evaluation of various graduate programs and to preparation of graduate applications. Our best students are regularly accepted into first-rate Ph.D. programs. 

PHILOSOPHY MINOR

The requirements for the philosophy minor are 2 core and 4 electives. 


OTHER SPECIAL PROGRAMS

The Lonergan Institute: A research institute whose workshops and publications are devoted to study of the philosophical, economic and theological writings of Bernard Lonergan, S.J. 

China Project: Professor Frank Soo has developed a foreign study program at the University of Nanjing in China. We expect that this program will continue to attract qualified undergraduates. 

Psychoanalytic Studies Minor

Medieval Philosophy and Theology 


UNDERGRADUATE PHILOSOPHY ASSOCIATION

Partly because of the increased fragmentation in our society and partly because of the pragmatic pressures of finding a major that is likely to result in a successful career, the life of collegial inquiry is somewhat foreign to students. Our Undergraduate Philosophy Association, which sponsors discussions, debates, lectures, and social events, provides one avenue of participation for students. In recent years, the Association has sponsored lectures, discussion, and debates on topics as diverse as the existence of God, the problem of evil, contemporary theories of deconstruction, the nature of human rationality, Pascal's wager, Augustine on faith and reason, multiculturalism, natural law and relativism, and the problem of skepticism. The faculty contact for the Association is Professor Ronald Tacelli (Carney 219, x3859).

FIFTH YEAR B.A./M.A. PROGRAM

Undergraduate Philosophy majors may opt to enter a five-year B.A./M.A. program. Application to the program will normally take place during the junior year. Students admitted to the B.A./M.A. program will follow the curriculum for Philosophy majors, except that 2 courses taken during the senior year must be eligible for graduate credit. These two courses will count toward the M.A. as well as the B.A. The remainder of the M.A. may thus be completed by taking 8 additional graduate courses as well as the M.A. comprehensive examination and meeting the language requirement for Master's students. It is advisable to consult with the Director of the Graduate Program during junior year.  In addition to the 2 graduate level courses that count toward both the B.A. and the M.A., it is strongly recommended that the student take 2 graduate level courses in the senior year that are beyond the 38 courses required for the B.A. and thus count only for the M.A. degree.  This allows the student to take a normal graduate course load the fifth year of three courses a semester, in preparation for the M.A. comprehensive examination.

Interested undergraduate Philosophy majors must apply to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Expectations are that such applicants will have achieved an overall GPA of at least 3.33 and a major GPA of 3.5 or above.

For those applying, the application fee is waived and the GRE is not required.  Students will need a statement of purpose and letters of recommendation, and a final transcript.

 

SCHOLARLY JOURNALS

Five scholarly journals are currently edited by members of the department's faculty: