Introduction
“Philosophy”
means “love of wisdom” and philosophers demonstrate that love by asking
questions about fundamental issues: What does it mean to be human? How should we interpret our history? Is there a right way for human beings to live
together in a society? What is our
relationship to each other and to the earth?
What is reality? Is truth attainable? Is science the path to truth? Is beauty universal? Does human life have a purpose?
These
questions are characteristic of philosophy and reveal its
interdisciplinarity. Philosophical
questions cut across the boundaries of science, art, politics, and religion –
crucial to all these areas yet belonging to none of them. They demand that we subject both our
experiences and our beliefs to critical scrutiny. This can be uncomfortable, since people in
all cultures and human enterprises accept core beliefs, which seem to answer or
put to rest these fundamental questions.
The task of philosophy is to remind us that these historical “answers”
are always partial and tentative, never the final word, and that the questions
that gave rise to them are not fully settled by these answers.
Introductory courses appropriate for prospective
majors and first-year students
PHIL 111, Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 112, Ethics
PHIL 113, Introductory Topics in Philosophy (topics vary;
offered occasionally)
PHIL 120, Critical Reasoning (offered every spring)
PHIL 121,
Introductory Symbolic Logic (offered every fall)
PHIL 241,
Ancient Philosophy (offered every fall; prerequisite: one prior course in
philosophy, or students with some of the background in philosophy may enroll
with permission of instructor)
Most
first-year students should take their first course in philosophy at the 100
level. They may also take courses at the 200-level (except for PHIL 290) if
they satisfy the prerequisites or have
the permission of the instructor.
Introductory
courses that fulfill distribution requirements
Division
Ia:
Any course taught in the department.
Quantitative
Reasoning:
PHIL 120, Critical Reasoning
PHIL 121,
Introductory Symbolic Logic
Course descriptions, requirements for the major refer to the College Bulletin: Philosophy.
Off-campus study
Many philosophy majors
study abroad and do so with the encouragement and support of the
department. The most popular destination
is the Norwich program, but philosophy students study all over the world, in
Dickinson and non-Dickinson programs: Italy, France, China, Cameroon, India,
and Australia.
Internships: Many of our students take on
internships with a philosophical connection and supervised by Philosophy
faculty. Students interested in the law
have interned in law firms, the district attorney’s office, the public
defender’s office, or with judges. Other
students with interests in biomedical ethics have interned with hospital ethics
committees or their staff.
Additional Remarks
Careers: Many Philosophy department graduates pursue
careers in law. Others move into careers
in private business and management, medicine, social work, education, computer
science, and government. Our graduates
include a professional photographer, a poet, several corporate managers, a
designer of petroleum delivery systems, and a career counselor who maintains
that philosophy prepares one “for anything”.
Some of our philosophy
department graduates have become professional philosophers, with positions as
professors of philosophy at University of Wisconsin, Bates College, Illinois
State University, St. Norbert College and Moravian College. Our graduates have studied philosophy at
graduate programs at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State
University, Vanderbilt University, University of Georgia, Georgetown
University, Purdue University, SUNY Stony Brook, and Villanova University.