• Jennifer Jones, Ph.D.
• Daniel J. Martino, Ph.D.

Philosophy engages fundamental questions concerning human identity, knowledge and reality, moral status and responsibility, community and political authority, aesthetic judgments and values, and other concepts central to the meaning and value of human existence.

Through the study of primary texts and concrete issues drawn from diverse historical periods and places, philosophy develops one’s capacity to see the world from the perspective of other individuals and other cultures, enhances one’s ability to perceive the relationships among diverse fields of study, deepens one’s sense of the meaning and variety of human experience, strengthens one’s ability to reason, enlarges one’s imagination, and refines one’s aesthetic sensitivity.

A philosophy minor is a great way to complement any major at Seton Hill. The study of philosophy provides excellent preparation for a broad range of careers that require critical intelligence as well as strong oral and written communication skills. Students with a background in philosophy pursue careers in business, science, law, medicine, education, government, and work connected with social concerns.

Learning Objectives:

Students who complete any philosophy course will have demonstrated an ability to:

• Discuss basic philosophical issues and explore the connections between them.
• Practice adaptive thinking to judge when to use critical and creative skills.
• Offer alternatives to established philosophical solutions.
• Set philosophical topics in their global and historical context.
• Demonstrate rational decision-making grounded in philosophical inquiry.
• Find, evaluate, and apply information.

Students who complete particular philosophy courses (e.g. Logic and Argument, Introduction to Ethics, Philosophy of Art, etc.) will have demonstrated one or more of the following abilities:

• Examine moral theories and apply them to real-life concerns.
• Identify and criticize philosophical issues in popular media.
• Master skills of inductive and deductive reasoning.
• Discuss the philosophical dimension of art and aesthetic experience.
• Evaluate different models relating to the non-human environment.