Philosophy: Bachelor of Arts Major and Honours

Description

The Philosophy Major at KPU provides students a broad-based, general education in the principal areas of Western Philosophy. Philosophy majors will complete courses in logic, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and history of philosophy. The program is expressly set up to satisfy a variety of additional pedagogical and intellectual objectives, chief among these being the development of critical reasoning and writing skills, both in general and with regard to specialized research in the discipline. Philosophy majors at KPU will experience a learning environment that is supportive and challenging. It is one that prepares students for graduate work in philosophy. It develops effective citizenship, community leadership, and the critical reasoning, writing, and problem-solving skills required for successful careers in any area.

The Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy provides students the opportunity to build a sturdy educational foundation in one of the core areas of the Humanities. All Philosophy majors take a course in formal logic at the 1000-level. At the 2000-level, five courses in philosophy are obligatory: Moral Theory (the study of the nature of right and wrong), Metaphysics (the study of the nature of reality), Epistemology (the study of the nature and limits of knowledge), Ancient Greek Philosophy, and Modern Philosophy.

Upper-level students will have the following options: to take smaller, more participatory courses in Special Topics in Philosophy; to pursue an Applied Ethics Stream by taking specially designed courses in Business, Environmental, and Biomedical Ethics; to participate in a Practicum course where research and work skills are enhanced; and to apply to a selective sequence of honours courses with a focus on researching and writing an honours thesis.

Admission Requirements

Students pursuing a major in Philosophy must be admitted to the Faculty of Arts.

Declaration Requirements

Students intending to graduate with this Faculty of Arts Bachelor’s degree must declare the credential by the time they complete 60 credits of undergraduate coursework. At the time of declaration, the student must satisfy all of the following requirements:

• In good academic standing with the University
• Completion of a minimum of 18 credits of undergraduate coursework, including the following with a minimum grade of “C”:
  • 3 credits of ENGL at the 1100 level or higher
  • 6 credits at the 1100 level or higher in the Major area

Curricular Requirements

Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree must complete all requirements in the Bachelor of Arts framework in addition to their major or minor program requirements.

Note: A first-year English course, ENGL 1100, is a requirement of this program. This course has prerequisites that may require a student to complete additional preparatory courses.

Major

Requirements for the major in philosophy include the successful completion of a minimum of 48 credits in philosophy, of which at least 18 credits are at the 3rd year level, and at least 6 credits are at the 4th year level.

As part of the 48 credits in philosophy, majors must complete the following:

Logic Requirement - at least 3 credits:
	PHIL 1150	Introduction to Formal Logic	3 credits
History of Philosophy Requirement - at least 9 credits:
	PHIL 2106	Ancient Greek Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 2107	Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant	3 credits
	3 further credits at the 3rd year or higher in the History of Philosophy (see list of courses by area below)
Metaphysics and Epistemology Requirement - at least 9 credits:
	PHIL 2210	Epistemology	3 credits
	PHIL 2215	Metaphysics	3 credits
	3 further credits at the 3rd year or higher in Metaphysics or Epistemology (see list of courses by area below)
Ethics Requirement - at least 9 credits:
	PHIL 2110	Moral Theory	3 credits
	One of the following:
	PHIL 3109	Foundations in Ethics	3 credits
	PHIL 3119	Contemporary Moral Theory	3 credits
	PHIL 4110	Topics in Ethics	3 credits
	3 further credits at the 3rd year or higher in Value Theory (see list of courses by area below)

Applied Ethics Stream

Besides the requirements for the philosophy major, students must complete at least 9 additional credits in Applied Ethics from the following:
	PHIL 3118	Ethics and Public Policy	3 credits
	PHIL 3510	Confronting Moral Issues: Bio-medical Ethics	3 credits
	PHIL 3512	Confronting Moral Issues: The Natural Environment	3 credits
	PHIL 3533	Confronting Moral Issues: Business Ethics	3 credits

Note: Certain pre-requisites must be met in order to gain admission to 3000 and 4000 level PHIL courses.

Honours

Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Philosophy degree must complete 120 credits including area requirements as specified in the Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy or the Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy – Applied Ethics Stream. Within these 120 credits, in lieu of 6 credits of Philosophy electives, students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Philosophy degree must complete the following:

	PHIL 3900	Honours Research and Thesis I	3 credits
	PHIL 4900	Honours Research and Thesis II	3 credits

Enrolment in Philosophy Honours courses requires the permission of the Philosophy department. In order to be considered for Honours courses, students must typically have a record of exceptional academic performance, including the following:

• at least 60 credits of university-level coursework with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
• at least 24 of the 60 credits must be university-level Philosophy coursework with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.67.

Please see kpu.ca/arts/philosophy for further information regarding application deadlines and selection criteria.

Students may receive either the Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy degree or the Bachelor of Arts Honours in Philosophy Honours degree, but not both.

Other Information

Philosophy Courses by Area

A course appearing in boldface type signals that the course is required for the major. No single course can count for more than one area. Students may take the same 4th year Topics course twice for different credit if and only if the content differs significantly. Students who wish to take the same 4th year Topics course more than once must obtain the permission of the Chair of the Philosophy Department.

Logic
	PHIL 1145	Critical Thinking	3 credits
	PHIL 1150	Introduction to Formal Logic	3 credits
	PHIL 1155	Introduction to Scientific Reasoning	3 credits
	PHIL 3150	Advanced Formal Logic	3 credits
History of Philosophy
	PHIL 1106	Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 2106	Ancient Greek Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 2107	Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant	3 credits
	PHIL 2115	Asian Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 2150	Philosophical Paradoxes, Puzzles and Enigmas	3 credits
	PHIL 3100	Great Philosophers of the Twentieth Century	3 credits
	PHIL 3101	Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 3220	Empiricism	3 credits
	PHIL 3225	Rationalism	3 credits
Metaphysics and Epistemology
	PHIL 2120	Philosophy of Religion	3 credits
	PHIL 2150	Philosophical Paradoxes, Puzzles and Enigmas	3 credits
	PHIL 2210	Epistemology	3 credits
	PHIL 2215	Metaphysics	3 credits
	PHIL 3100	Great Philosophers of the Twentieth Century	3 credits
	PHIL 3101	Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 3105	Life and Death	3 credits
	PHIL 3110	The Possibility of Knowledge	3 credits
	PHIL 3120	Free Will and Determinism	3 credits
	PHIL 3220	Empiricism	3 credits
	PHIL 3225	Rationalism	3 credits
	PHIL 3320	Personal Identity	3 credits
	PHIL 3425	Language and Meaning	3 credits
	PHIL 3430	Philosophy of Mind: Consciousness	3 credits
	PHIL 4120	Topics in Philosophy of Religion	3 credits
	PHIL 4210	Topics in Epistemology	3 credits
	PHIL 4215	Topics in Metaphysics	3 credits
	PHIL 4430	Topics in Philosophy of Mind	3 credits
Ethics and Value Theory
	PHIL 1110	Confronting Moral Issues: Introduction to Ethics	3 credits
	PHIL 1112	Environmental Ethics	3 credits
	PHIL 2110	Moral Theory	3 credits
	PHIL 2117	Social and Political Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 3010	Health Care Ethics (not for majors)	3 credits
	PHIL 3033	Business Ethics (not for majors)	3 credits
	PHIL 3040	Philosophy of Art	3 credits
	PHIL 3105	Life and Death	3 credits
	PHIL 3109	Foundations in Ethics	3 credits
	PHIL 3118	Ethics and Public Policy	3 credits
	PHIL 3119	Contemporary Moral Theory	3 credits
	PHIL 3510	Confronting Moral Issues: Bio-Medical Ethics	3 credits
	PHIL 3512	Confronting Moral Issues: the Natural Environment	3 credits
	PHIL 3533	Confronting Moral Issues in Business	3 credits
	PHIL 4040	Topics in the Philosophy of Art	3 credits
	PHIL 4110	Topics in Ethics	3 credits
	PHIL 4117	Topics in Social and Political Philosophy	3 credits
Other
	PHIL 1100	Introduction to Philosophy	3 credits
	PHIL 1101	Philosophy, Culture, and Identity	3 credits
	PHIL 1111	Sustainability and Ethical Analysis	3 credits
	PHIL 3900	Honours Research and Thesis I	3 credits
	PHIL 4900	Honours Research and Thesis Ii	3 credits
	PHIL 4950	Practicum	3 credits

Credential Awarded

Upon successful completion of the honours program, students are eligible to receive a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). Transcripts will indicate a Major in Philosophy. 

Upon successful completion of the major program students are eligible to receive a Bachelor of Arts. Transcripts will indicate a Major in Philosophy.