Philosophy Department

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Degrees in Philosophy

The Philosophy Major

The Philosophy Department at Tulane offers three major courses of study:

The Standard Major
Law, Morality & Society (track)
Language, Mind & Knowledge (track)

The first provides a traditional course of study in philosophy, the remaining two are designed to cater for students with a specific career interest in law, public policy or politics, and for students primarily interested in the part of philosophy that lies on one of the most exciting of today's interdisciplinary interfaces, cognitive science.

All students majoring in Philosophy and not writing an honors thesis must complete a total of nine courses (27 credits) in Philosophy. All students majoring in Philosophy and writing an honors thesis must complete ten courses (31 credits). In this case, honors thesis work in H499 and H500 counts for two courses and 7 credits. (One of these seven credits is a Writing Requirement credit.)

A full list of our courses can be found by clicking here: Course Catalogue

For the Standard Major in Philosophy, the course requirements are: the two-course sequence in History of Philosophy (201, 202); one course in Logic (106, 121, or 304, with 121 or higher strongly recommended); one course in Ethics (103, 105, 351, 355, 356, 357 or 358); and at least two courses at the 600 level, one of which must be taken in connection with the Capstone (Phil 5110). Please note: Students may not count more than 3 classes at the 100-level toward the standard major.

For the track in Law, Morality, and Society (registrar's abbreviation "PHLM") the course requirements are: the two course sequence in Classics of Political Philosophy (211, 212); one course in Critical Thinking or Logic (106 or 121); four other courses in Ethics, Political Philosophy or Philosophy of Law (103, 105, 334, 351, 355, 356, 358, 364, 365, H499, H500, 613, 651, 652, 672, 674, or 675); one course outside these areas at the 300 level or above. At least two courses must be at the 600 level, one of which must be taken in connection with the Capstone (Phil 5110).

For the track in Language, Mind, and Knowledge (registrar's abbreviation "PHMK") the course requirements are: the two course sequence in History of Philosophy (201, 202); one course in Logic (121 or higher); five other courses in Philosophy of Language, Mind, or Knowledge (104, 220, 312, 341, 342, 375, 380, H499, H500, 609, 612, 617, 618, 619, 662); one additional course at the 300-level or above. At least two of these courses must be at the 600 level, one of which must be taken in connection with the Capstone (Phil 5110).

Courses Eligible for the Capstone

PHIL 604 Philosophy of Law. Prerequisite: at least one previous course in ethics or political philosophy.
PHIL 605 Moral Philosophy. Prerequisite: at least one previous course in ethics.
PHIL 610 Skepticism. Prerequisite: PHIL 121 and 202 or equivalent.
PHIL 612 Metaphysics. Prerequisite: PHIL 201 and 202 or equivalent.
PHIL 615 Freedom and the Self. Prerequisite: PHIL 202 or equivalent.
PHIL 618 Mental Representation.
PHIL 619 Philosophy of Mind. Prerequisite: at least one previous course in philosophy of mind or metaphysics.
PHIL 620 Plato. Prerequisite: PHIL 201, 211 or equivalent.
PHIL 621 Aristotle. Prerequisite: PHIL 201, 211 or equivalent.
PHIL 626 Rationalism. Prerequisite: PHIL 202 or equivalent.
PHIL 627 Empiricism. Prerequisite: PHIL 202 or equivalent.
PHIL 628 Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Prerequisite: PHIL 202 or equivalent.
PHIL 629 Kant's Ethics. Prerequisite: PHIL 202, 212 or equivalent.
PHIL 633 Nietzsche. Prerequisite: PHIL 202, 212 or equivalent.
PHIL 634 Heidegger. Prerequisite: PHIL 202, 212 or equivalent.
PHIL 654 Global Justice. Prerequisite: one course in ethics or political philosophy.
PHIL 674 Political Philosophy: one course in ethics or political philosophy.

The Philosophy Minor

A minor in Philosophy consists of five Philosophy courses, three of which must be above the 100 level.

Why Major in Philosophy?

You're kind of interested in philosophy; maybe you've even taken a couple of classes in philosophy and they were fun. Now comes the $64, 000 question: "But what can I do with it?"

Many people (perhaps you're one of them) believe that if you spend too much time doing philosophy as an undergraduate, you will lessen your chances of success on the job market when you graduate. This is a myth! Philosophy graduates flourish in all kinds of professions. Indeed, when it comes to the standardized tests that are required for professional schools, there is detailed evidence that philosophers perform extremely well.

In a study conducted in the 1980s for the National Institute of Education, Clifford Adelman investigated the percentage by which majors in 29 different fields scored above or below the mean scores of all test-takers in the GMAT (business school), the LSAT (law school), and the verbal and quantitative GRE (graduate school). The bottom line for a typical year (1982): Philosophy majors came in second (mathematics majors were first).

In the GMAT, only mathematics majors outperformed philosophy majors.
In the LSAT, philosophers came in third behind economists and mathematicians.
In the verbal GRE, philosophers came in first, even though 1982 was their worst year in the period Adelman looked at.
In the quantitative GRE, philosophers and economists were the only humanities and social science majors to beat the mean (however, economists and mathematicians flopped on the verbal GRE, while physicists, the top performers on the quantitative GRE, did somewhat better).

Adelman was puzzled by his results, but after thinking about them came to the following conclusion:

Undergraduates who major in professional and occupational fields consistently underperform those who major in traditional arts and sciences fields...Students who major in a field characterized by formal thought, structural relationships, abstract models, symbolic languages and deductive reasoning consistently outperform others on these examinations.

And it goes without saying, of course, that students who have been trained in these abilities and disciplines are also better equipped than others to excel in the business world. Adelman's study, together with employment and salary data for philosophy majors, led David Hoekema, past Executive Director of the American Philosophical Association, to write the following:

It is no denigration of the value of learning for its own sake to identify the more concrete rewards of studying the humanities. Having done so, we can respond constructively to student worries about the market value of their college degree. "Why would you want to be a business or education major?" We may well ask, "Why not study something practical, like philosophy?"

The Philosophy Major's Map

(or how to become a philosopher in just 4 years )

Here is a schedule for completing the philosophy major (27 credits or 9 courses) easily within 4 years. With just a single course per semester at first, and NEVER more than two, the pace set out here should work especially well for those doing a Double Major. You could easily finish the major more quickly by doing more courses each year But in such cases, we advise that you consider a similar ordering of classes.

Those who are particularly focused on Cognitive Studies or Ethics, Political and Legal Philosophy, might consider one our Major Tracks instead, where they requirements are somewhat different.

Please note the following:

These are just guidelines. There is always room for doing things your own way (though it's best to seek advice from your major advisor in such situations).
The guidelines are directed at someone who starts philosophy in their first year. Students beginning later will need to make the relevant adjustments.
For a first philosophy class, you may find it more enjoyable to just pick a class (300-level or below) that gets your interest rather than going for our 100-level offerings.

First Year (6 credits min.)

Take two of the following courses (you may take more of course)

PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 102 Philosophies of the Self
PHIL 103 Ethics (Satisifies Ethics requirement)
PHIL 121 Elementary Symbolic Logic (Satisfies Logic requirement)

As mentioned above, other courses at the 200 or 300 level may also be appropriate, and you may wish to pick a topic that grabs your interest than a more general 100-level class. (If you take more than 6 credits, we positively advise moving beyond the 100-level).

BUT: PHIL 103 Ethics and PHIL 121 Elementary Symbolic Logic are both excellent courses to take in your first two semesters doing philosophy.

Second Year (6 credits min.)

If you have not done so already, cover the history of philosophy requirements, preferably by following the sequence:

PHIL 201 History of Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 202 History of Modern Philosophy

Try to have the Logic and Ethics requirement covered by the end of this year! If your schedule permits, take one or more 300-level classes.

Junior year (6-9 credits) & Senior Year (6-9 credits)

Finish off ALL requirements (except the electives) by the end of first semester Junior Year. From then on it is electives all the way!

BUT bear in mind:

You must make sure at least TWO are at the 600-level.
You should probably not try to take too many 600-level classes at first (indeed, there may be prerequisites that prevent this).
Ask about the frequency of the classes that are offered, before making a choice in any given semester.