Philosophy - Hamilton College Clinton

Philosophy from Hamilton College Clinton is a Campus Bachelor Philosophy degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. At Hamilton, the study of philosophy traces great thinkers and timeless ideas through the ages, but it's also about timely issues and the means we use to understand them in our own lives. Philosophy involves listening and reading carefully, analyzing arguments, and developing a critical perspective of your own. Those are valuable skills for anyone, not just for philosophers. Philosophical questions force us to examine our presuppositions about the world and how we ought to live in it. They ask us to consider whether our deepest beliefs make sense and can be explained and justified to others. Students who study philosophy at Hamilton learn to ask and answer such questions in a rigorous, systematic way: Is there a real difference between right and wrong, or is morality a matter of conventions imposed by different societies and in different eras? Can we distinguish genuine knowledge from mere opinion? Do we have free will, or are our actions just responses to our environment and our genetic makeup? Questions like these aren't idle speculation; they have a deep, direct impact on daily life. If free will is in doubt, for example, why should the courts hold people responsible for their actions? If there is no clear line between right and wrong, does that make stealing and hurting others permissible? Addressing such issues requires analytical skill, a sensitivity to nuance, and the ability logically to evaluate complex and often controversial issues and ideas. Training in philosophy is therefore not only interesting and valuable in itself; it is also especially useful for policy debates in government and business, for ethical dilemmas in private and public life, and for the civic dialogue at the heart of the democratic process. The curriculum at Hamilton College is designed to serve both those with a deep interest in philosophy and the broad range of students who want to acquire the time-tested skills and perspectives of the discipline: The major in philosophy balances courses in epistemology and metaphysics, the history of philosophy , and courses in value theory ? ethics, aesthetics and political philosophy. Students may minor in philosophy in two ways: by completing a prescribed list of courses with electives, or by completing a personalized program of study tailored to complement their primary concentration. Introductory courses acquaint students with major issues in the field while helping them develop logical and analytical approaches to writing and thinking. Intermediate courses cover the history of philosophy and examine a spectrum of applications: aesthetics, contemporary moral issues, professional ethics, education, law, science, politics and society. And advanced courses offer rigorous investigation of specialized topics such as the nature of knowledge, conceptions of reality, aesthetic theory and the grounds of morality. Advanced students also typically take courses in the work of major philosophers such as Kant, Nietzsche and Wittgenstein. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES Forget the stereotype of the idle intellectual ruminating on great thoughts. At Hamilton, philosophy is about engagement ? integrating what you learn in the classroom with the realities of a complex, changing world. Scholarship is a key to that process. Some philosophy students pursue independent study with their faculty advisors. Recent independent studies have explored philosophy and film, theories of moral action and the aesthetics of nationalism. Other students work even more closely with professors. Their collaborative projects use philosophical theories and models to illuminate a fascinating variety of human endeavors. Hamilton students have been awarded Emerson Grants to collaborate with faculty members during the summer on topics ranging from forgery in the arts to Nietzsche's influence on the Harlem Renaissance. THE SENIOR PROGRAM The Senior Program in philosophy has two parts: In the fall semester, majors take a Senior Seminar that frames and completes the undergraduate study of philosophy . Here students develop their research interests through intensive reading and discussion. They then compose a major research paper, first submitting drafts for peer review, then completing the paper and defending it orally to a panel of fellow students and faculty members. Some students also choose to develop a thesis proposal, which may expand on their work or take a new direction. A student may enroll in the spring semester Senior Thesis project only if the formal thesis proposal submitted in the fall is approved by the department. More ... RESOURCES The Truax Lecture Series in Philosophy brings to campus nationally distinguished philosophers to lecture and visit classes. Recnetly, Richard Rorty, perhaps the most important and iconoclastic American philosopher of the era, met with senior seminar students and faculty members. His public lecture was on "Moral Absolutism and the Torture of Terrorist Suspects." Other noted Truax visitors have included Simon Blackburn and Ronald Dworkin. Through the Truax Chair in Philosophy , the department brings other accomplished philosophers to campus to teach a full course and give a series of public lectures. Truax Professors have included Hubert Dreyfus, who taught the interdisciplinary course From gods to God and Back, and Lucius Outlaw, who taught a course on African-American philosophy. View more details on Hamilton College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Philosophy courses.