Philosophy

Overview

The practice of philosophy provides students with the skills of conceptual analysis, logical reasoning, and critical thinking. These skills are intrinsically valuable throughout one's life and apply to a wide variety of professions, including law, medicine, education, journalism, business, public policy, and government. In addition, the methods and skills developed in a philosophical education aim to provide students with the intellectual grounds for reflecting on their beliefs, to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of alternative beliefs, and to understand how philosophical ideas have shaped their culture and history. Studying philosophy will help students develop these intellectual grounds. In both these respects, the mission of philosophy promotes responsible citizenship, social and economic justice, and the recognition of and respect for differences among groups and between individuals.

Students interested in pursuing graduate study in philosophy should contact a faculty advisor as early as possible for assistance crafting an appropriate course of study both in philosophy and relevant cognate fields.

Requirements

Ten courses (40 units) in philosophy are required for the major.

Major

Students are required to complete the courses listed below and seven additional electives.

Courses

Electives

Three of these courses must be at the 300-level, and students must meet the following distribution requirements: one course in the history of philosophy, one course in diversity in philosophy, one course on philosophical questions of self and community, and one course on philosophical questions of mind and world. Students must also take at least one philosophy course designated as experiential learning.

History of Philosophy

Courses in the History of Philosophy directly study the views and arguments that have shaped the discipline over thousands of years, through engagement with primary philosophical texts.

Diversity in Philosophy

Although diverse perspectives are represented across our courses, Diversity in Philosophy courses focus on philosophical topics, authors and texts that have traditionally been marginalized within the Western philosophical tradition due to a lack of socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, and intersectional diversity in academic philosophy.

Self and Community

Self and Community courses examine questions that arise when we consider how to live a good life and how to relate to human beings, non-human animals, and other aspects of the world around us.  

Mind and World

Mind and World courses apply the methods of philosophy to examine questions that arise when considering the fundamental nature of the world and our place in it. Courses that meet this requirement explore the conceptual foundations of our theories of the world or explore the nature of our knowledge of or representations of the world.

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning can be understood as learning through reflection on doing. Within philosophy, experiential learning may take many forms, but primarily:

(a) Work with community partners or meaningful engagement with a real-world context, where student experiences in these spaces are central to, and necessary for, course objectives.

(b) Courses which centrally revolve around a pedagogical approach other than classroom lecture and/or discussion, specifically courses in which students are provided with structured, active experiences and/or creative opportunities, and students learn philosophical sensitivity and analytic abilities through the engagement, itself, and by reflecting on these experiences.

Honors in the Major

There is no special class associated with honors. Honors in philosophy is awarded in recognition of excellence in work done for the senior essay and seminar, and will be determined by the philosophy faculty as a whole once final versions of the senior essays have been submitted.

To be eligible for honors, a student must have at least a 3.25 GPA overall and a 3.5 GPA in the major. Additionally, the student will be required to enroll in the senior seminar in their senior year and completea comprehensives paper. The paper must earn Distinction, which is to be determined by the instructor of the senior seminar in consultation with members of the philosophy department. Consult the department chair for further details.

Minor

Five courses (20 units) in Philosophy, including PHIL 101 and PHIL 150. At least one course must be an upper division course (in the 300 series).

Second-Stage Writing

Students must earn at least a B on a paper of at least 5 pages in length written for a 300-level philosophy course. Students should familiarize themselves with the departmental requirement at the time of declaring the major.  Typically, students will submit a qualifying, graded paper to the chair by May of their junior year.

Comprehensive Requirement

Graduating seniors in philosophy enroll in PHIL 490, the Senior Seminar, in the fall semester. The work of the seminar will include writing a research paper in philosophy and giving a public presentation of one’s research. The comprehensive requirement is met by achieving a grade of C or better in the seminar. Work judged as exceptional will result in the designation “Pass with Distinction.”

Transfer Credit Policies

The Philosophy Department may accept online courses in transfer, both as general elective credit and as credit toward the major or minor. There are no Philosophy-related AP, IB, or A-level examinations which earn transfer credit. Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for more details.

Advising Information

Students interested in studying philosophy can start with any course at the 100 or 200-level in the department. Both 100-level courses are required for the major. Philosophy 101: Introduction to Philosophy introduces students to the central philosophical skills of critical thinking, careful reading, and analytical writing through studying a range of philosophical questions. Philosophy 150: Formal Logic introduces students to symbolic models of the structure of arguments, and to tools for representing those structures and evaluating them as patterns of good or bad arguments. Our many 200-level courses are more narrowly focused and fulfill distribution requirements within our major, but are accessible to students with no prior experience in the field.

Placement Information

No placement exams are specifically required for the Philosophy major. 

Sample 4-Year Plan

Philosophy Transfer Student Advice

Transfer Course Limit for Transfer Students: No Limit

Designated Transfer Adviser

Expected preparation for transfer students wanting to major in Philosophy:

• Transfer students need not have taken any Philosophy courses prior to attending Occidental.

• Rising Junior transfer students should have satisfied at least half of their Core requirements prior to attending Occidental in order to be able to complete the major and their Core requirements in four semesters. There are several Core requirements that are met by Philosophy courses that count toward the major. Rising Sophomores and those starting mid way through the sophomore year should have satisfied roughly a third of their Core requirements prior to attending Occidental. 

General advice for transfer students wanting to major in Philosophy:

• The only course that must be taken at Occidental is the Senior Seminar, PHIL 490.

What courses should a transfer student take during their first semester at Occidental?

• For Rising Juniors: If not taken in transfer already, enroll in PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy during the first semester attending Occidental. Students must take the Senior Seminar in the fall of their senior year. Students are advised to spread their 300-level courses across multiple semesters.

•  For Rising Sophomores or students starting mid way through their sophomore year: If not taken in transfer already enroll in PHIL 101 in the first or second semester attending Occidental. Students must take the Senior Seminar in the fall of their senior year. Students are advised to spread their 300-level courses across multiple semesters.

Courses

Philosophy Courses

Faculty

Tenure and Tenure Track Faculty

Robert Eli Sanchez, Jr., chair 

Associate Professor

B.A., Pitzer College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

Susan Blake

Carolyn Brighouse

Professor; Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs

B.A., University of Liverpool; M.A., Ph.D., University of Southern California 

Clair Morrissey

Professor

B.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; M.A., Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 

Ryan Preston-Roedder

Associate Professor

B.A., Rice University; Ph.D., New York University

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Milo Crimi

Visiting Assistant Professor

B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Erica Preston-Roedder

Resident Assistant Professor

B.A., Stanford University; M.S., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Ph.D., New York University

Dylan Sabo, designated transfer adviser

Resident Associate Professor

Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill