Philosophical Inquiry

Description

Courses in the domain may be offered by faculty in any college, school, department, or program, although such courses should have the study of philosophy (rather than, for example, literature or economics) as their main intellectual purpose. Such courses should address distinctly philosophical issue through philosophical methods. Philosophical issues involve concepts fundamental to reflection in topics such as metaphysics (e.g., being and nonbeing, the one and the many, the nature of reality, identity and difference); epistemology (e.g., the possibility and nature of knowledge, different ways of knowing, knowledge versus opinion, the nature of truth); ethics (e.g., right and wrong, good and bad, objectivism and relativism, social and political philosophy, the concept of value, virtue and action, the problem of evil); and aesthetics (e.g., the nature of beauty, aesthetic value, the possibility and nature of aesthetic valuation). Philosophical methods are multiperspectival; that is, philosophy looks at an issue such as the existence of God from more than one perspective. Philosophical methods are critical; that is, philosophy probes, analyzes, and questions positions on issues instead of simply enumerating or assimilating them. Philosophical methods are evaluative; that is, philosophy promotes reasoned and defensible and judgment on issues rather than simply an understanding of them.

Domain courses are divided roughly into two groups, Methods and Issues. Courses in Methods emphasize the student’s development of abilities in analysis and interpretation. Courses in logic, hermeneutics, critical thinking, phenomenological analysis, or scientific reasoning would fall into this group. Courses in Issues may focus either on a philosophical topic such as metaphysics, political philosophy, ethics and the like or on particular figure (e.g., Plato) or text (e.g., The Republic). Courses in Issues should show concern for the historical context of the topics, figures, and texts covered.

It is possible that a course on a traditional philosopher such as Plato would not fall into this Learning Domain. For example, a course focused mainly on the literary structure of the Platonic dialogs would not be suitable for this domain. By contrast, a course that used texts from authors not considered philosophers would be suitable for this Learning Domain in the emphasis were on philosophical issues or methods. For example, a course might use the writings of Galileo or Bohr as texts to study issues in the philosophy of science; another course might use the novels of Dostoyevsky in a course on the issue of free will; yet another might use the Federalist Papers in a course on political philosophy.

Goals

Courses in philosophical inquiry encourage critical reflection on issues central to the human condition. These courses likewise promote understanding of how historical context informs philosophical issues, methods, figures, and texts. The courses seek to develop and to sharpen skills of critical reasoning, informed judgment, and dialog.

Criteria for Inclusion

Course proposals are welcomed for any college, school, department, or program. Proposed courses may focus on texts of figures outside of philosophy traditionally understood, but the course itself should have philosophical inquiry as its main intellectual purpose. Section I offers some examples of philosophical courses based on materials not traditionally regarded as philosophical.