Program Description
The Philosophy Program represents a rich spectrum of intellectual traditions, with an emphasis on the history of Western thought from ancient Greece to the modern world. Students are also strongly encouraged to include non-Western traditions in their coursework. The philosophy major is designed for:
Because of the art-related character of many programs at Purchase College, the Philosophy Program also offers courses for arts students and others that investigate the foundations of the arts. Coursework in the Philosophy Program frequently includes small seminars and intensive writing. Students may pursue topics of special interest through tutorials and directed independent studies.
Requirements for the Major
Representative Courses
Ideas of Good and Evil
Ideas of Human Nature
Knowledge and Imagination
Existentialism
Methods of Reasoning
Classical Buddhist Philosophy
Gender and Power
Philosophy of Art: From Plato to Postmodernism
Philosophy of Law
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of the Environment
Pragmatism and the Quest for Certainty
From Hegel to Nietzsche
Chinese Philosophy
Foucault, Habermas, Derrida
Philosophy and Literature
Philosophy and Film
Theories of Sexuality
Philosophy of Mind
Seminars on Plato, Aristotle, James and Dewey, Heidegger/Arendt,
Kant, and Hegel
Representative Alumni
For more information, visit the Philosophy site in Academic Programs.
Updated May 27, 2008