Philosophy, BA

To respond fruitfully to universal questions requires training in critical habits of mind, learning from the rich traditions and the great minds that have meditated on such questions, and engaging in lively discussion with a community of inquirers. Seattle University undergraduate philosophy courses communicate the value of philosophy and impart knowledge of its most influential figures. Even more, the courses help students bring their own intellectual concerns into dialogue with great minds of the past and present, and hone skills of reasoning and argumentation that make that questioning illuminating, reliable, and useful.

• Four-Year Program of Study
• Junior Transfer Program of Study

Minoring in philosophy gives you the opportunity to develop your ability to reason and think in a clear and disciplined manner. It also helps you learn to make informed judgements and persuade others to believe your position to be correct. Finally, a minor in philosophy helps you develop the skills need to communicate subtle and complex ideas in a clear and compelling manner.

The ethics minor provides a concentrated study in the theory and practice of ethics. Rooted in the Jesuit intellectual tradition, courses in the minor will explore, from both classic and contemporary perspectives, philosophical questions concerning the nature and grounding of claims about right and wrong intentions, praiseworthy actions, virtues, and values. Ethics critically examines and rigorously debates basic conceptions of justice, equality, obligation, responsibility, and duty. In addition, it delves into current questions about how moral principles are to be translated into law and public policy in a pluralistic world. The ethics minor is designed to educate students about moral theories and their interpretation in concrete situations involving moral action.

 On successful completion of this program, you will be able to: 

1. Integrate philosophical insights with contemporary issues facing global, national, local, and/or campus communities as well as your own lived experience
2. Engage questions of ethics, social justice, spirituality, and meaning of life
3. Communicate effectively with different audiences and purposes using philosophical tools, such as
4. developing philosophical arguments and formulating and replying to reasoned objections
5. formulating historical, social, and political critiques of philosophical positions
6. examining common assumptions
7. Investigate various histories of philosophy with an emphasis on centering marginalized traditions
8. Analyze intersections of social positionality, such as race, class, gender, sexual identity, disability, species, and culture
9. Interpret both primary and secondary sources in philosophy while analyzing their argumentation or methods of persuasion