Philosophy

Chair: Dr. John Carvalho
Office: 108 St. Augustine Center
Tel. (610) 519-4690
Website: http://www.villanova.edu/artsci/philosophy/
Course descriptions: http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/courses/philosophy.html

MAJOR: In addition to fulfilling the College Core Requirement in Philosophy (PHI 1050 and one upper-division elective), students can complete the requirements for a Philosophy Major by taking nine additional Philosophy courses. These must include the following.

(1) Three courses in the History of Philosophy sequence:

• PHI 3020 History of Ancient Philosophy
• PHI 3030 History of Medieval Philosophy
• PHI 3040 History of Early Modern Philosophy
With the approval of the Chair of the Department, upper division electives in Ancient, Medieval and Modern Philosophy as well as Topics courses offered in Philosophy and Honors may substitute for the courses in this sequence. Examples of such courses are:

• PHI 4100 Plato and Aristotle
• PHI 3100 Augustine and Antiquity
• PHI 3120 Augustine and Modernity
• PHI 3160 History of Islamic Philosophy
• PHI 3410 Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas

(2) Two capstone courses in one of the following combinations

(A) One Course numbered PHI 5000: Advanced Seminar in Philosophy and
One course numbered PHI 6000: Research Seminar

(B) Two courses numbered PHI 5000: Advanced Seminar in Philosophy

(3) Four additional upper-division electives

• Students choosing to complete the capstone requirement with option (A) follow the THESIS PATH to the major.

On this path, the four additional upper-division electives are all "free electives." The focus for the student following this path to the major in the thesis, submitted to fulfill the requirements for PHI 6000: Research Seminar. The topic and the research dedicated to completing the thesis are worked out in consultation with a full time member of the Philosophy Department faculty who serves as an advisor on the thesis project and another member of the Department faculty who serves as a second reader. Preparations for the thesis project should begin in the semester before its expected completion (fall semester of the senior year).

• Students choosing to complete the capstone requirement with option (B) follow the TRACK PATH to the major.

On this path, at least three of the four additional upper-division electives must come from the courses assigned to one of the six tracks below. The focus for the student following this path is the track. Courses are assigned to tracks to guide student interests in the study of Philosophy and in the pursuit of a major in Philosophy.


Minor in Philosophy
Students can minor in Philosophy by taking any five courses offered by the Philosophy Department including PHI 1050, required to complete the College Core requirements, but including no more than two courses from the following list: PHI 1050, PHI 2010, PHI 2030, PHI 2115, PHI 2150.

Double Majors
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of Philosophy studies, the Department welcomes and encourages students who want to combine their philosophy major with a major in another discipline. In order to make this possible, Philosophy double majors can (with the permission of the Chair of the Philosophy Department ) count up to six cognate or related credits from the second major toward fulfilling the Philosophy Major requirements.

See the website address above for more information.