What do students learn from philosophy?

• Philosophy invites students to investigate their fundamental assumptions about the nature of reality, the self, what they know, and what matters. 

• Philosophical training teaches students to think with clarity about the meanings of the terms they use and the reality those terms describe. 

• Philosophy teaches logical reasoning and the detection of fallacious reasoning. 

• Philosophy students learn about standards for knowledge and when a belief is well supported or justified. 

• Students learn how to reason about issues of moral responsibility, character, aesthetic value, and the common good. 

Skills

• Conceptual analysis

• Logical reasoning

• Moral and aesthetic reasoning and evaluation

• Argument construction

• Empathy

• Respect for and understanding of difference

What is a philosophical question? 

A philosophical question seeks foundational understanding of some issue. This can include examination of the nature of some aspect of reality (e.g., friendship, materiality, moral responsibility) or the standards by which we judge things to be true or false. Philosophy examines the background assumptions that support all the other academic disciplines and our daily lives.

Ways to connect with core classes

Science

• Philosophy and history of science

• Defining knowledge 

• Epistemology: methods of justification and evidential reasoning

Social Studies

• Critical examination and discussion of ethical and social issues in our culture and the world

• Exploring the nature and relations of self, community, and society

Math

• Deductive and inductive reasoning; proofs 

• Defining terms (necessary and sufficient conditions) 

Language Arts

• Concept mapping

• Argument mapping

• Argumentative writing (constructing a paragraph with a thesis statement and supporting premises)

• Aesthetic reasoning and evaluation (what makes a composition “good”?)