PHILOSOPHY ASSESSMENT SITE

Introduction to the Philosophy Program

The philosophy major at Seaver College offers students a broad education in historical and contemporary philosophical explorations of various regions of human experience, including the nature of knowledge and reality, the theoretical foundations of morality and ethics, and the distinction between cogent and fallacious reasoning. In so doing, we draw upon work of the greatest thinkers of the ancient, modern, and contemporary periods.

About the Philosophy Program

Philosophy examines the fundamental assumptions and problems implicit in the framework of the human experience, critically assesses those assumptions, and seeks to articulate and defend alternatives for their improvement. As such, our philosophy degree program offers students a valuable educational background for the pursuit of careers in a variety of fields including law, journalism, government, public service, and business.

History of the Philosophy Program

The Philosophy major has been a part of the curriculum since the founding of Seaver College in 1973. 

The most important program changes since the last review have been curriculum changes. The previous review identified curriculum gaps, and as a result the Philosophy faculty added three courses to the Program’s curriculum: Aesthetics, Epistemology, and Metaphysics. These were the three courses that met the following two criteria: they would fill a curriculum gap and they were within the area of expertise of at least one faculty member. (Note also that those three courses all count as essential according to the definitions above.) In order to minimize the budgetary impact on the Program as a result of adding these three courses, two courses were removed from the curriculum: Traditional Chinese Thought and Society, and Existentialism. Several courses were renumbered from the 500 level to the 400 level to better reflect their place in the sequence of courses within the major.

Quality Assurance: Each degree program should employ sufficient faculty such that there is a capacity to design and deliver the curriculum (CFR 2.5). Curriculum design and implementation should involve evaluation, improvement, and promotion of student learning and success (CFR 2.5). Thus, faculty are responsible to exercise effective academic leadership on a consistent basis to ensure that the program's quality and educational purposes are upheld (CFR 2.6). Student support and co-curricular programs and services of sufficient nature, scope, and capacity go hand-in-hand with the degree programs for promoting students' academic, personal, and professional development (CFR 2.13).  - WSCUC 2023 Handbook, Standard 2