The University of Minnesota, Morris philosophy program offers students the opportunity to receive a broad, rigorous, and exciting liberal arts education. Courses at Morris are designed so that students can analyze and discuss the fundamental problems that we face over the course of our lives. At the same time, students will develop the writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills that are necessary for fruitful philosophical inquiry. The philosophy program serves as an indispensable part of a well-rounded Morris liberal arts education.
- The Morris Philosophy Discipline is the original home to one of the 20th Century's most important journals in analytic philosophy: Midwest Studies in Philosophy.
- Every year the Morris Philosophy Discipline hosts a lecture series in which distinguished speakers visit our campus, the Midwest Philosophy Colloquium.
- The Morris Philosophy Club, regularly presents papers for the Minnesota Philosophical Society and often attend national philosophy conferences with Morris faculty members.
What you can do with a philosophy degree
Philosophy majors also have great success after graduating from Morris. Not only do they do better on graduate tests—on average—such as the LSAT, GRE, and GMAT, but Morris philosophy graduates have also gone on to have great success in a variety of fields.
Primary discipline learning goals for philosophy majors
- To enhance analytical skills. In general, this involves cultivating an ability to evaluate an argument, position, theory, etc.; to trace pertinent implications of the argument, position, theory, etc.; to introduce novel considerations or arguments that bear on the argument, position, theory, etc.
- To cultivate the ability to draw connections among theses, principles, positions, etc. introduced or discussed in one philosophy class with those introduced or discussed in other philosophy classes.
- To cultivate effective oral communication, including the ability to give clear oral presentations or summaries of issues, principles, theses, etc.; formulate relevant questions clearly; and tender clear responses to questions.
- To cultivate the ability of students to write well.
- To ensure that students have a sufficiently broad foundation in ethics (broadly construed).
- To ensure that students have a sufficiently broad foundation in the history of philosophy (ancient, medieval, and modern).
- To ensure that students have a sufficiently broad foundation in logic.
- To ensure that students have a sufficiently broad foundation in epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of language.
