Philosophy Program Profile

The philosophy department encourages and equips students, the college community, and the constituencies of the college to identify and examine their basic, guiding assumptions about the world, and to evaluate whether those assumptions are in keeping with a biblically-informed, Spirit-led understanding of God's norms for creation, in order to help prepare them for the responsibilities to which they may be called, as they seek to live faithfully and wisely as disciples of Christ.

More about Philosophy
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PROGRAM STRENGTHS

  • Students are often deeply and diversely engaged in campus life as leaders.
  • Students are particularly well-prepared for leadership responsibilities, for graduate studies in philosophy, and for seminary and law school.
  • Course sizes are generally small enough to provide plenty of opportunity for intensive, one-on-one engagement with faculty.
  • Faculty are concerned to develop deep and enduring relationships with students, and spend considerable amounts of time with students outside the classroom.
  • Faculty members have particular strengths in Reformed and Contemporary Continental philosophy.
  • Faculty members have a strong commitment to scholarly output and professional activity.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

  1. Enunciate the major guiding ideas of our current cultural context.
  2. Understand the development of major guiding ideas, from their various starting points to the present.
  3. Evaluate major ideas from a Reformational philosophical perspective.
  4. Express themselves clearly, both orally and in writing.
  5. Develop the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue philosophy at the graduate level.
  6. Realize the importance of critical thinking in our contemporary world situation.