May 07, 2025  
2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Philosophy Minor


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Advisor: Mark Piper
Emailpipermc@jmu.edu
Phone: (540) 568-3531
Websitehttps://www.jmu.edu/academics/undergraduate/minors/philosophy.shtml

Philosophy is the oldest of the liberal arts, an academic discipline that tackles fundamental questions about the nature of knowledge (epistemology), the nature of reality and what sorts of things exist (metaphysics), what actions and which kinds of people are moral (ethics), the nature of beauty and art (aesthetics), and how to model good reasoning (logic). The Philosophy minor is an excellent choice for students wishing to delve into these topics, as the skills they gain in rational argument analysis and cogent writing will invariably complement any major. Students completing a minor in Philosophy will have the opportunity to study the central figures in various historically important eras (e.g., the Ancient world and the Enlightenment) as well as take upper-division electives focused on specific philosophical areas.

Introductory Course: 3 Credit Hours


Historical Requirement: 6 Credit Hours


Choose two of the following courses:

Electives: 9 Credit Hours


Choose three additional philosophy courses, at least two of which must be above PHIL 300 .1 

Footnote


1 Neither PHIL 120  nor PHIL 150  can be used as electives.

Total: 18 Credit Hours


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