Straight Program鈥擬aster in Teaching Philosophy and Doctor
of Philosophy in Philosophy
Program Description
The Straight Program鈥擬aster in Teaching Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy is designed for students who have finished a bachelor鈥檚 degree in philosophy or in any other field聽and would like to pursue a master鈥檚 degree and a doctoral degree in philosophy in a continuous聽and integrated manner. Among others, this allows the students to pursue both degrees with聽sustained focus. The program provides a diverse聽curriculum of course offerings covering a wide range of philosophic concerns as seen from the聽perspectives of the various philosophical traditions. From Analytic Philosophy to Continental聽Philosophy, from Asian and Comparative Philosophy to the newly emerging Filipino philosophy,聽the program ensures that differing philosophical inclinations are given equal treatment.
Academic Courses (See Appendix for Description of Courses)
Basic Courses
Philosophical Research (required), Philosophy of Language, Phenomenology and Existentialism,聽Philosophy of Mind, Postmodernism, Philosophy of Science, Filipino Philosophy, Eastern Philosophy (Or: Buddhist/Chinese/Indian Philosophy), Philosophical Problems
Major Courses
Analytic Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Hermeneutics, Symbolic Logic, Ethics, Feminist Philosophy, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Education, Aesthetics.
Electives
Philosophy of History, Process Philosophy, Critical Theory, Marxist Humanism, Classical Eastern聽Philosophy, Philosophy of Technology, Comparative East-West Philosophy, Metaethics,聽Philosophy of the Unconscious, Structuralism/Post-Structuralism, Philosophy of Action,聽Buddhist Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Special Topics 1, 2, & 3, Individual聽Philosopher 1, 2, & 3
Cognate Courses
- Students may enroll in a 3-unit graduate course offered as a cognate course by any other聽department in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). Such course will be credited as an elective聽course.
- All graduate courses offered by the Department of Philosophy, being foundational and having聽no prerequisite courses, may be taken as cognate courses by graduate students of other CLA聽departments.
Foreign Language Requirement
Any one foreign language (except English) that is suitable for the topic of one’s dissertation. The credit units for the courses taken should amount to 6 (or its equivalent of 84 hrs. of instruction) and should be completed with passing grades.
Course Repetition and Completion
A grade below 2.5 for courses taken under the doctoral programs would require repetition of such courses. A grade of “Incomplete” or “Deferred” incurred in a term automatically becomes a “W” (Withdrawn) if not completed within the succeeding term, and its highest possible completion grade is 3.5.
Financial Aid
Full and partial scholarships are available through the Office of Admissions and Scholarships (OAS).
Admission requirements
- The applicant must have a bachelor鈥檚 degree in philosophy or in any other field. If the latter,聽the applicant, in his/her first term of enrollment, will be required to enroll in one or two聽refresher courses to be determined by the Graduate Program Coordinator or the Chair of聽the Philosophy Department.
- A letter of application and two letters of recommendation from former professors or聽present employers.
- Passing a qualifying examination.
- An interview with the Graduate Program Coordinator or the Chair of the Department of Philosophy.
Curriculum
(1) 54 Units of Coursework
- At least 15 units of basic courses (which must include Philosophical Research)
- At least 12 units of major courses
- The rest may be basic, major, or elective courses.
(2) 6 Units of Foreign Language Study
(3) Written Comprehensive Examinations in Eight (8) Areas of Study
- At least four (4) basic courses
- At least two (2) major courses
- The rest may be basic, major, or elective courses
(4) Publicly Defended Dissertation (12 units)
- 聽Public oral defense of dissertation has two stages: proposal and final.
(5) 1 Publication in a Refereed and Indexed/Abstracted Journal (National or International)
- Publications may have single or multiple authors; and journals may be published聽nationally or internationally. Additional supporting documents may be required.
APPENDIX: DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ACADEMIC COURSES
A. BASIC COURSES
Philosophical Research聽
3 units
This is a research course where the student is trained to use proper documentation, that is the proper use of parenthetical references (PR) and reference lists (RL).聽 The parts of a paper or book or thesis are discussed.聽 Students are trained how to use the library, how to write a book review, and related matters.聽 In particular, they are trained to write an Introduction, a Theoretical or Conceptual Framework, and a Review of Related Literature.
Philosophy of Mind聽
3 units
A study of modern and contemporary trends in the philosophy of mind among European and Anglo-American thinkers.
Phenomenology and Existentialism聽
3 units
A thorough study of the views of Brentano and Husserl on the project of phenomenology and how existentialist philosophers such as Sartre, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty react to such views.
Philosophy of Language聽
3 units
A critical study of the nature of language, meaning and communication, including the theories of Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Chomsky, Austin, Searle, and others.聽 Open to students of Linguistics and Languages.
笔辞蝉迟尘辞诲别谤苍颈蝉尘听
3 units
An examination of a contemporary movement called聽postmodernism聽in terms of its philosophical and cultural roots, claims, scope and influences, and critical reactions to certain dominant ways of thinking that have characterized modernist thought, such as those described by Derrida as 鈥渓ogocentric,鈥� as expressed in various areas that include literature, art, architecture, film, and philosophy.
Philosophy of Science聽
3 units
A critical study of the philosophical problems related to science, including what the laws of nature are, causality, explanation, theories, models, the ontological status of theoretical entities, induction, probabilities, value judgment in science, and others.
Eastern Philosophy聽
3 units
A thorough and holistic approach to philosophies traditionally classified as Eastern which include Buddhist Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, and Islamic philosophy.
Filipino Philosophy聽
3 units
An in-depth review and analysis of available philosophical writings by Filipinos: cultural, traditional, and constitutional/national approaches to Filipino philosophy.
Philosophical Problems
3 units
The course aims to introduce students to the philosophical endeavor through examining some聽of the significant and key issues in philosophy such as the problem of evil, the problem of value聽and the problem of free will, and other problems that matter. As philosophers, we try to find聽out whether our views on the above can be supported with rational arguments, or whether we
have to give them up in light of closer scrutiny.
B. MAJOR COURSES
Analytic Philosophy聽
3 units
A critical study of the works of analytic philosophers from Bertrand Russell and G. E. Moore to the present.
Continental Philosophy聽
3 units
An introductory course on continental philosophy with emphasis on the philosophers of existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, and postmodernism.
贬别谤尘别苍别耻迟颈肠蝉听
3 units
An in-depth study of hermeneutics as culled from the writings of Dilthey, Gadamer, Ricoueur, Derrida et al.
Advanced Symbolic Logic聽
3 units
A survey of recent trends approaches in the study of modern (symbolic/mathematical) logic or of modern methods and principles used in distinguishing good (correct) from bad (incorrect) reasoning.
贰迟丑颈肠蝉听
3 units
A in-depth study of the classical and contemporary theories in moral philosophy covering both normative ethics and meta-ethics.
Feminist Philosophy聽
3 units
A critical examination of feminist perspectives on traditional philosophical methods or ways of doing philosophy in the areas of ethics, social philosophy, philosophy of science, and epistemology, among others, as advanced by the movement’s leading figures which include de Beauvoir, Kristeva, Gilligan, Smith, Collins, and Harding.
Advanced Metaphysics聽
3 units
A rigorious and formal analysis of the basic assumptions of classical methaphysical and their expressions in the history of philosophy, as well as their consequences for modern science and philosophy.
Advanced Epistemology聽
3 units
A critical in-depth discussion of the most significant theories of knowledge, including both the continental, pragmatic, and analytic traditions.
Social and Political Philosophy聽
3 units
An analytical study of the various theories on social justice as advanced by the Social Contractarians (Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau), Marx, Rawls, Nozick, Dworkin, and others.
Philosophy of Education聽
3 units
A critical survey of the philosophies of various education thinkers from the Sophists to the聽present day but with emphasis on contemporary thinkers.
Advanced Aesthetics/Philosophy of Art聽
3 units
A critical examination of classical and contemporary theories that seek to explain the nature of聽beauty and art.
C. ELECTIVES
Philosophy of History聽
3 units
A study of philosophies of history by ancient Greeks and Romans, Augustine, Vico, Voltaire,聽Bossuet, Nietzsche, Dilthey, Hegel, Marx, Schleiermacher, von Herder, Croce, Collingwood,聽Popper, Spengler, Dondeyn, Ricoeur, et al. open to students of History.
Introduction to Philosophy聽
3 units
A panoramic holistic survey of the divisions of philosophy with emphasis on the basic concepts聽and ideas of philosophy. The latest edition (15th ed.) of the Encyclopedia Britannica listed聽seventeen (17) divisions of philosophy. This Introduction may include Filipino Philosophy and聽other Asian philosophies. This course is summarize courses in philosophy.
Process Philosophy聽
3 units
A study of the philosophies of Heraclitus, Whitehead, Hick, and Hartshorne, among others
Critical Theory聽
3 units
An in-depth study of the presuppositions and development of the fundamental views and聽claims of the philosophical movement called critical theory as put forward and argued for by its聽key figures (Habermas, Marcuse, Horkheimer, Adorno, et al.)
Marxist Humanism聽
3 units
An in-depth study of Marx鈥檚 theory of alienation as expounded in his work Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts and as analyzed and developed by other thinkers like Lukacs, Fromm,聽Marcuse, and Sartre, among others.
Asian/ Eastern Philosophy聽
3 units
An in-depth study of the major works of Confucius, Lao Tzu, Buddha, Hindu philosophers, and聽others.
Comparative East-West Philosophy聽
3 units
A comparative and dialogical analysis of Eastern and Western philosophical currents.
惭别迟补别迟丑颈肠蝉听
3 units
A study of contemporary analytic moral theories especially on moral discourse (referential聽theory, verificationist theory, causal theory, and meaning-as-use theory); the intuitionism of聽Moore, Pritchard, and Ross; the rejection of non-naturalism; the emotivism of Stevenson; the聽prescriptivism of Hare; the descriptivism of Searle; and compatibility of freedom and聽determinism theory.
Philosophy of the Unconscious聽
3 units
A critical and reflective examination of the various philosophical views concerning the existence聽and nature of the unconscious, as well as the philosophical issues that it gives rise to.
Philosophy of Technology聽
3 units
A critical examination of the philosophical views concerning the nature of technology and its聽effects on society from the classic contrast in the views of Dewey and Heidegger to the聽contemporary approaches of Baudrillard, Borgmann, Feenberg, and Haraway, among others
Structuralism/Post Structuralism聽
3 units
A study of the philosophy of methods of structuralism and poststructuralism. This will explore聽the ideas of Claude Levi-Strauss, Noam Chomsky, Jacques Lacan, Roland Barthes, Louis聽Althusser, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and others.
Buddhist Philosophy聽
3 units
A thorough study of the origin, basic teachings, and various branches of Buddhism
Chinese Philosophy聽
3 units
An in-depth study of the philosophies of Confucius, Mencius, Lao Tzu, Han Fei Tzu, Mo Tzu et al.
Indian Philosophy聽
3 units
An in-depth study of Indian though contained in the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana and聽Mahabharata, and Buddhist writings.
Any Individual Philosopher聽
3 units
An in-depth study of the seminal works of any individual philosopher.
Seminar in (any philosophical topic)聽
3 units
A critical analysis of the competing philosophical positions on a specific philosophical
controversy
D. BRIDGING COURSES
Introduction to Philosophy for non-philosophy Majors聽
This course is a remedial course for聽non-philosophy聽majors聽who are taking up graduate studies in聽philosophy. It should provide a background of the study of聽philosophy聽and equip students with basic knowledge in undertaking its study. This course will introduce students to some of the main areas of research in contemporary聽philosophy聽such as epistemology,聽philosophy聽of science,聽philosophy聽of mind, moral聽philosophy聽and others. Topics included: understanding what聽philosophy聽is, its characteristics, aims and methods, and how it differs from other subjects. This course is an introductory overview of several different areas of聽philosophy.