2024-2025 Undergraduate Bulletin

Philosophy, Bachelor of Arts

Philosophy involves a critical examination of our most fundamental beliefs about truth and reality, right and wrong. In this major, students study the traditional answers to the basic questions in Western philosophy and also the important critiques of that dominant tradition. They will explore ethical and justice issues which are crucial to contemporary legal, political, and public policy debates. Philosophy majors learn sophisticated forms of reasoning and textual analysis, and deepen their understanding of basic human problems and possibilities.

Learning outcomes. Students will: 

  • Explain a section from a philosophical text, a philosophical theory, a philosophical issue, or a philosophical argument. 
  • Identify arguments and distinguish premises and conclusions.
  • Formulate an argument in support of or in opposition to a claim.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with a basic problem or a major theory in a main area of philosophical inquiry.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with a primary claim or critical response to a primary claim in the history of western philosophy. 

Credits Required.

Philosophy Major 39
General Education 42
Electives 39
Total Credits Required for B.A. Degree 120

Coordinator. Professor Amie Macdonald, Department of Philosophy (212.237.8345, amacdonald@jjay.cuny.edu)

Advising resources. Philosophy Major Advising Resources.   Major Checklist. Sample Four Year Degree Map

Note. Additional information. Students who enrolled for the first time at the College or changed to this major in September 2019 or thereafter must complete the major in the form presented here. Students who enrolled prior to that date may choose either the form shown here or the earlier version of the major. A copy of the earlier version may be obtained at 2018–2019 Undergraduate Bulletin.

Part One: Core Courses

Required
PHI 105Critical Thinking and Informal Logic

3

PHI 210Ethical Theory

3

PHI 231Big Questions: Introduction to Philosophy

3

PHI 310/LAW 310Ethics and Law

3

PHI 330Philosophical Modernity

3

Critiques of Philosophical Modernity

Select One

PHI 343Existentialism

3

PHI 351Classical Chinese Philosophy

3

PHI 354/AFR 354Africana Philosophy

3

Capstone Courses

Select one

PHI 400Senior Seminar in Ethics

3

PHI 401Senior Seminar in the History of Philosophy

3

PHI 402Senior Seminar in Metaphysics and Epistemology

3

Total Credit Hours: 21

Part Two: Ethics and Value Theory

Select one
PHI 201Philosophy of Art

3

PHI 203Political Philosophy

3

PHI 214Environmental Ethics

3

PHI 216Ethics and Information Technology

3

PHI 238Philosophy of Comedy

3

PHI 302The Philosophy of Rights

3

PHI 315Philosophy of the Rule of Law: Theory and Practice

3

PHI 317Philosophy of Law in Global Perspective

3

PHI 322/CRJ 322Judicial and Correctional Ethics

3

PHI 333/GEN 333Theories of Gender and Sexuality

3

PHI 340Utopian Thought

3

PHI 423Senior Seminar in Justice and Law

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Three: History of Philosophy

Select one
PHI 202Philosophical Visions of American Pluralism

3

PHI 326Topics in the History of Modern Thought

3

PHI 32719th-century European and American Philosophy

3

PHI 343Existentialism

3

PHI 351Classical Chinese Philosophy

3

PHI 354/AFR 354Africana Philosophy

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Four: Metaphysics and Epistemology

Select one
PHI 104Philosophy of Human Nature

3

PHI 204Symbolic Logic

3

PHI 205Philosophy of Religion

3

PHI 235Philosophy of Science

3

PHI 304Philosophy of the Mind

3

PHI 374Epistemology

3

PHI 377Reality, Truth and Being: Metaphysics

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Five: Electives

All students select three additional philosophy courses at the 300–level or above in consultation with an advisor.

Please note: No course may fill multiple requirements in the major

Total Credit Hours: 9

Total Credit Hours: 39