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Philosophy

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A statue of a man contemplating

Philosophy is the critical, rational examination of fundamental questions that people have pondered for more than 2500 years. These include, but are not limited to, questions such as: What is reality? What is the nature of the self? Does God exist? What is good and just? What ought I to do? Philosophy courses are directed towards an understanding of these and other fundamental questions, often through reading and studying philosophers who have addressed these questions in the past, with appreciation of the historical and cultural contexts in which these questions are raised and answered. Philosophy courses help students to develop good logical and critical reasoning skills, expose hidden preconceptions, encourage open debate and independent thought, and provide opportunity to apply valuable insights gained to contemporary life.

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AA-T/AS-T Transfer Degrees

Dean Pamela Chao
Department Chair Dr. Dylan Mirek Popowicz
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Phone (916) 484-8283
Email AskHB-PCS@arc.losrios.edu

Associate Degree for Transfer

A.A.-T. in Philosophy

This program provides lower-division preparation for students interested in transferring into baccalaureate philosophy programs.

The Associate in Arts degree in Philosophy for Transfer provides students with a major that fulfills the general requirements of the California State University for transfer. Students with this degree will receive priority admission with junior status to the California State University system. The Associate in Arts degree in Philosophy for Transfer (AA-T) may be obtained by the completion of 60 transferable, semester units with a minimum 2.0 GPA, including (a) the major or area of emphasis described in the Required Program outlined below (earning a C or better in these courses) and (b) either the Inter-segmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or the California State University General Education Breadth Requirements.

Catalog Date: August 1, 2024

Degree Requirements

Course Code	Course Title	Units
PHIL 300	Introduction to Philosophy	3
PHIL 310	Introduction to Ethics	3
PHIL 320	Logic and Critical Reasoning	3
PHIL 324	Symbolic Logic (3)	3
or MATH 320	Symbolic Logic (3)
A minimum of 6 units from the following:		6
Select 3 units from Philosophy Electives and 3 units from either Philosophy Electives or Humanities Electives.
*Philosophy Electives*
PHIL 315	Contemporary Moral Issues (3)
PHIL 330	History of Classical Philosophy (3)
PHIL 331	History of Modern Philosophy (3)
PHIL 350	Philosophy of Religion (3)
PHIL 360	Social/Political Philosophy (3)
*Humanities Electives*
ENGLT 310	English Literature I (3)
ENGLT 311	English Literature II (3)
ENGLT 320	American Literature I (3)
ENGLT 321	American Literature II (3)
ENGLT 340	World Literature I (3)
ENGLT 341	World Literature II (3)
HIST 300	History of Europe and the Mediterranean to 1500 (3)
HIST 302	History of Europe Since 1500 (3)
HIST 305	Women in Western Civilization (3)
HIST 307	History of World Civilizations to 1500 (3)
HIST 308	History of World Civilizations, 1500 to Present (3)
HIST 340	History of California through 1879 (3)
HIST 341	History of California: 1879 to Present (3)
HIST 364	Asian Civilization (3)
HIST 365	Asian Civilization (3)
HIST 367	History of Russia (3)
HIST 373	History of Mexico (3)
HIST 480	History of Western Civilization - Honors (3)
HIST 481	History of Western Civilization - Honors (3)
HUM 301	Introduction to the Humanities (3)
HUM 310	Modern Humanities (3)
HUM 320	Asian Humanities (3)
HUM 326	Middle Eastern Humanities (3)
HUM 330	Humanities of the Americas (3)
RLST 301	Introduction to World Religions (3)
RLST 302	Introduction to Atheism (3)
RLST 310	Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (3)
RLST 311	Introduction to the New Testament (3)
Total Units:		18

The Associate in Arts in Philosophy for Transfer (AA-T) degree may be obtained by completion of 60 transferable, semester units with a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0, including (a) a minimum grade of "C" (or "P") for each course in the major or area of emphasis described in the Required Program, and (b) either the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or the California State University General Education-Breadth Requirements.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to:

identify and express arguments found in philosophical and non-philosophical sources.
analyze arguments from philosophical and non-philosophical sources into their constituent premises and conclusions.
evaluate the cogency of arguments from philosophical and non-philosophical sources with respect to structure and content.
critically discuss and evaluate important concepts and theories in ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
develop and defend personal views concerning important philosophical issues.

Career Information

Because of continuing social and technological changes, today's graduates are more likely to change their jobs/careers than ever before. Job skills learned today for a specific career may be too specific to transfer to other jobs or simply become outdated. The technical skills and knowledge required by many fields are also changing, requiring constant updating to stay current. One advantage to studying philosophy is that it focuses on broader issues such as the nature of knowledge, values, the use of language, and the application of logic and critical reasoning: content that transfers across specific jobs/careers. The analytic skills developed in the study of philosophy are valuable in problem solving and effectively communicating ideas clearly and precisely. Finally, philosophy provides an excellent pre-law preparation, as philosophy majors generally score amongst the highest on the LSAT (Law School Admission Test).

Philosophy (PHIL) Courses

PHIL 300 Introduction to Philosophy

Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:None.
Advisory:Eligible for ENGRD 310 or ENGRD 312 AND ENGWR 300; OR ESLW 340.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
C-ID:C-ID PHIL 100
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This course examines some of the perennial questions that have been addressed in the history of philosophy. Some of these include: Do we have free will? Is there a God? What is knowledge? What is the fundamental nature of reality? What makes actions right or wrong? This examination includes a critical analysis of fundamental concepts involved in the issues addressed by these questions, as well as an evaluation of reasoning used to defend various answers to them.