Philosophy
The purpose of the philosophy program at Asbury College is to acquaint the student with the field of philosophy, including its relevance to the formation of a Christian world view. In this process, philosophy becomes an important element in preparation for both meaningful vocation and general intellectual life.
1. The curriculum in philosophy acquaints the student with the history of philosophy, the world’s great philosophers, basic schools of thought, key areas of philosophy, and the classic questions in the field. In addition to the information conveyed in the curriculum, philosophy at Asbury seeks to develop key cognitive skills in the student: clear thinking, analysis, logical argumentation, critique. Beyond the level of skill acquisition, the curriculum is also designed to nurture the higher intellectual functions of understanding and valuing, which have traditionally been associated with wisdom.
2. Philosophy serves as an attractive major or minor as well as an enriching elective for any other field of study. As an undergraduate major, philosophy serves as a basis for graduate work in philosophical, theological, or divinity programs. A student can also major in philosophy in order to do graduate work in other fields, provided that he or she has done the necessary preparation in that other field. Philosophy is a beneficial second major as well, since it equips the student with cognitive skills and expands his or her understanding. As a minor, philosophy fits well with any major, since it is flexible and provides additional insight into one's first major and into intellectual issues more broadly. Simply taking some philosophy courses as electives helps the student in pursuing intellectual interests outside his or her major field.
3. Some career options open to philosophy majors are law, medicine, business, politics, government service, journalism, and writing. Historically, only philosophy majors score 5% or more above the mean on these important exams: LSAT, GMAT, GRE Verbal, and GRE Quantitative. Philosophy majors as a group have a higher mean score on the GRE Verbal than students in any other major. Surveys of medical schools indicate that philosophy is the preferred major for applicants who are otherwise qualified in chemistry and biology.
4. Philosophy is essential to being a truly educated person -- that is, to being a person who understands our cultural heritage, sees life holistically, discerns and critiques the assumptions of competing world views, and acts upon principle. This kind of education lays a groundwork for success in any career because it enhances one's ability to deal with a wide variety of ideas and perspectives represented among different people, to solve complex problems, and to articulate a vision.