The Study of Philosophy
Philosophy and Your Future
Concentration Requirements
Junior Seminars
Junior Papers
Early Concentration and Foreign Study
Senior Theses
Senior Departmental Exam
Graduation Prizes and Honors
Philosophy is concerned with large, difficult, and controversial questions, many
of which have been the subject of inquiry and debate since ancient times. Some
pertain to what is. (What makes me what I am? How is my mind related to my body?
Do all events, including the choices I make, have causes?) Others pertain to
what ought to be. (If the choices I make have causes outside me, can they be
judged right or wrong? Just what is rightness in an individual choice, or
justice in a social institution? What is the relationship between rightness or
justice and having good consequences?) Yet others pertain to what is knowable.
(How can unperceived causes be legitimately inferred from perceived events? Does
all knowledge require inference from perceptual experience? Are there truths
that cannot be known at all?)
Different branches of philosophy are distinguished by the kinds of questions
they treat: Metaphysics is concerned with what is, ethics and philosophy of
value with what ought to be, logic and philosophy of science with what is
knowable. Since important contributions have been made since the earliest times,
the history of philosophy constitutes a fourth branch of the subject alongside
the three just named. What unites the different branches of philosophy is a
common commitment to disciplined thinking, even or especially when treating
questions whose every aspect is doubtful and disputed. Questions are addressed
by appeal to reasoned argument and the evidence of experience, without asking
that anyone take anything on authority or on faith.
Princeton's philosophy department has consistently been ranked one of the top
few in the country, and counts many scholars of international reputation among
its faculty. It offers a diverse selection of courses from different branches of
philosophy each semester, teaching historical material from original works in
translation, and other material mainly from recent and contemporary scholarly
publications. Thus it is possible for the student to acquire both a thorough
grounding in the classics and an introduction to on-going research at the
forefront of the subject. For concentrators, the regular option combines an
expectation of substantial work on a diverse range of questions (at least two
courses in each of at least three of the four branches of philosophy) with
considerable freedom to pursue individual interests in independent work with
faculty advisors; special options in interdisciplinary areas, such as political
philosophy and philosophy of science, add flexibility by permitting the
substitution of work in a relevant outside field for one area of philosophy.
Since the opening of the first schools of philosophy in antiquity, many students
of the subject have put their training in the analysis of argument and
evaluation of evidence to work in a subsequent legal career; law schools have
long recognized the value of an undergraduate major in philosophy. Increasingly
other professional schools and employers have come to recognize it as well, and
many of our recent concentrators have gone on successfully to work in medicine,
journalism, business, or government. A few concentrators go on to graduate study
in philosophy; those who do so generally achieve admission to top-ranked
schools, with good fellowships.
Skills acquired by concentrating in philosophy can thus be useful for a variety
of careers. But the main benefit lies in learning to think in an organized way
about confusing and controversial questions; to treat one's beliefs as
serviceable as they are but capable of improvement; to react to criticism not
with outrage or fear but with a willingness to state the grounds for one's views
and to listen to and learn from the views of others. These are habits of thought
useful not only in a career, but in life.
For juniors and seniors, course selections are approved, and course cards and
course change forms are signed, by the departmental representative, who can
perform some of the functions of an academic advisor--juniors and seniors do not
have academic advisors as such--and refer students to other department faculty
for further advice if desired. All students are encouraged to see the
departmental representative in person at course selection time, and the
following are required to do so: Sophomores entering the department; fall
seniors selecting spring senior courses; spring seniors dropping departmental
courses.
Certain of a student's courses are designated departmentals, and the grades in
courses so designated are the course grades used in computing the student's
departmental average. The official designation of departmentals occurs during
the fall of the senior year when selecting courses for spring of senior year:
All designations before this time are provisional; after this time a designation
cannot be changed merely in order to improve a student's average. All philosophy
courses taken for letter grades junior or senior year must be designated
departmentals, as must all courses used to fulfill departmental requirements.
Designation of any other philosophy courses is optional.
The departmental course requirement is eight courses. Courses taken before fall
semester junior year normally may be counted, including the prerequisite course;
and up to two courses may be lower division (200-level or lower). Up to two
courses in other departments may be counted as cognates, if approved as
contributing significantly to the student's course of study; these must normally
be courses completed before spring semester senior year. Further, six out of the
eight courses must be so distributed that there are two in each of three out of
the four areas (metaphysics; ethics & philosophy of value; logic & philosophy of
science; history of philosophy) into which philosophy courses are divided; there
is no such restriction on the remaining two out of the eight. The area
classification of most courses is listed in the Undergraduate Announcement; for
other courses the classification will be made by the departmental
representative.
Students doing the senior thesis in certain interdisciplinary fields have the
option of replacing the regular requirement of two courses in each of three
philosophy areas by an alternative requirement. The political philosophy option
involves using the quota of two cognates for courses listed under the Politics
department as political theory courses and counting this in place of one
philosophy area, and then doing two courses in the ethics & philosophy of value
area, and two courses in some one other philosophy area. The philosophy of
science option involves using the quota of two cognates for upper division
courses in some one relevant science (e.g. mathematics, physics, biology,
psychology, linguistics) and counting this in place of one philosophy area, and
then doing two courses in the logic & philosophy of science area, and two
courses in some one other philosophy area.
For students following the regular requirements, cognates require individual
approval. Cognates may not be used for both courses in a distribution area (and
standards for approval are generally more liberal for courses that are not used
for distribution requirements than for courses that are, and again more liberal
for a first cognate than for a second). In general courses considering means
other than philosophical argument (e.g. appeal to religious revelation,
tradition, authority, faith) have been used to answer questions of a kind
considered in philosophy, and courses considering philosophical works from a
non-philosophical standpoint (e.g. as literary texts, emphasizing rhetorical
style, or as historical documents, emphasizing external influences) are
considered valuable supplements but not substitutes for philosophy courses, and
hence not suitable as cognates.
Courses that have been routinely approved as cognates in recent years include:
all courses listed under the Politics department as courses in political theory;
most courses listed under the History department as courses in history of
science; and a few courses listed under area studies programs covering those
aspects of the intellectual history of certain non-Western civilizations that
invite comparison with the history of philosophy in the West. Other courses may
be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Fall semester junior year, independent work normally involves participation
in a seminar of up to five students under the supervision of an instructor from
the faculty of the department. The junior seminar is intended to provide a
transition from course work to fully independent work. A junior seminar meets
weekly for an hour or biweekly for two hours to discuss readings selected by the
instructor, and each student writes a final paper of at least 5,000 words (about
20 pages) usually on a topic chosen by the student from a list provided by the
instructor in the area defined by those readings. The student's grade for fall
semester independent work will be mainly based on this paper but is usually
partly based also on shorter papers and/or oral presentations in the seminar
earlier in the term. (Most commonly the split is about 75%-25%).
A listing of the junior seminar offerings available will be posted by the first
day of fall semester. Note that there is no requirement for the junior
independent work of a student intending to elect a special option (Philosophy of
Science, Political Philosophy) to be on a topic relevant to that area; on the
contrary, students are encouraged to do at least one semester's independent work
outside that area. While the department undertakes to make a variety of junior
seminar topics available each year, it does not undertake to provide one
directly relevant to each special option each year.
Students will have a few days to report their preferences among the offerings
and their schedules to the departmental representative. By the middle of the
first week of classes, the placement of students in seminars will be posted by
the departmental representative, and notice of the hour, day, and place (usually
the instructor's office) of the first, organizational meeting of each seminar
will be posted by the seminar instructors. Since this is when the regular
meeting time for the seminar will be fixed, it is important to attend this first
meeting, especially if the hour is one that would not be convenient as a regular
meeting time.
Final papers for junior seminars are due the second day of reading period. This
is a University deadline. Late work cannot be accepted for grading by the
department unless permission to do so is granted by the Office of the Dean of
the College. There is a grade penalty of 1 point per weekday to a maximum of 10
(= a full letter grade) for lateness, unless a waiver is granted. Waivers
require approval of the seminar instructor and the departmental representative.
Spring semester junior year, independent work consists of writing a junior
paper, an essay on a philosophical topic, normally amounting to at least 5,000
words (about 20 pages), written under the supervision of a faculty advisor.
On the one hand, any member of the department faculty is eligible to advise a
junior paper if willing to do so, except that a student may not have the same
advisor for both semesters' junior independent work (fall seminar and spring
paper). Students may find advisors on their own, by agreement with some member
of the faculty. On the other hand, certain faculty are assigned by the chair of
the department special responsibility for supervision of undergraduate
independent work and constitute the Senior Thesis/Junior Paper Advising Panel.
Students who do not find advisors on their own are assigned advisors from this
panel by the departmental representative. By the end of the second week of
classes spring semester, every junior should submit to the departmental
representative either confirmation of an agreement about advising with some one
member of the faculty, or else a list of several members of the panel by whom
the student would be willing to be advised. Notice of advisor assignments will
be posted early the next week of classes.
Junior papers are due the second day of reading period. This is a University
deadline. Late work cannot be accepted for grading by the department unless
permission to do so is granted by the Office of the Dean of the College. There
is a grade penalty of 1 point per weekday to a maximum of 10 (= a full letter
grade) for lateness, unless a waiver is granted. Waivers require approval of the
seminar instructor and the departmental representative.
A student who has satisfied the prerequisite by the end of fall semester
sophomore year may apply to become an early concentrator spring semester and
begin independent work then. This option is especially recommended for students
planning to be away on foreign study for either or both semesters junior year.
Students who, owing to absence on foreign study or late change of concentration,
do not participate in a junior seminar fall semester junior year also make up
that semester's junior independent work by writing an additional junior paper,
usually over the summer.
Senior year independent work consists of preparation for the departmental
examination and writing the senior thesis, an essay or group of related essays
on a topic or group of related topics, amounting to at least 10,000 words (about
40 pages), and normally at most twice that, written under the supervision of a
faculty advisor. A student electing a special option (Philosophy of Science,
Political Philosophy) must write the thesis on a topic appropriate to that area
broadly construed.
On the one hand, any member of the department faculty is eligible to advise a
senior thesis if willing to do so. (Advising by outside faculty is also
possible, subject to approval by the departmental representative.) Students may
find advisors on their own, by agreement with some member of the faculty. On the
other hand, certain faculty are assigned by the chair of the department special
responsibility for supervision of undergraduate independent work, and constitute
the Senior Thesis/Junior Paper Advising Panel (as mentioned above). Students who
do not find advisors on their own are assigned advisors from this panel by the
departmental representative. By the end of the second full week of classes fall
semester, every senior should submit to the departmental representative either
confirmation of an agreement about advising with some one member of the faculty,
or else a list of several members of the panel by whom the student would be
willing to be advised. Notice of advisor assignments will be posted early the
next week of classes.
A thesis proposal, consisting of a short paragraph describing the thesis
project, mentioning several issues that will be pursued and several works that
will be discussed, is due immediately after the fall recess. Two copies should
be submitted to the Undergraduate Assistant.
A thesis draft, consisting of some 3000 to 4000 words of written material
towards the thesis, not necessarily in final form, is due immediately after
winter recess, on the first day of reading period. Two copies should be
submitted to the Undergraduate Assistant.
The completed thesis itself is due Monday the last week of classes spring
semester. Two copies should be submitted to the undergraduate assistant in the
department office. One copy, for eventual microfilming by the library, must be
unbound (loose pages in a labeled envelope); the other, for eventual return to
the student, is usually bound, though it is not required to be. There is a
prescribed format for the title page and a copyright page. Samples will be
available in the appropriate seniors' folder located in the course boxes.
There is a grade penalty of 1 point per weekday to a maximum of 10 (= a full
letter grade) for lateness, unless a waiver is granted. Waivers require approval
of the thesis advisor and the departmental representative. Requests for
extensions on medical grounds must be supported by a note from University Health
Services. Theses late more than one week cannot be accepted for grading by the
department unless permission to do so is granted by the Office of the Dean of
the College.
The thesis is read and graded by the student's advisor together with the
student's departmental examination coordinator. The thesis grade (like the
examination grade) is reported to the student, along with oral comments by the
readers, and the student's copy of the thesis is returned, immediately after the
student's departmental examination. Because of the large number of theses to be
graded in a short time, extended written comments should not be expected.
A student who fails to submit a thesis, or who receives a grade of F on the
thesis is ineligible for graduation. Information about thesis prizes is provided
elsewhere.
Senior year independent work consists of writing the senior thesis and
preparing for the departmental examination, a ninety-minute oral examination on
an area of philosophy, defined by a syllabus of readings and to which the thesis
topic belongs. (A student who feels that an oral examination will not
sufficiently reveal his or her knowledge and abilities may take a written
examination in addition to, but not instead of, the oral examination.) The
examination is conducted by a member of the department faculty assigned as the
student's examination coordinator, together with the student's thesis advisor.
Departmental examination coordinators are assigned by the departmental
representative during the latter part of fall semester. The coordinator assists
the student in developing an acceptable syllabus of readings for the
examination. (Usually this involves no more than adding a couple of items to the
developing thesis bibliography, so as to broaden the area a bit beyond the
immediate focus of the thesis.)
A completed examination syllabus, ready for approval by the examiners, is due
immediately after spring recess. Two copies should be submitted to the
Undergraduate Assistant.
The examination itself must be held before the last day of the period towards
the end of spring semester (just after reading period) set aside in the
University calendar for departmental examinations. It is the student's
responsibility to confer with both examiners and reach agreement on the hour,
day, and place (usually the examination coordinator's office) of the
examination. These agreed arrangements are to be reported to the Undergraduate
Assistant in the department office by the thesis due date. If arrangements are
not completed by the student by that date, the examination coordinator is to
confer with the thesis advisor and reach agreement on the hour, day during the
period set aside in the University calendar for departmental examinations, and
place of the examination, and report these agreed arrangements to the
undergraduate assistant in the department office, who will notify the student.
The examination grade (like the thesis grade) is reported to the student, along
with oral comments by the readers, immediately after the examination.
A student who fails to submit a thesis, or who receives a grade of F on the
thesis is ineligible to take the departmental examination, and receives a grade
of I (incomplete) for it. A student who receives a grade of F on the examination
after receiving a grade of D on the thesis is ineligible for graduation, unless
the department faculty, on consideration of the student's overall academic
record, votes to make an exception.
Course grades and junior independent work grades are reported as letter
grades, converted to number grades for purposes of computing averages:
A+ = 98.75
A = 95
A- = 91.25
B+ = 88.75
B = 85
B- = 81.25
C+ = 78.75
C = 75
C- = 71.25
D = 65
F = 50
Senior independent work grades are reported as number grades, converted to
letter grades for recording on the student's transcript:
down through 97.5 = A+
92.5 = A
90 = A-
87.5 = B+
82.5 = B
80 = B-
77.5 = C+
72.5 = C
70 = C-
60 = D
anything lower = F
The departmental average is computed according to the following formula:
Departmental Courses count 40% (=5% per course in the usual case of 8 courses).
Jr. Independent Work counts 20% (=10% fall seminar + 10% spring paper).
Sr. Independent Work counts 40% (=35% thesis + 5% departmental examination).
A student with a departmental average of D (i.e. below 70) is ineligible to
graduate, unless the faculty of the department, on consideration of the
student's overall academic record, votes to make an exception.
Graduation honors (cum laude), high honors (magna cum laude), and highest honors
(summa cum laude) are awarded on the basis of departmental averages. The faculty
decides each year the conversion of averages to honors for that year, in such a
way as to avoid so far as possible making a distinction as to honors between
students whose averages are very close. In recent years the lower bound for
honors has been set somewhat above 92, resulting in about half of the department's
graduating seniors receiving some class of honors, which is close to average
among departments in the University as a whole.
Thesis prizes are awarded by vote of the department faculty. All senior theses
are automatically considered for prizes; no formal nomination is required. A
single prize may be divided among two or more winners. The larger prizes (whose
exact value varies from year to year, but has been over $1000 in recent years)
are:
The smaller prizes are the Tomb for a thesis on philosophy of time ($100), and
the Dickinson for a thesis in logic or theory of knowledge (a medal or $60 cash,
but since this is far less than the value of the medal, unless the student has
indicated at the time the thesis was submitted that he or she would prefer the
cash, it will be assumed that the student will prefer the medal, and the
department will proceed to have it engraved with his or her name).
In addition, there are some thesis prizes awarded by other departments for which
seniors in the philosophy department may be eligible. The Honors List is posted
shortly after the last faculty meeting of the term; prizes are announced and
awarded at the Class Day reception for parents.
Last modified 05 OCT 06.