The Philosophy major at Yale-NUS guides students in their development as philosophers on two dimensions:
- An appreciation for philosophy in multiple traditions
- Fundamental philosophical skills:
(a) Textual Analysis (b) Formal Analysis (c) Problem Solving (d) Applications
The traditions dimension
Students should take courses that address texts and ideas drawn from at least two of the world’s philosophical traditions. This may be done either by taking two courses, each focusing predominantly on a distinct philosophical tradition or by taking several courses treating multiple traditions together.
It is possible for a course to provide half-credit towards a tradition (e.g., 0.5 Indian) if roughly half of the course addresses texts and ideas from this tradition; indeed, a single course might provide half-credit towards two different traditions. The traditions requirement will be satisfied as long as the student has received 2 units in this way across at least two traditions, but with no more than 1 unit being received per tradition. For instance, the requirement would be satisfied by a student who received the following units: 0.5 Indian, 0.5 Chinese, 0.5 Latin American, 0.5 African. But it would not be satisfied by a student who received the following units: 1.5 Indian, 0.5 Chinese.
The skills dimension
Each student must take at least one distinct course in each of three areas; students are strongly advised to take courses addressing all four–particularly if they aspire to pursue graduate work in philosophy:
- Textual analysis: focuses on reading challenging philosophical texts and understanding these texts in the context of their composition, their commentarial traditions, and their history.
- Formal analysis: focuses on using the tools of formal logic, decision theory and related techniques to develop and analyse philosophical arguments, or focuses on topics in the philosophy of logic and mathematics.
- Philosophical problem-solving: focuses on tackling important philosophical problems, in abstraction from the traditions or texts in which they arise, and develops arguments to defend solutions to these problems. (Thus, the portions of a course that satisfy this dimension will not ordinarily satisfy the Textual Analysis or Application dimensions – though such a course may satisfy these other dimensions in other ways.)
- Application: focuses on applying philosophical ideas outside the discipline of Philosophy, for instance to medicine, science, religion, environmental issues, social or political problems, or to shaping one’s life. (Note that the portions of a course that satisfy this dimension will not ordinarily satisfy the Problem-Solving dimension – though such a course may satisfy this dimension in other ways.)
A single course may satisfy requirements for multiple dimensions, but a single course may satisfy requirements for at most one skill. Note that 2-unit courses do not satisfy requirements for any of the dimensions above.
Requirements for a Major in Philosophy
Any set of nine courses in Philosophy (44 units) collectively satisfying the two dimensions detailed above, together with a capstone project (10 units, which includes the capstone seminar), suffices to fulfil the requirements of the major (54 units total).
No particular course is required, except the Capstone Seminar. However, at least four of the Philosophy courses (20 units) completed for the course (other than the Capstone Seminar) must be taken at Yale-NUS.
Capstone: The Philosophy capstone may be a single sustained essay investigating a philosophical topic, or it can be a linked set of shorter essays on more specific topics; even more daring formats may be explored, designed in consultation with the student’s advisor. The Philosophy Capstone Seminar meets in Semester 1 of the final year. There will be a Capstone Symposium at the end of Semester 1, and public oral examinations in the form of a conference after submission of the final written work in Semester 2. For more information on the capstone, see here.
Requirements for a Minor in Philosophy
The Philosophy minor comprises five courses (25 units) and does not require a capstone project. At least three Philosophy courses (12 units) completed for the minor must be taken at Yale-NUS.
Courses selected must include at least one distinct course representing two of the four skill areas, and satisfy the traditions dimension, as described above.
What courses count towards the major/minor?
Any course cross-listed with Philosophy automatically counts toward the Philosophy major/minor, whether it is offered at Yale-NUS or NUS. Courses not cross-listed in Philosophy may count toward the major if they normally would be cross-listed as Philosophy. (For example, a course on Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy taught by a philosopher in the School of Theology at another university might be counted toward our major as a Philosophy course even if that course were not cross-listed in Philosophy at the university in question.) However, such decisions are made by the Head of Studies on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the student’s advisor, and are not determinable in advance.
Up to two non-Philosophy courses may count towards the major, where a case is made on the basis of the proposed course’s content, or of its fit with the particular philosophical focus of the student. (For example, a student with a particular focus on ancient Western philosophy might be permitted to count one or two courses on Classical Greek toward the Philosophy major.) However, such decisions are made on a case-by-case basis by the Head of Studies in consultation with the student’s advisor, and are not determinable in advance. Moreover, these courses cannot be used to satisfy the ‘traditions’ or ‘skills’ dimensions of the major requirements.
