220 Humanities Office Building II; (949) 824-6525
E-mail: philos@uci.edu
Alan Nelson, Department Chair
Faculty
Ermanno Bencivenga, Ph.D. University of Toronto, Professor of Philosophy (logic, history of philosophy, philosophy of language)
William Bristow, Ph.D. Harvard University, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (Kant, nineteenth-century European philosophy)
Lara Denis, Ph.D. Cornell University, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (ethics, Kant)
S. Nicholas Jolley, Ph.D. Cambridge University, Professor of Philosophy (early modern philosophy, political philosophy)
J. Karel Lambert, Ph.D. Michigan State University, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy (logic, philosophy of science, metaphysics)
Alan Nelson, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago, Department Chair and Professor of Philosophy (history of philosophy, philosophy of science)
Nelson C. Pike, Ph.D. Harvard University, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy (philosophy of religion, history of philosophy)
Gerasimos Santas, Ph.D. Cornell University, Professor of Philosophy (ancient philosophy, history of philosophy, ethics)
Martin Schwab, Ph.D. University of Bielefeld, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literature (nineteenth- and twentieth-century continental philosophy)
David W. Smith, Ph.D. Stanford University, Professor of Philosophy (phenomenology, Husserl, ontology, philosophy of mind)
Nicholas White, Ph.D. Harvard University, Professor of Philosophy (Greek philosophy, ethics, epistemology)
Peter Woodruff, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy (philosophy of logic, metaphysics)
Affiliated Faculty
Francisco J. Ayala, Ph.D. Columbia University, Founding Director of the Bren Fellows Program, Bren Chair, and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and of Philosophy
Jacques Derrida, Doctorate d'Etat ès Lettres, Professor of French, Philosophy, and Comparative Literature (philosophy, critical theory)
Matthew D. Foreman, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy
Donald Hoffman, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Cognitive Sciences and of Information and Computer Science
Ruth Barcan Marcus, Ph.D. Yale University, Visiting Professor of Philosophy
Robert May, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy
Terence Parsons, Ph.D. Stanford University, Professor of Philosophy, UCLA (philosophy of language, Medieval philosophy)
Roger N. Walsh, M.B.B.S., Ph.D. University of Queensland, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Philosophy addresses itself to questions that arise insistently in every area of human experience and in every discipline within the university. Each discipline inevitably poses problems concerning the nature of the standards appropriate to it and the place of its subject matter within the total framework of human knowledge. If we are to understand science or art or literature, or such human practices as religion and moral thought, we are bound to address ourselves to philosophical issues relating to their nature, the uses of reason appropriate to them, and the contributions they make to our understanding and appreciation of ourselves and the world in which we live.
The study of argument and the precision and clarity of thought and writing required of Philosophy majors are excellent preparation for a variety of careers. Many undergraduates trained in Philosophy go on to professional schools in medicine, business, or law. The analytical skills developed in Philosophy courses are especially useful in legal education; indeed, many UCI Philosophy graduates have been successful at top law schools. Former Philosophy students have also used their skills to advantage in careers in government, business, teaching, law enforcement, and computer programming. Many Philosophy majors also continue their education at the graduate level, either in philosophy or a related discipline.
The UCI Career Center provides services to students and alumni including career counseling, information about job opportunities, a career library, and workshops on resume preparation, job search, and interview techniques. See the Career Center section for additional information.
Instruction in philosophy relies essentially upon discussion in which students are active participants. Wherever possible, therefore, classes are severely limited in size in order to permit sustained interchanges between students and instructor.
Some of the courses offered are of general interest to all students. Others are designed to explore issues that arise in selected and special disciplines such as art or science. The undergraduate advisor should be consulted for advice about courses best suited to the specialized needs of particular students.
The program of course offerings is also designed for those Philosophy majors whose intention may be either to enter some professional school upon graduation (e.g., law) or to engage in graduate work in philosophy.
The faculty encourages Philosophy majors and minors to seriously consider expanding their perspective through an experience of study abroad. The Center for International Education, which includes the Education Abroad Program (EAP) and the International Opportunities Program (IOP), assists students in taking advantage of many worldwide opportunities for study and research. Specifically, those interested in analytic philosophy could consider the EAP programs in the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand, and those interested in Continental philosophy could consider the EAP programs in France, Germany, and Italy. See the Center for International Education section of the Catalogue or your academic counselor for additional information.
University Requirements: See pages 54-59.
School Requirements: See page 209.
Departmental Requirements for the Major
Philosophy 30 or 104; 10, 12, and either 11 or 13; Philosophy 101, 102, 103, and five additional quarter courses from Philosophy 100, 105-199. Students planning to go on to graduate school are strongly advised to take Philosophy 105A and 105B.
Residence Requirement: At least five upper-division courses required for the major must be completed successfully at UCI.
Departmental Requirements for the Minor
The minor consists of two portions: a lower-division portion and an upper-division portion. Both must be satisfied.
Lower division: Three courses selected from Philosophy 1, 4, 5, 30 or three courses selected from Philosophy 1, 6, 7, 30 or three courses selected from Philosophy 10, 11, 12, 13, 30.
Upper division: Four courses in a given subfield of philosophy, some of which have been pre-approved by the Department and are included below: History of Philosophy (Philosophy 110-117); Metaphysics and Epistemology (Philosophy 120-124); Value Theory (Philosophy 113B, 130-135); Logic and Methodology (Philosophy 105-108, 115, 140-148). Other four-course sequences may be possible, subject to written permission by the Department. Such a sequence must consist of related courses in a coherent subfield.
Residence Requirement for the Minor: Four upper-division courses must be completed successfully at UCI. By petition, two of the four may be taken through the UC Education Abroad Program, providing course content is approved in advance by the appropriate department chair.
The Ph.D. program in Philosophy is jointly and cooperatively administered by the Department of Philosophy in the School of Humanities and the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science (LPS) in the School of Social Sciences. The graduate program has two distinct tracks--the Philosophy track and the LPS track--both of which begin from a common core of shared requirements in history of philosophy, logic, ethics, and metaphysics/epistemology. Students are advised to apply to the track whose faculty, areas of specialization, and curriculum most closely correspond to their interests. The Philosophy track is described here. See the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science for a description of the LPS track.
Students in the Philosophy track are encouraged to seek the counsel of any and all members of the Philosophy Department and the Logic and Philosophy of Science Department whose recommendations the student would deem helpful. It is hoped that there will be a close intellectual relationship between graduate students and professors in order to provide the students with optimum conditions for philosophical development and to expedite their progress toward the advanced degree. In addition, the Philosophy Department sponsors a series of colloquia each year. Participation in these colloquia is an important part of the graduate student's training. The Logic and Philosophy of Science Department also sponsors colloquia that might be of interest to Philosophy track students.
Every new graduate student is assigned a faculty member whose purpose is to oversee the student's progress through the major requirements for the advanced degree. The student consults with this faculty member each quarter about progress and any administrative or academic difficulties. Each student's overall record is evaluated by the Philosophy Department each year, customarily during the first two weeks of April. When the student has satisfied the residency requirement and the history, logic, field, tools of research, and portfolio requirements, the Candidacy Committee supervises the qualifying examination and the development of a dissertation project, and the subsequent writing of the dissertation itself. The Chair of this committee is the principal person with whom the graduate student will consult on the dissertation.
There is no list of courses required for the M.A. degree. The M.A. program in Philosophy takes one year at a minimum. The student may elect to follow either of the following routes to the degree: write a thesis on a subject to be chosen in consultation with an advisor and defend the thesis in an oral examination, or satisfy the logic and portfolio requirements for the Philosophy track. Refer to the Research and Graduate Studies section for information on the minimum number of courses required for the M.A. degree.
Advancement to candidacy for the M.A. degree is not automatic, but requires formal application to the Dean of Graduate Studies via the Philosophy Department Office. Application must be made with the recommendation of the Philosophy Department and must take place before the beginning of the quarter in which the student expects to receive the degree.
There is no set number of courses required for the Philosophy track, so that work can be tailored to the individual student's needs and interests. However, as a prerequisite for the Ph.D. degree, every student is required to have some experience in teaching.
The Philosophy track is designed to take five years for the normally qualified student. In exceptional cases it may be possible to obtain the degree within four years. A master's degree is not a prerequisite for the Ph.D. The following items are requirements for the Ph.D. degree.
Distribution Requirements. Students are required to take a range of courses designed to expose them to the various historical periods and fields of philosophy. No particular courses are required; when course offerings are announced, students are notified about which courses can be used to satisfy which requirements. In some cases, the requirement satisfied will ultimately depend on the content of the student's term paper(s).
The Distribution Requirements are:
1. History. To satisfy this requirement, students must receive a grade of B or better in at least four courses covering at least three of the following areas: Ancient, Medieval, Modern Empiricism, Modern Rationalism, Kant, Nineteenth Century, and Twentieth Century.
2. Field. To satisfy this requirement, students must receive a grade of B or better in two courses in value theory and one course in metaphysics/epistemology.
These requirements must be completed by the end of the seventh quarter in residence.
Logic Requirement. Students must receive a grade of B or better in an approved logic course. This requirement must be completed by the end of the seventh quarter in residence.
Tools of Research. This requirement allows students to pursue the tool which they and their advisors deem most useful for their area of concentration, either a foreign language or some course of study outside philosophy. To satisfy this requirement, a student must pass an examination in a single appropriate foreign language or receive a grade of B or better in each of three appropriate graduate-level courses in a discipline other than philosophy.
The two-hour foreign language examination (administered by the Philosophy Department) requires students to translate, with the aid of a dictionary, passages from one or two philosophical authors. For the second option, courses of study outside philosophy will be approved (by the Philosophy Department Director of Graduate Studies) when they bear on a student's area of philosophical concentration. Though the courses must be in a discipline other than philosophy, they may in fact be taught in the Philosophy Department or the LPS Program (e.g., a course in mathematical logic taught by an LPS faculty member).
This requirement must be completed by the end of the ninth quarter in residence.
The Portfolio. A portfolio is an extended writing sample designed to demonstrate a student's ability (a) to understand, analyze, and evaluate positions and arguments in classical and contemporary philosophical literature, and (b) to formulate and defend an original philosophical thesis. These virtues must be displayed at a level of sophistication that indicates the student's ability to write a Ph.D. dissertation.
The portfolio must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator at the end of the fourth week of the student's seventh quarter in residence. Portfolios will be evaluated by the entire faculty of the Philosophy Department. (Philosophy track students may request that relevant LPS faculty also be present at the evaluation meeting.)
Candidacy Examination. In preparation for the candidacy examination, students consult with their thesis advisor and other appropriate faculty to prepare a reading list on their area of concentration and a brief dissertation proposal. Students apply for candidacy by filing appropriate forms, including a list (devised in consultation with their advisor) of appropriate members for their Candidacy Committee; one of these, the External Examiner, must come from outside the School of Humanities. The Committee is then appointed by the Philosophy Department, on behalf of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council, to administer the oral candidacy examination on the reading list and proposal to determine whether or not the student is prepared to begin work on the dissertation.
This requirement must be completed by the end of the ninth quarter in residence. The Philosophy Department Chair, on behalf of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council, then appoints a Doctoral Committee (typically taken from the Candidacy Committee and naturally including the dissertation advisor) to supervise the writing of the dissertation.
Dissertation Defense. Students must defend their dissertation during an oral examination administered by their Doctoral Committee.
The Department of Philosophy and the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science jointly administer an Exchange Program with the University of Salzburg. The program has two parts. The Scholarly Exchange provides opportunities for faculty and graduate students in Philosophy and LPS to visit Salzburg and for faculty and graduate students from Salzburg to visit one or the other of the UCI units. The Program also sponsors joint conferences, held alternately in Irvine and in Salzburg; these are co-sponsored by Salzburg and the UCI Interdisciplinary Program in the History and Philosophy of Science.
To be eligible for the Salzburg Exchange, a graduate student must have advanced to candidacy. The selected student spends one semester in Salzburg, usually teaching one course in the general area of the thesis topic. An upper-division course may be taught in English, but lower-division courses must be taught in German. (Some previous visitors have learned serviceable German by attending a Goethe institute during the preceding summer.) Typically, a Salzburg visitor will receive a Salzburg Fellowship intended to cover travel expenses, and a stipend; those who teach while in Salzburg will also receive a salary intended to cover living expenses (including health and dental insurance).
Application should be made to the Philosophy Department's Salzburg Exchange Director by November 1 and should include a curriculum vita and syllabi for possible courses to be taught. The Director and/or the Philosophy Department Graduate Coordinator should be consulted for further information.
The School of Humanities offers an emphasis in Critical Theory that can be appended to the Philosophy track. A student interested in the emphasis begins by taking the three-quarter Critical Theory Workshop. With the recommendation of a workshop instructor or a Critical Theory faculty member in the Philosophy Department, the student may then apply to the Critical Theory Committee for admission to the emphasis. Emphasis students must complete the following requirements in addition to the usual Philosophy track requirements.
The Critical Theory Workshop. Students must successfully complete the three-quarter Critical Theory Workshop. This sequence is conceived as a reading group, normally conducted by a team of instructors, and developed with the input of all participants. Significant texts are discussed and analyzed in class; no term papers are required. (Students receive 0 units and In-progress grades for the fall and winter quarters; passing students receive 4 units and a Satisfactory grade for the spring quarter.
Advanced Critical Theory Requirement. Students must receive a grade of B or better in three Humanities 270 courses offered under the supervision of the Critical Theory Committee. At least three such courses will be offered each year. With the approval of the Philosophy Department, these courses can be used to satisfy the tools of research requirement.
Mini-Seminar Requirement. Students must participate in two committee-sponsored mini-seminars (six-eight hours each) offered by visiting scholars on their ongoing research.
Research Paper Requirement. Students must complete a research paper under the guidance of a three-member committee, selected in consultation with the Director; at least one member must be from outside of the Philosophy Department. This paper may (but need not) be part of the portfolio or dissertation.
Upon completion of the emphasis requirements, a letter certifying that fact, signed by the Dean of Humanities and the Director of the Critical Theory Emphasis, will be added to the student's dossier.
A graduate emphasis in Feminist Studies also is available. Refer to the Women's Studies section of the Catalogue for information.
