Philosophy and Religion Minor

快猫成版视频

Philosophy and Religion Minor

Why study philosophy and religion?

鈥淭he unexamined life is not worth living.鈥 (Socrates)

Philosophy explores the most fundamental questions of human existence.  This exploration involves the careful analysis of complex concepts and the evaluation and construction of arguments.  By engaging in philosophical inquiries, students can enhance their cognitive abilities and gain a deeper understanding of the nature of reality.  Examples of philosophical questions include:

  • Does God exist? Why is there evil if there is God?
  • What is it to be a person? Are you the same person over time?
  • What is the nature of consciousness? Does the soul exist?
  • What is the relation between the mind and the brain? Can computers think?
  • What is knowledge? How can we know we are not in the Matrix?
  • What are religious beliefs about? How can we understand differences among religions?
  • What is science? Is science compatible with religion?
  • What is right or wrong? Is abortion/ euthanasia/ capital punishment/war/ same-sex marriage right or wrong?
  • What is the purpose of having a government? What is the best form of government?
  • What is a just society? Why should we obey the law?
  • What is the meaning of life? What is happiness? Is death good or bad?
  • What kinds of careers do philosophy students have? 

What kinds of careers do philosophy students have? 

Philosophy is incredibly practical.  The skills honed through the study of philosophy, including critical thinking, problem-solving, effective communication, persuasive writing, and sound argumentation, can be seamlessly applied across various career fields, such as law, business, information technology, government service, education, medicine, and the ministry.   For more information about the marketable value of philosophy in a rapidly changing economy, see and .

TROY鈥檚 Philosophy and Religion minor has been instrumental in helping many students gain acceptance into various graduate programs, including Harvard University, the Penn State Law School, the University of Washington Law School, Southern University Law Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the UCLA Medical School.  Please check Student Testimonials to learn more about how this popular minor has positively impacted our students鈥 career paths.

Philosophy also provides a strong preparation for graduate and professional schools.  Philosophy students consistently have the highest mean composite scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the highest average scores on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and outperform most majors, including business, on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).  For the test records, check this out .

For some examples of what philosophy can do for your career, see below:  

Quote:

鈥淢inoring in philosophy directly benefitted me when it came time to take the LSAT鈥攚hich was a huge factor in my success in law school applications.  Many of the skills I learned in philosophy classes transferred into critical thinking and practical analysis of arguments both in the LSAT as well as in every other class at Troy.  Because of the philosophy minor, I am a much better debater and critical thinker than I would have been otherwise!鈥

Carl Vincent Pratt III  |  History Major and Philosophy Minor
Quote:

鈥 Dr. Lim not only helped me realize what my ethical beliefs are, but he taught me how to hold polite and civil discussions about touchy issues. And Dr. Valentine not only provided me with a baseline for my belief system, but helped me to understand others on their terms 鈥 evaluating their arguments from a stance of compassion, not just trying to win. For anyone who enjoys critical thinking, for anyone who wants to be more informed about our moral reasoning, for anyone at all, actually!- I would highly recommend 快猫成版视频鈥檚 Philosophy minor. 鈥

Avery Wilson  |  Communications Major and Philosophy  and Religion Minor
Quote:

鈥 Studying philosophy is the perfect minor for curious minds.  All of my philosophy classes served as mini vacations classes for me in a day full of copying down notes.  I was able to exercise a different part of my brain and linking my personal experiences to the readings鈥. Finding out that studying philosophy strengthens critical thinking skills was a plus for me knowing I would soon be attending graduate school.  Also, with medical school still open as an option ethics class caused me to think about the hard questions in our medical communities. 鈥

Xavia Bree Alloway  |  Political Science Major and Philosophy and Religion Minor

 

Faculty

Joungbin Lim (Ph.D., University of Virginia)

  • Research interests: metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, epistemology
  • Courses taught at 快猫成版视频: Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics, Critical Thinking, Logic, Western Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion

Jay Valentine (Ph.D., University of Virginia)

  • Research interests: World Philosophy, World Religions, Philosophies of Buddhism and Hinduism, Confucianism, Daoism
  • Courses taught at 快猫成版视频: Introduction to Political Philosophy, World Religions, Ethics, Applied Ethics, Non-Western Philosophies
Quote:

鈥淭he classes that are offered in this minor forced us as students to formulate our own opinions and to think of opposing scenarios that could help in future occupations. Critical Thinking was the first class that I took under this minor and from the first day I genuinely wanted to learn more. Both professors that I took, Dr. Joungbin Lim and Dr. Jay Valentine, shared valuable information through their coursework and cared for the success of each student that was in their classes. If you want to be able to enhance your thinking skills and take a deeper look into various philosophical topics, then this is the minor for you.鈥

Breanna Guice  |  Psychology Major and Philosophy and Religion Minor

Rick Garlikov (ABD, University of Michigan)

  • Courses taught at 快猫成版视频: Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to Ethics, Critical Reasoning, Bioethics, The Meaning of (the Concept of) Love
  • Research Interests: Ethics, Medical Ethics, Business Ethics, Philosophy and Ethics of Economics, Philosophy of Education, Philosophy of Law, Philosophy of Art, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Religion, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Analytic Philosophy of a variety of concepts, including "Love"
  • Essays and books online free at: 

 

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