Philosophy | New College of Florida

Overview

Pursuing philosophy means questioning—critically, intensively, passionately—our ways of living, valuing, creating, and understanding. Sometimes it does this directly, as in the fields of ethics, political philosophy, and epistemology. Sometimes it does this indirectly, as in the fields of metaphysics, philosophy of language, and again, epistemology, as we strive to understand the features of reality and our fundamental cognitive and experiential relations to those features.

This makes the study of philosophy a meaningful way to explore human values and interpersonal relations, through the critical examination of alternative conceptions of ethical, social, political, and cognitive values. The focus on critical examination, involving the relations between language, logic, and the world and emphasizing analysis, clarity, and cogent reasoning, also makes philosophy a great way to develop critical thinking skills. Philosophy applies rigorous critical thought to matters of fundamental human concern.

The New College Philosophy Area of Concentration (AOC) puts students in contact with the history of philosophical discussion in Western classical, medieval, and modern thought, as well as that of global philosophical traditions. Students also engage the vital philosophical thought of the present day, working with approaches and techniques developed in the Analytic and the European Continental traditions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Courses offered in philosophy include: Classical Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, Classical Chinese Philosophy, Introduction to Ethics, Contemporary Ethical Theory, Environmental Ethics, Theory of Knowledge, Metaphysics Survey, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mind, Language Thought and the World, Language and Politics, Ethics of Otherness, Existentialist Themes, Embodiment, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Hegel and Marx, Deleuze and Foucault, Formal Logic, and Philosophy of Music.

Faculty in Philosophy

Nicolas Delon, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies (On Leave)
Aron Edidin, Professor of Philosophy
April Flakne, Professor of Philosophy
Christopher Noble, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (On Leave)

Affiliated Faculty

Michael Gorup, Assistant Professor of Political Science

Requirements for the AOC in Philosophy

A minimum of ten (10) academic units.

Course List
Code	Title
History of Philosophy
Select two courses, including at least one foundational course:
Foundational Courses
PHIL 2205	Classical Philosophy*
or PHIL 2200	Modern Philosophy*
Other Courses in the History of Philosophy
PHIL 2210	Classical Chinese Philosophy*
PHIL 2150	Comparative History of Philosophy*
PHIL 3410	Augustine’s Confessions: The Foundations of Medieval Philosophy
PHIL 3305	Spinoza*
PHIL 3310	The Philosophy of Leibniz
PHIL 4600	Kant's Critique of Pure Reason*
PHIL 3450	Hegel and Marx
PHIL 4150	Early Modern Women Philosophers
Formal Logic
One required course in Formal Logic:
PHIL 2700	Formal Logic
Value Theory
Select one course in Ethics, such as:
PHIL 2010	The Good Life: Happiness, Meaning, and Ethics in a Complex World*
PHIL 2400	Introduction to Ethics*
PHIL 2450	Environmental Ethics
PHIL 4500	Advanced Ethics
Select one additional course in Value Theory (Aesthetics, Metaethics, Social and Political Philosophy), such as the following: ¹
PHIL 3350	Philosophy of Music
PHIL 2260	Language and Politics*
PHIL 3450	Hegel and Marx
PHIL 3220	Philosophical and Utopian Literature*
PHIL 3510	Agency, Autonomy, Freedom (with appropriate choices of paper topics)
PHIL 3100	Topics in Feminist Philosophy (with appropriate choices of paper topics)
Contemporary Analytic Systematic Areas
Select two courses from the following examples:
PHIL 2300	Metaphysics Survey*
PHIL 2100	Theory of Knowledge*
PHIL 3200	Language, Thought, and the World
PHIL 3320	Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 3300	Philosophy of Science*
PHIL 3530	Social Reality
PHIL 3510	Agency, Autonomy, Freedom
PHIL 3100	Topics in Feminist Philosophy
European Continental Thought
Select one course from the following examples:
PHIL 2350	Existentialist Themes*
PHIL 3160	Ethics of Otherness
PHIL 3380	Embodiment: Phenomenology and Performance
PHIL 3550	Phenomenology/Critical Phenomenology
PHIL 4200	The Philosophy of Martin Heidegger
Diverse Philosophical Perspectives
Select one course from the following examples:
PHIL 2210	Classical Chinese Philosophy*
PHIL 2150	Comparative History of Philosophy*
PHIL 3100	Topics in Feminist Philosophy
PHIL 4150	Early Modern Women Philosophers
PHIL 3410	Augustine’s Confessions: The Foundations of Medieval Philosophy
Additional Requirements
Additional course, tutorial, or ISP in Philosophy
Senior Thesis in Philosophy and Baccalaureate Exam

¹: Some cross-listed courses in areas like political theory and bioethics can also satisfy the second Value Theory requirement; check with Philosophy faculty about particular courses.

Note: A single course may not in general be used to satisfy more than one of these requirements, but a course that satisfies the Diverse Perspectives requirement may also satisfy one of the others if appropriate. Alternative ways of satisfying requirements (by transfer credit or alternative courses or tutorials) should be discussed with a Philosophy faculty member.

Requirements for the Joint AOC in Philosophy

A minimum of seven (7) academic units.

Course List
Code	Title
History of Philosophy
Select one foundational course:
PHIL 2205	Classical Philosophy*
or PHIL 2200	Modern Philosophy*
Formal Logic
One required course in Formal Logic:
PHIL 2700	Formal Logic
Ethics
Select one course from the following examples:
PHIL 2010	The Good Life: Happiness, Meaning, and Ethics in a Complex World*
PHIL 2400	Introduction to Ethics*
PHIL 2450	Environmental Ethics
PHIL 4500	Advanced Ethics
Contemporary Analytic Systematic Areas
Select one course from the following examples:
PHIL 2300	Metaphysics Survey*
PHIL 2100	Theory of Knowledge*
PHIL 3200	Language, Thought, and the World
PHIL 3320	Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 3300	Philosophy of Science*
PHIL 3530	Social Reality
European Continental Thought
Select one course from the following examples:
PHIL 2350	Existentialist Themes*
PHIL 3160	Ethics of Otherness
PHIL 3380	Embodiment: Phenomenology and Performance
PHIL 3550	Phenomenology/Critical Phenomenology
PHIL 4200	The Philosophy of Martin Heidegger
Diverse Philosophical Perspectives
Select one course from the following examples:
PHIL 2210	Classical Chinese Philosophy*
PHIL 2150	Comparative History of Philosophy*
PHIL 3100	Topics in Feminist Philosophy
PHIL 4150	Early Modern Women Philosophers
PHIL 3410	Augustine’s Confessions: The Foundations of Medieval Philosophy
Additional Requirements
Additional course, tutorial, or ISP in Philosophy
Senior Thesis that includes philosophical content and Baccalaureate Exam

Note: A single course may not in general be used to satisfy more than one of these requirements, but a course that satisfies the Diverse Perspectives requirement may also satisfy one of the others if appropriate. Alternative ways of satisfying requirements (by transfer credit or alternative courses or tutorials) should be discussed with a Philosophy faculty member.

Requirements for a Secondary Field in Philosophy

A minimum of five (5) academic units.

The equivalent of five full-semester activities (courses, tutorials, ISPs) in Philosophy, including activities taught by at least two different New College faculty members.

Representative Senior Theses in Philosophy

Transforming Ourselves, Transforming Our Society: A Virtue-Based Approach to Liberatory Education
The Question of the Meaning of Being
A Posthumanist Conception of Consent
Ways of Care: Developing a Social Conception of Epistemic Responsibility
Preventing Collapse Through a Synthesis of Nietzschean and Confucian Philosophy
Revisiting Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus in Light of Gadamer
Reducing Inconsistencies in Our Attitudes Towards Animals
Lived Experience and Mathematical Pedagogy
Consciousness, Embodiment, and Artificial Intelligence
Autonomy and Close Relationships