Senate Document #9

                           APC Document #5


The Academic Policies Committee recommends to the Faculty Senate
the adoption of the following catalog changes for the Department 
of Philosophy:

I.  Replace the section under "A Major in Philosophy" in the current
    catalog with the following statement:

                        A MAJOR IN PHILOSOPHY

"Philosophy" until recent times was the term used to refer to the
whole range of human thought and inquiry concerned with the nature
of the universe and man's place in it.  With the increase of
specialization, philosophy has retained an interest in the fundamental
assumptions, modes of thought, and human implications of other
disciplines.  It has a special interest in how the various facets of
human knowledge fit together, and what views of man's place in the
universe emerge.

The broad base of philosophical analysis and speculation makes a
philosophy major especially attractive to students who want a
comprehensive liberal arts education, but who are uncertain of
their professional or vocational plans after completing college.  
The major offers a solid foundation for graduate study in philosophy,
as well as useful preparation for students planning further study in
law or religion.  Students in other fields find that related courses
or a second major in philosophy give them a better understanding of
their own specialty and its broader implications.  

The department is primarily dedicated to excellence in undergraduate
instruction.  The comparatively small number of faculty and majors
allows for a close intellectual and personal relationship between
faculty and students, which we think is one of the major benefits of
a small liberal arts college.

A major in philosophy requires Philosophy 100, 101, 102, 200, 250,
252, 4 courses at the 300 level, and 1 course at the 400 level.  In
addition a philosophy major must complete 12 hours of work in a 
single other department offering a major.
All candidates for a degree in philosophy must pass the departmental
comprehensive examination in the final semester of their senior year.

Any major who plans to do graduate work in philosophy is encouraged
to have competence on the intermediate level in a classical or modern
foreign language.  Otherwise the student may choose from the foreign
language options for non-science majors as shown on p. 68.

Rationale:

The proposed initial three paragraphs describing the field give a
better description of the discipline and reasons for majoring in
it than does the current catalog wording.

The changes in course requirements are designed to allow greater
flexibility in meeting the needs of potential majors.  The older set
of requirements reflected a heavy orientation toward preparation
for graduate school, whereas the new set of requirements is designed
for a wider range of personal interests and career objectives while
retaining the core courses in a traditional philosophy major.  This
change also reduces the rather high requirement of 39 hours in
philosophy to 33.

In particular, the required courses in history of philosophy have
been reduced to the traditional Ancient/Modern sequence (250, 252).

The number of required senior seminars has been reduced from two to
one:  this should give the senior major an adequate seminar experience
while freeing the faculty to devote time to courses for which there
is greater general demand and interest.

The requirement of 12 hours in a single other discipline is designed
to ensure that the student has more than an "introductory" acquaintance
with some field other than philosophy itself.

The change in the foreign language requirement reflects the Department's
strong belief that the requirement of a foreign language should be a
policy concerning general education requirements at UNC-A as reflected
in the "All University Requirements."



II.  Eliminate references to Phil. 100 as recommended or prerequisite
     in the descriptions of Phil. 200, 250, 252, 304, 307.

Rationale:  

These prerequisites are not in reality necessary for these courses, 
since we have found that the essential concepts and terminology can
be introduced in the courses themselves.


III.  Replace the current description of Phil. 300 with the following:

	The syntax and semantics of propositional and 
	quantificational languages will be treated in detail in 
	this introduction to the methods of modern logic.  The 
	course will include a discussion of the philosophical 
	assumptions of these languages and the metatheoretical
	problems which they raise.  [Note:  the reference to 
	Phil. 101 and 102 as a prerequisite is intended to be
	deleted.]

Rationale:

Essentially an editorial change, this gives a clearer and more
succinct description of the course.


IV.  In phil. 402 change the prerequisite from "Senior standing in
     philosophy or permission of the instructor" to "Senior standing 
     in philosophy and permission of the instructor."

Rationale:

The new wording is more accurate.


V.  Under Phil. 171-3, 271-3, 371-3, 471-3  Special Topics in
    Philosophy, change the current description to the following:

	Courses not otherwise included in the catalog listing
	but for which there may from time to time be a need.
	May be repeated as subject matter changes.  Number of
	credits determined by the instructor.

Rationale:

A mere editorial change.  The new wording makes more sense.


(Passed Faculty Senate 12/12/79.)