Philosophy

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Alumnae Hall Annex I
Paul Mattick, Chair
p – (516) 877-4580
f – (516) 877-4579
e – mattick@adelphi.edu
w – philosophy.adelphi.edu

Faculty

The word philosophy has its origins in the Greek term that means the “love of wisdom.” Because wisdom for the ancient Greeks was thought to depend on the acquisition of knowledge, the subject originally included almost all areas of knowledge. Later changes in gathering and using knowledge led to the development of the natural and social sciences; what philosophy preserved from its origins was the practice of criticism of received ideas. How can we tell truth from opinion? How can we tell right from wrong behavior? How does science relate to other kinds of knowledge? What does it mean to say that something is beautiful? Such questions connect doing philosophy today to its ancient origins. The Adelphi program centers on the history of philosophy, and on the skills of conceptual analysis and rigor in argumentation necessary for creative thinking.

Admittedly, asking philosophical questions is not obviously geared to making a living. If you are considering majoring in philosophy, you might be interested to learn that philosophy majors do far better than the average student on standard tests for admission to graduate and professional schools, including the LSAT, GMAT (where they out-perform business majors), and the GRE. Philosophy majors are second only to physics majors in rates of acceptance to ABA-approved law schools.

Programs

• Ethics and Public Policy, B.A.
• Ethics, Law and Justice Minor
• Philosophy Minor
• Philosophy, B.A.

Return to: College of Arts and Sciences