COURSE CURRICULUM

The Philosophy curriculum at StFX provides a comprehensive exploration of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, ethics, politics, and human nature, offering students a rigorous grounding in both historical and contemporary philosophical thought. At the 100 level, students engage with introductory courses such as Introductory Philosophy, The Examined Life, and Self, Freedom, and Justice, which cover key thinkers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, and Mill, exploring questions of rationality, morality, free will, and justice. Healthcare Ethics is also offered for nursing students, emphasizing ethical reasoning in medical contexts. At the 200 level, courses include Ancient and Medieval Political Philosophy, Modern Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Human Nature, Philosophy of Religion, Critical Thinking, and Aesthetics, examining classical and modern texts while connecting philosophical inquiry to contemporary issues. The 300 level expands into specialized areas such as Philosophy and Feminism, Ethics, Contemporary Moral and Social Issues, Environmental Ethics, Ethics in Health and Medicine, Logic, Socrates and Plato, Aristotle, Early and High Medieval Philosophy, Rationalists, Empiricists, Kant to Hegel, Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, Existentialism and Phenomenology, and Mind, Language, and Logic, encouraging critical analysis and interdisciplinary connections. At the 400 level, students in seminars in Ethics, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, Metaphysics, and Epistemology, as well as the honours thesis, engage in advanced study, research, and independent philosophical inquiry under faculty supervision, preparing them for postgraduate work or careers requiring analytical and ethical reasoning skills.