Philosophy

The Philosophy and Critical Thinking Program at LaGuardia Community College offers classes that provide the students with the necessary tools to examine themselves and their role in our globalized world.  Philosophy addresses the foundational questions that every human being wrestles with: Who am I? How am I to live my life? What are aspects or issues that make me truly human?

Grounded on the development of critical thinking skills, Philosophy at LaGuardia is seen as a first rate necessity, as a discipline that will improve the lives of students and, by extension, the lives of our community. Students are given the opportunity to think, present, and discuss their ideas in an effective and clear manner, whether that be in written or oral form. Students taking any of the classes the Program offers find themselves thoroughly analyzing arguments and beliefs they and others bring to the classroom.  Students form a community of thinkers that includes some of the great humanists East and West traditions have produced, as well as their own peers.

Because classes in this program invite students to clarify their assumptions and beliefs, classes are taught in a student-centered way.  This means that a lot of the content being used in the classroom will ask students to assess knowledge that they have gathered prior to coming to school and relate that with the materials professors bring to the classroom.  Students will learn to analyze these sources in a thorough and competent way and to apply them in an accurate and responsible manner to practical matters.

When most people think of Philosophy they often don’t realize that Philosophy is a truly practical and experiential discipline that allows those participating in our classes to examine who they are and who they want to become.  It is this aspect of Philosophy that benefits our students the most, as they learn to recognize their own voice, their own independence, and their own position in the world, therefore growing as more confident people.

In support of the LaGuardia’s mission to educate and graduate its students to become critical thinkers and socially responsible citizens, the College has undertaken a team approach toward advising, designed to support you in your major from orientation through graduation.

Your Advising Team is made up of faculty, professional and peer advisors. They will guide you at every step during your college career. They are ready to help you:

• Explore your major
• Select introductory and advanced courses
• Connect you with campus support services
• Prepare an educational and career plan

Visit the Advising page to learn more about when to get advised and how to prepare for an advising appointment, and check out the Advising Calendar for information sessions, events and more.

LaGuardia’s Philosophy program opens doors in all fields because you become an excellent critical thinker! Some of the skills you gain are:

https://philosophy.ucsc.edu/index.html

Beyond giving us a greater understanding of our intellectual heritage and particular issues concerning ourselves and the world we live in, philosophy and critical thinking help us to develop the ability to:

• Think more clearly
• Express ourselves articulately
• See the implications, application and consequences of a line of thinking
• Detect weaknesses such as ambiguity, vagueness or inconsistency in how ideas are expressed
• Distinguish what is relevant to a given issue from what is not
• Differentiate various types of questions, claims or arguments, and determine what an appropriate response would be to any of them

The study of philosophy or critical thinking also helps in becoming a better student of other subjects, as well as becoming a better thinker and communicator as a whole. The honing of analytic skills and problem solving abilities enables greater success in many fields. The Times of London (August 15, 1998) writes of philosophy in America:

The great virtue of philosophy is that it teaches not what to think, but how to think. It is the study of meaning, of the principles underlying conduct, thought and knowledge. The skills it hones are the ability to analyze, to question orthodoxies and to express things clearly. However arcane some philosophical texts may be…the ability to formulate questions and follow arguments is the essence of education.

It can also be studied at many levels. In the U.S., where the number of philosophy graduates has increased by 5 per cent a year during the 1990s, only a very few go on to become philosophers. Their employability, at 98.9 per cent, is impressive by any standard. Philosophy has always been a good training for the law; but it is equally useful for computer scientists. In this country, the Higher Education Statistics Survey puts philosophy of science right up with medicine in its employment record for graduates.

Philosophy is, in commercial jargon, the ultimate transferable work skill.

Marketable Skills for Philosophy Majors

Careers uponGraduation

High GRE Scores: If you intended on attending Graduate school in any field, consider that Philosophy majors earn the highest scores on verbal and analytical sections of the GRE and earn the 5th highest scores for quantitative reasoning in September 2012. These scores are reported on http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide_table4.pdf

Salary Potential: A decent income is required to survive these days, and a Philosophy major will offer you that! In 2013, Philosophy majors were ranked 58 out of 130 college major for highest income potential. http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2013/majors-that-pay-you-back
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html

In choosing an undergraduate program in Philosophy, you should consider the quality of undergraduate education first, and then worry about the quality of the Philosophy Department. It may be beneficial to attend a college or university with a top-ranked PhD program in Philosophy, as long as those amazing graduate students will be teaching your classes. http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/undergrad.asp

A career or vocation can be built up from any major and a degree in the Humanities, philosophy in particular, provides you with the tools to establish yourself as a critical thinker and reader, and will develop your writing and speaking abilities.  If you truly enjoy what you study, you will figure out a way to make it work for you by using your creative side to find the career that satisfies your thirst for knowledge and advancement. Philosophy allows you to develop the skills all employers, graduate programs, law, business, and medical schools want!

http://dornsife.usc.edu/phil/undergraduate/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/nyregion/30medschools.html?hp&_r=0

https://philosophy.ucsc.edu/index.html

http://philosophy.ucsc.edu/images/Philosophy%20Major%20.pdf

https://philosophy.ucsc.edu/index.html

https://clas.ucdenver.edu/philosophy/about-us/why-philosophy/philosophy-careers

Explore career possibilities on  Career Connect.  

Current Students
Log in to My LaGuardia to review your Degree Audit to find out what classes to take. Have questions about using Degree Audit? Visit LaGuardia's Degree Audit page for tutorials and how-to guides.

Prospective Students
Review the curriculum.

Please note: Students will be held to the program and degree requirements of the year that they enter the College, unless the student changes their major in a different academic year. In that case, the student will be held to the current year requirements as listed in the catalog. Learn more.

Degree Map
Use the Degree Map and DegreeWorks to assist in academic planning and creating your own graduation plan in ePortfolio. See a full list of Flexible Core courses on the Pathways page.

For information about this program’s retention and graduation rate visit the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment website page.

Philosophy Club

If the Philosophy bug has bitten you, you might find yourself yearning to spend hours talking about Philosophy—which may not be welcomed by your friends. Join other students who feel just like you during the Philosophy Club’s sessions. These are student-led, student-organized sessions in which a vast array of philosophical topics is explored weekly.  We meet on Wednesdays from 2:30 to 4:30. Refreshments are served at all Philosophy Club meetings! Check us out on Facebook or subscribe to our listserv on Google Groups (LaGCCPhilosophy).

Philosophy Goes to the Movies

A special version of the club, Philosophy Goes to the Movies, meets on Fridays from 2:30 – 6:00.  Students view a specially selected movie with philosophical questions and themes, and then discuss these themes in a free-wheeling and provocative philosophical discussion. 

Invited Guest Lecturers

Professors from the Philosophy and Critical Thinking Program often invite their peers from different colleges to give talks to our students.  In the past few years these lectures have included Professor Eric Schwitzgebel’s talk on The Craziest Metaphysics of Mind, Professor Hans Halvorson’s talk on The Relativity of Wrong Redux, Ms. Maria Kulp’s talk on Medically Assisted Death: Physicians and Suicide and Mr. Jung’s Psychopathy, its Challenge to Moral Theories.

Annual CUNY Undergraduate Conference

The Spring semester is the perfect time to gather and discuss philosophical papers developed by undergraduate students from CUNY and beyond.  Since its inception in 2010 the Philosophy Conference has provided our community will a full day of fascinating conversations.

Philosophy Open House

The Philosophy and Critical Thinking Program, in conjunction with the Philosophy Club, organizes an Open House every Fall semester. During this event you can hear more about what the different classes are doing, the research interests professors have, and you can enjoy listening to poster presentations given by exceptional philosophy students.

Forum on Philosophy, Religion and Science

Every year the philosophy program invites scholars and students to discuss the intersection of philosophy, science, and religion.

ArticulationAgreement with Brooklyn College

If you graduate with an A.A. in Philosophy from LaGuardia Community College, you may transfer to Brooklyn College for a B.A. in Philosophy as long as you meet the following requirements:

1. Associate in Arts degree
2. 2.99 GPA (minimum)
3. Grade of C or better in required courses

If you meet these requirements, 60 credits will count as transfer credits towards the baccalaureate degree and an additional 60 credits will be required at the senior college to complete the baccalaureate degree.  This Articulation agreement was effective in Fall 2009 and is in the process of being updated to reflect philosophy courses at LaGuardia which have been developed after this date.

Transferring to other CUNY Colleges

Pathways is designed to make it easier for you to transfer from one CUNY college to another. When you’ve fulfilled a Common Core or College Option requirement at one CUNY school, those requirements will be met at any other CUNY school; AP credits and non-CUNY credits may also count toward your Common Core or College Option requirements. Certain CUNY majors can easily transfer their major credits. For information on Pathways, please refer to: http://www.laguardia.edu/pathways.

• Courses passed for credit at any CUNY college will transfer for credit at any other CUNY college.
• Courses that fulfill a Required Common Core requirement at any CUNY college will transfer for Required Common Core credit at any other CUNY college.
• Courses that fulfill a Flexible Common Core requirement at any CUNY college will transfer for Flexible Common Core credit at any other CUNY college.
• Courses that fulfill a College Option requirement at any CUNY college will transfer for College Option credit at any other CUNY college.
• Courses that are designated as "Gateway" courses into a major will transfer for major credit at any other CUNY college that offers the major.