Philosophy
College of Arts and Humanities
Sakamaki D-301
2530 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-8649
Fax: (808) 956-9228
E-mail: philo@hawaii.edu
Web: www2.hawaii.edu/phil
Faculty
*E. Deutsch, PhD
(Chair)--comparative philosophy,
Indian philosophy, metaphysics, aesthetics
*T. Albertini, PhD--Renaissance and early modern philosophy, history of
Roman law, Semitic languages
*R. T. Ames, PhD--Taoist philosophy, Confucian philosophy, ancient
Chinese political philosophy, comparative philosophy
*R. Bontekoe, PhD--metaphysics, epistemology, hermeneutics
*A. Chakrabarti, PhD--Indian philosophy, philosophy of language,
philosophy of mind
*C. Y. Cheng, PhD--philosophy of language and logic, American
philosophy, classical Chinese philosophy, Neo-Confucian philosophy
*V. Dalmiya, PhD--epistemology, feminist philosophy
T. Jackson, PhD--specialist, director of philosophy in the schools;
logic, comparative philosophy, philosophy for children
*D. J. Kalupahana, PhD--Indian philosophy, Indian and Chinese Buddhist
philosophy, comparative philosophy
*K. Kipnis, PhD--philosophy of law, social and political philosophy,
ethics
*S. Odin, PhD--Japanese philosophy, comparative philosophy, American
philosophy
*G. R. Parkes, PhD--comparative philosophy (continental European,
Chinese, and Japanese), environmental philosophies, philosophies of
culture
*R. C. Roberts, PhD--social and political philosophy
*J. E. Tiles, PhD--ancient philosophy, American philosophy,
philosophical logic, philosophy of science
*M. E. Tiles, PhD--history and philosophy of mathematics, contemporary
French philosophy of science, science and technology
Cooperating Graduate Faculty
R. A. Amundson, PhD--philosophy of science
P. T. Manicas, PhD--political, social philosophy
*Graduate Faculty
Degrees Offered: BA in philosophy, MA in
philosophy, PhD in philosophy
The Academic Program
Philosophy (PHIL) is an open inquiry that involves the
disciplined examination of our most comprehensive goals, standards, and
criteria. For example: how should we conduct ourselves in our relations
with one another? (ethics); what standards should we use to assess our
institutions? (social and political theory); how may we achieve
knowledge and understanding of the world around us? (epistemology,
philosophy of science); what are the most general structures of thought
and reality? (philosophy of logic and language, metaphysics); and what
place does art have, or what place should it have, in human life?
(aesthetics). In pursuing these questions, philosophy is often led to
confront issues about the ultimate nature of reality and value or to
consider possible limitations on our ability to answer or even to ask
such questions. Philosophy proceeds with its task in part through
contributing to ongoing discussions and debates within disciplines and
traditions and also by cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural
comparisons.
Students majoring in philosophy work to develop for
themselves a comprehensive view of the aspirations and achievements of
human culture and in the process are encouraged to acquire the skills of
careful reading and interpretation of texts, of writing that conveys
clearly their understanding of some issue, and of responding critically
to ideas that other people advance. The Department of Philosophy’s
faculty has expertise in an unusually diverse range of philosophic
traditions. The faculty includes specialists in Chinese, Japanese,
Indian, Buddhist, and Islamic thought, as well as in many of the
important Western traditions. The department as a whole has long been
recognized internationally for its comparative work between philosophic
traditions.
Undergraduate Study
Bachelor’s Degree
Requirements
Students must complete 30 credit hours of philosophy
courses, including required courses:
• PHIL 110
• Two courses from PHIL 211, 212, 213, or 414 (Alpha)
• One course from PHIL 300 to 318
• One course from PHIL 330 to 380
• Five additional courses above the 100 level (electives)
Minor
Requirements
Students must complete 15 credit hours of philosophy
above the 100 level. A minor will have any one of the following themes:
Asian philosophy; religion and metaphysics; ethics and law; science,
technology and values; and humanities and the arts.
For details of which courses fall under these themes,
students should consult the department undergraduate adviser.
Graduate Study
The department offers graduate training leading to the
MA and PhD degrees. Students with BA degrees may apply to the MA
program. Students are accepted directly into the PhD program only if
they have already received the MA degree or the equivalent from an
accredited institution and have met any other departmental requirements.
Specific requirements for all graduate degrees are
detailed in a brochure available from the department upon request.
Whatever their field of specialization, graduate
students in philosophy must acquire a thorough knowledge of the history
and problems of Western philosophy. On the basis of this foundation,
students may further specialize in one of three areas of study: Western
philosophy, Asian philosophy, or comparative philosophy.
Although the Western philosophical tradition remains
the fundamental frame of reference for the department, the opportunity
provided for specialization in the area of Asian philosophy is unique in
that the University of Hawai‘i is the only institution of higher
learning in the United States with a regular program leading to the PhD
degree with areas of specialization in Indian, Buddhist, Chinese,
Japanese, and comparative philosophy. The area of comparative philosophy
is the most demanding; at the PhD level its requirements include
proficiency in both the Western and Asian fields. The candidate is
expected to gain a mastery of some specific topic that can be approached
through the contexts of two or more philosophic traditions.
All graduate students shall develop their course of
study in consultation with the chair of the graduate program.
The MA and PhD in Asian philosophy are recognized
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) regional
graduate programs. Residents of Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and
Wyoming are eligible, on admission, to enroll at Hawai‘i-resident
tuition rates. |