Philosophy

Advanced Level Certificate

Course Benefits:
The Advanced Level Philosophy track is designed to provide the student with a thorough knowledge of the thinking of the world's most important philosophers.

Course Description:
The Advanced Level track consists of thirty courses that can be completed in a three-year period. Although students may take longer to complete the courses if they wish, the courses are designed so that the student may earn the Certificate in three years.

After registration, the student will be assigned a tutor to answer questions that may arise from the required reading and who will evaluate the student's coursework. An online forum will also be provided. The forum will provide a place for students in the Advanced Level Philosophy track to submit questions to the tutor and to discuss course related issues with other students registered for the same track.

Course Requirements:
Each of the thirty courses in the Advanced Level Philosophy track requires a large amount of reading. In order to benefit from the reading, the student is required to keep a reading journal, which is to be submitted to the tutor after completing the final course. The reading journal must be typed. For each required text, the student is to include the following information:

1. State the author and title of the book.

2. In no less than 25 and no more than 50 words, state what the book is about. In other words, what is the subject matter of the book, and how does the author present the material?

3. In no less than 300 and no more than 350 words, summarize how the book has contributed to your knowledge of the major ideas in the history of philosophy.

4. In no less than 125 and no more than 150 words, state whether you agree or disagree with any aspect of the author's conclusions. If the work is a primary source by one of the major philosophers, briefly state any similarities or differences between the author's worldview and the Christian worldview.

5. In no less than 25 and no more than 50 words, state what difference reading this book has made in your life.

In addition to the reading journal, the student is required to write and submit one research paper after completing the final course. The student may choose any subject covered in one or more of the required courses. The paper should be no less than 4,000 and no more than 5,000 words.

The research paper should adhere to the format outlined in Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (7th edition).

Students may also find the following work useful in the preparation of the research paper:  Robert Hudson, ed. The Christian Writer's Manual of Style (updated and expanded edition).

Required Courses:
1. The Pre-Socratic Philosophers
2. Socrates
3. Plato
4. Aristotle
5. Hellenistic Philosophy
6. Philosophy and the Early Church Fathers
7. Augustine
8. The "Dark Ages"
9. Early Medieval Philosophy
10. Thomas Aquinas
11. The Renaissance and Reformation
12. Bacon and Hobbes
13. Rationalism
14. British Empiricism
15. Scottish Common Sense Philosophy
16. Rousseau
17. Kant
18. Hegel
19. Positivism
20. Utilitarianism
21. Pragmatism
22. Kierkegaard
23. Marx
24. Nietzsche
25. Freud
26. Existentialism
27. Phenomenology
28. Philosophy of Language
29. Postmodern Philosophy
30. Christian Philosophy Today

Download Syllabus