Philosophy & Theology

https://www.stthomas.edu/catalog/undergradinfoandpolicies/bacinfoandpolicies/corerequirements/newcorecurriculum/ucpt/

How do human dignity and the nature of the human person ground ethics? How are people formed to become virtuous and wise? What is the common good? Why should we strive for a just and inclusive society? Is truth knowable? What gives life meaning? Are humans more than matter? Do we have free will? Is belief in God reasonable, given modern science? What can an agnostic make of traditional arguments for God's existence? What should a person of faith make of the diversity of religions across the globe? How can alleged revelations be tested? What is the nature of evil? Is evil a barrier to belief in a good God? Is faith possible in a state of doubt about evidence? Is redemption possible? What role does community play in redemption? What sense does it make to say that God is all-knowing, or all-powerful, or becomes incarnate? What sense does it make to speak of divine providence?

Catholic intellectual tradition includes rich discussions of all these vitally important questions, and others like them. Through the centuries, the great philosophers and theologians of the tradition have posed the questions, debated them, and studied possible answers from various sources, including reason and natural human experience, along with Scripture and religious doctrine. As a university inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, St. Thomas asks all its

students to explore philosophical and theological foundations of the tradition. Such exploration provides theoretical mooring for the university's convictions and commitments – its conviction, for example, that faith and reason are compatible, and its commitment to the common good and to action for a higher purpose.

All students take a course that introduces the discipline of philosophy and engages philosophical questions central to Catholic intellectual tradition, and all students take a course that introduces the discipline of theology and the Catholic intellectual tradition's theological framework. A deeper, more focused exploration of these foundations is necessary to begin to appreciate the strength of the tradition; thus, all students take a third foundational course in Catholic intellectual tradition in their choice of either the Philosophy Department or the Theology Department.

These three courses in Philosophy and Theology do not constitute the entirety of St. Thomas's treatment of Catholic Intellectual tradition: rather, the three courses root concepts and principles that find their full flowering throughout the university's curriculum.

Students must take these two courses:

PHIL 110
THEO 100

And one of the following, either from PHIL or THEO:

PHIL 213
PHIL 234
PHIL 235
PHIL 240
PHIL 245
PHIL 250
PHIL 254
PHIL 255
PHIL 256
PHIL 258
PHIL 260
PHIL 265
PHIL 272
PHIL 301
PHIL 302
PHIL 303
PHIL 340
PHIL 365
PHIL 460
THEO 221
THEO 222
THEO 223
THEO 224
THEO 225
THEO 226
THEO 227
THEO 228
THEO 229