Philosophic investigation also has an intrinsic interest and value. Approximately 50 students are presently majoring in philosophy at Duke. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, most of these students major in another discipline as well. Most classes average around 20-25 students with the maximum being 35 students. Students have a great deal of flexibility in determining their own particular programs within the department, and there are a variety of combinations and possibilities available.
Most students concentrate in one of two fundamental branches of philosophy.
The first of these, ethics and social philosophy, is concerned with the concepts of right and wrong and the resulting implications for thought and action. The second, metaphysics and epistemology, deals with the ultimate nature of reality and our knowledge of it. Besides covering these fundamental branches of philosophy, the Duke department has special qualifications in the philosophy of law, the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of causation, the philosophy of mathematics, Aristotle's philosophical logic, medieval philosophy, early modern philosophy, the Rationalists, and the history of ethics. Philosophy serves as excellent preprofessional training for law and business as well as other areas characteristically available to liberal arts students. Majors receiving baccalaureate degrees have been uncommonly successful in gaining admission to the graduate or professional school of their choice.