Students consult the head of the department to plan a program that fits their needs. Other courses focus on existentialism, the history of philosophy, and the development of philosophical thought in the work of Plato, Descartes, Kant, Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche and others. One course looks at the political and moral relationship of the individual to the state, and the medical ethics class studies ethical issues in health care and does field work in the Greenville hospital system. All philosophy courses at Furman help students develop their talents in such areas as problem solving, communication, persuasion and writing skills. Furman philosophy graduates have found success in a variety of areas, among them banking, insurance, marketing, medicine, ministry and teaching.
Many students find philosophy excellent preparation for the demands of law school.
Others have enrolled in divinity school at Duke, Harvard and Vanderbilt, and some have pursued graduate programs in philosophy at Emory, University of Georgia, Penn State, Tulane and Vanderbilt. One recent graduate, who completed a double major in philosophy and economics, earned a prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship to study economics at Princeton. Another received a Mellon Fellowship to study at the University of Pittsburgh. Philosophy of art, Ancient philosophy, logic, American philosophy James C. Edwards , Professor . Political philosophy, philosophy of law Douglas M. MacDonald , Professor Emeritus .