Learning Outcomes

Mission Statement

The CSB and SJU philosophy department focuses on two fundamental questions: What can we know? and How should we live? Thinking deeply about these questions is integral to the Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts tradition; it leads students to successful and meaningful professional and personal lives, and a better understanding of the requirements of citizenship. Our classes seek to rouse students from intellectual complacency and to encourage deeper understanding of themselves, of the conditions that make shared knowledge possible, and of the values of the communities to which they belong. 

Outcome 1

Valuing Philosophy

• Resistance to the urge to settle for quick and easy answers
• The habit of philosophical reflection

Outcome 2

Building Philosophical Skills

• Charitable understanding of unfamiliar, uncomfortable, or disagreeable ideas
• The ability to construct logically sound and coherent arguments

Outcome 3

Developing Philosophical Knowledge

• Deliberate and analytical reading
• Clear articulation of philosophical ideas

The CSB and SJU philosophy department focuses on two fundamental questions: What can we know? and How should we live? Thinking deeply about these questions is integral to the Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts tradition; it leads students to successful and meaningful professional and personal lives, and a better understanding of the requirements of citizenship. Our classes seek to rouse students from intellectual complacency and to encourage deeper understanding of themselves, of the conditions that make shared knowledge possible, and of the values of the communities to which they belong. 

College of Saint Benedict
Saint John’s University

Erica Stonestreet
Chair, Philosophy Department
SJU Quad 362F
320-363-2743

Laura Schmitz
Department Coordinator
SJU Quad 362D
320-363-3030