Examen philosophicum (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for ''philosophic exam''; abbreviated to ''Ex.phil.'') is, together with Examen facultatum, one of two

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

exams An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

in most undergraduate programmes at Norwegian universities. Whereas ''Examen facultatum'' aims at teaching students how to write academic texts, ''Examen philosophicum'' trains

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

s in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and structured thinking. Introduced at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

in 1675, ''Examen philosophicum'' was discontinued in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in 1971 and exists in a reduced version in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Denmark

Passing it is a requirement for higher education in Denmark. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was expected to educate students into supporting democracy instead of "authoritarianism". It being a requirement has been criticized due to alleged educational underfunding.

Norway

Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld by Abraham Wuchters

''Examen philosophicum'' as a compulsory course is legally based in royal regulations for each university, for example ''Regulations of 20 December 2005 No. 1798 on Studies and Exams at the University of Oslo''. Both ''Examen philosophicum'' and ''Examen facultatum'' are compulsory parts of most

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s in

: mainly

professional studies "Professional studies" is a term used to classify academic programs which are applied or interdisciplinary in focus. The term can also be used for non-academic training for a specific profession. Research on professionals can be seen as a multidis ...

at university colleges and a few

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

studies at

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

are exempt from either one or both. The content of ''Examen philosophicum'' varies between universities (and areas), normally being adapted to the scientific branch of each faculty and on the

field of study An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a ...

of each undergraduate programme. For example, students of

foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...

s will normally study a variety which is adapted to ditto. In general, ''Examen philosophicum'' includes

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

, and

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

. Introduced in 1675 at the

, ''Examen philosophicum'' was continued by the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1812, two years before the Dano-Norwegian union was dissolved. It was called ''andreeksamen'' (second exam) between 1812 and 1903, contrasting

Examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

as ''førsteeksamen'' (first exam). It was then called ''forberedende prøve i filosofi'' (preparatory test in philosophy) between 1903 and 1967, before ultimately retaining its original name in 1967. ''Examen philosophicum'' originally had a duration of two or three semesters, including exams in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Latin language Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

, and—for

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

students— Hebraic language. Latin, Greek, and history were dropped in 1845, whilst natural sciences were split into

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. Philosophy became the sole field of study in 1875. Under the former cand.mag. system, an ''Examen philosophicum'' course was worth 5.0 vekttall, corresponding to a half semester, and along with Examen facultatum, it made up an introductory semester at universities. Later reduced in scope, both ''Examen philosophicum'' and ''Examen facultatum'' are normally worth 10.0 ECTS each, corresponding to two thirds of a semester.

References

Literature

* Rørvik, Thor Inge (1999) ''Historien om examen philosophicum 1675-1983'' /nowiki>Oslo">Oslo.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Oslo">/nowiki>Oslo/nowiki>: Forum for universitetshistorie. {{DEFAULTSORT:Examen philosophicum Education in Denmark Education in Norway Philosophy education

Denmark

Norway

See also

References

Literature