Philosophy

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About the Program

“The aim of philosophy, abstractly formulated, is to understand how things in the broadest possible sense of the term hang together in the broadest possible sense of the term” - Wilfrid Sellars The questions pursued by Philosophers are incredibly diverse, but many of them around three important and fundamental questions: "What exists?", "How can I know about it?", and "What should I do?" These are big questions, and Philosophers have been trying to tackle them for a very long time in a lot of different ways.

What is special about this program?

In Philosophy courses, students have an opportunity to think critically about concepts which are rarely investigated directly in other fields of inquiry. In general, philosophical inquiry involves uncovering and reflecting on many of the everyday assumptions behind what we believe and value. This provides a context in which students learn to discover, develop, and explain the reasons they have for what they do, say, and think. Often this demands the students provide a more concrete and explicit articulation of those reasons and ideas that will be required in other more specific fields of study or the normal course of their everyday lives. These experiences give students of philosophy an opportunity to think rigorously and carefully about a set of problems and questions that are often addressed elsewhere, and yet are of vital importance. In order to make this thinking clear, students are asked to express themselves through both oral and written argument. Ultimately, this is what all courses in philosophy have in common - rigorous thinking, speaking, reading, and writing – a critical set of skills necessary for success in today’s complex world.