Philosophy is …
Philosophy is the love of wisdom, the passionate pursuit of understanding the deepest truths that humans can hope to discover. Philosophy is the discipline that explores the most fundamental and enduring questions and attempts to give answers to those
questions with rational support. These questions include Who or what is the human being? What can we know, and how do we know? What is reality or truth? What are the first principles on which we ground and develop the sciences, arts, and
religion? What is the nature and meaning of the divine? Why is society necessary for living and for living well, and what is the best arrangement and balance of individual and society? On what grounds can we, or should we, make ethical decisions?
And What does it even mean to ask such questions, and why is it important to do so?
Students of philosophy engage in reflection on such questions and critically examine the contributions that great thinkers of the past and present have made toward answering them. Through this exploration, philosophy invites students to recognize and
respect the multiple perspectives and approaches to these fundamental questions and offers them the tools for putting different perspectives in dialogue with each other in the pursuit of truth.
Through its emphasis on formulating and evaluating arguments, philosophy cultivates rigorous critical thinking, independent thought, and thinking creatively. It provides students the opportunity to think critically and responsibly about their own beliefs,
to have a sense of humility about what they do or do not know and what they have yet to learn, and to develop habits of reflection that they will employ throughout their lives. The study of philosophy, therefore, is not only at the core of a good
education; it is at the heart of any humane and free society.
Courses in Philosophy
Courses introduce students to philosophical thinking. By reading some of the greatest thinkers in the history of Western philosophy, students learn about the topics that have engaged philosophers through the ages, as well as learning how to begin to think
critically about these topics. Reading others’ reflections on the nature of reality, knowledge, truth, personal identity, and human nature, students will have the opportunity to participate in the wonder that animates philosophers, and
to begin to appreciate that learning is not simply a tool to be employed in the conduct of practical affairs, but is at the core of what it is to be a human being.