To engage in philosophy is to ask questions about the possibility of knowledge, the nature of morality, the self and its place in the world, beauty and aesthetic experience, the meaning of religious experience, the justification and limits of power, and the purpose and meaning of philosophical inquiry itself.

Philosophy courses examine great works in the history of philosophy as well as the insights and creative innovations of contemporary philosophy. The Department of Philosophy offers a range of courses from the introductory level to upper-level courses in ethics, theory of knowledge, Islamic philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of art, the history of philosophy, and contemporary topics such as philosophy and technology, self and society and development and responsibility.

To engage in philosophical study is to engage in a process of coming to understand one’s self and one’s place in the world. Such study requires clear and careful thinking, the ability to question deeply held assumptions and attitudes, and a commitment to sound reasoning and careful appraisal of evidence. Philosophy aims comprehensively to understand its subject matter in light of underlying questions about the meaning of existence and the nature of reality.