Philosophy has been defined as the love of wisdom. Rather than focus on any specific subject, philosophy attempts to understand the general nature of all human inquiry. Students of philosophy explore basic ideas about ourselves and our world that everybody employs but not everyone examines systematically and critically. Traditionally, philosophy has been driven by such questions as: What is the meaning of life? What moral constraints and goals ought to govern our lives? Is there a difference between the way the world appears to us and the they way the world is?

If coming to an understanding of the human condition is a major goal of liberal education, then philosophy is an essential part of it. This is not, however, to imply that philosophy is of no practical importance, for all practical issues, and, indeed, the most pressing and intractable ones are directly related to philosophical questions. Contemporary questions involving the environment, economics and justice, gender, and science and humanity all have central philosophical components. But having said all is, it is important to notice that philosophy is not merely problem-solving device any more than reason itself is. Rather, one of its roles is to decide which among the myriad of problems that confront us are the ones worth solving.

That is to say that the discipline of philosophy enables us to establish and articulate our priorities. Critical thinking, theory of knowledge, ethical and value issues, intellectual history, interdisciplinary perspectives, and the examination of world-views, all are to be found in our programme.