Philosophy

The study of philosophy enables us to think well about the most important questions in our lives: What do I want to accomplish with my life? Does my life have any purpose? Do I live in a just society? Does God really exist? How should I treat others?

The only way we can be satisfied with our answers is by finding them for ourselves, not by memorizing the ideas of others or being intimidated by the “wisdom of the ages.” We must learn to think clearly and creatively for ourselves.

In order to think clearly, philosophy students learn methods for thinking that avoid basic mistakes in reasoning. In order to think creatively, philosophy students examine some of the outstanding original ideas of past and present to discover where our ideas originated and to use them as a starting point for our thinking.

Since Socrates, the founder of Western philosophy, was asked to drink hemlock by the citizens of Athens in 399 B.C., philosophy has had a subversive reputation because it makes us think for ourselves. The reputation is well deserved.

UCFV offers a minor in Applied Ethical and Political Philosophy as part of the Bachelor of Arts program. Please refer to the Bachelor of Arts section for more information.

Faculty

Glen Baier, BA (Hons) (UBC), MA, PhD (McMaster), Department Head

Anastasia Anderson, BA (UBC), MA (Toronto)

H.A. Bassford, BA (Reed College), MA (Hawaii), PhD (UBC)

Moira Gutteridge Kloster, BA (York), MA, PDP (SFU)

Paul Herman, BA (UC–Santa Barbara)

Jeffrey Morgan, BA, MA (Educ), PhD (SFU)

Staff

Julie Croft, BA (UCFV), Department Assistant

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