Welcome to Philosophy at Wilfrid Laurier University
Welcome to the Department of Philosophy. Philosophy is the study of fundamental ideas-ideas upon which many other ideas depend. Philosophers are concerned with such questions as, "Does God exist?" "Are human beings free?" "Is there such a thing as a soul, or are we entirely physical beings?" "What is truth?" "Which actions are morally good?" These questions deal with fundamental ideas in the sense that how we answer them has important implications both for what we should believe and how we should act.
The Philosophy Department has eleven full-time faculty and offers instruction and supervision in a variety of areas within the discipline. Our undergraduates benefit from this breadth by receiving a well-rounded philosophical education. From tutorials in our first year courses (and selected second-year courses) to our small senior seminars, students benefit from close interaction with their instructors and with each other, for we strongly believe that the best way to learn effectively is to discuss ideas and arguments. Our goal in teaching philosophy is to provide our students with the ability to think carefully and critically and to express themselves with clarity and precision. These skills not only help our graduates get into excellent graduate programs, but also to succeed in the professional world. Whether you are presenting a seminar at graduate school, making a pitch to a company for its business, or applying for a small business loan, you need to be able to reason and to present the best arguments you can for your position. Learning to think carefully and critically is the best skill you can learn at university, and the Philosophy Department is the best place to acquire these skills.
Watch the Laurier undergraduate Philosophy video starring Prof. Bob Litke on YouTube at:
SPECIAL NEWS ITEM
For those of you pondering a career in teaching, please note that the Ontario College of Teachers has now declared Philosophy a "teachable" subject. This means that university students with a degree in Philosophy are eligible to apply for admission to one of the Province's 30 faculties of education on the strength of that degree alone. Just one more reason to become a Philosophy major. But there are many more, including the fact that on average Philosophy majors do appreciably better than most other students on both the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission test) and the LSAT (Law School Admission Test). For more information on these facts, on our graduate and undergraduate programs, or on the nature of philosophy itself, please explore the links to the left.
Unofficial student run "Laurier Philosophy Club"
Information can be found on Facebook, just look up Laurier Philosophy Club.
