Department of Philosophy

What is 'knowledge'? What is the difference between scholarly knowledge and other kinds of knowledge? What is a meaningful and good life for human beings? What is a just society? What is a work of art? What is beauty?

Philosophy seeks to find rational and consistent answers to questions such as these through thinking and dialogue.

When society changes, fundamental philosophical questions must be rephrased and reconsidered. For instance, transplant surgery and gene technology have provoked new questions about human identity, as well as critical debates about 'established truths' of 'what is right’ and ‘what is wrong’. The development of art raises questions of what signifies a piece of art. Our traditional view of humanity is also challenged by research in fields such as biology, language, cognition and nervous systems.

It is important to understand how different philosophers throughout the ages have expressed their questions, and how they have attempted to answer these questions. Therefore, the history of philosophy has a central place in the field of Philosophy.