Philosophy

Department Chair - Kenyon Bunch
Professor - Reyes R. Garcia
Associate Professors - Dugald L. Owen and Sarah Roberts-Cady

The purpose of the Philosophy curriculum at Fort Lewis College is not only the study of traditional and contemporary philosophical issues and positions for their intrinsic interest and importance, but also the demonstration that these age-old but continuing efforts to understand ourselves and our relation to the world are important to everyone. It is the mark of a liberally educated person to understand the conclusions of the specialized sciences in terms of their basic assumptions, to think seriously about the nature of such assumptions, and to be aware of the way in which our views of reality are influenced by our cultural heritages and by the very structures of our languages. Perhaps the most important function of philosophy as part of the liberal education is the destruction or at least the recognition of the complacency and provincialism of much of our thinking.

A major in philosophy will provide a sound foundation for graduate studies in philosophy and will also serve as an excellent preparation for law school or for theological studies. For students majoring in philosophy, as well as for those majoring in other disciplines and minoring in philosophy and for those taking several philosophy courses as electives, the program is designed to provide a systematic acquaintance with humankind’s most fundamental attempts at self-knowledge and a concomitant basis from which students can formulate their own views of themselves and the world.