Department of Philosophy

Welcome to Philosophy at CSUN

Philosophy is the only discipline that investigates everything. It is also the only discipline that challenges everything, including itself. This is what distinguishes philosophy from the sciences, history, literature, and the arts. Although philosophy and these other disciplines share some of the same goals—like scientists, philosophers want to uncover the nature of reality; like historians, philosophers want to understand where we come from; and like artists, philosophers want to stimulate novel questions about human experience—philosophy alone aims to see how these disciplines are connected and to understand what makes them possible.

The Department of Philosophy at CSUN offers a unique, flexible, innovative curriculum, emphasizing the diversity of our field. It also emphasizes skills (like critical thinking, ethical reasoning, logical analysis, persuasive writing, and careful reading) that prepare you for a wide range of careers. As you practice and refine these skills in your courses, you'll investigate questions of fundamental human importance: What is consciousness? What does it mean to be human? How should we organize society?