Philosophy at North Park University

Philosophy is perhaps the quintessential “liberal art”; it is the activity of those who have been liberated from the drudgery of doing what they “have to do.” Philosophers spend their time doing that which is most satisfying. If you won the lottery and you knew what would make you happy, you would spend your time philosophizing. So, why wait until you win the lottery – or made your first million? A truckload of money is neither sufficient nor necessary for happiness. So pursue directly that which makes for happiness – learn to philosophize!

The faculty of the North Park University philosophy department introduces students to philosophical wonder and to a love of genuine wisdom. The introduction grows into a companionship as students and faculty read traditional and contemporary philosophical texts, converse with those texts and with one another in writing, and open our minds and lives to that common work. We can practice philosophy only among friends.

The pursuit of wisdom among a community of friends develops skills by which we can interpret, argue, and evaluate well. These skills are human virtues, insofar as we are rational animals. They are community virtues, insofar as we are political animals. And they are marketable skills, insofar as most of us still have to do what we “have to do.” In fact, the skills learned in philosophy will likely be those skills that enable you to move up the company ladder.

North Park University philosophy majors have gone on to graduate schools and careers in philosophy, physics, art, business, and law; they have gone to seminaries and into ministry; and they have gone into computer science, computer game development, and construction.