Question everything. Make sense of what remains.
Philosophy takes seriously the questions every other discipline assumes away: What do we actually know? What makes an action right or wrong? What kinds of things exist? Is there a God? Do we have souls? What makes an argument a good one?
At Fort Lewis College, these aren't questions you study in the abstract. You argue them—in small seminars, in the Philosophy Club, across cultures on summer travel courses—with doctoral faculty who are genuinely invested in where your thinking goes.
What makes this Philosophy program distinctive
A curriculum that goes beyond the Western canon
Philosophy at FLC spans both Western and non-Western traditions — from ancient Greece through contemporary analytic philosophy, and from continental existentialism to the indigenous worldviews, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Taoist, and Confucian traditions that are part of the living intellectual landscape of the Four Corners region. You won't just learn the history of philosophy. You'll encounter the full range of how human beings have tried to make sense of the world.
Faculty who actually teach
Every full-time philosophy faculty member holds a doctoral degree, with specializations spanning the full range of the discipline. Their office doors are open. They track your progress individually, adapt their teaching to how you learn, and stay engaged in your development beyond the classroom.
Small classes built for debate
Philosophy happens through argument. FLC's classes are small enough that yours matters. You'll develop and defend your thinking alongside people who will push back on it. That's not incidental to the program. It's the program.