The study of philosophy has long been a central part of a sound liberal arts education. It provides students a deeper understanding of the ideas that have shaped human cultures, at the same time honing students’ analytic skills and helping them to think more creatively, write more carefully, and interpret difficult texts with greater care. It delves into every aspect of life and examines the foundations and applications of every discipline. Consequently, the study of philosophy provides an enlightening interdisciplinary perspective on humanity in the universe.

Courses in philosophy explore both historical and contemporary philosophical writings, and inquiry ranges from highly theoretical issues to concrete, practical philosophical problems. And just as philosophy opens the student to different ways of apprehending the world, it also enhances the student's self-understanding and self-esteem. As Bertrand Russell said, philosophic questions "enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation, but above all through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind is also rendered great..."