Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals try to figure out what the right thing is to do; philosophy asks: What does it mean for something to be right or wrong, and where do the good and the right come from? Artists, writers and musicians try to figure out how to create great works of art; philosophy asks: What is beauty, what is art, who decides, and how? Nearly every great intellectual movement, theory and belief system in our society owes something to philosophy.

Philosophy at Mercer is interested in and studies the subject matters for many of the other traditional disciplines. Subjects covered by philosophy courses include: ethics (applied and theoretical), theories of knowledge, logic, art, film, literature, politics, law, gender, medicine, mind and body, and religion (Abrahamic and non-Western).?

Students explore these areas by reading classic works of philosophy that constitute some of the most important works in the Western intellectual heritage, but may also study views expressed by virtually any culture or ethnic group, including ones extracted from the news of the day. Philosophy is both personal and communal; each student must seek his or her own understanding and perspective, but learning requires critical analysis, making one's case to others, and listening to their views.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, philosophy has been a source for thousands of years for those seeking how one should live one's life, and particularly, how to live a good life.