Mission Statement

The Department of Philosophy at California State University, Chico serves these purposes:

1. Production, contributions to, and dissemination of original and applied scholarship in philosophy and the teaching of philosophy
   
   
2. Service to the governance and cultural life of the department, college, and university as well as service to the communities of Northern California
   
   
3. Delivery of high-quality learning environments for students completing General Education, to include issues in ethics, civic engagement, art, culture, and environmental literacy that are broadly relevant to life and career
   
   
4. Preparation of students following the concentration in philosophy to acquire philosophical skills and to become accomplished in those traits of philosophical thought that will serve well in future careers and endeavors in the further study of philosophy or related disciplines at the graduate level, the study and practice of law, and careers in the corporate world, public education and public service.  These skills and traits include:
   • Comprehension of the concepts and theories of major philosophers from the history of philosophy as well as those important to developments in contemporary philosophy;
     
     
   • Practice in the interpretation of philosophical texts, composition of philosophy, and methods of philosophical research;
     
     
   • Facility in logic, the analysis and construction of reasoned argument, and the employment of philosophical terminology.