Philosophy, literally "the love of wisdom," is an academic discipline whose roots go back 2500 years to ancient Greece. Philosophers ask questions about the most important problems of human life and respond to these questions by making rationally rigorous arguments. Philosophy majors at FGCU will get a solid grounding both in the history and in the practice of philosophy and will be thoroughly prepared to practice a variety of critical thinking methods which are applicable in many areas of intellectual and practical endeavor.

Both a major and a minor in Philosophy are offered in this program. The degree requires 120 credit hours. During the first 60 credit hours, students complete lower division and general education requirements. The upper division is organized among three categories of courses: a Philosophical Methods sequence grounds students in the theory and practice of different ways of philosophizing; History of Philosophy courses engage students with the tradition of arguments form the basis for contemporary philosophy; Applied Philosophy courses ask students to apply philosophical reflection to different intellectual and practical subjects. A distinctive emphasis of the program will be student performance of philosophical skills, including oral argumentation. The Philosophy minor is a 15 credit program suitable for students in many different disciplines.