Philosophy Department

The Philosophy Department of the Universidad de los Andes intends to provide the students with an education that goes beyond any particular philosophical school or trend, which will enable them, through reading of classics and deepening in areas that are relevant to the discipline, to set the bases for their own reflection path and to cultivate a critical attitude. This implies command and abilities that will lead to the identification of certain assumptions relative to a way of thinking, its potential development and consequences, as well as its limitations and applications. This is possible if the students, at the same time, are enabled to carry out philosophy research and to acquire sufficient tools and information to apply and integrate their knowledge in other areas.

This orientation relies on a discipline conception according to which there is no philosophy with capital letters, but rather systems and mechanisms. Therefore, it is not possible to define it under a set of specific traits. However, it has always been a reflective activity over various human aspects, the way of conceiving Science, society and art. This explains not only its close relationship with different disciplines of a scientific nature, but also with aesthetic and social expressions, and their respective knowledge.