Philosophy

Philosophy is the systematic attempt to address the most fundamental questions about knowledge, reality, morality, reason, and human nature using argument rather than authority. What can we know, and how? What makes an action right or wrong?

Does God exist? What is the relationship between mind and body? What makes a society just?

These are questions that cannot be settled by scientific experiment alone, and philosophy provides the tools for engaging with them rigorously: careful analysis of concepts, construction and evaluation of arguments, and attention to the hidden assumptions that shape how we see the world.

At the University of Aberdeen, this four-year full-time programme is delivered through a combination of compulsory and optional courses that allow you to build both breadth across the discipline and depth in the areas that interest you most, from ancient and medieval philosophy through to ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind. A year abroad is part of the programme, placing you in a different academic tradition and cultural environment that can itself sharpen philosophical questioning. Aberdeen's philosophy department has strengths across the main areas of the discipline, and the programme develops your ability to engage with difficult texts, construct careful arguments, and write with precision.

Philosophy graduates are among the most versatile, because the degree develops the analytical and communication skills that are valued across a remarkably wide range of careers. Common destinations include law, the civil service, journalism, policy research, management consultancy, education, finance, and academic philosophy. Many graduates proceed to postgraduate study in philosophy, law, or related fields, and the degree provides strong preparation for conversion to law through the Graduate Diploma in Law for those who wish to qualify as lawyers.