General Philosophy at Bar-Ilan

We see our main goal in the Division of General Philosophy in cultivating and promoting philosophical thinking in a variety of philosophical traditions and schools. We regard philosophy as central to our intellectual heritage and to our self-understanding and as vital to the entire spectrum of academic pursuits. Philosophy is a fundamental component of a university education.

At the undergraduate level, we seek to provide students with a basic experience of and training in philosophy, and to help them appreciate its pivotal role in human culture. Students should attain familiarity with the history of philosophy, with fundamental philosophical methods and approaches, and with central issues, doctrines, tools and concepts. For those undergraduates taking philosophy as a major, our program offers the opportunity to obtain a broad base of knowledge and understanding in philosophy, including its several sub-disciplines. Beyond this, we attach special importance to offering a taste of philosophical discourse to undergraduates from the university community at large.

At the MA level, our purpose is to provide well-rounded advanced training in philosophy. This includes studying a broad variety of philosophical fields and approaches; developing high-level skills in critical reading of philosophical texts; and intensive practice in philosophical research and writing. Beyond this, for our MA students in the research track (MA with thesis), we seek to provide guidance in high-level philosophical research, enabling them to plan and carry out a significant research project.

Our MA program in Bioethics seeks to equip students with advanced knowledge in philosophy, with an emphasis on applied ethics, and in particular bioethics. It is hoped that the program's graduates will be able to contribute to Israel's nascent "bioethics revolution" and to the relevant discourse among healthcare professionals. This program also functions as a foundation for specialization in bioethics by some of our PhD students.

At the PhD level, we seek to provide an environment that supports high-level and original research with effective feedback and guidance by a senior researcher from our faculty in order to promote the growth of our PhD candidates into first-rate philosophers.