Goal of philosophy studies – in a nutshell – the education in independent thinking.

Philosophy …

• wants to understand existing concepts and develop critical questioning
• derives its richness from its long history
• is basically open to changes and expands its territories by virtue of its internal dynamics and due to ever new fundamental questions, which are brought to attention by other disciplines
• can traditionally be divided into theoretical philosophy and the disciplines of ontology and metaphysics, logic, epistemology and philosophy of science, philosophy of language, the practical philosophy of ethics, social, legal and political philosophy, in this dichotomy not merging disciplines such as aesthetics, religion and philosophy, and finally in the history of philosophy

The aims of qualification arising from it:

• to gain an overview of central areas of philosophy and its history
• to study selected central theories from these areas
• to learn precision of thought and verbal expression in the analysis of complex problems
• to comprehend the relationship between philosophical systems within its own conditions
• to be able to work with historical sources and to interpret texts from the tradition
• to recognize the importance of argumentative clarity and precision, and the necessity of a philosophical jargon and its related problems
• to transfer the acquired skills to the philosophical subject, to non-philosophical and non-academic areas

The aim of the Bachelor degree programme is to realize the outlined philosophical and general knowledge goals on a good to excellent basic and an advanced academic level. The philosophical education is to be so profound, that it can enable the continuation in the Master programme at a high scientific level; with the philosophical goals associated general skills (hermeneutics skills, reflection and reasoning skills, philological and historical competence, linguistic competence, transformation competence) to make the bachelor degree a professional qualification for those who move into a profession or into other areas.

Work and Activities

The study of philosophy is associated with only a few clearly defined professional areas, and only a relatively small proportion of the graduates of appropriate courses of study can work professionally in the strict sense philosophical. The study of philosophy offers training in special skills, such as reflectivity, reasoning, critical awareness and creativity, it develops a basic education and encourages intellectual history, not least in the "love of wisdom".

Thus, philosophers are the generalists among the human scientists/humanists.

In addition to the recent higher market demand for philosophy or values and norms teachers (there is a mapped out profession) and next to the traditional occupational field of work in higher education (with a notoriously limited job) are also activities for journals, publishers, other media, libraries, bookstores, adult education (colleges, community colleges), public administration and organizations, in policy areas as well as a freelance writer / freelance writer frequent areas of work for philosophers.

More recently, activities in ethics commissions, offices for technology assessment, consulting firms or in philosophical practices are added as interesting and promising career fields for graduates of philosophy.

Listed are some examples that illustrate the spectrum of possibilities:

• Personnel Management
• Public Relations
• Technical Documentation, Editing
• Proofreading, Media Relations
• Marketing, Advertising
• Support for Customers and Staff, Tour Guide
• Professional Development, Education, Training
• Organization and Management, Branch Management
• Executive assistant / Assistant to the Director
• Ethics and Social Advisory
• Art and Culture Management Consulting
• Science Administration, Science Management

Soon you can also learn about the teaching and research interests of the Institute of Philosophy and the Master of Arts.

Until then, we refer you to

• the research profile and
• the several research pages of the Institute.