The Department of Philosophy seeks to acquaint students with various philosophical traditions, to present the chief philosophic problems and types of philosophy, and to help students cultivate the intellectual, civic, and moral virtues of the discipline of philosophy as well as the art and skill of philosophical analysis. The department seeks to serve those students who intend to pursue graduate studies, those pursuing interdisciplinary career programs, and those who simply desire to understand human reflective traditions in order to enlarge their own horizon of awareness.

The 12th annual Pacific University Philosophy Conference this year had some very special distinctions.

A highlight this year is a keynote presentation from Jerry Fodor (Rutgers University) on "How I Learned to Refute Skepticism and Stop Worrying about The Matrix" and that this is the first year the conference has become intercontinental with students coming from Lebanon.

The conference has built upon its 1997 foundation and has grown great lengths since induction. Most notibly is that there are over 140 registered undergraduate students attending from 70 schools, 27 states, and 3 other countries (Canada, Scotland, and Lebanon).

There are going to be 97 papers read that have gone through a rigorous submission process . Papers are presented on Saturday from 8AM through 6PM with multiple discourses going on in several locations.