{"id":14,"date":"2016-10-10T10:55:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T07:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.phil.bilkent.edu.tr\/?page_id=14"},"modified":"2026-10-25T14:13:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T11:13:21","slug":"chairs-welcome","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.phil.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php\/chairs-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Chair&#8217;s Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"14\" class=\"elementor elementor-14\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-79298cdf elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"79298cdf\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-236a5e22\" data-id=\"236a5e22\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cabb869 chairs-welcome-body elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cabb869\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<!-- Bilkent Philosophy: Chair's Welcome -->\n\n<div class=\"bp-chair-statement\">\n\n  <!-- Chair's photograph -->\n\n  <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\"\n    class=\"wp-image-294 size-medium alignright\"\n    src=\"http:\/\/www.phil.bilkent.edu.tr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/DSC0040-Edit-300x300.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Prof. Simon Wigley\"\n    width=\"300\"\n    height=\"300\"\n  \/>\n\n  <!-- Introduction -->\n\n  <p>\n    It is not always obvious to people what philosophers\n    actually spend their time doing. What exactly\n    distinguishes philosophy from other subjects?\n    One way to explain philosophy is to consider\n    the kinds of questions philosophers try to answer:\n    What is knowledge? What is freedom?\n    What is consciousness? What is beauty?\n    What is good? What is happiness?\n    Who should rule? What is a number?\n  <\/p>\n\n  <!-- Philosophy and science -->\n\n  <p>\n    An important point to note about these questions\n    is that they are not questions that can be answered\n    by the empirical sciences. Put simply, we cannot\n    observe the answer to these questions. This does\n    not mean that philosophers think that science is\n    unimportant. Far from it. Philosophers benefit\n    immensely from the evidence and theories presented\n    in the sciences. The history of philosophy is\n    replete with scholars who are as well known to\n    scientists and social scientists as they are to\n    philosophers. Think for example of Aristotle,\n    Francis Bacon, \u00c9milie du Ch\u00e2telet, Robert Boyle,\n    Margaret Cavendish, Gottfried Leibniz,\n    Ren\u00e9 Descartes, John Locke, Adam Smith,\n    John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <!-- The importance of argument -->\n\n  <p>\n    This is not surprising given philosophy\u2019s unique\n    capacity to interact with other disciplines.\n    However, an empirical approach by itself cannot\n    provide an answer to these fundamental questions.\n    We may propose theories that attempt to answer\n    them, but the only way to test them is to see\n    whether they can successfully handle\n    counter-arguments. So philosophy is unavoidably\n    dependent on arguments. The entire history\n    of the subject, dating back to at least Socrates,\n    is built on the idea that a point of view or\n    theory should not be accepted merely because\n    it enjoys widespread support or because it\n    appears to be self-evidently true. This also\n    means that philosophers spend a lot of time\n    (some would say, too much time!) thinking\n    about what qualifies as a good argument.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <!-- Philosophy at Bilkent -->\n\n  <p>\n    The Philosophy undergraduate and graduate\n    programs at Bilkent aim to foster curiosity\n    and respect for alternative ways of thinking,\n    as well as the ability to argue rigorously\n    and critically. In this respect we hope to\n    continue the project of developing what\n    the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes of\n    Sinope called \u2018citizens of the world\u2019.\n    That is, scholars and students that have\n    the ability to think for themselves and\n    look beyond local loyalties in an increasingly\n    interconnected and fractious world.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <!-- Philosophy in a changing world -->\n\n  <p>\n    Higher-order thinking skills are essential\n    in an era when specialized knowledge quickly\n    becomes outdated and many jobs are being\n    replaced by artificial intelligence.\n    In this rapidly changing environment,\n    the ability to think and problem-solve\n    at a general level has become indispensable\n    for all successful careers. This is exactly\n    what a philosophy degree promises to provide.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <!-- Signature -->\n\n  <p class=\"bp-chair-signature\">\n    <em>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/simon-wigley.com\/\">\n        Prof. Simon Wigley\n      <\/a><br>\n      Chair, Department of Philosophy\n    <\/em>\n  <\/p>\n\n  <!-- Undergraduate and graduate program links -->\n\n  <p class=\"bp-chair-program-links\">\n    <strong>Explore our programs:<\/strong><br>\n\n    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.phil.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php\/major-program\/\">\n      Undergraduate Program &rarr;\n    <\/a>\n\n    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.phil.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php\/introduction\/\">\n      Graduate Programs &rarr;\n    <\/a>\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is not always obvious to people what philosophers actually spend their time doing. 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