The mission of the UMSL Philosophy Department is to explore and advance the claims of our discipline by producing innovative research, teaching, and service. Our faculty publish their research in highly selective journals, addressing both traditional philosophical problems and diverse present-day applications. They teach courses that engage and empower traditional and non-traditional students, with an instructional menu that serves casual students, undergraduate majors and minors, and masters candidates. And they serve wider constituencies by participating in a variety of learned societies and in public conferences, forums, and colloquia, offering analysis and debate that promises deeper understanding of today's pressing issues. Together these departmental activities further our campus status as a premier public metropolitan research university.