Dr. Yolande Westwell-Roper
 B.Ed., M.A., Ed.D.(UBC), D.Phil.(Oxford) 

		Yolande did her doctorate in philosophy at Oxford, and three degrees at UBC.  She was born and raised on the North Shore.  Before coming to Capilano, she taught philosophy at the University of BC, Simon Fraser University, Oxford University, Kwantlen College (now Polytechnic University), and Langara College.  Her interests include ethics, metaphysics and epistemology, social and political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of education.  She is married to Andrew Westwell-Roper who did his D.Phil. in philosophy of physics at Oxford and works in Vancouver's high-tech industry.  They have one daughter doing a combined MD/PhD at UBC.

For students new to philosophy... Liberal education includes philosophy, history, literature, art, languages, religious studies, math, and all the sciences.  Philosophy is the oldest of these disciplines.  It asks fundamental questions about the nature of reality and how we ought to live.  Are there moral truths?  Is belief in God rational?  Is free will an illusion?  What is consciousness?  What is a person? What is a meaningful life?  We read philosophy to deepen our understanding of the problematic nature of the world, always with the hope of finding or creating illuminating answers to the very big questions. We should keep in mind that liberal education is valuable for its own sake, meaning its purpose is not just to create skilled workers, or reflective voters, or interesting leisure activities, although it usually has those good effects. Its central aim since Aristotle has always been the pursuit of truth and virtue.