The Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo was established as the Chair of Philosophy in 1956. Initially, the core faculty were Ante Fiamengo, Ivan Focht, Andrija Krešić and Šefkija Žuljević. For a significant period, the Department was known as the Department of Philosophy and Sociology, but in 2011 the Department of Sociology was established as an independent unit.
In terms of its research and teaching agenda, the Department has focused on areas particular to the discipline of philosophy, first and foremost the history of philosophy (ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary), ontology, logic, aesthetics, ethics, and epistemology.
Significant contributions to the discipline by members of the Department include the Logos book series in philosophy, Hrestomatija etičkih tekstova [An Anthology of Writings in Ethics], and Dijalog, the first philosophy journal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Faculty members Ivan Focht, Arif Tanović, Muhamed Filipović, Abdulah Šarčević and Vladimir Premec have been elected to the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Former academic staff from the Department are: Ante Fiamengo, Ivan Focht, Andrija Krešić, Šefkija Žuljević, Vanja Sutlić, Abdulah Šarčević, Milan Damnjanović, Ante Pažanin, Rudolf Stojak, Risto Tubić, Olga Kozomara, Jelena Berberović, Vojin Simeunović, Spasoje Ćuzulan, Aleksa Buha, Predrag Finci, Mišo Kulić, Željko Pavić, Kasim Prohić, Arif Tanović, Rasim Muminović, Muhamed Filipović, Vladimir Premec, Fatima Lačević, Ivo Komšić, Salih Fočo, Jelena Gaković, Vedad Muharemović, Toni Renić and Tijana Okić.
Jasminka Babić-Avdispahić, Samir Arnautović, Nijaz Ibrulj, Nevad Kahteran, Damir Marić, Ugo Vlaisavljević, Kenan Šljivo and Džana Rahimić are current academic staff at the Department of Philosophy.