The Department of Philosophy and Psychology was established at the University of Washington in 1902 with the appointment of William Savery as its chair and only professor. Savery slowly augmented the department, and many of these professors went on to have distinguished careers. By 1915 Psychology became a separate department. William Savery died in 1945 after having chaired the department for 43 years. A gift of six hundred books from his personal collection formed the nucleus of the philosophy library, and in 1947, Philosophy Hall was renamed in his honor.

Savery's legacy is also perceptible in the philosophy department's emphasis on the position of philosophy in contemporary culture and the lives of its students. Savery, along with his colleagues Vernon Parrington and J. Allen Smith, participated in the campus's intellectual and progressive movements, and often advocated for liberal policies in Washington State. Later faculty members also vocalized their political ideals, generating controversy and leading to criticism of the department. During the Joseph McCarthy era of the 1950s, Herbert Phillips was fired by the university for his acknowledged communism, and Melvin Rader was tried and acquitted of perjury for denying charges of communist activity alleged by the Washington State Joint Fact Finding Committee on Un-American Activities (also known as the Canwell Committee). During the 1960s and 1970s, Professor Frederick Adrian Siegler became a popular but contentious figure on campus for his unorthodox pedagogy, and Professor Michael Lerner garnered attention for his involvement in anti-war protests with the Seattle Liberation Front.