The Department of Philosophy was formally inaugurated by the then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Hamid Ahmad Khan, on March 7, 1964. Originally, it was housed at Lawrence Road, Lahore. On June 27, 1964, it was shifted to the New Campus (now Quaid-i-Azam Campus) and, after a few changes of location, was finally housed in its present premises. Professor Qazi Muhammad Aslam was the first chairman of the Department. In 1965, Dr. C. A. Qadir replaced him as Chairman of the Department. Professor Karamat Hussain Jaffary headed the Department for a short period of time. In 1971, Professor Khawaja Ghulam Sadiq was appointed as Chairman. He retired in 1982 and then Professor Dr. Abdul Khaliq chaired the Department till 1995. Later on chair rotated between Professor Dr. Absar Ahmad and Professor Dr. Naeem Ahmad for consecutive terms. Professor Dr. Sajid Ali has been Chairman of the Department from March 15, 2006 to August 25, 2011. Professor Dr. Abdul Hafeez has been Chairman of the Department from August 26, 2011 to October 31, 2012. Shahid Mahmood Gul Assistant Professor has been Incharge of the Department of Philosophy from November 01, 2012 to April 03, 2013. Later, Dr. Shagufta Begum was Chairperson since April 04, 2013 to December 23, 2018. Mr. Shahid Mahmood Gul has been Incharge of the Department from December 25, 2018 to December 1, 2021. Currently, Dr. Muhammad Jawwad is In Charge of the Department since December 2, 2021.
In order to pay homage to the memory of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Philosopher-poet of the East and a distinguished alumnus of the University of the Punjab, Iqbal Memorial Lectures were instituted in 1964. These lectures, organized annually by the Department of Philosophy, have been delivered by eminent Pakistani and foreign scholars. Prof. H. D. Lewis, Prof. Annemarie Schimmel, Prof. W. C. Smith, Prof. W. Chittick, Prof. John Walbridge, Dr. Bilal Sambur and Prof. John Edmund Hare were among the foreign luminaries who delivered this Memorial Lecture. The Department also organizes seminars and invites eminent scholars to address the students.
The University Syndicate decided to designate the professor of this Department as Iqbal Professor of Philosophy. The occupants of the Iqbal Chair, prior to Prof. Dr. Shagufta Begum were Prof. Dr. Abdul Hafeez, Prof. Dr. Sajid Ali, Prof. Dr. Naeem Ahmad, Prof. Dr. Absar Ahmad, Prof. Dr. Abdul Khaliq, Prof. K. G. Sadiq, Prof. C. A. Qadir and Prof. Q. M. Aslam.