Philosophy

Go to: Division of Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, and Linguistics

Faculty

Steven Arkonovich
Moral psychology, ethics.

Mark Adam Bedau
Philosophy of biology, philosophy of science, artificial life.

Troy Cross
Metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind.

Mark Hinchliff
Metaphysics, philosophy of language, epistemology.

Paul Hovda
Metaphysics, philosophy of language, logic, philosophy of logic. On sabbatical 2023-24.

Margaret Elizabeth Scharle
Ancient Greek philosophy.

Curriculum

Philosophy systematically investigates and attempts to understand and solve some of the most enduring and challenging problems: What do we know and how do we know it? Do we project our values onto the world or find them there? Do we invent mathematical truths or discover them? Are we responsible for what we do, or are we helpless victims of our genetic endowment, environment, and upbringing? How can we justify our judgments about the merits of novels, paintings, poems, films, and symphonies? Are we complex animals or simplified angels, minds or molecules? What are goodness, truth, and beauty? Is there anything in the world besides matter in motion?

Our courses address questions like these at different degrees of sophistication. The 200-level courses are intended for sophomores, 300-level courses for juniors, and 400-level courses for seniors. A qualified student, however, may gain admission to a course of any level by consent of the instructor.

Courses of interest to students of philosophy are also taught in the political science and mathematics departments in classical political philosophy, modern political philosophy, Hegel and Marx, judgment, and mathematical logic.

Some students study philosophy together with another subject, such as religion, mathematics, literature, political science, or biology. Students who wish to include philosophy in an interdisciplinary major are required to take Logic, Introduction to Philosophy, and four other philosophy courses (besides the senior thesis), to be chosen in consultation with an adviser in the philosophy department.

Our graduates are admitted to top philosophy graduate schools, and our program is consistently ranked among the top philosophy undergraduate programs in the country. Our majors advance to graduate study and careers in many fields in addition to philosophy, including law, mathematics, medicine, business, education, and the sciences.

Programs

Majors

Philosophy