Everyone has philosophical questions—about how to live, what can be known, what makes life meaningful, and what values mean. How we answer these questions can guide how we live our lives.
You will pursue philosophical inquiry in connection with history, cultural studies, literature, and the arts. By doing so, not only will you come to understand philosophical ideas, you will understand how those ideas can guide people's lives and how they can use them in their own lives.
In philosophy programs, you can become grounded in both Eastern and Western traditions and learn about:
- Ethics
- Political philosophy
- Aesthetics
- Linguistics
- The philosophy of history
- The history of philosophy
Studying philosophy will show you the animating ideas behind much of what people know, believe, desire, and value. You'll learn how to make sound arguments using textual evidence and you'll understand how philosophical ideas can help us make sense of the world and each other. You may even come to love philosophical thinking for its own sake.
Graduates with a philosophy background have gone on to careers as lawyers, schoolteachers, professors, artists, and writers.
| Title | Expertise |
|---|---|
| Beck, Stephen | Philosophy |
| Caraher, John | Physics |
| Diamant, Hirsh | Visual arts, Chinese studies, human development |
| Eamon, Kathleen | Aesthetics and philosophy, critical theory, psychoanalysis |
| Featherly, Lynarra | Creative writing, philosophy, critical theory |
| Koppelman, Nancy | American studies |
| Mellis, Miranda | Fiction, nonfiction, and contemporary literature |
| Reece, Andrew | Classical art and literature |
| Steinhoff, Eirik | English |