Philosophy

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.

Faculty Associated With This Field
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