The philosophy collection of Howard-Tilton Memorial Library supports the instructional and research needs of undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty. The Department of Philosophy offers B.A., 4+1 M.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees and directs the undergraduate interdisciplinary coordinate major, Cognitive Studies. Thirteen full-time and five adjunct professors staff the Department along with approximately ten graduate instructors. The Department has a fourfold mission: to offer undergraduate majors the best possible foundation in philosophy; to serve the entire Liberal Arts and Sciences community; to provide graduate students with a sound advanced education in philosophy; and to serve the larger university community through the Center for Ethics and Public Affairs.
The undergraduate program allows for three distinct courses of study: the Standard Major, providing a traditional track in philosophy; Law, Morality and Society, designed for students with a specific career interest in law, public policy or politics; Language, Mind and Knowledge, concerned primarily with the interdisciplinary Cognitive Studies Program.
Students in the graduate program are offered a full range of studies, although the Department has special strengths in ethics and political philosophy, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, history of philosophy, Continental philosophy, and American philosophy.
Affiliated Program: Cognitive Studies
The coordinate major in Cognitive Studies combines a regular major with a core curriculum in three component tracks: philosophy, psychology and computer science. The major is designed to provide basic knowledge of current research on mind, cognition and language. It consists of ten courses (30 units) of which six are required and four elective. Cognitive Studies draws primarily on the teaching and research offerings of faculty from the departments of Philosophy, Psychology, Computer Science, and Anthropology. The Program Director and Faculty Liaison for Cognitive Studies is Radu J. Bogdan.
