Women have historically and systematically been excluded from the philosophical canon. Where modern survey courses exalt a handful of kingpin thinkers, academics are now faced with the task of correcting the discipline by including the influential women philosophers and emphasizing their contributions.
Philosophers John Locke and Anne Finch Conway don’t exactly agree on the answers to some essential philosophical questions: What is a person? How do persons remain the same over time? PhD candidate Heather Johnson investigates these questions and more by studying the similarities and differences in these thinkers’ ideas.
People sometimes think that philosophy is opposed to science. But scrutinizing scientific methodology and investigating what it takes for an idea to become scientific fact are important topics for the contemporary philosopher. And this philosophical interrogation can have an unexpected outcome—helping to advance science.
Research has shown that year after year, philosophy is one of the best majors for admission to law school. Just ask graduating senior Jordan Kleist, who will be heading to one of the most prestigious law schools in the country this fall.
We’ve come to understand that philosophy as a discipline is the product of a few great minds. Much of the modern canon, however, overlooks those thinkers that have stitched together the dialogue. Bennett McNulty dives into this issue by presenting the canon a little differently.
While biologists and psychologists might seek to replicate an experiment, mathematicians might seek to reproduce a proof. Alan Love contends that reproducibility failures should not be taken to undermine the reliability or trustworthiness of science: “We should be confident precisely because scientists sometimes get it wrong, since they know how to process their errors and take advantage of situations when they fail.”
Over the course of two years, Samuel Fletcher has been exploring the philosophical relevance and implications of the replication crisis, the inability of researchers, particularly in fields such as cancer biology and social psychology, to replicate or reproduce certain published findings in subsequent studies.
Academics have said that all philosophy created in the last 200 years is a response to Immanuel Kant. The influence of his work, however, has spread much further than the realm of philosophy. Today, chemists and politicians alike grapple with the ideas of this poor Prussian boy and how his century-old writings are still shaping modern thought.
Max Drescow, graduate student in the philosophy department, is the runner-up for the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology's History and Philosophy of Science essay contest.
Will Marsolek, recent alumnus with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, describes how he first discovered philosophy, why he majored in it, and what it means for his worldview.
