Research

The techniques that philosophers use can be applied to almost any subject, so the possibilities for philosophical research are nearly endless. No matter your interests, studying philosophy will help you to develop the critical thinking skills that will get you started on uncovering what you want to know. Our accomplished professors conduct research and teach on a diverse range of subjects, including: military ethics, conscientious objection in health care, the problem of consciousness, distributive justice, free will, moral and legal responsibility, logic and paradoxes, and the rationality of belief in God, along with many other topics.

Here are descriptions of some of the fields in which faculty members conduct research:

Epistemology (from epistēmē, a Greek word for “knowledge”) studies the nature and scope of human knowledge. Topics include arguments for (and against) skepticism, theories of how to evaluate testimony, and theories of truth and justification.

Faculty Researchers

Existentialism

Existentialism is an area of philosophy centered on the idea of the human being as an existing individual, whose task or burden is to become who she is.  Existentialism is generally skeptical of appeals to any kind of fixed human nature or essence, focusing instead on radical freedom and responsibility.

Faculty Researchers

Scholars who study the history of western philosophy often focus on specific periods, figures, or schools of thought. Popular areas of research include ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, medieval philosophy, renaissance and enlightenment philosophy, and the 20th century analytic and continental philosophical traditions. 

Moral Psychology

Philosophical Logic