About Us
Philosophy today is many things, done in many ways. The modern analytic tradition endures; but the orthodoxies and exclusions once associated with it have faded. New approaches to issues of long-standing philosophical attention are being explored, at once continuing and transforming inquiry in such central areas as epistemology, the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, ethics, and value theory.
Philosophical inquiry has also broadened, reflecting concerns with practical issues and developments in other disciplines, and a new appreciation of the thought of significant figures outside of this recent tradition. The lines between philosophy narrowly conceived and other disciplines, between the history of philosophy and contemporary inquiry, and between Anglo-American and Continental philosophy have come to seem increasingly artificial, and to be crossed with growing frequency.
This has resulted in a new richness and vitality throughout the field, opening up a wealth of avenues for further inquiry, and rendering philosophy once again one of the most attractive and interesting domains of intellectual life. Contemporary philosophers, even within the same areas of inquiry, do not share a common view of the issues to be dealt with and the way to deal with them; but this diversity of perspectives and approaches has come to be recognized as appropriate to the discipline, conducive to its health and promise.
The Department of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign exemplifies these developments, in its undergraduate and graduate programs and through the work of its faculty. It is distinguished by its breadth and depth in the traditional areas of philosophical inquiry and the history of philosophy (both classical and recent), by its balance of Anglo-American and Continental perspectives, and by the involvement of its faculty in a wide variety of recent developments in the field.
The diversity of philosophy today is reflected in concerns of the department's faculty, as they bring to bear various historical, contemporary Anglo-American and recent Continental perspectives in their work. The specializations of the faculty cluster in a number of important areas. Students with widely differing interests have an excellent opportunity to pursue them at Illinois, in course work, independent study, and dissertation research, with faculty who are contributing to inquiry in such areas as:
- The history of philosophy
- Recent Anglo-American philosophy
- Post-Kantian and recent Continental philosophy
- Ethics and social, political and legal philosophy
- Epistemology and the philosophy of science
- Metaphysics and the philosophy of language
- The philosophy of mind, action, and human nature
- Logic and philosophy of mathematics
- Philosophy of and in art, literature, and film
The best way to become acquainted with the department and its faculty is by consulting their publications.
