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PHILOSOPHY

Introduction  - Why Study Philopsophy  - Why Study Philopsophy at ANU - Undergraduates  -   Honours  -  Postgraduates   -  Centres for Philosophy at ANU  - What’s On?

 

Introduction – The What and Why of It – What is Philosophy?

Have you ever wondered whether everything might be a dream? Or whether human behaviour might all be mere performance? Whether there really is such a thing as human nature, and if there is, what it involves?
 
Have you ever wondered whether there is anything that really deserves admiration or contempt, praise or blame? Whether there is an objective basis for our moral or aesthetic judgments?

Have you ever asked yourself what is the relationship between the mind and the brain? Or whether time has a direction or a flow, and why we know more about the past than the future?
If your mind has ever wandered along any of these paths, you have already begun to philosophise.

 

Philosophers are preoccupied with questions about reality and value. They want to be able to distinguish what is real from what isn't, and what is of value from what isn't. They engage in the critical appraisal of accepted views on these questions. And they do so in characteristic ways which define philosophy itself, not just as a set of opinions, but as an academic discipline.

This discipline has a long and distinguished history. The thought of the great philosophers of the past (Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche and others) is still alive today. Their writings still merit close study, partly because they are significant cultural products in the tradition to which we belong, and partly because the philosophical problems which they address still exercise today's philosophers.

Of course, the discipline of philosophy is more than its own history. New philosophical questions come up all the time; and philosophy today is very much involved in such contemporary studies as bioethics, feminist theory, cognitive science, scientific methodology, literary theory, and the study of 'postmodernism' in the arts.

Why Study Philosophy?

By studying philosophy you can learn how to approach its characteristic questions about reality and value in a rigorous and broad-ranging way. You can learn what great philosophers have thought about these questions, and can acquire the ability to think clearly and critically about them for yourself.

Philosophy is both a central area in its own right, and a useful complement to other areas of university study. The critical and analytical skills it teaches are important whatever courses you are undertaking.
Those skills can also be useful in any kind of career where it is important to be able to think rigorously, and to take the 'large' view, on questions of significance. There are many such careers. In the future, there will be many more, for which specific training cannot yet be given. Philosophy may be the best possible preparation for them.

Many employers view a Philosophy degree very highly, and some even think that it is the most useful single degree an employee can have.

Philosophers themselves have played a vital role in the way that our culture and society have developed and have been an inspiration for change. They contribute to the legal and political frameworks that shape our lives. They make a vital contribution to the growing discipline of cognitive science, in areas such as robotics and artificial intelligence. They analyse and criticise the assumptions, concepts and methodologies in disciplines such as literature and the arts, mathematics, the physical and biological sciences, and the human sciences such as psychology, sociology and economics.

Why Study Philosophy at the ANU?

The ANU is one of the leading philosophy centers, not just in Australia, but in the world. At several different locations in the university, philosophers are engaged in cutting-edge research.

As an Honours or Post-graduate student here, you can have access to some of the world’s leading philosophers and participate in a range of exciting and challenging reading groups, workshops, seminars and conferences.

At the undergraduate level the Philosophy programme based in the School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, offers students the opportunity both to develop their analytic and critical skills and to explore a wide range of philosophical ideas and positions. It is not restricted to any particular philosophical school or tradition but offers courses both in the Anglo-American or 'analytic' tradition of philosophical enquiry and in European or Continental philosophy. There is also considerable expertise in the History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Ethics and Metaphysics. Many philosophy courses will complement and enhance study in a wide range of other programmes, for example in International Relations, Politics, Film, European Studies, or Mathematics.

Undergraduate

For information on majoring in Philosophy at ANU see Study@ANU.
A summary of undergraduate courses offered for 2010 can also be found at Study@ANU.

For inquiries about First Year study, please contact the First Year convenor, Dr Jeremy Shearmur (Jeremy.Shearmur@anu.edu.au) or, in the second semester, the lecturer for the course you are interested in.

For inquiries about Second and Third Year study please contact individual lecturers on the courses you are interested in or the programme convenor, Dr Fiona Jenkins (Fiona.Jenkins@anu.edu.au)

Honours

The honours 4 program at ANU offers students exciting possibilities to approach research in philosophy.   The program itself involves the writing of a ‘subthesis’ of 10-15,000 words, on a topic mutually agreed with a supervisor.  Supervisors are normally chosen from the staff of the Philosophy Program, School of Humanities, but it may sometimes be possible to arrange for supervision from members of staff of Philosophy, Research School of the Social Sciences or from the ANU staff at CAPPE.

In addition, students attend an honours seminar which meets each semester (with a different theme each semester, with the seminar conducted by a different member of staff) and write a paper based on their work there.  Students also write a longer paper each semester typically based upon an undergraduate course that they have not taken previously.  Alternatively, it may be possible for them to use as a basis for this work a graduate-level reading group or specialized seminar – several options for which may be offered by the School of Humanities, or by the RSSS or by CAPPE.

Honours Application

For more information please contact the Honours convenors, in 2010, Dr. Carleton Christensen (carleton.christensen@anu.edu.au).

Postgraduates

For information on postgraduate studies in ANU see Study@ANU.
For more information please contact the Postgraduate advisor.

 

Centres of Philosophy at the ANU

Because there is such a lot going on in philosophy at the ANU it may be helpful to know a little about its various parts.

The ANU is broadly divided into two parts. In the Faculties the focus is both on research and on undergraduate and graduate teaching. In the Institute of Advanced Studies the focus is on research and graduate teaching. The School of Humanities (Faculties) RSSS (institute of Advanced Studies) and CAPPE are all places where philosophy is going on within the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS).

Undergraduate teaching of Philosophy is located in the School of Humanities within the Faculty of Arts and offers a rich programme of study through to Honours level.

The School of Humanities Philosophy programme also offers post-graduate students excellent supervision in a broad range of philosophical traditions, and first-rate facilities. Each full-time student has a room and all are provided with a computer with access to word-processing, printing, internet and email facilities. If you choose to do your graduate work with us, you will also become part of a strong and exciting community of researchers.  More details on the staff in the programme, including their areas of expertise and current research interests, can be found at Our People.

The ANU is a partner in the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, an Australian Research Council funded Special Research Centre. This Centre is devoted to research, providing policy input and promoting community discussion and professional dialogue in ethics. Its research programs span Criminal Justice Ethics, Business and Professional Ethics, Ethical Issues in Biolechnology, IT and Nanotechnology, Ethical Issues in Political Violence and State Sovereignty, and Welfare Ethics.

You can also pursue graduate studies in the The Philosophy Program in the Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS), which is part of the Institute of Advanced Studies. The Philosophy Program is primarily a research department, working mainly in the analytic tradition, and only takes students at graduate level.

Philosophers can be found working in other parts of the ANU as well, for instance in the Automated Reasoning Project, which stages the annual Logic Summer School; in the Social and Political Theory Program; in the jurisprudence section of the Faculty of Law; and in the Humanities Research Centre. Many of these academics are affiliated with the ANU Graduate Program in Philosophy, which is convened jointly by Philosophy in the School of Humanities, CAPPE and the RSSS Philosophy Program.

What’s on in Philosophy?

In addition to the formal teaching programs, there is a wealth of philosophical activity at the ANU, in which honours students and postgraduates are welcome to participate.  The Philosophy Program in the School of Humanities has a weekly seminar during the teaching period, and honours and post-graduate students are encouraged to attend (Friday mornings 11-1).  In addition, CAPPE has a weekly seminar, and the Philosophy Program in the Research School of the  Social Sciences has two seminar series – a main seminar at 4.00 on Thursdays, and ‘philsoc’ at 4.00 on Tuesdays.  Finally, the Social and Political Theory program in RSSS has a lunchtime seminar on a regular basis, usually on Mondays   Other seminars of interest may be offered in Political Science, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Political Science in the Research School of the Social Sciences, in the Research School of the Humanities and, indeed, at other locations in ANU.  For information about the core seminar activities in philosophy, subscribe to the PHILSOC e-mail list: http://philrsss.anu.edu.au/events/subscribe.php.