Undergraduate degrees: B.A., B.S.
Undergraduate minor
The Life of the Mind
Philosophy at the University of Oregon is an active and interactive community of varied philosophical perspectives and traditions. Close reading, open and rigorous inquiry, and sustained reflection are prized in this major. You will be exposed to profound questions and insights, and will be required to think and write in a charitable yet critical manner, about issues arising from the heart of the human condition: the meaning of life, the nature of knowledge and justice, the range of our obligations to others—including non-human animals and the environment—the meaning of art, and the role of race and gender in the formation of human identity, among other substantive topics.
As a philosophy student at the UO, you will choose from a wide array of concentrations, and will study under faculty mentors with national and international reputations in each area:
- History of philosophy
- Critical theory
- Eastern philosophy
- Embodiment
- Existentialism
- Jewish philosophy
- Native American philosophy
- Phenomenology
- Race, gender, and sexuality
You’ll choose classes from the traditions of American philosophy, analytic philosophy, continental philosophy, and feminist philosophy. You’ll encounter thinkers like Plato, Confucius, Augustine, Descartes, David Hume, Kant, Hegel, William James, John Dewey, Martin Heidegger, Jane Adams, W.E.B. du Bois, Martin Buber, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Theodor Adorno, Martin Luther King Jr., John Rawls, Vine Deloria Jr., and Monique Wittig.
Your philosophy classes at the UO will offer the opportunity to think about big ideas, and to interpret and analyze concepts that are new to you. Philosophy opens your eyes to the bigger picture. You will gain the skills to help you think clearly about abstract ideas, communicate your ideas well, and offer both thoughtful and thought-provoking solutions to problems.
Points of Interest
- The philosophy department hosts several national and international conferences on campus every year. Recent topics have included the environment, the nature of friendship, feminism, and ethical issues in business
- World-renowned speakers and philosophers such as Robert Pippin, Iris Marion Young, and Sister Helen Prejean have recently visited the UO to offer their insights into philosophical thought and practice
- The undergraduate philosophy club, UnterGang, promotes intellectual dialogue in forums open to all voices and perspectives. UnterGang supports student interests in philosophy and organizes regular meetings for students, faculty, and visiting scholars to share questions, concerns, and ideas
Sample Courses
- Human Nature considers various physiological, cultural, psychological, and personal forces that characterize human beings, taking into account issues of class, gender, race, and sexual orientation
- Philosophy of Film explores questions about the aesthetic dimensions of film, its relation to the other arts, and the treatment of philosophical questions in films
- Philosophy and Cultural Diversity investigates the implications of cultural diversity in terms of identity, knowledge, and community, from the perspectives of several American cultures
- Social and Political Philosophy is a study of the major political theorists, from Plato to Marx, and explores such ideas as justice, natural law, natural rights, and the social contract
- Love and Sex is an investigation into love, relationships, marriage, sex, sexuality, sexual identity, and sexual representation
- Asian Philosophy is an introduction to classic writings in the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and other Asian philosophical traditions
- Philosophy of Religion is a philosophical investigation of the nature of religion, the sacred, spirituality, and transcendence
Interdisciplinary Opportunities
Philosophy courses are often interdisciplinary. Courses like Human Nature, Philosophy and Cultural Diversity, and Philosophy of Literature will both challenge and reinforce all that you learn in your academic career.
In addition, the perspective philosophy offers is immensely useful and applicable to your understanding of many other disciplines. You’ll learn to view and understand the world around you, and as a student of philosophy you will be able to apply your understanding of broad topics and ideas toward any subject you pursue. Philosophy degrees are often combined with other fields, and at the UO the opportunities are limited only by your own creativity.
Selected Student Work
Jessica Hollowell is curious by nature—from the ideas behind advertising to human existence in general. She became fascinated with others’ ideas when she was in high school, she says, "so I started with the philosophy section of the library and haven’t left since."
Her first UO philosophy class, Human Nature, helped Hollowell realize the depth of her passion for the subject. Hollowell says her UO professors are supportive and engaging, and have inspired her to throw herself into learning and exploration. “John Lysaker is my favorite philosophy professor of all time,” she says. “You won’t find a more cool or enthusiastic teacher.” After graduation Hollowell plans to work as a direct action organizer for a women’s rights organization.
Joel Reynolds is a philosophy and religious studies major, and chose to attend the UO due to its great humanities program. Reynolds says his Human Nature class “set my love for learning fully on fire. I took a few more philosophy classes and knew I was hooked. After philosophy, the world became infinitely more interesting.”
For Reynolds, the Authors Course on Soren Kierkegaard is the best class he has taken thus far. “I had read some of his works in other classes and loved them, but getting to spend ten weeks digging into the texts was life-changing…literally.”
Selected Faculty Work
Professor Mark Johnson co-authored a book entitled Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and its Challenge to Western Thought. Johnson is particularly interested in the ways in which patterns of our sensory-motor experience play a crucial role in what we can think, and how we think. This interest has lead him to pay special attention to what have traditionally been called the "aesthetic" dimensions of experience, meaning, and action.
Professor John Lysaker's recently completed books imnclude Emerson and Self-Culture and The Fate of the Self in Schizophrenia. Lysaker’s research is oriented toward culture criticism in the style of Theodor Adorno. He teaches courses about several 19th and 20th century continental figures such as Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Adorno.
Professor Scott Pratt argues that the philosophical views of Native Americans played a significant role in the origins of classical pragmatism—the philosophies of John Dewey, Charles Peirce, and William James. His other interests include the philosophy of music, and he recently co-authored a work on musical performance.
Assistant Professor Beata Stawarska’s interests lie in the area of phenomenology, the philosophy of mind and philosophical psychology, and the philosophy of psychoanalysis. She is interested in the history of modern philosophy and the relation between the modern empiricist traditions of Locke, Hume, and Berkeley, and the contemporary phenomenological tradition of Husserl.
Professor Naomi Zack’s most recent book, Inclusive Feminism, aims to resolve the contentions among feminists with a new definition of women. This is the theoretical basis for a political future in which women can participate more fully in government leadership. Zack is currently involved in applications of philosophy to disaster preparation and response that has spurred a new course, Philosophy of Disaster Preparation and Emergency Response.
Career Opportunities
A degree in philosophy shows employers that you are both disciplined and imaginative, and that you think clearly, communicate well, and will offer thoughtful solutions to questions that range from the abstract to daily practicalities.
Employers welcome the finely tuned analytical skills of a student of philosophy. With a degree in philosophy, you will find that jobs in business, law, journalism, health care, education, and public relations are open to you.
Contact Information
(541) 346-5547
(541) 346-5544 fax
Program banner photo credit: Soham Pablo