The Department of Philosophy offers courses in six broad categories: (a) introductory, (b) historical, (c) contact, (d) logic, (e) advanced, and (f) seminar.

(a) About ten introductory courses are offered every year. These include courses on classics of philosophy, critical reasoning, comparative philosophy (e.g., Western and Asian), existentialism, science and values, moral issues, and outstanding philosophical issues concerning freedom, knowledge, ideology, and the mind. These are lecture-discussion courses that give a broad introduction to their subject. They normally divide once a week into smaller sections for more extended discussion.

(b) Historical courses include broad survey courses of large periods in the history of philosophy (e.g., ancient Greek philosophy, modern European philosophy) as well as courses focusing on idividual philosophers (e.g., Plato, Kant, Marx) or philosophical movements (e.g. Rationalism, Empiricism).

(c) Contact courses are interdisciplinary and examine the presuppositions, goals, procedures, and value of broad forms of human activity or experience; art, language, law, politics, religion, science, and morality.

(d) Logic courses include beginning and intermediate courses in which logic is taught as a tool for use in philosophy and elsewhere (PHIL0100, PHL0540) and more advanced courses in which logic is treated as a subject for investigation in its own right (PHIL1630, PHIL1880 and beyond).

(e) Advanced courses have more specialized or technical subject matter. There are semester courses in each of the major standard fields of philosophy: ethics, theory of knowledge, logic, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind.

(f) Seminars are courses in which a small group of advanced students study a cluster of closely related questions in great depth. These courses are designed to meet the needs of advanced concentrators and graduate students.

There is also provision for independent study and reading with the advice and guidance of a professor.

For undergraduates there are programs leading to the A.B. degree, the A.B. degree with honors, and the combined A.B.-M.A. degrees. Students may choose among three concentration programs: the standard concentration, the ethics and political philosophy concentration, and the logic and philosophy of science concentration. The latter two allow the student to apply related courses in other disciplines towards fulfillment of the concentration requirements. Moreover, the requirements in all three concentrations allow ample room for concentrators to pursue their individual interests as they develop. See also the undergraduate concentrations page.

For graduate students there is a Ph.D. program. See also the graduate studies page.

Follow links for additional information. Questions regarding the department may be sent to philo@brown.edu or written to:

Chair, Department of Philosophy
Box 1918
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island 02912