Philosophy

Examining questions pertaining to the nature of language, reality, and ethical commitment – questions that are fundamental to human existence but defy definitive answers

www.bucknell.edu/philosophy

Related Student Organizations and University Programs

Humanities Residential College

Philosophy Club

Phi Sigma Tau (honor society)

Career Paths

Because philosophy is a cornerstone of the liberal arts, students are prepared for a broad range of careers, ranging from nonprofit and corporate work, to creative, educational and entrepreneurial pathways. The following are career choices of recent philosophy alumni:

  • Co-founder and chief marketing officer of Kiva (an international microfinance firm)
  • Operations Analyst, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
  • Teacher, Teach for America
  • Account Assistant, GMMB
  • Analyst, UBS Financial Services, Inc.
  • Case Worker, Greystone Hospital
  • Client Associate, Merrill Lynch

Selected Faculty Publications

Recent faculty scholarship has appeared in the following publications:

Books

  • Animals and the Moral Community: Mental Life, Moral Status, and Kinship (Gary Steiner, author)
  • Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents (Gary Steiner, author)
  • Islamic Philosophy A-Z (Peter Groff, author)
  • Comparative Philosophy in Times of Terror (Peter Groff, contributor)
  • Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism: From Beauty to Duty (Sheila Lintott, co-editor)

Journals

  • Environmental Ethics (article, Lintott)
  • Ethics, Place and the Environment (article, Lintott)
  • Journal of Nietzsche Studies (article, Groff)
  • Pacific Philosophical Quarterly (article, Leddington)

Quick Facts

Number of full-time faculty: 6

Average number of majors per class year: 17

Study Abroad

Bucknell’s philosophy students often complement their on-campus learning by spending a summer, semester or year abroad. Recently, students have spent time in:

  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • England
  • France
  • Greece
  • Italy

Graduate and Professional School

Bucknell’s philosophy program prepares students well for graduate work in philosophy and related disciplines. Recent alumni have gone on to do graduate work at:

  • Harvard Law School
  • American University
  • University of California-Davis
  • University of Chicago
  • Syracuse University
  • Duke University
  • University of Massachusetts

Program Details

  • At Bucknell University, the study of philosophy develops skills in interpreting texts, thoughtfully responding to other viewpoints, constructing and evaluating argumentation and the disciplined imagining of novel possibilities for human knowing, valuing and living.
  • Philosophy students learn how to think with a methodical care and rigor that is useful in practice as well as a prerequisite for abstract and theoretical analysis.
  • Students develop a disciplined approach to creative thought as they learn philosophical methods and ideas.
  • Bucknell offers depth in the coverage of the major areas of the history of Western philosophy.
  • Students can study several areas of non-Western philosophy, such as Islamic philosophy, Indian philosophy and Chinese philosophy.

Faculty

Maria Balcells
B.A. Rutgers, Ph.D. expected 2011, University of Illinois at Chicago
Visiting 2010-2011
Scholarly interests: Philosophy of Time, Philosophy of Science, Metaphysics

Richard Fleming
B.A. Bethel College; M.Phil., Ph.D. Kansas
Scholarly interests: Logic, Ordinary Language Philosophy, Wittgenstein, Contemporary Philosophy

Peter S. Groff
B.A. Rutgers; M.A. Hawaii; Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: Non-Western and Comparative Philosophy, Nietzsche, Islamic Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion

Jason Leddington
A.B. Brown; M.A., Ph.D., Northwestern
Scholarly interests: Perception, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics and Epistemology

Sheila Lintott
B.A. Montclair State; M.A. University at Albany; Ph.D.Wisconsin at Madison
Scholarly interests: Philosophy of Art, Aesthetics, Environmental Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy

Mathew H. Slater
B.A. Dartmouth, M.A., Ph.D., Columbia
NSF Scholar's Award
Sabbatical 2010-2011
Scholarly interests: Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Biology

Gary Steiner
B.A. UCLA; B.A. California at Berkeley; M.A., Ph.D. Yale
Scholarly interests:  The Moral Status of Animals, Modern Philosophy (especially Descartes), 19th- and 20th-Century Continental Philosophy

Jeffrey S. Turner
B.A. University of the South; A.M. Brown; Ph.D. Yale
Scholarly interests:  Ancient Greek Philosophy, History of Ethics, Contemporary Ethical Theory

Undergraduate Research

Bucknell’s philosophy faculty members are eager to mentor students who want to conduct research or embark on independent projects and honors theses. Examples of recent student projects include:

  • Idealism in Action: A Theoretical and Practical Exploration of Political Liberalism in the Work of Martha C. Nussbaum
  • Truth and Lies: A Defense of Moral Relativism
  • Conceptions of Altruism: A Philosophical and Biological Investigation of Selflessness
  • Messengers of Philosophy: The Use of Personae in the Philosophical Works of Plato, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard

Resources

  • The Roy Wood Sellars Lectureship brings noted American philosophers to campus to interact with faculty and students.
  • First-year students in the Humanities Residential College take class trips (some overnight and some daylong) to museums, restaurants and theaters in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and other cities in the region.
  • Teaching and research assistantships offer students opportunities for advanced-level work in philosophy.

Courses Offered

19th-century European Philosophy
American Philosophy
Analytic Philosophy
Capstone in Literature and Philosophy
Chinese Philosophy
Contemporary Continental Philosophy
Contemporary Ethical Theory
Development of Modern Philosophy
Ecology, Nature and the Future
Ethics
Existentialism
Feminism and Philosophy
Fields and Functions of Philosophy
Gender and Philosophy
Greek Philosophy
Honors Thesis
Indian Philosophy
Individual Studies in Philosophy
Islamic Philosophy
Law, Morality and Society
Logic
Medieval Philosophy
Metaphysics
Minds, Brains, Computers
Phenomenology
Philosophy Capstone
Philosophy of Art
Philosophy of Biology
Philosophy of Dark Comedy
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Law
Philosophy of Mathematics
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Music
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Peace and Nonviolence
Problem of False Consciousness
Scientific and Everyday Reasoning
Seminar in Historical Studies
Seminar in Perception
Seminar in Philosophical Problems
Senior Thesis
Social and Political Philosophy
Symbolic Logic
Theory of Knowledge
Topics in Aesthetics
Topics in Greek Philosophy
Western Perspectives on Animals
World Philosophy

Internships

Students can gain career experience and networking opportunities through summer internships in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.