Department News
Amy Lara wins Teaching Award. Professor Lara has won the College of Arts and Sciences' William L. Stamey Teaching Award, for the second time. Congratulations to Professor Lara!
Jon Mahoney to publish work in Public Affairs Quarterly. In his "Democratic Equality and Corporate Political Speech," Jon analyzes the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission, arguing against the idea that corporations have rights to free speech. His work will appear in a forthcoming edition of Public Affairs Quarterly.
Salvatore Florio to publish work in the journal Mind. Salvatore critically assesses formal semantic theories for plural terms. His work, at the intersection of studies of language, logic and philosophy, will appear in a forthcoming edition of Mind.
Jim Hamilton to publish a paper in The Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. Jim's most recent published piece, 'Acting', uses work from ethology (the study of animal behavior) and philosophical theories of indirect discourse to argue for a novel account of the origin of acting.
Salvatore Florio will deliver a talk at the Colloquium of Mathematical Philosophy, University of Munich, on the formal semantics for plural terms. The talk is entitled "The Semantics of Plurals: A Neglected Alternative" (May 16, 2013, 6:15 pm, Ludwigstraße 31, ground floor, Room E21). He will also present work at the Institut Jean Nicod, in Paris. This talk is entitled "Varieties of Singularism, and will be delivered on May 29th.
Who we are
Our department has strengths in philosophy of science, social and political philosophy, philosophy of language, decision theory, ethics, and aesthetics. We are an undergraduate-focused department that is also very active in research, giving our students the opportunity to participate in philosophical research while still undergraduates.
We offer a variety of options within the major program to provide flexibility in organizing a course of studies with philosophy at its center. We also offer a minor. Our program in philosophy gives students an understanding of traditional philosophical subjects such as the nature and justification of moral values, religious and scientific explanations of the world, the rationality of social institutions, and the nature of reasoning and argument. It also helps students develop critical habits of thinking and skill in understanding complex issues. Consequently, philosophy is an appropriate subject around which to organize a general education for any purpose. Our majors go to law school, medical school, graduate programs in philosophy and related areas, become ministers, and open their own businesses, and all of them credit our program with preparing them for successful careers.
LSAT, GMAT and GRE scores for philosophy majors rank in the top three nationally virtually every year. Also, philosophy majors have among the highest acceptance rates at law schools and medical schools each year. For instance, KSU philosophy majors over the last twenty years have had an acceptance rate at law schools of over 96%.