History of Philosophy

Research into the history of philosophy at the University of Oregon is itself a philosophical task, inseparable from the questions, discourses and theories which we take to define philosophical practice. Many courses take an explicitly historical approach to the philosophical themes and questions they address. The general interest in our department in the history of philosophy opens up the question of the diversification and continuity of philosophical inquiry, and affirms the need to be receptive to the many differing accounts of the transmission of thought and practices. If the history of philosophy always implies some sort of philosophy of history, then historical research becomes a compelling way to address difference itself.

We require all majors to fulfill requirements in a series of history courses, stretching from antiquity to the 19th century. In addition, this overall commitment to history is continuous with our interest in the philosophical themes which emerge in the 20th century. A prominent feature of the department’s course offerings is the Author Course, which devotes an entire term to an in-depth study of one or two philosophers. These courses comprise a variety of philosophers, including among others such figures as the Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Hume, Locke, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Dewey, James, Dubois, Wittgenstein, Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and de Beauvoir. The department also offers a number of courses which approach the material with an unmistakable emphasis upon context and history. Such courses include Eastern Philosophy, American Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, and Feminism.

Philosophy Faculty

Research in the history of philosophy at the University of Oregon is affirmed and practiced by every member of the faculty in the department.