Department of Philosophy
Philosophy addresses some of the most fundamental and difficult questions there are, such as:
- What is the nature of the human mind?
- What makes knowledge trustworthy?
- What are the standards of good reasoning?
- What is a just society?
- What is the best way to live?
Philosophy as an academic discipline attempts to answer these questions with a combination of creativity and analytical rigor.
The Department of Philosophy acknowledges that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.
News
- Sep. 15, 2021Welcome Andrea Pitts!
We are pleased to announce Humphrey Chair in Feminist Philosophy Andrea Pitts to the philosophy department for the fall term.
- June 7, 2021The Cave Hill Philosophy Symposium 2021 features Jenny Saul, Tasneem Alsayyed, and Zainab Ashraf
The Cave Hill Philosophy Symposium, June 16-18, will be at the University of the West Indies in Barbados. Jenny Saul is doing the keynote ("Saying the Quiet Part Loud: The Rise of Explicit Racism in US and UK Political Discourse"), and two department students are presenting papers that were originally written for Dr.
- Mar. 18, 2021Dr Jennifer Saul to present at Walter Murray Lecture series
This year's Walter Murray Lecture series will be presented by our own Dr Jennifer Saul, from Friday March 26-27th.
The public talk on Friday March 26th titled "Figleaves and Their Kin: Mechanisms for Getting Away With Racist Speech" will touch on political psychology, sociolinguistics, and the philosophy of language.
