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

  1. July 18, 2022WUSA Teaching Excellence Award Winner Nick Ray

    WUSA’s Teaching Award is a yearly award that celebrates professors who have displayed quality teaching, shown commitment to student success, and looked beyond the classroom. This is also the only award presented by the University of Waterloo Senate selected entirely by undergraduate students!  

  2. May 18, 2022New Publication: Animals and Business Ethics
    sheep branded with numbers in a pen and book title

  3. May 4, 2022 Kathryn Plaisance receives prestigious OUSA's 2022 Teaching Excellence Award
    Katie Plaisance

    Another teaching award for Katie!! Congratulations Katie on OUSA's 2022 Teaching Excellence Award. This award goes to teachers with the ability to spark students' curiosity and desire to learn and build critical skills that form the foundation of education. Katie has taken this role to heart and was selected by her students as an example of teaching excellence.

Read all news

Events

  1. Sep. 30, 2022 to Mar. @24, 2023Colloquium Speaker Series Event Dates Fall 2022/Winter 2023

    Pre-event Social

    Join us in the Philosophy Reading Room, Hagey Hall room 335, an hour prior to each talk for some light refreshment and social time. Coffee, tea, and pastries will be provided. You can also join us remotely. Zoom meeting links will be sent out for each talk the Monday before the event.

  2. Sep. 30, 2022September Speaker Series

    September 30th

    Kate Norlock, Trent University
    "We're going backwards": The Possibility of Moral Regress
    Hagey Hall room 373
    3:30pm -5pm

  3. Oct. 14, 2022Works in Progress Lunch Talk

    October 14

    Katy Fulfer, University of Waterloo


    Works in Progress 
    "A Vegan Ecofeminist Exploration of Infertility Treatments"

All upcoming events