The Department of Philosophy was founded in 1985 and reflects the tradition of philosophy as a central discipline in the humanities. The department has achieved an international reputation through the acclaimed research of its members and its innovative educational programs, not only in traditional topics such as ethics, philosophy of mind, logic, and theory of knowledge, but in such contemporary and applied areas as automated theorem proving, machine learning, language technology, game and decision theory, conflict resolution, art criticism, and business ethics. This emphasis arises from our commitment to refine philosophical insights of the past through confrontation with problems of the present.
Philosophy comes alive most vigorously when it interacts with other disciplines.
Philosophy courses incorporate substantive material from a range of other disciplines. Some courses are actually team taught with professors from other departments and schools around the university. The department welcomes and, indeed, encourages minors and double majors from other disciplines who are interested in the foundation of their own subjects. It is a professional major and offers students a firm background in computer science together with a grounding in logic, philosophy, and formal theories of language. All are necessary for the major task of making computers serve human needs.