FAS - Philosophy

The Department of Philosophy, together with the affiliated Center for the Philosophy of Science and in cooperation with the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, offers advanced degree programs leading to the MA and PhD degrees. The department is especially strong in the areas of epistemology, ethics, Greek philosophy, history of philosophy, mathematical and philosophical logic, metaphysics, political and social philosophy, history and philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of mind and psychology, and semantics. Its faculty, which represents a wide diversity of interests and backgrounds, has designed the graduate programs so as to allow students substantial flexibility in planning their programs of study. Students have considerable freedom in deciding which areas to combine with a chosen area of specialization in meeting the degree requirements. Students who are especially interested in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science should consult that department's entry in this bulletin.

Contact Information

Department Chair: Stephen Engstrom

Main Office: 1001 Cathedral of Learning

Phone: (412) 624-5768

Fax: (412) 624-5377

Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~philosop/philosophy.html

The Center for Philosophy of Science

The Center for Philosophy of Science is intimately linked with the Department of Philosophy but includes members of several other departments. It affords an opportunity to study the philosophy and logic of the sciences. The Center promotes research in collaboration with scholars at other institutions and contributes to the education of doctoral and post-doctoral students specializing in the philosophy and history of science. In the interest of a wider diffusion and appreciation of the subject, the Center sponsors a series of annual public lectures by eminent scholars.

Program in Classics, Philosophy, and Ancient Science

The Departments of Classics, Philosophy, and History and Philosophy of Science of the University of Pittsburgh jointly offer a graduate program leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy with a special concentration in Classics, Philosophy and Ancient Science. Although each student's primary association is with one of the three departments, depending on background and interests, students in the program work closely with each other and with the cooperating faculty, which is drawn from all three departments. Further information about this program can be obtained by writing to the Director, Program in Classics, Philosophy, and Ancient Science; 1518 Cathedral of Learning; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA 15260 or upon application to one of the three departments.

The Department of History and Philosophy of Science

The Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh offers courses and seminars leading to the MA and PhD degrees. They are designed to give students an opportunity to acquire those specialized skills requisite to an understanding of science as an intellectual, cultural, and historical force. The course offerings are diversified, and normal course work is supplemented by a series of seminars on special topics of interest. See History and Philosophy of Science for detail on the department.

It is possible for students in the Department of Philosophy to work out a combined program with the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, for which there are special degree requirements. The Departments of Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science work closely together in offering courses and seminars.

Admissions

To undertake graduate work in philosophy, a student normally must have done superior work in upper-division courses in philosophy totaling not less than 18 credit hours. Exceptions are made in the case of outstanding students who have completed strong majors in other fields. In addition to certified transcripts of all prior undergraduate and graduate work, applicants must include certified scores on the aptitude parts of the Graduate Record Examination, letters of recommendation, and a sample of written work. Full details may be obtained from the Director of Graduate Studies.

Admissions to the PhD program are made once yearly, in February, for entry the following September. The department accepts only full-time students. Admission is highly competitive; in recent years fewer than ten per cent of applicants have been offered admission. Admission to the terminal MA program is made a month before the start of the Fall and Spring Terms. The department welcomes students in other doctoral programs at the University who wish to take a secondary MA in Philosophy. The department admits other students only if places are available after doctoral students have been admitted.

Financial Assistance

Many students in the PhD program are supported by teaching assistantships or fellowships. The rates are set annually by the University. See Teaching and Research Appointments and Fellowships and Traineeships for details. The department does not offer financial support to terminal MA students.

Degree Requirements

The minimal requirements established by the Graduate Faculty of the University, as described under General Academic Regulations, and any additional requirements of FAS Graduate Studies described under FAS Degree Requirements, should be read in conjunction with program-specific degree requirements described in the following sections.

Requirements for the Master's Degree

The University requirement for the degree is eight courses (24 credits), of which at least four courses must be at the graduate level.

The Director of Graduate Studies advises incoming graduate students in planning their programs of studies. Departmental requirements are fully spelled out in the Handbook of Rules and Policies for Graduate Study in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, which may be obtained from the department. In summary, these requirements include:

(i) proficiency in French, German, Greek, or Latin, shown by passing a departmental translation examination (waived for secondary MA students)

(ii) proficiency in basic logic, normally shown by passing (with a grade of at least B) PHIL 1500

(iii) proficiency in metaphysics and epistemology, and either ethics or philosophy of science, shown by passing (with a grade of at least B+) the core courses PHIL 2400 and either 2300 or 2600

(iv) proficiency in the history of philosophy, shown by doing two units as specified in the Handbook

Requirements for the PhD Degree

The University requirement for the PhD degree is 72 credits. The department requires that 48 of these credits must be obtained by taking 16 approved graduate seminars (including directed studies) passed with a grade of at least B, and the remainder are typically satisfied by dissertation research.

The Director of Graduate Studies advises incoming students in planning their program of studies. Departmental requirements are fully spelled out in the Handbook of Rules and Policies for Graduate Study in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, which may be obtained from the department. In summary, these requirements include:

(i) proficiency in French, German, Greek, or Latin, shown by passing a departmental translation examination

(ii) proficiency in basic and advanced logic, normally shown by passing (with a grade of at least B) PHIL 2500

(iii) proficiency in ethics, metaphysics and epistemology, and philosophy of science, shown by passing (with a grade of at least B+) the core courses PHIL 2300, 2400, and 2600

(iv) proficiency in the history of philosophy, shown by doing four units as specified in the Handbook

When these requirements are completed, which should be by the end of the third year of full-time graduate study, the student's performance will be subject to comprehensive evaluation by the full faculty of the department. If the evaluation is favorable, the student presents a prospectus for a dissertation. If the prospectus is acceptable to the proposed dissertation committee, the student is admitted to PhD candidacy. The student must then write and submit a dissertation which the committee considers acceptable for examination, and must pass a final oral examination on the dissertation and his/her research.

Teaching Internship

In order to qualify for the PhD degree, each graduate student must teach, under the supervision of the faculty, at least three one-hour discussion sections distributed over at least two different courses. Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows satisfy this requirement in the course of fulfilling their teaching duties. Special arrangements are made to enable other graduate students to satisfy this requirement.

Course Listings

Courses numbered in the 1000s are advanced undergraduate courses. With the consent of the departmental Director of Graduate Studies, these courses may be taken by graduate students who are not yet ready for seminar work in the area concerned. A complete list of these courses can be found in the CAS Bulletin. They do not count towards the 16 required graduate seminars.

Courses numbered in the 2000s are intended primarily for graduate students. The following courses are usually offered in rotation over a period of two or three years. The core courses and advanced logic (2300, 2400, 2600, and 2500) are offered every year, either in the Fall or Spring Term. The department prepares detailed descriptions of each term's course offerings; these details are available from the department about two months before the beginning of each term. Students not having graduate standing in the Department of Philosophy should secure the instructor's consent before registering for any of the following courses.

PHIL 2010 Presocratic Philosophy

PHIL 2011 Studies in Presocratic Philosophy

PHIL 2020 Plato

PHIL 2021 Studies in Plato

PHIL 2040 Aristotle

PHIL 2041 Studies in Aristotle

PHIL 2050 Topics in History of Philosophy

PHIL 2060 Hellenistic Philosophy

PHIL 2061 Studies in Hellenistic Philosophy

PHIL 2070 Ancient Philosophy

PHIL 2071 Studies in Ancient Philosophy

PHIL 2075 Topics in Ancient Philosophy

PHIL 2080 Medieval Philosophy

PHIL 2081 Studies in Medieval Philosophy

PHIL 2100 Hobbes

PHIL 2110 Descartes

PHIL 2120 Spinoza

PHIL 2130 Leibniz

PHIL 2140 Locke

PHIL 2150 Berkeley

PHIL 2160 Hume

PHIL 2170 Kant

PHIL 2171 Kantian Ethics

PHIL 2172 Analytical Kantianism

PHIL 2180 Hegel

PHIL 2190 Nietzsche

PHIL 2195 Dewey

PHIL 2196 James

PHIL 2200 Frege

PHIL 2210 Wittgenstein

PHIL 2220 Heidegger

PHIL 2221 Being and Time

PHIL 2230 Marx

PHIL 2300 Ethics (core course)

PHIL 2305 Topics in Ethics

PHIL 2310 Moral Theory

PHIL 2315 Moral Psychology

PHIL 2316 Ethics and Public Life

PHIL 2317 Environmental Ethics

PHIL 2320 Social Philosophy

PHIL 2330 Political Philosophy

PHIL 2335 Topics in Contemporary Philosophy

PHIL 2340 Philosophical Perspectives on Feminism

PHIL 2370 Aesthetics

PHIL 2380 Rational Choice

PHIL 2381 Decision Theory

PHIL 2382 Topics in Decision Theory

PHIL 2385 Rationality

PHIL 2390 Philosophy of Law

PHIL 2391 Topics in Philosophy of Law

PHIL 2400 Metaphysics and Epistemology (core course)

PHIL 2420 Philosophy of Language

PHIL 2421 Topics in Philosophy of Language

PHIL 2430 Singular Reference

PHIL 2440 Philosophy of Mind

PHIL 2445 Philosophy of Action

PHIL 2460 Epistemology

PHIL 2470 Philosophy of Religion

PHIL 2480 Metaphysics

PHIL 2481 Metaphilosophy

PHIL 2500 Advanced Logic (core course)

PHIL 2501 Advanced Logic 2

PHIL 2505 Topics in Philosophical Logic

PHIL 2510 Topics in Logic

PHIL 2530 Set Theory

PHIL 2533 Descartes

PHIL 2540 Model Theory

PHIL 2580 Philosophy of Mathematics

PHIL 2590 Mathematics for Foundations

PHIL 2600 Philosophy of Science (core course)

PHIL 2620 Philosophy of Social Science

PHIL 2621 Recent Topics in Philosophy of Social Science

PHIL 2625 Recent Topics in Philosophy of Science

PHIL 2626 Recent Topics in Philosophy of Physics

PHIL 2627 Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics

PHIL 2630 Cultural, Social, and Psychological Explanation

PHIL 2640 Philosophy of Psychology

PHIL 2646 Carnap and Reichenbach

PHIL 2650 Philosophy and Psychoanalysis

PHIL 2651 Philosophy and Psychoanalysis 2

PHIL 2655 Aristotelian and Tractarian Philosophy of Science

PHIL 2660 Philosophy of Space and Time

PHIL 2665 Laws of Nature

PHIL 2670 Contemporary Falsification

PHIL 2675 Scientific Explanation

PHIL 2680 Scientific Realism

PHIL 2681 Realism

PHIL 2690 Theories of Confirmation

PHIL 2699 Experiment and Scientific Practice

PHIL 2700 Science and Religion

PHIL 2703 Topics in Philosophy of Law

PHIL 2800 Zoological Philosophy

PHIL 2810 Philosophical Ethology

PHIL 2900 Teaching Philosophy

PHIL 2902 Pre-MA Directed Study

PHIL 2990 Independent Study

PHIL 2999 Prospectus Research

PHIL 3000 Research and Dissertation for the PhD Degree

PHIL 3902 Post-MA Directed Study