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Why Study Philosophy?

Philosophy is traditionally defined as the love of wisdom, the ability to think well about the foundations of human action, the nature of reality, and the purposes and priorities of life.

The department offers the opportunity for a systematic study of the philosophies of past and present, of East and West, a study that deepens and broadens one's outlook on the world and on human affairs, and thus provides a more secure basis on which to develop one's own philosophy.

Department Contact

Hours: Mon-Thur, 8:30am-5pm
Fri, 8:30am-1:30pm

E-mail: phlsphr@sfsu.edu

Phone:(415) 338-1596

Address:1600 Holloway Avenue San Francisco, CA 94132, Humanities Building, Room 388

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Department of Philosophy

Philosophy Department Alumni and Friends of Philosophy page more..

SFSU students publish papers and present at conferences more...

Professor Bas van Fraassen featured in The Townsend Lectures more...

History of Philosophy Colloquia more...

PHILOSOPHY B.A. DEGREE HOLDERS IN TOP MID-CAREER EARNERS more...

CRITICAL THINKING CHALLENGE EXAM more...

News

CONGRATULATIONS TO PHILOSOPHY FACULTY:

Two Philosophy Department faculty members have won prizes and will be honored at the upcoming American Philosophical Association meeting in New York in December 2009.

Professor Anita Silvers, the Department Chair, has been awarded the Quinn Prize, in recognition of her service to philosophy and philosophers broadly construed, by the APA Board of Officers. She will receive the award on December 28th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. The APA also will sponsor a panel discussion of her contributions to philosophical scholarship and a reception in April 2010 in San Francisco at the St. Francis Hotel. Silvers's research focuses on justice theory, nondiscrimination and inclusiveness.

Assistant Professor Justin Tiwald, the Assistant Department Chair, has been awarded the Dao Best Essay Prize for his article, "A Right of Rebellion in the Mengzi (Mencius)." He will receive the award on December 30th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, where there will be a panel discussion of the essay.

Professor Bas van Fraassen was presented with the Giulio Preti International Prize for Science and Philosophy in November 2009 in Florence, Italy, by the Consiglio Regionale della Toscana.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO PHILOSOPHY MA STUDENTS:

Congratulations to SAJA PARVIZIAN (MA candidate)! Saja's paper, "Wittgenstein on Expressing Mystical Experiences," was accepted at the Third Annual Southeast Philosophy Conference, which will be held this February at Clayton State University (Morrow, Georgia).

PAUL WILLIAMS for receiving the Edward B. Kaufmann Scholarship!

 

Despite the CSU graduate programs admissions freeze, you can begin your SFSU graduate study in Philosophy in Spring ’10. more...

 

Congratulations to successful PhD applicants

This year our students were offered admission and financial support by several doctoral programs. Programs in philosophy include CUNY, UC San Diego, U of Connecticut, SUNY Buffalo, U of Missouri, Utah, McGill, and U of Illinois Chicago. Programs in religious studies include University of Chicago, Boston University, Indiana University, University of Colorado, University of Washington, and Rice University.

 

Campus adds philosophy of science emphasis more...

 

SF State hires two tenure-track faculty

The philosophy department welcomes two accomplished young scholars as tenure-track assistant professors.

David Landy received his PhD from the University of North Carolina in 2008. His research focuses on issues at the intersection of Modern Philosophy and metaphysics and epistemology (including philosophy of language). Having been awarded his doctorate less than a year ago, he has already published six articles in prominent volumes and journals. His dissertation, directed by Jay Rosenberg, is entitled “The Synthesis of Concepts: Inferentialism and Semantic Theory in Hume, Kant and Hegel.”

Landy will work closely with Alice Sowaal, who specializes in Early Modern Philosophy, to enrich instructional offerings in the history of empiricism and German Idealism (18th and 19th Century philosophy) and in the foundations of contemporary theories of metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language and philosophy of mind.

Carlos Montemayor received his PhD from Rutgers University in Philosophy and holds a Certificate in Cognitive Science. His research focuses on issues in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, areas in which he has published several articles. He also will teach courses in metaphysics and epistemology. His dissertation, directed by Alvin Goldman, is entitled “The Psychology of Time and Its Philosophical Implications.”

Aside from his areas of specialization, Montemayor is conversant with scholarship in a number of disciplines and fields, including psychology, phenomenology, and political philosophy. He is a member of the Visual Attention Lab at the Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science. He received a JD from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and an MA from the New School for Social Research. He has also published on issues of human rights and constitutional law, including a book on the rights of indigenous peoples.

SF State ranked among the top Philosophy MA programs in the nation

This year’s Philosophical Gourmet Report lists SF State’s program among thirteen top Master’s degree programs in the United States.

 

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Administration and Advising

Last Update: 12-07-2009