Philosophy

Dorit A. Ganson, Associate Professor of Philosophy; chair

Todd S. Ganson, Professor of Philosophy
Haley Schilling, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Katherine J. Thomson-Jones, Professor of Philosophy
Martin R. Thomson-Jones, Professor of Philosophy

Visit the department web page for up-to-date information on department faculty, visiting lecturers, and special events.

Study in philosophy is an essential ingredient of a liberal arts education.

See information about Research, Internships, Study Away, and Experiential Learning (RISE).

Explore Winter Term projects and opportunities.

Majors, Minors, and Integrative Concentrations

• Philosophy Major   
• Philosophy Minor  

Curriculum

The Department of Philosophy at Oberlin College offers a full curriculum on three levels:

• introductory courses (100-level);
• intermediate and advanced courses with concentration on particular sub-fields of philosophy (200-level); and
• topical and historical seminars (300-level).

Courses

• PHIL 121 - Philosophy and Morality
• PHIL 122 - The Nature of Value
• PHIL 126 - Human Nature and Morality
• PHIL 127 - Being Together: Philosophies of Society and Sociality
• PHIL 200 - Deductive Logic
• PHIL 201 - Reason and Argument
• PHIL 204 - Ethics
• PHIL 206 - Epistemology
• PHIL 208 - Metaphysics
• PHIL 209 - Representation and Reality
• PHIL 214 - Philosophy in the Schools (PHITS) Practicum
• PHIL 215 - Human Nature, Happiness, and Virtue: Ethical Theory from Socrates to the Stoics
• PHIL 216 - Realism, Idealism, and Skepticism
• PHIL 220 - Philosophy of Language
• PHIL 222 - Philosophy of Science
• PHIL 224 - Political Philosophy: Traditional and Non-Traditional Approaches
• PHIL 228 - Topics in Philosophy of Mind
• PHIL 230 - Aesthetics
• PHIL 234 - Topics in Applied Ethics
• PHIL 235 - Biomedical Ethics
• PHIL 238 - Ethics and Technology
• PHIL 239 - Philosophy of the Digital Arts
• PHIL 240 - Feminist Epistemology
• PHIL 245 - Freedom, Self-Consciousness, and Alienation: Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century
• PHIL 370 - Seminar: Happiness, Death, and the Meaning of Life
• PHIL 375 - Realism and Representation in Art
• PHIL 380 - Philosophy of Film and Photography
• PHIL 390 - Seminar: People and Selves
• PHIL 401F - Philosophy Honors - Full
• PHIL 401H - Philosophy Honors - Half
• PHIL 995F - Private Reading - Full
• PHIL 995H - Private Reading - Half