Harvard University Department of Philosophy

Parent institution	Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Chairperson	Bernhard Nickel
Academic staff	approx. 25 full-time faculty members (2023)[1]
Students	approx. 80-100 undergraduate students and 50 Ph.D. students
Location	Emerson Hall,Cambridge, MA, United States
Website	https://philosophy.fas.harvard.edu

TheDepartment of Philosophy atHarvard University is aphilosophy department inCambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is associated with theHarvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Housed at Emerson Hall, the department offersbachelor's,master's anddoctorate degrees in philosophy. Both undergraduate and graduate students can complete programs with other Harvard departments. Students publish and editThe Harvard Review of Philosophy, an annual peer-reviewed journal on philosophy. The department consistently ranks among the top ten philosophical faculties in the United States and the world and specializes in a wide range of philosophical topics, includingmoral andpolitical philosophy,aesthetics,metaphysics,analytical philosophy,history of philosophy,epistemology,philosophy of science andphilosophy of language,mind, andlogic.^[2][3]

Historically, philosophy at Harvard has transitioned from conservative religious traditions to more liberal and progressive schools of thought. Harvard initially trainedPuritanclergymen inlogic,ethics, andtheology. During the early 19th century, Harvard was associated with the development ofunitarianism and, correspondingly, the philosophy oftranscendentalism and produced thinkers likeRalph Waldo Emerson andHenry David Thoreau. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Harvard's philosophy department was an important source ofpragmatism of philosophers such asWilliam James,C. I. Lewis andGeorge Santayana and Americanidealism ofJosiah Royce.W. E. B. Du Bois andAlain LeRoy Locke followed the tradition of pragmatism and applied philosophy toAfrican-American experiences andculture. Later in the 20th century, philosophy at Harvard saw significant contributions inpolitical philosophy, especially withJohn Rawls andRobert Nozick. More recently, Harvard philosophy professors such asWillard Van Orman Quine andHilary Putnam have made notable advances inanalytic philosophy.

Philosophy teaching at Harvard College in its early years aligned with the theological worldview ofPuritanism, as faculty were Puritans and the college trained students become Puritanministers. Early curriculum focused on classical education with philosophical subjects, includinglogic,ethics,metaphysics, andtheology.^[4] Harvard's course of study was modeled after those ofCambridge University andOxford University, which included strands ofmental,moral, andnatural philosophy.^[5][6]

Philosophical discourse at Harvard and other New England colleges in the 17th and 18th century centered around religious issues of Puritanism. New England Puritan thought relied heavily ondogma, but attempted to systematically develop a coherentworldview, as well as philosophically grapple with the tensions between the elements of arbitrary and emotional "piety" and rational "intellect." Pupils read works on rhetoric, logic, and philosophy byWilliam Ames,Franco Burgersdijk,Petrus Ramus,Bartholomäus Keckermann, and other religious thinkers.^[7][8]

During theGreat Awakenings, moral philosophy at Harvard addressed issues with the development of religious revival movements. According toNorman Fiering, moral philosophical debates at Harvard served as precursors to the parallel discussions during the Great Awakening betweenOld Lights such as Harvard presidentCharles Chauncy andNew Lights asJonathan Edwards, in which Harvard adopted both views ofintellectualism andvoluntarism.^[9][10] Charles Chauncy would oppose sensational experiences of religion that were spread during the Great Awakening and developed a more rationalistic religious movement departing from Puritan orthodoxy.^[11][12]

During the later 18th century, Harvard began to adopt alatitudinarianism and a more liberal, tolerant, rational, and practical form of Christianity. In 1789, Harvard established theProfessorship of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity that would attempt to show the coherence of the "doctrines of Revelation" and the "dictates of Reason."^[13]

In the 19th century,unitarianism originated in the United States at Harvard after the college appointed the first unitarian professor of divinity in 1805. Following this appointment, the school became dominated by a unitarian moral philosophy that rejected Christ's divinity and departed from the orthodox theology of Puritans in earlier centuries.^[14]Transcendentalism followed the developments of unitarianism, emphasizing free conscience and the value of intellectual reason.^[15] Notable transcendentalist philosophers, who graduated from Harvard, includedRalph Waldo Emerson andHenry David Thoreau.^[16]

In the early decades of the 19th century, Harvard College offered philosophy courses in the areas of 1. intellectual philosophy 2. moral and political philosophy 3. religion and natural theology 4. logic and 5. natural philosophy. Core texts that were part of the curriculum included works by English and Scottish philosophers and theologians, includingJohn Locke,Thomas Brown,William Paley,William Enfield,Dugald Stewart,William Smellie,Joseph Butler, among others. The philosophy curriculum at Harvard during this time was dominated byScottish common sense realism and theempiricism of John Locke. At the same time, the college attempted to maintain philosophical and religious orthodoxy and likewise required professors to declare allegiance to theProtestantReformed Christian faith.^[17]

During the second half of the 19th century, Harvard philosophy became a significant center for the development of the American philosophy ofpragmatism and Americanidealism with influential Harvard philosophers such asWilliam James,Alfred North Whitehead,Josiah Royce and laterC. I. Lewis.^[20] William James, considered the founder of philosophical thought ofpragmatism,radical empiricism, andfunctional psychology, was influential in the foundation of Harvard's Psychology Department, which was initially closely tied with the Philosophy Department.^[21]Josiah Royce, considered the father of American idealism, opposed the pragmatism of William James and was a staunch advocate ofabsolute idealism but would later reformulate his metaphysics as "absolute pragmatism."^[22][23]

W. E. B. Du Bois studied atHarvard College from 1888 to 1890, where he was strongly influenced by Professor William James and would later make significant developments in the connection of philosophy and race.^[24][25]

Charles Sanders Peirce, a close friend of William James and key philosopher of pragmatism, studiednatural history andphilosophy at Harvard but was multiple times denied a professorship at the university due to undistinguished grades and disapproval by Harvard PresidentCharles William Eliot.^[26]

Harvard established aGraduate Department, modeled after the Germanuniversity system, in 1872, which offered degrees inMaster of Arts andDoctor of Philosophy. Philosophy was one of the first three subjects (besides mathematics and history) offered as a Ph.D. by the Graduate Department.^[27]

In 1895, the Philosophy Department wrote Harvard Corporation that it had allowedMary Whiton Calkins to complete all the requirements for the Ph.D. and noted that her "scholarly intelligence was exceptionally high, when compared with that of nearly all other candidates hitherto examined," but Harvard refused to grant her the degree, since she was a woman.^[28]

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Emerson Hall, which still houses the Philosophy Department, was built in 1905 and named after alumnusRalph Waldo Emerson.^[29] On the official opening, theAmerican Philosophical andAmerican Psychological Associations held meetings at the hall with addresses by PresidentCharles Eliot andEdward Waldo Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emerson's son.^[30]

Alain LeRoy Locke completed a bachelor's in philosophy andliterature at Harvard College in 1907. He is noted for his contributions to philosophical pragmatism and was central to theHarlem Renaissance.^[31]

One of William James's most notable students wasGeorge Santayana. Both werenaturalists, but they differed in their interpretation of religion. James viewed it as part of individual experiences that were attainable within a supernatural realm but not accessible through science, while Santayana emphasized the mind's creative imagination and held a version ofmetaphysical naturalism that was influenced byevolutionaryDarwinism and maintained that nothing supernatural exists.^[32]

Philosophy undergraduate students can concentrate in philosophy and receive anA. B. Degree. Undergraduates may also complete degrees through the Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative (MBB). The department offers joint-degree programs with the departments of Classics, Government,History, Mathematics, and Religion.^[33]

The undergraduate study consists of standard courses on:^[34]

• Logic
• Contemporarymetaphysics,epistemology,philosophy of science &mind.
• Philosophy of language,ethics,political philosophy,aesthetics.
• History ofancient,medieval, ormodern pre-20th-century philosophy.

The graduate program is mainly for Ph.D. recipients, as students can only complete A. M. degrees in pursuit of a Ph.D. Graduate students are required to take courses in:

• contemporary theoretical philosophy
• practical philosophy
• history of philosophy

The department offers courses in ancient Greek and Roman, medieval philosophy, early modern European philosophy, and other world philosophical traditions within these critical areas.

Ph.D. programs include standard philosophy,classical philosophy in conjunction with the Harvard Department of Classics,Indian philosophy with the Harvard Department of South Asian Studies, andphilosophy and law with theHarvard Law School.^[35]

The Philosophy Department is associated with TheEdmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics which fosters research and teaching on ethical issues.^[36]

Harvard University andMIT hold the annual Harvard-MIT Graduate Philosophy Conference to discuss various topics on philosophy, which alternates locations between the two institutions.^[37]

The peer-reviewed journalThe Harvard Review of Philosophy is published and edited by Harvard philosophy students.^[38]

According to the QS World University Rankings for Philosophy, Harvard University ranked 9th in 2020, 8th in 2021 and 2022, and 7th in 2023.^[39]

Based on a reputation survey from thePhilosophical Gourmet Report, Harvard ranked 7th in 2006, 6th in 2009 and 2014, 5th in 2011, and 9th in 2017 among United States graduate faculties.^[40] Among philosophical departments in the English-speaking world, Harvard ranked 9th place in another 2021 Philosophical Gourmet Report.^[41] Harvard faculty have criticized the Philosophical Gourmet Report for insufficiently high academic standards and failing to meet "social scientific standards."^[42]

Faculty who have been or are affiliated with the department includeDanielle Allen,Thomas Kuhn,Hugo Münsterberg,Martha Nussbaum,Michael Sandel, andCornel West.

• Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity: Levi Frisbie (1817-1822),Levi Hedge (1827–1830),James Walker (1838–1853),Francis Bowen (1853–1889),George Herbert Palmer (1889 - 1913),Josiah Royce (1914–1916),William Ernest Hocking (1919–1943),Raphael Demos (1945–1962),Roderick Firth (1962–1987),Thomas M. Scanlon (1984–2016), Selim Berker (2018–present)
• Arthur Kingsley Porter Research Professor of Philosophy:Christine M. Korsgaard (c. 1991–2020)
• Brian D. Young Professor of Philosophy:Richard Moran (c. 1995–present)
• Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy:C. I. Lewis (1948–1953),Willard Van Orman Quine (1956–1978),Burton Dreben (1981–1991),Charles Parsons (1991–2005),Susanna Siegel (2011–present)
• Norman E. Vuilleumier Professor of Philosophy:Edward J. Hall
• Samuel H. Wolcott Professor of Philosophy:Alison Simmons (2008–present)
• Teresa G. and Ferdinand F. Martignetti Professor of Philosophy:Sean Kelly (2014–present)

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

• Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
• Harvard University Department of Philosophy faculty
• Philosophy departments in the United States

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