Philosophy


Despite Decrease in Concentrators, Students and Faculty Alike Defend the Humanities

Of the 18 concentrations in the Arts and Humanities division, 10 have experienced significant decreases in numbers of concentrators, six remained relatively steady, and two saw slight increases between 2015 and 2019.


Sandel Debates The Future of Truth in Politics at IOP

Government professor Michael J. Sandel and Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center Fellow Gwyneth Williams spoke about the role of truth in politics to a crowd of more than 70 at the Institute of Politics Thursday evening.


Brian Greene Talks the Physics of Free Will at Science Center Lecture

Theoretical physicist and Columbia University professor Brian R. Greene ’84 emphasized humanity’s unique place in the cosmos — despite occupying a miniscule sliver of space and time — at a Science Center talk Wednesday night.


Thomas Scanlon

Harvard philosophy professor emeritus Thomas M. Scanlon spoke with Fifteen Minutes about philosophy and the fourth and final season of NBC’s comedy TV series “The Good Place," created by Michael Schur ’97.


Harvard Embedded EthiCS Program Receives $150,000 Grant

Embedded EthiCS — an interdisciplinary initiative between the Computer Science and Philosophy departments — will receive a $150,000 grant after being named a winner in the 2019 Responsible Computer Science Challenge last week.


Joint CS and Philosophy Initiative, Embedded EthiCS, Triples in Size to 12 Courses

Embedded EthiCS — an interdisciplinary initiative between the Computer Science and Philosophy departments — has expanded to a dozen courses in the Computer Science department this semester and will extend to other disciplines in the near future.


Philosophy Department

Emerson Hall in Harvard Yard is the home of the Philosophy Department.


A Conversation with Cornel West

Cornel R. West ‘74 spoke with Danielle S. Allen, Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, as a part of the center’s Diversity, Justice, and Democracy lecture series on Wednesday.


Marketing the Humanities

A number of events over Advising Fortnight fit into the larger trend of job-oriented marketing within the Arts and Humanities as many concentrations seek to attract more students and address their career concerns through an increase in job-focused advising events, alumni interactions, and published materials.


Being Alone

​Last summer, I spent a month traveling alone, and two catastrophic events took place. In Belgrade I ran out of books—except for Martin Heidegger’s easy-breezy beach-read “Being and Time”—and in Sarajevo I got food poisoning. This meant that I spent my last 72 hours in the Balkans alone in my room, vomiting garlic-soaked lamb’s head, with nothing to do but read Heidegger. This was a terrible experience. But in the weird interplay between being alone and “Being and Time,” I came to understand why it was terrible—and that it might be for a good reason.


The Humanities at Work

The universe of higher education often bemoans a "crisis" in the humanities, with supposedly dwindling numbers and few job prospects. At Harvard, humanities concentrators face a crisis of choice, attempting to balance their passions with factors like stability and employment. For Harvard graduates, the question is not so much whether you’ll get a job with a humanities degree—it’s where.


Alison Simmons Introduces Humanities 10a

Philosophy professor Alison Simmons introduces students to Humanities 10a. The two-semester course serves as an introduction to the study of the humanities and can now fulfill the College’s expository writing requirement.


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