TheFaculty of Philosophy, University of Oxfordwas founded in 2001. It is part of Oxford'sHumanities Division.[1]The faculty is located next toSomerville CollegeonWoodstock Road.As of 2021, it is ranked 1st in the UK and 2nd in the English-speaking world by thePhilosophical Gourmet Report,as well as 4th in the world by theQS World University Rankings.[2][3]It is additionally ranked first in the UK by theComplete University Guide,theGuardian,theTimes,and theIndependent.[4][5][6][7]
History of the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford
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The present-day Faculty was formerly a sub-faculty of the Faculty ofLiterae Humaniores(founded in 1913), though the teaching of philosophy at Oxford dates back to medieval times. The Faculty boasts over 50 full-time philosophers in permanent posts, with at least another 50 fixed-term, emeritus and associate members.[8]Today, it is housed within Oxford'sHumanities Division.[9]
Some of the world's most prominent philosophers have studied (and taught) at Oxford, includingDuns Scotus,Thomas Bradwardine,William of Ockham,John Wycliffe,Thomas Hobbes,John Locke,John Norris,Jeremy Bentham,Henry Longueville Mansel,Thomas Hill Green,F. H. Bradley,Edward Cairdand in more recent timesPeter Strawson,Galen Strawson,A. J. Ayer,Mary Midgley,Iris Murdoch,Thomas Nagel,Gilbert Ryle,Genevieve Lloyd,Isaiah Berlin,J. L. Austin,Celia Green,Bernard Williams,Philippa Foot,Michael A. Smith,Onora O'Neill,Michael Dummett,Derek Parfit,andElizabeth Anscombe.
Eminent philosophers have taught at Oxford, includingRobert Grosseteste,Amartya Sen,and still others, includingNoam Chomsky,Saul KripkeandHilary Putnamhave come to Oxford to deliver theJohn Locke Lectures,[10]the Gareth Evans Memorial Lectures and other established lectures and lecture series.
The Faculty has the following statutory professorships in philosophy:
- TheWhite's Professorship of Moral Philosophy(founded in 1621)[11]
- TheWaynflete Professorshipof Metaphysical Philosophy (founded in 1859)
- TheWykeham Professorshipof Logic (founded in 1859)
- TheNolloth Professorship of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion(founded in 1920)
- The Professorship of Ancient Philosophy (founded in 1966)
- TheWilde Professorship of Mental Philosophy(founded in 2000); formerly the Wilde Readership in Mental Philosophy (founded in 1898)
- The Uehiro Professorship of Practical Ethics (founded in 2003).
Henry Wilde Prize
editThe Henry Wilde Prize in Philosophy is awarded annually annually for an outstanding performance in Philosophy.[12]
Research centres
editOxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
editThe Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics was founded in 2003 byEiji Uehiro,with the intention to "encourage and support debate and deeper rational reflection" onpractical ethics.Annually, it hosts the Uehiro Lectures in Practical Ethics, a series of three lectures.[13]The centre works to raise public awareness and engagement with ethical issues, through public lecturing and engagement, commenting and consulting in the media, in the United Kingdom and internationally.[14]The director of the centre isRoger Crisp.[15]
Future of Humanity Institute
editThe Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) was founded byNick Bostromin 2005 to "assess how dangerous AI and other potential threats might be to the human species".[16]It was closed down on 16 April 2024, having "faced increasing administrative headwinds within the Faculty of Philosophy".[17][18]The Institute's final report described a "gradual suffocation by Faculty bureaucracy", noting that "[t]he flexible, fast-moving approach of the institute did not function well with the rigid rules and slow decision-making of the surrounding organization".[19]In May 2024, the independent Oxford student newspaper,Cherwell,described shuttering of FHI with the headline "Institute accused of ‘eugenics on steroids’ shut down by Oxford University".[20]
Global Priorities Institute
editThe Global Priorities Institute was founded in 2018, to investigate the question of "how to do the most good".[21]
Notable current members
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Notable past members
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- Michael Ayers
- Isaiah Berlin
- Simon Blackburn
- Nick Bostrom
- David Charles
- SirMichael Dummett
- Ronald Dworkin
- Philippa Foot
- Peter Geach
- John Hawthorne
- Stuart Hampshire
- R.M. Hare
- J.L. Mackie
- Iris Murdoch
- Christopher Peacocke
- W.D. Ross
- Amartya Sen
- Colin McGinn
- Derek Parfit
- SirGeoffrey Warnock
- Mary Warnock,Baroness Warnock
- David Wiggins
- Bernard Williams
- Sybil Wolfram
References
edit- ^"Faculties and units".www.humanities.ox.ac.uk.
- ^"The Philosophical Gourmet Report 2021–22".Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2024.Retrieved18 April2024.
- ^"Philosophy".QS Top Universities.10 April 2024.Retrieved18 April2014.
- ^"Top UK University League Tables and Rankings 2018".Complete University Guide.Retrieved29 January2018.
- ^"University guide 2011: Philosophy | Education".theguardian.com. 8 June 2010.Retrieved29 January2018.
- ^"The Times & The Sunday Times".Timesonline.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 18 February 2007.Retrieved29 January2018.
- ^"UK and Worldwide News".The Independent.Archived fromthe originalon 23 May 2010.Retrieved29 January2018.
- ^"History of Philosophy at Oxford - Faculty of Philosophy".Archived fromthe originalon 22 October 2012.Retrieved28 December2009.
- ^"Divisions and Departments".ox.ac.uk.Retrieved18 April2024.
- ^"Past Lectures - Faculty of Philosophy".Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2011.Retrieved23 July2011.
- ^The History of the University Of Oxford, Volume IV: The Seventeenth Century, ed. N.Tyacke,Oxford, 1997, p.10)
- ^"The Henry Wilde Prize in Philosophy".www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk.
- ^"Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics".War and Peace at Oxford.Retrieved14 February2021.
- ^"Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics".Aeon.Retrieved14 February2021.
- ^"Professor Roger Crisp".The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.Retrieved18 April2024.
- ^Shead, Sam (25 May 2020)."How Britain's oldest universities are trying to protect humanity from risky A.I."CNBC.Retrieved14 February2021.
- ^"Future of Humanity Institute".17 April 2024. Archived fromthe originalon 17 April 2024.Retrieved17 April2024.
- ^Maiberg, Emanuel (17 April 2024)."Institute That Pioneered AI 'Existential Risk' Research Shuts Down".404 Media.Retrieved17 April2024.
- ^Sandberg, Anders (16 April 2024).Future of Humanity Institute 2005-2024: Final Report(PDF).www.futureofhumanityinstitute.org(Report). p. 19.Retrieved18 April2024.
- ^Littler-Jennings, Poppy (13 May 2024)."Institute accused of 'eugenics on steroids' shut down by Oxford University".Cherwell.Retrieved18 August2024.
- ^"New Global Priorities Institute opens".Development Office.5 April 2018.Retrieved14 February2021.