Skip to main content.
Bard
  • Bard
  • Academics sub-menuAcademics
    Bard College Commencement
    • Academics
      • Programs and Divisions
      • Structure of the Curriculum
      • Courses
      • Requirements
      • Discover Bard
      • Bard Abroad
      • Academic Calendar
      • Faculty
      • Libraries
      • College Catalogue
      • Dual-Degree Programs
      • Bard Conservatory of Music
      • Other Study Opportunities
      • Graduate Programs
      • Early Colleges
  • Admission sub-menuAdmission
    • Applying
      • Apply Now
      • Financial Aid
      • Tuition + Payment
    • Discover Bard
      • Campus Tours
      • Meet Our Students + Alumni/ae
      • For Families / Familias
    • Stay in Touch
      • Join Our Mailing List
      • Contact Us
  • Campus Life sub-menuCampus Life
    Bard Campus Life

    Make a home in Annandale.

    • Living on Campus
      • Housing + Dining
      • Campus Resources
      • Get Involved on Campus
      • Visiting + Transportation
      • Athletics + Recreation
      • New Students
  • Civic Engagement sub-menuCivic Engagement
    • Bard CCE The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at Bard College embodies the fundamental belief that education and civil society are inextricably linked.

      Take action.
      Make an impact.

      Get Involved
      • Campus + Community
      • In the Classroom
      • U.S. Network
      • International Network
      • About CCE
      • Resources
      • Support
  • Newsroom sub-menuNews + Events
    Upstreaming
    • News + Events
      • Newsroom
      • Events Calendar
      • Video Gallery
      • Press Releases
      • Office of Communications
      • COVID-19 Updates
    • Special Events
      • Commencement Weekend
      • Alumni/ae Reunion
      • Family + Alumni/ae Weekend
      • Fisher Center
      • Bard SummerScape
      • Bard Athletics
  • About Bard sub-menuAbout Bard

    A private college for the public good.

    Support Bard

    Legacy Challenge
    • About Bard College
      • Mission Statement
      • Bard History
      • Love of Learning
      • Visiting Bard
      • Employment
      • OSUN
      • Bard Abroad
      • The Bard Network
      • Montgomery Place Campus
      • Campus Tours
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • Sustainability
      • Title IX and Nondiscrimination
      • HEOA Disclosures
      • Institutional Support
      • Safety and Security
      • Inside Bard
      • Alumni/ae Network
      • Family Network
      • Support Bard
      • Legacy Challenge
  • COVID-19 Information
  • Give
  • Search
Bard Philosophy Program
Main Image for Philosophy Program

Philosophy Program

Philosophy Menu
  • Requirements + Courses
  • Faculty
  • Our Students
  • Resources
  • News + Events
  • Home
Apply Now!
Does life have meaning? What is it to be human? Is beauty more important than truth? Is a hot dog a sandwich? Philosophy examines the big questions. It does so in conversation with all of the other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Students of philosophy develop their skills in critical thinking, in grasping both the big picture and the small important details, and in understanding and empathizing with other people and with philosophical texts.
 
Areas of Study
W.E.B. Du Bois. Photo: University of Massachusetts Libraries

Areas of Study

The core of the program consists of courses in the history of philosophy and such traditional areas of philosophic study as ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and aesthetics. Several seminars each year are devoted to the work of one philosopher, for example, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, or Sartre.

The Philosophy Curriculum
Hannah Arendt

The Philosophy Curriculum

The philosophy curriculum is designed to provide students in any field a general understanding of the nature and history of philosophical inquiry. Students who major in philosophy have access to more specialized courses, which can serve as the foundation for graduate study. A major in philosophy requires seven courses listed in philosophy, of which at least four are in the Upper College. Several courses of a philosophical nature are taught at the Hannah Arendt Center and in the Historical Studies, Human Rights, Literature, Physics, Political Studies, and Interdisciplinary Study of Religion programs.

Philosophy Program DEI Statement

The Philosophy Program is dedicated to fostering the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our curriculum, our classrooms, and our community. We recognize the extent to which these values are endangered in our world and the work that still needs to be done on our campus and in our program to fight for them. We also recognize that philosophy as a discipline has historically promoted and reinforced injustice and exclusion. We commit ourselves to resisting this history and to building a community that is equitable and inclusive for all. We see this project as essential to fulfilling the highest ideals of philosophy: intellectual risk-taking, rigorous thinking, critical self-examination, and open-minded dialogue.

We are committed to practicing and teaching philosophy not as a canonical body of knowledge but as a method that is dedicated to the empowerment of all thinkers and the dismantling of repressive orthodoxies. We believe that everyone and anyone can be a philosopher, and aim to take down barriers that might stand in the way of participation in the discipline due to entrenched racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, or other forms of oppression. Students are welcome to join our community without any previous training in philosophy; we are interested in educating both those that enjoy philosophy for philosophy’s sake and those that seek to use it as a means to further their own projects. 

We strive to strengthen our community by creating spaces (both virtual and physical) for open and honest dialogue about issues of equity, which can form the basis for concrete and actionable solutions. Efforts currently underway include the Study Room, a place for students to get support from their peers on their writing projects and intellectual explorations in the discipline; the Salon, a weekly event to engage in the activity of philosophy together; and the development of a new curriculum that emphasizes the manifold histories of philosophy instead of the monolithic canon typically taught. These initiatives are in part student-led, and the program aims to support in every possible way student efforts to contribute to the community.

Bard College
30 Campus Road
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York 12504-5000
Phone: 845-758-6822
Admission E-mail: [email protected]
©2023 Bard College
Follow Us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Follow Us on Instagram
You Tube
Information For:
Prospective Students
Current Employees
Alumni/ae 
Families
Quick Links
Employment
Travel to Bard
Site Search
Support Bard