Philosophy

Each small incoming class to our Master of Arts (MA) degree begins with a pro-seminar to understand relations and interactions between the Department’s two broad strengths in contemporary philosophy: philosophy of mind, language, and knowledge; and moral, social, and political philosophy. Students acquire graduate-level research competency in one or both of these fields, or in history of philosophy. Each of our students can explore their own research interests in small-group or one-to-one graduate tutorials.

A collaborative specialization in Digital Humanities is also available.

Capital Advantage

As home to the Government, Parliament and Supreme Court of Canada, a world-class array of museums, galleries, and cultural festivals, multiple post-secondary educational institutions and many non-governmental organizations of academic interest, Ottawa provides students of philosophy with unique opportunities for the expansion of the mind. In collaboration with Carleton, the nation’s capital also regularly hosts visits and public lectures from such intellectual luminaries as Martha Nussbaum, Noam Chomsky, Margaret Atwood, Peter Singer, Michael Walzer, John Perry, Angela Davis and Daniel Dennett.

Fields of Specialization

• Moral, Social, or Political Philosophy
• Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language

Faculty Research Highlights

• Epistemology and philosophy of mind, language and science
• Social/political philosophy
• History of philosophy with expertise in ancient, early modern, modern and 19^th to 20^th century periods.
• Theoretical and practical ethics
• Feminist philosophy