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Fall 2015 Proseminars
Dr. Wills: "Marx & the Alienation Concept" on Mondays from 11:10am to 1:00pm. Click here for more
info. Dr. Trullinger: "Spinoza & His Critics" on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 6:00pm. Click here for more
info.
In Memoriam: Dr. William B. Griffith
It is with great sadness that the Department of Philosophy mourns the loss of Professor William B.
Griffith. Click here to see Bill's Memorial Page.
Make a Donation to the Griffith Memorial Fund
The department has established the William B. Griffith Memorial Fund in Bill’s memory, which will be
used to support graduate students in philosophy.
Make a Difference
Department of Philosophy
Welcome from the Chair
Greetings from the Department of Philosophy at The George Washington University! We are a pluralist
department comprised of almost 30 full and part-time faculty offering courses in the history of philosophy,
ethics, social, political, and legal philosophy, logic, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, philosophy of
science, analytic, continental, and American philosophy, environmental philosophy, and philosophy of race,
gender, and disability. We offer two different majors in our department: 1) a traditional track that provides
a strong background in the history of philosophy (especially recommended for students who intend to
pursue a graduate degree in Philosophy); 2) a philosophy and public affairs option that emphasizes
theoretical and applied ethics, as well as social and political philosophy. Our philosophy majors in both
tracks have enjoyed a wide range of post-graduate careers both in and outside the academy and find that
the analytical skills they develop as philosophy majors help them to be successful in many different
professions including law, medicine, teaching, business, and public policy.
Our department is distinctive in offering an M.A. in Philosophy and Social Policy, an interdisciplinary
graduate program that takes full advantage of our downtown Washington, D.C. location. In addition to their
philosophy and policy graduate courses, our Philosophy and Social Policy M.A. students choose among a
wide variety of offerings in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and interact
closely with graduate students from all over the University.
Many obtain policy internships in Washington
while they are enrolled in the program, creating an exciting synergy between their coursework and their
employment experience. These internships have frequently led to full-time positions in prominent policy
organizations upon graduation.
In the fall of 2015, we are launching a new M.A. track, and we are currently accepting applications for both
M.A. programs. Our new, disciplinary M.A. in Philosophy will run alongside the M.A. in Philosophy and
Social Policy, which will allow students in the new M.A. to take policy-related courses in philosophy while
they also take regular philosophy courses. The M.A. in Philosophy, like the M.A. in Philosophy and Social
Policy, offers students the opportunity to design their own curriculum based on their specific philosophical
interests. The new M.A. is designed to prepare students for Ph.D. programs in Philosophy or related fields
but will also be invaluable to candidates seeking advancement in a professional field where critical thinking
and writing is essential. This disciplinary graduate degree will also provide an excellent formal credential
for individuals who wish to further their undergraduate philosophy education as well as those who seek to
teach philosophy and/or or related subjects at the secondary school level.
The GW Department of Philosophy prides itself on offering our philosophy majors and minors the personal
attention usually associated with smaller, liberal arts colleges. We are a research-active, congenial group
of full and part-time faculty and enjoy sharing our work and exchanging ideas in department brown bag
presentations. We also have an annual endowed lecture series that regularly attracts some of the top
philosophers in our profession to GW to speak to our students and faculty.
We hope you enjoy browsing our website and invite you to attend one of our departmental events if you are
in the area!
Tadeusz W. Zawidzki
Chair, Department of Philosophy
Meet the Department Chair
Chair of the Department of Philosophy Tad Zawidzki is currently working on three chapter-length
contributions to forthcoming volumes on philosophy of psychology: “Mindshaping and Self-Interpretation”
for the Routledge Companion to the Social Mind, “Mindshaping” for the Oxford Handbook of 4e Cognition,
and “The Many Roles of the Intentional Stance” for Engaging Dennett (Oxford University Press). He is
also co-authoring a chapter for Springer’s forthcoming Social Cognition in Primates with recent GWU
Hominid Paleobiology PhD, Elizabeth Renner, titled “Minimal Cognitive Preconditions on the ‘Ratchet’”.
M.A. Program in Philosophy & Social Policy
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Department of Philosophy
Columbian College of Arts & Sciences
Phillips Hall
801 22nd St. NW.
T-525
Washington, DC 20052
Phone: 202-994-6265 | Fax: 202-664-8683
philosop@gwu.edu
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