Search

Why Study Philosophy?Philosophy involves inquiry about the most basic and compelling questions of life. German philosopher Immanuel Kant once summed up these questions in this way: “What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope?” In doing philosophy, people learn to clarify questions such as these and to evaluate beliefs held about them. They examine the reasons given for personal lifestyles, for public policies from just about everything from war to welfare, from criminal justice to

Technology as a topic of intentional inquiry in the Philosophy DepartmentQuestions and issues relevant to popular culture and national discourse are frequently and intentionally engaged by PLU’s Philosophy Department.  We seek to address these questions and issues as they arise and also to incorporate them systematically into the curriculum.  This year, technology has emerged as a particularly interesting subject of philosophical investigation for PLU students.  Here are some highlights from

New In Print: American Philosophy: From Wounded Knee to the PresentAmerican Philosophy: From Wounded Knee to the Present, by Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt (Bloomsbury, 2015). This book, written as an introduction to American philosophy, also serves to challenge many perceived notions of what counts as philosophy and who counts as a philosopher.  The book explores philosophical voices that responded to moments of conflict in U.S. history.  It begins by examining two such moments: the massacre

Who: Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah Title: Professor of Law and Philosophy, NYU Bio: A philosopher, literary scholar, novelist, and author of the weekly Ethicist column for the New York Times magazine, Kwame Anthony Appiah is described by one source as “our postmodern Socrates”: He asks what it means to be African and African-American, but his answers immediately raise issues that encompass us all. His principal and abiding concern is how we individually construct ourselves in dialogue with social

About the conferenceThis fifth annual conference invites participants to consider the ancient legacy of Jewish and Christian separation; Christian sponsored anti-Judaism, especially as that polemic appeared in the German reformer, Martin Luther; the artistic treasures shared by Jews and Christians; healing practices among Jews and Christians; and the re-shaping of this troubled relationship over the past 50 years through Lutheran and Jewish commitments to reconciliation. Let us be clear: some