
About Philosophy
What is philosophy? Why Study Philosophy? Here are just a few of the many reasons.
Learn MoreThe Department of Philosophy at Amherst welcomes all students, from those who would like to sample a course or two, to those who would like to major in the discipline and perhaps even study the subject in graduate school.
What is philosophy? Why Study Philosophy? Here are just a few of the many reasons.
Learn MoreAn Amherst philosophy education conveys a sense of wonder about ourselves and our world, through exploration of philosophical texts and personal engagement with philosophical issues.
Learn MoreEvery year, the Amherst Lecture in Philosophy brings a distinguished philosopher to campus for a public lecture.
Learn MoreThe teaching of philosophy has a rich history at Amherst College.
Learn MoreMeet our alumni, including those teaching philosophy at colleges and universities around the world.
Learn MoreU.S. citizens are currently faced with many important decisions about health care policy. Who should have access to health care and to which services? Should abortion remain legal? We will examine the many issues that these basic questions raise.
This course focuses on understanding the relationship between economic exploitation and racial oppression, the nature and functions of racial ideology, and the mechanisms by which racial inequality is reproduced.
Music is sometimes described as a language, but what, if anything, does Charlie Parker’s “Ah-Leu-Cha” say to us? What exactly is a musical work anyway? And what makes for a performance of one or the other (or of no work at all)?