Philosophy is a discipline in which students develop curiosity and learn to inquire into difficult questions with other people.
Philosophy is also at the intersection of many other fields, and through studying philosophy, students can contribute to urgent conversations about topics such as:
- artificial intelligence
- climate science
- ethics in health care
- equity in education
We have more than 200 undergraduate majors, and every year we introduce thousands of students in the arts, sciences, business, and humanities to philosophy.
At its best, philosophy is a collaborative endeavor, and the UW–Madison Department of Philosophy requires undergraduate majors to take a minimum of three small discussion classes with a faculty member, which ensures that students can learn philosophy by doing philosophy together, not just by reading about it in books or watching someone else do it.
This year, the UW–Madison Department of Philosophy will use donations from Fill the Hill to support undergraduate research. We have an active undergraduate club called Madison Philosophical Society. The club was founded only two years ago, and last year it organized weekly meetings with up to 40 students in attendance. The club also started an annual undergraduate philosophy conference and an undergraduate philosophy journal.
In addition to supporting these endeavors, the funds we raise will be used to cover travel and other expenses for undergraduates who present at philosophy conferences at other institutions.
Finally, we will use the funds to encourage faculty and graduate students to incorporate research projects into their courses or to mentor individual undergraduate research projects.