The Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford was founded in 2001. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. The faculty is located next to

Somerville College Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, ...

on Woodstock Road. As of 2020, it is ranked 1st in the UK and 2nd in the English-speaking world by the ''

Philosophical Gourmet Report The Philosophical Gourmet Report (also known as the Leiter Report or PGR), founded by philosophy and law professor Brian Leiter and now edited by philosophy professors Berit Brogaard and Christopher Pynes, is a ranking of graduate programs in phi ...

'', as well as 2nd in the world by the

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

. It is additionally ranked first in the UK by the ''Complete University Guide'', the ''Guardian'', the ''Times'', and the ''Independent''.

History of the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford

The present-day Faculty was formerly a sub-faculty of the Faculty of Literae Humaniores (founded in 1913), though the teaching of philosophy at Oxford dates back to medieval times. The Faculty boasts over 50 full-time philosophers in permanent posts, with at least another 50 fixed-term, emeritus and associate members. Today, it is housed within Oxford's Humanities Division. Some of the world's greatest philosophers have studied (and taught) at Oxford, including

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( – 8 November 1308), commonly called Duns Scotus ( ; ; "Duns the Scot"), was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. He is one of the four most important ...

, Thomas Bradwardine,

William of Ockham William of Ockham, OFM (; also Occam, from la, Gulielmus Occamus; 1287 – 10 April 1347) was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and Catholic theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small vil ...

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

, John Locke, John Norris,

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...

Henry Longueville Mansel Henry Longueville Mansel (6 October 1820 – 30 July 1871) was an English philosopher and ecclesiastic. Life He was born at Cosgrove, Northamptonshire (where his father, also Henry Longueville Mansel, fourth son of General John Mansel, was ...

Thomas Hill Green Thomas Hill Green (7 April 183626 March 1882), known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influen ...

F. H. Bradley Francis Herbert Bradley (30 January 1846 – 18 September 1924) was a British idealist philosopher. His most important work was ''Appearance and Reality'' (1893). Life Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England (now part of the Greater ...

Edward Caird Edward Caird (; 23 March 1835 – 1 November 1908) was a Scottish philosopher. He was a holder of LLD, DCL, and DLitt. Life The younger brother of the theologian John Caird, he was the son of engineer John Caird, the proprietor of Caird & ...

and in more recent times

Peter Strawson Peter Frederick Strawson (; 23 November 1919 – 13 February 2006) was an English philosopher. He was the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) from 1968 to 1987. Before that, he ...

A.J. Ayer Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer (; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989), usually cited as A. J. Ayer, was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books '' Language, Truth, and Logic'' (1936) a ...

Mary Midgley Mary Beatrice Midgley (' Scrutton; 13 September 1919 – 10 October 2018) was a British philosopher. A senior lecturer in philosophy at Newcastle University, she was known for her work on science, ethics and animal rights. She wrote her first b ...

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her ...

Thomas Nagel Thomas Nagel (; born July 4, 1937) is an American philosopher. He is the University Professor of Philosophy and Law Emeritus at New York University, where he taught from 1980 to 2016. His main areas of philosophical interest are legal philosophy, ...

Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "ghost in the machine." He was a representative of the generation of British ord ...

Genevieve Lloyd Genevieve Mary Lloyd (born 16 October 1941 at Cootamundra, New South Wales), is an Australian philosopher and feminist. Biography Lloyd studied philosophy at the University of Sydney in the early 1960s and then at Somerville College, Oxford. Her ...

, Isaiah Berlin,

J. L. Austin John Langshaw Austin (26 March 1911 – 8 February 1960) was a British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy, perhaps best known for developing the theory of speech acts. Austin pointed out that we u ...

Celia Green Celia Elizabeth Green (born 26 November 1935) is a British writer on philosophical skepticism and psychology. Biography Green's parents were both primary school teachers, who together authored a series of geography textbooks which became know ...

Bernard Williams Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, FBA (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessity'' ...

, Philippa Foot, Michael A. Smith,

Onora O'Neill Onora Sylvia O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve (born 23 August 1941) is a British philosopher and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Early life and education Onora Sylvia O'Neill was born on 23 August 1941 in Aughafatten. The dau ...

Michael Dummett Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." He w ...

, Derek Parfit, and

Elizabeth Anscombe Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (; 18 March 1919 – 5 January 2001), usually cited as G. E. M. Anscombe or Elizabeth Anscombe, was a British analytic philosopher. She wrote on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, ...

. A number of eminent philosophers have also taught at Oxford, including

Robert Grosseteste Robert Grosseteste, ', ', or ') or the gallicised Robert Grosstête ( ; la, Robertus Grossetesta or '). Also known as Robert of Lincoln ( la, Robertus Lincolniensis, ', &c.) or Rupert of Lincoln ( la, Rubertus Lincolniensis, &c.). ( ; la, Rob ...

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...

, and still others, including

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

Saul Kripke Saul Aaron Kripke (; November 13, 1940 – September 15, 2022) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition. He was a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and em ...

and Hilary Putnam have come to Oxford to deliver the

John Locke Lectures The John Locke Lectures are a series of annual lectures in philosophy given at the University of Oxford. Named for British philosopher John Locke, the Locke Lectures are the world's most prestigious lectures in philosophy, and are among the worl ...

, the Gareth Evans Memorial Lectures and other established lectures and lecture series. The Faculty has the following statutory professorships in philosophy: *The White's Professorship of Moral Philosophy (founded in 1621) *The

Waynflete Professorship The Waynflete Professorships are four professorial fellowships at the University of Oxford endowed by Magdalen College and named in honour of the college founder William of Waynflete, who had a great interest in science. These professorships are s ...

of Metaphysical Philosophy (founded in 1859) *The

Wykeham Professor The University of Oxford has three statutory professorships named after William of Wykeham, who founded New College. Logic The Wykeham Professorship in Logic was established in 1859, although it was not known as the Wykeham chair until later. I ...

ship of Logic (founded in 1859) *The Nolloth Professorship of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion (founded in 1920) *The Professorship of Ancient Philosophy (founded in 1966) *The Wilde Professorship of Mental Philosophy (founded in 2000); formerly the Wilde Readership in Mental Philosophy (founded in 1898) *The Uehiro Professorship of Practical Ethics (founded in 2003).

Research centres

Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics

The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics was founded in 2003 by Eiji Uehiro, with the intention to "encourage and support debate and deeper rational reflection" on

practical ethics ''Practical Ethics'', a 1979 book by the moral philosopher Peter Singer, is an introduction to applied ethics. The book has been translated into a number of languages. Summary Singer analyzes, in detail, why and how beings' interests should be ...

. Annually, it hosts the Uehiro Lectures in Practical Ethics, a series of three lectures. The centre works to raise public awareness and engagement with ethical issues, through public lecturing and engagement, commenting and consulting in the media, in the United Kingdom and internationally. It is affiliated with the charities

80,000 Hours 80,000 Hours is a London-based nonprofit organisation that conducts research on which careers have the largest positive social impact and provides career advice based on that research. It provides this advice on their website and podcast, and ...

and

Giving What We Can Giving What We Can (GWWC) is an effective altruism-associated organisation whose members pledge to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities. It was founded at Oxford University in 2009 by the philosopher Toby Ord, physician-in- ...

. The director of the centre is

Julian Savulescu Julian Savulescu (born 22 December 1963) is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist of Romanian origins. He is Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, director of the Oxford Uehiro Cent ...

Future of Humanity Institute

The Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) was founded in 2005 to "assess how dangerous AI and other potential threats might be to the human species".

Global Priorities Institute

The Global Priorities Institute was founded in 2018, to investigate the question of "how to do the most good".

Notable current members

* Nick Bostrom * John Broome * Harvey Brown *

Roger Crisp Roger Stephen Crisp (born 23 March 1961) is fellow and tutor in philosophy at St. Anne's College, Oxford. He holds the university posts of Professor of Moral Philosophy and Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy. His work falls principally wi ...

* A. C. Grayling *

Terence Irwin Terence Henry Irwin FBA (; born 21 April 1947), usually cited as T. H. Irwin, is a scholar and philosopher specializing in ancient Greek philosophy and the history of ethics (i.e., the history of Western moral philosophy in ancient, medieval, and ...

Brian Leftow Brian Leftow (born 1956) is an American philosopher specializing in philosophy of religion, medieval philosophy, and metaphysics. He is the William P. Alston Professor for the Philosophy of Religion at Rutgers University. Previously, he held the N ...

* A.W. Moore *

William MacAskill William David MacAskill (; born 24 March 1987) is a Scottish philosopher and author, as well as one of the originators of the effective altruism movement. He is an Associate Professor in Philosophy and Research Fellow at the Global Priorities I ...

* Jeff McMahan * Stephen Mulhall *

Toby Ord Toby David Godfrey Ord (born July 1979) is an Australian philosopher. He founded Giving What We Can in 2009, an international society whose members pledge to donate at least 10% of their income to effective charities, and is a key figure in the ...

Janet Radcliffe Richards Janet Radcliffe Richards (born 1944) is a British philosopher specialising in bioethics and feminism and Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Oxford. She is the author of ''The Sceptical Feminist'' (1980), ''Philosophical Probl ...

* Gonzalo Rodríguez Pereyra *

Richard Sorabji Sir Richard Rustom Kharsedji Sorabji, (born 8 November 1934) is a British historian of ancient Western philosophy, and Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at King's College London. He has written his 'Intellectual Autobiography' in his ''Festschrift' ...

* Ralph C. S. Walker *

Timothy Williamson Timothy Williamson (born 1955) is a British philosopher whose main research interests are in philosophical logic, philosophy of language, epistemology and metaphysics. He is the Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford, and fe ...

* Mark Wrathall

Notable past members

Ronald Dworkin at the Brooklyn Book Festival

* Michael Ayers * Isaiah Berlin *

Simon Blackburn Simon Blackburn (born 12 July 1944) is an English academic philosopher known for his work in metaethics, where he defends quasi-realism, and in the philosophy of language; more recently, he has gained a large general audience from his effort ...

* David Charles *Sir

* Ronald Dworkin * Philippa Foot * Peter Geach *

John Hawthorne John Patrick Hawthorne (born 1964) is an English philosopher, currently serving as Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. He is recogniz ...

* Stuart Hampshire *

R.M. Hare Richard Mervyn Hare (21 March 1919 – 29 January 2002), usually cited as R. M. Hare, was a British moral philosopher who held the post of White's Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford from 1966 until 1983. He subseque ...

* J.L. Mackie *

Christopher Peacocke Christopher Arthur Bruce Peacocke (born 22 May 1950) is a British philosopher known for his work in philosophy of mind and epistemology. His recent publications, in the field of epistemology, have defended a version of rationalism. His daught ...

* W.D. Ross *

Colin McGinn Colin McGinn (born 10 March 1950) is a British philosopher. He has held teaching posts and professorships at University College London, the University of Oxford, Rutgers University, and the University of Miami. McGinn is best known for his work ...

* Derek Parfit *Sir Geoffrey Warnock *

Mary Warnock Helen Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock, (née Wilson; 14 April 1924 – 20 March 2019) was an English philosopher of morality, education, and mind, and a writer on existentialism. She is best known for chairing an inquiry whose report formed the ...

, Baroness Warnock *

David Wiggins David Wiggins (born 1933) is an English moral philosopher, metaphysician, and philosophical logician working especially on identity and issues in meta-ethics. Biography David Wiggins was born on 8 March 1933 in London, the son of Norman ...

* Sybil Wolfram

References

{{Authority control Departments of the University of Oxford 2001 establishments in England Philosophy departments in the United Kingdom