Phi Sigma Tau (, or PST) is an international

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

for

philosophers Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on ...

. In addition to providing a means of awarding distinction to students with high scholarship and interest in philosophy, Phi Sigma Tau also promotes interest in philosophy among the general collegiate public. There are currently 200 active chapters in the U.S. and Canada, with 31301 members.

History

The society was founded in 1930 at

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...

as Alpha Kappa Alpha, with a regional organization with chapters in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The society held annual meetings where student shared and discussed papers that were later published in ''Philosoph''. The society was incorporated as Phi Sigma Tau on October 21, 1955. Its mission is to honor academic achievement and interest in philosophy, encourage student research, provide opportunities to published papers, and create ties between philosophy students and programs at various institutions. Since 1955, the society has published a biannual philosophy

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

called ''Dialogue'', which publishes articles from the entire field of philosophy, regardless of whether the contributor is a member of Phi Sigma Tau. On October 21, 1958, the society was admitted to membership in the Association of College Honor Societies. Phi Sigma Tau held its first national convention in 1960 at

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

. In 1991, Phi Sigma Tau became an international society by installing its first

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

chapter. In 2011, it had 238 active chapters, 1,193 current members, and 35,658 lifetime members. There are currently 200 active chapters in the U.S. and Canada, with 31,301 members. Its national headquarters are at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

Symbols

The

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

of Phi Sigma Tau is in the shape of a

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

; each of the five angles contains a symbol that represents one of the five streams of world thought: Chinese, Indian,

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. The seal of Phi Sigma Tau is the reverse side of the Athenian silver ''

tetradrachm The tetradrachm () was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard coin of the Antiquity, spreading well beyond the borders of the ...

'', which bears the owl of Pallas Athene, the goddess of wisdom and rational inquiry, an olive spray, a small crescent, and the name of Athena in Greek. The margin of the seal bears the name of the society. The colors of Phi Sigma Tau are white and purple. The

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

of Phi Sigma Tau is ' (''Philoúnton sophían timé''), Greek for "the honor of those who love wisdom." Its colors are white and purple. Its graduating members may wear white and purple honor cords.

Chapters

Membership

The current membership requirements are variable from chapter to chapter, but in general, undergraduate students are eligible for active membership if they have completed two semesters of college, rank in the upper 35% of their class, and have completed at least two-semester courses in philosophy with an average overall grade which is greater than the second highest grade of the working scale. The society also inducts

graduate students Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

, professors, and non-affiliated personnel.

Notable members

* Jan Boxill, chair of the faculty and director of

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

Parr Center for Ethics * Daniel Elliott,

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

* Rick Roderick,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, best known for his lectures for

The Teaching Company The Teaching Company, doing business as The Great Courses, formerly Wondrium, is a Media (communication), media production company which produces Education, educational, video, and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, and series ...

References

External links

National Phi Sigma Tau Website
{{authority control Association of College Honor Societies Honor societies Philosophical societies in the United States Student organizations established in 1930 1930 establishments in Pennsylvania