Becca Rothfeld, a PhD candidate in Philosophy (currently on hiatus), recently published "All Things Are Too Small" an essay collection "in praise of excess". Becca Rothfeld is the non-fiction book critic of the Washington Post and the winner of the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award for Excellence in Reviewing. Read more... Read more about PhD Candidate Becca Rothfeld Publishes Essay Collection "All Things Are Too Small"
Eric Beerbohm, professor of government and an affiliate in the Department of Philosophy, has been named senior adviser for civil discourse. In this new role, Beerbohm is planning a series of initiatives designed to advance constructive discourse on campus. To learn more please see Professor Beerbohm's interview in the Harvard Gazette. Read more about Eric Beerbohm Named Senior Advisor for Civil Discourse
Xavier R. Moralesstudies applied mathematics and economics with a secondary concentration in philosophy. He serves as president of Voters Choose, an electoral reform organization on campus. At Oxford, Morales will pursue a degree in philosophy. To learn more about the other students named Rhodes Scholars click here. Read more about Undergraduate Xavier Morales Named a Rhodes Scholar
Professor Gina Schouten will deliver the 2023 Mala & Solomon Kamm Lecture in Ethics on the topic of “Culture and Injustice”. Professor Schouten’s lecture, scheduled for October 26th, will "advance a reorientation in liberal theorizing about justice, one that deflates longstanding and ongoing debates about the subject matter of justice by showing that liberal justice issues illuminating guidance with respect to culture even if it retains its focus on political institutions”. More information and registration (in-person and online) is available... Read more about Professor Gina Schouten to Deliver the 2023 Mala & Solomon Kamm Lecture in Ethics
Professor Edward Hall delivered a lecture "What is Free Speech? Some Philosophical Reflections" on September 20th at the Fong Auditorium. The lecture was presented by the Council on Academic Freedom, of which Professor Hall is co-president. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor and an affliate of the philosophy department, delivered a response. View the full lecture here. Read more about Edward Hall Delivers Lecture "What is Free Speech? Some Philosophical Reflections"
Professor Shelby has been named a Walter Channing Cabot Fellow for the current academic year. The annual awards honor faculty members for their distinguished accomplishments in the fields of literature, history or art, and for their notable publications. Professor Shelby receives this prize fellowship in recognition of his outstanding contributions to his field, including the 2022 publication of The Idea of Prison Abolition...
Professor McDonough has been named a Walter Channing Cabot Fellow for the academic year. These prize fellowships are given annually to a select few faculty colleagues in recognition of their achievements and scholarly eminence in the fields of “literature, history or art, as such terms may be liberally interpreted...”. The award reflects Professor McDonough’s outstanding contributions to his field, including the 2022 publication of A Miracle Creed: The Principle of Optimality in Leibniz’s Physics and Philosophy.
See a full list of the 2023 Walter Channing Cabot Fellows...
W. Hugh Woodin, Professor of Philosophy and of Mathematics, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The Academy elects members in recognition of their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
Congratulations, Professor Woodin!
For more information on the National Academy of Sciences, please see their website here: https://www.nasonline.org/
The recordings from the 2023 Whitehead Lectures by Peter Godfrey-Smith are now available on the department's YouTube channel.
Limits of Sentience, Boundaries of Consideration
April 13-14, 2023
Harvard University
Work in several fields has made it appear likely that sentience, or subjective experience, is present in many more animals than has often been supposed. The first lecture, “...
Dr. Mariana Beatriz Noé will join the department as the 2023-2024 Harvard History of Philosophy Workshop Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Noé completed her Ph.D. in Classical Studies at Columbia University and her Licentiate degree in Philosophy (summa cum laude) at the University of Buenos Aires. Dr. Noé will be joining the department from Columbia University, where she is currently the Early Career Fellow in the Discipline of Philosophy.
Susanna Siegel, Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy, and Kristie Dotson, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at University of Michigan, were awarded the 2023 Lebowitz Prize by the American Philosophical Association and the Phi Beta Kappa Society.