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Philosophy

It is not possible to study philosophy at undergraduate level as a single degree subject; all courses containing Philosophy are joint courses. The reason for this is the belief that the parallel study of related disciplines significantly enhances your understanding of each, bringing added dimensions of understanding and perspective.

The joint courses containing Philosophy are:

Please click on these links to see further details about the course structure, entrance requirements etc.

What is Philosophy?

The study of philosophy develops analytical rigour and the ability to criticise and reason logically. It allows you to apply these skills to many contemporary and historical schools of thought and individual thinkers, and to questions on such subjects as the fundamental nature of reality, the nature, possibility and limits of knowledge, the nature and grounds of moral judgements, the nature of the mind and its relation to the body, and the fundamental principles of language, science, religion, art and literature.

Philosophy at Oxford

Philosophy and TheologyThe Philosophy Faculty is the largest philosophy department in the UK, and one of the largest in the world, with more than 70 full-time members, admitting more than 500 undergraduates annually to read the various degrees involving philosophy. Many faculty members have a worldwide reputation, and library and other facilities are acknowledged as among the best in the country. The large number of undergraduates and graduates reading Philosophy with a variety of other disciplines affords the opportunity to participate in a diverse and lively philosophical community.

The philosophical subjects included in the final examinations of the above courses are the following (all are available in all courses unless otherwise stated):

  • History of philosophy from Descartes to Kant
  • Knowledge and reality
  • Ethics
  • Philosophy of mind
  • Philosophy of science and philosophy of psychology and neuroscience (last entry 2013)
  • Philosophy of science and social science
  • Philosophy of religion
  • Philosophy of logic and language
  • Aesthetics and the philosophy of criticism
  • Medieval philosophy
  • The philosophy of Kant
  • Post-Kantian philosophy
  • Plato, Republic (in translation)
  • Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (in translation)
  • Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein
  • The later philosophy of Wittgenstein
  • Formal logic
  • Intermediate philosophy of physics
  • Advanced philosophy of physics (Physics and Philosophy only)
  • Philosophy of mathematics
  • Philosophy of science 
  • Philosophy of cognitive science
  • Special subjects, as from time to time specified
  • Thesis
In addition, students in Classics can study the following texts in the original language:
  • Plato, Republic
  • Plato, Theaetetus and Sophist
  • Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
  • Aristotle, Physics
  • Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism
  • Cicero, Seneca, selected texts

See also