The Department of Philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology offers a large variety of undergraduate philosophy courses plus graduate courses in Philosophy of Art/Aesthetics, Philosophy of Mind, and the Philosophy of Vision and Imaging. Beyond our introductory level courses, students may take philosophy as General Education electives or as part of a 3-course immersion, a Minor in Philosophy, or a Major in Philosophy. The Department also develops an annual program of speakers, symposia, and conferences.

The Philosophy Department is motivated by a dedication to excellence in teaching. Most of our faculty have received teaching awards, and many of our faculty have received multiple teaching awards. The Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching is RIT’s highest tribute to successful pedagogy, and the Department of Philosophy is home to eight of these awards:

John T. Sanders (1979-1980)
James I. Campbell (1991-1992)
Timothy Engström (1993-1994)
Dane R. Gordon (1996-1997)
James I. Campbell (1999-2000)
John T. Sanders (2000-2001)
David B. Suits (2002-2003)
Timothy Engström (2007-2008)

The Philosophy Department is also motivated by a strong commitment to scholarship, as evidenced by the scholarly activities of the individual members of the Department, by the Department’s speaker series and colloquia, and by the scholarship awards which have been won. Each year Paul A. and Francena L. Miller Fellowships are awarded to assist faculty in the College of Liberal Arts in the pursuit of their scholarly and professional projects. The Department of Philosophy has been the home of eight of those prestigious Fellowships:

Timothy Engström (2002-2003)
Brian Schroeder (2003-2004)
John Capps (2005-2006)
Evan Selinger (2007-2008)
Katie Terezakis (2009-2010)
Jesús Aguilar (2009-2010)
John T. Sanders (2012-2013)
Brian Schroeder (2013-2014)

Some of the recent accomplishments of the faculty include:

• Evelyn Brister (with Elizabeth Hane), “Diversification of Land Management Goals and Strategies in Response to Climate Change”, Ethics, Policy, and Environment, 2013.
   
• Jesús Aguilar, “Metaphilosophical Internalism and the Possibility of a Distinctive Latin American Philosophy”, in Reframing the Practice of Philosophy: Bodies of Color, Bodies of Knowledge, ed. G. Yancy (SUNY Press, 2012).
   
• Jesús Aguilar, “Basic Causal Deviance, Action Repertoires, and Reliability”, Philosophical Issues, Action Theory (A Supplement to Noûs), 22 (2012), 1–19.
   
• Silvia Benso, “Parchi e giardini urbani, ovvero la natura resa pubblica (a partire da Hannah Arendt) [Urban Parks and Gardens, Or Nature Made Public (Following Up on Hannah Arendt)]”, in Filosofia e spazio pubblico [Philosophy and Public Space], ed. Ugo Perone (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2012): 243–258.
   
• Silvia Benso, “Joy Beyond Boredom: Totality and Infinity as a Work of Wonder”, in Totality and Infinity at 50, ed. Scott Davidson and Diane Perpich (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2012): 11–28.
   
• Silvia Benso, “Earthly Morality and the Other: From Levinas to Economic Sustainability”, in Facing Nature: Levinas and Environmental Thought, ed. Chris Diehm, William Edelglass, and James Hatley (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2012): 191–208.
   
• Wade L. Robison (ed. with Deborah Mower), Civility in Politics and Education (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy, 2012).
   
• Wade L. Robison and David B. Suits (eds), New Essays on Adam Smith’s Moral Philosophy (RIT Press, 2012).
   
• David B. Suits, “Death and Other Nothings”, Philosophical Forum 43 (Summer, 2012): 215–230.
   

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• Ongoing faculty editing activities:
  
  
  • Philosophy and Technology
     
  • Spazio Filosofico
     
  • SUNY Series in Contemporary Italian Philosophy
     
  • Springer Series in Philosophy of Engineering and Technology
     
  • R.I.T. Press