Department of Philosophy

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 Liberal Arts electives or as part of a Concentration Area in Philosophy, a Minor in Philosophy, or a Major in Philosophy. The Department also develops a rich annual program of outside speakers, symposia and colloquia.

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 (2000-01)
David B. Suits (2002-03)
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 seven 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)

Some of the recent accomplishments of the faculty include:

David B. Suits, “Death and Other Nothings”, Philosophical Forum 43 (Summer, 2012).
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 (edited with A. Buckareff), New Waves in Philosophy of Action (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).
Brian Schroeder (ed. with Bret W. Davis and Jason M. Wirth), Japanese and Continental Philosophy: Conversations with the Kyoto School (Indiana University Press, 2011).
Silvia Benso with Brian Schroeder (trans.), Ugo Perone, The Possible Present [Il possibile presente] (SUNY Press, 2011).
Katie Terezakis, “Living Form and Living Criticism”, in Georg Lukács Reconsidered: Essays on Politics, Philosophy and Aesthetics, ed. Michael Thompson (Continuum, 2011).
Katie Terezakis, “J.G. Hamann and the Self-Refutation of Radical Orthodoxy”, in The Poverty of Radical Orthodoxy, eds. Lisa Isherwood and Marko Zlomislic (Pickwick/Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2011).
Lawrence Torcello, “The Ethics of Inquiry, Scientific Belief, and Public Discourse”, Public Affairs Quarterly 25 (2011): 197–215.
Lawrence Torcello, “Sophism and Moral Agnosticism, Or, How to Tell a Relativist from a Pluralist”, The Pluralist 6/1 (March 2011): 87–108.
Evan Selinger (with Harry Collins and Paul Thompson), “Catastrophe Ethics and Activist Speech: Reflections on Moral Norms, Advocacy, and Technical Judgment”, Metaphilosophy 42, no. 1-2 (2011): 118–144.
Evan Selinger (with Thomas Seager and Susan Spierre), “Determining Moral Responsibility for CO2 Emissions: A Reply to Nolt”, Ethics, Policy, Environment 14, no. 1 (2011): 39–42.
David B. Suits (ed. with Timothy Madigan), Lucretius: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance (RIT Press, 2011).

Ongoing faculty editing activities: