Department of Philosophy - Northwestern University

Department Highlights

Why Study Philosophy?

Philosophy develops critical reasoning skills, clarity in thought and language, and competence in synthesizing a good deal of information into a systematic, coherent picture. These abilities form a core part of the skill set for anyone who hopes to flourish in a complex, diverse, multicultural world.

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Research strengths:

Program Information & Resources

Undergraduate

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Graduate

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Department in Mourning

Jürgen Habermas at Northwestern’s Critical Theory Conference in 2014

The department of Philosophy is mourning the death of our former colleague and friend, Professor Jürgen Habermas.

News and Events

Highlights

Newsletter: Read the most recent issue from Summer 2025
Faculty publications
Brady Scholars Program
Philosophy in the Sciences - Nature Magazine

Events

Jun

2026

Northwestern Society for the Theory of Ethics and Politics Confer...

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Evanston

The Northwestern Society for the Theory of Ethics and Politics (NUSTEP) hosts an annual spring conference in moral and political philos...

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News

Corey Barnes, associate professor of philosophy, has been named as a 2026 fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)

Congratulations to Sam Filby on his Postdoctoral Fellowship at Notre Dame's Center for Philosophy of Religion

The department of Philosophy is mourning the death of our former colleague and friend, Professor Jürgen Habermas.

Graduate Alumni Evan Dutmer's forthcoming book: "Cicero’s New Leadership: A Proto-Transformational Leadership Theory"

Prof. Morgan Thompson received the Journal of Applied Philosophy's Charles Mills prize for her co-authored paper "Who Counts in Official Statistics? Ethical-Epistemic Issues in German Migration and the Collection of Racial or Ethic Data".

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