University of Otago emblem    Philosophy

Otago philosophy at a glance

Philosophy has been taught at Otago since the university’s foundation in 1871. In recent years, the programme has consistently been evaluated as the best philosophy programme in New Zealand — and one of the very best research programmes of any kind in the country — by the PBRF, the NZ equivalent of the British REF.

Today, the programme hosts a number of major externally funded initiatives, including the Bair Chair in Early Modern Philosogy, the Alan Musgrave Scholarship, and the Dan and Gwen Taylor Fellowship and Lecturer. It includes Marsden and Humboldt winning researchers, an award-winning teacher, the authors of best-selling textbooks, and major contributors to public discussion about climate change and AI, amongst its staff. We teach and research in a wide range of areas, including the philosophy of science (especially the philosophy of biology), the philosophy of religion, metaethics, the philosophy of language, philosophical logic (especially paraconsistent logic), political philosophy, ethics and public policy, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind (especially memory), social epistemology (especially conspiracy theories), philosophy and literature, and the history of philosophy (especially Kant, Hume, Spinoza and Bertrand Russell).

For more on the programme, explore the rest of our website, which includes detailed information on our research, our teaching, and the history of the programme.

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