Moral and Political Philosophy

Northwestern offers many research opportunities in moral and political philosophy. Some students may be interested in completing a graduate certificate in gender studies, concurrent with their PhD in Philosophy. For more information, click here.

The following faculty members (unless otherwise indicated, all of them members of the Philosophy Department) have a primary or secondary research interest in these fields:

Primary Interest

Richard Kraut (right) introduces Andrew Koppelman (left) at Koppelman's Colloquium.

May 2010.

Secondary Interest

In addition, in the Political Science Department, there is a distinguished group of political theorists. The journal Political Theory is edited at Northwestern. We also offer a program in Critical Theory. For more information, click here. Students may simultaneously enroll in a program that leads both to a J.D. and a Ph.D. For more information on this program, click here.

The Northwestern Society for Moral and Political Philosophy, sponsored by the Philosophy Department, organizes an annual conference three-day conference each spring. These meetings feature presentations by prominent faculty and advanced graduate students throughout the U.S. and abroad. Our keynote speakers in the past have been Steven Darwall, Barbara Herman, Susan Wolf, David Velleman, Seana Shiffrin, Samuel Scheffler, Elizabeth Anderson, Christine Korsgaard, Philip Pettit and R. Jay Wallace. In May 2013, they were Talbot Brewer and Sarah Buss. In March, 2014, they will be Gary Watson and Tamara Schapiro.

The Brady Program in ethics and civic life brings to Northwestern a visiting scholar in moral and political philosophy each year. The first two recipients of the Brady Professorship have been Samuel Fleischacker (UIC) and Robert Audi (Notre Dame). The program is administered by Laurie Zoloth.

In addition to the discussion that takes place in seminars, our students and faculty meet regularly (usually once a week) as part of The Practical Philosophy Workshop, devoted to the discussion of recent work in moral and political philosophy. The workshop is currently organized by Raff Donalson.