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We are Philosophy@KU

The Department of Philosophy at KU is home to a diverse and distinguished community of philosophers. We publish world-class philosophical research, and our graduates go on to pursue highly successful careers in business, law, academia, and government. Together, we are dedicated to the solution of some of the most pressing problems facing humanity.

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Department News

Statues of the philosophers Plato and Socrates are located at the Academy of Athens in Greece.

New publication examines ancient Greek debate: What attracts us when we fall in love?

In a new book chapter, Thomas Tuozzo, professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas, examines the various viewpoints from Plato’s “Symposium” that address the question: What attracts us when we fall in love?
KU, American flags fly atop Fraser Hall.

KU wins grant to increase Lawrence campus awareness of university values

The University of Kansas won a nearly $700,000 grant to help raise awareness and extend the impact of KU’s IRISE Culture Charter for the Lawrence campus. The project will seek to infuse character and KU’s IRISE values into 30 courses and the campus culture.
An ethereal computerized hand touches two scales that represent justice and morality. Image credit: Adobe Stock

AI can imitate morality without actually possessing it, new philosophy study finds

In a new paper, a philosophy scholar at the University of Kansas addresses the moral agency of artificial intelligence. Although AI does not currently have practical judgment, the researcher shows it has a functionally equivalent mechanism, transformer models, which can allow it to form maxims that consider morally salient facts.
A silhouette of a human head with an old-fashioned key in place of the top part of the cranium.

Evolution of distinctively human cognition explored in new book

In a new book, Armin Schulz, professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas, explores what makes human cognition unique, suggesting its evolution is built on a feedback loop of innate representations, forms of cultural learning and technology.