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Politics, International Relations & Philosophy

Philosophy

socrates Welcome to Philosophy at Keele. Our undergraduate course is designed to prepare you both for the world of work and for further studies in the subject. Every year our new philosophy graduates start out on a wide range of rewarding careers, or continue their studies at postgraduate level, and take with them fond memories of their years studying philosophy at Keele. These webpages are designed to give you a feel for what it is like to study this fascinating subject with us, but if you want to know more, please do not hesitate to contact us.

For information about SPIRE, including Philosophy, please see the menu to the left.  There you will find information about student life, including the student-led Keele Philosophy Society, Philosophy student prizes and what our graduates say about us.

Want to blog?  Check out the Philosophy@Keele Weblog.

Why Philosophy @ Keele?

The Philosophy Programme covers the main issues of Western Philosophy as they have been discussed from Ancient Greece to the present day.  Philosophy is concerned with questions about the ultimate nature of reality (Metaphysics), the extent to which we can achieve knowledge (Epistemology), the relation between language, truth and meaning (Philosophy of Language) and the relation between thoughts, feelings and the brain (Philosophy of Mind).  It also asks questions about how we ought to conduct our lives (Ethics) and how society ought to be organised (Political Philosophy).

Philosophy at Keele is part of a small and friendly School that specialises in dual honours philosophy.  Other universities offer dual honours as a by-product of their single honours course, but Keele’s specialisation ensures a properly designed and balanced course, making it the perfect choice for students who want to combine philosophy with another subject. Keele Philosophy is research led, with particular strengths in metaphysics as practised within a variety of traditions: analytic, phenomenological, Kantian and post-Kantian.  

Prospective students should have a keen interest in philosophical issues, but need not have studied philosophy before.  Philosophers use analysis and rigorous argument to explore fundamental issues overlooked in everyday life, and so although students are expected to learn about the views of the great philosophers, they are also expected to subject those views to independent scrutiny in order to achieve a satisfying overall intellectual picture of the world.  Since debate and a grasp of logical analysis are central to the discipline, seminars play a key role in our teaching.

We encourage students to engage with contemporary philosophical research through our popular Royal Institute of Philosophy events, in which philosophers from other universities are invited to Keele to talk about their recent work.  There is also the thriving student-led Keele Philosophy Society, which holds regular debates and film screenings.

Philosophy is one of the most valued non-vocational degrees (i.e. all degrees except medicine, law, and a few others). It is favoured by employers because it stands for ‘thinking outside the box’, initiative, and powerful analytical and argumentative skills. Every year large numbers of philosophy graduates go on to highly successful careers in the media, law, and computing, as well as many other areas of work.


Keele Philosophy is a member of the national Institute of Philosophy and the British Philosophical Association.