“Corrupting the Youth” by Supporting Philosophy

We’re the SJSU Department of Philosophy. You may know us best from the classes we teach that help SJSU undergraduate and graduate students think well and deeply about questions of enduring importance, understanding reason and passions, logic and empathy, examining the assumptions that shape how they see the world, and honing their skills at defending – and challenging – their own points of view.  These are useful skills in a variety of work settings, not to mention tools for living a good human life.

What you might not know is that we’re not just teaching philosophy – we’re doing philosophy, and teaching our students how to do it.  Our work takes the form of books and scholarly articles, but also includes op-eds, conference presentations, participation in working groups, and public-facing philosophy events.  We’re sharing our work in all these ways because we know critical thinking, ethical sensitivity, and the ability to pursue hard questions about our world and place in it can make the world better for everyone.

You can help!  Your donation will support honoraria for visiting speakers who engage our students in cutting edge philosophical questions, prizes that honor our students’ achievement, small grants for students and faculty to cover the costs of travel to conferences and workshops where they can share their research and broaden their networks, and funding for public-facing events where students and faculty collaborate to bring philosophy that matters to a wider audience.