Philosophers question the assumptions that guide our thoughts and actions, exploring the nature of reality, how we understand the world, who we are, and how we ought to live.

The study of philosophy enables us to investigate our conceptions of ourselves and our place in the world, cultivating what Socrates called “the examined life.” Philosophy reflects on the subject matter and methods of all the other disciplines and opens spaces of inquiry across the various realms of human experience.

The philosophy program at Marlboro introduced students to the history and diversity of philosophy while providing the necessary background and specialized skills for conducting original research and entering into contemporary philosophical debates. The philosophy curriculum was grounded in the study of texts that provide many of the concepts and strategies that inform the Western cultural heritage. At the same time, philosophy at Marlboro was shaped by an appreciation for the depth, richness, and relevance of non-Western traditions. It also recognized that contemporary thinkers provide important insights for understanding philosophical questions, especially those concerning contemporary problems such as environmental challenges and questions of race, gender, sexuality, disability, modern technology, social structures of oppression, and colonialism.

Faculty

William Edelglass

Philosophy, Environmental Studies

Casey Ford

Philosophy

Neal Weiner

Philosophy

Plans

“I am fully what I am”: Philosophy, literature, and the lived experience of race

Andrew Domzal, 2018

Being, place, resistance: Phenomenological and critical approaches

Christopher Lamb, 2018

Punishment, Incarceration, and Forgiveness

Fiona Craig, 2018

Mathematical structures: Foundations & explorations

John McGill, 2017

The whole zucchini: An engaged-Buddhist eco-theology of foodways

Solomon Botwick-Rise, 2017

An exploration of pragmatism and the meaning of wisdom in the Saṁdhinirmocana Sūtra and its relevance for contemporary Buddhist thought and practice

Edward Suprenant, 2016

Through the Dharma: Explorations of Form and Emptiness in Ceramics and Buddhist Studies

Michael Schneeweis, 2014

Phenomenological Investigations of Expression, Perception, and the Lived Body

Aidan Keeva, 2015

A wild door: Human experiences of nonhuman animality

Adam Halwitz, 2014

Pragmatism for philosophy, economics, and environmental policy

Isaac Lawrence, 2010