The Department hosts public lectures on behalf of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. We also run special research seminars, reading groups, workshops and conferences. We publish a regular bulletin, The Reasoner, to highlight the latest research on reasoning, inference and method.
An engaged research community, we explore a diverse range of topics, including the epistemology and methodology of current science, mathematics and medicine, normativity, political philosophy, aesthetics, epistemology, language, logic and philosophy of mind and action.
World-leading experts
Our lecturers are highly respected in their fields. All are active researchers who contribute to contemporary debates through their publications.
Research centres
Centre for Practical Philosophy
Committed to the practical application of philosophy outside traditional academia, we work with policymakers, clinicians, lawyers, and tech firms.
Centre for Reasoning
The Centre co-ordinates multidisciplinary research relating to reasoning, inference and method.
Aesthetics Research Centre
A multidisciplinary centre promoting research in philosophy of art and aesthetics.
REF success
Our research is highly rated. Following the most recent Research Excellence Framework, the Times Higher Education ranked us 5th in the UK for research quality.
Our research: Making a difference
The Department is defined by two research clusters – Theoretical Reasoning and Practical Reasoning. Within these clusters, our staff research on a broad range of areas including:
- aesthetics
- Ancient
Greek Philosophy
- causality
- emotions
- agency and responsibility
- health methodology
- philosophical
methodology
- Kant and post-Kantian Philosophy
- pragmatism
- probability.
The Department co-founded the Southern Normativity Group and founded The Reasoner, a monthly bulletin on reasoning and method.
Our staff have won prestigious awards from The Aristotelian Society, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, British Society of Aesthetics, the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, British Logic Colloquium, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Mind Association.
Visit our People page to discover more about our academic staff, their interests and activities, and how to contact them.
Featured links
The 10,000-year clock
Lecturer in Philosophy Dr Graeme Forbes assesses the merits of the installation of a 10,000-year clock inside a mountain in Texas.
Funding awarded for aesthetics and comedy conference
Philosophers from Kent and comedy writers met at the Aesthetics and Comedy conference to analyse what makes us laugh and why.