Nationally Known Scholars
OWU Philosophy Professor, Dr. Shari Stone-Mediatore, guest lectured at the University of California, Berkeley, on creative approaches to teaching about diversity.
Philosophy
Philosophy is integral to a person’s education, and certainly integral to the mission of a liberal arts college like Ohio Wesleyan University.
About the Major
Philosophy majors develop important skills through detailed textual analysis and lively intellectual debates that prepare them for careers in business, law, medicine, teaching, and the ministry. A low student-faculty ratio provides for a variety of carefully supervised individual research projects.
You’ll explore theories of idealism, materialism, utilitarianism, pragmatism, and existentialism, and you’ll study the world’s great philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Mill, Nietzsche, Arendt, and Beauvoir.
You will learn to analyze, evaluate, and construct arguments in defense of particular views. There also is considerable attention paid to writing, with the aim of producing better, more precise, and persuasive writers.
Related Minors
Go Global
From your first year on campus, you can get off campus—with Travel-Learning Courses. Journey to a distant land and immerse yourself in another culture. Learn how classroom theory truly connects with real-world experience.
Inspired Teaching
OWU faculty are outstanding scholars and researchers—and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research and creative projects.
They can even pack a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Check out our unique I³ lectures.
Highlights
Honor Society
Participate in Phi Sigma Tau, the international philosophy honor society. Students can be eligible by their Sophomore year if they've completed two semesters of Philosophy courses and rank in the upper thirty-five percent of their class.
Environmental Ethics
Visit local farms and environmental projects in the Environmental Ethics class. This class is popular among students of all majors, especially students in the environmental and life sciences.
Graduate Outcomes
Joe Kirincic '16
A Philosophy and Mathematics double-major, Joe is a data analyst at OnShift, a computer software company in Cleveland, Ohio.
Headlines
Front of Mind
Ohio Wesleyan Graduate’s ‘Back Porch’ Sculpture Gives Visibility to University’s Black Lives
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Out-of-This World Events
Ohio Wesleyan’s Perkins Observatory to Hunt for Aliens, Celebrate the Sun in July
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A Look at Philosophy
See All 8 ItemsTravel-Learning Course— Students explore postcolonialism on a Travel-Learning Course with Dr. Stone-Mediatore in Mexico.
Travel-Learning Course
Students explore postcolonialism on a Travel-Learning Course with Dr. Stone-Mediatore in Mexico.
Alex Reichardt meets llamas at the Environmental Ethics class trip to Stratford Ecological Center.
Alex Reichardt meets llamas at the Environmental Ethics class trip to Stratford Ecological Center.
Off-Campus Learning— Small class sizes means courses often feature an off-campus component for students to apply their research and classroom skills.
Off-Campus Learning
Small class sizes means courses often feature an off-campus component for students to apply their research and classroom skills.
Travel Opportunities— Philosophy students have ample opportunities to travel, furthering their research and expanding their worldviews. Recent Theory-to-Practice Grant recipients have traveled to India, Switzerland, and Nepal.
Travel Opportunities
Philosophy students have ample opportunities to travel, furthering their research and expanding their worldviews. Recent Theory-to-Practice Grant recipients have traveled to India, Switzerland, and Nepal.
Colin Stolly: philosophy, accounting, & baseball— Colin Stolly '18 talks about his experience as a double-major in philosophy and accounting - and as an infielder on the OWU baseball team.
Colin Stolly: philosophy, accounting, & baseball
Colin Stolly '18 talks about his experience as a double-major in philosophy and accounting - and as an infielder on the OWU baseball team.
Vicky Bush and Professor Shari Stone-Mediatore enjoy the Environmental Ethics class trip to Stratford Ecological Center.
Vicky Bush and Professor Shari Stone-Mediatore enjoy the Environmental Ethics class trip to Stratford Ecological Center.
Keionna Badie meets a goat during an Environmental Ethics field trip to Stratford Ecological Center.
Keionna Badie meets a goat during an Environmental Ethics field trip to Stratford Ecological Center.
Supporting Prisoners' Rights— In 2018, Dr. Shari Stone-Mediatore helped design a "Prisoners' Lives Matter" stamp to combat prison stigma. She exhibited the stamp at a fundraiser in Chicago.
Supporting Prisoners' Rights
In 2018, Dr. Shari Stone-Mediatore helped design a "Prisoners' Lives Matter" stamp to combat prison stigma. She exhibited the stamp at a fundraiser in Chicago.
Department Contact Info
Location
Phillips Hall 114
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
Department Contact
Chair: Dr. Scott Calef
Professor of Philosophy
Phillips Hall 114
740-368-3791
swcalef@owu.edu
Academic Assistant: Kandi Akers
Phillips Hall 52
740-368-3802
kjakers@owu.edu
Professor of Philosophy
Phillips Hall 114
740-368-3791
swcalef@owu.edu
Academic Assistant: Kandi Akers
Phillips Hall 52
740-368-3802
kjakers@owu.edu