We use the tools of logic and reason to analyse the complex social and material nature of the world and our place in it.
Philosophy is about learning to think rigorously for yourself so you can defend your positions with considered reasons and cogent arguments. The study of philosophy improves an individual's ability to speak and write clearly, logically and convincingly. These broad skills, along with capacity for independent thought, are highly transferable, powerful aids to success in any profession.
In philosophy we ask deep questions, and don’t mind if they lead to difficult, even counter-intuitive, answers. We encourage critical reflection and debate.
We are highly regarded for our research and teaching as well as our breadth and diversity. Philosophy at the University of Sydney is home to leading thinkers in a wide range of areas of philosophy, and we offer a rich and varied array of units taught by dedicated and enthusiastic scholars whose outstanding research informs their teaching at every level.
Philosophy formulates and explores questions of fundamental importance to us as human beings. For example: What is consciousness? Are we free agents? What makes an action right? What makes an action wrong? What is truth, and how can we come by it? How should we form beliefs about the world? Is it possible for machines to think? Ï㽶ֱ²¥ing philosophy will equip you with a disciplined capacity for critical analysis and dramatically enhance your communication skills.
Research
Philosophy offers critical thinking workshops for International Baccalaureate (IB) students. If you would like more information or to enquire regarding future workshops, please feel free to contact us.
EÌý´¥Ìýsoh.events@sydney.edu.au
PÂ | +61 2Â 9351 2271
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Anderson Fellowships are bestowed through a bequest of the estate of John Anderson (1893-1962), influential Australian philosopher and Challis Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney from 1927 to 1958.
The Anderson bequest funds travel to the University of Sydney for up to two fellows each year with the aim of promoting collaboration between members of the philosophy department and leading researchers around the world.Â
In order to apply, applicants must first have an academic sponsor from the Discipline of Philosophy with whom they will work when at the University.
Applications should highlight the ways in which the applicant will contribute to the research and teaching of the department and to collaborations with departmental members.
Applicants can apply for one of two fellowships.
Anderson Fellows will be provided with office space, library borrowing rights and other resources.
Anderson Fellows are expected to be present at the University of Sydney for the duration of their Fellowship and to make a substantial contribution to the academic life of the Discipline of Philosophy through collaborative research and contributions to the teaching program.
Download the 2025 Anderson Fellowship Nomination Form here
For further information, please contact our Research Support Officer.
Our seminars are held every Wednesday at 3.30 till 5.00 in Seminar Room N494, Quadrangle A14.
Click here for details on how to locate the Seminar Room. There is also a zoom link for those who cannot attend in person, which is mailed out to our mailing list each week via Sydphil.
Join our seminars and events
Workshop | Tuesday 25 November 2025
Diotima is most well-known from her discussion of beauty in Plato’s Symposium. Details about her biography are highly controversial, and many today assume she is a fictional entity; but there are good reasons to question this assumption (and, indeed, most thinkers until the mid-nineteenth century did not share this view). This is important not only because her ideas about beauty, truth and goodness played a formative role in the development of western philosophy, but also because she figured as a critical model for thinkers across the centuries – especially women thinkers.
The aim of this masterclass is to discover how the figure of Diotima was received over the history of philosophy – especially by women philosophers, who not only engaged with the themes of The Symposium but who also modelled themselves on Diotima, as teacher, friend, and inspirator of Socrates. The masterclass will consider how Diotima’s ideas about beauty, truth and goodness were received at various moments in the history of philosophy and how the figure of Diotima was interpreted. We will focus on three historical periods: the ancient context, in which Diotima (ostensibly) lived, the late Hellenistic/early Medieval period, and the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
This masterclass is organised in conjunction with the University of Notre Dame Australia conference, Women in the History of Philosophy of Nature, 26-27 November.
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Room 607, Brennan MacCallum Building A18,
The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006
Phone: 1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864) (in Australia)Â
+61 2 9351 2862 (outside Australia)Â
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