Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford

Department of the University of Oxford, England

The Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford was founded in 2001. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division.[1] The faculty is located next to Somerville College on Woodstock Road. As of 2021, it is ranked 1st in the UK and 2nd in the English-speaking world by the Philosophical Gourmet Report, as well as 4th in the world by the QS World University Rankings.[2][3] It is additionally ranked first in the UK by the Complete University Guide, the Guardian, the Times, and the Independent.[4][5][6][7]

## History of the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford

[edit]

John Locke

The present-day Faculty was formerly a sub-faculty of the Faculty of Literae Humaniores (founded in 1913), though the teaching of philosophy at Oxford dates back to medieval times. The Faculty boasts over 50 full-time philosophers in permanent posts, with at least another 50 fixed-term, emeritus and associate members.[8] Today, it is housed within Oxford's Humanities Division.[9]

Some of the world's most prominent philosophers have studied (and taught) at Oxford, including Duns Scotus, Thomas Bradwardine, William of Ockham, John Wycliffe, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Norris, Jeremy Bentham, Henry Longueville Mansel, Thomas Hill Green, F. H. Bradley, Edward Caird and in more recent times Peter Strawson, Galen Strawson, A. J. Ayer, Mary Midgley, Iris Murdoch, Thomas Nagel, Gilbert Ryle, Genevieve Lloyd, Isaiah Berlin, J. L. Austin, Celia Green, Bernard Williams, Philippa Foot, Michael A. Smith, Onora O'Neill, Michael Dummett, Derek Parfit, and Elizabeth Anscombe.

Eminent philosophers have taught at Oxford, including Robert Grosseteste, Amartya Sen, and still others, including Noam Chomsky, Saul Kripke and Hilary Putnam have come to Oxford to deliver the John Locke Lectures,[10] the Gareth Evans Memorial Lectures and other established lectures and lecture series.

The Faculty has the following statutory professorships in philosophy:

* The White's Professorship of Moral Philosophy (founded in 1621)[11]
* The Waynflete Professorship of Metaphysical Philosophy (founded in 1859)
* The Wykeham Professorship of Logic (founded in 1859)
* The Nolloth Professorship of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion (founded in 1920)
* The Professorship of Ancient Philosophy (founded in 1966)
* The Wilde Professorship of Mental Philosophy (founded in 2000); formerly the Wilde Readership in Mental Philosophy (founded in 1898)
* The Uehiro Professorship of Practical Ethics (founded in 2003).

## Henry Wilde Prize

[edit]

The Henry Wilde Prize in Philosophy is awarded annually for an outstanding performance in Philosophy.[12]

## Research centres

[edit]

### Future of Humanity Institute

[edit]

Main article: Future of Humanity Institute

The Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) was founded by Nick Bostrom in 2005 to "assess how dangerous AI and other potential threats might be to the human species".[13] It was closed down on 16 April 2024, having "faced increasing administrative headwinds within the Faculty of Philosophy".[14][15] The Institute's final report described a "gradual suffocation by Faculty bureaucracy", noting that "[t]he flexible, fast-moving approach of the institute did not function well with the rigid rules and slow decision-making of the surrounding organization".[16] In May 2024, the independent Oxford student newspaper, Cherwell, described shuttering of FHI with the headline "Institute accused of ‘eugenics on steroids’ shut down by Oxford University".[17]

### Global Priorities Institute

[edit]

The Global Priorities Institute was founded in 2018, to investigate the question of "how to do the most good".[18] The institute was shut down in July 2025.[19]

## Notable current members

[edit]

A. C. Grayling Janet Radcliffe Richards

* John Broome
* Harvey Brown
* Roger Crisp
* A. C. Grayling
* Terence Irwin
* Brian Leftow
* A.W. Moore
* William MacAskill
* Jeff McMahan
* Stephen Mulhall
* Toby Ord
* Janet Radcliffe Richards
* Gonzalo Rodríguez Pereyra
* Julian Savulescu
* Richard Sorabji
* Ralph C. S. Walker
* Timothy Williamson
* Mark Wrathall

## Notable past members

[edit]

Isaiah Berlin Ronald Dworkin

* Michael Ayers
* Isaiah Berlin
* Simon Blackburn
* Nick Bostrom
* David Charles
* Sir Michael Dummett
* Ronald Dworkin
* Philippa Foot
* Peter Geach
* John Hawthorne
* Stuart Hampshire
* R.M. Hare
* J.L. Mackie
* Iris Murdoch
* Christopher Peacocke
* W.D. Ross
* Amartya Sen
* Colin McGinn
* Derek Parfit
* Sir Geoffrey Warnock
* Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock
* David Wiggins
* Bernard Williams
* Sybil Wolfram

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Faculties and units". www.humanities.ox.ac.uk.
2. ^ "The Philosophical Gourmet Report 2021–22". Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
3. ^ "Philosophy". QS Top Universities. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
4. ^ "Top UK University League Tables and Rankings 2018". Complete University Guide. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
5. ^ "University guide 2011: Philosophy | Education". theguardian.com. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
6. ^ "The Times & The Sunday Times". Timesonline.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
7. ^ "UK and Worldwide News". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
8. ^ "History of Philosophy at Oxford - Faculty of Philosophy". Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
9. ^ "Divisions and Departments". ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
10. ^ "Past Lectures - Faculty of Philosophy". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
11. ^ The History of the University Of Oxford, Volume IV : The Seventeenth Century, ed. N.Tyacke, Oxford, 1997, p.10)
12. ^ "The Henry Wilde Prize in Philosophy". www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk.
13. ^ Shead, Sam (25 May 2020). "How Britain's oldest universities are trying to protect humanity from risky A.I." CNBC. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
14. ^ "Future of Humanity Institute". 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
15. ^ Maiberg, Emanuel (17 April 2024). "Institute That Pioneered AI 'Existential Risk' Research Shuts Down". 404 Media. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
16. ^ Sandberg, Anders (16 April 2024). Future of Humanity Institute 2005-2024: Final Report (PDF). www.futureofhumanityinstitute.org (Report). p. 19. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
17. ^ Littler-Jennings, Poppy (13 May 2024). "Institute accused of 'eugenics on steroids' shut down by Oxford University". Cherwell. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
18. ^ "New Global Priorities Institute opens". Development Office. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
19. ^ "Global Priorities Institute Website". 5 August 2025. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.

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