Ask the big questions about ourselves, our world, and how to live.
Philosophy explores some of the deepest and most fundamental questions about reality and human existence. What is the nature of reality, and how can we know it? What is consciousness? Can machines think? Do we have free will? How ought we to live? What makes an action right or wrong? How should we arrange our societies, and what does justice require? These questions are fascinating in themselves, and many of us simply want to know the answers.
At the same time, philosophy equips students with intellectual skills that are vital in any profession. A major in philosophy will train you to think precisely, deliberate carefully, and communicate with clarity and persuasion. Because these are transferable skills - critical thinking, persuasive speaking, and clear writing—they are valued in every workplace, across every sector.
The University of Sydney is home to one of the most wide-ranging philosophy departments in Australia, with strengths in both the analytic and continental traditions, historical and contemporary philosophy, and expertise across major fields including ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, logic, social and political philosophy, and aesthetics.
Students who major in philosophy learn to construct and evaluate arguments, identify key points in a debate, uncover assumptions, and draw fruitful conceptual distinctions. They also develop intellectual virtues such as honesty, fairness, and the ability to discuss matters of importance without recourse to insult or taking offense.
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? Studying 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.
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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.
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.
Click here for more information
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)
+61 2 9351 2862 (outside Australia)
Email: soh.enquiries@sydney.edu.au
