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Philosophy
Are all truths knowable? Do human beings have free will? Are the mind and the brain just one thing, or two? Could morality be no more than a matter of social convention? The study of Philosophy provides a deeper understanding of these and other issues of similar generality, difficulty, and interest.
The undergraduate course in Philosophy – the Philosophy Tripos – is divided into three stages, each lasting a year. Those who take the full course receive in their first year a grounding in the central areas of Philosophy: logic, metaphysics, history of philosophy and ethics. In their second year they consolidate and build on this grounding, and also study other topics from the wide range available, including aesthetics, Greek and Roman Philosophy, seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy, history of analytic philosophy, experimental psychology, political philosophy, jurisprudence and philosophy of science. In the final year the range of options is further broadened to include areas of the subject as varied as the foundations of mathematics, aesthetics, and politics, and authors as varied as Plato, Ibn Tufayl, Scotus, Christine de Pizan and Kant.
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There is, however, no obligation to study Philosophy for the full three years. Some students do one or two years of Philosophy before or after time spent on another subject and find that the combination of subjects deepens their understanding of both. At Trinity there are no difficulties put in the way of people who wish to switch in this way. Subjects that Trinity students have recently combined with Philosophy include Law, Natural Sciences, Modern Languages, Mathematics, English, Classics, and Human, Social and Political Science.
Some of the most eminent philosophers of the last hundred and fifty years have been members of the College, among them Sidgwick, McTaggart, Russell, Moore and Wittgenstein. Trinity today has a large and varied community of philosophers. At any one time we expect to have around nine undergraduates reading for the Philosophy Tripos and half a dozen graduates studying for a master’s degree or a doctorate.
The College has eight Fellows who between them cover most branches of the subject: Julia Borcherding is the Director of Studies and also Associate Professor of Philosophy in the University. She specializes in early modern philosophy (especially Leibniz, Margaret Cavendish, Anne Conway and Émilie Du Châtelet), with side interests in contemporary ethics, epistemology, feminism, early analytic and medieval philosophy. Other fellows include Simon Blackburn (philosophy of language, mind and ethics), Jeremy Butterfield (philosophy of physics), Nicholas Denyer (ancient philosophy), Sachiko Kusukawa (early modern history of science), Kamil Majcherek (junior research fellow; Latin philosophy, 1300-1600), John Marenbon (senior research fellow: philosophy in the Long Middle Ages); and Lea Bourguignon (junior research fellow: ethics).
The Trinity College Philosophy Essay Prize is intended to encourage ambitious and talented Year 12 or Lower Sixth students who may be considering applying to university to read Philosophy or a related discipline. See the Philosophy pages for further details.
No one A-level subject is a prerequisite for those hoping to study Philosophy at Trinity. Entrants in recent years have arrived with A-levels in Biology, Chemistry, English, French, German, Greek, History, Latin, Mathematics, Music, Physics, and Religious Studies. Some also take A-level Philosophy but it is not essential. The only essentials are a wish to get to the bottom of things and an ability to think long, hard, and clear in doing so.
As part of the application process, you will have one interview with two of the College’s philosophers. At interview you may be asked about your philosophical interests and reading. If you have not so far read much on the subject, use Peter Adamson’s wonderful History of Philosophy without any Gaps podcasts (https://historyofphilosophy.net/) to get an idea of the breadth of philosophy, and the on-line Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy to explore topics and authors in more depth. You can find other suggestions for introductory reading on the Faculty of Philosophy website:
You will also be expected to write a brief essay on the day of your interview (either in College, if your interview is in person, or remotely, if you are being interviewed via Zoom).
We aim to admit three or four applicants each year to read Philosophy. The typical conditional offer varies between A*AA and A*A*A; comparable conditions are set for those taking the IB and other school-leaving examinations.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
See the Undergraduate Prospectus on the Faculty website.
Teaching Staff
- Dr Julia Borcherding