Philosophy Department

… because the unexamined life is not worth living.

The Greek term “philosophy” often is translated as “love of wisdom.” Attaining wisdom is the pursuit of a lifetime Studying philosophy at Austin College will equip you for the quest.

What you will learn: Answers to life’s big questions.

What is reality?

What can I know?

What is morality, and should I be moral?

What makes a life happy? meaningful? good?

How do I prepare for my future?

Who Studies Philosophy?

A wide variety of people, including artists and entertainers (e.g., Lana Del Ray, Ricky Gervais, Matt Groening), business people (e.g., Damon Horowitz, Larry Sanger, Peter Theil), government leaders (e.g. Thomas Jefferson, Bill Clinton, David Souter), journalists (e.g., Chris Hayes, Tamar Keith, Stone Phillips), activists (e.g., Rev. Martin Luther King, Angela Davis), athletes (Arian Forster, Bruce Lee), writers (e.g., Mary Higgins Clark, Umberto Eco, Ayn Rand, David Foster Wallace), and more!

Students who study philosophy at Austin College are similarly diverse. They become lawyers, artists, business owners and entrepreneurs, nonprofit administrators, medical professionals, and professors, among other things.

Skeptical about how studying philosophy can be good for your career? Consider what a Harvard Medical School professor who majored in philosophy has to say.

Meet the Faculty:

Karánn Durland

Karánn Durland Philosophy at its best is an on-going conversation. It is as much an activity or practice as it is a treasure chest of interesting ideas and valuable information. The courses that I teach explore life’s big questions along the lines just sketched. Great minds from the past give us our starting points. We study what important recent thinkers have added to the discussion, and we extend the conversation by joining it ourselves. This approach works well with just about every subject that I teach.

Mark Hébert

Mark Hebert

Mark Hebert has been a member of the Austin College faculty since 1990. His areas of interest are ethics, happiness and meaning, feminist thought, and philosophy of law. Watch his TEDxaustincollege talk on YouTube.

He can also rebuild nearly any small horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine (largely because he has significant experience ruining them).

After Austin College

Devin Gonier ’09

Devin Gonier is the Chief Technology Officer at WageUp, a startup specializing in developing bespoke cutting-edge platforms that leverage machine learning tools to manage performance and gamify the everyday work experience. He is also completing his master’s degree at Columbia University in Machine Learning and has an undergraduate degree from Austin College in Philosophy and… [Read More]

Preston Glasscock ’17

I can’t imagine a better place to receive a liberal arts education than Austin College. I was always planning to be a history major. But Hunt Tooley’s classes were so intellectually inspiring that I started reading some philosophy. Part way through my junior year, I realized that I wanted to major in philosophy, too. The… [Read More]

Kristin Saboe ’07

Upon graduating from Austin College in 2007 with majors in psychology and philosophy, I completed a Master’s (2010) and a Doctoral degree (2012) in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at the University of South Florida. While in graduate school, I conducted research for public and private companies including as a fellow at RAND, Corp. Driven by a passion… [Read More]

Alison MacManus Maher ’02

Majors: History & Philosophy J.D., Harvard University Attorney, Mosaic Family Services Alison worked as a clerk in the Alaska Supreme Court before becoming a public defender in Alaska. From there, she was a Special Project Attorney for Disability Rights Texas. She is currently a staff attorney for Mosaic Family Services, which provides legal services in… [Read More]