Department of Philosophy Archives - News Center

Close-up of a newspaper section titled "perspective" to illustrate opinion journalism.

Society & Culture

Opinion journalism in a polarized age: vital or vitriol?

September 9, 2025

Rochester philosopher Zeynep Soysal says opinion journalism helps the public navigate uncertainty—if its role is properly framed.

Illustration of three couples facing each other and joining hands with speech bubbles above them.

From the Magazine

Take a vow: On keeping your word in the modern world

Bestselling author Cheryl Mendelson ’73 (PhD) discusses marital vows, including their history and role, and why ditching the classic ones may be a bad idea.

Triptych of photos of the 2024 Wells Prize winners.

Undergraduates pair research with reporting, science with sign language, and programming with pondering

November 13, 2024

The Wells Prize honorees exemplify the best of the multidisciplinary educational opportunities available at Rochester.

An illustration of several colorful, hexagon shaped icons representing different academic fields like space engineering, music, math, AI, and genetics.

Back-to-school meets future-ready: New academic programs at Rochester

September 13, 2024

The range of recently launched degree programs reflects what students, the workforce, and the world need and want to become ever better.

From the Magazine

Doctors, patients, algorithms, and avatars

Clinicians, computer scientists, and ethicists are working across the University to incorporate reliable and ethical AI into medical diagnosis and treatment.

Rachel Whitmoeyer in an ETM uniform looking over her shoulder into the back of an ambulance.

Exploring the ethical dilemmas of emergency care on the front lines

Rachel Whitmoyer ’24, a double major in physics and philosophy, brings her work as an emergency medical technician to bear on her studies at Rochester.

Two blue- and yellow-colored robots work at a laptop to illustrate the concept of ai chatbots like chatgpt affecting higher education.

How will AI chatbots like ChatGPT affect higher education?

February 27, 2023

University administrators and faculty weigh in on the pros and cons of the newest online learning tool.

Exterior of Attica Correctional Facility, where prison education courses take place.

Society & Culture

Rochester’s college-in-prison program becomes western New York’s prison education hub

December 15, 2022

The Mellon Foundation has renewed its support for the Rochester Education Justice Initiative with an additional three-year, $1 million grant.

illustration of group of people separated from the scales of justice

Voices & Opinion

There’s hope for objective moral standards—but how can we better live up to them?

Rochester ethicist William FitzPatrick considers whether “’the better angels of our nature’ are robust enough to create and sustain a better world.”

college's class of 2021 video memories

Members of the College Class of 2021 reflect on four eventful years at the University

As they prepare to graduate with the College’s Class of 2021, students from near and far say they’re well prepared for the future.