For Current Philosophy Students

Handbook for Philosophy Majors and Minors

What Are the Main Areas of Philosophy?

• Metaphysics: the study of the nature of reality
• Epistemology: the study of the nature, scope, and limits of knowledge
• Logic: the study of the nature and structure of arguments
  
• Ethics: the study of the nature of right and wrong action
  
• Philosophy of Art: the study of the nature, value, and experience of art
  
• Political Philosophy: the study of the nature of the state and its relationship to citizens
• History of Philosophy: the study of major figures and periods in the history of philosophy

Online Encyclopedias of Philosophy

These are peer reviewed. The articles are written by experts, so the information is quite reliable.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Some of the online resources below require that you connect to the IUP network via VPN.

Philosophy Journals

These resources facilitate searching for and obtaining published articles about philosophy; they are subscription only, but these links lead to access through the IUP network.

The Philosopher's Index
This is a searchable index of every article, book, and book review published in philosophy over the past hundred years.

Many full text journal articles can be found through IUP's subscriptions to journal archive providers such as POIESIS, JSTOR, EBSCO, Literature Online, etc. Once you have identified the journal name, year, volume, and issue that contains the article you are looking for, begin your search for that journal here. If your search is unsuccessful, search for a hardcopy of the journal through the IUP Libraries Online Catalog. If your search is still unsuccessful, you may want to consider Interlibrary Loan.

Other Reference

PhilPapers is a comprehensive index and bibliography of philosophy maintained by the community of philosophers.

Some Texts From Early Modern Philosophy contains classic works by Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, and many more.

Many electronic books are made available through the IUP Reference Portal; for example, Net Library and PastMasters.

Additional Student Opportunities

Internship opportunities can be arranged to suit each student's interests; recent internships have included placements at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and at Western Psychiatric Hospital, also in Pittsburgh. Students interested in pursuing internship opportunities are invited to consult with the Philosophy Department's internship coordinator, Dr. Hans Pedersen (c.pedersen@iup.edu).

In recent years, philosophy students from IUP have delivered papers and participated with faculty members as panelists at the State System of Higher Education Philosophy and Religious Studies Conference, which is held annually on the campuses of various member institutions. Students have also delivered papers at the annual IUP Undergraduate Scholars Forum.

The Department holds an annual Howard Z. Fitzgerald Philosophy Essay Contest.