Department of Philosophy - University at Albany

UAlbany Philosophy Prof. Marcus Adams' essay "Hobbes's Principles of Motion in Leviathan: Imagination and Curiosity" is out now in Hobbes's Leviathan: A Critical Guide, S.A. Lloyd, ed. (Cambridge University Press).

https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/philosophy/early-modern-philosophy/hobbess-leviathan-critical-guide

Spots available in this Fall 2026 course: Philosophy of Mind APHI 416/516

Meeting Info: T/TH 1:30PM-2:50PM Humanities 125
Prof. Alessandra Buccella

Course description: How do our minds work? Is the mind simply a ‘software’ running on the brain’s hardware? And what exactly is a mind ‘made of’? All these questions do not have single, objectively right answers, because facts about the mind are not facts in the traditional sense of the term, and minds are not traditional objects, either. To have a mind means to have a wide array of incredibly complex and diverse abilities, including abilities to interact with different environments and with other minds, human and otherwise. In this course, we will try to understand what it means to be minded creatures, with all its incredible abilities and its, just as incredible, limitations. We will explore the role of the brain, the environment, and society in bringing about consciousness and intentionality, challenging intuitions and debunking myths in the process.

Still some spaces available.... For information, see https://www.albany.edu/summer

The Philosophy department will offer fully online courses in the following Summer 2026 sessions:

4 Week 1 (May 26 to June 18, 2026)
APHI 110 Intro Philosophical Problems (100% free textbook)
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed

APHI 210 Introduction to Logic
*Fulfills Math Gen Ed
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed

4 Week 2 (June 22 to July 17, 2026)
APHI 115 Moral Dilemmas
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed

APHI 202 Critical Thinking (100% free textbook)
*Fulfills Math Gen Ed
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed
*Fulfills Challenges Gen Ed

APHI 210 Introduction to Logic
*Fulfills Math Gen Ed
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed

4 Week 3 (July 20 to August 14, 2026)
APHI 115 Moral Dilemmas
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed

APHI 202 Critical Thinking (100% free textbook)
*Fulfills Math Gen Ed
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed
*Fulfills Challenges Gen Ed

APHI 213 Ethics and Philosophy of AI
*Fulfills Humanities Gen Ed

6 Week 1 (May 26 to July 3, 2026)
APHI 114 Morals and Society (Diversity, Humanities, Challenges Gen Eds)

6 Week 2 (June 22 to July 31, 2026)
APHI 114 Morals and Society (Diversity, Humanities, Challenges Gen Eds)

6 Week 3 (July 6 to August 14, 2026)
APHI 212 Introduction to Ethical Theory (Humanities Gen Ed)

UAlbany Philosophy Professor Monika Piotrowska's Open Peer Commentary, "Mismatch and the Ethics of Growth Attenuation", was just published in The American Journal of Bioethics.

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/VDWU8DXTIXKRMGYK5VFT/full?target=10.1080/15265161.2026.2657887

A beautiful day to celebrate UAlbany graduates!

Recent discussion in _The Economist_ mentions — “We found that graduates in fields more exposed to ai have suffered markedly worse outcomes. Between 2022 and 2024 graduates in the least-exposed quintile—studying subjects such as education, philosophy and civil engineering—saw their average full-time employment rate fall by just 1.5 percentage points. Those in the most exposed quintile—including computer science, computer engineering and information science—suffered a 6.6 percentage-point drop (see chart 1).“ Full article here: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/05/13/is-ai-putting-graduates-out-of-work-already

Profs. Piotrowska, Hessler, Buccella, and Adams celebrated with graduates this morning!

A great night for Food for Finals! Good luck on final exams, Great Danes!

Happy last day of classes, Great Danes!

Philosophy major Matthew Feinsilver with his poster presentation on philosophy of AI, at UAlbany Showcase.