Home » Mind & Soul » Philosophy » The Chicago Philosophy Project

The Chicago Philosophy Project

© Frederic Giacobazzi

Those who are hopeful that the Internet can fulfill its great potential as a resource for serious research and study in philosophy may enjoy a growing list of useful on-line tools.

One such resource is The University of Chicago Philosophy Project. In the words of its home Web page, the project seeks "to provide a forum for electronically mediated scholarly discussion of philosophical works."

The Chicago site consists of links which branch to several resource areas devoted to philosophical issues and individual philosophers and their works. The centerpiece of each of these pages is a moderated discussion forum devoted to that page's general focus. The discussion forums offer interchanges between readers free from the spam or unrelated postings which can make navigating Usenet's unmoderated newsgroups a chore. Additional resources include such things as articles, research archives, correspondence, teaching resources and, of course, some of the standard links to external philosophy sites.

Currently available topics at the Philosophy Project's site include:

• A discussion of the philosophical projects of Wilfrid Sellars

• A criticism of Nelson Goodman's theory of metaphor

• A proposal for a new theory of pictorial representation

• The Language of Thought Hypothesis

• Kripke's Naming and Necessity

• Philosophy and genetics

• Philosophical approaches to the work of Noam Chomsky

Not a list marked yet, by either length or breadth, but one which holds potential for visitors — if the site's hoped for growth eventually occurs. Moreover, the project's administrator, Jonathan Cohen of Rutgers University, urges visitors to contact him, "if you have an idea for a philosophical discussion group which you would like to moderate as part of the University of Chicago Philosophy Project."

This means that you can help the Internet to continue its growth into a tool for serious philosophy research. I would urge interested readers to e-mail Mr. Cohen with ideas for the site's growth and the offers to moderate which he is seeking.

The copyright of the article The Chicago Philosophy Project in Philosophy is owned by . Permission to republish The Chicago Philosophy Project in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.