History of Philosophical and Scientific Thought Radboud University

Overview

You will acquaint yourself with episodes in either the history of philosophy, or of the sciences, or in the intertwined histories of both, from antiquity to the present age. Themes that have been or will be covered in our seminars include ‘Chance', ‘Theories of Space and Time’, ‘Evolution and the Mind’, and ‘The Philosophy of Karl Marx’ . You will choose your own topic for your research master’s thesis. Our specialties include ancient cosmologies; medieval natural philosophy and logic in the Arabic and Christian worlds; the Scientific Revolution and the birth of modern philosophy and science; idealism and phenomenology; biopolitics; the history and philosophy of contemporary physics; thought experiments in science and philosophy. As for skills, you will learn how to publish in an academic journal and apply for a PhD position.

Future career opportunities

This programme is designed for students who wish to acquire the skills needed for a career in research, either in academia or elsewhere. The training you receive in conducting academic philosophical research will give you a head start in a search for a PhD position, but your analytical, conceptual and investigative skills also open up a wider range of career opportunities. 

In recent years around 40% of graduates have chosen to continue in academia by pursuing a PhD position (with a success rate of nearly 90%). Many others have chosen to apply their skills elsewhere, in government, journalism, teaching, think tanks, NGOs, IT, consultancy and as strategists, researchers, or policy makers in a host of other fields. 

Your network of Research Master’s alumni and the reputation of the philosophy departments at Radboud University will definitely serve you well, whichever career path you choose. 

Research

All of the research related to this specialisation is embedded in the Center for the History of Philosophy and Science. This internationally renowned centre is dedicated to the study of the historical interrelation of philosophy and the sciences. Many of the researchers affiliated with the centre investigate the evolution of natural philosophy since Aristotle and the development of the different natural scientific disciplines (such as physics, chemistry or psychology) since the seventeenth century. Although the centre is best known for its expertise in the ancient, medieval and early modern periods, the scholars working there cover the entire period from the Aristotelian corpus up to contemporary philosophy.

The focus on natural philosophy is due to the consideration that, at least up to the eighteenth century, time, space and causality as well as the motion of stars, the structure of stones, the growth of plants, the motion of animals and the nature of the human soul were all an integral part of (natural) philosophy. Nijmegen's Center for the History of Philosophy and Science is the only research centre in the world dedicated to the investigation of this historical development.

Accreditation

This programme is accredited by the NVAO (the Dutch-Flemish accreditation organisation).