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On a U of T blue background, two photo vignettes, the one on the left showing Zifan Nameer, a young brown man with shoulder-length, wavy black hair and a beard wearing a black shirt under a black leather jacket, while the one on the right shows Matthew DeKock, a white person with straight blond hair smiling broadly into the camera and wearing glasses and a lumberjack shirt.

2025 Philosophy Undergraduate Essay Award Winners: Zifan Nameer & Matthew DeKock

Published: November 21, 2025

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Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Undergraduate Essay Awards: Zifan Nameer claimed the Hypatia Award for advanced undergraduates with his essay titled “How Is Metaphysics Metaphysically Possible?” The Spinoza Award, which recognizes excellence in undergraduate philosophy writing for early-year students, went to Matthew DeKock for his paper titled “Do … Read More

On a U of T blue background, three photo vignettes, from left to right: Yiwen Mao, an Asian person with short hair wearing an anorak; Sophie Zhang, an East Asian girl with long hair in a school uniform; and Diksha Mehta, a South East Asian young woman with long hair and glasses sitting on a bench wearing a pink blouse.

The 2025 Aristotle Contest Winners Revealed

Published: November 7, 2025

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Yiwen (Molly) Mao, Sophie Zhang, and Diksha Mehta–they emerged victorious, but “competition was exceptionally tough this year” in the 2025 Aristotle Contest edition, says Jim John, the Department of Philosophy’s high school coordinator and lead of the Aristotle Contest adjudicating committee. Rising above the crowd in a highly competitive field, … Read More

On a U of T blue background, headshots of, from left to right, John Miller, David Rattray, and Kristen Beard. Miller is a bearded Metis man standing in front of a vast shore landscape, while w=Rattray, a white man with short brown hair, sits full frame in a blue button down, and Beard sports long blonde hair, glasses, and a big smile standing in front of a primarily yellow bookcase.

Recent PhDs

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The Department of Philosophy congratulates its three most recent PhDs: In September, John R. Miller successfully defended his dissertation titled “Wahkootowin Ethics: A Métis Approach to the Ethics of Kinship,” supervised by Andrew Franklin-Hall. Miller currently holds the position of lecturer at the University of Victoria. David Rattray and Kristen Beard … Read More

On a U of T blue background, headshots of Kira Jensen (left) and Patrina van Nieuwstadt (right), both young women with long, straight hair, Kira blone and Patrina dark brown. The images are accompanied by their names in powder blue.

Petrina van Nieuwstadt & Kira Jensen Awarded JHI Undergraduate Fellowships for 2025-2026

Published: June 17, 2025

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Two Philosophy undergraduate students, Petrina von Nieuwstadt and Kira Jensen, each received a 2025-2026 Undergraduate Fellowship at the Jackman Humanities Institute (JHI), allowing them to advance work on projects under the JHI’s Dystopia & Trust theme for the coming year. The JHI offers six such fellowships per year. Petrina von … Read More

On a U of T blue background, portrait shots of (l to r) Cameron Yetman, Joshua Brecka, and Alexander Drusda. All are young white man with short hair and glasses. Brecka has a full short beard. Their names accompany the images in light blue.

2025 CPA Prize Winners: Cameron Yetman, Alexander Drusda, Joshua Brecka

Published: June 3, 2025

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At the Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) Annual Congress on June 2, 2025, three of our graduate students—Cameron Yetman, Alex Drusda, and Josh Brecka—were formally recognized as winners of CPA 2025 academic prizes, recognizing excellence in philosophical scholarship across multiple categories. Yetman and Drusda both received a CPA Student Essay Prize, … Read More

Head shot of Alex Koo, an East Asian man with short black hair, glasses, and wearing a light blue button-down, smiling into the camera

Alex Koo Wins Outstanding Teaching Award–Early Career

Published: May 24, 2025

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Alex Koo, an assistant professor in the Teaching Stream, has won the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Outstanding Teaching Award–Early Career. The award recognizes excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, with a focus on classroom instruction, course design, and curriculum development. “The quality of our undergraduate and graduate teaching is … Read More

On a U of T blue background, from left to right, headshots of: Soouyoung Moon, Joshua Brecka,Alexander Drusda and Faisal Bhabha (top row); Jules Sheldon, Yi-Chen Lin, and Zoe Leslie (bottom row), all alongside their names in light blue

2025 Graduate Student Service Awards

Published: May 7, 2025

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At the Department of Philosophy’s annual Spring Party, Faisal Bhabha, Josh Brecka, Alex Drusda, Zoe Leslie, Yi-Cheng Lin, Sooyoung Moon, and Jules Sheldon each received a Graduate Student Service Award. The annual prize celebrates initiatives undertaken by graduate students to support and improve the community. “The functioning and climate of our … Read More

David Dyzenhaus, an older white man with glasses, smiling dressed in the honorary regalia of the University of the Witwatersrand.

Honorary Doctorate from Witwatersrand for David Dyzenhaus

Published: April 4, 2025

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David Dyzenhaus, a University Professor in the Department of Philosophy and in the Faculty of Law, has received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, his alma mater. Wits awards honorary doctorates recognizing individuals who have made lasting contributions to their respective fields, advancing knowledge, research and … Read More