Philosophy | Penn Today

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The Divine Comedy’s ‘universal message’

Seven centuries years after Dante Alighieri's death on Sept. 14, 1321, his “Divine Comedy,” a poem in which an autobiographical protagonist journeys through hell, purgatory, and paradise, is still widely influential.

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In These Times: ‘Race and Repair’

OMNIA’s final episodes look into how institutions have perpetuated racial hierarchies, how the past reverberates through the present, and consider what justice looks like.

Two people standing outside, with a bridge and trees blurry in the background. One, in a blue button-down shirt and khakis, stands with hands in pockets. The other, in a red dress, stands with arms crossed.

The ins and outs of research, through a yearlong practicum

The course, which just completed its third iteration, takes undergrads through the process, from generating a hypothesis and creating experiments to analyzing results and writing a paper. The most recent cohort studied mentorship and educational inequality.

An image of an earth surrounded by word bubbles describing public health issues like "a lack of global strategy" and "facade of altruism"

‘Global Health Justice and Governance’

In a special issue of the journal Global Health Governance, seven experts reflect upon Jennifer Prah Ruger’s call for a new model of global public health that prioritizes equity and cooperation between nations and agencies.

A group of four people leaning against a wall. The one farthest on the left is wearing a bag diagonal across the chest and holding papers. The second from left has on a purse. The second from right has on a backpack and is holding a blue spiral notebook. The person all the way on the right is pointing to the others and holds a folded piece of white paper and a writing utensil.

Morality isn’t fixed but changes around close relationships

Research from MindCORE postdoc Daniel Yudkin found that the importance people place on certain moral values shifts depending on who is around in a given moment.

Map of the world with vials of COVID vaccine on top of the map in different countries.

Nationalism in times of crisis

A team of Penn philosophers examine whether it’s morally acceptable for the government to prioritize its own people’s interests and needs during a global pandemic.

Penn senior named Truman Scholar

Senior Sakshi Sehgal, a philosophy major who has submatriculated into the philosophy master’s program, has received a merit-based Harry S. Truman Scholarship of as much as $30,000 for graduate or professional school to prepare for a career in public service.

Penn junior Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo named a Beinecke Scholar

Junior Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo has been awarded a 2021 Beinecke Scholarship to pursue a graduate education in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. She is one of only 16 Beinecke Scholars chosen this year.

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Fostering the next generation of Black philosophers at Penn

In the past decade, the department has become a hub for race theory and a welcoming environment for a diverse group of young academics, mentored by those who have paved the way before them.

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The link between perceptions of autonomy and global views of income inequality

Research from the Center for Social Norms & Behavioral Dynamics finds that people who feel independent think that most others are, too. They also underestimate the level of poverty in the United States.

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