Report ranks philosophy department third in nation

The University boasts the third-best philosophy department in the nation, according to the soon-to-be-released 2006-2008 Philosophical Gourmet Report.

Princeton has been ranked third, behind NYU and Rutgers, since the release of the 2004-2006 report. For the two prior reports, Princeton was tied for first — with Rutgers and NYU in 2002 and just NYU in 2001. This year, it tied with the University of Michigan.

"We don't have quite the monopoly that we used to have for attracting top grad students," philosophy professor Paul Benacerraf said.

Benacerraf acknowledged that many schools — including NYU and Rutgers — have invested heavily in their philosophy departments recently. This has led to a wider distribution of talent, instead of the traditional concentration in a handful of powerhouse departments.

The report was created by Brian Leiter '84, now a philosophy professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Three hundred philosophers were asked to rate the faculty of each department participating in the survey. The rankings did not include evaluations of the quality of graduate teaching.

Benacerraf attributed at least part of the slip in the rankings to the recent loss of some prominent professors. Professors David Lewis and Richard Jeffrey GS '57 have passed away, Harry Frankfurt retired and Saul Kripke moved to the CUNY Graduate Center.

As some of Princeton's notable philosophers have left, other schools have aggressively recruited rising and established philosophers. NYU, which reinstated its Ph.D. program in philosophy only nine years ago, is the most notable example.

NYU philosophy department chair Stephen Schiffer said that his department offers many benefits to draw in new talent. In the past few years, NYU has attracted former Princeton professors Beatrice Longuennese and Jim Pryor '94 GS '97.

"NYU offers very competitive salaries, University-owned apartments within a block or two of campus and is constructing a new six-story building for the philosophy department," Schiffer said.

Schiffer also observed that many faculty members are attracted to NYU because they want to live in Manhattan. "That's why most of us want to be here," he said.

Philosophers seem to be attracted to the city even if they don't work there. "Half the Rutgers philosophy department lives here," Schiffer quipped.

Princeton, on the other hand, "isn't the best location to attract faculty," Benacerraf said. "You're better off if you're in New York or Philadelphia or another big city."

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Still, Benacerraf contends that Princeton hasn't "had trouble attracting younger people."

"At that level we've been very competitive," he said.

Philosophy major Charles Pence '07 said that the department's respect in the academic community will hold it in good stead in the future. "If I got a call from Princeton after I got my Ph.D., I couldn't turn them down."