Find out more about studying PhD in Social Philosophy at University of Sheffield? We've gathered all the key details, entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy
Sheffield Main
Full Time
Dec 2027
3 Year
Social philosophy scrutinises our social world, and looks at the identities, relations, and power structures within it. Some social philosophy is concerned with what makes up our social world - what social kinds, such as race or gender or class, are. Social philosophy also examines the ways that, for instance, social relations or power dynamics affect our experiences of ourselves and the world (phenomenology), our knowledge-seeking practices (social epistemology), our language (applied philosophy of language), or the specifically social aspects of our cognition (how we think about social kinds, or navigate social norms). It also encompasses how all of these aspects interact with social structures, both informal ones, such as friendship groups or family structures, and formal ones such as the workplace, or institutions such as marriage. Much social philosophy is done with an eye on how we might change things in order to make our social world better (theorists engaged in anti-racist and feminist philosophy often have this goal in mind).
