Renowned philosophers back call to save under-threat degree at Dundee University
The campaign to save the University of Dundee’s philosophy programme is receiving international backing
Some of the world’s most renowned philosophers have added their names to a call to save the under-threat philosophy programme at Dundee University.
Current proposals would see entry to the degree suspended from 2027 as part of a proposed £20 million in further cuts announced earlier last month.
Cuts are also being considered for the maths and languages department, which puts a further 190 jobs at risk.
Dr Oisín Keohane, lecturer in Philosophy, has launched a campaign to protect his programme.
A petition has garnered more than 4,300 signatures, including notable global philosophers.
Dr Keohane said the signatories come from 87 different countries and include academics from six continents.
They include the renowned philosophers Luciano Floridi, Catherine Malabou and Slavoj Žižek as well as the broadcaster John Suchet, who studied philosophy at Dundee from 1963 to 67.
Dr Keohane said the global reach of the programme is illustrated also by the fact a graduate, Amanda Askell, helped write the constitution that governs how AI system Claude should behave.
He said: “Amanda Askell began her undergraduate studies at Dundee in the joint Art and Philosophy honours degree.
“She’s now a philosopher at Anthropic, where she led the writing of Claude's constitution - the document setting out the AI’s values and character.
“That trajectory - from Dundee to one of the most powerful AI companies in the world - is exactly what’s on the table for closure.”
Dr Keohane said the removal of the degree will disproportionately affect female students as Dundee's Art and Philosophy joint degree has recruited women at a ratio of 3:1 to 4:1 over men in every year on record.
This is well above the national average for the discipline.
The University of Dundee did not respond to a request for comment but has previously said the decision to end the programme was due to “very low numbers” taking part.
Dr Keohane said there is dispute over the university’s calculation of the numbers.
He said: “The complication comes from how you define a philosophy student - there is no easy answer.
“And then there are questions beyond the issue of numbers, for example.”
On the subject of women taking part in the degree, he added: “Dundee brings women specifically into the discipline of philosophy.
“Unlike programmes or degrees elsewhere in Scotland and the United Kingdom, which have far lower figures for women entry.
“We are also the only place in Scotland that still specialises in European philosophy so, should we close, there would be no place in all of Scotland that specialises in European philosophy.”
Dr Keohane said philosophy degrees were traditionally thought of as non-vocational.
However, a recent rise in AI companies seeking the skills of philosophers and hiring in-house philosophers to write codes of behaviour for AI technology has made the degree sought after.
“In the last five years or so, changes have come about because of something unforeseen,” he added.
“Coding has become a bad career choice now because AI codes better than humans so what's happening is that because of the dangers of AI, philosophers are being hired partly to foresee some of these dangers and to think about the question of how to mitigate the risks that AI can bring about.”
Dundee University has previously said: “The proposal is to retain philosophy content as part of a broad MA undergraduate programme, at least until 2030.
“The proposals are subject to the collective consultation process which is now underway.”
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