Philosophy matters. And students know why.
Founded on the belief that philosophy matters, Simpliciter aims to amplify the voices of the newest generation of philosophers, and present a fresh perspective on the fundamental questions that have challenged us for millennia.
Why Simpliciter?
1. Dedicated editing team. Our editing team is composed of Brandeis University undergraduates, who have studied under a highly-ranked philosophy department. We strive to give constructive feedback and to work closely and productively with authors whose submissions are accepted.
2. Putting student works on the map. Too often quality undergraduate work in philosophy flies under the radar. In addition to a standard single-PDF format, we plan to host each accepted article on an individual webpage, and use search engine optimization to enhance the likelihood that each author's work is appreciated by a wider audience.
3. Spring conference. While our journal is necessarily selective, a larger number of authors may be invited to speak at our conference (to be held in the spring 2025) and discuss philosophy with other accepted authors.
Our Team
Peter Duchesneau
President
Peter is a junior majoring in philosophy. He is interested primarily in ancient philosophy across Greece and India, especially in the religious currents within which such philosophy developed.
Sadie Giddings
Treasurer
Sadie is a junior majoring in philosophy and environmental studies. Her philosophical interests include applied ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and political philosophy. When she isn't struggling through Kant, she enjoys art and hiking.
Eli Bensimhon
Organizer
Eli is a junior majoring in philosophy. He is interested in how we can best communicate the ideas of philosophy with the general public. He thinks that the primary job of philosophy is to provide non-philosophers (and each other) with an array of compelling "methods of thought" that help the average person confidently make complex decisions.
Ray Xie
Editor-in-Chief
Ray is a junior majoring in philosophy and history. His interests include metaphysics, history of philosophy, existentialism, and Hegel. Besides this, he enjoys gaming and jazz music.
Megan Lin
Managing Editor
Megan is a sophomore majoring in art history and philosophy, and her philosophical interests lie mostly in aesthetics and philosophy of language, though it seems she can become enthralled by anything when long enough exposed. Otherwise, she enjoys literature and art of many sorts and has an intense fascination for insects, birds, and celestial objects.
Athena Bai
Secretary
Athena is a junior double-majoring in computer science and linguistics, and minoring in philosophy. She is still exploring different branches of philosophy but is particularly interested in metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. Outside of philosophy, she draws and enjoys listening to all kinds of music.
Professor Katrina Elliott
Faculty Advisor
Katrina Elliott is an assistant professor of philosophy at Brandeis University, where she teaches courses on the philosophy of science and metaphysics. She has written on philosophical issues surrounding chance, explanation, and prediction. She is currently working on a book about scientific explanation in indeterministic contexts. Prior to joining Brandeis, she was an Associate Professor at UCLA, a postdoc at NYU, and a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill.
Qiyuan Feng
Graduate Student Advisor
Qiyuan is pursuing an MA in Philosophy at Brandeis University. His unfortunately wide interests in this subject include Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Computing, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind and Political Philosophy, all of which Qiyuan hopes can one day be used to improve his boxing skills.