Western philosophy began during the seventh century B.C.E., so it’s a good question how there can be anything new in the field. Toward the end of the twentieth century, philosophy began a revitalization by adding fields and reconfiguring old problems. Some of the subjects added had originated in philosophy, developed as other disciplines, and then returned to philosophy so that philosophers could sort out the “real” intellectual issues. Feminism, environmentalism, and to some extent studies of race all fall under this category, as does cognitive science and new philosophies of psychology and biology.

Post-structuralism, or deconstructionism, which is also known as “postmodern philosophy,” always was considered philosophy in Europe, but it has only recently been recognized as such at philosophy departments in American universities. Socalled “other philosophies” from Latin America, Asia, and Africa have also begun to achieve recognition in the United States. There has been a revival of pragmatism, too.

Brand new on the horizon is “experimental philosophy.” There is, in addition, a new philosophy of biology, philosophy of film and television, philosophy of technology, and philosophy for children, not to mention the new “mysterianism.”