The Philosophy and Critical Theory Lab aspires, by means of humanistic methods and a hospitable, creative, and organized space, to pursue insights along two related but separable tracks. Within the philosophy track, the lab aims to grasp how an examined life may (best) be lived under contemporary conditions. Within the critical theory track, the lab aims to make explicit the ways in which the structures and systems of society shape our very notions of life and living.

Regarding each of these pursuits, a guiding principle is that the sort of cognitive work involved has a practical dimension, wherein theoretical concerns are intimately related to how life may be lived, either as the wisdom pursued when philosophy is conceived as a spiritual exercise, or as the sort of praxis pursued by critical theory.

In the spirit of the great range of forms, kinds, and sites of inquiry these two tracks suggest, the lab is committed to transdisciplinary approaches and collaboration, recognizing that a range of disciplines and approaches can actualize these aims.