Philosophy Family Tree
The Philosophy Family Tree [see update for new link] is a collectively edited “genealogy” of philosophers that maps the dissertation advisor – advisee relationship (the “parent” is the dissertation advisor). It was started about a decade ago by Josh Dever, and has grown quite a bit since then. It’s a fun and useful resource, and would be even better if you took a moment to enter in your information, or that of your advisor or advisees—or, as some have done, arranged for a member of their department’s administrative staff to collect and enter the data. See the “about” page for instructions. (Thanks to Michael Smith for reminding me of this site.)
I found some lineages going back to the early 1300s. Are there ones that go further?
UPDATE (2/21/21): The original site appears to be no longer, but there is a philosophy family tree site here.
(art: photo of light sculpture Forms in Nature by Hilden & Diaz)
Looking at my lineage is beyond humbling; it makes me feel even more painfully inadequate than usual.
One of the things I like about philosophy in the US as opposed to, say, Germany (where you have a Doktorvater, or very occasionally a Doktormutter, who plays an all-important role in your graduate education and subsequent career) is that the adviser-advisee relationship isn’t seen as so important and people are encouraged to develop their ideas drawing on many influences. Very often departments have people advised by committees of 2 or 3 with equal status, and that’s a good thing in my view. I think it encourages more independence of thought and is also healthier and often more comfortable for women. So even though I’m all in favor of disseminating information, I’m a bit troubled by the project’s emphasis on the supervising relationship and especially the idea of it as quasi-parental.
Has it moved?
It seems to have moved here but there isn’t much at all at that site. There is a philosophy family tree here.