Atlanta Philosophy Events

2010-11-28T10:05:00.001-08:00

Georgia Philosophical Society
Fall Meeting
Saturday, December 4th

Oglethorpe University*

9:30 Coffee, Snacks, and Society Business Meeting

10:00 “Kant's Conception of Autonomy in Two Objections to Metaethical Constitutivism,” Paul
Tulipana, Georgia State University

11:00 “The Particularity Problem,” Carl Ehrett, Furman University

12:00 KEYNOTE PAPER:
“‘Artifact’ as Artifact: A Category and Its Vicissitudes,” Beth Preston, University of Georgia

1:00 Lunch

(Meeting of Board of Regents Academic Advisory Committee on Philosophy)

Advance copies available by e-mail from Raymond Woller at
rwoller@uga.edu

*DIRECTIONS
4484 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30319-2797

www.oglethorpe.edu/about_us/directions/

Philip Weltner Library in the Earl Dolive Theater on the 2nd floor
Signs will be posted / On-site help 720-785-4421

2010-11-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

The University of Georgia Graduate Philosophy Society is pleased to
announce the First Annual UGA Graduate Philosophy Conference.

The conference will be held in Athens, Georgia on the UGA campus on
February 11th and 12th, 2011. Each presentation will be given fifty
minutes for presentation and discussion (presentations will be twenty
five minutes with a ten minute commentary afterwards and discussion
following the remainder of the time).

Deadline for paper submission: December 4th, 2010

Keynote Speakers:

Dr. René Jagnow-- (A.O.S. Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of
Perception)
Dr. Sebastian Rand-- (A.O.S. German Idealism, esp. Kant and Hegel,
Contemporary French Philosophy)

We welcome philosophy papers in any area of philosophy. Papers should
be submitted in blind review format. The articles needed for
submission include:
--Cover sheet containing name, email, university and paper title
--250-word abstract
--Paper (no longer than 4500 words)

Please send submission materials to ecb733@uga.edu by December 3rd,
2010. Acceptances will be announced on December 10th. For any
questions feel free to contact either heleri@uga.edu or
woodna@uga.edu.

Call for Papers

2010-10-27T05:40:00.002-07:00

CALL FOR PAPERS

for the upcoming meeting of the

GEORGIA PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, GA

Saturday, December 4, 2010

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Beth Preston, UGA

‘Artifact’ as Artifact: A Category and Its Vicissitudes

There is increasing interest in artifacts among philosophers. The leading edge is the metaphysics of artifacts and artifact kinds. However, in all the excitement an important (and, one would think, prior) question has been neglected. What is the status of the category ‘artifact’ itself? Philosophers have taken its theoretical integrity and usefulness pretty much for granted. Dan Sperber argues against its integrity and usefulness for the purposes of naturalistic social science. However, Sperber’s argument does not take sufficient account of what categories are and how they function in human thought and action. Thus even if its conclusion is correct, his argument is not cogent. A different kind of argument is required. The purpose of this paper is to supply one, and then to deploy it to show that ‘artifact’ is not useful and does not have sufficient integrity for philosophical purposes either.

Papers on or related to the speaker's topic are especially encouraged

Papers must not exceed 3000 words

Graduate student submissions welcome

Blind review

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

November 17, 2010

Send Papers to: rwoller@uga.edu

https://sites.google.com/site/gaphilosophy/GAPHILFALL2010.pdf
https://sites.google.com/site/gaphilosophy/

Teaching Position

2010-10-27T05:40:00.001-07:00

The Philosophy Program at the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, GA) is seeking a part-time instructor to teach two sections of Introduction to Philosophy in the spring 2011 semester. Applicant should have completed at least 18 hours of graduate course work in philosophy. Application can be sent via e-mail and should include a letter of intent and curriculum vitae to Dr. Robert Lane, Associate Professor and Director of Philosophy Program, rlane@westga.edu .

2010-10-08T08:58:00.001-07:00

Visit www.stuckwithvirtue.com for conference, speaker, and project details.

I hope you can come to this conference. Please share this announcement with your colleagues and students.

Thanks so much.

Peter Lawler (plawler@berry.edu; 706-766-7137)

STUCK WITH VIRTUE CONFERENCE SERIES

Sponsored by the Arete Initiative, University of Chicago

Descartes, Locke, and Darwin

Berry College, Mount Berry, GA

All events are free and open to all.

For further information, contact plawler@berry.edu

Visit www.stuckwithvirtue.com for conference, speaker, and project details.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

11:00 Lecture (Evans Auditorium): On Descartes

Lecturer: Thomas Hibbs (Baylor University)

Response: Daniel Maher (Assumption College)

Response: Michael Papazian (Berry College)

Chair: Mark Boone (Berry College)

2:00 Panel (Evans Auditorium): Walker Percy on Science and the Soul

"Neither Cartesian Angel nor Darwinian Beast:

Walker Percy on Human Unsignifiability, Anxiety, and Virtue"

Nathan Carson (Baylor University)

"Losing Sight of Man: Tocqueville and Percy On the Fate of the Human Sciences"

Brian Smith (Montclair State University)

"Percy’s Alternative to Reductive Scientism In The Thanatos Syndrome"

Micah Mattix (Houston Baptist University)

"The Moviegoer’s Cartesian Theatre"

Woods Nash (University of Tennessee)

Discussant: David Ramsey (University of West Florida)

Chair: Tom Pope (Lee University)

4:00 Lecture (Evans Auditorium): On Darwin

Lecturer: Larry Arnhart (Northern Illinois University)

Response: Paul Seaton (St. Mary’s Seminary and University)

Chair: Steve Dilley (St. Edward’s University)

7:00 Lecture (Ford Dining Hall): On Locke

Lecturer: James Stoner (Louisiana State University)

Response: Sara Henary (James Madison Program)

Response: Lauren Hall (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Chair: Eric Sands (Berry College)

Friday, November 5, 2010

9:00 Panel (Evans Auditorium): Being More Cartesian than Descartes

"A Calvinist Critique of the Cartesian Self"

Matthew Sitman (University of Virginia)

"More Cartesian Than Descartes:

Tocqueville and Spinoza on Democracy and Pantheism"

Samuel Goldman (Harvard University)

"The Scientific Life as a Moral Life? Virtue and the Cartesian Scientist"

Tobin Craig (Michigan State University)

Discussant: Germaine Paulo Walsh (Texas Lutheran University)

Chair: Jocelyn Evans (University of West Florida)

10:30 Panel (Evans Auditorium): Tom Wolfe, Technology, and Greatness

"Tom Wolfe on Science and the Fate of the Human Soul"

Carol McNamara (Utah State University)

"Science and the (Lockean) Pursuit of Happiness in Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons"

Elizabeth Amato (Baylor University)

"George Grant and Pope Benedict XVI on Technology and Human Freedom"

Patrick Cain (Belmont Abbey College)

Chair: W. Jason Wallace (Samford University)

Discussant: Stephen Barnes (Shorter University)

12:30 Lecture (Krannert Ballroom): On Science, Virtue, and the Birth of Modernity

Lecturer: Jeffrey Bishop (St. Louis University)

Response: Ralph Hancock (Brigham Young University)

Chair: Michael Bailey (Berry College)

GSU events

2010-09-03T06:52:00.001-07:00

Colloquium Series

2010-201 Department of Philosophy Colloquium Series


	How can we determine the substance? Aristotle's Categories V and Metaphysics Z. Stefano Maso (Università Ca'Foscari, Venice) Date: Friday, September 10, 2010 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	TBA Mitchell Green (University of Virginia) Date: Friday, October 11, 2010 Time: 12:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	TBA Rudolf Makkreel (Emory University) Date: Friday, February 11,2011 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	TBA Henry Richardson(Georgetown University) Date: Friday, March 11, 2011 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

Mailing address: P.O. Box 4089 Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4089 | Phone: Phone: 404-413-6100 | Send Feedback

Agnes Scott Event

2010-09-02T08:12:00.001-07:00

2010-04-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Just ran across this:

Call for Papers:
EPS 2010 National Meeting

November 17 - 19, Atlanta, GA

The 2010 National Meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society will be held in Atlanta, GA from November 17-19.

Our plenary speaker this year will be Alvin Plantinga from the University of Notre Dame. Thus, we will give preference to papers whose themes revolve around his work, broadly construed (metaphysics, epistemology, themes in the philosophy of religion). Other topics not related to the work of Plantinga are welcomed.

Your paper proposal must include the following:

Personal information:
1. Your name
2. The institution with which you are affiliated
3. Contact information (email address and phone number)
Time constraints / preferences:
1. Days and times you CANNOT read the paper
2. Days and times you would PREFER to read the paper
* While we will do our best to accommodate your preferences, inflexibility with regard to possible reading times may make the paper more difficult to accept.
The title of your proposed paper
A 100-200 word abstract / precis of the paper you would like to read

NOTE: You do not need to send the entire paper. An abstract is sufficient.

Paper proposals must be received by February 26, 2010. Proposals received after that date will not be considered.

Proposals should be sent by email attachment to: jevans@sebts.edu

Make sure your proposal is suitable for blind review.

2010-04-08T06:55:00.001-07:00

Morehouse College Department of Philosophy and Religion

Presents:

Professor Paul C. Taylor

Department Chair, Philosophy, Temple University

“On Mr. Obama’s Alleged Pragmatism;

or, Is It Sometimes Yet?”

Paul C. Taylor is a founding member of the Jamestown Project at Harvard Law School. In the fall of 2010 he will join the philosophy department at Pennsylvania State University, where he will also serve as the founding director of the Program on Philosophy After Apartheid.

Professor Taylor received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Morehouse College and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Rutgers University. He writes on aesthetics, race theory, Africana philosophy, pragmatism, and social philosophy, and is the author of the book Race: A Philosophical Introduction (Polity, 2004). His recent work includes a study of video model Vida Guerra and keynote lectures to the Philosophical Society of South Africa, the Alain Locke Society, and the Philosophy of Education Society. He is currently at work on a book called Black is Beautiful: A Philosophy of Black Aesthetics.

Lecture: Monday April 12^th, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Kilgore Center Seminar Rooms (2^nd Floor) Morehouse College

2010-03-25T10:58:00.001-07:00

PROGRAM FOR DOWNLOAD

Georgia Philosophical Society

Spring Meeting

Saturday, April 3rd

Morehouse College*

9:30 Coffee, Snacks, and Society Business Meeting

10:00 “Defusing the Demandingness Objection,”

Matthew Braddock, Duke University

11:00 “African Communalism and Public Health Policies in Botswana,”

Kipton Jensen and Joseph Gaie, La Grange College

12:00 “Virtue Ethics and Metaphysics,”

Richard Parry, Agnes Scott College, Emeritus

1:00 Lunch

(Meeting of Board of Regents Academic Advisory

Committee on Philosophy)

Advance copies available by e-mail from Raymond Woller at

rwoller@uga.edu

*DIRECTIONS

www.morehouse.edu:16080/about/directions.html

www.morehouse.edu:16080/about/pdf/Campus_Map.pdf

Leadership Bldg, Rm. 240, corner of Westview Dr. and West End Ave.

For help on campus call our host Nathan Nobis at 404-825-1740

2009-12-22T11:13:00.001-08:00

Annual Georgia Student Philosophy Symposium - April 10, 2010

Keynote speaker: Professor David Schmidtz Department of Philosophy,
University of Arizona

Undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines encouraged to
submit their work on any philosophical topic.

Scope: Original papers on any philosophical topic from graduate and
undergraduate students are welcome. The conference format will be
symposium-style: each session will include presentation/reading,
commentary, and brief Q&A/discussion period. Undergraduate and
graduate
authors will be selected for presentation. All accepted submissions
will available online in the Proceedings of the Georgia Student
Philosophy Symposium.

Prizes: One prize valued at $100 will be awarded to the most
outstanding paper by a graduate student. Another prize valued at $100
will be awarded to the most outstanding paper by an undergraduate
student. Prizes may take the form of books of the winner's choice.
Winners will be selected on the basis of philosophical content/
insight, clarity of written expression, and general appeal to a
student audience.

Submission Requirements: Papers must be prepared for blind review
(i.e., no author-identifying information or notes in the body of the
paper, only on the cover page). Reading length of paper should not
exceed twenty-five minutes (approx 3750 words). When submitting,
please include the following in the body of the email:

1. Author's name
2. Paper/presentation title
3. Brief abstract (~100 words describing topic discussed in paper)
4. Academic status (undergraduate/graduate), major, university
affiliation
5. Regularly checked email address

Submissions that fail to include all of the above will not be
accepted. No more than one submission per author will be considered.
Authors should email their submission as a Word or PDF attachment to
Shane Callahan at scallahan2@student.gsu.edu

Deadline: Papers must be received no later than January 20, 2010.
Notification of acceptance will be emailed by February 21, 2010.

For any questions (including queries from students traveling from
outside the area who may need overnight accommodations) - contact
Shane Callahan at scallahan2@student.gsu.edu

Sponsored by the Zeta Chapter (Georgia) of Phi Sigma Tau, and the
Center for Ethics, Student Forum Georgia State University

Posted by Andrew I. Cohen, Department of Philosophy, Georgia State
University - aicohen@gsu.edu

2009-11-19T07:33:00.001-08:00

The Third Annual Southeast Philosophy Congress invites submissions from undergraduate and graduate students in any area of philosophy. The Congress, hosted by Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, runs February 12-13, 2010, with keynote speaker George Rainbolt from Georgia State University. Presented papers will be published in online and print proceedings.

Talks run 20 minutes, followed by a 10 minute question/answer period. Please email papers, accompanied by a brief abstract, to Dr. Todd Janke:ToddJanke@Clayton.edu. Submission deadline is January 31, 2010. To allow time to plan travel, speakers will be notified immediately upon acceptance and selection will close when all slots are filled. The registration fee of $45.00 includes lunch both days and a print copy of the proceedings.

2009-09-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

CALL FOR PAPERS
for the upcoming meeting of the
GEORGIA
PHILOSOPHICAL
SOCIETY
at
Georgia Perimeter College
Dunwoody Campus
Saturday,
November 14, 2009
Twenty minute reading time limit
Blind review
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
October 30, 2009
Graduate student submissions welcome
Send Papers to
Raymond Woller: rwoller@uga.edu

Georgia State

2009-08-31T12:46:00.001-07:00

HOME | News & Events | Colloquium Series

Colloquium Series

2009-2010 Department of Philosophy Colloquium Series

Visitors to the Department 2002-2009


	Knowledge, Politics, and Commercialization: Science under the Pressure of Practice Martin Carrier (Universität Bielefeld) Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Time: 4:00 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	What Does It Mean When Scientists Say "Free Will Is an Illusion?" Eddy Nahmias (Georgia State University) Date: Friday, October 16, 2009 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	TBA Christie Hartley (Georgia State University) Date: Friday, January 29, 2010 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	TBA Rüdiger Bittner (Universität Bielefeld) Date: Friday, Feburary 26, 2010 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	TBA Cora Diamond (University of Virginia) Date: Friday, March 19, 2010 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions
	The Unity of Virtue Elizabeth Kiss (Agnes Scott College) Date: Friday, March 26, 2010 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

Emory

2009-08-31T12:36:00.001-07:00

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Home : Events : Lectures and Colloquia

Department Colloquia 2009-2010

10 September		"Is My Mind Mine? Neuroethics and the 'Mind-Reading' Paradox," Paul Wolpe, Associate Professor of Sociology in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, 4:15 p.m., C290 Psychology Building

17 September		“A Narrative Interpretation of Action,” Laszlo Tengelyi, Professor of Philosophy, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, 4:15 p.m., C280 Psychology Building Co-sponsored by the Institute for the History of Philosophy

1 October		"Political Animals," Geoffrey Bennington, Chair of Comparative Literature, and Asa G. Candler Professor of Modern French Thought, Emory University, 4:15 p.m., C290 Psychology Building

15 October		"Kant and Hegel," Beatrice Longuenesse, Professor of Philosophy, New York University, 4:15 p.m., C290 Psychology Building *Co-sponsored by the Institute for the History of Philosophy*

22 October		"Americanism/Anti-Americanism and Afro-Caribbean Identity," Gertrude Gonzalez de Allen, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Spelman College, 4:15 p.m., C290 Psychology Building

5 November		“At the Crossroads of Philosophy and Psychoanalysis: Thoughts on the Ethical Sublime,” Vanessa Parks Rumble, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Boston College, 4:15 p.m., C290 Psychology Building *Williams Edwards Undergraduate Lecture*

12 November		“French Nietzscheanism and the Emergence of Poststructuralism,” Alan Schrift, Chair and F. Wendell Miller Professor of Philosophy, Grinnell College, 4:15 p.m., C280 Psychology Building *Co-sponsored by the Institute for the History of Philosophy*

11 February		"Montaigne and the Origins of Modern Philosophy," Ann Hartle, Professor of Philosophy, Emory University, 4:15 p.m. *Co-sponsored by the Institute for the History of Philosophy*

18 February		On Aristotle (title TBA), Ronna Burger, Chair and Professor of Philosophy, Tulane University, 4:15 p.m. *Co-sponsored by the Institute for the History of Philosophy*

18 March		On Pragmatism (title TBA), Eddie S. Glaude Jr., William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American Studies, Princeton University, 4:15 p.m. *Co-sponsored by the Institute for the History of Philosophy*

1 April		TBA

8 April		TBA

15 April		TBA

2009-08-28T07:54:00.001-07:00

I am pleased to report that Professor John Greco (http://www.slu.edu/x25195.xml

), Leonard and Elizabeth Eslick Chair in Philosophy at Saint Louis University, will deliver the Keynote Address at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Philosophical Association on November 6, 2009 in Furman Hall on the campus of Vanderbilt University. Professor Greco's topic is "How to Think about Testimonial Knowledge."

I would also remind you that the deadline for submitting conference papers rapidly approaches. It's October 9, 2009. (For details, surf to http://www.tpaweb.org/callforpapers.html).

I look forward to seeing you all in Nashville.

Charles

Charles E. Cardwell, PhD
Secretary: Tennessee Philosophical Association (www.TPAWeb.org)
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator: Philosophy
Pellissippi State Community College
POB 22990, Knoxville, TN 37933-0990
(865) 539-7052
cecardwell@pstcc.edu cecardwell@pstcc.edu>

2009-08-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Agnes Scott College Ethics Program Lecture Series

Topic for 2009-2010: Extraterrestrial Ethics

Lara Denis, Director ldenis@agnesscott.edu x5364

This is a four-part series, inspired by the International Year of Astronomy and Project Galileo.

Fall Semester:

Title: “Values and Ethics in Space” -- Agnes Scott College McNair Ethics Lecture

Speaker: Holmes Rolston III (Philosopher -- Colorado State University)

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Rebekah Hall, Woltz Room

How earthbound are values and ethics? Values are pervasive on a wonderland Earth, but is there anything of value in space? Out there are only whirls of flaming gas, raw energy, rotating and revolving chunks of brute matter. But non-Earth places are not without intrinsic value. Only arrogant Earthlings will disvalue the creative projective nature out of which they have come. We live in an inventive universe. Astronauts ought to respect the new worlds they visit. Can we expect to share some of our science and ethics with extra-terrestrials? Perhaps in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, the question to ask is not about the value of pi, or the atomic number of carbon. A more revealing test might be to ask whether one should tell the truth, keep promises, or be just. The Golden Rule may be as universally true as is the theory of relativity.

Holmes Rolston III is University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Colorado State University. His publications include Genes, Genesis and God; Science and Religion: A Critical Survey; Philosophy Gone Wild; Environmental Ethics; and Conserving Natural Value. He has edited Biology, Ethics, and the Origins of Life. His articles have appeared in a wide range of journals, including Ethics, Inquiry, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Theology Today, Natural History, Conservation Biology, Yale Journal of International Law, and Christianity Today. Professor Rolston was awarded the Templeton Prize in Religion in 2003. Other awards include the Mendel Medal, bestowed on him by Villanova University in 2005.

This event is co-sponsored by the Agnes Scott Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta of Georgia, through its McNair Lecture Fund.

Title: “Space Exploration and Environmental Sustainability on Earth”

Speaker: William K. Hartmann (Scientist, Author, Artist -- Planetary Science Institute)

Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Evans Hall, Rooms ABC

Recent exploration of the inner solar system has revealed information on our nearby cosmic environment, including asteroids of many compositions, and the essentially endless supply of solar energy in space. Dr. Hartmann will describe how these results offer opportunities for humans to begin to allow the Earth itself to “relax” back toward its more natural state. Artwork offers a good tool for illustrating and exploring these opportunities; with that in mind, Dr. Hartmann will include images from of his own paintings as part of his presentation.

Dr. William K. Hartmann is a scientist, writer, and painter affiliated with the Planetary Science Institute. His research involves origin and evolution of planets and planetary surfaces, and the small bodies of the solar system. His current research focuses on the new data from Mars as part of his work with the Mars Global Surveyor’s imaging team (NASA). He has authored text books; popular illustrated, non-fiction books; and works of fiction; as well as many technical papers. His paintings have appeared in numerous publications and international exhibitions; he has twice had paintings commissioned by the NASA Fine Arts Program. Dr. Hartmann is the recipient of a G.K. Gilbert Award from the Geological Society of America for outstanding contributions to the solution of fundamental problems in planetary geology (2004). He has been elected as a Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2002). And he was the first recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society for popular writing and astronomical paintings (1998).He holds a Ph.D. in Astronomy and a M.S. in Geology, both from the University of Arizona, and a B.S. in Physics from Pennsylvania State University.

Spring Semester:

III

Title: “The Ethics of Exploration: Planetary Astronomy”

Speaker: Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ (Astronomer -- the Vatican)

Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Time: 7:30, p.m.

Location: Evans Hall, Rooms ABC

Astronomy is a remote and passive field; how can we worry about doing the wrong thing, when we basically aren’t doing anything at all except observing far distant objects? Yet a number of ethical issues arise in the field of planetary sciences ranging from the way we do our work to the broader question of the nature of exploration itself. Is the study of astronomy a valid use of scarce resources, or does it make inappropriate demands on our money, our human talent, and scarce environmental settings like clear, dark mountaintops which may impinge on other human values, such as the rights of indigenous religions, and the desire for personal security and economic well-being? Are we humans “contaminating” space with our presence? Under what conditions is it ethical to “terraform” a planet -- can we be sure that no life would ever arise on another planet in some future date if we did not terraform there? Do we have a responsibility to non-intelligent indigenous life -- say, Martian bacteria -- or to the potentiality of future life that does not yet exist? What assumptions does our activity as explorers make concerning the natural or “supernatural” status of humans in the universe? Every scientific action has a moral dimension that cannot be ignored; but that also includes the decision not to proceed with a scientific action. How do we make these choices?

Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ is an American research astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory. He also curates of the Vatican Meteorite collection. His research focuses on the connections between meteorites and asteroids, and the origin and evolution of small bodies in the solar system. In addition to over 40 refereed scientific papers, he has co-authored several books on astronomy for the popular market. Among these are: Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist (2000), God’s Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion (2007), and The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican (2009). During 1996, he took part in the Antarctic Search for Meteorites, ANSMET, where he discovered a number of meteorites on the ice fields of Antarctica.

Brother Guy received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his doctorate from the University of Arizona. All of his academic degrees planetary science, though he has also studied philosophy and theology. Before entering the Jesuit order in 1989, he held several academic positions, including a postdoctoral research post at the Harvard College Observatory. He also spent two years in the US Peace Corps, teaching astronomy and physics in Kenya.

This event is co-sponsored by the Agnes Scott College Observatory.

Title: “Extraterrestrial Searches and Planetary Protection”

Speaker: Margaret Race (Astrobiologist -- SETI Institute)

Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Evans Hall, Rooms ABC

Dr. Race will discuss the status of science investigations in astrobiology (especially on Mars), the policy and legal issues involved in mission planning, and the societal (and ethical) issues that arise along the way. Among these issues she may consider is that of microbial contamination: both of and by astronauts carrying out interplanetary explorations and the vehicles transporting them. What are the dangers of such contamination for affected human beings, or for our own or other planets’ environments? What steps can and we and ought we to make sure that our missions do not transfer microbes from Mars to Earth, or the other way around?

Dr. Race is a biologist, with a focus on astrobiology and searches for microbial extraterrestrial life. She is a marine ecologist by training, with a PhD, from University of California, Berkeley. Her overall interests are in environmental impact analyses, invasive species, implications of new technologies (including synthetic biology and nanotech), science policy, and science communication via the mass media. She has worked on other topics at the intersection of science, technology, and policy, such as bioterrorism, quarantine and public preparedness; global warming and planetary sustainability, and planetary defense—i.e., protecting Earth from hazardous asteroids. Dr. Race is affiliated with the SETI Institute.

2009-08-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

The North Carolina Philosophical Society announces its call for papers for the Biennial Joint Meeting with the South Carolina Society for Philosophy on February 26 & 27, 2010 at Queens University of Charlotte. MAP (4 hours from ATL)

The keynote speaker will be Michael Dickson, Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina and editor of the journal Philosophy of Science.

Papers in any area of philosophy designed for a presentation time of about 20-30 minutes are welcome. Further details including submission instructions can be found at the new NCPS website at: http://www.northcarolinaphilosophicalsociety.org/

Undergraduate submissions are again strongly encouraged, and there will be a $250 prize for the best NCPS paper submitted by an untenuured faculty member, a $150 prize for the best NCPS graduate student paper, and a $100 prize for the best NCPS undergraduate prize.

NORTH CAROLINA PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Biennial Joint Meeting with the South Carolina Society for Philosophy

February 26 & 27, 2010

Queens University of Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina

CALL FOR PAPERS

Keynote Speaker - Michael Dickson

University of South Carolina

Submitted Papers

Papers on any philosophical topic are welcome. Papers should be designed for a presentation time of about 20-30 minutes. Submitted papers must be postmarked or sent electronically no later than Monday, January 11, 2010.

Send one copy of your submission in a format suitable for blind review to Christian Miller at either:

millerc@wfu.edu (preferred) or Christian Miller, P.O. Box 7332, Department of Philosophy, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109

In a cover letter or in the body of your email, please indicate your name, email address, phone number, and institutional affiliation (if any). If you wish your paper to be considered for a prize (see below), you should submit two copies (in the case of postal submissions) and indicate in your cover letter or email whether you are an untenured faculty member, graduate student, or undergraduate.

Panels and Workshops

Panel and workshop proposals on any topic in philosophy, including its pedagogy, are welcome. Proposals should specify issues to be discussed, format (including time to be allotted), and names of presenters, and should include brief abstracts of presentations.

Undergraduate Papers

A sufficient number of undergraduate submissions will allow for a session devoted to papers by undergraduates. Undergraduate submissions should be clearly labeled as such.

Prizes

There will be a $250 prize for the best NCPS paper submitted by an untenured faculty member, a $150 prize for the best NCPS graduate student paper, and a $100 prize for the best NCPS undergraduate paper. Awarding of prizes is contingent on an adequate numbers of submissions.

Website

Information about the North Carolina Philosophical Society and periodic updates about the conference can be found at our new website at http://www.northcarolinaphilosophicalsociety.org/. Information about the South Carolina

2009-07-21T09:23:00.001-07:00

Call for Papers

Alabama Philosophical Society

47th Annual Meeting

2-3 October 2009

Keynote Speaker

David Christensen

Brown University

Hilton Beachfront Garden Inn

23092 Perdido Beach Boulevard

Orange Beach, Alabama

Papers in any area of philosophy are welcome. Submissions should not exceed 3,000 words, should include a 100 word abstract, and should be prepared for blind review.

All submissions must be e-mailed by 17 August or postmarked by 14 August.

E-mail submissions preferred: DOC, RTF, or PDF format to alabamaphilsoc@gmail.com.

Alternatively, mail your paper and abstract to: Dr. Nick Jones, Philosophy Dept., 332B MH, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville AL, 35899.

Please watch http://www.geocities.com/ALPHILSOC for updates.

For inquiries, contact Nick Jones at nick.jones@uah.edu or 256.824.2338.

Hilton Beachfront Inn (877.782.9444 - Group Code APS) will hold rooms until 18 September.

Undergraduate Essay Competition

Alabama Philosophical Society

47th Annual Meeting

2-3 October 2009

Keynote Speaker

David Christensen

Hilton Beachfront Garden Inn

23092 Perdido Beach Boulevard

Orange Beach, Alabama

Undergraduate students are invited to submit a paper for the 2009 APS Undergraduate Essay Competition. The winning paper will be awarded a prize of $60. The winner should be prepared to present his or her paper at the APS 2009 conference.

Papers in any area of philosophy are welcome. Submissions should not exceed 3,000 words, include a 100 word abstract, be marked clearly "Undergraduate Essay Competition," and include the author's name and contact information on a separate title page.

All submissions must be e-mailed by 17 August or postmarked by 14 August.

E-mail submissions preferred: DOC, RTF, or PDF format to alabamaphilsoc@gmail.com.

Alternatively, mail your paper and abstract to: Dr. Nick Jones, Philosophy Dept., 332B MH, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville AL, 35899.

Please watch http://www.geocities.com/ALPHILSOC for updates.

For inquiries, contact Nick Jones at nick.jones@uah.edu or 256.824.2338.

Hilton Beachfront Inn (877.782.9444 - Group Code APS) will hold rooms until 18 September.

2009-07-04T09:26:00.001-07:00

These are the slides from a talk Nathan Nobis recently did for the Atlanta Science Tavern:

2009-04-22T08:44:00.001-07:00

On Monday, April 27, 2009 at 5:00pm, the Philosophy and Religion Society will feature Lucius T. Outlaw (Professor of Philosophy and of African-American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University) in the second meeting of the Philosophy and Religion Lecture Series. Dr Outlaw will speak on the subject: “The Academy and Philosophy: Good for Black Folks?”

Dr. Outlaw’s research interests include African and African American philosophy, political theory and social thought. He has published works such as On Race and Philosophy, In Search of Critical Social Theory in the Interest of Black Folks, and “Philosophy, Hermeneutics, Social- Political Theory: Critical Thought in the Interest of African-Americans” (of the Philosophy Born of Struggle anthology)

The lecture will be followed by a reception in the Henderson Lounge of Merrill Hall. All are invited. We encourage you and your students to come (if interested).

Taurean J. Webb

President, Philosophy and Religion Society
Morehouse College

2009-04-13T09:52:00.001-07:00

The Philosophy Department at Georgia State University is pleased to welcome Julia Annas, Regents Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona, as the next and final speaker in our 2008-2009 Colloquium Series. Prof. Annas will give a paper entitled "The Unity of Virtue," at noon on April 20, 2009, in the Conference Room at the Philosophy Department, 34 Peachtree St., 11th floor.

Who: Julia Annas (Arizona)
What: Colloquium Series Paper ("The Unity of Virtue")
When: Monday, April 20, noon
Where: Georgia State University, Philosophy Department, 34 Peachtree St., 11th Floor

2009-03-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Penelope Mackie
part of the Heather and Scott Kleiner Lecture Series
University of Nottingham
Friday, April 3, 2009
3:30 PM, Room 205S
Peabody Hall
Associate Professor and Reader in Philosophy
Abstract:
What is involved in the conception of the future as ‘open’ in contrast to the past as ‘closed’ or ‘fixed’? And is such a
conception in conflict with determinism? In ‘Counterfactual Dependence and Time’s Arrow’, David Lewis argued that
the asymmetry between fixed past and open future can be captured in terms of an asymmetry of counterfactual
dependence that is compatible with determinism. A natural response to Lewis’s proposal is to object that no such
asymmetry as the one to which Lewis appeals can be adequate to capture the intuitive notion of the open future that we
care about, perhaps in general, or perhaps in connection with human freedom in particular. In my paper, I defend a
‘weak branching’ conception of the open future that is compatible with determinism, and which is similar to, although in
certain respects different from, Lewis’s conception, and argue that this ‘weak branching’ conception is employed in
much of our thinking about future possibilities. If it is nevertheless insufficiently robust fully to capture the notion of the
open future that we care about, this is for reasons that are largely independent of concerns about human freedom, and
which, I suggest, reflect an instability in our thinking about future possibilities.
“Compatibilism and the Open Future”

2009-03-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

Georgia Philosophical Society
Spring Meeting
Saturday, March 28th
Clayton State University*
9:00 Coffee & Conversation
9:30 Stephen Matthew Duncan: “Can I Be Many?”
Georgia State University
10:30 Nathan Nobis: “Why Francis Beckwith’s Case
Against Abortion Fails” Morehouse College
11:30 Business Meeting
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Raleigh Miller: “Two Dimensions of Moral
Responsibility” Georgia State University
3:00 Roger Wertheimer: “Origin of Metalinguistic
Misconception” Agnes Scott College
Advance copies available by e-mail from Raymond Woller at
rwoller@uga.edu
DIRECTIONS TO CAMPUS
http://www.clayton.edu/maps.htm
We’re meeting in 260 University Center
Once you enter campus on Clayton State Blvd, follow it down and around the curve
(Arts & Sciences bldg is on right at bottom) and park in a lot on the left. En route to
the parking, you can see the University Center off to the right just beyond dorms on the
left. It’s the tall new-looking building in the middle of the campus For help on campus
call our host Ron Jackson at 404-790-4830.

2009-03-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

CALL FOR PAPERS

THE 6TH ANNUAL NORTH GEORGIA STUDENT
PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE AT KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
APRIL 3RD THROUGH APRIL 4TH, 2009

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
DR. THOMAS KASULIS
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTION SUBMISSIONS:
MARCH 10th, 2009

Submission is open to all students enrolled for undergraduate and
graduate study at an accredited institution of higher education during
the 2008-2009 academic year. For complete submission guidelines, visit
our website. Abstracts of 150 words or less will be accepted in lieu
of complete papers and must be received via email as an attachment no
later than the above date. All submissions must have a .doc or .rtf
file extension in order to be accepted. Notifications will be made via
email no later than March 10th 2009. Earlier notifications will be
made for papers submitted before the deadline. In addition to your
abstract, we must have a completed conference cover sheet, which is
available on our website. If you have any questions, please email us:
http://philosophystudentassociation.blogspot.com/
Please submit papers to NorthGaConf@yahoo.com
Selected preceedings to be published by North Georgia Philosophy
Studies, a division of the Georgia Philosophy Series in association
with the Philosophy Student Association at Kennesaw State University.

CALL FOR PAPERS

2009-02-17T08:04:00.001-08:00

CALL FOR PAPERS
for the upcoming meeting of the
GEORGIA
PHILOSOPHICAL
SOCIETY
at
Clayton State University
Morrow, GA
(Just South of Atlanta)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Twenty minute reading time limit
Blind review
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
March 6
Graduate student submissions welcome
Send Papers to
Raymond Woller: rwoller@uga.edu

2009-02-14T06:44:00.002-08:00

April 09 101st Meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology Savannah GA

2009-02-14T06:44:00.001-08:00

The First Annual Auburn Philosophy Conference

March 5-7, 2009

Tentative Program

Thursday March 5

4:00	Derek Matravers, The Open University
5:00	Katalin Makkai, Barnard College
	Reception

Friday March 6

9:00	Avner Baz, Tufts University
10:00	David Davies, McGill University
11:00	Anna Christina Ribeiro, Texas Tech University
2:00	Robert Hopkins, Sheffield University
3:00	Eileen John, Warwick University
4:00	Franklin Bruno, Bard College

Saturday March 7

9:00	Anne Eaton, The University of Illinois at Chicago
10:00	Dom Lopes, The University of British Columbia
11:00	Eli Friedlander, Tel-Aviv University
2:00	Rachel Zuckert, Northwestern University
3:00	Aaron Meskin, Leeds University
4:00	Richard Moran, Harvard University
	Dinner

An Item of Potential Interest for Undergrads

2009-01-12T06:28:00.001-08:00

2009 Colorado Summer Seminar in Philosophy

July 13th through 31st, 2009: Boulder, Colorado.

Sponsored by the Department of Philosophy
at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The Seminar is intended for outstanding undergraduates who are considering graduate school in philosophy. The aim is to introduce students to the atmosphere of a graduate-level seminar, giving participants a chance to explore and sharpen their philosophical abilities before they commit to a graduate program.

In addition to offering the experience of a graduate seminar, we hope participants will benefit from meeting other students with similar interests and from interacting with prominent faculty in the field. Anyone interested is encouraged to apply, but the program is particularly intended for two kinds of students: first, for those who do not have access to graduate-level classes at their own colleges; second, for those whose undergraduate institutions are not well-known as "feeder schools" into graduate programs. The Seminar is designed to prepare participants for graduate school, and to help participants gain admission into the best programs.

The class size will be between 15 and 20. The course is highly intensive, meeting five times a week for three weeks, for three hours a day, with a further student-led discussion session in the evenings. The readings will be dense and difficult, and students will be expected to participate extensively. Several papers will be required. Preference will be given to students with significant background in philosophy who have not yet applied to graduate school.

Topic: Identity

The topic of the Seminar changes every summer. In 2009, the Seminar's topic will focus on metaphysical and ethical questions concerning identity. Likely topics include:

memory and identity
individuation and natural kinds
the nature of persistence
identity and change
defining death
responsibility for the past
responsibility for the future

For more information, go to http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/outreach_summer_seminar.shtml

An Atlanta Area Undergrad Philosophy Conference

2009-01-12T06:26:00.001-08:00

The Second Annual Southeast Philosophy Congress invites submissions from undergraduate and graduate students in any area of philosophy. The Congress, hosted by Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, runs February 13-14, 2009, with keynote speaker Jack Zupko from Emory University. Presented papers will be published in online and print proceedings.

Talks run 20 minutes, followed by a 10 minute question/answer period. Please email papers, accompanied by a brief abstract, to Dr. Todd Janke: ToddJanke@Clayton.edu. Submission deadline is January 31, 2009. To allow time to plan travel, speakers will be notified immediately upon acceptance and selection will close when all slots are filled. The registration fee of $45.00 includes lunch both days and a print copy of the proceedings.

At GSU

2008-11-07T08:27:00.001-08:00

War, Suitable Pacifism, and Hope
John Stuhr (Emory Univeristy)

Date: Friday, November 14, 2008
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

2008-11-07T08:23:00.001-08:00

Georgia Philosophical Society
Spring Meeting
Saturday, November 15
th
Agnes Scott College, 213 Buttrick Hall
9:00 Coffee, Rolls, & Conversation
9:30 “Common Ground and the Sorites,” Eric Snyder,
University of Georgia
10:30 "Re-Interpreting Self-Ownership: An Argument
for a Political Obligation to Help", Matt
Schneider, University of Georgia
11:30 Business Meeting
12:00 Lunch
[1:00 Closed Meeting of Board of Regents Academic
Advisory Committee on Philosophy [Buttrick Hall 211]
2:00 “Kierkegaard on Indirect Communication,”
Mark Tietjen, University of West Georgia
3:00 “Hegel on the Laws of Motion,” Sebastian Rand,
Georgia State University
Advance copies available by e-mail from Harald
Thorsrud at hthorsrud@agnesscott.edu
Directions to ASC are at
www.agnesscott.edu/admission/undergraduate/visit/maps_directions.aspx
Visitor parking is on the Main Loop in front of the campus on East
College Avenue and in the West Parking facility (a parking garage) on South
McDonough Street.

GEORGIA PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

2008-09-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

CALL FOR PAPERS
for the upcoming meeting of the
GEORGIA PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
at
Agnes Scott College
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, November 15
Twenty minute reading time limit
Blind review
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
October 31
Graduate student submissions welcome
Send Papers to
Raymond Woller: rwoller@uga.edu

2008-09-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

Mississippi Philosophical

Association
Medical Ethics Conference

Where: The University of Mississippi Medical Center
, in Jackson, MS
When: November 20th – 22nd, 2008
Submission Deadline: September 30th, 2008

Keynote Speakers:

Dr. Sharon Douglas (M.D.), Assoc. Professor of Medicine and Asst. Dean for VA Education
, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Associate Chief of Staff for Education and Ethics
, Certified in Healthcare Ethics, teaching ethics to medical students
, specialist in Pulmonary Medicine, and Trainer on End‐
of‐Life Care.

Dr. Carl Elliott (M.D., Ph.D.), Professor, Center for Bioethics and Department of Pediatrics
, University of Minnesota Medical School, and Department of Philosophy
, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota.

Dr. Gregory E. Pence (Ph.D.), Professor, Department of Philosophy and School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
, Director of the UAB Medical School’s Medical Ethics Course
, and Director of the UAB BS/MD Program.

This academic year, the Mississippi Philosophical Association will meet in November
, rather than in the spring. The conference theme is Medical Ethics
, but papers from any area of philosophy will be considered. We will offer awards of $250 each for the two strongest papers by students (undergraduate or graduate)
, as well as $100 travel grants for each presenter coming from out of town (except for student award winners).

Papers submitted for the conference should be prepared for blind review
, with no identifying markings in the text of the paper. We are only accepting emailed submissions. In the subject line of your emails about the conference
, please type MPA. In the text of your email
, please include the name of your paper, an approximate word count
, and if interested, your eligibility and request to be considered for the graduate student awards (Reminder: all traveling presenters will be offered the travel grants
, except the student award winners). Papers should be no longer than 3
,000 words.

Email your submissions to the Program Chair, or call with questions:

Dr. Eric Thomas Weber, Public Policy Leadership, U. of Mississippi
, 662.915.1336, etweber@olemiss.edu

The conference organizers are grateful for the generous support of the Mississippi Humanities Council
, the Departments of Philosophy at the Millsaps College
, The University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University
, and the University of Mississippi, as well as the University of Mississippi’s School of Medicine
, Departments of Public Policy Leadership and Political Science
, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, College of Liberal Arts
, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and Office of the Provost.

Conference Web site: http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/mpa/conferences.htm

Dr. Steven C. Skultety
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Bryant Hall, Rm. 020
The University of Mississippi
University, MS 38677-1848
(662)915-1239 (office)
(662)915-7020 (secretary)
website: www.olemiss.edu/depts/philosophy/skultety.html

TN Phil Assoc

2008-09-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

Colleagues,

Now that we are all settled into the flow of the new semester, we can perhaps take a moment to think about any new faculty members or graduate students who would benefit from membership in the Tennessee Philosophical Association. It is especially important that persons in schools having only one or two philosophy faculty be aware of our Association. Please mention the Association to anyone - whether at your institution or not - whom you think might be interested in joining and let them know that joining is easy. (Just surf to TPAWeb.org, click on "Join TPA" and follow the instructions.)

I look forward to seeing you in Nashville on November 14-15.

Charles E. Cardwell
Secretary, TPA
cecardwell@pstcc.edu

GSU Neurophilosophy

2008-09-09T10:41:00.001-07:00

I am pleased to announce the Fall season of the Neurophilosophy Brown
Bag Lunch Series. We have a terrific line-up (see below). You can find
further information, and a pdf flier for the series, here:
http://groups.google.com/group/gsu-neuroscience-institute/web/neurophilosophy.
Mark your calendars and join us!
Best,
Andrea Scarantino

Neurophilosophy Brown-Bag Lunch Series Fall 2008

All talks will take place in the Philosophy Department at Georgia State
University, 34 Peachtree St., 11th floor. Feel free to bring your lunch.

Friday, September 19, 12:45-2:30 pm

Lawrence W. Barsalou (Department of Psychology, Emory University,
http://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/barsalou/index.html)

Grounding Knowledge in the Brain's Modal Systems

Abstract: The human conceptual system contains categorical knowledge
that supports online processing (perception, categorization, inference,
action) and offline processing (memory, language, thought). Semantic
memory, the dominant theory, typically portrays the conceptual system as
modular and amodal. According to this view, amodal symbols represent
category knowledge in a modular system, separate from the brain*s
modal systems for perception, action, and introspection (e.g., affect,
mental states). Alternatively, the conceptual system can be viewed as
non-modular and modal, sharing representational mechanisms with the
brain*s modal systems. On a given occasion, multimodal information
about a category's members is reenacted (simulated) across relevant
modalities to represent it conceptually. Behavioral and neural evidence
is presented showing that modal simulations contribute to the
representation of object categories, abstract categories, and to the
symbolic operations of predication and conceptual combination. Although
simulation plays important roles in the conceptual system, linguistic
processes are important as well. Additional behavioral and neural
evidence is presented showing that simulation and language contribute to
conceptual processing simultaneously. Furthermore, either system can
dominate under different task conditions, such that different profiles
of conceptual processing emerge.

Friday, October 31, 12:00-1:30 pm

Lindley Darden (Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland,
College Park, http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/LDarden/)

Reasoning in Scientific Discovery: Strategies for Discovering
Mechanisms

Abstract: Biologists often work to discover mechanisms. A new analysis
of what mechanisms are aids in finding reasoning strategies for their
discovery. Abstract schemas for mechanisms often play the roles of
theories in biology--providing explanations, predictions, and guiding
experimentation. Reasoning in discovery is analyzed via reasoning
strategies for constructing, evaluating, and revising mechanism
schemas. These strategies are based on work in history and philosophy
of science, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science.

Friday, November 21, 12:00-1:30 pm

Liane Young (Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, MIT,
http://www.mit.edu/~lyoung/Site/Home.html)

How the brain makes up the moral mind: The neuroscience of mental
state reasoning in moral judgment

Abstract: What can neuroscience tell us about morality? While
neuroscience can't determine whether our moral judgments are right or wrong, neuroscience
can show us the processes that support moral judgments - and in so
doing reveal whether we are right or wrong when we introspect on how
we make those judgments. In this talk, we'll look at (1) patterns of
brain activation in healthy adults making moral judgments, (2) moral
judgments of healthy adults with "virtual lesions" to specific brain
regions due to transcranial magnetic stimulation, and (3) moral
judgments of patient populations with specific cognitive deficits.
We'll focus on the challenge of forgiveness, and discuss implications
for moral philosophy.

Andrea Scarantino
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
Neuroscience Institute
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 4089
Atlanta, GA 30302-4089
ascarantino@gsu.edu
http://www2.gsu.edu/~phlams/

Georgia State Philosophy Colloquium Series

2008-09-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Return of Mind-Brain Identity Theory
William Bechtel (University of California, San Diego)

Date: Friday, September 5, 2008
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

TBA
Peter van Inwagen (University of Notre Dame)

Date: Friday, October 17, 2008
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

TBA
John Stuhr (Emory Univeristy)

Date: Friday, November 14, 2008
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

TBA
Sally Sedgwick (University of Illinois - Chicago)

Date: Friday, March 13, 2009
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

TBA
Catherine Malabou (Université de Paris X - Nanterre)

Date: Friday, April 17, 2009
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

The Unity of Virtue
Julia Annas (Univeristy of Arizona)

Date: Monday, April 20, 2009
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Philosophy Department Conference Room directions

TBA
Martin Carrier (Universität Bielefeld)

Date: Fall 2009
Time: TBA
Location:

2008-08-25T07:42:00.001-07:00

**REVISED – 08/24/08**

POLITICAL THEORY SEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT

TENURE-TRACK POSITION IN POLITICAL THEORY/PHILOSOPHY

Assistant professor, 9-month, tenure-track

-to start January 2009

Salary: Commensurate with experience

The department invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor, hopefully to commence in January 2009. The ideal candidate will have broad training in Western political thought with the ability to teach the gamut of political theory, from Plato to contemporary authors such as John Rawls. The department is particularly interested in those applicants who also have experience teaching black political thought, as well as non-Western thinkers such as Gandhi. The political theory/philosophy track in the political science major includes an Introduction to political theory course, Ancient Political Theory, Modern Political Theory, and, Contemporary Theories of Justice. The successful candidate must show evidence of professional and scholarly activity, potential for future growth, as well as a strong commitment to service in keeping with Morehouse College standards. A PhD in political science is required. For additional information about the department, please visit its Web site: www.morehouse.edu/academics/polsci/index.html

Screening of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants should submit a cover letter, CV, transcripts, three letters of reference, a writing sample, and evidence of teaching (course syllabi, teaching evaluations, etc.) to: Gregory Hall, Chair, Department of Political Science, Morehouse College, 830 Westview Drive, SW, Wheeler Hall 329, Atlanta, GA 30314, Phone: 404-215-2622, Fax: 404-215-3485. Application materials may also be submitted electronically to: ghall@morehouse.edu.

Morehouse College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants or employees based on age, race, color, religion, or national origin.

2008-07-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

SOUTH CAROLINA SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY
2009 Conference

Winthrop University
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Dates TBA

CALL FOR PAPERS

This is a call for papers for the 2009 South Carolina Society for Philosophy (SCSP) meeting, to be hosted by the Withrop University Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.

Papers on any philosophical topic (ethics, politics, religion, science, logic, metaphysics, epistemology, language, etc.) are welcome. Papers should be designed for a presentation time of twenty to thirty minutes (ten or fifteen pages.) There may be special sessions with invited speakers, but the bulk of the sessions will be based on submitted papers. Papers will be reviewed by the program chair and two other referees.

Submissions from students are very strongly encouraged. If warranted, the program will include a session devoted exclusively to papers submitted by undergraduates.

Submission Guidelines

Papers should be 10-15 double-spaced pages in length, prepared with one-inch margins, and typed in a standard 12-pt font. Authors must be prepared to present their papers in time-slots of approximately 20–30 minutes (with a further 15 minutes allotted for questions after the paper presentation). A cover page should be attached to submissions, with the following information: title, an abstract of 150–300 words, author's name, affiliation, complete mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. Graduates and undergraduates who want their papers to be considered for the graduate paper award or undergraduate paper award must state this explicitly on their cover page.

Two hard copies of the paper and cover page, suitable for blind review, should be sent to the Program Chair, to arrive no later than January 4:

Dr. Dennis Earl
2009 SCSP Program Chair
Department of Philosophy & Religion
P.O. Box 261954
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC 29528-6054

(843)349-2787
dearl@coastal.edu
http://www.coastal.edu/humanities/faculty/details.html?x=80

Papers will be reviewed by the program chair and two other referees. Authors will be notified of acceptances in early February. For notification purposes, be sure to provide your e-mail address in addition to your return surface-mail address.

Graduate & Undergraduate Essay Prizes

Prizes will be awarded for the best papers authored by a graduate student and an undergraduate student (restricted to South Carolina students). These winning papers will be included on the program for the annual meeting. Other student papers, in addition to the prize-winners, may also be included on the program. Submissions from students are very strongly encouraged. Those who teach promising students are asked please to encourage submissions from these students. Papers submitted for consideration for an award will be judged by two referees who are not from the student's institution.

Panels and Workshops

In addition to submitted papers, we invite proposals for special sessions, with invited speakers, on topics that may be of interest to SCSP members and/or on topics that are especially current. We also maintain a tradition of having a round-table discussion on a topic of professional interest to members. (In the past we have had round-table discussions devoted to various teaching-related matters, and to the issue of philosophy in the public forum). Each year we solicit suggestions for special sessions from SCSP members.

Proposals for special sessions, panels, or workshops should be sent to the Program Chair as early as possible. Early submission of these proposals is especially important for joint conferences with NCPS since we must coordinate scheduling with any proposals that might come from NCPS. Proposals must include names of each participant, the theme of the panel, and a 3-5 page abstract of each participant's presentation. These sessions may involve speakers from South Carolina, or colleagues from outside of South Carolina who would be willing to attend the meetings at their own expense. Unfortunately, the SCSP does not have funds to cover speaker expenses.

Conference Location and Registration

The 2009 conference will be hosted by the Winthrop University Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Registration details will be posted and updated here as that information becomes available. The registration fee is usually around $15 (depending on conference costs), to be paid on-site when you register (cash or checks payable to the South Carolina Society for Philosophy). The banquet charge is usually around $25 to $35 per person.

Lodging and Travel

Lodging and travel details will be updated as that information becomes available.

Important Dates

Paper submission deadline: January 4, 2009
Lodging reservations: TBA
Notification of acceptance: early February 2009
Registration and banquet reservations: On site
Conference: TBA

...


SCSP \| USC Philosophy Department \| College of Arts and Sciences \| University of South Carolina

Part Time Teaching

2008-07-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

Gordon College has an opening for part-time instruction of Philosophy
for the following fall class schedule:

PHIL 2010 Introduction to Philosophy TR
9:30-10:45

PHIL 2010 Introduction to Philosophy TR
11:00-12:15

PHIL 2020 Introduction to Ethics TR
2:00-3:15

Gordon pays $2,100 per three credit hour class. In addition, part-time
faculty members who travel 25 miles or more to the campus receive $150
each term for each day traveled within a week. For TR classes, the
faculty member would receive $300 per semester to help offset the cost
of travel.

The person who teaches these classes will choose the textbooks.

The following link will provide you with additional information about
the college and with application information,
http://www.gdn.edu/departments/HR/facultydetail.asp?pkid=134, but if you
are interested, please contact me as soon as possible. Classes begin
August 18.

Richard Baskin, Ph.D.

Chair of Humanities

Director of Learning Support

Associate Professor of English

Gordon College

770-358-5050

fax 770-358-5140

2008-06-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

Raising metro Atlanta’s profile as a college town

By Maria Saporta | Thursday, June 19, 2008, 08:36 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

University leaders in our region already recognize metro Atlanta’s potential as a college town.

Several believe we already have reached a critical mass when it comes to number of institutions, students, faculty, level of research and, with growing importance, an increasing level of cooperation between the region’s colleges and universities.

Still, this is a time of change as several longtime university presidents already have, or are soon to be, moving on.

What should this region do to promote itself as a college town? And what can this region do to take full advantage of the intellectual power that exists in our metro area?

Please let me hear from you.

For the full column….

Few people think of Atlanta as a college town, but Emory University President Jim Wagner hopes that’s beginning to change.

On July 1, Wagner will become chairman of the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE), which includes 19 public and private universities and colleges in metro Atlanta. He succeeds Lisa Rossbacher, president of the Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta.

Others taking leadership positions at ARCHE are Beheruz Sethna, president of the University of West Georgia, as vice chair; and Dan Papp, president of Kennesaw State and College University, as treasurer.

“We are probably underrecognized as a college town,” Wagner said. “One of the great things ARCHE has done is explain the significance of higher education in different cities.”

ARCHE recently released a study that showed how the Atlanta region ranks among the 50 largest cities in the United States.

Among the highlights:

it’s seventh in the number of college students involved (176,171 full-time equivalent students);

it’s third in the number of African-American students (47,548 full-time equivalent students);

it’s seventh in degrees earned at the bachelor’s level or higher (35,802); and

it’s fifth in university research with $1.01 billion in higher education research spending.

But Wagner admitted he did not think of Atlanta as a college town when he took the job as Emory’s president nearly five years ago.

“I thought of it as having that potential,” Wagner said. “I confess sadly that I wasn’t aware (of the concentration of higher educational institutions in the region).”

Wagner, who believes that serving as chairman of ARCHE “is an important role at this moment in history,” hopes he will be able to help the public appreciate the value of colleges and universities in metro Atlanta.

Change in progress at important time

This is a critical juncture for the region’s universities.

Founded in 1938, ARCHE has gained a higher profile as the region’s major universities have grown in stature. But metro Atlanta is at a critical time as some of its top academic leaders have, or are about to, move on.

Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough left earlier this month to head the Smithsonian Institution. Georgia Tech Provost Gary Schuster has been named interim president.

Clark Atlanta University President Walter Broadnax has retired, and Clark Atlanta’s President-elect Carlton Brown (a former president of Savannah State University) attended his first meeting of the Georgia Research Alliance last week.

Georgia State University President Carl Patton, who has been in his role for 16 years, was supposed to retire this summer. But his departure date could be extended if the current search for a successor isn’t successful.

Patton told me earlier this week that to the extent he is wanted, he will stay on board until a new president is selected. “I think it should be in the near term, not the long term,” he said. “We are not talking about another year.”

In recent years, several other university presidents also have moved on: Morehouse College’s Walter Massey (a post now filled by Robert Franklin); Kennesaw’s Betty Siegel (now Papp); Mercer University’s Kirby Godsey (now Bill Underwood); Morehouse School of Medicine’s James Gavin (now John E. Maupin); and Agnes Scott’s Mary Brown Bullock (now Elizabeth Kiss).

But ARCHE President Mike Gerber said the region has always thrived with new academic leadership.

“Atlanta has a strong history of attracting extraordinarily qualified people to be presidents of its universities,” Gerber said. “We have lost some really great presidents due to retirement and other opportunities. But I think we have been successful in recruiting some really strong replacements.”

Permalink | Comments (88) | Post your comment |

2008-06-11T04:40:00.000-07:00

Human Flourishing & Restoration in the Age of Global Warming
Clemson University, September 5-7, 2008

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: August 10, 2008
Register at website: http://people.clemson.edu/~athomp6/conference/Registration.html

PLENARY SPEAKERS:
Philip Cafaro (Colorado State University)
Stephen Gardiner (University of Washington)
Roger S. Gottlieb (Worcester Polytechnic University)
Eric Higgs (University of Victoria)
Andrew Light (University of Washington)
Bryan Norton (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Martha Nussbaum (University of Chicago)
Ron Sandler (Northeastern University)

COMPLETE PROGRAM:
http://people.clemson.edu/~athomp6/conference/program.html

2008-06-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS

Emory University seeks two senior scholars to fill the Raymond Schinazi Chair in Bioethics and Christian Thought and the Raymond Schinazi Chair in Bioethics and Jewish Thought. Scholars may come from any relevant academic discipline, and should have a strong record of scholarship and teaching in the impact of Christian or Jewish thought on one or more areas of bioethics, including health, medicine, and research. In addition to extending scholarship and teaching, the positions will join current health sciences and ethics faculty in providing creative leadership in various interdisciplinary and interreligious bioethics initiatives bridging the Health Sciences and Emory College. The successful applicants will hold a joint appointment in the School of Medicine, the appropriate Department at Emory College, and the University-wide Center for Ethics.

An advanced degree is required, and a tenured appointment at the Associate or Full Professor level is anticipated.

Interested candidates should send a letter of interest, a statement of teaching philosophy, a curriculum vita, and three letters of reference to: Dr. Barbara Stoll, Chair, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Emory University, 2015 Uppergate Dr., Atlanta, GA 30322; barbara_stoll@oz.ped.emory.edu, 404-727-2456

2008-04-30T08:13:00.001-07:00

Tennessee Philosophical Association
40th Annual Meeting: Nov. 14-15, 2008
Vanderbilt University

Call for Papers

Paper Submissions: Papers are welcome on topics in any area of philosophy. Deadline for receipt of submissions is Friday, October 14, 20087. Electronic submissions in either Word or plain text (ending in .doc or .txt, respectively) format are strongly preferred. Use Times New Roman 12 point font. Maximum length is 20 minutes reading time (approximately 12 double-spaced pages). Head your paper with a short abstract of no more than 100 words. If you cannot submit electronically, mail two hardcopies and include a floppy disk version of your paper if at all possible. If you know of someone who might be willing to comment on your paper, please provide his or her name.

Allen Coates

COATESA@mail.etsu.edu
Department of Philosophy and Humanities
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN 37614-0656

2008-04-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

2008-04-21T06:42:00.001-07:00

CALL FOR PAPERS

AMERICAN PHILOSOPHIES FORUM
2009 Conference

Pragmatism about Democracy and the Media
APRIL 2-4, 2009; EMORY UNIVERSITY, ATLANTA, GA, USA

The American Philosophies Forum invites the submission of essays and panel
proposals for its 2009 Conference on “Pragmatism about Democracy and the
Media.” Submissions are invited on any aspect of this topic. All
submissions selected for presentation at the Conference will reflect the
broad mission of the American Philosophies Forum: to contribute to the
critical development, imaginative growth, and shared understanding of
American philosophical traditions; and, to bring the resources of these
multiple philosophies to bear on the reconstruction of contemporary
culture and the amelioration of its problems.” Submissions which are
primarily textual explications or exclusively historical in focus will not
be accepted.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND INSTRUCTIONS

Deadline:
The deadline for receipt of all submissions is 1 October 2008. This is a
firm deadline, and submissions received after midnight Eastern Daylight
Savings Time on this date will not be considered.

Electronic Submission:
All submissions must be received in electronic form as a .DOC or .RTF or
.HTML attachment (and not in any other format) to an e-mail message sent
to: americanphilosophiesforum@gmail.com

Eligibility:
Persons who submit an essay or a panel proposal should be Associates of
APF. To become an Associate—there no cost--, simply e-mail name, address,
institutional affiliation (if any), and preferred e-address to:
americanphilosophiesforum@gmail.com
(Note that the American Philosophies Forum is not an academic “society.” There are no membership dues, event registration fees, business meetings,
or similar bureaucratic structures.)

Single Submission:
Only one submission per person is allowed. This means, for example, that
no person may submit two or more essays, submit both an essay and be part
of a panel proposal, or be included in more than one panel proposal. All
multiple submissions by, or involving, a single person will not be
accepted.

Anonymity and Blind Review:
Author or Panel information should be provided in the e-mail message to
which the submission is attached. The attached submission itself must be
ready for blind review: References, proper names, specific content,
endnotes, or anything else that makes possible author or panel member
identification are not allowed and will disqualify a submission. All
submissions will be blind-reviewed by a program committee appointed by the
Advisory Board of the American Philosophies Forum.

General Formatting:
All submissions should be double-spaced, in 12-point size, and in a
standard font such as Times New Roman (preferred) or Courier.

Essay Submissions:
Essays must be between 4,000-6,000 words (including all notes and
references), and must include a 100-200 word abstract. Shorter or longer
submissions will be disqualified. Note that essays accepted as conference
papers will be made available electronically to all conference
participants well in advance of the conference itself. At the conference,
authors will be provided 10-12 minutes (only) to summarize, emphasize, or
develop further the contents of the full essay. This will allow for a
significant amount of time for questions, discussion, and genuine exchange
in every case.

Panel Proposals:
Panel proposals must include a title page for the proposed panel, an
overall abstract of 500-750 words for the proposed panel as a whole, and
either complete essays (between 4,000-6,000 words, including all notes and
references) or individual abstracts (between 750-1,000 words, excluding
any notes and references) for each essay in the panel. Panel proposals,
like all other submissions, must be anonymous and ready for blind review. The overall abstract should include a description of the issues that the
panel will address, an explanation of the relation of these issues to the
2009 Conference topic, and an account of how each essay or presentation
will have a distinctive focus or approach as well as how each essay or
presentation will fit with or draw on the other essays or presentations
that are parts of this same proposed panel. Panel proposals, like essay
submissions, should be delivered as a single e-mail attachment. Note that
accepted panel proposals will be made available electronically to all
conference participants well in advance of the conference itself. At the
conference, panelists will be provided 45 minutes (only)—for all panelists
together—to summarize, emphasize, or develop further the contents of the
panel proposal. This will allow for a significant amount of time for
questions, discussion, and genuine exchange in every case.

Technology Needs:
Please indicate any AV or other technology needs in the e-mail message to
which the submission is attached.

Confirmations:
All persons who send a submission will receive confirmation of receipt of
the submission. The confirmation will be sent as a reply to the e-mail
message to which the submission is attached. Confirmations will be sent
no later than 15 October 2008. Anyone who has submitted an essay or panel
proposal but has not received confirmation by this time should send a
follow-up inquiry by e-mail.

Decision Date:
Final selections will be made by 15 November 2008. Anyone who has
submitted an essay or panel proposal but has not received notice of a
final decision by 16 November 2008 should send a follow-up inquiry by
e-mail.

For additional information about The American Philosophies Forum, see:
http://www.americanphilosophiesforum.org/

2008-04-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

A talk and booksigning for Gene Baur's book Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food: http://www.genebaur.com/

April 21.......................Book Signing ~ Borders.............................................FLIER
Atlanta, GA...............7:30PM - 9:30PM
.......................................3637 Peachtree Road NE, Suite C, Atlanta, GA 30319

Gene Baur is founder of Farm Sanctuary http://farmsanctuary.org

2008-04-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

The Philosophy Major Gains Popularity

Reposted from the APA webpage: A recent article in the New York Times (April 6, 2008) highlights the increasing number of undergraduate philosophy majors nationwide. Another article, from The Guardian (Nov. 20, 2007), shows evidence that philosophy degrees are in growing demand from employers.

Here they are, in case they become inaccessible at the original pages:

In a New Generation of College Students, Many Opt for the Life Examined

Sylwia Kapuscinski for The New York Times

Zachary Perry, a junior at Rutgers University, reasons out a position at a meeting of the university’s philosophy club.

By WINNIE HU

Published: April 6, 2008, NY Times

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — When a fellow student at Rutgers University urged Didi Onejeme to try Philosophy 101 two years ago, Ms. Onejeme, who was a pre-med sophomore, dismissed it as “frou-frou.”

Enlarge This Image

Sylwia Kapuscinski for The New York Times

Rebecca Clipper, a senior in a philosophy class at Rutgers, which has 100 philosophy majors graduating this year.

“People sitting under trees and talking about stupid stuff — I mean, who cares?” Ms. Onejeme recalled thinking at the time.

But Ms. Onejeme, now a senior applying to law school, ended up changing her major to philosophy, which she thinks has armed her with the skills to be successful. “My mother was like, what are you going to do with that?” said Ms. Onejeme, 22. “She wanted me to be a pharmacy major, but I persuaded her with my argumentative skills.”

Once scoffed at as a luxury major, philosophy is being embraced at Rutgers and other universities by a new generation of college students who are drawing modern-day lessons from the age-old discipline as they try to make sense of their world, from the morality of the war in Iraq to the latest political scandal. The economic downturn has done little, if anything, to dampen this enthusiasm among students, who say that what they learn in class can translate into practical skills and careers. On many campuses, debate over modern issues like war and technology is emphasized over the study of classic ancient texts.

Rutgers, which has long had a top-ranked philosophy department, is one of a number of universities where the number of undergraduate philosophy majors is ballooning; there are 100 in this year’s graduating class, up from 50 in 2002, even as overall enrollment on the main campus has declined by 4 percent.

At the City University of New York, where enrollment is up 18 percent over the past six years, there are 322 philosophy majors, a 51 percent increase since 2002.

“If I were to start again as an undergraduate, I would major in philosophy,” said Matthew Goldstein, the CUNY chancellor, who majored in mathematics and statistics. “I think that subject is really at the core of just about everything we do. If you study humanities or political systems or sciences in general, philosophy is really the mother ship from which all of these disciplines grow.”

Nationwide, there are more colleges offering undergraduate philosophy programs today than a decade ago (817, up from 765), according to the College Board. Some schools with established programs like Texas A&M, Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, now have twice as many philosophy majors as they did in the 1990s.

David E. Schrader, executive director of the American Philosophical Association, a professional organization with 11,000 members, said that in an era in which people change careers frequently, philosophy makes sense. “It’s a major that helps them become quick learners and gives them strong skills in writing, analysis and critical thinking,” he said.

Mr. Schrader, an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware, said that the demand for philosophy courses had outpaced the resources at some colleges, where students are often turned away. Some are enrolling in online courses instead, he said, describing it as “really very strange.”

“The discipline as we see it from the time of Socrates starts with people face to face, putting their positions on the table,” he said.

The Rutgers philosophy department is relatively large, with 27 professors, 60 graduate students, and more than 30 undergraduate offerings each semester. For those who cannot get enough of their Descartes in class, there is the Wednesday night philosophy club, where, last week, 11 students debated the metaphysics behind the movie “The Matrix” for more than an hour.

An undergraduate philosophy journal started this semester has drawn 36 submissions — about half from Rutgers students — on musings like “Is the extinction of a species always a bad thing?”

Barry Loewer, the department chairman, said that Rutgers started building its philosophy program in the late 1980s, when the field was branching into new research areas like cognitive science and becoming more interdisciplinary. He said that many students have double-majored in philosophy and, say, psychology or economics, in recent years, and go on to become doctors, lawyers, writers, investment bankers and even commodities traders.

As the approach has changed, philosophy has attracted students with little interest in contemplating the classical texts, or what is known as armchair philosophy. Some, like Ms. Onejeme, the pre-med-student-turned-philosopher, who is double majoring in political science, see it as a pre-law track because it emphasizes the verbal and logic skills prized by law schools — something the Rutgers department encourages by pointing out that their majors score high on the LSAT.

Other students said that studying philosophy, with its emphasis on the big questions and alternative points of view, provided good training for looking at larger societal questions, like globalization and technology.

“All of these things make the world a smaller place and force us to look beyond the bubble we grow up in,” said Christine Bullman, 20, a junior, who said art majors and others routinely took philosophy classes. “I think philosophy is a good base to look at a lot of issues.”

Frances Egan, a Rutgers philosophy professor who advises undergraduates, said that as it has become harder for students to predict what specialties might be in demand in an uncertain economy, some may be more apt to choose their major based simply on what they find interesting. “Philosophy is a lot of fun,” said Professor Egan, who graduated with a philosophy degree in the tough economic times of the 1970s. “A lot of students are in it because they find it intellectually rewarding.”

Max Bialek, 22, was majoring in math until his senior year, when he discovered philosophy. He decided to stay an extra year to complete the major (his parents needed reassurance, he said, but were supportive).

“I thought: Why weren’t all my other classes like that one?” he said, explaining that philosophy had taught him a way of studying that could be applied to any subject and enriched his life in unexpected ways. “You can talk about almost anything as long as you do it well.”

Jenna Schaal-O’Connor, a 20-year-old sophomore who is majoring in cognitive science and linguistics, said philosophy had other perks. She said she found many male philosophy majors interesting and sensitive.

“That whole deep existential torment,” she said. “It’s good for getting girlfriends.”

I think, therefore I earn

Philosophy graduates are suddenly all the rage with employers. What can they possibly have to offer?

Jessica Shepherd
Tuesday November 20, 2007
The Guardian

Philosophy student Joe Cunningham: considering a future in medical ethics. Photograph: Graham Turner

"A degree in philosophy? What are you going to do with that then?"

Philosophy students will tell you they've been asked this question more times than they care to remember.

"The response people seem to want is a cheery shrug and a jokey 'don't know'," says Joe Cunningham, 20, a final-year philosophy undergraduate at Heythrop College, University of London.

A more accurate comeback, according to the latest statistics, is "just about anything I want".

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show philosophy graduates, once derided as unemployable layabouts, are in growing demand from employers. The number of all graduates in full-time and part-time work six months after graduation has risen by 9% between 2002-03 and 2005-06; for philosophy graduates it has gone up by 13%.

It is in the fields of finance, property development, health, social work and the nebulous category of "business" that those versed in Plato and Kant are most sought after. In "business", property development, renting and research, 76% more philosophy graduates were employed in 2005-06 than in 2002-03. In health and social work, 9% more.

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit (Hecsu), which also collates data of this kind, agrees philosophers are finding it easier to secure work. Its figures show that, in 2001, 9.9% of philosophy graduates were unemployed six months after graduation. In 2006, just 6.7% were. On average, 6% of all graduates were unemployed six months after graduation.

In 2001, 9.3% of philosophy graduates were in business and finance roles six months after graduation. In 2006, 12.2% were. In 2001, 5.3% were in marketing and advertising six months after graduation. In 2006, 7.3% were.

It is particularly significant that the percentage finding full-time work six months after graduation has risen, since the number of philosophy graduates has more than doubled between 2001 and 2006. In 2001, UK universities produced 895 graduates with a first degree in the discipline; in 2006, they produced 2,040.

And it is so popular with its graduates that many go on to postgraduate study rather than join the workforce. Charlie Ball, who runs Hecsu's labour market analysis, says: "More philosophy graduates are being produced, and they are much less likely to be unemployed than five years ago."

Philosophers have always come in handy in the workplace with their grounding in analytical thinking. Why, only now, are they so prized by employers?

Open mind

Lucy Adams, human resources director of Serco, a services business and a consultancy firm, says: "Philosophy lies at the heart of our approach to recruiting and developing our leadership, and our leaders. We need people who have the ability to look for different approaches and take an open mind to issues. These skills are promoted by philosophical approaches."

Fiona Czerniawska, director of the Management Consultancies Association's think tank, says: "A philosophy degree has trained the individual's brain and given them the ability to provide management-consulting firms with the sort of skills that they require and clients demand. These skills can include the ability to be very analytical, provide clear and innovative thinking, and question assumptions."

Deborah Bowman, associate dean for widening participation at St George's, University of London, which offers medicine and health sciences courses, says philosophers are increasingly sought after by the NHS: "Graduates of philosophy who come in to graduate-entry medicine, or to nursing courses, are very useful. Growth areas in the NHS include clinical ethicists, who assist doctors and nurses. Medical ethics committees and ethics training courses for staff are also growing. More and more people are needed to comment on moral issues in healthcare, such as abortion."

Being on an ethics committee of the NHS is something Cunningham is looking into. "It would be a direct application of my skills," he says.

The popular philosopher Simon Blackburn, a professor at Cambridge University, sees the improving career prospects of philosophy graduates as part of a wider change of public perception. "I guess the public image of a philosopher has tended to concentrate on an ancient Greek in a toga, or some unwashed hippy lying around not doing very much," he says. "I do detect a change in the way the public sees philosophers. I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who come to philosophy events nowadays."

Blackburn can take some credit. The user-friendly books on philosophy that he and other philosophers such as AC Grayling, Stephen Law, Julian Baggini, Nigel Warburton and Alain de Botton write have made their way into the mainstream.

Course design

Those in charge of designing university courses have also become sensitive to claims that their subject has no relevance to the modern day.

Blackburn says: "In the years after the second world war, there was a sort of Wittgensteinian air about philosophy, which meant practitioners were proud of the fact that they appeared slightly esoteric and were not doing anything practical. There was very little political philosophy, and moral philosophy was disengaged from people's actual moral problems, and that did lead to the subject being marginalised. That has changed. Political philosophy is a central part of the Cambridge course."

Jonathan Lowe, professor of philosophy at Durham University, agrees that courses' concern with the real world has accelerated in the past five years.

"It's probably because of the new financial arrangements for students that courses have had to prove they are applicable to real world issues," he says. "And the teaching methods have changed. There are more student-led sessions. Students have to argue on their feet and give presentations. That probably shows at interviews."

News that employers and the public hold philosophers in higher regard should presumably be cause for celebration? Not entirely, says Blackburn. "It is also slightly worrying, because people turn to philosophers when they feel less confident and more insecure."

2008-03-20T05:12:00.001-07:00

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE, Atlanta, GA. The Department of Philosophy & Religion at Morehouse College is seeking to fill one tenured or tenure-track position in Philosophy. Area of Specialization: History of Philosophy. Areas of Competence: Open. We are particularly interested in candidates who would be able to teach upper division survey courses in at least two of the following areas: Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, and/or Modern Philosophy, and/or 19th Century Philosophy. Rank: Open. Applicants should have a strong commitment to both teaching and research. Teaching load is three courses per semester. Usual non-teaching duties. Morehouse College, founded in 1867, is an independent, fully-accredited four-year historically black liberal arts college for men. It is located in the city of Atlanta on an 80-acre residential campus 1.5 miles from downtown. Current enrollment is approximately 3,000 students. For additional information, please visit our web site at www.morehouse.edu. The application deadline is April 14, 2008. Applicants should submit a letter of interest summarizing their qualifications, along with a CV including evidence of publications and research interests, official transcripts, and three letters of recommendation with contact information to: Chairperson, Search Committee, Department of Philosophy & Religion, Sale Hall, Morehouse College, 830 Westview Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30314. Morehouse College is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Institution. (177W), posted: 02/26/08.

2008-03-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Call For Papers

Annual Georgia Student Philosophy Symposium

March 29, 2008

Undergraduate and Graduate Students in All Disciplines Encouraged to Submit

Work on Any Philosophical Topic Welcome

Scope: Original papers on any philosophical topic from graduate and undergraduate students are welcome. The conference format will be symposium-style: each session will include presentation/reading, commentary, and brief Q&A/discussion period. Undergraduate and graduate authors will be selected for presentation. All accepted submissions will published online in the Proceedings of the Georgia Student Philosophy Symposium.

Prize: One award valued at $100 will be given to the author of most outstanding paper. Selection will be made on the basis of philosophical content/insight, clarity of written expression, and general appeal to a student audience.

Submission Requirements: Papers must be prepared for blind review (i.e., no author-identifying information or notes in the body of the paper, only on the cover page). Reading length of paper should not exceed twenty minutes, though longer written versions are acceptable. When submitting, please include the following in the body of the email:

1. Author’s name

2. Paper/presentation title

3. Brief abstract (~100 words describing topic discussed in paper)

4. Academic status (undergraduate/graduate) and major

5. Regularly checked email address

Submissions that fail to include all of the above will not be accepted. No more than one submission per author will be considered. Authors should email their submission as a Word or PDF attachment to gchristopher2@student.gsu.edu

Deadline: Papers must be received no later than Tuesday, 3/18, at 3 PM (THIS IS A NEW DEADLINE). Authors accepted for presentation may be asked to comment on another paper.

Official Rules:

1. By submitting an essay for consideration, any entrant certifies that the essay is consistent with principles of academic integrity, such as, but not limited to: the essay is his/her own original work and all sources have been given proper credit. Any Georgia State University entrant further certifies that the work is consistent with the Georgia State University Honor Code.

2. Phi Sigma Tau reserves the right not to award some or all scholarship prizes for any given year.

3. All decisions of the review committee for Phi Sigma Tau are final and cannot be appealed.

4. Essays submitted for classes are acceptable entries for the contest.

5. Essays should be no longer than 5000 words.

6. Essays must be typed, double-spaced and paginated.

7. Essays must be in English.

8. Each student is limited to one entry per Symposium.

9. Phi Sigma Tau reserves the right to remove an accepted essay from the Symposium Program should it have concerns about academic misconduct.

10. Phi Sigma Tau reserves the right to withhold, delay, or rescind any scholarship prize from any entrant in the event the student’s essay constitutes academic misconduct (such as, but not limited to, violating the Georgia State University Honor Code) or in the event of an ongoing investigation into any alleged violation.

11. Entrant agrees to forfeit any scholarship prize awarded in the event his/her essay constitutes academic misconduct (such as, but not limited to, violating the Georgia State University Honor Code).

12. Georgia State University entrants must provide their GSU student ID number. All winners of scholarship awards must provide their Social Security numbers before their award can be processed.

Other questions may be addressed to gchristopher2@student.gsu.edu

Call For Papers

Sponsored by FST-Georgia State University

www2.gsu.edu/~wwwphl/philosophy/phi_sigma_tau/PhilosophyPhiSigmaTau

A Calendar!

2008-02-25T08:48:00.001-08:00

2008-02-21T14:17:00.001-08:00

Gregory Pence's Ethics Program Lecture, "Why Not Enhance Humans?" has been rescheduled for Monday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. on the Agnes Scott College campus in Evans Hall, rooms ABC. The talk is free and open to the public. See below for more information about this event, as well as the Roberta Berry talk on April 7. Thanks.

March 10, 2008 7:30 p.m., Evans Hall, ABC
"Why Not Enhance Humans?" Evolution has selected parents who want the best for their children. Liberal democracies also allow parents to make choices for and about their children that shape future traits of children. Despite fears of alarmists and concerns based on religion, biological choices that enhance exist on the present continuum of choice and already operate in medicine. The challenge for ethics is not to ban choices about enhancement but to insure they are made in the best interest of the child. Gregory Pence is Course Director for Medical Ethics at the University of Alabama medical school for 30 years. His research focuses on emerging ethical issues in medicine, including cloning, genetics, and issues at both ends of life. He has written Re-Creating Medicine: Ethical Issues at the Frontiers of Medicine (2000) and Classic Cases in Medical Ethics (fifth edition, 2007), and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and Journal of Medical Ethics.

Monday, April 7, 2008 7:30 p.m., Evans Hall, ABC
"Should We Engineer the Genomes of Our Children? Navigational Policymaking in the New Genetic Era"
Would it be right to engineer the genomes of our future children-to influence the development of their temperament, their physical features, and their abilities-if advances in bioscience and biotechnology make this possible? Roberta Berry explains why this question poses a difficult challenge for policymaking in modern, pluralistic, democratic societies and proposes how we might best respond to the challenge: by what she calls a "navigational approach" to policymaking.
Roberta M. Berry is Associate Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Law, Science & Technology Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has published a number of essays on bioethics, health care, and the legal, ethical, and policy implications of bioscience research and biotechnologies. Her forthcoming book, The Ethics of Genetic Engineering, compares the adequacy of utilitarian, deontological, and virtue-based ethical and political theories in addressing the issues posed by the possible advent of genetic engineering of human beings.

Kant

2008-02-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

3/27/08

Co-sponsored by The Institute for the History of Philosophy
"Kant and the Intelligibility of Evil," Allen Wood, Professor of Philosophy, Stanford University. 4:15 pm, 111 White Hall.

Above: an event at Emory, among many other events.

2008-02-18T08:40:00.001-08:00

Dear Students and Friends of the GSU Department of Philosophy,

The Department is thrilled to announce that the distinguished philosopher of mind George Graham will be joining the Department in August 2008. Dr. Graham is currently the A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University. Past President of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, he is the author/editor of over ten books from presses such as Oxford and Blackwell. He has written over 50 articles. Some of his recent work is focused on topics at the intersection of philosophy and psychopathology/psychiatry. During the Fall term of 2008, Dr. Graham will be teaching a graduate seminar on philosophy, mental health, and mental disorder as well as an honors section of the introductory course, Great Questions of Philosophy.

GSU events

2008-02-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

"Perverse Justice: AIDS, Economics, & the *War on Terror*"
A talk by Janet Jakobsen of Barnard College @ Columbia University
Monday: 18 February 2008
5 PM @ Troy Moore Library
9th Floor General Classroom Building
Georgia State University
College of Arts & Sciences

Co-Sponsored By:
The Atlanta Women*s Foundation
The Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics

******************************

******************************************
Georgia State University College of Law and the Center for Law, Health
& Society present

GOOD INTENTIONS AND EUGENICS: AVOIDING GENETIC GENOCIDE

Monday, February 25, 2008
4:00 pm - Lecture
5:30 pm - Reception

Senate Salon in the Georgia State University Student Center
44 Courtland Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3973

************************************************************************
Professor Paul Steven Miller, J.D.
Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law
Director, Disability Studies Program
University of Washington School of Law - Seattle
B.A. 1983, University of Pennsylvania
J.D. 1986, Harvard University

Professor Paul Steven Miller is the Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law
and the Director of the University of Washington*s interdisciplinary
Disability Studies Program. Prior to his appointment at the UW,
Professor Miller was a commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and the White House liaison to the disability
community.

Program Description

The relationship between the medical and disability communities is
complex, multi-faceted, and influenced by historical, social, and
cultural factors. Although physicians, health care researchers, and
people with disabilities all work from the standpoint of wanting to do
what is in the best interest of disabled individuals, the notion of what
actually is *best* is often understood quite differently among these
constituencies. Professor Miller will examine questions raised by
genetics and the applications of genetic research from the disability
perspective and explore the implications for scientists, health care
professionals, and disabled individuals.

Directions and Parking

This event is free of charge and open to the public. Please visit
www.lawandhealth.org and click on *Contact Us* for directions and
parking.

Continuing Legal Education Credit for Lawyers

1.5 CLE hours have been applied for from The Georgia Commission on
Continuing Lawyer Competency (cost is $7.50). To receive credit, please
bring your Georgia Bar number and sign in at the CLE table.

2008-02-14T05:48:00.001-08:00

IACUC 2008

Overview

Sponsored by:
Public Responsiblity in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)

Co-Sponsored by:

Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, National Institutes of Health (OLAW/NIH)
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS)
Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC International)
Emory University

Tuesday, March 25 and Wednesday, March 26
Pre-Conference Educational Programs*

Hot Topics for Institutional Officials
IACUC 101
Essentials of IACUC Administration (Please note: this program will begin at 10:00 AM on March 25, and continue at 8:00 AM on March 26.)

*Please note that IBC Basics will not be held on March 26. Please visit our website for information on the next offering. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thursday, March 27 - Friday, March 28
2008 Annual IACUC Conference - Ethics and Compliance in Animal Care and Use Programs: Current Challenges and Future Directions

Program

View the program for the 2008 Annual IACUC Conference.

View the faculty list for the 2008 Annual IACUC Conference.
Note: This list was computer generated on 2/13/2008 and contains the names of confirmed faculty to date. This list will be updated regularly.

2008-02-12T16:56:00.001-08:00

Southeast Philosophy Conference at Clayton State University

Schedule

MAPS AND DIRECTIONS

Saturday, February 16, 2008

8.30 am to 9.30am

Registration/Coffee

University Center 2^nd Floor

9.30 am-10.45 am

UC 420

Robert Case (Clayton State University, GA) On the Nature of God

Ryan Larosa (Clayton State University, GA) On American Foreign Policy: Non-Intervention, an American Tradition

UC 424

Charles Bauch (University of West Georgia) Virtue Ethics and Capitalist Power

Ben Hole (Lewis and Clark College, OR) Aristotle on MEGALOPSUCHIA

10.50 am to 12.05 pm

UC 420

George Allen (Clark University, MA) In Defense of the Circular and Contradictory Nature of Descartes’ Meditations

Timothy James Wright (University of West Georgia) The Sacred Whore

UC 424

Michael Uhall (University of Georgia) 'Talking Wolves' in Sheep's Clothing: Biletzki, Hobbes, and the Primacy of Rhetoric

Jay Mikelman (Tulane University, LA) Thomas Hobbes and the Problem of Suicide Bombers

12.10pm to 1.25 pm Lunch University Center Foyer

1.30 pm to 2.45 pm

UC 420

Jason Shepard (University of South Alabama) Qualia – or Something More Relevant – Regained

Chelsea Ruxer (University of Evansville, IN) Falsity in Physicalism

UC 424

Laura Delgado (University of St. Andrews, UK) Two Problems with Spinoza's Argument for Substance Monism

Geoffrey James (Morehouse College, GA) Why Utilitarianism Does Not Justify Vegetarianism

2.50 pm to 4.15 pm

UC 420

Taurean Webb (Morehouse College, GA) The Importance of Deliberation

Jacob Britten (Grand Valley State University, MI) Implications of Evolution in Epistemology

UC 424

Richard Marrero (University of Alabama Huntsville) Rawls’ Original Position

Michael Hobgood (Clayton State University, GA) Boots on the (Philosophical) Ground: Human Nature According to a Soldier

4.20pm to 5.00pm

UC 420

Jonathan Langlinais (Loyola University, LA) Hegel’s Concept of Virtue as Ethical Phronesis

UC 424

Anna King (Clayton State University, GA) Problems with Secured Boundaries for Women in Book V of Plato’s Republic

2008-02-04T08:13:00.001-08:00

Two events at Agnes Scott college http://www.agnesscott.edu/ for extra credit. The first is next Monday:

February 11, "Why Not Enhance Humans?" Gregory Pence, University of Alabama Medical School

April 7, "Should We Engineer the Genomes of Our Children? Navigational Policymaking in the New Genetic Era," Roberta Berry, Georgia Tech. Both talks are free and open to the public in Agnes Scott College's Evans Hall rooms ABC at 7:30 p.m. Please come . . . and spread the word!

2008-01-15T13:01:00.001-08:00

SOUTHEAST PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE AT CLAYTON STATE

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY, near Atlanta

FEBRUARY 16, 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS

The inaugural meeting of the Southeast Philosophy Conference is scheduled for Saturday, February 16, 2008, at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. Papers in any area are welcome. There will be a $15 registration fee, payable at the conference.

Submissions must not exceed a length of 3000 words, and must include a cover letter stating the paper's title, author's name, university or college, mailing and email addresses, and telephone number. Either email submissions to toddjanke@clayton.edu or send two
printed copies to:

Southeast Philosophy Conference
Department of Communicative Arts & Integrative Studies
Clayton State University
Morrow, Georgia 30260

Papers must be received by January 28, 2008. Notification of acceptance will be made via email by February 4, 2008. Papers will be published in a Proceedings of the Conference.

Contact for questions:
toddjanke@clayton.edu

2008-01-13T08:15:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends of the GSU Department of Philosophy,
We have two visitors in the coming weeks. Each of them is a candidate
for a position in the Department and each is giving two talks.

**Ken Aizawa (Centenary College,
http://www.centenary.edu/philosophy/aizawa)

*Countering Corporeal Correlates of Consciousness*
Thursday, Jan 17 at 4:30
Conference room of the Philosophy Department (34 Peachtree, 11th
floor)

"The Massive Multiple Realization of Psychological Properties"
Friday, Jan. 18 at 1:30pm
Conference room of the Philosophy Department (34 Peachtree, 11th
floor)

**Marcel Weber (University of Basel, Switzerland,
http://wifo.unibas.ch/institut/prof-dr-marcel-weber/)

*Indeterminism and the Brain*
Tuesday, January 29 at 12:15
Conference room of the Philosophy Department (34 Peachtree, 11th
floor)

"A New Look at Biological Functions"
Monday, Jan. 28 at 10:20
General Classroom Building Room 718

2008-01-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

Thomas Flynn
Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor
Department of Philosophy, Emory College

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HUMANISM
(SECULAR OR SACRED)?

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
12:30-1:30 pm
Jones Room, Woodruff Library
Emory University

2008-01-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

Two great events coming up this semester at Agnes Scott:
February 11, "Why Not Enhance Humans?" Gregory Pence, University of Alabama Medical School &
April 7, "Should We Engineer the Genomes of Our Children? Navigational Policymaking in the New Genetic Era," Roberta Berry, Georgia Tech.

Both talks are free and open to the public in Agnes Scott College's Evans Hall rooms ABC at 7:30 p.m. Please come . . . and spread the word! Map of ASC and directions to campus attached below.

Lara Denis
Associate Professor and Chair, Philosophy Department
Director, Ethics Program
Agnes Scott College
141 E. College Ave.
Decatur, GA 30030

phone: 404-471-5364
email: ldenis@agnesscott.edu

The Limits of Reproductive Freedom

2008-01-04T19:19:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday January 9, 2008, at 3 PM, the Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center
for Ethics will sponsor a colloquium by Professor David Benatar
(Philosophy, University of Cape Town) entitled "The Limits of
Reproductive Freedom."

Date/time/location: Jan 9, 2008, 3 PM, in the Philosophy Department
Conference Room (34 Peachtree, 11th floor, #19 at B-6 on the map at
http://www.gsu.edu/map.html).

Prof. Benatar's abstract is included below:

"The Limits of Reproductive Freedom," by David Benatar

Abstract: In this presentation I shall argue that the strength or scope
of the right to reproductive freedom currently recognized in liberal
democracies needs to be reconsidered, such that it does not include a
right to engage in very risky or harmful procreation. More specifically,
I argue that if there would be no right to impose risk X of harm Y to
some other person in non-reproductive contexts, then there should be no
right to do so in reproductive contexts. Thus, some (but not all)
methods, including some coercive methods, of preventing or discouraging
such reproduction are morally acceptable.

I consider two main arguments against my thesis. First, I consider the
non-identity argument that future people cannot be harmed by being
brought into existence. Second, and in much more detail, I consider the
argument that although the interests of future people are important,
these ought to be outweighed by their parents* right to reproductive
freedom. After discerning different senses of a right to reproductive
freedom, I consider four arguments for the special importance of
reproductive freedom. I argue that none of them are sufficient to
undermine my thesis.

Because of the long history of bias and arbitrary discrimination in
curtailments of reproductive freedom, I suggest how bias might be
avoided in deciding how severe a harm must be to defeat a right to
reproductive freedom.

Emory Philosophy Events

2007-12-17T11:20:00.001-08:00


		February 7, 2008		Founders Week Lecture Sean D. Kirkland DePaul University "The Tragic Foundations of Aristotelian Ethics"
		March 19-23, 2008		philoSOPHIA: a feminist society meets for more information visit www.philosophia-afs.org.

		March 28-30 2008		Second independent conference for The Hannah Arendt Circle hosted by the Emory departments of Philosophy and Comparative Literature.

2007-11-12T11:57:00.001-08:00

Georgia Philosophical Society
Spring Meeting
Saturday, November 17th
Georgia State University
Troy Moore Library / 9th Floor of
General Classroom Bldg*
9:00 Coffee & Conversation
9:30 Charles Cross, UGA: "Causal Independence
and the Identity of Indiscernibles"
10:30 Glenn Kirkconnell, Georgia Perimeter College:
"Either/Or as Religious Polemic"
11:30 Business Meeting
12:00 Lunch
2:00 James Sennett, Brenau University:
"Acceptance, Faith, and Epistemic
Justification"
3:00 Dan Farnham, UGA: "Maybe Virtue is
Necessary for Happiness"
__________
*38 Peachtree Center Ave. SE. Park in G-Deck: Enter from
Collins St, approaching from Decatur St. SE.Map available at
http://tinyurl.com/3x8weg.
Detailed directions: Parking for the meeting will be available a
Georgia State's "G-Deck" parking deck. Since the meeting is on a
Saturday, only one entrance to the deck will be open. It is on
Collins St. This entrance is a little tricky to get to, since Collins St.
runs under but parallel to Courtland St., which is about 2 stories
above-ground at that point of the downtown. Collins St. must be
approached from Decatur St.; drivers will take a left onto Collins if
driving down Decatur St. from the east, and a right if coming
down Decatur St. from the west. The entrance to G-Deck is on the
right at the end of Collins St. The cost for parking is $6, which
while regrettably not free is less expensive than other parking
decks nearby.
General directions are as follows:
From the north on I-85:
Take exit 248A for M L King Jr Dr toward Turner Field/State
Capitol
Take a sharp right at Jesse Hill Jr Dr SE
Turn left at Decatur St SE
Turn left on Collins St. (under Courtland)
From the south on I-85:
Take exit 246 for Central Ave toward Downtown
Merge onto Central Ave SW
Continue on Peachtree Center Ave SE
Take a right on Decatur St.
Take a right onto Collins St. (under Courtland)
Note: From this direction you will see an entrance to G-Deck on
Peachtree Ctr. Ave, but it will be closed.
From the west on I-20:
Take exit 56B for Windsor St toward Turner Field/Spring St
Merge onto Rawson St SW
Turn left at Central Ave SW
Continue on Peachtree Center Ave SE
Take a right on Decatur St.
Take a right onto Collins St. (under Courtland)
Note: From this direction you will see an entrance to G-Deck on
Peachtree Ctr. Ave, but it will be closed.
From the east on I-20:
Take exit 58B for Hill St toward Turner Field
Turn right at Hill St SE
Turn left at Decatur St SE
Turn left onto Collins St. (under Courtland)
The location of G-Deck and the General Classroom Building
(marked #11 on the map) is clear on the map at the following link:
http://www.gsu.edu/images/campusmap_rdax_720.gif
which is also attached as a PDF to this e-mail.

2007-11-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Friends of the GSU Philosophy Department,

On Friday, November 9 at 3:30 p.m., Victoria Davion will give a lecture
as part of the Department*s 2007-2008 Colloquium Series. Victoria
Davion's talk "Evil and Healthcare: A Feminist Perspective" will be in
the Philosophy Department Conference Room. Victoria Davion is Professor
of Philosophy at the University of Georgia.

Hope you can attend.

Best,
Christie Hartley

2007-10-16T15:44:00.001-07:00

SOUTHEAST PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE AT CLAYTON STATE

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY

FEBRUARY 16, 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS

The inaugural meeting of the Southeast Philosophy Conference is scheduled for Saturday, February 16, 2008, at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. Papers in any area are welcome. There will be a $15 registration fee, payable at the conference.

Submissions must not exceed a length of 3000 words, and must include a cover letter stating the paper's title, author's name, university or college, mailing and email addresses, and telephone number. Either email submissions to toddjanke@clayton.edu or send two printed copies to:

Southeast Philosophy Conference

Department of Communicative Arts & Integrative Studies

Clayton State University

Morrow, Georgia 30260

Papers must be received by January 28, 2008. Notification of acceptance will be made via email by February 4, 2008. Papers will be published in a Proceedings of the Conference.

2007-10-15T07:07:00.001-07:00

Please join us on Monday, October 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Letitia Pate Evans Hall, rooms ABC on the Agnes Scott College campus to hear bioeticist Adrienne Asch discuss "Why Reproductive Choice Does Not Mean Reproductive Selection." This event is free and open to the public. Campus map with directions attached.

Lara Denis

Lara Denis
Associate Professor and Chair, Philosophy Department
Director, Ethics Program
Agnes Scott College

mail: ASC Box # 1068
141 E. College Ave.
Decatur, GA 30030

phone: 404-471-5364
fax: 404-471-6369
email: ldenis@agnesscott.edu

2007-10-10T08:10:00.001-07:00

Call for Abstracts

philoSOPHIA: a feminist society's Second Annual Meeting
Decatur, Georga
March 19-22, 2008
Host Institutions: Kennesaw State University
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS OF WORK IN PROGRESS

We welcome project proposals of work in progress that engage continental feminist theory and philosophy broadly construed to include feminist work on major figures and themes from the continental philosophical tradition, as well as feminist work inspired by continental philosophy more generally. The meeting of philoSOPHIA will be organized into extended workshop groups of approximately fifteen participants each and according to research topic(s) /figure(s). Each group will meet in these workshops for the duration of the conference, and each participant will have 20 minutes to present a current work in progress and 30 minutes for discussion. Abstracts should be approximately 750 words, with title, and should be submitted electronically in .rtf format to submissions@philosophia-afs.org or through the philoSOPHIA website no later than December 1, 2007. Abstracts should be suitable for blind review. In a separate document, please include your name, affiliation, contact information, a brief bio, and the title of your presentation. philoSOPHIA especially encourages abstracts of work in progress concerning the following: The life and work of Simone de Beauvoir, whose centenary will be marked in 2008; Work on the intersection of philosophy and activism; The intersections of race, class, sexuality, and gender; Continental feminist readings of the history of philosophy and of recent continental philosophy and associated traditions, such as psychoanalysis.

Click HERE for a copy of our Call for Abstracts poster.

Submit your abstract online HERE!

For further information, please contact Dr. Stacy Keltner at:

Dr. Stacy Keltner
Kennesaw State University
Department of History and Philosophy
Mailbox # 2206
1000 Chastain Road
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Email: sk@philosophia-afs.org

2007-10-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

EMORY Talks

10/11/07

"Motivated Contextualism " David Henderson, Ronald R. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and the Moral Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 205 White Hall, 4:15pm.

10/25/07

"One Person Doesn't Make a Difference ," Stuart Rachels, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama. 205 White Hall, 4:15pm. William Edwards Lecture

11/15/07

"Is Being 'Good' or Goodness 'Being'? Bonaventure's Position," Ilia Delio, OSF, Professor Ecclesiastical History, The Washington Theological Union. 205 White Hall, 4:15pm.

11/29/07

"Why Did Plato Believe in Forms?" Richard Patterson, Professor of Philosophy, Emory University. White Hall, 4:15pm.

12/06/07

"Kant and Goethe on Comprehending Living Phenema," Eckart Foerster, Professor of Philosophy, The Johns Hopkins University. 205 White Hall, 4:15pm.

For more information, please contact Dr. Richard Patterson, (404) 727-0106 or rpatt01@emory.edu

2007-10-08T11:21:00.001-07:00

GSU Conference on Rules of War
Saturday, October 27, 2007
If you would like to attend, please contact Claire Kooy, kkooy@gsu.edu by Friday, October 19. Seats are limited.

Principal speakers:

* Derek Jinks, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Texas-Austin; author of The Rules of War: The Geneva Conventions in the Age of Terror (forthcoming Oxford U.P.), and (with Ryan Goodman) International Humanitarian Law (forthcoming Oxford U.P )
* Frances Kamm, Littauer Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy, Harvard University; author of Creation and Abortion (Oxford U.P.); Morality, Mortality, Vol. 1: Death and Whom to Save From It (Oxford U.P.); Morality, Mortality Vol. 2: Rights, Duties, and Status; and Intricate Ethics (Oxford U.P.)
* Steven Lee, Professor of Philosophy, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, author of Morality, Prudence and Nuclear Weapons (Cambridge U.P.) and The Nuclear Predicament: Nuclear Weapons in the Twenty-First Century (Prentice-Hall).
* Jeff McMahan, Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers University; author of British Nuclear Weapons: For and Against (London: Junction Books, 1981), Reagan and the World: Imperial Policy in the New Cold War (London: Pluto Press, 1984), The Ethics of Killing in War: The Oxford Uehiro Lectures (forthcoming Oxford U. P.), The Ethics of Killing: Self-Defense, War, and Punishment (forthcoming Oxford U.P.)
* Madeline Morris, Professor of Law, Duke University; Advisor to the Chief Defense Counsel for the detainees at Guantanamo in proceedings before US military commissions; former Senior Legal Counsel, Office of the Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone; author of "The Unbearable Lightness of Tribunals: The Fatal Flaw of International Criminal Tribunals," Boston College International & Comparative Law Review.

2007-10-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Please join an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students for informal discussions on issues at the intersection of philosophy, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology. Feel free to bring your lunch, and spread the word about the Brown Bag Series.

NEUROPHILOSOPHY BROWN BAG LUNCH SERIES (FALL 2007)

Thursday, October 25 at noon in the conference room of the Philosophy Department (34 Peachtree, 11th floor)
"What can nonhuman primates tell us about morality?"
Sarah Brosnan (GSU, Psychology) will present some of her fascinating work on inequity and prosocial behavior, and Andrea Scarantino (GSU, Philosophy) will comment. The issue at hand is the extent to which learning about the social behaviors of nonhuman primates can shed light on the building blocks of human morality.

Thursday, November 29th at noon in the conference room of the Philosophy Department (34 Peachtree, 11th floor)
"On the methodological foundations of fmri studies: What can differential BOLD activation REALLY tell you?"
Fmri studies are all the rage. But are they systematically misinterpreted or overinterpreted in contemporary neurobiology? What scientific inferences are legitimate from the evidence of differential BOLD activation? Diana Robins (GSU, Psychology) and Erin McClure (GSU, Psychology), who both use fmri technology in their research on, respectively, autism and social anxiety, will engage in a dialogue on this important topic.

Also, we are working on the Spring schedule. Ronald Arkin, Director of the Mobile Robot Laboratory at Georgia Institute of Technology, has just agreed to give us a talk on his cutting-edge work in robotics and on the ethical issues it raises for humans. Other exciting meetings are in the works, so stay tuned for updates!

Best,
Andrea Scarantino

2007-10-01T11:10:00.002-07:00

Dr. Robert Franklin -- new Morehouse President -- speaks at Opening Convocation

September 20, 2007

NOTE: Download times may vary according to your connection speed. This QuickTime movie is 59 megabytes.

Dr. Franklin was formerly Professor of Social Ethics at Emory's Candler School of Theology. Since his address has some philosophy in it, and it's quite awesome generally, and of local interest, I post it. The last section is especially great!

2007-10-01T11:10:00.001-07:00

You are invited to attend a three-panelist symposium, "Ethics, Pavement, and Traffic" this Thursday, October 4 at the Blumenfeld Center for Ethics at Georgia State University.

The symposium begins at 2:30 and features Lee Biola, President of Citizens for Progressive Transit, Benita Dodd of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, and yours truly.

I will present the nuts and bolts of CARma's campaign to fight aggressive driving behaviors that cause a host of ills, including death, injury, economic havoc, environmental degradation, and civic decay. I will also locate CARma's educational philosophy in the context of Aristotle's cardinal virtues and recent Vatican documents as well as discuss how CARma's "citizenship on the road" campaign is consistent with aspects of Kant's principle of duty for duty's sake and two of Heidegger's insights on overcoming the problem of inauthentic being.

If curious, read the two documents below to learn more about the pragmatic aims and thinking behind the CARma campaign.

The event will start at 2:30 sharp at the University Center, room 465. Find that building on the campus map at http://www.gsu.edu/map.html building #34 at F3.

If you have logistical questions please contact, Dr. Andrew I Cohen at: 404-413-6111.

Joel Vaughn Peddle
Director of Education
www.itsCARma.com

404-914-4004

2007-09-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Black Women Seek a Role in Philosophy

http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=rVDdSShyYzsDdqdVtrhbFS234msgNfm3

By ROBIN WILSON

When the nation's black female philosophers meet for the first time next month, the auditorium at Vanderbilt University will have plenty of empty seats. Not because no one is interested in attending, but because fewer than 30 black women are known to hold full-time jobs in the discipline.

The women — plus about a half-dozen black female graduate students — are getting together for the first meeting of the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers. The gathering will be part pep talk, part networking opportunity, and part research seminar.

"If you're a black woman, you cannot identify with the majority of the people in the profession," says Kathryn T. Gines, a black assistant professor at Vanderbilt who started the group. She is reminded of her minority status every time she attends the annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association: "How few our numbers really are becomes very daunting when you're surrounded by a sea of graying, white males with pipes and tweed coats."

Some women are coming to the meeting in Nashville just so they can meet other philosophers who look like them and who go against the grain by infusing questions of race into their scholarship. "I spend a lot of time being the only woman and the only black person," says Jacqueline R. Scott, an associate professor of philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. "Every once in a while it hits me, and I wonder what I'm doing here."

Philosophy is academe's oldest discipline, yetit wasn't until 1965 that it granted its first Ph.D. to a black woman — Joyce Mitchell Cook, who earned her degree at Yale University. (She will be honored at the Nashville meeting.) In philosophy, as in most fields, the best-known thinkers have been white men. Unlike such disciplines as English, history, and political science, however, contemporary philosophy has not made much room for minority perspectives, black scholars say. "It is still committed to the mainstream, traditional lines of inquiry," says Ronald R. Sundstrom, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of San Francisco, who is black.

That has long cast women and minority scholars as outsiders. George Yancy, an assistant professor of philosophy at Duquesne University, remembers looking up "philosophy" in the Encyclopaedia Britannica when he was young. "All the pictures were of white males," he says. "I literally thought I was the only black person in the world who was interested in philosophy."

When Ms. Cook was at Yale, in the mid-1960s, she knew she was the only black woman in her field. But "I didn't even think in terms of what race meant or what gender meant," says the professor, who is now retired from Howard University. Her advice for young black women contemplating a career in philosophy: "If you don't feel you have to do it, you shouldn't." An advanced degree in a theoretical field, she remembers, set her apart from the rest of the black community.

The American Philosophical Association does not even keep up-to-date figures on how many of North America's approximately 10,000 philosophers are women or minority-group members. Some philosophers see that as part of the problem. "We've been struggling for so many years to get this data," says Sally Haslanger, a philosophy professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She gathered her own figures on women at elite institutions and will publish them next spring in Hypatia, a feminist journal. Her research shows that at the nation's top 20 philosophy departments, only 76 professors, or about 19 percent, are female. Still, she doesn't know exactly how many of those are African-Americans.

"I used to count on one hand the number of tenured black women" in philosophy, says Ms. Haslanger, who is white. Their scarcity means that black women "are always solo in every context. They are a double minority in the field."

Brian R. Leiter, a professor of philosophy and law at the University of Texas at Austin, publishes a well-read online ranking of philosophy departments and tracks the comings and goings of people in the profession. He probably knows of more scholars than anyone else in the field. When The Chronicle asked him to name some black female philosophers, only one immediately came to mind.

The philosophy association says it will embark on a demographic study of its membership next year. Anna Stubblefield, who heads the group's Committee on Blacks and Philosophy, estimates that only about 100, or 1 percent, of the 10,000 academic philosophers in North America are black. Of those, she estimates, about 20 are female. Ms. Stubblefield, who heads the philosophy department on Rutgers University's Newark campus, isn't one of them. She is white. Vanderbilt's Ms. Gines, too, has tried to tally the number of black female philosophers in academe and says she has found a few more by word of mouth, putting the total at 29.

The number has been inching up lately, thanks mostly to the graduate program at the University of Memphis, where Ms. Gines earned her Ph.D. in 2003. The philosophy department there has made recruiting black women a top priority. Faculty members and graduate students regularly visit historically black colleges to try to interest undergraduates early on. Since 2003 the department has turned out five black female Ph.D.'s, and seven more are making their way through the program.

Robert L. Bernasconi, a professor at Memphis, is largely responsible for that. "We have four philosophers working on feminism, and I do race theory, so this is a very natural place," says Mr. Bernasconi, who is white. He adds that Memphis — a city in which the majority of residents are African-American — is a natural place to begin trying to offset the profession's racial imbalance.

Like many of the black women who are earning doctorates in philosophy, Sybol Cook Anderson took awhile to decide that was what she wanted to spend her life studying. When she went to college in the 1980s, she says, smart black women were pointed toward careers in medicine, law, and engineering. "From my interactions with freshman students now, that's still largely the case," she says. "Black students are guided toward more-practical and more-remunerative fields."

Ms. Anderson came to philosophy in a roundabout way. She first planned on being a doctor, but after college she went to work for a defense contractor and then became a continuing-education instructor. Eventually she became interested in the history of ideas. She didn't earn her Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins University, until she was 42. Now she is an assistant professor of philosophy at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

She teaches a course on the philosophy of love, which looks at philosophical discussions of love, friendship, and sexuality since antiquity. She is also working on a book on Hegel's theory of recognition and the questions he posed about what it means to be a person. Gradually, she says, she has mixed in some questions about her own identity: How do oppression, sexism, racism, and classism influence what it means to be an "authentic human being"?

Many black women entering philosophy use it as a tool to address questions about who they are and how they fit into the world. Samaiyah Jones, a third-year graduate student at Memphis, says most of the philosophy she does is very practical. "If I were not in philosophy, I would be doing social work or nonprofit work," she says. "I'm not interested in philosophy that isn't going to help us think about the issues we face." For her, that means looking at "perfectionism in the black community" and at the ways in which the ideas of W.E.B. Du Bois and Frederick Douglass on "how we should shape the Negro" relate to the progress of African-Americans today.

Ms. Scott, of Loyola Chicago, is a Nietzsche scholar and has just earned tenure. Most people reading her publications, she says, "will not think, Oh, that's a black woman who's done that." But recently she has started seeing applications to race theory in her study of the German philosopher. "Nietzsche was an outsider to his culture but trying to heal the culture," she says. "That's a stance many African-Americans take."

It can be dangerous to ask questions about race or gender when you are a philosopher, says Mr. Yancy, the Duquesne scholar. Doing so, he says, "disturbs the waters" and often isn't regarded as serious work. "The mainstream philosophical journals aren't interested in what we're doing," he says.

That's one reason some people wonder whether the Nashville meeting is a good idea. Carol M. Swain, a professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt, says she understands that "there is a certain type of research done by black scholars that isn't accepted by the larger white academy." But she doesn't believe that "self segregation" is in any scholar's best interest.

"Encouraging black people to marginalize themselves by pursuing a line of philosophy not accepted by the mainstream just reinforces the stereotype that blacks can't do philosophy the way other scholars can," says Ms. Swain, who is black.

Anita L. Allen, a prominent professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania who also holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, agrees that it is dangerous to shun the mainstream. "I've met some women of color in philosophy who want to only cite authors of color," says Ms. Allen, who is black, "even if it means they won't get tenure or be taken seriously."

She says she expects the black women at the Nashville meeting to talk about John Stuart Mill and Kant's Critique of Pure Reason as much as they talk about race. Besides, she says, the meeting is valuable because nothing like it has ever happened before.

"Every year for the last 25 years, I've gone to lots and lots and lots of conferences," she says. "But I have never had the opportunity to sit down with 20 African-American philosophers to figure out our place in the discipline and talk about issues that are on our minds."

http://chronicle.com
Section: Diversity in Academe
Volume 54, Issue 5, Page B4

2007-09-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

The John and Susan Wieland Center for Ethics Library Journal Holdings

American Journal of Bioethics

Bioethics Literature Review

Business Ethics

Business Ethics (Annual Edition)

Business Ethics Quarterly : The Journal of the Society for Business Ethics

Business & Professional Ethics Journal

Business & Society

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics: The International Journal for Healthcare Ethics and Ethics Committees (CQ)

Ethics & Medicine: An International Journal of Bioethics

Fortune-Domestic Ed-BAS96

Hastings Center Report

Health Affairs

HEC Forum for North America

Journal of Clinical Ethics

Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics

Journal of Medical Ethics

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy.

Journal of Moral Education

Journal of Religious Ethics

Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal

Leader to Leader

Medical Humanities

Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning

New Titles in Bioethics

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, & Public Policy

Perspectives on Science

Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology

Philosophy & Public Affairs

Professional Ethics /FL/

Professional Ethics Report

Science and Engineering Ethics/for US

Social Responsibility: Business, Journalism, Law, Medicine

Tikkun

2007-09-14T04:44:00.001-07:00

Annual Southern Appalachian Undergraduate Philosophy Conference

University of North Carolina at Asheville

Sponsored by: UNCA's Philosophical Society and Phi Sigma Tau Chapter

CALL FOR PAPERS

10th Annual
Southern Appalachian Undergraduate Philosophy Conference
The University of North Carolina at Asheville
The Liberal Arts Campus of the University of North Carolina

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Our symposium provides a professional style philosophical forum for aspiring undergraduates to present significant and original work. All papers will be evaluated by blind review process. At the conference, a judge from a university with important graduate program will determine the top three presentations.

Please submit:
• A computer file of the paper in MS Word (papers accepted for the conference will be posted on the web); and
• two copies of each of the following: the paper, an abstract, and a separate cover sheet

Papers on any philosophical topic are welcome. Papers should be designed for a 20 minute presentation time [approximately 10 pages]. The papers should not contain the author’s name or institutional affiliation, since they will be evaluated by a blind review.
Eligibility: any undergraduate student who does not have an undergraduate degree prior to May 1, 2008.
Abstracts should be one paragraph, double spaced, no more than 150 words, and attached to the paper. These abstracts should not contain the author’s name or institutional affiliation, since they will be evaluated in a blind review process.
Cover sheets should be on a separate sheet and contain the title of the paper, the author’s name, institutional affiliation, address, e-mail address, and phone number.

All submissions must be postmarked by Monday, September 24 2007
Acceptance notification will occur by October 15, 2007.

For submissions or further information, please contact:
Dr. Keya Maitra
Department of Philosophy/CPO # 2830, UNCA
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804-8505
kmaitra@unca.edu

UNDERGRADUATE PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE

WILL BE SATURDAY, Nov. 3, 2007

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY

Sep. 24, 2007

Return to Undergraduate Philosophy Conference page

2007-09-14T04:44:00.000-07:00

Annual Southern Appalachian Undergraduate Philosophy Conference

University of North Carolina at Asheville

Sponsored by: UNCA's Philosophical Society and Phi Sigma Tau Chapter

CALL FOR PAPERS

All submissions must be postmarked by Monday, September 24 2007
Acceptance notification will occur by October 15, 2007.

For submissions or further information, please contact:
Dr. Keya Maitra
Department of Philosophy/CPO # 2830, UNCA
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804-8505
kmaitra@unca.edu

UNDERGRADUATE PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE

WILL BE SATURDAY, Nov. 3, 2007

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY

Sep. 24, 2007

Return to Undergraduate Philosophy Conference page

2007-09-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

Poverty, Justice, and Western Political Thought

By Sharon K. Vaughan

Lexington Books

	Discounted Price: $56.25 (25% off) **SPECIAL ONLINE PRE-PUBLICATION DISCOUNT
	List Price: $75.00
	Cloth 0-7391-2268-1 / 978-0-7391-2268-6
	Dec 28, 2007 210pp
European customers click here

The number of people who live in poverty has always far exceeded the number who do not. The normative question of how governments ought to treat the poor goes to the heart of the idea of justice and thus it is an essential element of political theory. Yet, there has been no formal study of the treatment of poverty in Western political thought. The chapters ofPoverty, Justice, and Western Political Thought include an analysis of the main arguments of Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Smith, Mill, Tocqueville, Hegel, Marx, Rawls, and Nozick about the causes, effects, and solutions to the problem of poverty and how their treatments of poverty relate to the idea of a just society. This book asks: What is the relationship between poverty and justice in the state? If we are to understand the relationship between the poor and the idea of a just state in the tradition of Western political thought, then we must be able to recognize how these theorists' definitions, assumptions, and conclusions about poverty contribute to or detract from the idea of justice. At the core of this work is the claim that the demands of justice necessarily entail that the political theorist engage with the problem of poverty, with the goal being to suggest some thoughtful and reasonable approaches to the problem.

Poverty, Justice, and Western Political Thought demonstrates that historical analysis and reconstruction of the treatment of poverty is critical because we are part of a historical community. Rather than being artifacts of scholarship, philosophical debates and ideas that are hundreds and thousands of years old continue to be relevant today because they are part of the foundation for society's beliefs about who the poor are, why they are poor, and what responsibility, if any, society has to them.

This book will benefit political theorists and philosophers interested in the history of political thought, poverty, or distributive justice, as well as non-theorists.

About the Author
Sharon K. Vaughan is assistant professor of political science at Morehouse College.

2007-09-07T16:14:00.003-07:00

CALL FOR PAPERS
for the upcoming meeting of the
GEORGIA
PHILOSOPHICAL
SOCIETY
at
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Papers of fifteen pages or less on any
philosophical topic are welcome.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
October 28, 2007
Graduate students must have paper vetted by
their department head
Send Papers to
Troy Catterson: TTCatterson@ngcsu.edu

An Atlanta-relevant story and teaching prompt

2007-08-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

The TNR Q&A

Of Dog Fights and Men

by Ben Crair
Only at TNR Online
Post date: 08.29.07

On Monday, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick plead guilty to federal charges of dog fighting, including charges that he personally endorsed the execution of underperforming dogs by hanging or drowning. For insight into the reaction to Vick's case, The New Republic spoke with ethicist Peter Singer, the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. His book Animal Liberation, first published in 1975, is considered the foundational text of the animal rights movement. He discussed the sorry lives of the American pig, the ethical difference between hunting and dog fighting, and why both of those are minor cruelties in the scale of things.

What do you make of the public reaction to Michael Vick's involvement in illegal dog fighting?

Well, I think in a sense it's quite fair. It seems from the allegation that Michael Vick did horrible things to dogs. If he did what's alleged, people should be disgusted and revolted by it. From my point of view, what is regrettable is that people only react so strongly to such things when they occur with dogs. If something similar had been done with pigs or chickens, the reaction probably would have been much milder. That seems to me to be wrong. I think pigs suffer just as much as dogs, and, in terms of what we do to pigs in this country in general, they suffer a lot more cruelty than dogs do because there are so many of them in factory farms in appalling conditions. That's the incongruity. It's not that there's an overreaction to the Vick business, it's rather that there's an underreaction to what's happening elsewhere.

Basketball player Stephon Marbury was widely criticized for telling reporters, "We don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dog fighting is a sport." Do you think his comparison was valid?

Well, the aim of a hunter is to kill the animal with as little pain as possible--or it should be. That's the ethic that you get in sport hunting, at least. I'm not condoning or supporting sport hunting but there is a distinction in that the good hunter will shoot the animal in a vital place where it will drop dead immediately. It won't suffer. It seems pretty clear that the dogs that didn't fight well that Michael Vick and his associates killed were not killed instantly at all. They were drowned, for example. Drowning is obviously a much more distressing death than being shot with a bullet through the brain or in the heart.

Has the reaction to the Vick case exposed a schizophrenia in the way the public judges offenses against animals?

That comparison that you just asked me to make between dog fighting and sport-hunting is interesting in itself because these are both really very minor cruelties in the terms of the scale of things. The big thing that is going undiscussed here is the industrial raising of animals for food. Just in terms of the numbers, it's so vastly greater than sport-hunting, which in turn is a lot bigger than dog fighting. We're talking literally about billions of animals each year being reared in conditions that don't enable them to have a minimally decent life and then being killed in mass-production factory ways that again often are not painless. So that's the schizophrenia, that all of this hidden suffering that's engaged in by supposedly respectable corporations and that people then buy in their supermarkets is the thing that is unspoken. It's not the recreational activities that we should be focusing on.

Has there been an increase of interest in animal cruelty recently?

I think so. At the 2006 elections there were a number of animal anti-cruelty initiatives passed. There's been a bit of an upsurge in it and I would say that the response to Vick is consistent with that. People are starting to realize that this is an issue that a lot of people are taking quite seriously now. Perhaps that is going to have some larger political ramifications as well.

Ben Crair is a reporter-researcher at The New Republic.

TN Phil Association Conference

2007-08-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

A copy of the call for papers for the 2007 meetings of the Tennessee Philosophical association is attached. The call can also be found at http://www.tpaweb.org/callforpapers.html.

Submissions in all areas of philosophical interest, as always, are welcome. They are due Friday, September 14, 2007.

But this year, on the occasion of John Lachs's keynote address at our annual meeting, we want also to encourage submissions honoring the spirit of John Dewey's remark -- often recited by Lachs -- that "philosophy recovers itself when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, for dealing with the problems of men."

Special consideration will accordingly be directed to submissions in areas Lachs has explored during his long and distinguished career at Vanderbilt, including American philosophy, 19th century German philosophy, and ethics. An excellent overview of Lachs's philosophical vision is available in interview form: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/faculty/lachs_interview.html <https://pstcc14.pstcc.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/faculty/lachs_interview.html>

Georgia State Philosophy Colloquium Series

2007-08-22T11:52:00.001-07:00

The 2007-2008 Georgia State Philosophy Colloquium Series:

David Schmidtz, Univ. of Arizona
"Rule of Law and History of Liberty"
Friday, Oct. 5 at 3:30 pm
Philosophy Conference Room

Victoria Davion, Univ. of Georgia
"Evil and Healthcare: A Feminist Perspective"
Friday, Nov. 9 at 3:30 pm
Philosophy Conference Room

Alex Byrne, MIT
Title TBA
Monday, Mar. 10 at 4:30 pm
Philosophy Conference Room

Hannah Ginsborg, Univ. of California, Berkeley
Title TBA
Friday, Apr. 25 at 3:30 pm
Philosophy Conference Room

Peter van Inwagen, Univ. of Notre Dame
Title TBA
Friday, Oct. 17, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Philosophy Conference Room

Information about our series will be available on the department's website, www.gsu.edu/philosophy. Questions about the series can be sent to Christie Hartley at chartley@gsu.edu.

Christie J. Hartley
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 4089
Atlanta, GA 30302-4089
404.651.1557
chartley@gsu.edu

Energy & Responsibility: A Conference on Ethics and the Environment

2007-08-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

Energy & Responsibility: A Conference on Ethics and the Environment

Call for Papers and Panels (a PDF file)
Flyer containing general conference information (a PDF file)
Sponsorship Opportunities (a PDF file)
Registration information--coming soon
Confirmed Keynote Speakers
Planning Committee Members
Advisory Committee Members
Hotel Information

Conference date: April 10-12, 2008

Conference location: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the Downtown Hilton Hotel, Knoxville, Tennessee

Conflicts and controversies about energy have become familiar features of the political and economic landscape around the globe. The environmental consequences of energy production, distribution and consumption and energy policy invite consideration of the ethical implications of both practice and policy. What are our ethical obligations to manage the earth’s resources and natural environment in a ‘sustainable’ manner? How should these obligations be enacted, institutionalized and implemented?

This conference invites ethicists, legal theorists, energy policy makers, energy enterprises and environmental activists to engage in a conversation about ethics and responsibility in the contested terrain of energy and the environment.

We invite submissions on such themes as:

What are our ethical obligations with respect to energy practices as individuals, energy producers, businesses, governments, non-governmental organizations, communities, and workplaces?
What are the relationships between energy policies and justice?
Do human rights obligations entail specific energy policies and practices?
How can individuals act ethically with regard to the environment and energy? What are our responsibilities?
What are our collective responsibilities in our communities and workplaces with regard to the environment and energy?
How should ethical concerns inform policies and practices regarding energy?
Do we have a vision of sustainable energy policies and practices that expresses both our ethical obligations regarding the environment and economic considerations?

The conference planning committee welcomes abstracts for papers and proposals on these questions as well as related themes and specific issues (for example: mountaintop removal, faith based stewardship of natural resources, wind energy, stakeholder responsibility, green investment strategy). We encourage proposals for roundtable sessions, workshops and dialogues that engage conversation among ethicists, practitioners, policy makers and activists. Submission guidelines and deadlines and publication opportunities will be announced in 2007.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

R. K. Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Henry Shue, Merton College, Oxford
Robert H. Socolow, Princeton University
Dale Jamieson, New York University
Richard Morgenstern, Resources for the Future
Dale Bryk, Natural Resources Defense Council and Yale University

^Return to Top

Planning Committee:

Denis Arnold, Department of Philosophy and Center for Applied and Professional Ethics, The University of Tennessee
Heather Douglas, Department of Philosophy, The University of Tennessee
Mary English, Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, The University of Tennessee
Nina Gregg, Charter of Human Responsibilities (US)
Donald Huisingh, Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, The University of Tennessee
Becky Jacobs, The University of Tennessee College of Law
Corinne Martin, The University of Tennessee College of Law
John Nolt, Department of Philosophy, The University of Tennessee

^Return to Top

Advisory Committee:

Don Barger, Senior Director, Southeast Regional Office, National Parks Conservation Association
Kevin J. Anton, President, Alcoa Materials Management
John B.(Jack) Brellenthin, Senior Manager, Environmental Policy, Tennessee Valley Authority
Bruce Bursten, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tennessee; President, American Chemical Society
Wayne Davis, Associate Dean, College of Engineering, The University of Tennessee
Sarah Gardial, Associate Dean, College of Business Administration, The University of Tennessee
Paul Gilman, Director, Oak Ridge Center for Advanced Studies
Alan Lowe, Director, Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy, The University of Tennessee
Gregg Marland, Carbon-Climate Simulation Science Group, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Lee Riedinger, Interim Vice Chancellor for Research, The University of Tennessee
Robert Shelton, Research Professor of Economics, Senior Associate for Energy Policy, Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy, The University of Tennessee
Stephen Smith, Executive Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Bruce Tonn, Department of Political Science, The University of Tennessee
Timothy Valentine, Strategic Planning and Communications,
Energy and Engineering Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Madeleine Weil, Deputy Director, Policy Development, City of Knoxville

^Return to Top

Hotel Information

The Knoxville Hilton (501 W. Church Avenue Southwest, Knoxville, TN 37902-2591) is the conference hotel. Conference room rates (if reserved by March 11, 2008) are $75.00 plus tax for single/double (or upgrade to a King room for $85.00 plus tax per night). The group code for these rooms is PHI. Reservations may be made by calling:

Hotel—865-523-2300 (8AM-4PM)
Direct—865-251-2578 (8AM-4PM)
Toll-free—800-HILTONS

In Socrates Wake

2007-08-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

There's a new blog on teaching philosophy called "In Socrates Wake" at http://insocrateswake.blogspot.com

Agnes Scott Events

2007-08-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Agnes Scott College Ethics Program Lecture Series, 2007-2008

Improving Humans: Genetics, Technology, and Ethics

Genetic technologies open exciting possibilities for improving human health and quality of life. These technologies also raise moral questions—for example, about how and how far we should attempt to genetically enhance future humans, and about the moral scope of parents’ freedom to make choices about future children’s mental and physical characteristics. Please join us as we engage these questions of ethics, public policy, and law. All talks are free and open to the public, and take place on the Agnes Scott College campus in Decatur. (Please contact Lara Denis, director of the ethics program, for more information: ldenis@angesscott.edu )

1. McNair Ethics Lecture: Lee M. Silver

Title: “Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humankind”

Date: Monday, September 10, 2007

7:30 p.m., Evans Hall, ABC

This talk is co-sponsored by the Agnes Scott College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta of Georgia, through the Walter Edward McNair Fund.

Description of talk:

What does the future hold for Homo sapiens -- our own species? In a thousand years, a million years, or 100 million years, will human descendants be mostly indistinguishable -- physically and mentally -- from people somewhere on the broad curves of humanity that exist today. Or will genetic change lead to the emergence of a post human species, as different from us as we are from Neanderthal man or Homo erectus, in ways that our minds are incapable of imagining. The evolution of pre-human animals into human beings was driven almost entirely by natural selection. But modern medicine and modern notions of human rights could very well call a halt to Darwinian treachery. So does this mean that we are at the end of our evolutionary line? Not likely. With tools of genetic engineering that have already been applied to other animals, and with increased knowledge of the human genome, parents will soon be able to provide their children-to-be with inheritable advantages that could be passed on and enhanced from one generation to the next. The critical question is whether humanity will self-evolve together or apart.

Lee M. Silver is a professor at Princeton University in the Department of Molecular Biology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He also has joint appointments in the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy, the Center for Health and Wellbeing, the Office of Population Research, and the Princeton Environmental Institute, all at Princeton University. In 1973, he received a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in physics from the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1978, he received a doctorate in biophysics from Harvard University. Before arriving at Princeton in 1984, he trained at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which was directed by Nobel Laureate James D. Watson. Dr. Silver's newest book is Challenging Nature: The Clash of Science and Spirituality at the New Frontiers of Life, published by Ecco, an imprint of Harper Collins. Matt Ridley, author of Genome and The Red Queen says Challenging Nature is "imbued with courage, suffused with humanity and written with grace." The philosopher and author Peter Singer calls it "a provocative and sorely needed book," with a "rich array of arguments [that] will force you to think afresh about many cherished preconceptions." Michael Gazzaniga, a leading American neurobiologist and member of President Bush's Council on Bioethics says it is a "spectacular and riveting book that puts those who reason by assertion of prior traditions on the run. [Challenging Nature] makes you think and rethink the most basic questions about the nature of human existence. I say Bravo!" Dr. Silver's previous book is Remaking Eden: How Genetic Engineering and Cloning Will Transform the American Family, published in 16 languages. He is also the co-author of an undergraduate textbook in genetics, the single author of Mouse Genetics, a textbook for professionals, and editor of Teratocarcinoma Stem Cells. In 1993, Professor Silver was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 1995, he received an unsolicited 10 year National Institutes of Health MERIT award. He has published over 180 scientific articles in the fields of genetics, evolution, reproduction, embryology, computer modeling, and behavioral science, and other scholarly papers on topics at the interface between biotechnology, law, ethics, and religion. He has been elected to the governing boards of the Genetics Society of America and the International Mammalian Genome Society. He was a member of the New Jersey Bioethics Commission Task Force formed to recommend reproductive policy for the New Jersey State Legislature, and has testified on reproductive and genetic technologies before U.S. Congressional and New York State Senate committees. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Jim Lehrer News Hour, Nova, Nightline, World Report with Peter Jennings, Charlie Rose Show, 20/20, 60 Minutes, and many others in the U.S. and other countries.

2. Adrienne Asch

Title: “Why Reproductive Choice Does Not Mean Reproductive Selection”

Date: Monday, October 29, 2007

7:30 p.m., Evans Hall, ABC

Description for Talk:

A variety of new and not-so-new reproductive technologies permit prospective parents to select for, or against, certain characteristics in their future children. While advocates of such selection celebrate these technologies as extensions of women's reproductive "choice," this talk will argue that the interest in selecting children's characteristics is troubling even for those committed to a pro-choice position on reproductive freedom. The appropriate response of a pro-choice critic of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, selective abortion after amniocentesis, or selecting gamete providers based on their physical characteristics and intelligence--all different methods of selection--is not to ban the practices, but to urge health professionals and prospective parents to reflect more on their purposes in offering or using such selection technologies.

Adrienne Asch, Ph.D., M.S., is the Director of the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University and the Edward and Robin Milstein Professor of Bioethics at Yeshiva University's Wurzweiler School of Social Work. She also holds an appointment in the Division of Bioethics of the Montefiore Medical Center and the Department of Family and Social Medicine and Epidemiology and Population Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She previously taught at Wellesley College, where she was the Henry R. Luce Professor in Biology, Ethics, and the Politics of Human Reproduction. She is currently a member of the Bioethics Committee and the Reproductive Ethics Committee of the Montefiore Medical Center, a Board member of the Society of Jewish Ethics, and a fellow of the Hastings Center.

3. Gregory Pence

Title: "Why Not Enhance Humans?"

Date: Monday, February 11, 2008

7:30 p.m., Evans Hall, ABC

Description of talk:

"Evolution has selected parents who want the best for their children. Liberal democracies also allow parents to make choices for and about their children (contraception, assisted reproduction, abortion, day care, after-school activities, and so on). Such choices shape future traits of children. Despite fears of alarmists and religion, biological choices that enhance exist on the present continuum of choice and already operate in medicine. The challenge for ethics is not to ban choices about enhancement but to insure they are made in the best interest of the child."

Gregory Pence has taught at the UAB medical school for 30 years, where he is Course Director for Medical Ethics. He served on UAB’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for 22 years and once served on UAB Hospital’s Ethics Committee. In 1994, he won UAB’s highest teaching award. He has published in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, New York Times, Atlanta Constitution, Newsweek, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He has published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and Journal of Medical Ethics. He has appeared on CNN’s Talk-Back Live with Bobbie Battista, Wolf Blitzer’s Washington Review, The Point with Gredda von Susteren, ABC News with Sam Donaldson, and The Early Show with Bryant Gumbel. He has been interviewed on National Public Radio’s Marketplace with David Brancaccio, and its Weekend Edition. He has been interviewed for stories on medical ethics in Time magazine and the New York Times. He has lectured at over 200 American medical schools and universities, as well as universities in China, Israel, Canada, Australia, London, and Portugal. His research focuses on emerging ethical issues in medicine, including cloning, genetics, and issues at both ends of life. He has written Re-Creating Medicine: Ethical Issues at the Frontiers of Medicine (2000) and Classic Cases in Medical Ethics (fifth edition, 2007). In 2001, he testified before the Congressional Subcommittee about embryonic and reproductive cloning. In 2006, he won a Pellegrino Medal for lifetime contributions to medical ethics.

4. Roberta M. Berry

Title: “Should We Engineer the Genomes of Our Children? Navigational Policymaking in the New Genetic Era”

Date: Monday, April 7, 2008

7:30 p.m., Evans Hall, ABC

Description of Talk:

Would it be right to engineer the genomes of our future children—to influence the development of their temperament, their physical features, and their abilities—if advances in bioscience and biotechnology make this possible? Roberta Berry explains why this question poses a difficult challenge for policymaking in modern, pluralistic, democratic societies. And she proposes how we might best respond to the challenge—by what she calls a “navigational approach” to policymaking.

Roberta M. Berry, J.D., Ph.D. (history and philosophy of science), is Associate Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Law, Science & Technology Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is co-editor of A Health Law Reader (Carolina Academic Press) and has published a number of articles and book chapters on bioethics, health care, and the legal, ethical, and policy implications of bioscience research and biotechnologies. Her forthcoming book, The Ethics of Genetic Engineering (Routledge), compares the adequacy of utilitarian, deontological, and virtue-based ethical and political theories in addressing the issues posed by the possible advent of genetic engineering of human beings.

APS

2007-08-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Fall 2007 meeting of the Alabama Philosophical Society will be held September 21-22, back in our old venue in Orange Beach, Alabama. Please note that this is about A MONTH EARLIER THAN USUAL, and the DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING PAPERS IS AUGUST 7TH. Mark your calendars!

Our Keynote Speaker will be Andrew Melnyk (U. Missouri-Columbia).

Rooms will be held at the Hilton Beachfront Garden Inn (251-974-1600) until August 31st.

Download and post our Call for Papers poster (or open the attached document) and Student Essay Contest poster.

2007-05-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

Tom Beauchamp: The Principlist Approach
	Thursday, May 31 2007, 6:30pm - 8:30pm http://www.ethics.emory.edu/documents/beauchamp.pdf
This year’s Herndon lecturer, Dr. Thomas Beauchamp, is one of the creators of the "principlist" approach to bioethics, which understands the principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice as critical directives in bioethical reflection. Professor of Philosophy and a Senior Research Scholar in Georgetown University's Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Beauchamp is widely known as the primary author of The Belmont Report and as co-author of The Principles of Biomedical Ethics. Over the years, the principlist approach has become hugely popular and is probably the most familiar of all constructs in aiding bioethical thinking. Predictably, it has also received a considerable amount of critical commentary. In his talk, Beauchamp will discuss the origins of the principlist approach, its critical evolution over the last three decades, and how principlism fares today in practical and theoretical bioethical reflection. There will be a light dinner served at 6:30pm, and the lecture will start at 7:30pm. This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs to Paul Ficklin-Alred are required. Beauchamp will preside over an invitation-only faculty workshop on the day following this evening lecture. Please feel free to download the flyer for this event and post it prominently! Named for a retired Presbyterian campus minister, this lecture series is sponsored by the Center for Ethics and is also affiliated with the Office of the Dean of the Chapel and Religious Life at Emory University. Traditionally, persons in many fields - such as health sciences, biology, law and theology - explore ethical issues in their work over dinner.
Contact: Paul Ficklin-Alred (paul.ficklin-alred@emory.edu or 404.727.1208) Location: Winship Ballroom, Dobbs University Center

“Contemporary Reflections on Ethical Theory and Decision Making:

Their Implications for Teaching Bioethics”

June 1, 2007

Rita Ann Rollins Room (864)

School of Public Health

Emory University

8:15 – 9:00 Breakfast and Introductions

9:00 – 9:45 “Is Ethical Theory Practical or Merely Theoretical?”

Tom Beauchamp

9:45 – 10:00 Group Discussion/Response

10:00 – 10:30 “A Weak Defense of Weak Ethical Theory?”

Nick Fotion

10:30 – 10:45 Break

10:45 – 11:15 Group Discussion on Ethical Theory

11:15 – Noon “Virtue Ethics, Common Law, and Biomedical Policy Making”

Roberta Berry

“Moral Belief Formation: A Neuroethical Perspective”

John Banja

Noon – 12:30 Group Discussion on Making Ethical Decisions

12:30 – 1:15 Lunch

1:15 – 2:15 “Conceptual Foundations in Teaching Animal Ethics”
Lori Marino

“Teaching Christian Ethics as Practical Reasoning”

Liz Bounds

“Can We Teach Ethics Without Teaching Ethical Theory?”

Mark Risjord

2:15 – 3:00 Group Discussion on Teaching Ethical Theory and Wrap Up

* * *

John Banja, PhD

Assistant Director for Health Sciences & Clinical Ethics

Associate Professor of Clinical Ethics

Center for Ethics, Emory University

1462 Clifton Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30322

jbanja@emory.edu

(404) 712-4804

http://ethics.emory.edu

Tennessee Philosophical Association

2007-04-18T07:14:00.001-07:00

Colleagues,

You've met your classes. You've paid your taxes. Comes now the time to turn on the creative juices and prepare your paper for the 39th annual meeting of the Tennessee Philosophical Association. The meetings will be held (as usual) in Nashville on October 26-27, 2007 (a bit earlier than you may have come to expect). The deadline for submission is September 14, 2007. Papers should be sent to

Prof. Phil Oliver

Department of Philosophy
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN 37132

jamesphiloliver@yahoo.com

As always, the Association welcomes contributions representing all areas of philosophy, but this year, special consideration will be given papers relating to Professor John Lachs' lifetime interests, especially the relevance of philosophy for life.

The official CALL FOR PAPERS is posted at http://www.tpaweb.org/callforpapers.html <http://www.tpaweb.org/callforpapers.html> . A copy is attached to this message.

I look forward to seeing you in Nashville.

Charles E. Cardwell, Secretary

Tennessee Philosophical Association

cecardwell@pstcc.edu

At Agnes Scott this Tuesday

2007-04-15T19:25:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Rabbi Hillel Norry and Mark Douglas
"Is Nature Ours? A Jewish-Christian Dialogue"
7:30 p.m.
Evans Hall, terrace level, rooms ABC

Hillel Norry is Rabbi at Congregation Shearith Israel, a Conservative, egalitarian congregation in Atlanta. Mark Douglas is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Columbia Theological Seminary. Rabbi Norry and Professor Douglas will discuss what they see their religions as suggesting about the proper relationship between human beings and the rest of creation. What, for example, do the Hebrew and Christian Bibles tell us about our relationship to other species, or our responsibilities to future generations?

2007-04-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

“Racism and Anti-Semitism:

What They Are and

What They Aren't”

Racism and anti-Semitism are among the great evils of human history. But what are they, and what makes them morally wrong? This talk examines those questions by focusing on whether the intent to cause harm is an essential part of racism and anti-Semitism.

Dr. Andrew Altman

Professor of philosophy, Georgia State University

He holds his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Columbia University (1977) and received a Liberal Arts Fellowship in Law and Philosophy from Harvard Law School (1984-5). Professor Altman is the author of Critical Legal Studies: A Liberal Critique (Princeton 1990) and Arguing About Law: An Introduction to Legal Philosophy (2nd ed. 2001). He has published more than two dozen articles on topics in legal and political philosophy, including freedom of speech, democratic legitimacy, and voting rights. His articles have appeared in prominent scholarly journals in the areas of political, legal and ethical philosophy, including Ethics and Philosophy and Public Affairs, and several of his pieces have been widely reprinted in anthologies in legal philosophy and contemporary social issues.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2007 4:00 p.m.

KILGORE SEMINAR ROOM, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE

A flyer is here:
http://www.morehouse.edu/facstaff/nnobis/courses/altman-flyer.pdf

Center for Ethics, Emory University - April Events

2007-04-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

For more information, including updates on programs and unabridged articles, visit our website at www.ethics.emory.edu

Ethics Calendar Updates

Apr. 9, 12:00pm & 7:30pm, Emory University

U.S. National Security: Limits of the War on Terror
Emory Law and Emory’s Center for the Study of Public Scholarship host lectures on two of today’s leading national security issues: “Stopping Iran - the urgent need for a new policy” and “Preserving and Protecting the Constitution in the War on Terror”. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

Apr. 11-22, Various

Earth Week Events at Emory

Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives has been working closely with numerous groups to plan Earth Week at Emory. Events include fairs, farmer's markets, panel discussions, theatrical presentations, and more.

Apr. 12, 4:00-5:45pm, Reception Hall, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

Understanding Moral Disagreement
Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Public Scholarship, this latest lecture in the Envisioning and Creating Just Societies series features K. Anthony Appiah. For more information, contact Doreen Theune (404-727-7602 or dtheune@emory.edu).

Apr. 19-20, 7:30pm+, Emory Conference Center Hotel (1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta)

Changing the Way We Die: Religion, Medicine, and Improving the Dying Process
This two-day public conference has been developed by the Emory University Initiative on Religion and the Human Spirit. For further details, including a full agenda and an RSVP form, please visit the website or contact Juana Clem McGhee (404-727-2575 or jmcghee@emory.edu).

Apr. 22, 6:00-9:30pm, Cox Hall Banquet Room, 3rd Floor (569 Asbury Circle)

Laws of Life Essay Award Dinner
The Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest provides student and teacher awards at the school level and the state level. Award money for the 2006-2007 school year winners, processed by Center for Ethics staff, will be distributed at this dinner. For more information, contact Susan Mason (lawsoflife@bellsouth.net).

Apr. 26, 4:00pm-5:00pm, Rollins School of Public Health, Room 864 (1518 Clifton Rd, Atlanta)

Clinical Ethics Seminar
This monthly seminar, open to the Emory community, focuses on ethics in clinical practice. Each seminar features a presentation on applied ethics in the speaker's area of expertise. These seminars are hosted by the Quality of Life Program of the Emory University Center for Ethics and the School of Medicine. For further information, contact Marian Osborne (mosborn@emory.edu or 404.727.5048).

Breaking New Ground: Emory Receives $5 Million Gift for Center for Ethics from Wielands

Emory University has received a gift of $5 million from John and Sue Wieland of Atlanta to support the Center for Ethics, which will be renamed in their honor and move into a new building under construction at the heart of Emory's main campus. The announcement was made public at the building's groundbreaking ceremony March 20.

2007-04-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Understanding Moral Disagreement
Thursday April 12
4:00pm
Reception Hall, Michael C. Carlos Museum

Lecture by K. Anthony Appiah, Laurance S. Rockefeller Univeristy Professor of Philosophy and the University Center for Human Values at Princeton.

This event is presented as part of the Envisioning and Creating Just Societies: Perspectives from the Public Humanities Distinguished Speaker Series organized by the Center for the Study of Public Scholarship (CSPS) and the Center for Humanistic Inquiry (CHI).
Cosponsors include the Office of International Affairs, Hightower Fund, The Playwriting Center of Theater Emory, Feminism and Legal Theory Project, Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, Institute of African Studies, Emory Law School, American Studies, and the Departments of Art History, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, English, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, Political Science and Women’s Studies.
To print the entire series (PDF), click here.
For additional information on this event, please contact Aline Rafi in the CSPS at 404-727-7602.

GSU Philosophy

2007-04-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

April promises to be a very exciting month in the GSU Philosophy Department, as we have talks scheduled for the next four Fridays! Please mark your calendar for the following lectures:

Ernie Sosa (Rutgers University, Brown University), *Epistemic Normativity*
Friday, April 6th, 4 pm
Troy Moore Library (9th floor, GCB)
This talk is part of the Online Philosophy Conference.

Victoria Davion (University of Georgia), *Evil and Healthcare, A Feminist Perspective*
Friday, April 13th, 3:30 pm
Philosophy Department Conference Room

Iwao Hirose (Harvard University*s Program in Ethics and Health),
"Aggregation and the Separateness of Persons"
Friday, April 20th, 2:15 pm
Philosophy Department Conference Room
This talk is sponsored by the Center for Ethics.

David Chalmers (Australian National University), *Terminological Disputes and Philosophical Progress*
Friday, April 27th, 11:30 am
Troy Moore Library (9th floor, GCB)