News

News about Philosophy

Dear Philosophy Majors and Minors:

We have a few announcements of upcoming events you should know about. First, next Wednesday, February 29, Professor Carol Simon of our own department will be giving a talk entitled, "Gratitude, Hope and Purity of Heart: Three Virtues of a Christian Scholar." The talk will take place at 4:30 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall. Refreshments will be served. (This talk is co-sponsored by the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts.)

Also, next Monday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. will be the first of two events in the Brains, Minds and Souls: Neuroscience and Christian Faith series. This event features Professors David Myers and Tom Ludwig of Hope's Psychology Department discussing "Neuroscience Research and Christian Beliefs: Claims, Tensions, and Questions." It will also take place in Winants Auditorium.

By Friday of next week (March 2) you might need to take a break from talks and classes and so you should meet us at Lemonjello's for a free cup of coffee. We'll meet at Lemonjello's at 4 p.m. for friendly conversation (no tests).

For the more ambitious among you, consider submitting a paper to the upcoming Undergraduate Philosophy Conference at Calvin College on May 4 and 5. This year Cornell philosophers Jill North and Ted Sider will be the keynote speakers.

INFORMATION
• Participants: The conference is free of charge and open to the public.
• Papers: Accepting papers on all topics in philosophy.
• Lodging: Calvin students offering to host visiting students.
• Contact: For further questions about the conference, please contact Chad McIntosh: cam39@students.calvin.edu

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
• Submission deadline is March 15th. Acceptance notification is April 1st. All papers are subject to blind review.
• Include detachable title paper with name, title, and institution affiliation. The paper itself should include only the paper title.
Submit papers as attachments in pdf/word.doc format to Chad McIntosh: cam39@students.calvin.edu
• Papers should be prepared to be read within 30-45 minutes.

Finally, registration for fall courses will take place soon. Those of you who are juniors should plan on taking our Senior Capstone Course (PHIL 450). This course is a requirement for the major (and strongly encouraged for the minor). It is only offered in the fall so don't miss it! Descriptions of all our courses for the fall will be available soon. So stay tuned!

Have a good weekend.

A. Dell'Olio for the Philosophy Department

Here are some opportunities in philosophy for you to consider:

1. Call for Papers: Undergraduate Biomedical Ethics Symposium

May 5, 2012
Hosted by University Center for the Humanities
2500 Knauss Hall

Biomedical ethics papers should be 3000 words (about 20 minutes presentation time) and prepared for blind review (name and identifying information should appear nowhere on the paper). Attach your paper and separate cover page that contains name, address, phone number, e-mail address and school affiliation as a Word or PDF file to the e-mail. The e-mail subject line should read “Undergraduate Biomedical ethics Paper Submission”

Submission deadline March 1st, 2012

Accepted authors will be notified by March 15th. Papers not prepared for blind review will be rejected. We respectfully request that we receive submissions only from those who plan to attend the conference if accepted.

e-mail submissions to ugbioethicswmu@gmail.com

2. The Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University is sponsoring the fifth annual Undergraduate Ethics Symposium, April 12-14, 2012. The conference is shaped around a series of workshops in which students present their best work on a subject of ethical concern. This year the theme of the Symposium is Ethics and Relationships: Friends, Family and Community, but we welcome writings on all areas of ethical concern, such as personal morality, environmental ethics, bio-medical ethics, media ethics, feminist ethics, and diversity issues.

This is an honors symposium, and those students whose works are received by the February 1 deadline and accepted for inclusion in the conference program by panels of DePauw faculty members will have all of their expenses paid for the conference. DePauw will cover travel expenses (up to $400), lodging and food for each conference participant. The group will be relatively small; we hope to have 20-30 students from a variety of colleges and universities. The seminars in which the works will be discussed will consist of seven to ten students each.

The students whose works are accepted for the symposium will benefit from the critiques and comments of their peers in the seminar, and also from the visiting scholar or artist who will direct the workshop. Our goal is that each student who participates in the Symposium will have a polished piece of work which s/he can then submit in a portfolio, a graduate school application, or a job application.

If you would like further information on the visiting scholars and artist or the tentative schedule, please visit the website
(http://prindleinstitute.depauw.edu/programs/ethics_symposium.asp).