Philosophy DepartmentAsbury Hall
mail 100 East Seminary Street
Greencastle, IN
46135-0037
Office: (765) 658-4713
Fax: (765) 658-6605
Events
Prindle Institute events
The Prindle Institute for Ethics frequently hosts events of philosophical interest for students and faculty, including the Undergraduate Ethics Symposium, faculty reading groups, and lectures by distinguished guests. Information about upcoming events can be found here on the Prindle Institute site.
Philosophy Club
DPU Philosophy Club meetings are on Wednesdays (no longer Thursdays) at 6:00pm in Reese Lobby. (Reese is the building directly across from the Hub and between Lucy and Mason in North Quad. If you don't have swipecard access then knock on the windows and we'll let you in.) As a rule, meetings include pizza.
Upcoming activities
We've had a lengthy drought of Philosophy Club meetings, but that all ends in Reese Hall (in North Quad, across from the Hub) this Thursday Nov. 20th at 6pm!
Jeanette Renshaw has kindly agreed to discuss the ethics of vegetarianism. The usual soft drinks and pizza will be provided for your nomming enjoyment. Come prepared with appetites and opinions!
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Some recent Philosophy Club announcements
Philosophy Club will be presenting at Peace Camp on Tuesday September 30th from 6:30-7:30pm and discussing the Ethics of Public Health Intervention and Respecting Cultural Traditions. Peace Camp is taking place on East College Lawn this year, as opposed to Academic Quad. Don't worry, we'll have pizza!
Wednesday night, October 1st, Phil Club is co-sponsoring a Presidential Election Forum with Management Fellows and Media Fellows. David Dietz and Matt Newill will be discussing issues and strategies of the on-going presidential campaigns. It will be moderated by Andy Bruner and Kali Geldis from The DePauw. This will take place at 6:30 in the UB Ballroom.
The Club's first major event will be when Thomas Hibbs comes to visit in a few weeks. Philosophy Club will be co-sponsoring an event at which Professor Hibbs will be discussing Film Noir and the ethical implications of such films, including the recent hit The Dark Knight. For those of you who remember, Professor Hibbs visited last year and we discussed The Exorcist with him over lunch.
Mark your calendars for the Club's first meeting of the semester, Wednesday September 10th at 6 PM. We'll be giving an overview of the year, holding elections, and taking care of some other business. Tentatively, it will be held in the UB until we get settled in another room for the duration of the year. All positions are open for election, so if you're interested in running or want more information, contact the Philosophy Club.
On May 3rd and 4th some students from DePauw will be attending the Wisconsin Epistemology Conference in Madison. We are currently in the works of getting funding for this, so it should cost little or no money to attend. More information about the conference is available here.
On Wednsday, March 12, at 7 PM, John P. O'Callaghan, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame, will give a talk in Watson Forum. Professor O'Callaghan's talk is aimed at an undergraduate audience. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. This event, which is a wonderful opportunity to hear from a distinguished philosopher, substitutes for our regular Wednesday night Philosophy Club meeting. We hope to see many of you there. Anyone interested in philosophy, politics or justice should find something of interest in O'Callaghan's lecture.Here are the title and description of the talk: "Honor Among Thieves? Justice, Prudence, and Imperfection in Politics." The talk is a reflection upon the roles of prudence and imperfection in a just political order. It begins with a reflection upon Plato's famous "Justice Among Thieves" argument in the Republic*, and using Aristotle's and Aquinas' discussions of prudence seeks to show why there is no justice among thieves, and the danger that a political order will be little better than a band of thieves if it too lacks what a band of thieves lacks—prudence. Finally, looking again at Aquinas, it considers whether the necessity of prudence requires perfection in those who rule, or whether a political community isn't better served by a certain kind of imperfection in those who rule it.
On Thursday, October 25, we will be hosting Andrew Cullison, a philosopher who is currently teaching at
the State University of New York at Fredonia. Cullison is a 2001 graduate of DePauw who
went on to get his PhD in philosophy at the University of Rochester. He was also a member of
DePauw's very first ethics bowl team!
His talk is entitled "Divine Hiddenness" (roughly, if God exists, why doesn't He show Himself?).
There will be a casual buffet dinner (probably Chinese!) at 5 , followed by the talk and discussion. We will be done by 7, for those
of you who have classes at that hour. The location is the Reese Hall Lobby.
Andy is a great guy and a terrific philosopher. I'm sure you will enjoy his talk.
He will also be available on Friday the 26th to talk to students who are considering going to graduate
school in philosophy and who have questions about the application process, choosing a school, job prospects, etc.
Wednesday night October 10th Burleigh lecturer Thomas Hibbs will be giving his lecture "Wide Awake: Religious Quests in the Films of M. Night Shyamalan" 7:30 Watson Forum.
Also tomorrow, make sure to come to Peace Camp to support philosophy professor Jen Everett as she leads a discussion entitled "Sustainability as Justice: Philosophical Reflections" 4 PM in Academic Quad (where all the tents are...)
Thursday October 11th Thomas Hibbs will discuss his book Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture from The Exorcist to Seinfeld.
On Wednesday September 25th, Nate Placencia, new faculty in the Philosophy Department, will be presenting on Social Identities and Social Norms.
On Wednesday September 19th the meeting will be lead by Lauren Lefebvre, who will be presenting a case study dealing with organ donation. A short reading will be sent out, and copies will be available at the meeting.
On April 19th the meeting will involve a rousing discussion about the philosophy of religion. As we devour our Anthony's pizza we'll consider questions about the role of faith versus the role of reason. While we quench our thirst with a variety of Pepsi products, we'll ponder the arguments for and against a supreme being. Come and stimulate your brain cells before you harm them all over Little 5 Weekend.
On April 12th the Philosophy Club hosts Professor Rich Cameron as he presents on free will and character development in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Elections will be held within the next few weeks so if you're interested in being President, Vice President, VP of Communications, Treasurer, or VP of Operations then send and email to us and we answer any questions you have or just to let us know you're interested. (This includes people off campus!!)
Thursday, February 15: Special event. You are invited to participate in a discussion of free will and determinism as they relate to science and religion. This event is part of a series sponsored by DePauw's Commons Project, which is an initiative to encourage dialogue on issues pertaining to science and religion. Discussion will be led by faculty members from philosophy, biology, psychology, and religious studies (I think). This event will be held next Thursday, February 15, from 5:00 to 6:30 PM in Reese Hall - note special time and place.
The Philosophy Club features a guest speaker Wednesday, November 1. She is Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Jean Taylor, who is Emerita Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers. The title of her talk is "The Nature of Proof." She says this talk is likely to turn very quickly into an informal discussion. We will be joined by mathematics students for this event. There will be refreshments. Same time and place as always: Wednesday, 6 PM, Mason Cellar This is a great opportunity for us. Hope to see you there.
