The Philosophy Department hosts a wide range of events catering to a diversity of interests and backgrounds. At the Department Speaker Series, visiting philosophers give talks on their recent research. At the Philosophy Goes Public colloquium series, members of our department give public talks at the Guelph Library on topics of general philosophical interest. The Guelph Lecture in Philosophy is an annual presentation at which the entire academic and non-academic community are invited to experience interesting, high-calibre philosophy. The Department also hosts regular conferences, workshops, and graduate student colloquia. See below for a list of our Winter, 2013 events.
January 25, 2013- Department Speaker Series.
Doreen Fraser (University of Waterloo).
"What does the Higgs boson teach us about scientific realism? "
MacKinnon room 228
3:00 pm.
Abstract:
This past summer CERN announced with great fanfare that experiments at the Large Hadron Collider had confirmed the existence of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson. For philosophers, this announcement provokes a set of metaphysical questions: What is the Higgs boson? If I am a scientific realist and there is sufficient evidence to commit me to the existence of the Higgs boson, what sort of entity do I believe exists? In this non-technical talk, I will survey two candidate answers to this set of questions, both of which appeal to analogies. For the purpose of explaining the Higgs boson to the public, the Higgs boson has been likened to Margaret Thatcher at a cocktail party. The formulation of the theory of the Higgs boson (the Standard Model of particle physics) was guided by an analogy to superconductors. I will argue that the application of analogical reasoning in the Higgs boson case carries some important morals which are, for the most part, absent from the contemporary debate about scientific realism.
January 29, 2013 - Philosophy Goes Public.
Shannon Buckley (University of Guelph).
"Just a little respect: dignity in the health care context."
Guelph Library
7:00 pm
Abstract:
In health care ethics the principle of autonomy tends to take centre-stage in patient care situations. Is respect for autonomy all that patients are concerned with? Are all patients autonomous? This talk ar-gues for giving the concept of dignity a more prominent role in the patient care context.
February 8, 2013 - Department Speaker Series.
Deborah Black (University of Toronto).
"Varieties of Consciousness in Classical Arabic Philosophy."
MacKinnon room 228
3:30 pm.
Abstract
In the classical Arabic philosophical tradition, the problem of consciousness—or more precisely, “self-awareness”—is most often associated with the philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā) and his so-called “Flying Man” thought experiment. But Avicenna’s interest in the nature of consciousness is by no means confined to the Flying Man, and he is by no means the only classical Islamic thinker to consider self-awareness and consciousness as important features of our cognitive experience. In this talk I examine the extent to which the spectrum of concerns that we now group under the rubric of consciousness was recognized in classical Islamic thought, and I explore the role that consciousness played in the speculative systems of Avicenna and other philosophers and theologians.
February 26, 2013 - Philosophy Goes Public.
John Hacker-Wright (University of Guelph).
"Nietzche on Compassion".
Guelph Library
7:00 pm
Abstract
This talk will treat Friedrich Nietzsche's critique of compassion as a moral sentiment, looking at that critique from the perspective of experimental results in contemporary social psychology.
March 15, 2013 - Department Speaker Series.
Heather Douglas (University of Waterloo).
"The moral terrain of science."
MacKinnon room 228
3:30 pm
Abstract
Most accounts of research ethics have two unfortunate characteristics: 1) the account of the responsibilities of scientists is a long list of various responsibilities, often with tensions among them, with little or no substantive guidance for how to consider such tensions (e.g. Resnick 1998, cha. 4, IoM/NRC 2002); and 2) the discussion of the responsibilities of scientist with respect to society is woefully thin and inadequate (as noted by Pimple 2002). This talk aims to correct both of these flaws by providing a map of the moral terrain for scientists. Such a map reveals the complexity of the moral landscape in which scientists work, but also can provide clearer guidance for when some responsibilities trump other responsibilities. For example, it makes clearer what responsibilities scientist have to the general society in which they work, and thus what kind of limitations on doing science can legitimately arise from such responsibilities.
March 26, 2013 - Philosophy Goes Public.
Jehangir Saleh (University of Guelph).
“Thinking About Conflict”.
Guelph Library
7:00 pm.
Abstract
When it comes to “Who makes the best friend chicken?” we can usually agree to disagree. But what about moral questions: “Is it right to steal from the rich to give to the poor?” We often have very different but equally passionate responses. How should we handle situations in which our sense of what’s right conflicts with another’s sense of what’s right? Can we “respectfully” take action to stop those we believe are behaving immorally? This talk will draw on the insights of the 19th-century German philosopher G. W. Hegel to help us think about conflict between individuals.
April 30, 2013 - Philosophy Goes Public.
Diana Karbonowska (University of Guelph).
"I know that I do not know."
Guelph Library
7:00 pm
Abstract
The title of this talk is one of the most popular aphorisms found in the platonic dialogues. However, this famous disavowal of knowledge, and Socrates' many other avowals and disavowals of knowledge throughout Plato's works, have been grossly misunderstood. This talk will explore David Wolfsdorf's interesting approach to interpreting these statements and how they shed light on the character of Socrates.