Senior Capstone Presentations

Philosophy Department seniors presented their capstone papers in December.

• Claire Jamison - Identity and Goods over Time
• Brenna O'Neill - How Language Affects Thought
• Madeleine Disner - Leaping with Another in Being and Time
• Casey Rufener - The 4-Color Problem Solved Again
• Abigail Rankin - Aristotle and the Unreality of Time: It's All in your Head
• Teng Ding - Metaphor Analysis as a Method of Doing Philosophy
• Stefan Norman - Making Sense of Panpsychism
• James Weismuller - Evaluating Moral Nihilism
• Evan Oelschlaeger - Axiological Process Ontology
• Lucas de Gracia - Memeplexes as Minds
• Martin Blanchard - A Case for Naturalized Epistemology
• Ben Alterman - Understanding Nietzsche Through a Democratic Lens
• Charles McClung - Reasons Internalism and the Role of Value
• Kathleen Zimmerman - Morality in a Social Context
• Jeffrey Aisen - Nietzschean Honesty
• Matthew Mullarky - States as Perfect Friends

A Philosophical CafÉ was held on World Philosophy Day

The campus community was invited to join philosophy faculty and senior majors for conversation, refreshments, and music at a PHILOSOPHICAL CAFÉ in celebration of World Philosophy Day. The emphasis for this year’s CAFÉ was on the work and legacy (think Kant and Nietzsche) of the Scottish philosopher David Hume, whose 300th birthday is observed this year. UNESCO’s World Philosophy Day, observed on the third Thursday in November since 2002, is a day for people around the world to come together to talk about fundamental philosophical questions related to our human existence, in the hopes of promoting global understanding and peace.

View two videos from the event

• Hume
• Bagpipes

Philosophy Majors (and others) Participate in Mock Trial in Washington, DC

This weekend, various philosophy students competed at the 24th Annual National Mock Trial Invitational Tournament at Loras College, including (but not limited to), Nathan Scheiner, Emily Wade, Jake Hasson, Sam "Henry" Eklund, and Lexii Carrillo. With nearly identical records, two Macalester teams finished in 5th and 6th place out of almost 70 participating teams. Macalester Mock trial is looking forward to the regional competition at the University of Wisconsin - Superior in two weeks, and we are hopeful that we will advance two teams in the national competition!

Martin Gunderson and Henry West presented papers

Martin Gunderson and Henry West (philosophy) presented papers to the annual meeting of the Minnesota Philosophical Society, held at Minnesota State University Mankato on November 5, 2011.

Martin Gunderson presents paper in Leuven, Belgium

Martin Gunderson presented a paper entitled, "Democratic Equality and End-of-Life Care," at an international conference in Leuven, Belgium on May 6, 2011. The conference title was "Justice, Luck and Responsibility in Health Care." Professor Gunderson also attended a conference entitled "Setting Priorities in Health Care" organized by the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare and the Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Zurich, Switzerland, August 17-20, 2011.

Student to be Published in Journal

Casey Rufener '12 articles "The Four-Color-Problem Solved, Again: Extending the Extended Mind to Philosophy of Mathematics" will appear in the Pacific University's Res Cogitans. Another article of his, "Quining the Distinction Between Direct and Indirect Interventions into the Mind," will appear in The Princeton Journal of Bioethics.

CongratuLations Seniors

Fourteen seniors graduated from our department in 2011. They are pursing a variety of interests. Here are a few:

• Elizabeth Balskus ’11 will seek a PhD in philosophy University of Oregon
• Gerard Hoogvliet ’11 (Zwolle, Netherlands) will attend the University College London for a MA in political theory.
• Gayatri Sarin is a consultant at Deloitte Consulting

American Philosophical Association attended by Three Professors

Diane Michelfelder, Joy Laine and Henry West participated in the annual American Philosophical Association meeting held in Minneapolis this year. Michelfelder chaired the Committee on the Status of Women: Technology and Reproductive Autonomy, Laine chaired the colloquium on Epistemology, and West chaired the colloquium on Good and Evil. Janet Folina and Geoff Gorham also attended this event.