Congratulations 2012 Seniors

Eighteen seniors graduated from our department in 2012. They are pursuing a variety of interests.

Congratulations to the class of 2012!

Rights of Non-Human Animal class visits dog park

As part of her Rights of Non-Human Animal class, Professor Diane Michelfelder brought her class to the Airport Dog Park.

Katie Westling, owner of Paw Pet Company, talked to the students about the dog park.

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 “Human Rights and the Virtue of Democratic Civility,” at the 29^th International Social Philosophy Conference (Civic Virtues, Divided Societies, and Democratic Dilemmas) sponsored by the North American Society for Social Philosophy in Boston, MA on July 27, 2012.

Martin Gunderson also presented a paper entitled “The Human Right to Health and Democratic Institutions” at the 26^th European Conference on the Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare.  The conference was held in Nazareth, Israel on August 22, 2012.

What did Vivian Ihekoronye do this summer

The kids I taught are a smart and energetic bunch. I'll never forget the delighted looks on the students' faces when philosophical arguments were brought to life through silly but thoughtful philosophical dialogues. Despite being between the ages of 8 and 10, they showed maturity during class discussions about topics such as politics and gender inequality and its effect on friendship, politics, and perceptions of superheroes. Ultimately, the students taught me that kids are natural philosophers: always curious with questions and willing to debate when given the opportunity. Moreover, philosophy provides a platform for kids to develop intellectual humility, empathy, and courage through conversation and creative thought experiments. I hope that philosophy associations and educational institutions will be more proactive in finding ways to give children a taste of the intellectual pursuit we, as collegiate and professional philosophers, have been so lucky to experience.

First International Conference of the Centre for Ethics and Politics of emerging technologies

Diane  P. Michelfelder, presented a paper, "Imagining Techno-Moral Change: From Moral Shortcuts to Moral Detours," at the 1st International Conference of the Centre for Ethics and Politics of Emerging Technologies (EPET). The conference took place July 2-4 at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.