Philosophy@Utah State

Young philosophers Andrew Royer and Cody Howell will be performing some songs by David Bazan next Wednesday, December 2nd, in Main 115 at 7 pm.

Royer writes, “We think this would be interesting because of the changing opinion on faith that is evidenced in his albums.His 1997 debut includes songs that could be sung in a church without much of a stretch. His recently released album is a narrative of his loss of faith. The seven albums in between show a steady change.”

I think this should also be of interest to students in Religious Studies. All are welcome! Rock on!

Peter Singer was on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” today, discussing the rationing of health care.  Listen here.  Tune in tomorrow for the opposing view (Singer argues we must ration health care, tomorrow they’ll offer the other view).

Singer recently published an article on why we must ration health care in the NYTimes.  Read that article here.

Check out this illusion. Watch the spinning disk fall straight down; then shift your gaze to the blue circle, and “watch” the falling disc with your peripheral vision. It will no longer appear to fall straight down. Then, when you turn your eyes to the spinning disc again, its motion seems to abruptly change. This might model the phenomenon that curveballs in baseball “break” suddenly; they perhaps both result from the viewer/batter suddenly shifting his/her gaze from one fixed point to another spinning, dropping object.

Here is a very interesting, thoughtful bit of fiction about a hardened atheist who nevertheless finds within himself a profound need to reach out to something divine. It is the first chapter of a book by the same title, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein.

The last Intermountain Philosophy Conference was a welcomed opportunity to get better acquainted with students and colleagues from our region. Some of us are thinking we can keep the momentum, or maybe even increase it, with a common blog for us all to participate in. So we’ve created “Philosophy in Utah“. Expect to see announcement of regional goings-on, along with (I hope) further discussion of philosophical ideas across the spectrum.

1. If you have taken 2+ courses in Philosophy, and done well, you may be eligible to join Phi Sigma Tau, our Philosophy honor society. You get to wear a bright yellow neck thingy at graduation to show how wise and honorable you are. More details.

2. You also may be eligible to join the Honors program at USU, get special access to classes and get access to special classes, and write an honors thesis. More details.

3. What is “honor” anyway? Hobbes says that to honor someone is to ask for their aid. Aristotle, more plausibly, thinks it it to be respected by people who know what they’re talking about in the area of one’s own excellence. Kant thought it was disinterestedly doing your duty in obedience to the moral law. Me? I’d go for the yellow neck thingy.

Mariam Thalos (U Utah) has passed along this nifty cartoon. (Don’t let the hokey music at the beginning turn you off!)

Philosophers are often the sources of great witticisms, some of which have been recorded here by Gerry Dworkin.

Also, imagine sitting down every day to the same rye-and-Swiss sandwich and saying, “Hot ziggety!”. And imagine at the same time that you are Ludwig Wittgenstein.

… in a supercomputer. See Henry Markram’s TEDtalk here.

See the schedule, over in the “Announcements” box on the right. All are certainly welcome; the presentations have breaks among them so you can move among rooms if you like. Also, if you’re interested in dining with the philosophers, let Huenemann know.