Philosophy@Utah State

Our own Richard Sherlock was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune this Saturday with a story on his conversion.

For those of you interested in how students responded to 2 weeks without glowing screens, I posted a recap and some selection from student reflections here on my blog.

Come support and join in discussion with several philosophy undergraduates who are presenting at the 9th annual Student Research Symposium, hosted by the Department of Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies. The philosophy talks are as follows:

Friday, April 20
Session 1, Main 006, 3:30-4:20
• Mathias Fuelling, “The Perceptions of Riverrun: Finnegan’s Wake as a Literary Metaphor for David Hume’s Bundle Theory of the Mind”
• Camron Lee, “Observing the Shifting of Cultural Values in Literature”

Session 9, Main 006, 4:30-5:30
• Beau Peterson, “David Hume and the Theory of Personal Identity”
• Justin Solum, “Hume on Imagination”
• Shashank Chauhan, “The Question of Justice”

Last roll of the school year.

A panel of students will be discussing the problem of evil tomorrow (April 11).  Each panelist will have a brief presentation and there will be time for questions and discussion.

ANSC 115 4:30-6:00

There is an interesting comment thread on a post at Brian Leiter’s philosophy blog in response to the question, “What would be your biggest regret if this were the last day of your life?” The article Leiter links to is by a nurse who has asked this question of many patients over their last days, and kept track of their replies. The biggest regrets are not surprising: people feel that they tried too hard to meet others’ expectations; that they spent too much time working; that they did not take enough time to watch their children grow. The comments on Leiter’s post, mainly from philosophers and lawyers, are more reflective, thoughtful, and interesting than most other comment threads are, in my experience. If you are considering a career in law, note well the regrets expressed by several successful lawyers that they work so many hours that they have very little time for fun, family, or love.

It is a question worth spending some time thinking about. Many of the things we work so diligently toward – successful careers, becoming rich or famous, getting an A from Huenemann – really aren’t the sorts of things that will make us feel we have lived a successful life. And many of the things that will lead to that feeling are very close at hand. Memento mori, my friends.

We are in the midst of a re-launch of the Philosophy Club.  Part of this re-launch is a merging of the Philosophy Club with Phi Sigma Tau (the philosophy honors society).  Now we could simply call it “Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy Club.”  But perhaps there is a better name out there for it.

Please share your ideas here.

ADDENDUM: If you are interested in adding your name to a Philosophy Club email list, please send a note to charlie.huenemann@usu.edu.

Don’t forget: Carson Bessinger, “Consciousness Enframed: The Alētheia of Qualia,” this Saturday at 4:00 PM at the Accolades at Hamilton’s, 2427 North Main.

Next Thursday (3/29), we will have a brief meeting to talk about hosting an undergraduate philosophy journal, and future events for philosophy club. Then I’ll give a brief talk on Nietzsche, evolution, and culture. Everyone is welcome!

Thursday, 3/29, Main 227
4:00 – philosophy club meeting
4:30 – “Nietzsche, evolution, and culture”

“I have often said that the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” – Pascal

“The present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased.  If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I should reply, ‘Create silence’.” – Kierkegaard 

• not watch any television, movies, or other video
• not listen to an iPod or other portable music device
• not play any video games on any sort of device
• not check facebook, twitter, or any other social networking site
• not get on the internet (exceptions only for legitimate school work)
• check email for only 15 minutes a day
• treat their cell phone like a land line (plug it into the wall and leave it there)
• not text message, video message, or use any other messaging/texting on a phone, computer or any other electronic device

Feel free to join us in our little experiment of cutting ourselves off from the cacophony of the modern world for a while.  When the exercise is finished, I intend to post selections from short reflections on the experience that students will write.