Author: Huenemann

My name is Andrew, and I am writing to you on behalf of the Interfaith Club. We are organizing our annual Salt Lake City trip this Saturday, March 30th. We would greatly appreciate it if you could share this opportunity with your students.

Our annual site tour in Salt Lake City is a unique opportunity for students to explore various religious and cultural sites, learn about different traditions, and engage in meaningful dialogue.

This year’s event will begin at 8:00 AM in front of the library, where we will carpool together to Salt Lake City. Although gas money contributions are welcome, they are not required. Throughout the day, we will visit several significant sites, allowing students to gain insights into different faiths and cultures.

We ask that all students who wish to attend send us a message on instagram to RSVP. Our Instagram tag is @usuinterfaith.

If you or your students have any questions or require further information, please feel free to share my contact information.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,
Andrew Hunting
President, Interfaith Club

Are you interested in joining Phi Sigma Tau, the national honor society in philosophy? To do so you must have taken three classes in philosophy (or be completing them now), and have a “B” average in them. If you are interested, please send a note expressing your interest to me (charlie.huenemann@usu.edu), making sure to include the word “vertiginous”. Please let me know by Monday, April 1.

Joining costs $25, which is sent to the national office. You get a certificate. We will have an amusing dinner and initiation ceremony at the end of April.

We are happy to welcome Dr. Michael Otteson as our newest Assistant Professor of Philosophy! Dr. Otteson is a specialist in ancient philosophy, but he also has a broad reach across many areas of philosophy. Those of you who have been his students know his dedication, his focus, and his concern for students to learn important skills and content. We are happy to be improved by adding him to our faculty!

From President Jack –

First, tomorrow [THAT MEANS TODAY, WEDNESDAY] we will be meeting at Old Main 201 from 4:30 PM-5:30 PM for an informal discussion! The topic will be Artificial Intelligence. We will discuss the question: What can’t computers do?

To start the discussion and to gauge people’s intuitions, I will give everyone some time to create a two column list: the first column, a list of everything they think they know computers can’t do, the second, a list of some of the most surprising or profound things they think computers have done. Then we’ll compare lists, see if there are any discrepancies, and discuss from there.

Here are some short resources (a very short article and a 8 min YouTube video) that help explain what a few philosophers have thought computers can’t do.

https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2014/03/03/intentionality/

https://youtu.be/B6Oigy1i3W4?si=w8yI8Pv6Q-wKlIHn

Second, our first meeting after spring break will be a panel discussion about philosophy as the best second major. The panel will consist of current students who are double majors. If you are a double philosophy major and are interested in being on the panel please email me. If you have had an experience where studying philosophy has helped you understand or care about your other classes, we’d love to hear from you!