Author: Kleiner

Associate Vice Provost and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University. I teach across the curriculum, but am most interested in continental philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy as well as Catholic thought, all of which might be summed up as an interest in the ressourcement tradition (returning in order to make progress). I also enjoy spending time thinking about liberal education and its ends.

Mormon Philosophy Conference

Of possible interest to some in the USU Philosophy community:

The Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology will hold its 2018 annual meeting at USU.  Friday/ Sat March 16-17, 9-5pm.  University Inn Level 5, Rooms 507 and 510.  Theme: The Exaltation Revelations (D&C 76, 84, 88, and 93)

Click here for a full conference schedule. Talks on law, justice, open theism, human and divine nature, a critique LDS theology of gender, etc.

Congrats to some USU philosophy students!

I am pleased to note that three USU philosophy students made the Intercollegiate Studies Institute Leadership Class of 2017: Millie Tullis, Jonathon Toronto, and David Bradley Zynda.  To have 3 USU students in the class of 150 national student leaders is pretty impressive, especially when one sees the list of students and institutions (a great number of them are from Ivies, Stanford, U Chicago, and top flight private liberal arts colleges).

  For those unfamiliar with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI):  Two years ago we founded an ISI  society here at USU (the CS Lewis Society).  ISI is an outfit committed to developing principled and intellectually serious leadership.  Its primary focus is engaging students in the great books tradition along with providing them leadership training.  It has a conservative bent, but is non-partisan.  There are many notable alumni in law, politics, journalism, academia, and business, including Justices Scalia, Alito, and Gorsuch, Peter Thiel (founder of paypal), Ross Douthat (NYTimes columnist), Harvey Mansfield (well known Harvard professor), etc etc etc.
  We get funding each year to support student book clubs.  For those who struggle at USU to find intellectual life, this is just the ticket – fun, social, but intellectually serious conversations over very good books and free food.  In addition, ISI students can apply to attend regional and national conferences, which are filled with reading, lectures, and great conversation (ISI pays for everything, from flight and hotel to food and expenses, and these are typically held at pretty tony establishments).  Aside from being interesting, these conferences give students a chance to network with academic, political, and business leaders from around the country.
  If you are interested in learning more about ISI, please contact Professor Kleiner at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu.

Facticity Panel: “Truth is Complicated”

Another upcoming event of interest:

The USU Department Heads have organized a panel series called “Facticity” (the quality of being a fact).  The motivating question of the series, as I understand it, is something like ‘In an age of contested truths and alternate facts, how should we think about truth?’

The first panel is titled “Truth is Complicated” and will be held Tuesday, September 12 from 5:00-6:30pm in Eccles Conference Center Auditorium.  Panelists (all USU faculty) include our very own Charlie Huenemann, Aaron Brough, Phebe Jensen, and Courtney Flint.  Reception with some finger food after, followed by an optional discussion (moderated by our own Harrison Kleiner).

Free Speech on Campus panel

The USU Institute of Government and Politics and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are hosting a panel discussion titled “Free Speech on Campus: Where’s the Line?”  This is part of the “pizza and politics” series – so there will be free pizza.

CHaSS Dean Joseph Ward will moderate.  Panelists include Michael Scott Peters (USUSA President), Marina Lowe (ACLU Utah), Rep. Justin Fawson (Utah Legislature), and Professor Kim Lott (USU TEAL).

Wednesday, September 13th at 5pm in the Huntsman Hall Perry Paviliion (4th floor).

 

FreeSpeech

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This Friday, April 21, from 3-6:30pm the Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies department will hold its annual Student Research Symposium.  There are two sessions focused on philosophy:

3:30-4:30pm, “Contradictions, Certainty, and Future Knowledge” in Main 115
– Catherina Aust, “Contradictions Present Possibilities”
– Logan Krebs, “Uncertainty is Imperative to Certainty”
– Emerson Isaac, “The Logic of Divination and Uncertainty”

4:45-5:45, “Philosophy and Literature” in Main 115
– Taylor Wyatt, “The Etymological Sub-creation in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
– Chasen Robbins, “Arguments for Theism and Evaluations of Popular Atheistic Replies to them”

Please come support your fellow philosophers!