TTU Graduate Philosophy Conference

TTU's first Graduate Student Philosophy Conference begins this Friday at Noon. The topic of the conference is "The Philosophy of Love"; we'll have talks from visiting speakers on romantic love, monogamy, marriage, forgiveness, and more.

On Friday afternoon Andrea Westlund will present the keynote address, entitled "Love and Shared Identity." 5:15 pm, English/Philosophy Room LH01. Professor Westlund (Ph.D. University of Michigan) is a specialist in feminist philosophy, social and political philosophy, ethics, and moral psychology. Her current research is on the moral psychology of friendship and love, with a particular focus on personal autonomy, joint deliberation, and the formation of shared interests and identities.

For more information visit:

http://www.orgs.ttu.edu/philosophygsa/PhilofLove.htm

Or contact Rachel Myers.

Edward Hinchman THIS THURSDAY

The Philosophy Department and PGSA are pleased to announce a colloquium talk:

Edward Hinchman (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
"The Assurance of Warrant"
7:00pm
Room 264
Thursday, April 26

Hinchman writes: "In "Telling as Inviting to Trust" (PPR, May 2005) I defended a version of what Richard Moran subsequently (Phil. Imprint, September 2005) christened the Assurance View of testimony, according to which the epistemic warrant transmitted through testimony derives from an assurance that the speaker gives her addressee and is therefore unavailable to overhearers. But neither my earlier paper nor Moran's gives an adequate explanation of how the transmission of warrant depends specifically on the speaker's mode of address, making it natural to suspect that the interpersonal element is merely psychological or action-theoretic, rather than epistemic. In the present paper I aim to fill that explanatory gap: to specify exactly how a testifier's assurance can create genuine epistemic warrant."

Ann Cudd in the Philosophy Department April 12th and 13th

The Philosophy Department announces two talks by:

Ann Cudd (Universrity of Kansas)

Public Lecture:
"Wanting Freedom"
Thursday, April 12th
7:00, LH01

Abstract: Do humans really desire freedom? If so, why is there so much oppression in the world? In my recent book, Analyzing Oppression, I attempted to explain how and why humans oppress each other and why oppression of some groups continues often for many generations. This explains why we lack freedom. I also argued that none of us is free unless we all are free. But the problem is that we do not seem to really want that freedom, the freedom that comes when all are free. This paper clarifies that problem – the problem of wanting freedom -- and points in the direction of a solution.

Departmental Colloquim:
"Truly Humanitarian Intervention"
Friday, April 13th
3:30, LH01

Abstract: In the standard, just war theory, use of this term, "humanitarian intervention" refers to the use of military force by one nation or group of nations to stop genocide or other gross human rights violations in another sovereign nation. Such purportedly humanitarian intervention, however, often ends up killing innocent civilians, violating the principles of just war theory, and making matters worse. Furthermore, only the most horrible, massive and violent violations of human rights can justify the use of military force against a sovereign nation, and therefore many evils go uncounted, unnoticed, and unmitigated. In this paper I suggest a range of responses to human rights violations that includes military intervention as only one end of the continuum, and to combine this with a greater understanding of the scope of human rights violations that require international response. I offer a new conception of truly humanitarian treatment within and beyond international borders.

Despite the implication, both lectures are open to the public. Info: allan.hazlett@ttu.edu