Author Archives: Kate Kenney-Newhard

Prof. Neufeld Co-Organizing Conference on Aesthetic Disobedience

Professor Jonathan Neufeld co-organized a conference, with Christine Abbt (Zürich), entitled “Aesthetic Disobedience” (Ästhetischer Ungehorsam) at the Internationales Forschungszentrum Kulturwissenschaften in Vienna on November 15-16, 2012. Presenters include Thomas Hirschhorn, David Levin (Chicago), Ruth Sonderegger (Vienna), Hermann Kappelhoff (Berlin), Robin Celikates (Amsterdam), Juliane Rebentisch (Frankfurt), and Anne von der Heiden (Linz).

Prof. Nadelhoffer’s Anthology, The Future of Punishment, to be Published

Scholars are struggling to come to grips with the picture of human agency being pieced together by researchers in the biosciences. This volume aims at providing philosophers, neuroscientists, psychologists, and legal theorists with an opportunity to examine the cluster of related issues that will need to be addressed in light of these developments. Each of the twelve essays collected here sheds light on an issue essential to the future of punishment and retribution. In addition to exploring the sorts of issues traditionally discussed when it comes to free will and punishment, the volume also contains several chapters on the relevance (or lack thereof) of advances in the biosciences to our conceptions of agency and responsibility.

While some contributors defend the philosophical status quo, others advocate no less than a total revaluation of our fundamental beliefs about moral and legal responsibility. This volume exposes the reader to cutting-edge research on the thorny relationship between traditional theories of agency and responsibility and recent and future scientific advances pertaining to these topics. It also provides an introduction to some of the long-standing debates in action theory and the philosophy of law, which concern the justification of punishment more generally.

 

Philosophy Colloquium Series: “Believing in Free Will: A Philosophical / Psychological Investigation”

Please join for the 1st Philosophy Colloquium Series talk, “Believing in Free Will: A Philosophical / Psychological Investigation” by Thomas Nadelhoffer, Assistant Professor at the College of Charleston.  This will take place Thursday, November 8th at 3:15pm in ECTR 113.

Abstract: Recently, psychologists and experimental philosophers have become increasingly interested in people’s intuitions about free will.  However, the goal of this empirical research is not to explore whether humans actually have free will, metaphysically speaking; rather, the goal is to explore the instrumental value of believing in free will.  After all, regardless of whether we have free will, believing that we do could nevertheless be interpersonally and personally beneficial.  During this talk, I will situate my own research on this front within the broader project of trying to understand how people think about free will. I will also argue that my latest findings suggest that there may be a dark side to believing in free will–which is an issue that calls out for further investigation.

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“Covers as Social Commentary: Dylan, The Monkees, and Tiffany” by Theodore Gracyk

Please join the First-Year Experience, Philosophy, and Music Departments at a lecture, “Covers as Social Commentary: Dylan, The Monkees, and Tiffany” by Theodore Gracyk on Friday, November 2nd at 3:15pm in Tate 202. Theodore Gracyk is a philosopher of music and culture at Minnesota State University, Moorhead, author of several books including Rhythm and Noise: An Aesthetics of Rock (1996); I Wanna Be Me: Rock Music and the Politics of Identity (2001); Listening to Popular Music (2007); and On Music (forthcoming).

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