Greek Philosophy & International Education - NKU

Philosophy major Marc Kennedy has created a video about the Study Abroad opportunities provided by the philosophy program.



"A reflection on the importance of learning outside the classroom, and outside the country. Presented by Dr. Rudy Garns and Dr. Nancy Hancock of the Northern Kentucky Univ. philosophy program."

Philosophers' Cafe: Net Neutrality

Join us this Friday, Feb. 28, from 3:00-4:30 in GH 316 as we meet in the Philosophers' Cafe to discuss Net Neutrality. Should Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally? Do providers have a right to charge more for premium content and high-demand services? Do you have a right to access what you want and how you want it on the Internet?

Smith College Alumnae Career Paths

A liberal arts degree can take you anywhere—a fact that is born out in the results of a recent survey that examined how alumnae are using their Smith degrees.

Smith College Alumnae Career Paths - Smith College Grécourt Gate

2014 Departmental Essay Contest

SAP Writing Contest

All students of Sociology, Anthropology, or Philosophy (majors, minors, and focus) are invited to submit a paper for the 2014 Departmental Essay Contest. The authors of the selected papers will each be awarded a $200 prize (up to 10 papers may be selected); the winning authors will be expected to submit their papers to one of the Kentucky professional societies for the discipline (e.g., KPA, KAS, or ASK, see descriptions below). Students who attend professional meetings may receive up to an additional $100 to support conference attendance and fees for the 2014-2015 meetings.

The New Science of Morality

Joshua Greene on the new science of morality. 

Film and Philosophy: Memento

Memento

Join us Feb. 14 as the Film and Philosophy series presents Christopher Nolan's Memento. We will screen and discuss this most interesting film: lot's of great philosophical questions to explore. 3:00-6:00 in NKU's GH 316.

Is economic inequality morally justifiable?

Philosophers' Cafe

Friday, January 31 from 3:00-4:30 the Philosophers' Cafe will meet from 3:00-4;30 in GH 316 to discuss social inequality: Is economic inequality morally justifiable? Please join us.

Pat Churchland on Colbert

Neuroscientist and philosopher Pat Churchland talks to Stephen Colbert about morality from a scientific perspective,

9 Philosophy Majors Who Became Extremely Successful In Business

"...philosophy, one of the more cerebral and seemingly less practical majors out there, has produced some incredibly successful people."

1. Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina was a medieval history and philosophy major at Stanford University.
2. Activist investor Carl Icahn was a philosophy major at Princeton University.
3. Former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair was a philosophy major at the University of Kansas.
4. Hedge fund manager George Soros was a philosophy major at the London School of Economics.
5. Former Fannie Mae CEO Herbert Allison Jr. was a philosophy major at Yale University.
6. Former Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin was a philosophy major at Haverford College.
7. Overstock.com founder and CEO Patrick Byrne got a Ph.D. in philosophy from Stanford University.
8. Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield got both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in philosophy.
9. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel was a 20th century philosophy major at Stanford University.

Read more at businessinsider.com

Philosophy Events for Spring 2014

Events for the philosophically-minded this spring. Mark your calendars!

Film and Philosophy Series
Join us as we screen a feature film, followed with an open discussion of important philosophical themes and questions.

Memento (2001)
February 14, 3:00-6:00 316 GH

Being John Malkovich (1999)
March 21, 3:00-6:00 316 GH

Rashomon (1950)
April 11, 3:00-6:00 316 GH

Philosophers’ Cafe

Join us as we discuss important and current issues of philosophical interest. Open to the public.

“Is economic inequality morally justifiable?”
January 31, 3:00-4:30 316 GH

Topic: Net Neutrality
February 28, 3:00-4:30 316 GH

Topic: Animal Ethics
March 28, 3:00-4:30 316 GH

Topic: TBA
April 25, 3:00-4:30 316 GH

Moral Design is the Latest Form of Intelligent Design

Paul Bloom

Paul Bloom authors, "Did God Make These Babies Moral? Intelligent Design's oldest attack on evolution is as popular as ever" on the New Republic web site.

People can be selfish and amoral and appallingly cruel, but we are also capable of transcendent kindness, of great sacrifice and deep moral insight. Isn’t this evidence for God? This version of “intelligent design” is convincing to many people—including scientists who are otherwise unsympathetic to creationism—and it’s worth taking seriously. Like other intelligent design arguments, it doesn’t work, but its failure is an interesting one, touching on findings about evolution, moral psychology, and the minds of babies and young children.

Digital Humanities Lecture

Digital Humanities Lecture

Anthony Beavers, chair of the department of Philosophy at the University of Evansville and director of the Digital Humanities Laboratory, will deliver a talk on the digital humanities on Thursday, January 23 from 3:00-4:00 in the Digitorium. His talk will be "The Digital Revolution and Research in the Humanities: Why the humanities should not be afraid of computational methods."

Everyone is invited.

Kentucky Philosophical Association Spring 2014 Meeting

The Kentucky Philosophical Association will hold its spring 2014 Meeting on Saturday, April 5, 2014 at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. Please see the call for papers. We want to particularly encourage students to submit essays to the student essay contest.

Kentucky Philosophical Association Spring 2014 Meeting CFP and Student Essay Contest.

Employability Guide: The Philosophy Degree

Where Next? Unlocking the potential of your philosophy degree. Yes, philosophy students are very employable.

Using this employability guide is a way to help you, as a philosophy student, reflect on the skills you are gaining as you study, and gather evidence of these skills being put into practice. Sometimes, in a non-vocational course, it can be hard to see how what you learn in the course of your studies will prepare you for your post-university career. Being comfortable with this yourself, and getting it across to future employers, is vital, particularly in a subject such as philosophy where there are plenty of popular misconceptions about what the subject actually entails.

Read the guide.

Department Reception to Honor Students

Join us Tuesday, December 3 from 4:00-5:30 on second floor Landrum as the department of Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy honors the achievements it students and fall graduates. Graduating with a philosophy major will be James Simons, Aaron Sprinkles and Teddy Wiseman. Graduating philosophy minors include Claudia Anicama, Maria Koch, Arthur Littlefield, Candice Stanfield, and Robert Townson. Several Religious Studies minors will also graduate: Rosa Christophel, Phylicia Gifford, Jesse Hendricks and James Simons. We are also inducting several students into Phi Sigma Tau, the philosophy honor society. Congratulations Brice Elliot, Maria Koch, Arielle Phillips and Candice Stanfield. Finally we recognize the achievements of this year's Ethics Bowl Team: Cory Clark, Dustin Courtney, Laurence Gerlach, Leighann Goins, Theodore Hays, Arthur Littlefield, John Petrie, Ashley Poe and Robbie Tieman.

Most of the time will be spent mingling with food, friends, faculty and all our students who are majoring or minoring in our programs. Please stop by if only for a few minutes to grab some food and say hi.

Philosophers' Cafe: Wikileaks, Hacktivism and the Ethics of Whistle-blowing

Philosophers' Cafe

The Philosophers' Cafe will convene this Friday at 3:00 in GH 316 to discuss Wikileaks, Hacktivism and the Ethics of Whistle-blowing. Stop by and bring your friends.

2013 NKU Ethics Bowl Team

2013 Ethics Bowl Team

On November 9 the NKU Ethics Bowl team traveled to Marion, IN to participate in the 2013 Regional Ethics Bowl Competition. Teams from different schools debate real-life ethical issues in front of a panel of judges who rank the performances and the arguments. NKU won their debate against Xavier but lost by only a few points to Butler and to Taylor. The NKU team included Cory Clark, Dustin Courtney, Laurence Gerlach, Leighann Goins, Theodore Hays, Arthur Littlefield, John Petrie, Ashley Poe and Robbie Tieman (Ashley and John were not able to travel with the team for this contest). The team practiced for weeks prior to the competition, preparing responses to case studies available in advance. Dr. Yaw served as faculty advisor and coach. Congratulations on a great contest!

2013 Ethics Bowl Team

Film and Philosophy: High Noon

High Noon

Join us Friday, November 8 from 3:00-6:00 in GH 316 when we screen and discuss the classic western film High Noon. What's the right thing to do? Should one act from a sense of duty? Does religion provide moral answers? What can we expect form our community? Gary Cooper portrays the retired sheriff who takes the Kantian point of view.

Dress for Success

Greek Philosophers

Nancy Hancock's PHI 280 Ancient and Medieval Philosophy students dressed the part this week.

Science and Philosophy

On the importance of recognizing the relationship between philosophy (and other humanities) and science. The authors revisit the case of H.M. who was unable to form new long-term memories but could learn new skills. What is the difference between knowledge of skills and knowledge of facts: know-how and know-that?

Constructing an argument in mathematics or history is one kind of human activity. Football and cabinetmaking are others. We argue that skilled human activity generally requires the acquisition and manipulation of knowledge, as well as implicit processes that do not depend on propositional knowledge (for example, increased dexterity). It is hard, and perhaps not possible, to forge a theoretically significant distinction between working with one’s hands and working with one’s mind.

THE STONE October 27, 2013, Is the ‘Dumb Jock’ Really a Nerd?By JASON STANLEY and JOHN W. KRAKAUER