Philosophy Association Events Spring '08

May 13th 4:30-7:30: GUEST SPEAKERS: The Mulnixes (Profs. Jennifer and Michael Mulnix debate!  End of the semester festivities.

April 22 5:00-8:00 PM LART 105: "Alice: Through the Looking Glass

April 15 5:00-8:00 PM LART 105: "Donnie Darko"

April 8 5:00-8:00 PM LART 105: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

April 1 5:00-8:00 PM LART 105: GUEST SPEAKER: Michael Frates, esq., UMD philosophy alumnus, will speak on the topic of the ethical issues regarding  attorney client privilege.  A clip from 60 minutes will provide the focus for this discussion.

March 28th (Friday): FIELD TRIP: David Chalmers talk at Brown University. Carpool meets at 2:00 PM in thePhilosophy Department  Hallway.  The talk begins at 3:30.  Contact the UMD Philosophy Club (umdphilosophyclub@yahoo.com) for a copy of Dr. Chalmers'  powerpoint presentation.

March 11 5:00 - 7:00 PM LART 105: GUEST SPEAKER Prof. Luke Wallins (English) will speak on his book on Environmental Ethics. His book is Conservation Writing: Essays at the Crossroads of Nature and Culture.

March 4 5:00-8:00 PM LART 105: "Alice"

Feb. 26 5:00-8:00 PM LART 105: "The Truman Show"

Feb. 19 5:00 -8:00 PM LART 105: First Meeting! Discussion and debate: Drugs.  We will discuss phiosophical issues regarding legalization/criminalization, ethical, religious and spiritual issues. 

Philosophy Association Events Fall '07

Dec 12 4:00 - 7:00 PM CPVA Room 105: End of the semester party!  Graduating senior Mike Yereniuk will be honored.

Dec. 5 4:00 - 7:00 PM CVPA Room 105 Film Viwing "1984" Blurb from Mike, PA secretary: It would be naive of me to think that I could express the entirety of Orwell's modern masterpiece in an e-mail that should average no more than 10 minutes of reading time (if I could do so at all).  Orwell's story does not begin on the first page and end after the book is closed, for the plot and storyline is as much about the nature and importance of thought, truth, emotion, and language as it is about Winston's personal acts of rebellion against Big Brother.  As the Orwell Reader discusses, 1984 is not some mythological time in a futuristic science-fiction world, but rather "a time or place which we create when we turn away from the light that is within us, within each individual self, to the empty darkness of group will and the psychology of 'massmindedness.'" 

 When considering the movie "1984," like any work of art, we must separate it and consider it on its own terms.  The movie "1984" is different from the book in a few respects.  However, I believe it is as close to the book as a movie can approach (there is no manner in which a movie could display the depth and metaphor of Orwell's writing).  On its own merits, the film is a very well done presentation of the physical world depicted in 1984 and is very creative in how it projects the philosophies conveyed within the book.  I guess I just want to discourage people from thinking that this film is a poor attempt at presenting a book.  I feel it maintains the integrity of the original work while allowing for artistic freedom.  John Hurt ("V for Vendetta," "Dead Man") and Richard Burton ("Cleopatra," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?") turn amazing performances as the protagonist Winston Smith and the duplicitous O'Brien, respectively.

Nov. 28 4:00 - 7:00 PM CVPA Room 105 Film Viewing "The Edukators" with Professor Cox's Social and Political Philosophy Class

Nov 14 4:00 - 7:00 PM CVPA Room 105 Film Viewing "Gattaca" Blurb from Mike, our P.A. secretary: This week we will be showing the movie Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol (writer and producer of "The Truman Show") and starring Ethan Hawke ("Dead Poets Society"), Jude Law ("I Heart Huckabees"), and Uma Thurman ("Pulp Fiction").

 Where do babies come from?  Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much...they go to a lab and choose which genes they want their child to possess.  Except instead of the combination being random (as a natural birth is), they are deliberately chosen.  Imagine the consequences.  They could get rid of physical impairments including glasses and diabetes while enhancing intellectual and physical abilities.  You do not have to worry about birth defects, asthma, flat feet.  However, what happens if you are conceived and born the "old-fashioned way?"   Follow Vincent Freeman's (Hawke) odyssey of identity as he tries to break free from his genetic predisposition as a naturally-born human in a civilization which believes that what you're made of is who you are.

Nov. 7  4:00 - 7:00 PM CVPA Room 105  Film viewing "A Scanner Darkly"

Oct. 31 Halloween Meeting 4-7:00 PM CVPA 105 Film viewing "Dark City" Dress in Costume!!!

Blurb from Mike, our P.A. secretary:his week we will be watching the mind-bending, nightmarish adventure "Dark City."  This movie was directed and written by Alex Proyas ("I, Robot") and headed by an all-star cast: Rufus Sewell, Keifer Sutherland, William Hurt (Oscar-winner), and Jennifer Connely (Oscar-winner "A Beautiful Mind").  Experience the mystery of a man who wakes up in a hotel room next to the victim of a notorious serial killer without any memory of any preceding events.  Consider the following questions when watching the movie:

Can we have an identity independent of memories? What differentiates humans from other conscious beings? What is the importance of our names?  Because I do not want to spoil the twists-and-turns of this murder-mystery I will not elaborate any further.

Oct. 24 4-7:00 PM CVPA 105 Film Viewing "The Fountain" Blurb from Mike, our P.A. secretary: This week we will be watching the surreal search for immortality in The Fountain starring Hugh Jackman ("X-Men"), Rachel Weisz ("Runaway Jury"), and Oscar Winning actress Ellen Burstyn ("Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore").   Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream," "Pi") interrelates three vignettes set in different time periods (16th century, modern-day, and the future) with the overlying theme of the quest for immortality.  As we look to the past, present, and future with an eyecatching mix of storyline and imagery, ask yourself:

Why would I want to live forever? What is the price for the search for immortality? (and am I the only one that is affected)

Oct. 17 JOINING Psi Chi and the Psychology Club for "Memento" NOTE TIME/ROOM Change: 6-9:00 PM Liberal Arts Room 117

Oct. 3 4:00 - 7:00 PM CVPA Room 105 Film Viewing: "Stranger than Fiction" Blurb from Mike, our P.A. secretary: Imagine you're living a boring, humdrum existence working as an IRS auditor.  Suddenly, you begin hearing a voice so vivid that it seems the person is standing right beside you.  You jump!  You try to turn around quickly, but you missed them.  You begin asking other people if they hear the voice...but nobody knows what you are talking about.  But the voice will not go away.  What do you do?  Listen.  The voice is narrating your life, accurately describing every internal and external action you exercise (beliefs, thoughts, actions).  Now, what would you do if the narrator began foreshadowing what you were going to do (or what was going to happen to you) in the future?

Will Ferrell does a great job as the main character, Harold Crick, haunted by the structural boundaries created by an esteemed author.  It is a very witty movie that will leave you wondering about omnipotence, omniscience, and free will (just to name a few),  You have the option of sticking around after the movie to listen to or engage in a discussion about the movie and its themes.  But if you want to come in just to watch the movie feel free to do so.

Sept. 26 4:00 - 7:00 PM CVPA Room 105 Film Viewing: "Perfume"

Sept. 19 4:00 - 7:00 PM CVPA Room 105 Film Viewing: "Pan's Labyrinth"

Sept. 12 3:00 - 6:00 PM Student Organization Fair (Centennial Way)

Philosophy Association Events Spring '07

May 2 5:00-? Liberal Arts 117 Guest Lecture by Dr. M. J.Mulnix, Assistant Professor, Dean College "Johnny Cash and Johnny Mill on the Good Life" Film viewing afterwards: "Minority Report"

Abstract: The one thing that seems to be a clear theme throughout all of Johnny Cash's body on song is a deep value of the quality of life. Moreover, when all is judged together, it seems clear that, for Cash, this value takes priority over the long life. This is particularly apparent in his work about Capital Punishment and the quality of life of the prisoner. John Stuart Mill also has a deep value for the quality of life and believes that quality takes priority over quantity when it comes to human living. Mill most directly expresses this preference in a speech to Parliment concerning the topic of Capital Punishment. It is important, then, both to the view of Cash and Mill, that we give the concept 'high quality of life' a clear definition. In fact, there are interesting parallels between the views of Johnny Cash and 'Johnny' Mill in terms of what it is that makes for a high quality of life. This paper explores the interesting connections between the philosophies of life embedded in the songs of Cash and the philosophy of Mill, and devlops a clear and complete account of the good life, replete with a description of what not to do.

WEDNESDAY April 25 12:00 PM (noon) Library Browsing Area: Tattered Brown Bag Lecture by Prof. Charlie Donahue "Putnam's Brain's: Could They be too Real"

Abstract: If there's one thing philosophers have gotten straight it is the relationship between the possible and the actual. Or at least we'd like to assume so. Consider a state of affairs that seems to be possible. Now take the possible world just imagined and assume it to be actual. If this leads to some sort of contradiction then the original situation turns out not to be possible after all. Right? The perspective of the non-classical revolution is applied to Hilary Putnam's Brains in a Vat argument. Ironically--it turns out that Putnam's argument is infected with a subtle vestige of realism. Michael Dummett argued that realism is inherently verification transcendent. It turns out that realism also requires Kripke-Lewis constrains on 'actuality' in modal contexts. This very restriction is also required for Putnam's argument. More generally, the constraint exemplfies a notion of truth that is assumed to be conceptually prior to any reasoning. This is the deepset characteristic of realism. Its rejection charcterizes the revolution of non-classical logics.

April 18 4:45-7:00 "The Seventh Seal"

April 11 4:45-7:00 "12 Monkeys" ROAD TRIP PLANNING: Graham Priest at MIT Friday April 13th 3:30 PM Room 32d-461

April 4 4:45-7:00 Liberal arts 117 "What the #$*! do I (K)now" LATER ON...in coordination with The Social Change Society and Amnesty International 7:30 PM Liberal Arts 117 "The Childern of Men" ROAD TRIP PLANNING: Graham Priest at UCONN Monday April 9th 4:00 PM College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Room 163

March 28 4:45-7:00 Liberal Arts 117 "The Butterfly Effect"

March 14 4:00-6:00 Library Browsing Area Religious Studies Open House and Talk by Prof. Rebecca Norris

Then...6:30-8:30 Liberal Arts 117 "Contact"

March 7 4:45-6:45 Liberal Arts 117 "Mirrormask"

February 28 4:45-6:45 Liberal Arts: 117 "Little Miss Sunshine"

February 21 4:30-6:30 Liberal Arts 116 Film Viewing NOTE: Room may Change, note will be posted

February 14 4:30-6:30 Liberal Arts 116 "Vanilla Sky"

February 7 4:30-6:30 Liberal Arts: 116 Planning Meeting and "Waking Life"

Philosophy Association Events Fall '06

December 13 4-6:30 Group1: 102 End of the Semester Party! Bring snacks! Showing "The Life of Brian"

December 6 4-6:30 Group 1: 102 "Team America"

December 5 5-6:00 Group 1: 212 Graduate Studies in Portuguese/Center for Portuguese Studies presentsProfessor Maureen Eckert: "Plato and Aristotle on Persuasion" (Or, Why a Perfectly FineGoddess Should Stay Away from Philosophers)

November 30 6:30-9:00 Main Auditorium In coordination with the Asian Student Association there will be a showing of "Three"

November 28 4-6:30Group 1: 102 In coordination with Pride Alliance there will be a showing of "Hedwig and The Angry Inch." Mark Herber will lead discussion.

November 15 4-6:30 Group 1: 102"Bamboozled"

November 8 4-6:30 Group 1: 102 "Dancer in the Dark"

November 1 4-6:30 Group 1: 102 "Thank You for Smoking"

October 25 4-6:30 Group 1: 102 "The Village"

October 18 4:-6:30 Group 1: 102 "Alice in Wonderland"

October 11 4-6:30 Group 1:102 "Paradise Now" Discussion will be led by David Taylor

October 4 4-6:30 Group 1:102 "Twelve Angry Men"

September 27 4-6:30 Group 1: 102 "V for Vendetta" Student Presentation by Lance Gagnon on the topic of Anarchy, Its History and Forms.

September 20 4-6:30 Group 1: 102 "Equilibrium"

September 13 2-5:00 Centennial Way: Student Organization Fair

Philosophy Association Events Spring '06

May 10 5:30-7:30 Group 1: 112 End of the Semester Celebration and Honors Ceremony for graduating Philosophy Majors: Stephanie Smith (Academic Honors), Steven Richard (Academic Honors), Cassidy Keene (Service Honors).

May 3 5:30-8:00 Group 1: 112 "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring"

April 28 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 Special Event In Coordination with Pride Alliance, there will be a showing of the film "Boys Don't Cry." Mark Herber of the Pride Alliance and Philosophy Association will lead discussion.

April 19 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 Special Event: Guest Speaker Artist Ruth Waldman (After her presentation for the Senior Metaphysics Seminar) will lead discussion of the film: "The Way Things Go."

April 12 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 "The Last Temptation of Christ"

April 5 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 "The Rage in Placid Lake"

March 29 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 "Broken Flowers"

March 15 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 "Fight Club"

March 8 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 a) Professor Phil Cox, UMD Dept. of Philosophy provides a "Power-pointless Presentation: Philosophy Bloopers" b) The film "Run Lola Run" will follow.

March 1 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 "Being John Malkovich"

February 22 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 "Blade Runner"

*Special Event* February 15 5:30-8:00 Group 1:112 "The Laramie Project"

The Philosophy Association in coordination with Pride Alliance is holding this showing in light of the recent anti-gay discriminatory attack in New Bedford. Matt Soares will lead discussion.

Profiles of Puzzles Victims http://www.southcoasttoday.com/cgi-bin/stnow/db.cgi?db=default&uid=default&view_records=1&ID=1#2

February 8 5:30-8:00 Group 1:Room 112 "Crash"

Philosophy Association Events Fall '05

December 14 4-6:00 Group 1: Room 110

End of the Semester Party!

December 7 4-6:00 Group 1: Room 110 --Two for One!

A) Presentation 4-5:00: Professor Timothy Nulty, Dept. of Philosophy, UMASSD

Philosophy, Ethics and the Logic of Belief

"There is No God" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557

B) Presentation 5-6:00 : Professor Charlie Donahue, Dept. of Philosophy UMASSD

"Discrete Models, Situated Models or No Models: Extending the Non-Classical Revolution"

November 30 4-6:00 Group 1: Room 110

Speaker: Professor Maureen Eckert, Dept. of Philosophy, UMASSD

"What is Socratic Piety?"

Abstract: When we explore the question, 'What is Socratic Piety?" we are, in essence, trying to understand 1) what kind of "religion" the Socrates of the Platonic dialogues holds and 2) whether this Socrates is truly guilty of impiety (for which he was convicted and executed). I find this topic fascinating because it bears on the tensions between philosophical inquiry and the social world in which it transpires. An individual seeking the truth is a member of her/his society, but what role does she/he play within it? Plato's portrayal of Socrates is complex, and for a long time scholars have tried to comprehend his "message" about Socrates' religious views. On the one hand, throughout the dialogues, Socrates finds the tradtional myths about the gods "unendurable." He articulates views about the gods that are rationally cleansed of their all-too-human characteristics. On the other hand, Socrates claims that he is more religious than his accusers, and perhaps all other Athenians. He does not see himself as overthrowing traditional religion, but as acting piously. Why does he think he can have it both ways? In this presentation, I will show the subtleties involved in defining piety, and suggest why Socrates thinks that he can.

November 16 4-6:00 Group1: Room 110 "My Dinner with Andre"

November 9: Guest Speaker, Professor Eric Steinhart, Dept. of Philosophy, William Patterson University, NJ

4:00- 5:30 PM Group 1: Room 116

"Fine-Tuning, Intelligent Design and Super-Cosmic Evolution"

Abstract:The basic features of our universe seem to be finely-tuned for the emergence of living thinking things. One explanation for this fine-tuning is that the basic fatures of our universe have been carefully adjusted by an intelligent Designer. But things that look designed sometimes turned out to have evolved. Perhaps universes evolve like living things. Some cosmologists suggest that evolution is occuring on a super-cosmic scale. Universes have offspring with slightly different basic laws. Universes whose laws are more likely to produce living thinking things are more likely to have more offspring. The series of universes evolves towards greater perfection. Perhaps this shows there is no Designer. Or perhaps this shows that the Designer likes evolution.

Professor Steinhart's Website

November 2: 4-6:00 Group 1: 110 "Me and You and Everyone We Know"

October 26: 4-6:00 Group 1: 110 "Akira"

October 19: 4:00 - 6:00 Group 1:110 "Boondock Saints"

October 12: 4:00 - 6:00 Group 1:110 "Donnie Darko"

October 5: 4:00 - 6:00 Group 1:110 "The Life of David Gale"

September 28: 4:00 - 6:00 Group 1:110 "American Beauty"

September 21: 4:00 - 6:00 Group 1: 110 "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

September 14: 3:00 - 6:00 Centennial Way (Lower Level Campus Center--rain location)

The Philosophy Association will participate in the Student Organization Fair

Philosophy Association Events Spring '05

February 23: 1:00-3:00 Sunset Conference Room

"Jihad and You: The Reality and Philosophy of Islamic 'Holy War,'" a presentation by Professor Maureen Eckert(philosophy) and Professor Brian Williams (history)

March 23: 6:30-8:00 Group I: 117

Panel Discussion: The Terry Schiavo Case, hosted by Professor Phil Cox (philosophy)

March 25: 1:00-3:00 Group I: 397D

Vistiting Speaker: Dr. J.C. Beall (Associate Prof. of Philosophy, Univeristy of Connecticut)

"Truth, Falsity and Beyond"

April 21: 12:15 -2:00 Group I: 374 (North Conference Room)

"Revolutions in Logic," a Brown Bag Series Talk by Professor Charlie Donahue (philosophy)

April 26: 4:30 - 5:35 Group I: 212

"Plato's Lysis and Fictions of Relationships in the West" Professor Eckert (philosophy) Graduate Research Seminar, Organized by the Graduate Program in Portuguese

On-Going Series (Every Monday)

The Philosophy Association Presents...Movie Mondays3:00 PMGroup VI: 107 Visual Arts

April 4: "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead"

April 11: "Waking Life"

April 25: "Dead Man"

May 2: "I *Heart* Huckabess"

May 9: "Pi"

 Last Updated On: 4/24/08