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Alumnus Justin Klocksiem, presenting at the 50th Anniversary Conference The Department of Philosophy Congratulates .... James Dunn as the recipient of the 2012-13 Downing-Montague Scholarship for Philosophy, Healthcare and Technology .... Thomas Hall as the recipient of the Review, continued 2012-13 Paul J. and Rebecca Also in May, our department was very pleased to select Matthew Yoo as the very Ann Olscamp Philosophy first recipient of the Sentinel Law Group Scholarship in Philosophy. Our deepest thanks Scholarship and go to Western Alumnus James Pirtle, whose continuing support makes this scholarship the 2012-13 Departmental possible. Tuition Waiver Scholarship Finally, in August our department hosted the 12th annual Bellingham Summer .... Philosophy Conference. Organized by professor Ned Markosian, the BSPC brings together from all over the world in order to discuss each other’s papers in a Matthew Yoo workshop-style conference. Conference participants also enjoyed many recreational as the recipient of the activities in the Bellingham area, including basketball, hiking, and biking. 2012-13 Sentinel Law Group 2012 was truly a unique year for the philosophy department at Western Washington Scholarship University. Thanks to all of you who helped make it special -- we hope to see or hear from you again in 2013.

All the Best Wishes for the New Year, Ryan Wasserman Editor and Chair

Philosophy Club Philosophy Club kept to tradition in 2012. We continued to have our weekly meetings at Rudy's Pizzeria, where students and faculty enjoy food and drink over lively philosophical discussion. As in the past, we helped fill seats for several faculty presentations, and a few guest presentations as well. Also, as part of our recently founded Student Speaker Series, Western junior Thomas Hall gave a talk on and the nature of mind. The big event of the year for Philosophy Club was the 10th annual Northwest Student Philosophy Conference. We were privileged and honored to have Carrie Jenkins and Jonathan Ichikawa from UBC give dual keynote addresses. In addition, the student speakers were particularly prestigious this year; we hosted graduate students from UC Davis (Matt Leonard), Oxford (Emanuel Viebahn), and New York University (John Wigglesworth), as well as a masters student from Western Michigan University (Andrew Jones) and a WWU Alumnus (Alex Rivera). Apart from enjoying the supreme quality of the presentations, conference participants filled their weekend with frisbee golf, hiking, and visits to the local breweries. Emeritus Professor Tom Downing, The year wrapped up with the Bellingham Summer Philosophy Conference, where speaking at the 50th Anniversary select Philosophy Club officers ran the pre-conference BBQ and assisted in the Dinner Party organization of the event. All in all, it was a wonderful year, and we look forward to another in 2013.

commented on a paper entitled published this year -- “Personal Identity, "Actualism and Possibilism". In August, I Indeterminacy, and Obligation,” which Faculty News commented on a paper by Josh Parsons appeared in Personal Identity: Simple or at the Bellingham Summer Philosophy Complex? Hud Hudson Conference. My entry on Ought Implies Personally, the highlight of my year On the professional side: I had the Can came out in the International was taking my family to Disneyland for good fortune to travel quite a bit in 2012, Encyclopedia of and the Fifth the first time. Zoe’s favorite ride was the giving nine presentations in a variety of Edition of The Power of Logic, which I co- Little Mermaid. Ben enjoyed Pirates of locations including California, Indiana, wrote with Dan and Ryan, came out this the Caribbean. Minnesota, China, England, Northern fall. Ireland, and Portugal. Also, this last My personal news is that I travelled calendar year, I had two papers accepted to England in March to help my parents for publication on topics in the philosophy celebrate their fiftieth wedding of religion – one about the role of a anniversary. A marvelous time was had multiverse in a best-possible-world by all. In August I travelled to Ashland theodicy for Blackwell’s A Companion to with my son William, where we saw three the Problem of Evil and another about the plays and had a good time bonding. Later possibility of divine lies for Oxford Studies in August, I went for a long hike with Dan in . I am on and visited Portland for a couple of days. professional leave for 2012-2013 and We enjoyed bonding too. We spent this happily at work on a book on philosophy Christmas in England. Highlights were of religion and philosophy of time. visiting the National Gallery, seeing Les On the personal side: Cathi Miserables on the West End, meeting up continues to enjoy working with the with Brian Leftow, a fellow of Oriel children of the Blaine School District, Aris College in Oxford, and getting the began his graduate studies in Economics backstage tour of Oriel. at the University of Michigan, Eli is a senior at Bellingham High School and Ned Markosian excited about starting college next year, I completed four papers in 2012: (i) Ned, in Milwaukee with former Western and Orion is a 7th-grader at Fairhaven one arguing that agent causation theorists student (and current UW Milwaukee Middle School and quickly becoming the should be compatibilists; (ii) one about philosophy professor) Joshua Spencer serious athlete of the family. Xerxes mercy; (iii) one about the truthmaker remains a devoted reader and invites you problem for presentism; and (iv) one on to my homepage to see her posts each mereology, in which I renounce Brutal week. Composition and endorse a new answer to The Special Composition Question. Dennis Whitcomb (They can all be found on the Online Professionally, I wrote a paper about Papers page of my website.) what we should believe, which got I was also lucky enough to travel a accepted in a forthcoming volume on the bit. I gave talks in Rome (on time travel, ethics of belief, as well as a book review at the 2012 Rome Science Festival) and that came out in Notre Dame Seattle (at the Pacific Division Meeting of Philosophical Reviews. I traveled to the American Philosophical Association), several conferences, and gave comments and also at Duke University, Syracuse on a paper about knowledge at the University, the University of Wisconsin – Western Canada Philosophical Milwaukee, and Lawrence University. Association meeting. There was also a fun family trip to the Personally, it was a year of great East Coast, in search of great pizza changes. My wife Maria decided to start a (upshot: Sally’s Apizza in New Haven has small organic farm in Skagit County, OMG pizza) and a bike-friendly city about 20 minutes south of (Montreal is fantastic). But one of the best Bellingham. We bought property and highlights of the year for me was the moved! For the last 9 months or so, we Philosophy Department’s 50th have been learning about and working Anniversary Celebration. with such things as chickens, sheep, and vegetable gardens. Maria’s ultimate goal Hud, on the Great Wall of China Ryan Wasserman is to have a farm stand on the side of the road; for now, she is mostly selling things Frances Howard-Snyder I spent most of 2012 on sabbatical, to friends. If you ever want to come check working on a book manuscript titled The the place out, let me know – and bring This year I commented on a paper Paradoxes of Time Travel. The book is entitled "Family Planning is Irrational" at your work clothes! close to completion and I am very happy the Logos Conference at Notre Dame; I with the work so far. I also had one paper attended the APA in Seattle and …continued on next page

Philosophy Alumna Releases New Album

Cara Alboucq's long-time dream to record a traditional Christmas album, featuring all her holiday favorites, has finally been realized with the release of Baby It's Cold Outside. Teaming up with John D. Boswell (melodysheep productions), Cara is proud to present this unique collection of Christmas songs in her distinct style, arranged and recorded in the woods of Sudden Valley, Bellingham, WA.

Listen to the entire album online here: http://caraalboucq.bandcamp.com

Faculty News, continued We Want to Dan Howard-Snyder special issue of Religious Studies on J.L. Schellenberg’s philosophy of religion, and

co-edited The Blackwell Companion to Hear from February’s BLPR went smoothly. the Problem of Evil (33 chapters!). Over 1600 people listened to two lectures Lots of apples, carrots, cucumbers, You! by Michael Murray and Jeff Schloss, live and tomatoes from the garden. Papers and online. Themes: evolution and the on foundationalism, the problem of evil, problem of evil, and evolutionary If you are a WWU the trinity, and Whitcomb’s grounding explanations of religious belief. The philosophy department argument for were accepted for lectures, with Q&A, are available here: graduate, we would like publication, along with two papers on http://blpr.org/. faith, one of which will be anthologized in to hear about what I set a trail-magic record in the Rea-Pojman philosophy of religion you’ve been up to this September (for me, anyway): gave 56 reader along with a shortened version of year. Send your news, thru-hikers hot meals and lots of soda my 2009 piece on badly named “skeptical stories, or photos to Ryan and beer on two weekends, with the help theism”. of William and Peter (now thirteen), and Wasserman and you Finally, I shrunk an inch this year: I’m soon-to-be triple-crowner, Nancy “Why might be featured in the now 6’2”. No kidding! Frances is happy. Not?” Huber. We were so busy! next issue of Professionally, the fifth edition of The THINK WESTERN. Power of Logic came out. I edited a

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 516 HIGH ST. BELLINGHAM, WA 98225

TEL: 360.650.3859

RYAN.WASSERMAN @WWU.EDU Red Square, Western Washington University