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2016-2017 PHILOSOPHY NEWS INSIDE John Slater on Awards, In Memoriam: the Department’s Awards, Joseph Boyle, Jacqueline Earliest Days and More Awards! Brunning, James Wong UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY 2 Philosophy News CONTENTS Welcome & Reports 3 Retirements 8 Hurka Wins Killam Prize 9 GuggGuggenheimenheim FFellowshipsellowships 1 100 The DeparDepartment’stment’s EarEarliestliest Days 12 Teaching Informal Logic 16 In Memoriam 18 People & Awards 22 Book Launches 26 PHILOSOPHY NEWS www.philosophy.utoronto.ca We wish to thank the Editors: Mary Frances Ellison Department of Philosophy generous donors to the Jovana Jankovic University of Toronto Department of Philosophy, Layout: Dragon Snap Design 170 St. George Street, 4th Floor without whom Philosophy Toronto ON M5R 2M8 News would not be possible. Canada Philosophy News Tel: 416-978-3311 Please support the Department 2016-2017 Edition Fax: 416-978-8703 in our endeavours! Fall, 2017 YOUR PRIVACY: The University of Toronto respects your privacy. We do not rent, trade or sell our mailing lists. The information on this form is collected and used for the administration of the University’s advancement activities undertaken pursuant to the University of Toronto Act, 1971. If you have any questions, please refer to <www.utoronto.ca/privacy> or contact the University’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Coordinator at 416-946-7303, McMurrich Building, Room 201, 12 Queen’s Park Crescent West, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8. If you do not wish to receive future newsletters from the Department of Philosophy, please contact us at 416-978-2139 or at [email protected] 3 Philosophy News University of Toronto 3 Welcome am very happy However, not everything this past year was reason to to present you be cheerful. We mourn the passing of Professors Emeriti Iwith the latest Joseph Boyle, Jacqueline Brunning, and Henry Pietersma issue of Philosophy as well as our former student James Wong. They were News, the news- valued members of our community and friends to many letter of the U of of us. They will be missed. T Departments of Philosophy. 2016- In the last newsletter I mentioned that the department is 2017 was incredibly back in hiring mode. Past fall, David Barnett joined us as busy and I hope new assistant professor on the St. George campus. David you enjoy reading works in the philosophy of mind and he has already left about our activities a mark in the class room and beyond. I am also happy and some of the to report that in the past year we recruited four more events that kept us faculty members at the assistant professor level: Owen occupied during Ware (UTM), Michael Miller, Shruta Swarup, and Brendan the past year. de Kenessey (all on the St. George campus). Owen is a specialist of Kant and German Idealism and Michael Philosophy is works on philosophy of science and in particular philoso- doing very well phy of physics (he is cross-appointed to the Institute for at the University the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology). of Toronto. Our enrolments continue to be spectacular. Shruta and Brendan specialize in ethics and social and Students obviously appreciate the rigour of our discipline political philosophy. and the skills our programs convey. Whereas much has been written about the decline of the humanities in the Moreover, the Department of Classics has just hired universities, we don’t experience much of this. I attribute Charles Brittain as a Jackman professor in the humani- our success also to my colleagues and our graduate stu- ties. Charles is a specialist of ancient philosophy and he dents and their outstanding teaching skills. joins us from Cornell University. As an affiliate department member he will help us to build on our strength in ancient While we are on the topic of good news, I would like to and medieval philosophy. We are very excited about our mention some of the achievements of our remarkable new colleagues. They will shape the future of our depart- faculty and students during the past academic year. ment. At this point we are planning to conduct four more Congratulations to Franz Huber, Andrew Sepielli, and searches next year, two of which will be at the University Nick Stang on their promotions to associate professor of Toronto, Scarborough. So stay tuned for more news on (with tenure) and to Imogen Dickie, Benj Hellie, and this matter. Jessica Wilson on their promotions to full professor. Moreover, Cheryl Misak has just been appointed to I would like to close this welcome message with thanks University Professor, the highest academic rank at our to two individuals who have contributed greatly to the university. Cheryl has also been awarded a Fellowship department. At the end of the past academic year, James of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for (Jim) Brown retired after 36 (!) extremely successful years the 2017-18 year, as has Margaret Morrison. This must be at U of T. During this period, Jim has distinguished himself the first time in Canada that two members of the same as a prolific researcher and an inspiring teacher. Thank department have won these prominent awards in the you, Jim, for your outstanding service and dedication to same year. the department. Many thanks also to Benjamin Eldridge, who after a three-year term as department manager Congratulations go also to Tom Hurka on receiving the has just moved on to a different position in the university. 2017 Killam Prize in the Humanities. The Killam Prizes are During his tenure with us, the day-to-day operations of the among Canada’s most prestigious awards. Last but not department on the St. George campus were in extremely least, Johanna Thoma has been awarded the Governor capable hands. We wish him all good luck in his new role. General’s Gold Medal for the outstanding dissertation she defended this past year. And Zoë Sebastien is the recipient of the Governor General’s Silver Medal, for her Martin Pickavé achievements as a philosophy undergraduate. This list is Chair, Department of Philosophy, by no means complete. See the People and Awards sec- Faculty of Arts and Science tions of this newsletter for more information. Chair, Graduate Department of Philosophy 4 Philosophy News UTM Philosophy News his year (2016- will be taught next year on Buddhism. Also, in place of 2017) saw our usual year-long introductory course PHL105, we will Tseveral signifi- be offering two independent half courses in 2017-18, cant developments. one in each semester. This arrangement will allow both First, we have students and faculty greater flexibility in scheduling made an exciting their courses. new faculty appoint- Also, we have been phasing out the use of sessional ment: Owen Ware, instructors especially in our logic courses; these are who received his now taught largely by our own advanced PhD students. PhD from Toronto This new practice provides the highest level of teach- in 2010, was hired ing for our UG students and fine preparation for the to teach 19th-20th graduate students hoping to land faculty positions in century continental the terribly tight job market. In addition, we have been philosophy. As a hiring top undergraduates to work as tutors in the intro- result, the tri-cam- ductory logic and critical thinking courses. This practice pus department both (i) frees up graduate TAs to assist in discursive now enjoys a new courses where the need for them is greater and (ii) strength in the area provides the undergraduate tutors with an excellent of Kant and post-Kantian philosophy. Owen comes to us opportunity for “experiential learning”. (We are under from Simon Fraser University in B.C. and already has a significant pressure from the government to provide publication record that many tenured professors would such opportunities.) envy. We look forward to welcoming Owen when he arrives in Toronto this summer. I’m delighted to report also on the establishment of the Jacqueline Brunning Award Fund, which provides Second, we have hired a new undergraduate advisor, an award of roughly $700 annually to the philosophy Jane Medeiros. Until last July we had shared our UG student judged by the faculty to be the best of the advisor with two other departments—not an ideal situa- graduating class. The Brunning Award is funded by tion, for obvious reasons. But now we have lured Jane donations from colleagues, friends and many other to UTM from a similar position in Chemical Engineering admirers of Jackie’s extraordinary teaching and pro- at St. George. She has transformed the administra- found impact on the students in her classes. We will tion of our programs and courses in ways that make make the award for the first time this year, before the Department of Philosophy run more smoothly the end of May. (We will announce the winner on the and economically than ever before, and the students department’s website, along with the winners of the and faculty alike enjoy a new level of support in their Erindale, Gombay, and “Top Student” prizes.) If you course-related activities. Welcome to Jane! would like to make a donation, please go to uoft.me/ We also improved our course offerings in other sig- brunning-donation. nificant ways this year. In particular, we have added Diana Raffman two new courses designed to boost enrolments at the Chair, Department of Philosophy 200-level—Philosophy at the Movies and Philosophy in University of Toronto Mississauga Everyday Life, and our Philosophy of Religion course Credit: Paul Orenstein Paul Credit: 5 Philosophy News UTSC Philosophy News nother The general topic was something of a departure busy and from tradition: continental philosophy, and we were Aproductive treated to papers ranging from existentialist theories academic year has of history to Kierkegaard’s dancing knight.