Letter from the Chair In this Issue

Dear Students, Colleagues, Friends, and Letter from the Chair 1 Alumni: Faculty Activities 1-8 When, after eight years of being department Editor’s Note 2 head at Purdue University, I arrived on Interview with Matthias campus this past summer, I could Steup 3 immediately tell that CU Boulder’s Approaching Infinity 5 Department of is a thriving place with an exciting f uture. Here are just a few Student Accomplishments 6 events that I had the pleasure of witnessing CVSP News 8 first hand: Professor Matthias Steup Incoming Class 9 @ The Summer Seminar for outstanding Boulder’s Origins Project, directed by the Graduation 10 undergraduates, directed by David Boonin Department’s of science and team-taught by members of the Carol Cleland, brings together scholars Donation Opportunity 11 Department, attracted as usual a group of from a wide spectrum of specialties to investigate the origins of things like our highly motivated students. This year’s topic Faculty Activities was “Paradoxes and Puzzles.” I myself planet, life, human beings, civilizations, taught a session on skepticism and had a and ideologies. 2015-2016 wonderful experience discussing I am extremely impressed by the David Boonin spent the 2015- epistemology with these talented young Department’s Center for Values and Social 2016 academic year serving as . Policy (CVSP), its Committee for the Chair of the Department and as @ On July 10, the Center for Western History and (CHPS), the Associate Director of the Civilization, Thought and Policy, the the Climate Committee, and the local Department’s Center for Values and Social Policy. He also found Center for Values and Social Policy and chapter of the national Minorities and our Department’s new Minorities and time to complete a draft of a Philosophy group (MAP), and its newly book he has been working on on Philosophy chapter jointly held a instituted practice of hosting Visiting workshop on affirmative action that posthumous harm and to Fellows: produce early drafts of a few featured five specialists on the topic: short pieces on other subjects. He @ The CVSP, directed by David Boonin, Lawrence Blum (UMass ), Bernard also developed a new under- Boxill (UNC Chapel Hill), Stephen offers a regular Friday 12:00-1:00 well- graduate course on sexual Kershnar (SUNY Fredonia), Judith attended talk followed by a that he plans to begin teaching in Lichtenberg (Georgetown), and George faculty/graduate student lunch. The 2017-18. During the summer of Sher (Rice). Center hosts several visiting fellows 2016, Prof. Boonin directed the @ The 9 th annual Rocky Mountains Ethics throughout the year and has recently Colorado Summer Seminar in Conference (RoME), August 11-14, begun a promising collaboration with CU Philosophy, which brought organized by Alastair Norcross and Boulder’s Law School. talented undergraduates from a @ CHPS organizes a Distinguished Visitor wide variety of institutions to Benjamin Hale, was once again a stunning Boulder for an intensive, speaker series and hosts an annual Boulder success. Larry Blum (University of three-week course on the subject at Boston), David Brink Conference on the History and of “Paradoxes and Puzzles.” His (University of California at San Diego), and Philosophy of Science. This year’s term as Department Chair also Nomy Arpaly (Brown) gave the keynote conference, held from October 28-30, was ended over the summer, at which talks. on the topic of gravity from antiquity to point he took over as Director of @ The Inaugural Workshop on the Study of the present. the Center for Values and Social Origins was held August 15-17. CU @ With the aim of ensuring a friendly and Policy. inclusive environment for the Department’s for our graduate students. I am extremely Carol Cleland co-authored an activities, the Climate Committee has grateful to CU Boulder’s administration, article on ethical issues in articulated Best Practices for faculty and particularly Dean Steve Leigh and Associate astrobiology in an edited student conduct. This year, the committee Dean Valerio Ferme, not only for collection from Cambridge will begin investigating why, when we look at supporting these activities with generous University Press. She gave an the enrollment figures of 1000 through 4000 multi-year funding support for the CVSP, invited talk to a workshop level undergraduate courses, the percentage CHPS, and the Climate Committee, but also sponsored by the Joint Genome of women students decreases. The purpose for giving the Department the green light to Institute & Boundaries of Life of this study is to find out whether there are hire Heather Demarest, who is currently an Initiative (Lawrence-Berkeley ways, at the undergraduate level, to Assistant Professor at the University of Lab). She spent the spring of 2016 on sabbatical as a Visiting Fellow counteract the small number of women who Oklahoma. She received a B.A. in at the Center for Philosophy of earn Ph.D.’s in philosophy. philosophy and a B.A. in physics from CU Science at the University of Boulder, a B.Phil. from Oxford, where she @ Several of the Department’s graduate Pittsburgh, where she gave talks studied with Timothy Williamson and John students recently founded, with the to the Departments of History & Hawthorne, and then her Ph.D. from Philosophy of Science, and assistance of faculty advisor Adam Hosein, Rutgers University, with Barry Loewer, Geology & Planetary Science. a local chapter of MAP. This group will Jonathan Schaffer, and Branden Fitelson as Cleland gave the Dunbar Lecture host reading groups, talks, and workshops her advisors. As a specialist in metaphysics at Millsapp College and an invited on topics that fall under the umbrella of and the philosophy of science, she will meet talk to the University of diversity and inclusion, such as philosophy Mississippi Medical School. A our teaching needs in the area of philosophy of gender, race, sexual orientation, and Swedish geologist invited her to of physics and strengthen our profile in the disability. participate in a session on metaphysics/epistemology area. We expect @ In the spring semester, the following drumlins at the annual meeting of that she will take over as the new director of philosophers will visit the Department, the European Geological Union, CHPS and bring valuable expertise to our and she wrote a short essay on each for about three weeks: Nina Emery Climate Committee. drumlins for the Philosophy of (Brown) in February, Julia Staffel I hope you are as impressed as I am by Paleontology Blog. She gave (Washington University) in March, and the array of activities, events and news I invited talks at the University of Kris McDaniel (Syracuse) in April. In the have described above. If you have any Bern (Switzerland) and at the fall of 2017, Peter Klein (Rutgers) will Tokyo Institute of Technology. questions or would like to hear more about visit. Each visiting fellow will give one or She is on the Program Committee us, please don’t hesitate to send me an email more talks and visit several class. for the biennial meeting of the at [email protected]. Philosophy of Science Associa- All of this adds up to an amazing amount of tion and Director of CU intellectual energy and scholarly activity – a Matthias Steup Boulder’s new multidisciplinary perfect scholarly environment, particularly Chair, Department of Philosophy Center for the Study of Origins, which is part of the Grand Challenge Initiative. Note from the editor Iskra Fileva ’s edited volume Questions of Character , to which she There are amazing changes in this year’s could cause some confusion (presumably also contributed a chapter, was issue. First: Matthias suggested that we come because readers could read it as the journal published by Oxford University up with a new name for this newsletter, of tribal wisdom and would thus expect Press in October 2016. This something more interesting than “Philosophy practical advice on premodern life). Finally, project took three years to complete, and Iskra is very Department Newsletter.” Cherie Braden Cheryl Abbate suggested the winning title, pleased that it’s all done now. Her suggested “Newsletter of the Philosophy “Sisyphus’ Boulder,” which aptly expresses article “Ontology of Personality” Department,” but this was deemed too the feelings of all those who undertake the is forthcoming in the Encyclopedia wordy. I suggested “The Journal of seemingly endless task of editing this of Personality and Individual Philosophy,” but Matthias thought this could newsletter. Differences . Considering how slow cause confusion with another periodical that Also, we’re now taking philosophical academics tend to be, this article he was aware of. I next proposed “The articles for Sisyphus’ Boulder (department will likely be listed as Journal of Phylosophy” (this name derives members can direct submissions to me). “forthcoming” on her CV for two from the Greek roots , meaning Members should of course list publications more years. And when the “wisdom,” and phyle , meaning “tribe” – in SP on their curricula vita. encyclopedia does eventually come out, the price will be hence, it would be the journal of the wisdom absolutely prohibitive. If you are tribe). But Matthias still thought that this Michael Huemer

2 Sisyphus’ Boulder eager to learn what personality is, Interview with Matthias Steup email Iskra for a draft of her encyclopedia entry. On the bright Matthias Steup is the newest member of the mainstream exposure in Germany, much side, her paper “The Duties of an department. This fall, Mike Huemer asked him a more than in the U.S. Publicly funded, Artist,” in which she discusses the few questions to help us get to know him better and Universities are tuition free, charging merely moral hurdles film directors face verify whether he is a brain in a vat. His answers modest fees. All of Germany is covered with in trying to make movies were as follows. an excellent public transportation system. believable, is scheduled to appear Nothing like it exists in the U.S. On the in the journal Film and Philosophy before the end of the year. Also, Personal Questions other hand, there is no German version of this summer, Iskra may have Silicon Valley. The U.S. develops and adopts Q: How did you get interested in philosophy? become the first philosopher to new technologies much faster than hold a pigeon in her own hands, In 1969, with anti-Vietnam demonstrations Germany. and in the center of Warsaw, no and the student movement in full swing, an less. She has a photo to prove Q: What is the biggest difference between older acquaintance (and self-appointed this. philosophy in Germany and philosophy in revolutionary mentor) at the school I was America? attending gave me a book, a heavy volume of several hundred pages, that covered the At the time I was a student in Germany, to history of philosophy from Thales to Sartre. study philosophy was to study the history of Crude and simplistic, the volume stated the philosophy. Interpreting and understanding Soviet party-line account, portraying the the texts was the goal. Discussing them history of philosophy as the struggle between critically – to disagree, say, with Kant – was two forces, materialism and idealism – the sacrilegious, not in the spirit of the former good, the latter bad. Democritus was hermeneutical tradition. You were supposed praised, Plato condemned. As an idealist, to learn, for example, what Kant had to say Hegel was bad. Inasmuch as he prepared the on the problem of freedom and ground for Marx’s dialectical and historical determinism, not to reject his solution as materialism, he was good. Despite the book’s mistaken. obvious flaws, I found it fascinating, full of intellectual mystery and wonder. Afterwards Q: What made you want to come to the CU I was hooked. philosophy department? It’s an excellent department with a better fit Q: Tell us about how you came to be in America. for my philosophical interests [than Purdue]. In my third year as a philosophy major, I And with eight years of experience as a started reading Russell and Moore, Quine department head at Purdue, hired through Chris Heathwood contributed an article to The Routledge and Chisholm. At that time, I decided I an external search, I thought I would be a Handbook to the Philosophy of should study for at least a year either in the good choice to help CU Boulder’s Well-Being ; was interviewed about U.K. or in the U.S. When I graduated from philosophy depart-ment move past the his work by the radio program Frankfurt University, I received a scholarship troubles of the last few years towards a and podcast Minerva ; gave from Brown for 1982-1983. This was a bright future. My experiences since I arrived presentations at the Syracuse terrific experience, so I stayed on and in July already confirm that the department Philosophy Annual Workshop received my Ph.D. a couple of years later. is well on its way to doing just that. and Network, and the Tennessee The following summer, St. Cloud State Value and Agency Conference; University in Minnesota offered me a job, Q: What do you like about Boulder? and was invited to be a guest and that was that. Well, what’s there not to like? It’s for sure philosopher in a class at one of the top five locations in the U.S. The Washington University in St. Q: What is the biggest difference between Germany climate is fantastic, it’s an Eldorado for Louis. His PhD student Shane and America? running, biking, hiking, Gronholz defended his dissertation splendidly, and he American culture plays a dominant role in and skiing. Though (Heathwood) continued serving as Germany, as elsewhere in Europe. I grew up I’m not a runner, I like the Department’s Director of watching American TV shows (dubbed in biking and hiking, and Undergraduate Studies. He also German, of course), such as the Flintstones , I grew up skiing. I became, for $10.00, a Minister in Bewitched , I Dream of Jeannie , and Get Smart . don’t know yet the Universal Life Church and Yet there are striking differences. Classical whether I’ll have time officiated his first wedding, in San music, as well as Jazz, enjoys a fair amount of for it, but I like the Diego. For an extra $5.00, he can

Fall 2016 3 fact that I can do it here if I want to. uncaused. Under the very same conditions, pick a special title from among the agent could have decided otherwise. Q: What is the best thing about it? many available. He is leaning That makes it hard to explain the agent’s towards “Universal Philosopher It’s not easy to settle on just one thing, but decision. Perhaps she made decision D for of Absolute Reality.” for me, it might be the beauty of the Front reasons a, b, c. But if she could have decided Range landscape. otherwise under exactly the same Adam Hosein returned to CU conditions, there is a possible alternative after a year away as a Visiting Q: I heard you were interested in photography. Have situation in which she made a different Assistant Professor at Harvard. you taken any cool photographs since coming to decision D* while having reasons a, b, c in He published papers in Philoso- Colorado? Could you share one with us? support of decision D. This makes it hard to phical Studies and Law and see why we should that a, b, c explain Philosophy and gave talks at It’s true, I like to go out with my camera and why the agent made decision D. So it looks Wellesley, Harvard, and Stanford. tripod and take pictures. Initially I was like free decisions cannot be explained. Not The American Philosophical interested in the kind of black-and-white a consequence that’s easy to accept. Association awarded him a Public landscape photography of which Edward Philosophy Op-Ed Prize for his Weston and Anselm Adams are great Q: What is your view about how beliefs are article “Prosecuting on Torture examples, but eventually I found myself justified? Isn’t Politics, It’s Human Rights” being more inspired by, for example, Stephen in The Boston Review and he also Shore and William Eggleston, as well as In short, my answer is: seemingly reliable published what’s called the “new topography seemings. This view significantly overlaps pieces on Hamas and on Daesh movement.” Basically, I like to take pictures with yours [Mike Huemer], though you (the so-called “Islamic State”). of anything, whatever and wherever, that would omit the first two words of my Most importantly, he adopted a strikes me as visually interesting. Here is a answer. On my view, without evidence of mini-poodle, Rory, into his family: picture of one of the bathrooms on the their reliability, seemings don’t have his best decision to date. second floor of Hellems (taken with my justificatory power. Since evidence of iPhone 6): reliability comes from memory, I must hold that memorial seemings receive their justificatory power from memories of memorial reliability. So I can’t avoid what’s called “source circularity.” These days, the alternative to that is called “dogmatism.” Dogmatists reject the evidence-of-reliability requirement I favor because they think that the kind of circularity it comes with is fatal. I’m inclined to think it is an inescapable feature of our cognitive situation. Q: Are you a brain in a vat? Michael Huemer published his book about infinity, which for the I’m not. first time solves most of the Philosophical Questions paradoxes of the infinite. He Q: Do you know that? wrote a paper about the (mis-)use Q: What is your favorite philosophical issue to talk Yes. of ideal theory in political about? philosophy and wrote a popular I have two favorites. The first is the question Q: Can you tell us some of the evidence you have piece on gun control for of how our beliefs are justified and what for that? thecritique.com [you can have Huemer’s gun when you pry it justifies us in rejecting skeptical scenarios. There are various candidates and serious The second is the problem of free will and from his cold, dead hands –ed.]. worries about each of them. “Dogmatists” His papers on the brain in a vat, determinism. say that my experiences of my hands – I can inferential appearances, and moral Q: What is your view about free will? see and feel them – are my evidence for realism all finally came out. He rejecting the BIV hypothesis. The problem thinks that moral progress over Is the will free? I’m afraid I don’t know. I with this answer is that we would not accept history is evidence for moral find libertarianism more appealing than its an analogous answer in other cases. realism. He did more of the usual alternatives (agent causation, compatibilism, Consider a desert traveler believing himself talks, especially on libertarian hard determinism), but I’m not convinced to be seeing an oasis. Few would agree that themes, and this time, he got two libertarianism withstands the main objections he reasons well when he answers the grad students to help edit this to it. One is the intelligibility problem. If question, “How do you know you are not newsletter, which is why it is so libertarianism is true, a free decision is hallucinating?” by saying, “Because I have awesome.

4 Sisyphus’ Boulder visual experiences of palm trees and a pond.” know I’m not a BIV on the basis of a large Dan Kaufman ’s recent and number of seemingly reliable non- A better answer would be to list positive upcoming talks: the University of indicators of accurate, non-hallucinatory envatment seemings. For example, it seems Chicago, Yale, and Harvard. His perception. The desert traveler could appeal to me, in a seemingly reliable way, that “Cartesian Substances, Individual to the clarity and distinctness of his neuroscientists do not know how to keep a Bodies, and Corruptibility” was perceptions and to recent memories brain alive for an extended period. And it published in a special issue of Res suggesting that hallucination-inducing condi- seems to me, again in a seemingly reliable Philosophica devoted to modern tions do not obtain. When applied to the way, that neuroscientists don’t know how philosophy. A Companion to Locke BIV hypothesis, the argument would be that to feed a brain all the sensory input needed was published, for which Dan a BIV has clear and distinct perceptual for the illusion of a normal life. So, if I Kaufman wrote the chapter on identity. His chapter on Leibniz’s experiences and recent memories indicating indeed know I’m not a BIV, I would say I know it on the basis of such seemings. theory of modality will appear the non-existence of envatment know-how soonish in The Routledge Handbook and technology. In short, a BIV of Modality . In 2016-2017, he is on appears to have evidence that In the epistemology seminar I’m going to teach next semester, we sabbatical and will be a visiting BIVs (at the present time) don’t scholar at Yale in the fall and at exist. will discuss how we know we are not BIVs. We will look at UNC Chapel Hill in the spring. Critics of this approach would During that time he will be dogmatic and non-dogmatic working on a book on seven- say that this alleged evidence approaches and examine influ- isn’t really evidence since one teenth-century theories of mater- ential theories such as those of ial objects, individuation, and has it in the normal case and also Cohen, Dretske, Huemer, Pryor, identity. He will continue to lay in the envatment case. I don’t and Wright. I’m looking forward low and TCB. think this criticism convincing because it to finding out which of our graduate conflicts with fallibilism (the view that students are interested in epistemology and Mitzi Lee was supported by a evidence for p need not entail the truth of p). getting to know th em better in the seminar. National Endowment for the So, in short, my answer to the question is: I ” Humanities fellowship for University Teachers in 2015-2016, and used it to work on her book, Approaching Infinity Justice in Aristotle’s Moral and . She gave talks Michael Huemer based on chapters of her book at the University of California, Imagine that you drop a ball, expecting it to in the argument?) The most tempting Riverside, the University of fall to the ground. To reach the ground, it response to the second puzzle (Thomson’s Michigan, and the APA Central must first go half the distance. Then half the Lamp Paradox) is that it is metaphysically Division Meeting in Chicago. remaining distance. Then half the remaining impossible to switch the lamp infinitely distance. And so on. There is an infinite many times, as described in the scenario, Alastair Norcross presented series of halfway motions. But it is because it is impossible to complete an papers at several conferences, and impossible to complete an infinite series of infinite series of actions. Problem: the by invitation at several univer- actions. Therefore, the ball can never reach natural response to the first puzzle directly sities. He organized the 9th the ground. Similar reasoning can be applied contradicts the natural response to the Annual Rocky Mountain Ethics to any object, and any destination; therefore, second puzzle. Why is the infinite series of Congress in Boulder, which was no object can ever go anywhere. What is halfway motions completable, but the the best yet, only to be surpassed wrong with this reasoning? infinite series of light-switchings impossible? by the next one. He was keynote Now imagine that you have a lamp that Think about that for a while. speaker for the Kansas Graduate starts out on. After half a minute, you switch Student Philosophy Conference, it off. After another quarter of a minute, you where he instructed the assembled switch it back on. After another eighth of a philosophers on “How to Be Good.” He wrote and published minute, back off. And so on. There is an papers in ethical theory and infinite series of switchings within the one applied ethics. He also ran two minute. At the end of one minute, will the marathons, in Columbus, Ohio, lamp be on or off? and Eugene, Oregon. At the The most tempting response to the first former, he qualified for the puzzle (Zeno’s Paradox) is that the ball can Boston Marathon, which he will reach the ground because it is after all be running in April 2017. He also possible to complete an infinite series of ran a bunch of shorter races, and actions. (What else could possibly be wrong generally managed to beat the

Fall 2016 5 Some people, following Aristotle, say that infinite amount of energy to be present within very young and very old. He acted it is possible to have a “potential” infinity but the vicinity of the lamp switch during that in, and directed part of, the Rocky never an “actual” infinity. But this view minute. The switch itself, to withstand these Mountain Revels Colorado doesn’t seem to help. How is the series of ever increasing forces, must possess infinite pioneer show, for which he wrote lamp switchings any more actual or less material strength . All of these requirements in a special part for Alferd Packer, potential than the infinite series of halfway make the Thomson Lamp impossible. Colorado’s poster boy for motions? Why can’t there be an infinite physical recycling. Here is a better answer. Both series have magnitude? Aristotle had an important an infinite number of stages, but only one insight: infinitude is not a determinate Graham Oddie was the 2015 series requires certain physical magnitudes to quantity. Every particular thing must be fully Distinguished Visiting Professor be infinite. In the Zeno series, the ball need determinate. Therefore, no particular thing at the Institute for Futures Studies can possess an infinite magnitude. in Stockholm in the Fall of 2015. only travel at a finite velocity, throughout a Why doesn’t this rule out an infinite He conducted research on the finite time interval, covering a finite distance. number of stages to some action or process? nature and value of happiness and The total energy required is finite, as is every Because an infinite cardinal number is not a gave a talk on that topic in the other physical quantity in the story. purported property of any particular Institute’s colloquium series. By contrast, in the lamp switching story, individual. To say there are infinitely many While in Stockholm he gave two multiple physical magnitudes (not just the of some things is just to say that for any talks at the University of number of stages) must be infinite. The light natural number n, it is possible to find a Stockholm – one in the Moral switch will have to be moved through an group of n of those things. This doesn’t Philosophy Colloquium and one infinite total distance during the minute, in the Theoretical Philosophy require any individual to exemplify Colloq-uium – and a talk to the which means that its velocity over the interval infinitude. Philosophical Society at the is infinite. The acceleration must increase These ideas are discussed at greater University of Uppsala. He was without limit as the minute elapses, requiring length in my recent (2016) book, Approaching invited to the Institute of Math- unlimited forces. This in turn requires an Infinity . ” ematical Philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. He was gratified when, in the Student Accomplishments discussion time, one of the 2015-2016 Institute’s researchers declared that the talk “planted a nuclear CU has a nationally ranked graduate program in was also invited to participate in an IHS explosive at the heart of the philosophy (number thirty-one in the nation, Advanced Liberty Colloquia during AY 15- Institute’s research program.” In according to http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com). 16. Our students distinguish themselves in many ways, Spencer Case presented his paper winning awards and fellowships, presenting their “Rethinking Demandingness: Why work at conferences, organizing their own conferences, Satisficing Consequentialism and Scalar publishing academic articles, and taking academic Consequentialism Are Not Less Demanding posts around the county. Here are some of their recent than Maximizing Consequentialism” at the activities. Pacific Division meeting of the APA in San January of 2016 Oddie was an Francisco in April. That same paper was invited speaker at a Role Ethics Cheryl Abbate received the philosophy published as a discussion note at the Journal conference at the University of department’s Stahl Prize for AY 15-16, which of Ethics and Social Philosophy . He also Auckland (New Zealand), at is awarded to the graduate student who has presented his paper “Michael Polanyi’s which he presented a paper on the made a significant contribution toward Argument for Moral Explanation” at the metaphysics of roles. In June he bringing the discipline of philosophy to bear Polanyi Studies: Past, Present and Future was an invited speaker at a one- day workshop on moral percep- on some demanding and crucial human conference at Nashotah Theological tion at the University of Seattle. problem. Her article “How to Help when it Seminar, WI, in June and is now a board Hurts: The Problem of Assisting Victims of member of the Michael Polanyi Society. His Injustice” was published in the Journal of Social Robert Pasnau continued to paper “A Limite d Defense of the Kal âm work on his book on the history Philosophy. Cheryl also became an Associate Cosmological Argument” was accepted for of epistemology. He gave the Editor for the journal, . publication at Res Philosophica . His paper Suarez Lecture at Fordham Jasmine Carter was awarded an Adam “Normative Pluralism Worthy of the Name University, the Evans Lectures at Smith Fellowship through the Mercatus Is False” has been published online in the the University of Nebraska, and Center and Liberty Fund and won a Ph.D. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy . published several papers on recent topics in epistemology. He Scholarship through the Institute for Daniel Coren had his paper “On Young’s said goodbye to his oldest of two Humane Studies, both for AY 16-17. Jasmine Version of the Principle of Alternate

6 Sisyphus’ Boulder with God of the children, who left home for Gaps Skepticism” at college this fall. the 33rd Inter- national Philosophy Rob Rupert spent the past two Conference, put on summers as a Professorial Fellow by the North Amer- at the University of Edinburgh; ican Society for he also spent a month as a Social Philosophy research fellow at the Ruhr (NASSP) in Ottawa, Universität in Bochum. He gave Canada. Dan pub- talks at both institutions, as well lished “Common as at the Universities of Stirling, Typical students in Hellems after class Arguments for the Sheffield, and Macerata, at Moral Acceptability Heinrich-Heine Universität, Possibilities” accepted for publication in of Eating Meat: A Discussion for Students” Düsseldorf, and at a meeting of Philosophia: The Philosophical Quarterly of Israel. in Between the Species . He also published the Central Division of the Dan received an invitation to present his “Remembrance of Philosophy Classes Past: American Philosophical Associa- paper, “Making Sense of the Sentence: NE Why Cognitive Science Suggests that a Brief tion. He published five papers or I.2.2094a18-22” at the Ancient Infinity and Recap Is the Best Way To Begin Each Class book chapters. He served as Infinite Regress Arguments in ancient Day” in Teaching Philosophy , and his article Chair of the Arts and Sciences philosophy workshop, hosted by the was featured on the Daily Nous weblog. He Council and continued in his role as Director of Graduate Studies Department of Classics and Ancient History also won the (University-Wide) Graduate in Philosophy and as an Associate at Durham University in the U.K. His paper Student Teaching Excellence Award. Editor of the British Journal for the “Anthropocentric Biocentrism in a Hybrid” Matt Pike won the Morriston Teaching Philosophy of Science . His research appeared in Ethics and the Environment in Fall group – RARG (for Rupert’s 2015. Award for best Graduate Part-Time Instructor for AY 15-16. Advisees Research Group) – has Jay Geyer has been invited to present his been a source of great intellectual paper (which is also a chapter of his Jonathan Spelman presented his paper pleasure for him and (he hopes) dissertation) “The Irrelevance of Moral “Against Objectivism about Moral his graduate students. Uncertainty to Moral Exculpation” at the Obligation” at the Pacific Division Meeting of the APA during spring 2016. Jonathan Matthias Steup moved last Eastern APA in January 2017. summer from Purdue to CU was chosen to serve as the department’s Tyler Huismann had his article “John Boulder to assume the position of Lead Graduate Student Teacher for the AY Buridan’s Metaphysics of Persistence” Department Chair. He wrote a 16-17. published in the Journal of the History of paper on destructive defeat that is Philosophy. He has had his article, “Aristotle Heather Stewart presented a paper she co- forthcoming in , a critical study of Scepticism and Perceptual on Accidental Causation” accepted for authored with Dr. Lauren Freeman (U of publication in the Journal of the American Justification (Dylan Dodd and Elia Louisville) at the University of Kentucky Zardini, eds.) that is forthcoming Philosophical Association . Tyler has also won a Bioethics conference titled “Microaggress- Dissertation Completion Fellowship from in , and he participated in ions at the Bedside: The Seemingly Small an APA book symposium on the American Council of Learned Societies, Things Clinicians Do That Erode Patient Kevin McCain’s Evidentialism and in association with the Mellon Foundation. Trust” during fall 2016. She also presented Epistemic Justification. Anthony Kelley participated in the Bioethics her paper “Gatekeepers and ‘Deceivers’: Boot Camp at the University of Doubt, Denial, and Epistemic Injustice Michael Tooley attended three for three weeks during the summer of 2016. Towards Trans Patients in the Clinic” at conferences. The first was an As a result of his participation in the Boot FEMMSS 6 at the University of Notre “Axiology of Theism” confer- Camp, Anthony was invited to return to Dame during fall 2016. Heather also ence, where he read a paper in January 2017 to present his entitled “Axiology: Theism presented a paper, co-authored with Dr. Versus Widely Accepted Mono- paper on whether IRBs should count Lauren Freeman at the FEMMSS 6 theisms,” to appear in a book payment to research subjects as a benefit Conference at the University of Notre Dame published by Routledge. He also when evaluating the risk/benefit profile of a titled “Gender Microaggressions in Clinical attended the Eastern Division research protocol. Medicine: A Feminist Critique of Meetings of the American Dan Lowe won a James, Ann, and Jane Beauchamp and Childress’ Principle of Non- Philosophical Association, Emerson (McCall) Arts and Humanities Maleficence.” This paper has been accepted reading a paper entitled Fellowship for AY 16-17. Dan gave the talk for presentation at the American “Temporal Asymmetry and the “Minding the Gap: Skepticism about the Philosophical Association Eastern Division Laws of Physics.” Finally, he Explanatory Value of Biology as a Parallel in January of 2017. ” attended the International

Fall 2016 7 News from the Center for Values & Social Policy Association for the Philosophy of Time Conference, where he was The Center for Values and Social Policy was environmental anthropologist from the on a panel on the topic of established by the Philosophy Department in National Center for Atmospheric Research. causation and time, and also read 1980 with two explicit objectives in : to All three events were well attended by a paper entitled “Tensed support research about normative issues that people from both inside and outside the CU Properties and the Growing are closely connected to matters of social community (as were other events on such Block View of the Nature of policy and to support undergraduate and topics as the ethics of commodification and Time: An Unsound Objection.” graduate teaching about such issues. During affirmative action in higher education) and He also completed the revisions of a book on causation, con- this past year, the Department amended its all enabled the Center to help demonstrate tinued his work on a book on the bylaws to make explicit two important the value of philosophical reflection on issues of public concern. problem of justifying induction, further objectives: to support public outreach and finished two articles, one on about such issues and to collaborate with Second, the Center revived its long- evidential versions of the other units on campus outside of the dormant Visiting Fellows program during argument from evil, and the other Department. With a recent infusion of this past year, bringing two impressive young on counterfactual approaches to financial support from the College and from scholars to campus for extended visits causation. the Department itself, and under the during which they gave talks, did guest leadership of CVSP Director Ajume Wingo, presentations in classes, and made Ajume Wingo ’s recent the faculty affiliated with the Center began a themselves available for informal publications include “A Matter of determined effort to increase the Center’s interactions with our faculty and students. Unbound Leaders in the Lives of contributions to research, teaching, and Justin Weinberg (University of South Africans” (in Theoria ), “Life in public outreach about values and social Carolina), a recently tenured moral and Death: Democracy and Civic Honor” (in Honor in the Modern policy, to expand the Center’s presence political philosopher who also runs one of the most prominent philosophy news blogs World ), “The Centrality of Gen- outside of the Philosophy Department, and der Equality in Living Free” (in to help the Center become the central hub visited for a few weeks in the fall, and Teresa Burke (Gallaudet University), a recently Theories de la Justice: Justice Globale, on campus for the discussion of matters tenured philosopher working on issues Agent de la Justice et Justice Genre ), involving values and social policy. Here are a related to deafness who is also the first and “The Immortals in our Midst: few highlights from the Center’s activities last signing deaf woman in the world to receive Why Democracies in Africa Need year that help to illustrate these exciting Them” (in the Journal of Ethics ). a Ph.D. in philosophy, visited for several He also gave a number of talks, recent developments. weeks in the spring. First, the Center reached out to including “Civic Immortality,” In addition, among many other things, which he gave as a keynote collaborate with a number of other units on the Center took over responsibility for campus to produce public events that Speaker at Yaounde Seminar on overseeing CU’s Ethics Bowl team, launched Utopia at the Catholic University brought philosophers together with other a new blog (http://whatswrongcvsp.com/) scholars to discuss issues of interest and of Central Africa in Yaounde, and Facebook page, and introduced a new Cameroon; and “Human Dignity importance to members of the general Faculty Fellows program, reaching out to and Modern Democracy.” This public. In October, for example, the Center CU Boulder faculty outside of the summer he traveled Cameroon co-sponsored a panel event with the Center Department whose teaching and research with Boulder philosophy Ph.D. for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy include a significant focus on issues Daniel Demetriou to research that brought four philosophers and legal involving values and social policy. Finally, their manuscript on civic immor- scholars from other institutions to Boulder to the academic year ended with a transition in tality and civic honor. ” discuss the moral and legal questions raised leadership: Ajume Wingo stepped down as by conscientious objection to same-sex Director over the summer, after seven marriage. In January, the Center worked with consecutive years of providing valuable CU’s School of Education to produce a panel service in that capacity, and David Boonin event on Parental Rights and School Choice took over as Director as he stepped down that featured CU Philosophy Professor from his position as Department Chair. Adam Hosein along with three faculty Professor Wingo left everything in excellent members from the School of Education. And shape for Professor Boonin, who hopes to in March, the Center worked with several see the Center continue on its upward other units on campus to put together a trajectory. If you have any questions or panel event on Indigenous Peoples and comments about the Center or would like to Climate Justice that featured a visiting help support its activities in any way, please philosopher along with a faculty member contact Professor Boonin at david.boonin@ from the CU Law School and an colorado.e du. ”

8 Sisyphus’ Boulder Department Welcomes Impressive New Students

We are pleased to welcome an incredibly smart and interesting incoming mainly interested in the debate between deontology and class this fall. Here are some of the new graduate students joining the consequentialism. In applied ethics, he is interested in issues Departmen t. related to adoption of parentless children, lying, and abortion. In terms of political philosophy, his interests include public Mark Boespflug studied philosophy at reason liberalism, libertarianism, and reparations for historic Geneva College and Biola University. He injustices. Some of his favorite philosophers are Robert is interested in epistemology and its Nozick, Immanuel Kant, Alvin Plantinga, and John Locke. history, especially issues relating to belief control, epistemic or doxastic obligations, Ájené Robinson-Burris is a first- rationality, disagreement, and the nature year Ph.D. candidate in the and status of faith. The philosophers he is Philosophy program. She completed most interested in are Locke, Descartes, her undergraduate studies at the and some of their predecessors and University of at successors. Apart from philosophy, he Chapel Hill. Ájené's interests are in likes to hike, bike, play guitar and piano, do various forms of bioethics, applied ethics, feminist carpentry, and, most of all, spend time with his wife and philosophy, and social and political daughter. philosophy. Ájené is especially interested in issues of health policy Cherie Braden was born on a and research and the impacts on various minority Monday. Her maternal grandmother communities. wanted her to be a famous novelist or poet. Her maternal grandfather, who Gagan Sapkota joins the Ph.D. was an actual genius, wanted her to program this fall and his interests develop a practical method for include Ancient Greek Philosophy, producing cold fusion, or at the very Ancient Indian Philosophy, Norma- least patent a smash-hit board game tive Ethics, and Metaethics. and have Parker Brothers manufacture it. Cherie is approximately the 11th- Lenhardt Stevens joins the M.A. great-grandaughter of Governor program this fall. Lenhardt completed William Bradford of Plymouth Colony. When she was a child, a B.A. from Leeds and an M.Sc. from she once traced an intricate illustration from a Shakespeare Edinburgh. He is interested in folio and pretended she drew it  she didn't have a good sense questions related to philosophy of of what sorts of lies are believable. mind, language, and philosophical . Cherie is an epistemologist. Heather Stewart joins the M.A. program as a transfer student Judith Carlisle joins the M.A. from the Bioethics graduate program at the University of program this fall after completing a Louisville. She holds B.A.s in Philosophy and Biology from B.S. in Biology and Philosophy and the University of Louisville. Her philosophical interests are Furman University. Her interests primarily in applied ethics (especially bioethics and psychiatric currently lie in , ethics), social and political philosophy, race theory, feminist and cognitive science; however, she is philosophy (especially feminist ethics and epistemology), and also interested in both metaphysics LGBTQ philosophy. She is currently working on projects and epistemology. Her undergraduate pertaining to responsibility for global research in biology is forthcoming in justice, epistemic injustices towards the microbiology journal Symbiosis . transgender patients in clinical Sam Director joins the Ph.D . medicine, and microaggressions in program this fall. He received his clinical medicine. In her uncommon, B.A. in Philosophy from Whitworth though deeply treasured moments of University in 2015. His primary free time, Heather enjoys watching interests include normative ethics, Hitchcock films, listening to her applied ethics, and political philos - record collection, and enjoying a good ophy. Within normative ethics, he is glass of bourbon (to channel her inner Kentuckian).

Fall 2016 9 Philosophy Graduation, 2016 The graduation address was given on May 6, 2016, by Josh and Lynn Lannin. Josh (1996) and Lynn Acker Lannin (1997) were both philosophy majors at CU-Boulder in the 1990’s. Josh Lannin is now a Senior Director of Product Management for Workday, a cloud application software provider for HR and finance that is used by thousands of large enterprises around the world. Josh specializes in fostering innovation in the areas of mobile collaboration and social productivity tools for business, where software is impacting the ways people work together. Lynn is the Director of Professional Services at Vertiba, a Salesforce.com consulting firm that is now a part of Publicis.Sapient. She works with her clients to design and build highly specialized applications on the Salesforce.com platform. Lynn has spent 16 years as a technology consultant after earning her Master of Science in Telecommunications, also from CU-Boulder. Josh and Lynn live in Boulder, Colorado. They have two children, Sydney, age 10 and Sienna, age 9.

The following degrees and awards were presented.

Bachelor of Arts Master of Arts Eric Badovinatz ( with Distinction ) Jay LeCavalier Michael Carrick Arielle Berne ( magna cum laude ) Alexander Mair Emilie Pagano Kyra Binaxas Evan Marks Kaitlin Brinton Kevin McReynolds Doctor of Philosophy Andrew Bryson ( with Distinction ) Naomi Megory-Cohen Joseph Stenberg Marjorie Burgeson Eli Mogel ( with Distinction ) Shane Gronholz Scott Cerick Dakota Moran Rebecca Renninger Jack Christie Zen Ogsbury ( with Distinction ) Ben Rohrs Colleen Clay Steve Powers Alexa Cluney Travis Russell Christopher Collins John Sherry Jentzsch Prize Rebecca Combest ( summa Katherine Siem Ben Rohrs cum laude ) Victoria Smith Greg Connery Elliot Spears ( magna cum laude ) Stahl Prize Jeffrey Drakos Richard Spinoso Thomas Ferrari Scott Splain Cheryl Abbate Gabrielle Filter Olesia Stockhold Paul Frank William Thompson Mills Teaching Award Russell Furth Alexander Tsankov (Best TA) John Gosnell Summer Vaughn Zak A. Kopeikin Austin Gragg Alexa Wach ( cum laude ) Alice Guinther ( magna cum laude ) Myles Webb Morriston Teaching Award Jesse Ihns William Wehr ( magna cum laude ) Peter Jackson Marc Wilk (Best GPTI) Kayla Jankowski ( with Distinction ) Atticus Yondorf Matthew Pike Patrick Kane ( with Distinction ) Eric Zarate Yune Kim Thomas Zelvin

10 Sisyphus’ Boulder Support the Philosophy Department

Philosophy is one of the most vibrant and generally awesome departments in the university. Help us continue with these efforts by making a tax- deductible donation. The items mentioned here are just a few of the many possibilities. For more information, contact the Department Chair, Matthias Steup, at 765-993-7803 or [email protected].

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