Welcome to the Philosophy Department at Oakland University

Philosophy is the analysis and evaluation of the basic assumptions and inferences that we make in formulating arguments: about reality, truth, knowledge, reasoning, human nature, the ultimate goals of life, right and wrong conduct, and public institutions, laws and policies. Ultimately, philosophy is concerned with the examination and development of a coherent and rationally defensible view of the world and our place in it. It is a rigorous discipline of "thinking about thinking" (Aristotle's definition) that has been around since the ancient beginnings of recorded human civilization. And it remains a vital part of the intellectual culture of the 21st century world.

Why major in philosophy?

The Oakland Philosophy Department Web pages bring you a number of philosophical resources. They contain links about members of the Oakland philosophy community and their publications, links about the Philosophy Club at Oakland University, and many links to resources of broader philosophical interest, such as the Logic Cafe, the only interactive and completely online logic textbook and tutor.

NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

Student contest deadline: Paper submissions for the second annual Burke Essay Contest are due March 20, 2010.

Upcoming Department Colloquia: Robert Pennock of Michigan State University is going to give a public talk on intelligent design and evolution on February 4th from 12-1pm in the OC Gold Rooms. This talk is sponsored by the College of Arts and Science annual theme on Religion and Society, the Anthropology Club, and the Departments of Philosophy, Biology, Teacher Development and Educational Studies, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work.

Upcoming Philosophers' Workshops: To prepare for Pennock's talk (above) we'll be holding a workshop to discuss some of his work on Wednesday 1/27 from 12-1pm in the department lounge.

Upcoming Burke Lectureship: Shadia Drury will be this year's visiting Burke Lecturer, April 15-16, 2010. Dr. Drury is Canada Research Chair in Social Justice and Professor in the Departments of Political Science and Philosophy at Regina University. In addition to time spent in informal discussions in the department lounge and over lunches and dinners, Drury's busy schedule will include the following: A discussion of the question "Is Morality the Imitation of the Gods?" in Elysa White's PHL/REL 325 at 1:00 on Thursday the 15th; the fifth annual public Burke Lecture on "American Exceptionalism" in the OC Gold Rooms at 8:00 pm on the 15th; and a talk on "Philosophical Assumptions of American Foreign Policy" open to the public on Friday the 16th from 10-11:30 am in the OC Oakland Room.

Upcoming Philosophy Club meetings: Monday, February 1, at 5:00pm in room 125 of the OC (like last Monday for those who were there), we will discuss a question relating to the movie Groundhog Day: "What would people do if they found that there were not going to be consequences for their actions?"; Wednesday, February 10, at 5:00pm in the Heritage room of the OC, in honor of Valentine's Day, the discussion will be on "The Philosophy of Sex," and free food and beverages will be provided.

Ethics Bowl Update: Oakland University's interdisciplinary Ethics Bowl Team had three wins and no losses in the preliminary rounds of regional competition this weekend (11/21/09) and were leading going in to the final match by a 56 point differential. They were narrowly edged out (by three points) in the final match by the University of Wisconsin's team. Here's hoping they get a rematch as they advance to the national competition. Congratulations for an outstanding performance to Coach Lisa Campbell and to team members, Jimmy Wroblewski (philosophy), Chris Darin (integrative studies), Elizabeth DeRoo (political science and communications), and Brian Williams (undecided)!

Recent Department Colloquia: On Thursday, 12/3, Margaret Crouch of Eastern Michigan University presented a selection from her current book manuscript on "Global Perspectives on Sexual Harassment." In addition to her talk, Professor Crouch was available at an informal lunch with faculty and students in the Kresge Library. Dr. Crouch's visit was made possible by interdisciplinary support from Philosophy, Political Science, Women & Gender Studies, and MALS. On 11/18, Simon Cushing, Associate Professor of Philosophy at UM Flint, presented his paper, "Don't Fear the Reaper", on the Epicurean philosophy of death. The first Colloquium of this academic year featured Leo Stan, currently on a fellowship at the Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Stan presented some of his recent work on Kierkegaard. On 2/12 Matthew Katz of Central Michigan University gave a talk on "Mental Magnitudes and the Language of Thought".

Recent Philosophers' Workshops: On Wednesday, 11/11, 12-1pm, Fritz McDonald presented some of his recent work in metaethics. On Wednesday, 10/28, Phyllis Rooney presented her paper, "Feminism and Argumentation: A Response to Govier." Grant Yocom presented his paper, "The Ethical Character of Mitsein: A response to the problem of instrumental rationality," on Wednesday 9/30. John Halpin presented his paper-in-progress on "Fine-Tuning Arguments and the Concept of Law," on Wednesday 1/28.

Recent Philosophy Club meetings: On 11/30/09 Phyllis Rooney discussed “Women, Feminism, and Philosophy” At the 11/23/09 meeting, Pat Trentacoste gave a talk on "Perceptual Wisdom at the Crossroads: Where Practical Aesthetics Meets Practical Ethics." James Wroblewski presented a paper for the club called "Moral Responsibility through Moral Processes" on October 26. Mark Rigstad introduced leading approaches to the political ethics of immigration at the October 19th meeting. Trevor Martin presented his paper, "Possible Absolutes in Ontology," at the October 5 meeting.

Spring 2009 scholarship awards: Congratulations to PHL major, Brendan Learnihan-Sylvester for winning one of five Holzbock Scholarships awarded this year in the College of Arts and Sciences! Congratulations also go out to Trevor Martin for winning the first annual Burke essay contest. Trevor will also be presenting his essay "An Acceptable Definition of Art" at the Pacific University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference.

April 2009: Daniel C. Dennett of Tufts University was our fourth annual Burke Lecturer. Dr. Dennett was on campus for a variety of philosophical gatherings for two days and his Burke Lecture was presented to a packed house of over 600 audience members from on campus and from the surrounding community.