Philosophy

Philosopher Daniel Brinkerhoff Young (Union College) uses Marx’s idea of species-being to answer a puzzle about how human beings could ever intentionally bring about an emancipated society.

Former Vassar philosophy professor Barry Lam returns for a Q&A about his new book, Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion, with current philosophy faculty member Shivani Radhakrishnan. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

This lecture examines literary and historical narratives to elaborate “colonial domesticity.”

Campus community only, please.

Vassar Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Michael McCarthy discusses what it means to be an American citizen today and why so many Americans have become distrustful of government, suspicious of politics, and uncertain of their civic obligations. Open to the public.

A solid grasp of the distinct theories of the self, which inform Afro-Caribbean philosophy are vital for an understanding of the distinctness of Afro-Caribbean phenomenology. Thus, in addition to discussing briefly the historicist and poeticist schools, Professor Paget Henry, Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at Brown University, will take up in greater the details the Adinkra theory of the self that has profoundly influenced the development of Afro-Caribbean phenomenology.

Eliza Orlins discusses how policing disproportionately targets marginalized communities, fuels mass incarceration, and fails to deliver true public safety.

Jacob McNulty, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, considers two arguments from Sartre’s Being and Nothingness that take aim at Heidegger’s attempt to purge philosophy of Cartesian categories like consciousness, the subject and the cogito. Open to the public.

Désirée Lim, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University, explores concerns about the rise of a “mega-rich” billionaire class that includes highly influential figures like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. Open to the public, no reservations required.

Harry will give a lecture titled, “The Concept of Living Well in Aristotle’s Zoology.”

Lewis will speak on “TERF Island Comes to America: Buried Histories of the Feminism of Cisness.”