Summer 2017 Newsletter

What do Geordie LaForge’s visor, Luke Skywalker’s prosthetic hand, identification and memory implants in The Expanse, and cybernetically enhanced humans in Robocop and Ghost in the Shell have in common? They are all examples put forth by philosophy graduate student Tim Brown and his co-panelists at Future Con 2017 as popular culture examples of “humans using technology to overcome, adapt, and enhance the body – for ends… Read more
Professor Andrea Woody took part in a webinar, “Scientific Facts vs. Alternative Facts (sic),” presented jointly by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) and hosted by the USC Center for Science and Democracy. Andrea was joined by her co-speaker and fellow philosophy professor David Danks (Carnegie Mellon… Read more
UW Philosophy Emeritus Professor Marc Cohen recently contributed commentary to an episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, a podcast in which Gladwell looks back and reinterprets events, people, or ideas from the past that have been overlooked or misunderstood. In season 2, episode 1, “A Good Walk Spoiled—Rich people and their addiction to golf: a philosophical investigation,” Gladwell investigates… Read more
Join the Department of Philosophy group on LinkedIn to meet and network easily with other Department of Philosophy alumni. The LinkedIn group is a great place for alumni, students, faculty, and staff to make connections with a network of people who can offer career advice or collaborate on opportunities. Members can… Read more
What is summer without a great book or two to enjoy? We asked a few of our faculty to share their recommendations for favorite philosophy books—as well as works of fiction, history, and more. Read our faculty comments on why they love these books, and maybe check out a few yourself. We promise there will not be any pop quizzes! Kenneth Clatterbaugh: Your Inner Fish: A Journey into… Read more
Written by Aleenah Ansari and originally published on the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering website.  The BioRobotics Lab at the University of Washington (UW) strives to improve people’s lives through neural engineering research and the development of technology for minimally invasive robot-assisted surgery… Read more
Congratulations to Department of Philosophy graduate student Blake Hereth on being elected to the Graduate Student Council (GSC) of the American Philosophical Association (APA). Blake will be one of four members of the GSC and will serve from 2017-2019. The results of the APA elections were announced recently on the APA Blog and in Daily Nous…
On June 9, we celebrated the graduates of the class of 2017, who together earned seventy-four bachelor’s, four master’s and three doctoral degrees in philosophy, at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture. Professor Michael Rosenthal toasted the graduates and wished them well in their new ventures, and graduate Wilson Charles gave an encouraging speech to his fellow graduates. Among his remarks Charles reminded his fellow graduates: “As philosophers we have a unique opportunity to make the State… Read more
The Department of Philosophy started a new tradition this year by celebrating our award recipients with an Awards Reception held in our department home Savery Hall. Awards were given to recipients by faculty members who shared personal experiences they have had with the award recipients in the classroom and during office hours to the delight of family and friends. Thank you to our many alumni and friends who make it possible for us to support our undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty… Read more
On July 20, the journal Science published commentary from Professor Carole Lee and co-author David Moher (University of Ottawa) encouraging journals to "open the black box of peer review" in order to improve transparency, reproducability, and trust in published research. The following description of Professor Lee's article was provided by a… Read more
Congratulations to Professor Emeritus David Keyt on the publication of his new book Nature and Justice: Studies in the Ethical and Political Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle (2017). The book is a compilation of articles spanning… Read more
This summer the UW Women’s Center held the Alene Moris National Education for Women’s (NEW) Leadership workshop. The NEW Leadership is a national bi-partisan program developed by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University to address the underrepresentation of women in American politics. Its goal is to educate college women about the important role of politics in their lives and to equip them with the tools and confidence to become active and effective leaders in the civic… Read more
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