Evan Fraser, of the University of Guelph, delivered a lecture on February 25, 2016 entitled, Food in 2050: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion. Video of this lecture has been posted on the Rotman Institute of Philosophy YouTube channel. Abstract: Creating food systems capable of sustainably, equitably, and nutritiously feeding 9 billion people while dealing [...]
by Jamie Shaw Bill Nye’s recent comments about the (lack of) value of philosophy have caused somewhat of an uproar within the philosophical community. These comments are not new; many scientists and popular figures (including Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, and Richard Dawkins) have signaled the death of philosophy as a discipline and nominated ‘science’ [...]
On September 17th, Peter Singer will be delivering the first Rotman lecture of the academic year, entitled, "The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically". What is effective altruism? Singer explored the topic in his 2013 TED talk, "The why and how of effective altruism". (NOTE: Starting at [...]
Have you visited the Rotman Institute YouTube channel lately? All videos have now been sorted into playlists by area, making it much easier to find the content you are looking for. Browse videos on Philosophy of Science, History and Philosophy of Science, Science and Values, and more. And if you have not done so already, [...]
Cross-posted from Dan Hicks' personal blog. Starting in September, I will be an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, working in the EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability [CSS] program. I’ve actually known about this for almost two months, but only received the paperwork making things official this week. (I’m taking this as my first introduction [...]
Wayne C. Myrvold has started a petition in favour of Canadian scientists' right to freely communicate their results to the public.
Reposted from Je fais, donc je suis. Marks of the form [^2] should be read as footnotes. I spent last week in Washington, DC, interviewing with about 10 different federal government offices as a finalist for a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship. As you’ll see from those slides, AAAS policy fellows are primarily natural scientists and engineers; [...]
On Wednesday, April 8, at 7:30pm, Rotman postdoc Dan Hicks will be giving a lecture for the Humanist Association of London and Area at the Cross Cultural Learning Centre, 505 Dundas Street in London. The lecture is open to the general public and a $2 donation is suggested. The title and abstract are below.The GMO [...]
The Orgasm Wars Friday, March 6 3:30pm-5pm New Chu International Centre Abstract: There has been a fierce battle occurring among people who explain the evolution of human female orgasm, about its evolutionary origins and nature. The core issue is that the female orgasm presents an evolutionary puzzle. Unlike the male orgasm, female orgasm is not [...]
Two years ago, this blog featured a series of posts about how the history and philosophy of science (HPS) can contribute to science education:Broadening the goals of science education, by Reuven Brandt,Improving scientific literacy through improved critical thinking skills, by Melissa Jacquart, How to include HPS in science education standards?, by myself, andWhat must be done [...]
