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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251009
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SUMMARY:Connecting Research to the Public Good: 2025 Annual Fall Lecture Series
DESCRIPTION:EVENT DESCRIPTION\n\nEach year\, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy organizes a public lecture series open to the public.  The theme for this year’s lecture series is Connecting Research to the Public Good. \nAbstract\nThe Public Good and higher education are traversing constantly-shifting political\, economic\, and social terrain.\nWhat role do we have — as academic researchers\, teachers\, students\, leaders of research centers and institutes\, and members\nof our communities and society — to connect our work to the Public Good? How can we best attend to the needs and interests of\ncommunities and society? And how ought we envision the Public Good and the role of higher education within it? \nPlease join us in welcoming Dr. Brendon Samuels (Ecological Design Lab\, School of Urban and Regional Planning\, TMU)\, Dr. Cheryl Currie (UWO)\, Dr. Bri Watson (UWO)\, Dr. Jennifer Simpson (TMU)\, Dr.Treena Orchard (UWO)\, and others to be announced for this year’s series: Connecting Research to the Public Good. \n\nAll lectures will be held on Thursdays in October & November\, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm weekly. \n\nThis year’s event will take place at different venues: \n\nOctober 9th – Museum London\, Lecture Theatre\, 421 Ridout Street North\, London\, ON.\nOctober 16th – Innovation Works\, Community Room\, 201 King Street\, London\, ON.\nOctober 23rd – Innovation Works\, Community Room\, 201 King Street\, London\, ON.\nNovember 6th – Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory\, 1151 Richmond Street\, London\, ON.\nNovember 13th – Central Library\, Lawson Room\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, ON.\nNovember 20th – Central Library\, Lawson Room\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, ON.\n\n\nAttendance is free and open to the general public. Advance registration is not necessary. \nOctober 9thOctober 16thOctober 23rdNovember 6thNovember 13thNovember 20thOctober 9th\nRooting Resilience: a Call for Academics to Love Where We Live\n\nLecture Theatre\, Museum London\nThursday\, October 9\, 2025 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nIn this lecture\, Brendon Samuels will discuss how he applied his research locally during his doctoral studies to pursue nature-positive decision making. Building on these experiences\, he advocates for laying down roots and nurturing relationships beyond campus –radical acts that humanize the academy and steward the places academics call home. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nBrendon Samuels holds a PhD in Biology and Master of Neuroscience from Western University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Guelph. While studying at Western\, Brendon served as chair of the City of London’s Environmental Stewardship and Action Community Advisory Committee\, as the Society of Graduate Students Sustainability Coordinator and as a member of Western’s President’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainability. Brendon founded and leads Bird Friendly London\, a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and celebrating birds in the city. He is currently the vice chair of the Old North East Neighbourhood Association and teaching a graduate course about sustainability topics at Western. Brendon has received awards recognizing his research and service from Western University\, Nature London\, the London Environmental Network\, Nature Canada and the Urban League of London. \nOctober 16th\nLighthouse or Ivory Tower? Reclaiming Research as a Public Good\n\nCommunity Room\, Innovation Works\nThursday\, October 16\, 2025 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nResearch is often described as a public good\, like a lighthouse guiding knowledge forward. Yet in practice\, research straddles the line between a public and private good. Fueled by competing interests and shaped by growing complexity\, research can feel closed to public scrutiny\, participation\, and debate. This session will invite audience discussion on how research might be reclaimed as a genuine public good. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nDr. Cheryl Currie is Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Director of the Interfaculty Program in Public Health at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Her research and teaching focus on how science can better serve communities with integrity\, openness\, and impact. \nOctober 23rd\nA World Divided into Sheep & Goats: The Scientific Practice of Taxonomy and the Construction of Private Identity\n\nCommunity Room\, Innovation Works\nThursday\, October 23\, 2025 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nBased on work done for a book tentatively titled The Kinseys & the Myth of the Sexual Revolution\, this talk presents the results of an investigation into the Kinseys (the man and the Institute) in order to examine the profound influence of taxonomy and knowledge organization on the shaping of people’s most private interiorities: gender\, sexuality\, and personal identity. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nB.M. Watson is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Information & Media Studies at Western University focusing on the (multiple) histories of information and how cultural heritage institutions like libraries\, archives\, and museums relate to marginalized communities through the practice of equitable cataloguing and knowledge work. Watson was one of UBC Library’s inaugural EDI Scholars-in-Residence\, a recipient of a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and a fellowship from the W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics. They are a two-time awardee of the Public Scholar Initiative and the Nancy DeLaurier Award from the Visual Resources Association. \nNovember 6th\nMega Satellite Constellations\n\nCronyn Observatory\, Western University\nThursday\, November 6th\, 2025 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nIn the spring of 2025\, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy launched its annual Think Tank competition\, awarding research funding to Dr. Pauline Barmby and her interdisciplinary team – Dr. Sarah Gallagher\, Dr. Denis Vida\, Dr. Valerie Oosterveld\, and Dr. Eric Desjardins – for their project on satellite mega constellations. This presentation shares the team’s findings to date\, explores emerging and enduring questions\, and invites audience engagement through a live Q&A. \nProject details: \nFor nearly seven decades\, humans have launched satellites into orbit for communication\, defense\, science\, and navigation. In recent years\, however\, the number of satellites has surged – driven largely by mega constellations like Starlink. These vast networks offer transformative benefits\, such as expanding internet access to remote regions and enhancing Earth observation capabilities. Yet they also pose serious risks: environmental damage from rocket launches and atmospheric re-entry\, disruption of ground-based astronomical research\, and the growing threat of space debris that could jeopardize future missions.\nThis project brings together experts in environmental philosophy\, astronomy\, space technology\, and international law to critically examine the complex trade-offs of satellite constellations. The team aims to illuminate the ethical\, scientific\, and legal dimensions of this rapidly evolving frontier- and to propose thoughtful policy recommendations for governments and global stakeholders. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nDr. Pauline Barmby is Professor and Chair of Physics & Astronomy at Western University and chairs the Board of the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy. She develops computational tools to analyze large astronomy datasets in order to study stars\, star clusters\, and their formation in nearby galaxies. \nNovember 13th\nThe Public Demands of a University Education\n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, November 13th\, 2025 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nThis lecture will focus on the purposes of a university education as related to the public good. The question of students’ capacities following graduation is a timely and relevant issue\, and under much debate. This talk will consider multiple views and will also offer a vision that speaks to the world in which we live. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nJennifer Simpson is a Professor in the School of Professional Communication at Toronto Metropolitan University. She served as the chair of the university renaming committee at TMU from 2021-2022. She has over 20 years of teaching experience and has served in multiple senior leadership roles including that of Dean and Provost. Her work as a leader\, researcher\, author\, and teacher has for three decades focused on the challenges of equity and the obligations of universities to the public good. \nNovember 20th\nVulnerbro: Documenting the Tender Edges of Masculinity\n\nCentral Library\, Lawson Room\nThursday\, November 20\, 2025 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nThis talk traces the emergence of Dr. Orchard‘s sexual and cultural interest in men as partners\, figures to learn from\, and fascinating literary fodder. Specifically\, it unpacks the rhizomic connections about men and masculinity between her previous book about dating apps and what she is discovering about men\, dating\, and masculinity\, as she gathers data for her new book called Vulnerbro. Using surveys\, online interviews\, and snail mail letters from far flung places like Ottawa and a correctional facility in California\, it offers a tender analysis of how men are navigating gender\, subjectivity\, and who they are in our time of flaming culture wars hell bent on dividing us. Dr. Orchard also discusses the implications of these data as well as the research process more broadly for the public good\, which is something she reflects on frequently as a public scholar. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nTreena Orchard is an anthropologist\, author\, and activist in the School of Health Studies at Western University. Her internationally recognized qualitative and arts-based research explores sexuality\, gender\, and health among diverse cultural and digital communities. Published last year\, her compelling memoir Sticky\, Sexy\, Sad: Swipe Culture & The Darker Side of Dating Apps was nominated for Book of the Year & People’s Choice Award by MindValley. She’s currently working on her next book that explores masculinity and vulnerability. \nCLICK TO VIEW EVENT POSTERThis event series is co-sponsored by the London Public Library\, the Faculty of Arts & Humanities\, the Faculty of Information & Media Studies\, the Faculty of Science\, the Faculty of Social Science\, and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. \nEventsUpcoming Events | Event Videos | Past Events | Conferences & Workshops | Public Events \nUpcoming EventsRotman Graduate Student Conference (RGSC2026): Philosophical Issues in the Life Sciences2 May 2026 - 3 May 2026Knowledge in the 21st Century: Translating Knowledge Across Disciplines and Policy Contexts21 May 2026Event VideosMost of our events are recorded & videos are posted onto our YouTube channel. Watch some of our most popular videos in this playlist. \nVisit the Rotman Institute YouTube Channel \n  \nPast EventsBrowse our past events sorted by philosophical area.\n\nEcological Philosophy \n\nEthics \n\nHistory of Philosophy of Science \n\nPhilosophy of Biology \n\nPhilosophy of Mind & Cognitive Science \n\nPhilosophy of Physics \n\nPhilosophy of Science \n\nScience and Values \nConferences & WorkshopsKnowledge in the 21st Century: Translating Knowledge Across Disciplines and Policy Contexts21 May 2026Rotman Graduate Student Conference (RGSC2026): Philosophical Issues in the Life Sciences2 May 2026 - 3 May 20262025 Annual Philosophy of Physics Conferences25 May 2025 - 28 May 2025Research Retreat: Human-AI Relationships8 May 2025\,  8:30 am - 3:00 pm  EDT Load More Events12NextWith outreach a central part of our mission\, we host a number of public events. \nLearn about our interdisciplinary panel discussions\, public talks\, and an annual lecture series co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Department of Philosophy here at Western University.\nView Rotman Public Events
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/connecting-research-to-the-public-good-2025/
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,panel discussions,Public Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241003
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20241025
DTSTAMP:20260409T162407
CREATED:20240909T172749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250610T190413Z
UID:28740-1727913600-1729814399@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Climate Change & Social Justice: 2024 Annual Library Lecture Series
DESCRIPTION:EVENT DESCRIPTION\n\nEach year\, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy organizes a public lecture series co-sponsored with the London Public Library  and the Department of Philosophy. The theme for this year’s lecture series is Climate Change & Social Justice. \nPlease join us in welcoming Professor Anna Zalik (York University)\, Professor Bipasha Baruah (Western University)\, Professor Pablo Bose (University of Vermont)\, and Asst. Professor Evan Bowness (Western University) to the London Public Library for this year’s series: Climate Change & Social Justice. \n\nAll lectures will be held on Thursdays in October\, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm weekly. \n\nHosted at the Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, ON. Lectures will take place in the Lawson Room. \n\n2 hours free validated parking in Citi Plaza during Library hours \n\nAttendance is free and open to the general public. Advance registration is not necessary. \n October 3rd\, 2024October 10th\, 2024October 17th\, 2024October 24th\, 2024October 3rd\, 2024\nContinental Power – The Struggle over Energy under the Canada US Mexico Agreement\n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 3\, 2024 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nAbstract:\nThis talk will examine the energy supply and infrastructural systems associated with 5 years of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement. Professor Zalik will draw from her two decades of research examining power relations in the global extractive sector\, considering questions of state\, popular and Indigenous territorial sovereignty in the continental energy system with relation to environmental and climate justice. \nSpeaker Bio:\nAnna Zalik is Professor in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change at York University where she teaches in the areas of Global Geography\, Political Ecology\, Agrarian Studies and Critical Development Studies. Her research\, in conjunction with colleagues and community organizations\, examines and critiques the political ecology and political economy of industrial extraction\, with a focus on the merging of corporate security and social welfare interventions in strategic exporters. She has received SSHRC funding for her research on topics related to the political economy of hydrocarbons\, substantive industrial transparency\, and the contested regulation of extractive industries in oceans beyond national jurisdiction. Emerging from this work and informed by critiques of capitalism and persistent colonialism/imperialism\, her current projects center on Canadian investment in the denationalization of the Mexican energy sector and financial risk in new extractive frontiers in the global oceans/seabed beyond national jurisdiction. She has given invited presentations at various universities internationally\, among them the UNAM\, Mexico City\, the Peace Research Institute – Oslo\, and the University of Chicago Human Rights Centre. In 2014\, she was the invited keynote speaker to the AAG Energy and Environment specialty group. From 2005-7 she was a Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley. She is appointed to the graduate programs in Environmental Studies\, Geography and Politics at York University.\n \nOctober 10th\, 2024\nWhat does degrowth say about gender equality and social justice?\n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 10\, 2024 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nAbstract:\nDegrowth is an emerging field of research and social movement in industrialized countries founded on the premise that infinite economic growth is incompatible with the biophysical limits of our finite planet. In this lecture\, Dr. Baruah will identify and discuss the potential impacts degrowth may have on gender equality and social justice. \nSpeaker Bio:\nBipasha Baruah is Professor and Western Research Chair in the Department of Gender\, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Western University. She conducts interdisciplinary research on gender\, economy\, environment\, and development; gender and work; and social\, political\, and economic inequality. Author of a book and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles\, book chapters and professional reports\, Dr. Baruah serves frequently as an expert reviewer and advisor to Canadian and intergovernmental environmental protection and international development organizations. \nWebsite: https://publish.uwo.ca/~bbaruah/ \nOctober 17th\, 2024\nClimate\, Health Impacts and Migration: Understanding Patterns and Building Resilience in the Anthropocene\n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 17\, 2024 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nAbstract:\nThe effects of climate migration are already being felt across the globe. Providing tools – in conversation with practitioners who would use them – can aid in better planning and management of what has already proven to be a chaotic and unpredictable dynamic. In this talk\, I explore an initiative to bring together social and data scientists\, policymakers and practitioners to understand the contexts of displacement and the multifaceted nature of impacts on individuals\, communities and host sites for refugees and to support all in addressing this global crisis. \nSpeaker Bio:\nPablo Bose is a migration and urban studies scholar in the Department of Geography and Geosciences and Director of Global and Regional Studies at the University of Vermont. He also serves as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences and is a Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment\, a member of the Food Systems Program\, and the Sustainable Development Policy Economics and Governance graduate program. His research focuses on four main areas – refugee resettlement in North America and Europe\, environmental and forced displacement across the world (with a special focus on the effects of climate change)\, cities of the Global South\, and food security and sovereignty in diverse communities. His work on migration and secondary cities is featured in Refugees in New Destinations and Small Cities: Resettlement in Vermont (Palgrave MacMillan\, 2020) while his earlier work on Indian cities can be found in Urban Development in India: Global Indians in the Remaking of Kolkata (Routledge 2015). Other recent publications focus on food politics\, the ethics of research with refugee communities\, climate change and refugee camps\, and comparative resettlement experiences in the US\, Canada and Europe. He is currently completing a monograph titled Critical Geographies of Migration. \nOctober 24th\, 2024\nLed by the Land: Towards Community-Directed Adaptation Research\n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 24\, 2024 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nAbstract:\nLand-based communities live in reciprocal relationships with their surrounding ecosystems and possess deep local knowledges about the waters and soils that sustain their ways of life. As is often the case for those who have contributed the least to climate emissions\, these communities are highly vulnerable to the accelerating and intensifying impacts of climate change. They increasingly face threats to their food and water security\, livelihoods\, and community well-being. Furthermore\, these communities are often excluded from sustainability research and policy development\, instead having “solutions” paternalistically imposed on them from outside researchers and institutions. These inequitable dynamics remain dominant despite growing recognition that land-based communities play a critical role in responses to the climate and nature emergency —including a central role in the future of transdisciplinary climate change research. This talk will explore the complexities in co-creating research at the behest of BIPOC and Global South land-based communities\, and the challenges and opportunities associated with building climate adaptation research collaborations that are truly community-directed. \nSpeaker Bio:\nEvan Bowness is a critical and interdisciplinary environmental social scientist and Assistant Professor at Western University in the Department of Geography and Environment. Previously\, he was an Assistant Professor of Community Food Systems at the Trent School of the Environment (TSE). His PhD is from UBC’s Institute for Resources\, Environment and Sustainability\, and he has a BA(hons) and MA in Sociology from the University of Manitoba where he used to teach courses related to social inequality.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/climate-change-social-justice-2024-annual-library-lecture-series/
LOCATION:Lawson Room – Central Library\, 251 Dundas Street - London Public Library Wolf Performance Hall\, London\, Ontario\, N6A 6H9\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Public Events,Science and Values
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231004
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231027
DTSTAMP:20260409T162407
CREATED:20230822T125326Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231023T121756Z
UID:27667-1696449600-1698350399@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence: 2023 Annual Library Lecture Series
DESCRIPTION:EVENT DESCRIPTION\n\nEach year\, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy organizes a public lecture series co-sponsored with the London Public Library  and the Department of Philosophy. The theme for this year’s lecture series is Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence. \nAbstract\nQuestions about Artificial Intelligence and its appropriate use overwhelm recent discourse about technology. What is Chat GPT? Is AI ethical? Can it ever be “trustworthy”? How do we\, or how should we understand and speak about AI? \nPlease join us in welcoming Professor Luke Stark (UWO)\, Professor Joanna Redden (UWO)\, Professor Catherine Stinson (Queen’s)\, and Panelists Chris Gerdes\, Susie Lindsay\, Vanessa Thomas\, and Annette Zimmerman (Moderator: Jason Miller) to the London Public Library for this year’s series: Ethical Issues in Aritificial Intelligence. \n\nAll lectures will be held on Thursdays in October\, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm weekly. \n\nHosted at the Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, ON. Lectures 1 – 3 will take place in the Lawson Room. Lecture 4 will take place in the Stevenson & Hunt Room. \n\n2 hours free validated parking in Citi Plaza during Library hours \n\nAttendance is free and open to the general public. Advance registration is not necessary. \nOctober 5thCANCELLED October 12thOctober 19thOctober 26thOctober 5th\nAnimation and Artificial Intelligence\, or How and Why ChatGPT is Like Mickey Mouse \n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 5\, 2023 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nAnimation increasingly defines the cultural contours of the twenty-first century and is broadly used across many forms of digital media. More than just cartooning\, puppetry\, or CGI\, animation is a paradigm involving the projection of qualities perceived as human such as power\, agency\, will\, and personality outside of the self and onto objects in the the environment. In this talk\, I argue ChatGPT and similar chatbots powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) can be best understood as animated characters\, and that other characteristics of animation—including reliance on stereotypes\, obfuscation of human labor\, and manipulation of an audience’s emotions—can help us both analyze and respond appropriately to interactive AI technologies and the hyperbolic claims of their promoters. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nLuke Stark is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Information & Media Studies (FIMS) at Western University in London\, Ontario. He researches the ethical\, historical\, and social impacts of computational technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) systems powered by techniques like machine learning (ML). He is particularly animated by how these technologies mediate social and emotional expression\, make inferences about people\, and are reshaping\, for better and worse\, our relationships to collective action\, our selves\, and each other. \nCANCELLED October 12th\nUPDATE: CANCELLED\nWhat is ChatGPT Made of?  \n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 12\, 2023 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nArtificial Intelligence (AI) has been a regular feature in the news recently\, mainly because of advances in “Generative AI” that have been translated into free consumer products like ChatGPT and Dall-E. Anyone with an internet connection can now ask AI to write an essay or create an image with the content of their choice. Despite AI’s sudden shift into public consciousness on the product side\, how these products work remains specialized knowledge held by computer scientists\, and a veil of mythologizing keeps the public convinced that they wouldn’t understand. \nIn this talk we will look under the hood of Generative AI to see how products like ChatGPT and DALL-E are built. We will look at the data used\, the copyright violations involved\, the energy resources\, their environmental effects\, the low-wage labour that supports the process\, and the social impacts that could result from widespread use. We will also look at how the tools work\, to illuminate some ways they tend to fail\, and the uses for which they are and are not well suited. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nCatherine Stinson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy & Queen’s National Scholar in Philosophical Implications of Artificial Intelligence at Queen’s Univeristy in Kingston\, Ontario. She received a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in History & Philosophy of Science\, and a MSc in Computer Science from the University of Toronto. She has published in philosophy of neuroscience (attention\, mechanistic explanation)\, philosophy of psychiatry (anorexia\, classification of disorders)\, philosophy of artificial intelligence (explanation in artificial neural networks\, neo-phrenology)\, and tech policy (data governance\, terms of service agreements\, AI ethics education). Her current research interests include algorithmic bias in recommendation and search\, regulation of social media platforms\, how diversity affects research\, the metaphysics of scientific models\, the medicalization of gender\, and data science for anti-racist advocacy. \nOctober 19th\nFrom Data Harms to Data Justice: Why We all Have a Role to Play in Building Better Futures\n\nLawson Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 19\, 2023 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nAt the Data Justice Lab we’ve been keeping a record of how people are being negatively affected by the increasing use of data systems all around us. We have also been researching the important work being done to try to prevent data harms. This talk provides an overview of how contemporary data practices are leading to harm as well as the social justice work being done to try to ensure datafied futures where we can all thrive. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nJoanna Redden is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Information & Media Studies (FIMS) at Western University in London\, Ontario. Her research combines interests in datafication\, politics\, governance and social justice. She is co-director of the Data Justice Lab. She is currently working on projects that involve: a) mapping and analyzing the social and political implications of increasing government uses of predictive and automated data systems\, b) learning from data harms and those trying to redress these harms and c) working toward greater civic participation in our datafied societies. \nShe is co-author of Data Justice (Sage\, 2022)\, the author of The Mediation of Poverty: The News\, New Media and Politics (Lexington\, 2014) and co-editor of Compromised Data: From Social Media to Big Data (Bloomsbury\, 2015). She has published articles in academic journals such as Big Data & Society and popular sites like Scientific American. She has contributed chapters to various edited collections. Her research has been funded by the Open Society Foundations\, Carnegie UK Trust\, the Nuffield Foundation\, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre. \nOctober 26th\nPanel Discussion: Can We Enhance AI ‘Trustworthiness’ Through Regulation?\n\nStevenson & Hunt Room\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 26\, 2023 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nCan AI’s design and use be regulated to make it more “trustworthy” (assuming AI can even be trustworthy\, which is a subject of some philosophical debate)? Discussions about the need to regulate AI are happening furiously right now. High-profile cases involve the regulation of automated vehicles and generative AI such as ChatGPT. This public panel will focus on how AI could and/or should be controlled through regulation. \nPANELIST PROFILES \n\nSusie Lindsay\, Counsel at the Law Commission of Ontario\, leader of the LCO AI and the Civil Justice System project and its joint initiative on AI and Human Rights with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.\nVanessa Thomas\, Senior Advisor of Technology Review with the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency’s Technology Directorate\, Government of Canada\nAnthony D’Amato\n\nMODERATOR \n\nJason Millar\, Assistant Professor of Engineering and Philosophy\, Canada Research Chair in Ethical Engineering of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics\, Ottawa University\n\nVIEW THE EVENT POSTER FOR ETHICAL ISSUES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEThis event series is co-sponsored by the London Public Library and the Department of Philosophy. \nEventsUpcoming Events | Event Videos | Past Events | Conferences & Workshops | Public Events \nUpcoming EventsRotman Graduate Student Conference (RGSC2026): Philosophical Issues in the Life Sciences2 May 2026 - 3 May 2026Knowledge in the 21st Century: Translating Knowledge Across Disciplines and Policy Contexts21 May 2026Event VideosMost of our events are recorded & videos are posted onto our YouTube channel. Watch some of our most popular videos in this playlist. \nVisit the Rotman Institute YouTube Channel \n  \nPast EventsBrowse our past events sorted by philosophical area.\n\nEcological Philosophy \n\nEthics \n\nHistory of Philosophy of Science \n\nPhilosophy of Biology \n\nPhilosophy of Mind & Cognitive Science \n\nPhilosophy of Physics \n\nPhilosophy of Science \n\nScience and Values \nConferences & WorkshopsKnowledge in the 21st Century: Translating Knowledge Across Disciplines and Policy Contexts21 May 2026Rotman Graduate Student Conference (RGSC2026): Philosophical Issues in the Life Sciences2 May 2026 - 3 May 20262025 Annual Philosophy of Physics Conferences25 May 2025 - 28 May 2025Research Retreat: Human-AI Relationships8 May 2025\,  8:30 am - 3:00 pm  EDT Load More Events12NextWith outreach a central part of our mission\, we host a number of public events. \nLearn about our interdisciplinary panel discussions\, public talks\, and an annual lecture series co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Department of Philosophy here at Western University.\nView Rotman Public Events
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/ethical-issues-in-artificial-intelligence-2023-annual-library-lecture-series/
LOCATION:Lawson Room – Central Library\, 251 Dundas Street - London Public Library Wolf Performance Hall\, London\, Ontario\, N6A 6H9\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Artificial Intelligence,Ethics,Library Lectures,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221006
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221028
DTSTAMP:20260409T162407
CREATED:20220809T200705Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221027T171308Z
UID:27070-1665014400-1666915199@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Time and Memory:  2022 Annual Library Lecture Series (OCT 27: CANCELLED)
DESCRIPTION:EVENT DESCRIPTION\n\nEach year\, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Department of Philosophy at Western University organize a public lecture series\, co-sponsored with the London Public Library. The theme for this year’s lecture series is time and memory. \nHow do we experience and measure time or form memories of the past? Across a diverse set of talks\, philosophers of physics explore the relationship between time and space\, an art historian considers how art shapes personal and collective memories\, and a neuroscientist illustrates limits and strengths of human memory. \n\nAll lectures will be held on Thursdays in October\, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm weekly. \n\nHosted at the Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, ON. Please refer to each event tab below for room numbers. \n2 hours free validated parking in Citi Plaza during Library hours\nAttendance is free and open to the general public. Advance registration is not necessary. \nOctober 6October 13October 20October 27 - CANCELLEDOctober 6\nCan the Future Influence the Past?\n\nStevenson & Hunt Rooms\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 6\, 2022 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nRecently there has been a resurgence of interest in `retrocausal’ approaches to quantum mechanics\, which say that the future can sometimes influence the past. In this talk\, I will explain why some physicists believe that the future can influence the past. I’ll discuss two different types of retrocausal models and explain their connection to time travel and the grandfather paradox\, and then I will describe what these results mean for quantum mechanics. \nSUGGESTED READINGS: \n\nHuw Price\, `Time’s Arrow and Archimedes Point: New Directions for the Physics of Time’  \nCarlo Rovelli\, `The Order of Time’ \nTed Chiang\, `Story of Your Life’ \nIsaac Asimov\, `The End of Eternity’ \n\nSPEAKER PROFILE \n \nEmily Adlam is a postdoctoral associate at the Rotman Institute of Philosophy. She works on the foundations of quantum mechanics and related issues in the philosophy of physics. She’s particularly interested in approaches to physics which go beyond the time evolution paradigm – encompassing a range of possibilities like temporal non-locality\, retrocausality\, and all-at-once laws. She’s also interested in pursuing the consequences of these possibilities for philosophical topics like laws and determinism. Finally\, she’s looking into recent developments in the quantum clocks research programme and trying to understand what these results tell us about the nature of time. \nOctober 13\nTime and Space Intertwined\n\nCentral Library Commons\nThursday\, October 13\, 2022 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nTime and space are intuitively distinct. Yet modern physics treats them as inseparable parts of a single entity\, “space-time.” Where do our intuitions come from\, and how can they be reconciled with physics?  This philosophical problem has profoundly influenced our modern scientific understanding. \nSUGGESTED READING \n\nAlbert Einstein\, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory\n\nSPEAKER PROFILE \nRobert DiSalle is Professor of Philosophy at Western University\, He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago\, and his research concerns the history and philosophy of physics from Newton to the present time. He is especially fascinated by the ongoing dialogue between physics and philosophy\, and the connections between the mathematical theories of physics and our ordinary experience of space\, time\, and motion. He is the author of Understanding Space-time: The Philosophical Development of Physics from Newton to Einstein (Cambridge University Press)\, as well as many articles on the history and philosophy of science. \nOctober 20\nThe Art of Cinematic Memory\n\nCentral Library Commons\nThursday\, October 20\, 2022 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nOver the past several decades\, visual artists have become increasingly invested in how cinema helps create\, shape\, and challenge our memories\, both personal and cultural. This talk will explore how contemporary art has engaged with the complex relationship between memory and film through painting\, photography\, video\, and installation. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nChristine Sprengler is Professor of Art History at Western University. She is the author of Screening Nostalgia (2009)\, Hitchcock and Contemporary Art (2014) and Fractured Fifties (forthcoming with Oxford University Press) as well as articles on contemporary film\, media art\, cinematic installation\, and Artificial Intelligence. October 27 - CANCELLED\nCANCELLED – How Much Can We Trust Our Memories?\n\nStevenson & Hunt Rooms\, Central Library\nThursday\, October 27\, 2022 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm\nThere are times when memory acts as our closest confidant\, allowing us to relive cherished moments of our personal past. At other times\, we may feel betrayed by our own memories\, such as when we realize that they don’t line up with objective records of the past. In the current talk\, I will review research from psychology and cognitive neuroscience that addresses the fallibility of human memory\, and I will discuss some of the critical factors at play that have been identified in this scientific body of work. I plan to illustrate research findings with anecdotes from daily life\, and I will also highlight some of their implications for legal settings (e.g.\, eyewitness testimony). Finally\, I will discuss why these limitations of human memory do not necessarily have to be seen as ‘vices’\, and how they can be tied to its many scientifically well documented strengths. \nSUGGESTED READINGS \n\nDL Schacter (2021) The Seven Sins Of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers (Updated Edition)\nL Genova (2021) Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting.\nL Shaw (2017) The Memory Illusion: Remembering\, Forgetting and the Science of False Memory\n\nSPEAKER PROFILE \nStefan Köhler’s research addresses the cognitive and neural mechanisms of human memory\, and the interface between memory and perception in the human mind and brain. His research program also aims to improve our understanding of memory impairments that are caused by neurological disease\, including Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. This research has been funded by operating grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)\, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)\, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI)\, as well as by several private foundations (Savoy Foundation\, Alzheimer Foundation London and Middlesex). \nView the event poster for Time and MemoryThis event series is co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at Western University and the London Public Library. \nImage credit: Photo by Ajeet Mestry on Unsplash
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/time-and-memory/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20211007
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211029
DTSTAMP:20260409T162407
CREATED:20210908T201709Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240226T132126Z
UID:25456-1633564800-1635465599@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Race and Racism
DESCRIPTION:In the past year and a half\, race and racism have been at the forefront of many people’s minds because of widespread Black Lives Matter protests and the disproportionately negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on certain racialized communities. But the underlying phenomenon is not only recent. For centuries\, racialized communities across North America have faced social and environmental injustices. This series of public lectures examines the topics of race\, racism\, and environmental justice. It will include philosophical discussions about what race is\, of how to and how not to respond to racism (e.g.\, through practices of “racial fraud” or racial passing)\, of racism as a source of vaccine hesitancy\, and of environmental injustices that afflict Indigenous communities in Canada. \nThe 2021 philosophy lecture series\, Race and Racism\, is prepared in partnership with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy\, the Department of Philosophy at Western University\, and the London Public Library. Additional support for the talk by Deborah McGregor has been generously provided by the Faculty of Law at Western University. \n\nEach talk will begin with a presentation by the speaker\, lasting approximately 60 minutes. Rotman Institute Associate Director\, Eric Desjardins\, will act as host and ask the speaker a number of follow-up discussion questions. Registered attendees will have the option to ask additional questions live via Zoom\, or to submit questions in advance via email. We look forward to having an engaging discussion with everyone in attendance in this online setting! \nThis year’s talks will be held via Zoom webinar and will take place from 7:00 – 8:30 pm EST on Thursdays in October. Attendance is free\, but advance registration will be required in order to obtain the link to join. Please see the tabs below to view talk abstracts\, speaker profiles\, and to register. To learn more about these topics\, view suggested readings provided by each speaker.\nOctober 7October 14October 21October 28October 7\nWhat is Race?\nQuayshawn Spencer\, University of Pennsylvania\, Department of Philosophy\nThursday\, 7 October 2021\n7:00 – 8:30 pm EST\n\nRegister to Attend What is Race? \nABSTRACT\nRecent work among philosophers of race has been aimed at discovering the nature and reality of race among competent English speakers in the USA. However\, nowhere near a consensus has been reached. In this talk\, I defend an argument that provides a radical solution to this race problem.\nSPEAKER PROFILE\nQuayshawn Spencer is the Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.  He has published several journal articles and a book\, all of which have been on metaphysical issues at the intersection of philosophy of race and philosophy of science.  His most cited article is\, “A Radical Solution to the Race Problem” in a 2014 issue of Philosophy of Science.  Spencer earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Stanford University in 2009\, and also holds an M.S. in biology from Stanford and a B.A. in chemistry from Cornell University.  Spencer has won two Ford Foundation Fellowships\, a National Science Foundation Grant (Award #: 1331110)\, and two Fleishhacker Foundation Grants to support his research.  Spencer has also given over 80 academic talks on the topic of race & biology\, including many talks for professional biologists.  Spencer is also an Associate Editor for Biology & Philosophy and Philosophical Studies\, and on the editorial boards of Critical Philosophy of Race and Ergo.  Spencer has one published book\, What is Race? Four Philosophical Views (with Sally Haslanger\, Chike Jeffers\, & Joshua Glasgow\, OUP 2019)\, and one forthcoming book\, The Race Debates from Metaphysics to Medicine (OUP).\nSUGGESTED READINGS\n\n\nWhat is Race? Four Philosophical Views \n(Sally Haslanger\, Chike Jeffers\, Joshua Glasgow\, and Quayshawn Spencer\, OUP 2019)\n\n\nOctober 14\nWhen Racial Passing Becomes Racial Fraud\nMeena Krishnamurthy\, Queen’s University\, Department of Philosophy\nThursday\, 14 October 2021\n7:00 – 8:30 pm EST\n\nRegister to Attend When Racial Passing Becomes Racial Fraud \nABSTRACT\nDespite the attention given to the many recent cases of racial fraud\, little has been said about what distinguishes these cases from those such as Rev. Jesse Routté – a Black American pastor – who\, in 1947\, put on a turban and an Indian accent when travelling in the American south. Racial fraud is assumed to be morally wrong\, but Routté’s case doesn’t seem to be obviously so. I argue that racial fraud is distinct from\, what we might call\, mere racial passing. Both involve a self-conscious choice to alter one’s racial identity\, but\, unlike racial passing\, which is a way of evading racial oppression\, racial fraud actually works to entrench racial oppression. In fact\, racial fraud is wrong precisely because of this moral asymmetry. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\nProfessor Krishnamurthy is a political philosopher who works on race\, democracy\, and social movements. She is currently writing a book (The Emotions of Nonviolence) and a series of related papers on Martin Luther King Jr.’s political philosophy. Her work is about King’s views on the role of the political emotions in motivation to end racial injustice. It explores how he used the various tactics of the civil rights movement (protest\, images\, letters\, and oratory) to engage these emotions and to overcome some of the barriers to political action. As a mother of a white passing child\, she also has special interests in the ethics of racial passing. \nRead more about Meena Krishnamurthy. \nSUGGESTED READINGS\n\nBriit Bennet\, The Vanishing Half\nJohn Howard Griffin\, Black Like Me\nGrace Halsell\, Soul Sista\nAllyson Hobbs\, Chosen Exile\nNella Larsen\, Passing\n\nOctober 21\nRace\, Distrust\, and Vaccine Hesitancy\nCarolyn McLeod\, Western University\, Department of Philosophy\nKharissa Edwards\, BSc Western University\, Class of 2021\nSinéad Osivwemu\, Western University\, Class of 2023\nThursday\, 21 October 2021\n7:00 – 8:30 pm EST\n\nRegister to Attend Race\, Distrust\, and Vaccine Hesitancy \nABSTRACT\nSome of the media concerning vaccine hesitancy lumps everyone who is vaccine hesitant together\, describing these people as being lazy\, selfish\, or believers in conspiracy theories. But some vaccine hesitancy is borne out of racial injustice. We will discuss this sort of vaccine hesitancy and explain how one morally ought to respond to it while advocating for strict policies concerning vaccination. \nSPEAKER PROFILES\n     \n(pictured above\, left to right: Carolyn McLeod\, Kharissa Edwards\, Sinéad Osivwemu) \nCarolyn McLeod is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Western University and a recently named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Her areas of expertise include feminist philosophy\, bioethics\, and moral philosophy. She is internationally recognized for her work on the ethics of reproduction\, parenthood\, and adoption\, and on key concepts in moral philosophy such as trust and autonomy. Her current research concerns the politics of distrust and belonging for marginalized social groups\, including racial groups. \nKharissa Edwards recently received her Honours BSc at Western University in Biology & Medical Sciences\, and she aspires to be a bioethicist or health lawyer. More specifically\, she wants to pursue a career that tackles racial health disparities and exploitation in medicine. She formerly held the post of VP Communications for Western’s Black Students Association. During the summer of 2021\, she completed an Undergraduate Student Research Internship (USRI) that focused on race and vaccine hesitancy and was supervised by Prof. Carolyn McLeod. \nSinéad Osivwemu is a third-year honours undergraduate student at Western who specializes in Genetics and who also has research interests in bioethics and the philosophy of race\, culture\, and ethnicity. She is the current president of the African Students’ Association\, Vice President of Communications for Step Above Stigma\, and Vice President of Events for Western Future Black Physicians. During the summer of 2021\, she completed an Undergraduate Student Research Internship (USRI) that focused on race and vaccine hesitancy and was supervised by Prof. Carolyn McLeod. \nSUGGESTED READINGS\n\nHarriet Washington\, Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present\nRebecca Skloot\, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\nMaya Goldenberg\, Vaccine Hesitancy: Public Trust\, Expertise\, and the War on Science\n\nOctober 28\nIndigenous Climate Justice\, Nature Based Solutions and Self-Determined Futures\nDeborah McGregor\, York University\, Osgoode Hall Law School\nThursday\, 28 October 2021\n7:00 – 8:30 pm EST\n\nRegister to Attend Indigenous Climate Justice\, Nature Based Solutions and Self-Determined Futures \nABSTRACT\nWhat does it mean to “live well” with the Earth in face of climate/ecological crisis? What considerations are foundational for achieving Indigenous climate justice and planetary health?  Indigenous legal and knowledge systems inform Indigenous derived solutions in support all of all life.  I will explore how nature based solutions informs Indigenous climate leadership that in turn informs our collective and sustainable future. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\nDeborah McGregor (Anishinaabe) is from Whitefish River First Nation\, Birch Island\, Ontario. At York University\, she is joint faculty with Osgoode Hall law and Environmental Studies & Urban Change and is Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice. Professor McGregor’s research has focused on Indigenous knowledge systems and their various applications in diverse contexts including environmental and water governance\, environmental justice\, health and environment\, climate change and Indigenous legal traditions. She remains actively involved in a variety of Indigenous communities\, serving as an advisor and continuing to engage in community-based research and initiatives and has been at the forefront of Indigenous environmental justice and Indigenous research theory and practice. She is co-editor of Indigenous research: Theories\, practices\, and relationships\, Indigenous Peoples and Autonomy: Insights for a Global Age\, the Anishinaabewin conference proceedings series. Her current projects focus on “Indigenous Environmental (In)Justice: theory and practice” and “Indigenizing self determined climate change futures”.  Her work has been shared through the IEJ project website https://iejproject.info.yorku.ca/and UKRI International Collaboration on Indigenous research https://www.indigenous.ncrm.ac.uk/.\nSUGGESTED READINGS\nComing soonPhoto credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash. Colorful Hands 1 of 3. George Fox students Annabelle Wombacher\, Jared Mar\, Sierra Ratcliff and Benjamin Cahoon collaborated on the mural. Article: https://www.orartswatch.org/painting-the-town-in-newberg/
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/race-and-racism/
LOCATION:Virtual (register for Zoom link)
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Science and Values
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201105
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201127
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20200730T215451Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211208T010052Z
UID:23295-1604534400-1606435199@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Responsibilities to Others: 2020 Philosophy Lecture Series
DESCRIPTION:Our attempts to deal with the effects of COVID-19 have revived significant interest in a question of enduring philosophical interest: what do we owe to each other?  This series of public lectures will examine our responsibilities (if any) to others. It will include discussions on the evolution of altruism\, on the idea that both individuals and collectives can have moral responsibilities\, on how moral philosophy might assist us in thinking about whether we ought to mandate vaccination for Covid-19 once a vaccine is developed\, and finally\, on what it would mean to grant legal personhood status to non-human animals.  \nThe annual philosophy lecture series is prepared in partnership with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy\, the Department of Philosophy at Western University\, and the London Public Library. This year’s events will be held via Zoom webinar and will take place on Thursdays in November. Attendance is free\, but advance registration will be required in order to obtain the link to join the webinar. \n\nNov 5  at 12:00 pm | Evolution\, Selfishness & Altruism | Samir Okasha\, University of Bristol\nNov 12 at 7:00 pm | Individual and Collective Responsibility and Interests during COVID-19 | Tracy Isaacs\, Western University\nNov 19 7:00 pm | Ethics in the Time of Coronavirus | Anthony Skelton\, Western University\nNov 26 7:00 pm | Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders | Maneesha Deckha\, University of Victoria\n\nREGISTER TO ATTENDEach event will begin with a short presentation by the speaker\, lasting approximately 30 minutes. Rotman Institute Associate Director\, Eric Desjardins\, will act as host and ask the speaker a number of follow-up discussion questions. Registered attendees will have the option to ask additional questions live via Zoom\, or to submit questions in advance via email. This will be a new format for our annual library series and we look forward to having an engaging discussion with everyone in attendance in this new online setting! \nPlease see the tabs below to view talk abstracts\, speaker profiles\, and suggested readings for each event. \nNovember 5November 12November 19November 26November 5\nEvolution\, Altruism & Selfishness\n\nThursday\, 5 November 2020\n12:00 – 1:00 pm\nIt is sometimes thought that Darwinian evolution implies that organisms will evolve to be “selfish”\, that is\, to behave in a way that furthers their own biological interests rather than those of others. However\, biologists have long recognized that “altruistic” behaviour is quite common in nature\, and have sought to reconcile this finding with evolutionary principles. This talk focuses on the philosophical implications of this classic biological issue\, and asks how biologists use of terms such as “altruism” and “selfishness” relate to their vernacular use. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n \nSamir Okasha is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bristol. He is a Fellow of the British Academy\, and President of the European Philosophy of Science Association. His philosophical interests fall into two main areas: (i) philosophy of biology / evolutionary theory; and (ii) epistemology /philosophy of science. \nWithin philosophy of biology\, he is especially interested in foundational and conceptual questions surrounding evolutionary theory. For many years\, his research focused on the ‘levels of selection’ question in evolutionary biology\, and the related issue of individual versus group conflicts of interest. This culminated in his book Evolution and the Levels of Selection (OUP 2006)\, which was awarded the 2009 Lakatos Prize for an outstanding contribution to philosophy of science. He continues to work on these topics. \nWithin epistemology / philosophy of science\, he is interested in topics including probability and induction\, evidence and confirmation\, causality\, theory choice\, scepticism and knowledge\, and epistemological holism. \nRead more about Samir Okasha. \nSUGGESTED READINGS\nWant to learn more? Our speaker & librarians from the London Public Library have a list of suggested readings & a film that complement this talk. You can find all of these at the London Public Library! \nOkasha\, Samir\, Philosophy of Biology: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press\, 2018). \nMurthy\, Vivek Hallegere\, Together: the healing power of human connection in a sometimes lonely world (Harper Wave\, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers\, 2020) \nAckerman\, Jennifer\, The bird way : a new look at how birds talk\, work\, play\, parent\, and think (Penguin Press\, 2020) \nHare\, Brian\, Survival of the friendliest: understanding our origins and rediscovering our common humanity (Random House\, 2020) \nPfaff\, Donald W.\, The altruistic brain : how we are naturally good (Oxford University Press\, 2015) \nSchwartz\, Peter\, In defense of selfishness: why the code of self-sacrifice is unjust and destructive  (Palgrave Macmillan Trade\, 2015) \nWhy Help? The Story of the Babbler Birds – Kanopy film \nNovember 12\nIndividual and Collective Responsibility and Interests during COVID-19\n\nThursday\, 12 November 2020\n7:00 – 8:00 pm\nLots of large global issues require collective\, coordinated responses.  For example\, if only a handful of individuals make choices that might reduce climate change if large numbers of people made the same choices (many of which involve sacrifice)\, that’s not enough to make a difference.  But if enough people are contributing to make a difference\, then (sadly) it can be tempting for others to embrace “exceptionalism\,” wherein they experience the benefits of the collective effort without making the sacrifices. The response to the global pandemic is similar\, where the collective public health effort requires that individuals work together with the common goal of curbing the spread of COVID-19. This raises ethical questions about how to balance individual and collective interests. My talk will focus on these questions\, offering an argument for why\, when we face these sorts of global issues\, individuals ought to feel an ethical investment in and be guided by the collective goal. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\nTracy Isaacs is an Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and a Professor in the Departments of Philosophy and of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research (WSFR) at Western University in London\, Ontario\, Canada. \nHer research focuses on issues of responsibility in collective action contexts\, collective obligation\, ethics\, and feminist ethics. She also works on feminist issues in sport and fitness\, food\, dieting\, and body image. \nShe blogs with her colleague\, Samantha Brennan\, and a great group of guest bloggers\, at Fit Is a Feminist Issue. \n\nRead more about Tracy Isaacs. \n\nNovember 19\nEthics in the Time of Coronavirus\n\nThursday\, 19 November 2020\n7:00 – 8:00 pm\n\n\n\nWe face and will continue to face numerous ethical challenges as we attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Moral philosophy seems poised to help with some of these challenges. This presentation focuses on what may emerge as a pressing ethical question once we discover a safe and effective vaccine for Covid-19\, namely\, ought the state to mandate vaccination for Covid-19? This presentation examines several philosophical arguments in favour of an affirmative answer to this question. It concludes that there are good reasons for the state to mandate vaccination. \n\n\n\nSPEAKER PROFILE\n \n\n\n\nAnthony Skelton is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Uni- versity of Western Ontario. He specializes in normative ethics and the history of ethics. He has published articles in Ethics\, Canadian Journal of Philosophy\, Jour- nal of the History of Philosophy\, and Utilitas\, among others. He is the co-editor of Bioethics in Canada\, second edition published by Oxford University Press and the author of Sidgwick’s Ethics forthcoming on Cambridge University Press. He is an associate editor of the Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy. In 2015\, he received the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Teaching Excellence Award and in 2019-20 he was the Graham and Gail Wright Distinguished Scholar in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Western Ontario. \n\n\n\nRead more about Anthony Skelton. \nSUGGESTED READINGS:\nWant to learn more? Our speaker & librarians from the London Public Library have a list of suggested readings that complement this talk. You can find all of these at the London Public Library! \n\n\n\nGiubilini\, Alberto\, The Ethics of Vaccination (London: Palgrave Macmillan\, 2019). \nSchwartz\, Meredith Celene\, ed.\, The Ethics of Pandemics (Peterborough\, ON: Broadview Press\, 2020). \nReich\, Robert B.\, The common good (Alfred A. Knopf\,  2018) \nMarshall\, Richard\, ed.\, Ethics at 3:am : questions and answers on how to live well (Oxford University Press\, 2017) \n\n\n\nNovember 26\nAnimals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders\n\nThursday\, 26 November 2020\n7:00 – 8:00 pm\nIn this talk\, Maneesha Deckha presents the argument in her forthcoming book from University of Toronto Press of the same title. She calls for a non-anthropocentric reorientation for Canadian law\, by criticizing the colonial legal treatment of animals as property under the common law\, but also finding fault with personhood as an appropriate animal-friendly replacement. Instead\, marshalling feminist and postcolonial insights\, as well as critical animal studies\, the book theorizes a new legal category altogether\, namely beingness\, as better able to protect animals from exploitation and value animals for who they are. Professor Deckha’s talk will delineate this new concept as well as outline how the foundations of Canadian law must otherwise change to move toward justice for animals. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\nManeesha Deckha is Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria. Her research interests include animal law\, feminist theory\, critical animal studies\, vulnerability studies\, health law\, bioethics\, and reproductive policy. Her interdisciplinary scholarship has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She also held the Fulbright Visiting Chair in Law and Society at New York University. Professor Deckha currently serves as Director of the Animals & Society Research Initiative at the University of Victoria as well as on the Editorial Boards of Politics and Animals and Hypatia. She is an inaugural fellow of the Brooks Animal Studies Academic Network at the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law & Policy\, and is a graduate of McGill University (BA)\, the University of Toronto (LLB) \, and Columbia University (LLM). She is widely published and a recipient of several teaching-related awards. \nRead more about Maneesha Deckha. \nSUGGESTED READINGS:\nWant to learn more? Our speaker & librarians from the London Public Library have a list of suggested readings & a film that complement this talk. You can find all of these at the London Public Library! \nM Deckha\, “The Save Movement and Farmed Animal Suffering: The Advocacy Benefits of Bearing Witness as a Template for Law” (2019) Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law 77-110 (open access). \nM Deckha\, “The “Pig Trial” Decision: The Save Movement\, Legal Mischief\, and the Legal Invisibilization of Farmed Animal Suffering” (2018) 50:1 Ottawa Law Review 65-98 (open access). \nM Deckha\, “Humanizing the Nonhuman: A Legitimate Way for Animals to Escape Juridical Property Status?” in John Sorenson and Atsuko Matsuoka\, eds\, Critical Animal Studies: Towards a Trans-Species Social Justice (London: Rowman & Littlefield\, 2018)\, 209-233. \nMatthieu\, Ricard\, A plea for the animals : the moral\, philosophical\, and evolutionary imperative to treat all beings with compassion (Shambhala\, 2016)\n\nCorbey\, Raymond ed.\, The politics of species : reshaping our relationships with other animals (Cambridge University Press\,  2014) \nGrimm\, David\, Citizen canine : our evolving relationship with cats and dogs (PublicAffairs\, 2014) \nBoyd\, David R.\, The rights of nature : a legal revolution that could save the world (ECW Press\, 2017) \nJane Goodall: The Animals We Are – Kanopy film \n\n\n\nView a copy of the event poster.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPhoto credit: Mother and daughter on grass by Daria Obymaha from Pexels.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/responsibilities-to-others/
LOCATION:Virtual (register for Zoom link)
CATEGORIES:Ethics,Library Lectures,Philosophy of Biology
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20191107
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20191129
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20190826T180957Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210713T160456Z
UID:22028-1573084800-1574985599@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Evidence & Belief in the Age of Mass Information
DESCRIPTION:Perhaps at no other time in history has information been more widely & easily accessible. But how reliable is it? What do we do when confronted with fundamental disagreement about matters of social importance\, including climate change and vaccination? Whom should we trust? Experts might help us. But who counts as an expert? Our experiences of our own bodies and our surroundings gives us a great deal of information. But what happens when our experience is at odds with what we’re told by doctors or other experts? When should expertise prevail? This series will examine the complex interplay of personal experience\, evidence & belief in a variety of different contexts. \nEach year\, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Department of Philosophy at Western University organize a public lecture series\, co-sponsored with the London Public Library. The theme for this year’s lecture series is evidence & belief. All lectures will be held in the Stevenson & Hunt Room at Central Library\, on Thursday evenings in November\, from 7 – 8:30 pm. Attendance will be free and open to the general public. Advance registration is not required. \nNovember 7November 14November 21November 28November 7\nThe Misinformation Age\n\nThursday\, 7 November 20197:00 – 8:30 pm\nIn an age where information is at our fingertips\, why do we believe so many false things?  In this talk\, I look at the history of science\, and use simple models of human interaction\, to see why one of our greatest strengths as humans – social learning – can lead us wrong. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nCailin O’Connor is a philosopher of biology and behavioral sciences\, philosopher of science\, and evolutionary game theorist.  She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science\, and a member of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Science at UC Irvine. She is currently co- administering the NSF grant “Consensus\, Democracy\, and the Public Understanding of Science” with philosopher of physics James Owen Weatherall (previous NSF grant Social Dynamics and Diversity in Epistemic Communities).  Their co-authored trade book The Misinformation Age was published with Yale University Press. \nRead more about Cailin O’Connor. \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n \nNovember 14\nThe Death of Expertise?\n\nThursday\, 14 November 2019\n7:00 – 8:30 pm\nA common complaint among science communicators and political watchers is that nobody listens to experts anymore—about climate change\, vaccines\, GMOs\, and more. This populist anti-intellectualism is seen as threatening to liberal democratic societies\, because accurate knowledge is supposed to direct good\, non-partisan governance. But public resistance to expert claims is better understood as a crisis of trust. Expertise is not dead\, but instead is being recalibrated. Thinking about science (including its experts) in relation to society invites new ways of addressing public resistance to expert claims. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nMaya Goldenberg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Guelph. Her research addresses the fundamental epistemic question\, “How do we know what to believe?” (or when are knowledge claims justified) in health care. \n\nMost of Goldenberg’s scholarship has addressed this question in the pressing context of evidence-based medicine\, the decision making framework that relies on clinical trial evidence (especially randomized controlled trials) to inform individual patient care. While evidence based medicine is the standard of best practice in health research and health care\, there has been inadequate attention to the philosophical assumptions underlying this transfer of knowledge from the laboratory to the bedside.  The success of this knowledge transfer has ethical implications\, as patients’ health and well-being are at stake. \nMore recently\, she has broadened her research into the science-values complex to investigate vaccine hesitancy as illustrative of poor public trust in scientific institutions. \nRead more about Maya Goldenberg. \n\nNovember 21\n“All in Your Head”: Medicine’s Worrisome Struggle with Subjective Evidence\n\nThursday\, 21 November 2019\n7:00 – 8:30 pm\nUp to half of outpatients suffer from illness that has not been explained by objective medical tests. Practice guidelines suggest these symptoms must have psychological causes\, but is it safe for medicine to reject evidence of disease when it’s purely subjective? In this presentation I’ll clarify problems with the science\, and the safety\, of “all in your head”. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nDiane O’Leary received a PhD in philosophy from the University of Sydney (1998) and an MA in philosophy from Syracuse University (1994).  Originally focused on Platonic metaphysics and epistemology\, her work now considers applications of philosophy of mind to medicine. Dr. O’Leary has been a fellow at the Brocher Foundation in Geneva\, evaluating scientific support for new diagnostic constructs intended to capture symptoms “caused by the mind”.  As a Visiting Researcher at Kennedy Institute of Ethics during 2016-2018\, Dr. O’Leary’s work aimed to clarify ethical problems that arise in medicine with confusion about the mind’s relation to the body. \nRead more about Diane O’Leary. \nNovember 28\nInformation and Disinformation in the Internet Age\n\nThursday\, 28 November 20197:00 – 8:30 pm\nThe internet facilitates the spread of information\, and disinformation. In the face of this\, how can we tell what is and isn’t trustworthy? This is one instance of a question that philosophers have discussed for millennia\, the question of distinguishing reliable knowledge from unreliable. There’s no easy answer\, but I will offer some guidelines for forming beliefs in the internet age. \nPlease note that the speaker previously scheduled for this night had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. We are very grateful to Wayne Myrvold\, from the Department of Philosophy at Western\, who has graciously agreed to fill-in. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nWayne Myrvold is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western University\, and co-editor of Studies in History of Philosophy of Modern Physics. He has research interests in philosophy of physics\, philosophy of science\, and philosophy of mathematics. \n  \n  \n  \n  \n \n\n\nView a copy of the event poster and flyer\, prepared by the London Public Library.\n\n\n\nThis event series was prepared in partnership with the Department of Philosophy at Western University and the London Public Library.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPoster photo credit: Roman Kruglov – through the magnifying glass (license)
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/evidence-belief-in-the-age-of-mass-information/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Science and Values,Visiting Fellows
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190117
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190208
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20181018T131749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190411T130540Z
UID:20872-1547683200-1549583999@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Happiness and Well-Being: Philosophical Perspectives
DESCRIPTION:EVENT DESCRIPTION\n\nEach year\, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Department of Philosophy at Western University organize a public lecture series\, co-sponsored with the London Public Library. The theme for this year’s lecture series is happiness and well-being. The four speakers taking part in this year’s series have expertise in a range of fields–ethics\, feminist philosophy\, philosophy of science\, and sociology–and will address the theme from unique perspectives. All lectures will be held in the Stevenson & Hunt Room at Central Library\, on Thursday evenings\, from 7 – 8:30 pm\, on the dates listed below. Attendance will be free and open to the general public. \nView a copy of the library event poster. \nJanuary 17January 24January 31February 7January 17\nFive Questions about Women and Well-Being\n\nThursday\, January 17\, 2019\n7:00 – 8:30 pm\nThis talk takes up five questions about women and well-being: Are women’s lives sufficiently different than men’s as to merit a separate account of well-being? What might a feminist theory of well-being look like?  In general\, do women lead better or worse lives than men? If women are happy with their lives\, in unjust circumstances\, does that count against subjective theories of well-being? How does equality relate to well-being in the context of the pay gap and the play gap? \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nSamantha Brennan is Dean of the College of Arts at the University of Guelph\, a member of the graduate faculty in Philosophy at Western University and at the University of Guelph. She is also a member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy. Brennan’s main research interests lie in the area of contemporary normative ethics\, applied ethics\, and feminist philosophy. \nRead more about Samantha Brennan. \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \nEVENT VIDEO \n \nJanuary 24\nThriving Children\n\nThursday\, January 24\, 2019\n7:00 – 8:30 pm\nPhilosophers have been puzzling over the nature of happiness for thousands of year. Somewhat surprisingly few have deigned to reflect on the nature of children’s happiness. In this presentation\, I will seek to remedy this oversight by offering some philosophical thoughts on the nature of children’s well-being. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nAnthony Skelton is currently associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western University. His research focuses on issues in moral philosophy and practical ethics. He received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Toronto in 2005\, where he wrote a dissertation under the direction of Wayne Sumner. In 2004-2005 he was Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Michigan. In 2012-13\, he was Visiting Scholar at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and a Plumer Visiting Research Fellow at St. Anne’s College\, Oxford University. In 2015\, he was a visiting researcher at Fondation Broucher. He received the University Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll Certificate in 2008\, 2011\, 2012\, 2014\, and 2016. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy. \nEVENT VIDEO \nJanuary 31\nAging Alone? The Well-being of Older Adults without Close Kin\n\nThursday\, January 31\, 2019\n7:00 – 8:30 pm\nFamily members provide many important functions such as childcare\, financial support and caregiving. Because of demographic changes\, older people today may have fewer kin to rely on than in the past. This lecture addresses changes in family networks among older adults and the implications for health\, well-being and social integration. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nRachel Margolis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario. Her research addresses how family dynamics shape population change in developed countries. She works in the following areas: demography\, fertility and family change\, population aging\, population health and well-being\, and medical sociology. She did her PhD in Demography and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania\, MSc in Population and Development at LSE\, and BA in Government at Cornell University. \nRead more about Rachel Margolis. \nEVENT VIDEO \nFebruary 7\nPhilosophy and the Science of Happiness\n\nThursday\, February 7\, 2019\n7:00 – 8:30 pm\nThe “science of happiness” explores who’s happy and why\, and it’s never been hotter or more controversial. But what is happiness\, and why does it matter? The answers turn out to be difficult and philosophically interesting\, and serve to show the value of philosophical reflection to the practicing scientist. \nSPEAKER PROFILE \nErik Angner is Professor of Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University. As a result of serious mission creep\, he holds two PhDs – one in Economics and one in History and Philosophy of Science – both from the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of two books\, Hayek and Natural Law (2007) and A Course in Behavioral Economics\, 2nd Ed. (2016)\, as well as multiple journal articles and book chapters on behavioral and experimental economics\, the economics of happiness\, and the history\, philosophy\, and methodology of contemporary economics. \nRead more about Erik Angner. \nEVENT VIDEO \nThis event series is co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at Western University and the London Public Library.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/happiness-and-well-being-philosophical-perspectives/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20161102T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20161102T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170817T184113Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181017T152700Z
UID:18059-1478098800-1478104200@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Louis Charland: Why Neuroscience Needs “Passion”
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nAfter a brief review of the history of affective neuroscience and the theoretical status of emotion in contemporary neuroscience\, it will be argued that present day neuroscience suffers from a serious theoretical limitation that is largely due to its focus on short-term observation and reliance on laboratory measurement technologies that restrict it to the study of affective states of short duration. Consequently we have very little theoretical understanding of how short term affective states\, like emotions\, are organized into complex networks that evolve overtime\, forming complex affective processes of long duration\, in which individual emotions are organized in law-like ways. The solution is to reintroduce the vocabulary and study of long term ‘passions’ into neuroscience and distinguish these from the individual emotions which they direct and organize. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\nLouis Charland came to Western in the Summer of 1998. His previous job was at the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University in Montreal\, where he was a member of the Biomedical Ethics Unit and the Clinical Trials Research Group. While at McGill\, he taught in the Master’s Specialization Program in Bioethics and served on the Research Ethics Board of the Douglas Psychiatric Hospital. \nPrior to his appointment to McGill\, he taught philosophy and bioethics at the University of Toronto. During that time\, he served as a Research Associate at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics. in 1993-1994\, he worked as bioethicist at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. \nIn addition to academic and hospital experience\, he has also worked as a research and program evaluation consultant for the Government of Ontario’s Premier’s Council on Health Strategy. The Council was a “think-tank” created to plan for the future of healthcare in Ontario. It was first created and chaired by Premier David Peterson and subsequently chaired by Premier Bob Rae. During his stay with the Premier’s Council he authored several reports on the Council’s Health Innovation Fund and traveled extensively as an evaluator and research consultant for the Fund. His experience as a consultant also includes work with the Ministry of Community and Social Services\, and the Mental Health Branch of the Ministry of Health. ”  \nRead more about Louis Charland. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nView and download a copy of the event poster. \n\n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/louis-charland-neuroscience-needs-passion/
LOCATION:Martha Bishop Community Room – Landon Library\, 167 Wortley Road\, London\, Ontario\, N6C 3P6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Philosophy of Mind & Neuroscience,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20161026T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20161026T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170817T183156Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181017T152706Z
UID:18055-1477494000-1477499400@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Chris Viger: Brains and Persons
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nIs increasing knowledge of how our brains cause behaviour undermining the very conception of freedom that moral and legal responsibilities presuppose? Is our sense of ourselves as persons under assault from science? Must we rethink criminal responsibility? I present contemporary philosophical views of free will and question how they square with neuroscience. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\nChris Viger began his academic training in mathematics and logic and taught mathematics for three years at the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific. He began retraining in philosophy at Carleton University\, supervised by Andrew Brook\, and then completed his PhD at McGill University\, supervised by Paul Pietroski. After graduating\, Chris was a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University working with Daniel Dennett\, a visiting professor at Dalhousie University\, a SSHRC postdoctoral fellow\, and a visiting fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center and Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science\, before joining the faculty at Western. In 2008\, he was awarded the Marilyn Robinson Teaching Award for pre-tenured faculty at Western and is currently the assistant department chair and the undergraduate chair (2010-14) and the Rotman Faculty Fellow in Philosophy and Neuroscience (2012-14). He works in philosophy of mind\, psychology\, and cognitive science\, with his research focused on the relation between language and thought.  \nRead more about Chris Viger. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nView and download a copy of the event poster. \n\n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/chris-viger-brains-persons/
LOCATION:Martha Bishop Community Room – Landon Library\, 167 Wortley Road\, London\, Ontario\, N6C 3P6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Philosophy of Mind & Neuroscience,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20161012T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20161012T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170817T184422Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181017T152714Z
UID:18061-1476284400-1476289800@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Jackie Sullivan: Understanding Mental Illness: Will a Single Explanatory Model Do?
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nThe medical model of mental illness is often characterized as assuming that mental illness is a disorder of the brain. In contrast\, the biopsychosocial model allows for the possibility that mental illness is caused by a combination of biological\, psychological and environmental causes. Which model is superior for understanding\, explaining and treating mental illness? \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\nDr. Sullivan received her Ph.D. from the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) in 2007 and an M.S. from Pitt’s Department of Neuroscience in 2003. Her research interests are in philosophy of science\, philosophy of mind\, and philosophy of neuroscience. Her current research focuses on epistemological problems that arise in the contexts of experimentation on learning and memory in cellular and molecular neurobiology.  \nRead more about Jackie Sullivan. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nView and download a copy of the event poster. \n\n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/jackie-sullivan-understanding-mental-illness-will-single-explanatory-model/
LOCATION:Martha Bishop Community Room – Landon Library\, 167 Wortley Road\, London\, Ontario\, N6C 3P6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Philosophy of Mind & Neuroscience,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20161005T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20161005T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170817T184613Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181115T203113Z
UID:18064-1475679600-1475685000@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Catherine Stinson: The Body in ‘Mental Illness’
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nIf mental and physical are separate domains\, “mental illness” should not involve the body. But bodily symptoms are common among people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Examples are altered perceptions of hot and cold\, and hallucinations of touch. Overlooking the body may contribute to the stigma of psychiatric diagnosis. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\nCatherine Stinson is a philosopher of science with interests in neuroscience\, psychology\, psychiatry\, and computational science. Her main interest is how scientific explanations work: How can we be sure that experimental models behave the same way as the systems they stand in for? Are computational models more like experiments run on a digital model\, or like a series of calculations? How can we relate the personal\, cognitive\, neural\, and molecular level explanations of a complex psychiatric disorder? One project Catherine is working on at the Rotman Institute is coming up with an account of what sort of a thing an explanation is that can make sense of the diverse and overlapping explanations (at multiple levels\, coming from various types of models) that we use to understand a given scientific phenomenon. \nRead more about Catherine Stinson. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nView and download a copy of the event poster. \nEVENT VIDEO\n\n \n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/catherine-stinson-body-mental-illness/
LOCATION:Martha Bishop Community Room – Landon Library\, 167 Wortley Road\, London\, Ontario\, N6C 3P6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Library Lectures,Philosophy of Mind & Neuroscience,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20151028T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20151028T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170817T210919Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181017T152826Z
UID:18103-1446044400-1446049800@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Wayne Myrvold: Einstein and the Atom
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nEinstein’s name is widely associated with the “atom bomb\,” via the formula E = MC2. Less widely known is that he played a key role in providing evidence that atoms exist at all. One of Einstein’s early papers was an analysis of Brownian motion\, the ceaseless dance of tiny particles\, such as pollen grains\, suspended in a fluid. The dance of pollen grains\, Einstein realized\, was evidence that they are being buffeted by smaller particles\, beyond microscopic resolution. This talk will be about the ingenuity required to turn the visible into evidence about the invisible. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\n \nWayne Myrvold is a philosopher of science\, whose work is chiefly concerned with the philosophy of physics\, and\, in particular with the interpretation of quantum mechanics. He has interest in confirmation theory (or perhaps\, better\, in the relation between theory and evidence)\, and has done work on this in a Bayesian context. He has a long-standing interest in the philosophy of biology which has yet to result in any published contributions to that field. \nHe has been a member of the Philosophy Department at Western since 1997. In AY 2004-2005\, he spent half of a sabbatical year at the University of Oxford\, and in AY 08-09 spent a full year there as a visiting Departmental Lecturer in the Philosophy of Physics. In the Winter Term of 2011 he was visiting faculty in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He is an Affiliate Member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He is a member of the Time and Universe research cluster. He is also Subject Editor for Quantum Mechanics for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and is on the Editorial Board for Philosophy of Science \nRead more about Wayne Myrvold. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nDownload a copy of the event poster and flyer. \nEVENT VIDEO\n\n \n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/wayne-myrvold-einstein-atom/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Einstein at Rotman,History of Philosophy of Science,Library Lectures,Philosophy of Physics,Public Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/wp-content/uploads/myrvoldFCA.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20151021T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20151021T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170817T211217Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181017T152834Z
UID:18105-1445439600-1445445000@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Doreen Fraser: Einstein\, God\, Dice\, and Quantum Mechanics
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nEinstein is best known for his contributions to the physics of spacetime\, the Special and General Theories of Relativity. However\, he also played an important role in the development of quantum mechanics\, the other great theoretical advance in twentieth century physics. Einstein’s famous response to quantum mechanics was that “God does not play dice.” As the quote suggests\, quantum mechanics made Einstein uncomfortable. I will discuss the reasons for his unease—the role of chance\, the failure of the theory to represent reality\, and “spooky” action at a distance. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\n \nDoreen Fraser is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo. The central focus of her current research is the project funded by a SSHRC Standard Research Grant\, which is entitled “A Philosophical Investigation of Issues Raised by Particle Physics.” A turning point in the recent history of physics was the realization that an identification can be made between the theories of statistical mechanics and particle physics. The discovery that the same mathematical formalism can be used in both statistical mechanics and particle physics is surprising because these theories were taken to describe unrelated aspects of the physical world. While the importance of the analogy between statistical mechanics and particle physics is beyond doubt\, the nature of the analogy between the two theories stands in need of further analysis. What has been shown is that the two theories share the same mathematical form\, which establishes a formal analogy. The pressing question that remains is this: Is there a more substantial physical analogy between particle physics and statistical mechanics underlying this formal analogy? The answer to this question is important to both philosophers and theoretical physicists because it has deep ramifications for our understanding of the nature of elementary particles\, the discipline of particle physics\, and the enterprise of scientific theorizing more generally. The goals of this project are twofold: first\, to analyze the analogy between statistical mechanics and particle physics and\, second\, to apply this analysis to address philosophical issues raised by particle physics as well as broader epistemological issues. \nRead more about Doreen Fraser. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nDownload a copy of the event poster and flyer. \nEVENT VIDEO\n\n \n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/doreen-fraser-einstein-god-dice-quantum-mechanics/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Einstein at Rotman,History of Philosophy of Science,Library Lectures,Philosophy of Physics,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20151015T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20151015T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170818T173503Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210714T150004Z
UID:18110-1444921200-1444926600@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Stathis Psillos: Engaging Philosophy: Einstein on the Method of Science
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nAlbert Einstein said that scientists are poor philosophers. Yet\, he added that especially in periods of scientific revolutions\, scientists should engage in philosophy and should not “surrender to philosophers the critical contemplation of the theoretical foundations” of science. In this talk I will aim to critically examine Einstein’s views on the method of science by placing them within the context of his own historical narrative concerning the crisis of science in the beginning of the twentieth century and the emergence of his theories of relativity. I will stress that his key philosophical endeavour was to clarify the relation between theory and experience. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\n \nStathis Psillos received his PhD in Philosophy of Science in 1994 from King’s College London. Between 1993 and 1998 he was initially assistant editor and subsequently deputy editor of the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. Between 1995 and 1998\, he was a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow\, at the Dept of Philosophy\, Logic and Scientific Method\, London School of Economics. Since 1998\, he has been a Research Associate of the Centre for the Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences\, London School of Economics. He joined the Dept of Philosophy and History of Science in the University of Athens\, Greece\, in 1999. He was among the founders of European Philosophy of Science Association and served as its first elected President (2007-2009). He is currently the editor of the journal Metascience. In 2008 he was elected member of l’Academie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (AIPS). In 2007\, he was co-chair of the Programme Committee for the Philosophy of Science for the World Congress of Philosophy\, which took place in Seoul\, South Korea\, in July 2008. In 2011\, he organised the 3nd congress of the European Philosophy of Science Association\, in Athens. In July 2011\, he was the Springer Lecturer\, at the 11th International IHPST Conference\, held at the University of Thessaloniki. In July 2012 he was William Evans Visiting Professor in the University of Otago\, New Zealand. In March-May 2013\, he delivered the Cardinal Mercier Lectures in Philosophy in the Universite Catholique de Louvain\, in Belgium. He is the author and editor of 8 books (two of which have been award-winning) and over 100 papers and reviews in learned journals and edited books\, mainly on scientific realism\, causation\, explanation and the history of philosophy of science. He has delivered more than 120 talks in seminars and conferences around the world. \nRead more about Stathis Psillos. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nDownload a copy of the event poster and flyer. \nEVENT VIDEO\n\n \n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/stathis-psillos-engaging-philosophy-einstein-method-science/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Einstein at Rotman,History of Philosophy of Science,Library Lectures,Philosophy of Physics,Public Events,Stathis Psillos,Visiting Fellows
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20151007T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20151007T163000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170818T173820Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181017T152853Z
UID:18112-1444230000-1444235400@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Chris Smeenk: Einstein’s Path to a New Theory
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nIn November 1915\, Einstein published a new theory of gravity. This lecture recounts the “rough and winding road” Einstein took in developing his theory\, which ended with a dramatic race to the finish. Einstein’s approach was philosophical\, partially guided by conceptual puzzles regarding space and motion. We will consider recent critical assessments of Einstein’s philosophy\, along with the more general question of how philosophy can contribute to physics. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\n \nI began my undergraduate years intending to study physics. I was drawn to physics partly because physicists had obviously been so successful in discovering a great deal about nature\, but also because modern physics is so strikingly creative and counterintuitive. In my freshmen year of college\, I studied philosophy for the first time as part of an intensive humanities program. The first term of that course (taught by Ruth Marcus) was responsible for kindling my interest in philosophy. I discovered that it was possible to pursue both physics and philosophy\, as a combined major. Thinking about these topics was exciting and rewarding enough that I decided to go on to graduate study\, at Pittsburgh’s Department of History and Philosophy of Science. \nHPS at Pitt was an incredibly enriching experience. HPS departments tend to be more closely aligned with either history of science or philosophy of science. A colleague in graduate school once memorably described Pitt’s department as neither “big H” (emphasis on history) nor “big P” (emphasis on philosophy)\, but instead “big S” (emphasis on science). Like most of my peers in graduate school\, I developed the skills to do “big S”-style work by continuing to study physics. My dissertation is a historical and philosophical study of the development of early universe cosmology. This has continued to be a major focus of my research\, but I also have worked on topics ranging from Newton’s work to the nature of time in Einstein’s theory of gravity. The common thread tying together all of this work is an interest in both what specific physical theories say about the world\, and how we should justify and evaluate these theories. \nAfter finishing my dissertation\, I held a postdoc at the Dibner Institute (affiliated with MIT) for one year. I was then an assistant professor of philosophy for four years at UCLA before accepting a position at Western in 2007. \nRead more about Chris Smeenk. \nEVENT POSTER\n\nDownload a copy of the event poster and flyer. \nEVENT VIDEO\n\n \n \nThis event is co-sponsored with the London Public Library and the Western Department of Philosophy.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/chris-smeenk-einsteins-path-new-theory/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Einstein at Rotman,History of Philosophy of Science,Library Lectures,Philosophy of Physics,Public Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20141029T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20141029T170000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170819T002639Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181018T184936Z
UID:18268-1414594800-1414602000@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Leonard Smith and Erica Thompson: Doing Science in the Dark: The Challenges of Climate-Like Science
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nClimate prediction and weather prediction are very different: due to constant refinements and new techniques\, the life time of a climate model is much less than the forecast we ask it to make\, whereas the same weather model can be used to forecast tomorrow’s weather\, day after day\, for months if not years — allowing us to learn from our mistakes. By contrast\, climate science is continually exploring new territory\, using new and unproven techniques. The challenges of doing science partly in the dark\, past successes and failures\, and many examples will be discussed. No background knowledge of climate\, weather or maths will be assumed. \nSPEAKER PROFILES\n\n \nLeonard Smith is the Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Time Series (CATS) and Research Professor in the Department of Statistics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Smith has been developing\, within CATS\, a coherent framework for using imperfect models to better understand and predict real dynamical systems. This has involved working with operational weather models of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts\, the UK Met Office\, the US National Centres for Environmental Prediction and the US Naval Research Laboratory’s NOGAPS system. He is also involved in developing methods of experimental design for climate-like applications based within the framework of Indistinguishable States. He is currently working on the experimental design for the EU ENSEMBLES project and the analysis of data from the DEMETER project. \nRead more about Leonard Smith. \nErica Thompson is a Research Officer at CATS. Her interests focus on how to identify meaningful and useful projections of future climate\, how different types of model output can be used to inform these projections\, and how to think about uncertainty. She looked at some of these questions in the context of North Atlantic storms for her PhD at Imperial College. Her background is in the physical sciences\, having studied physics and mathematics at Cambridge University. Erica has also worked for the UK Energy Research Centre on an assessment of global oil depletion and for the Grantham Institute at Imperial College as a research assistant in climate policy; she is also interested in climate and energy policy and the role of scientific advice in policy-making. \nEVENT VIDEO
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/leonard-smith-erica-thompson-science-dark-challenges-climate-like-science/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Ecological Philosophy,Library Lectures,Public Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20141023T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20141023T170000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170819T003238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181017T152939Z
UID:18272-1414076400-1414083600@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Public Panel Discussion: Climate Change: What is to be done?
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nA public panel discussion about what can\, and what should\, be done about climate change\,  with a focus  on interplay between various levels of action – community\, national\, and international. Also discussed will be how we can cut through the ideological noise around the issue of climate change.     \nSPEAKER PROFILES\n\nGary Brown\nGary Brown is active in politics within the City of London\, and in addition to supporting many environmental and community groups\, serves as a board member on the Old South Community Organization. He  has run three times for provincial office in London West.  He is the principle organizer of London’s largest community festival\, Gathering on the Green\, is a volunteer for ReForest London\, and sits on the newly formed Cycling Advisory Committee. \nRadoslav Dimitrov\nRadoslav Dimitrov specializes in global environmental politics\, international climate change negotiations\, and UN diplomacy. Theoretical work: science and environmental policy\, argumentation and persuasion in politics\, and norms in world politics. His award-winning work introduced the concept of nonregimes to the field of global governance\, through studies on coral reefs policy and global forest negotiations. Read more about Radoslav Dimitrov. \nHeather Douglas\nHeather Douglas received her PhD in History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at the University of Pittsburgh in 1998.  From 1998-2004\, She was the Phibbs Assistant Professor of Science and Ethics at the University of Puget Sound.  She then worked in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee (2004-2011).  She spent a year at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh as a visiting fellow (2010-2011) and a semester as a visiting professor in HPS at Pitt before taking up her position at the University of Waterloo in 2012. Read more about Heather Douglas. \nJeffrey Simpson\nSimpson was born in New York and moved to Canada when he was 10 years old. He was educated at the University of Toronto. He graduated from Queen’s University in 1971 in History and Political Science. While at Queen’s he worked for the campus radio station CFRC. He won the University’s Tricolour Award in his graduating year. He then went on to the London School of Economics. In 1972–1973\, he worked as a Parliamentary Intern in Ottawa where he worked for Ed Broadbent. A year later\, he joined The Globe and Mail newspaper. \nVIDEO
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/public-panel-discussion-climate-change-done/
CATEGORIES:Ecological Philosophy,Library Lectures,Public Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20141015T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20141015T170000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170819T003959Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181018T184749Z
UID:18277-1413385200-1413392400@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Gillian Barker: Ecological Thinking about Climate Change: A New Paradigm?
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nA growing group of scientists and activists is calling for a “paradigm shift” in our thinking about the threat of climate change and how best to respond to it—a shift to an ecological approach that emphasizes the role of living systems. What do they mean? Are they right? \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\n\nGillian Barker is a philosopher of science with interdisciplinary training in the philosophy\, history\, and social studies of science from the University of Toronto and the University of California\, San Diego. Gillian’s dissertation research investigated how scientists move from data about particular instances to knowledge about general patterns in the world\, looking at the use of idealized models\, analogies and metaphors in achieving this transition. She continues to work on questions about the origin and role of the conceptual models that shape scientific thought. She has written on the implications of naturalism—thinking scientifically about philosophical issues—for our understanding of functions\, goals\, purposes and meanings\, and for our conceptions of ‘rightness’ and ‘wrongness’ both in ethics and in the broader sense. Her current work focuses on how organisms actively control aspects of their own environments\, including other organisms\, and what this implies for our understanding of their evolution and behavior. \nFor more information on Gillian Barker’s research and publications\, please see her research website. \nVIDEO
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/gillian-barker-ecological-thinking-climate-change-new-paradigm/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Ecological Philosophy,Library Lectures,Public Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20141008T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20141008T170000
DTSTAMP:20260409T162408
CREATED:20170819T004214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20181018T184658Z
UID:18279-1412780400-1412787600@www.rotman.uwo.ca
SUMMARY:Wayne Myrvold: What Do You Bring to a Street Fight?
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nAn editorial in the journal Nature warned climate scientists that they must acknowledge that\, like it or not\, they are in a street fight. Climate scientists have been the targets of a well-funded\, orchestrated campaign to discredit them and their work. In this talk\, I will raise the question of what scientists can do in the face of such tactics and what we\, as citizens aiming to remain well-informed on matters of importance\, can do. \nSPEAKER PROFILE\n\n\nWayne Myrvold is a philosopher of science\, whose work is chiefly concerned with the philosophy of physics\, and\, in particular with the interpretation of quantum mechanics. He has interest in confirmation theory (or perhaps\, better\, in the relation between theory and evidence)\, and has done work on this in a Bayesian context. He has a long-standing interest in the philosophy of biology which has yet to result in any published contributions to that field. \nHe has been a member of the Philosophy Department at Western since 1997. In AY 2004-2005\, he spent half of a sabbatical year at the University of Oxford\, and in AY 08-09 spent a fully year there as a visiting Departmental Lecturer in the Philosophy of Physics. In the Winter Term of 2011 he was visiting faculty in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He is an Affiliate Member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He is a member of the Time and Universe research cluster. He is also Subject Editor for Quantum Mechanics for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and is on the Editorial Board for Philosophy of Science \nRead more about Wayne Myrvold. \nVIDEO\n\n \n  This event is co-sponsored with the Department of Philosophy and the London Public Library.
URL:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/event/wayne-myrvold-bring-street-fight/
LOCATION:Stevenson & Hunt Room A – Central Library\, 251 Dundas St\, London\, Ontario\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Ecological Philosophy,Library Lectures,Public Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.rotman.uwo.ca/wp-content/uploads/globalFCA.jpg
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END:VCALENDAR