Philosophy

Lecture to consider philosopher of pragmatism

The Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric presents Nathan Houser delivering his free public lecture “Peirce on Practical Reasoning” at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 3, in the seminar room, Parker House.

Dr. Houser will consider the work of American philosopher Charles S. Peirce, discussing practical reasoning in the context of Peirce’s general conception of reasoning as a species of controlled conduct and his broad view of normative logic.

Lecture to discuss arguments as abstract objects

An interesting recent development in argumentation theory has been the revived investigation of the metaphysics of argument, says Steven Patterson, a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric.

In his free public lecture “Are Arguments Abstract Objects?” he will explore important objections, Thursday, April 19, at 2 p.m. in the seminar room of Parker House, 105 Sunset Avenue.

Symposium to explore psychology, emotion and the human sciences

What can contemporary scientific psychology, barely 150 years old, teach us about the emotions that literary and philosophical inquiry cannot? A symposium on the UWindsor campus April 20 and 21 will bring scholars from around the world to explore that question.

Psychology, Emotion, and the Human Sciences is sponsored by the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric and English professor Stephen Pender, research leadership chair in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Time to re-think 'the good life,' philosophy professor suggests

It’s time for society to consider a new definition of materialism and re-think what constitutes ‘the good life,’ according to a philosophy professor who has written a new book on the subject.

In its standard interpretation, materialism says the only things that truly exist are matter and energy and that our reality is defined by them. Ethically, the term has come to be negatively associated with material greed and a fascination with amassing wealth and commodities.

Student touts military as exemplary employer

After almost three years in the naval reserves, Kelvin Beaudoin says the experience is worth more than the money. An able seaman, the first-year philosophy and sociology student works as a resource management support clerk at the HMCS Hunter.

“For my trade, many of the skills I’m learning now are transferable to civilian jobs,” Beaudoin says. “I’ve learned communication, organization and team working skills.”

He is paid for his work, but also received $2,000 toward his university tuition.

Lecture to explore Johannes Kepler’s philosophy of science

In 1588, Tycho Brahe and Nicolaus Raimarus Ursus each published works which advanced alternatives to both the geostatic and geocentric world systems of Aristotle and Ptolemy and to the geokinetic and heliocentric system of Copernicus. A controversy ensued over the authenticity of their systems, since they were remarkably similar.

A young mathematician-astronomer, Johannes Kepler, tried to resolve the conflict with his 1601 Apologia pro Tycho contra Ursum.

Lecture to explore relationship between physiology and eloquence

In 1575, the Spanish physician Juan Huarte recorded an encounter with a “rude countrie fellow who made very eloquent discourse” after becoming frantic. According to Huarte, this oratory sprang directly from the man’s fevered state.

In a free public lecture Wednesday, English professor Stephen Pender takes seriously Huarte’s assertion — eloquence is a matter of heat rather than cognition, imagination or memory — and explores an ensemble of neglected ideas in early modern medicine and rhetoric.