Department Colloquium

Abstract: Gunther Anders’ philosophy of technology, particularly his complex notion of ‘Promethean Shame,’ or technological ressentiment, may be brought to bear on surveillance and questions of AI ethics. A hermeneutic phenomenologist in the lineage of...

Abstract: There are two observed features of aesthetic judgment which seem distinctive from other kinds of judgment, especially scientific judgment. First, we often do not base our aesthetic judgments on expert testimony; we do not defer. Second, we often...

Abstract: Here is a familiar story. Up until the early 17 th century, physics was a part of philosophy. Then the Scientific Revolution happened – including Newton’s Principia of 1687 -- and after this physics was a separate discipline. This story has been...

Abstract: This chapter revisits the metaphilosophical critique offered in Charles Mills’ The Racial Contract. My analysis will focus on explicating Mills’ characterization of the “Racial Contract”—and nonideal theory more broadly—as a conceptual bridge. I...

Abstract: I will argue that objectivity is a normative notion. By this I don’t mean that objectivity has normative qualities such as being valuable or worth striving for. That may be true, but it’s not the claim defended here. Rather, the claim is that...

Abstract: Apologies are a central feature of our moral lives. When we have been wronged, we often hope for nothing more than an apology. And when we are the ones to have wronged someone, we often feel compelled to apologise. Insofar as moral philosophy...

Abstract: In Skepticism and Naturalism: Some Varieties, Strawson makes clear that his making central the idea of relativization to a perspective does not rule out adopting a realist attitude towards what we know from different perspectives. He is less...

Harvard Department of Philosophy Colloquia Lecture Series Vincent Descombes École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) Institutions in the broad sense of the word Friday, March 31, 2023 3-5pm Emerson 305 Please join us for Professor Vincent...

This talk follows the read-ahead model; the format consists of a brief 20-minute lecture followed by a 60-minute Q&A session. All attendees must register in advance to gain entry. Registered attendees will receive a link to access Prof. Sedgwick’s paper...

This talk follows the read-ahead model; the format consists of a brief 20 minute lecture followed by a 60 minute Q&A session. All attendees must register in advance to gain entry. Registered attendees will receive a copy of Prof. Wills’ paper via email...