Department Events
Past Events
History of Philosophy Workshop: Arnaud Pelletier (Université libre de Bruxelles) "From the First Principles of Experience to the Invention of Empiricism"
October 9, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
Abstract: In the New Essays on Human Understanding, Leibniz overlooks Locke's admission of the capacity to know self-evident truths. Through this omission, he portrays Locke as claiming that all knowledge derives solely from sensible experience (even a...
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The Analytic Tradition: A Celebration of the Work and Teaching of Warren Goldfarb
Sep. 27 - Sep 28, 2024
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12:00AM - 12:00AM EDT
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Emerson 210
In Person
Schedule PDF.
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Film Screening and Discussion | Spinoza: 6 Reasons for the Excommunication of the Philosopher
September 26, 2024
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5:00PM - 7:00PM EDT
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CCVA B04 (Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts - 24 Quincy, St., Cambridge, MA)
In Person
View the film trailer here. Synopsis: The excommunication of Baruch Spinoza, the Dutch Jewish philosopher who revolutionized modern thought, is a formative, mysterious event in the understanding of his work. Director David Ofek takes us on an...
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A Conversation with Charles Taylor on "Cosmic Connections"
September 26, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Thompson Room (110), Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Cambridge MA
In Person
Please visit the Mahindra Humanities Center webpage for full details. Speaker: Charles Taylor, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Philosophy at McGill University Moderated by Sean Kelly, Dean of Arts & Humanities and Teresa G. and Ferdinand F...
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Colloquium Lecture: Anna Stilz (UC Berkeley), "Collective Self-Determination and International Authority in Climate Governance"
September 20, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Emerson 210
In Person
Abstract: In the future, a sustainable solution to climate change will likely require authoritative international institutions to regulate many matters that have long been regarded as wholly the province of national legislation. Global environmental...
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History of Philosophy Workshop: Bridger Ehli (Indiana University Bloomington) "Hume’s Distinctio Rationis"
September 19, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
Abstract: In Treatise 1.1.7, Hume offers an account of rational distinctions. According to a traditional account endorsed by authors such as Suárez and Descartes, these are distinctions between items that cannot exist separately. Such distinctions are in...
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History of Philosophy Workshop: Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra (University of Oxford), "Bolzano's Argument for the Identity of Indiscernibles"
September 16, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
Abstract: In his Wissenschaftlehre Bolzano rejected some Leibnizian principles, for instance the Principle of Sufficient Reason, and accepted others, for instance the Principle of Identity of Indiscernibles. Not only does he accept the Principle of...
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(UPDATED SCHEDULE) Action, Reflection, and Response: Themes from the Philosophy of Richard Moran
Sep. 5 - Sep 7, 2024
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12:00AM - 12:00AM EDT
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Thompson Room 110, Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Cambridge MA
In Person
Open to the public. Schedule PDF (Updated 9/5).
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Information Session and Q&A for Freshmen
August 19, 2024
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2:00PM - 4:00PM EDT
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Virtual (Zoom)
Virtual
Philosophy Q&A - Harvard College Calendar The Philosophy Department will host an Information Session and Q&A for Freshmen interested in, or curious about Philosophy. Hosted by Ned Hall (Director of Undergraduate Studies) and other members of the...
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[UPDATED LOCATION] Whitehead Lectures: Miranda Fricker (New York University), "Bernard Williams’ Historical Self-Consciousness"
Apr. 25 - Apr 26, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Sackler Lecture Room 004 (Sackler Building, 485 Broadway)
In Person
Lecture I: A Project of ‘Impure’ Enquiry—Descartes and Wittgenstein Lecture II: ‘Philosophical Anthropology’—Hume and Nietzsche Abstract: One of the dominant themes in Bernard Williams’ philosophy, especially his ethical philosophy, is the importance of...
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Harvard-Columbia Workshop in Ancient Philosophy
April 13, 2024
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9:00AM - 6:45PM EDT
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
Breakfast and/or lunch are provided for those who sign up here before March 31st.
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Skepticism and Daoism Workshop
April 12, 2024
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9:00AM - 5:30PM EDT
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Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Cambridge MA
In Person
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CANCELED Colloquium Lecture: C. Thi Nguyen (University of Utah) "A Social Theory of Aesthetic Value"
April 5, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Emerson Hall 210
In Person
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...
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History of Philosophy Workshop: Micha Gläser (University of Zurich), "Prudence and politics in the Kantian enterprise"
April 2, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Robbins Library, Emerson 211
In Person
Abstract and more workshop information available here.
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Harvard Review of Philosophy Lecture: Babette Babich (Fordham University), "Günther Anders’ 'Promethean Shame': Technological Ressentiment and Surveillance"
March 22, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
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Emerson Hall 210
In Person
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...
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Lunch in the Library
March 20, 2024
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11:30AM - 1:30PM EDT
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
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History of Philosophy Workshop: Mariana Beatriz Noé (Harvard University), "Plato's Non-ideal Theory"
March 7, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EST
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
Please click here for the abstract.
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Colloquium Lecture: Katherine Brading (Duke University), "How physics flew the philosophers’ nest"
March 1, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EST
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Emerson 210
In Person
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...
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History of Philosophy Workshop: Katherine Brading (Duke University) and Jeff McDonough (Harvard University), “Emilie Du Châtelet: Time and Time Again”
February 29, 2024
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3:00PM - 5:00PM EST
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
Please click here for more information, including a suggested reading.
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Lunch in the Library
February 22, 2024
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11:30AM - 1:30PM EST
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Robbins Library, Emerson Hall 211
In Person
We invite our concentrators, graduate students, department visitors, and faculty to stop by for lunch in Robbins Library. Catering from Sugar & Spice.
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