2023 Puget Sound Undergraduate Philosophy Conference

The sixth Puget Sound Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, a student organized event, will be from March 31–April 1, 2023. This conference features presentations from undergraduate philosophy scholars from other schools with commentary from Puget Sound students.

All presentations, with the exception of the keynote address, are delivered by undergraduate students. 

This conference is free and open to the public. For the conference program with a complete schedule of talks, visit the conference website.

Talk by Prof. Eric Schwiztgebel (UC Riverside): “Does Studying Ethics Make People more Ethical?”

Prof. Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California, Riverside) will be giving the keynote address at the Puget Sound Undergraduate Philosophy Conference on Friday 3/31 at 5:00pm in the Tahoma Room, Thomas Hall.  

Professor Schwitzgebel’s research explores connections between empirical psychology and philosophy of mind, especially the nature of belief, the inaccuracy of our judgments about our stream of conscious experience, and the tenuous relationship between philosophical ethics and actual moral behavior. He is the author of Describing Inner Experience? Proponent Meets Skeptic, with Russell T. Hurlburt, MIT Press (2007); Perplexities of Consciousness, MIT Press (2011); and A Theory of Jerks, and Other Philosophical Misadventures, MIT Press (2019).

Abstract for the talk: 

Does philosophical reasoning influence real-world moral behavior? Empirical data on the moral behavior of ethics professors suggests maybe not. However, I will present some new data on the influence of philosophical instruction and argument on meat eating and on charitable giving which suggests that under some conditions, philosophical argumentation might have a real-world influence. All conclusions are tentative, without warranty, and to be used at your own risk.

This event is the keynote address for the Puget Sound Undergraduate Philosophy Conference and is funded by the Catherine Gould Chism Fund and the Department of Philosophy.

Argentina, 1985: Film + discussion

Tomorrow, Thursday, March 23rd, at 6:00pm in Rausch Auditorium (McIntyre 003), the interdisciplinary Latin American Studies program is hosting a special screening of Argentina, 1985, the Oscar-nominated feature by Santiago Mitre, which tells the story of the trial to bring to justice the leaders of a brutal military regime. Profs. Ariela Tubert (Philosophy) and Brendan Lanctot (Hispanic Studies) will be leading a conversation following the film. The screening is free and all members of the campus community are welcome.