Past Colloquia

Spring 2022

Brian Cutter (University of Notre Dame)
“The Problem of Nomological Harmony”
February 18, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Capitol Room
Hrishikesh Joshi (Bowling Green State University)
“On Political Epistemology”
April 15, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Nicholas Piedmont (Northern Illinois University)
“Equivocating the Norms of Assertion”
May 6, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2021

Lara Buchak (Princeton University)
"Risk and Ambiguity in Ethical Decision-Making"
September 24, 3 p.m., online
Steven Nadler (University of Wisconsin)
“Spinoza on Friendship”
November 5, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Sky Room

Spring 2021

Heidi Maibom (University of Cincinnati)
“Why Perspective Taking is Central to Morality”
February 5, 3 p.m., online
Baron Reed (Northwestern University)
“The Value of Philosophical Disagreement”
March 5, 3 p.m., online
William Perrin (Northern Illinois University)
“What Slurs Do Not Mean: In Defense of a Prohibitionist Account”
April 23, 3 p.m., online

Fall 2020

Luvell Anderson (Syracuse University)
"Laughing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Comedic Imagination"
November 13, 3 p.m., Online

Spring 2020

Anne Eaton (University of Illinois-Chicago)
"A Sex-Positive Anti-porn Feminism"
February 14, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Jacob Zimbelman (Northern Illinois University)
“The Benefit of the Doubt and the Presumption of Trust”
May 1, 3 p.m., online

Fall 2019

Peter van Elswyk (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
"Hedging"
September 27, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Sarah Paul (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
"Perseverance and Planning in the Face of Doubt"
October 24, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Bruce Russell (Wayne State University)
"The Problem of Evil: In Defense of Atheism"
November 1, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Valerie Tiberius (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)
"Bad Values and the Value Fulfillment Theory of Well-Being"
November 8, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Stephen Asma and Rami Gabriel (Columbia College Chicago)
"The Emotional Mind: The Affective Roots of Culture and Cognition"
November 15, 3 p.m., Stevens Building, Room 170A

Spring 2019

Sara Bernstein (University of Notre Dame)
"Could a Middle Level Be the Most Fundamental?"
March 1, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Fabrizio Cariani (Northwestern University)
"On Prediction"
April 5, 3 p.m., LaTourette 201
Ruth Groff (Saint Louis University)
"The Devil is in the Categories: Metaphysics and Social Theory"
April 12, 3 p.m., Campus Life Building, Room 100
Ben Keoseyen (Northern Illinois University)
"Standing Your Ground and Retreating: A 'Compatibilist' Theory"
May 3, 2019 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2018

Kevin Timpe (Calvin College)
"Disability, Virtue and Well-Being"
September 28, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 306
Jennifer Lackey (Northwestern University)
"False Confessions and Testimonial Injustice"
October 19, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 306
David Manley (University of Michigan)
"Personal Identity and Population Ethics"
November 9, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Spring 2018

Tomas Bogardus (Pepperdine University)
"Some Internal Conflicts with Revisionary Gender Concepts"
March 9, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Anjan Chakravartty (University of Notre Dame)
"Scientific Diagreement and Permissive Reality"
April 6, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Katrina Sifferd (Elmhurst College)
"Criminal Detention and Moral Agency"
April 20, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center Room 505
Christopher Copan (Northern Illinois University)
"How to Deal with Selfless Assertions"
May 4, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Kapitan Memorial Conference

October 20, 9 a.m., Holmes Student Center, Northern Illinois University

Fall 2017

Julia Driver (Washington University in St. Louis)
"Schadenfreude"
September 22, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Eva Kittay (Stonybrook University)
"The Moral Significance of Being Human"
October 13, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Spring 2017

Maureen Linker (University of Michigan-Dearborn)
"Affective Analogical Reasoning: When Charity Isn't Enough"
March 7, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
David Hilbert (University of Illinois at Chicago)
"Visual Perception of Causation"
April 7, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Maggie Fife (Northern Illinois University)
"Culpability and Moral Ignorance"
April 28, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2016

Rachel Zuckert (Northernwestern University)
"Kant on the Ideas of Reason and Empirical Scientific Investigation"
September 9, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Sarah Moss (University of Michigan)
"Probabilistic Knowledge"
October 28, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Neil Sinhababu (National University of Singapore)
"A Reliable Route from Is to Ought"
November 18, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315

Spring 2016

Robert Streiffer (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
and
David Killoren (Northwestern University)
"Some Conceptual and Ethical Considerations Regarding Animal Confinement"
February 26, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Corinne Bloch-Mullins (Marquette University)
"More than Meets the Eye: Revisiting Similarity and Its Role in Conceptualization"
April 8, 3pm, Altgeld 315
Ben Cilwick, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Motivation, Normative Pragmatics and Moral Discourse”
May 6, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2015

Chris Kennedy (University of Chicago)
"Vagueness, Imprecision and Tolerance"
September 11, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Brandon Warmke (University of Notre Dame)
"Moral Grandstanding"
October 16, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Samuel Scheffler (New York University)
"Membership and Political Obligation"
November 20, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Brian Leiter (University of Chicago)
"The Death of God and the Death of Morality"
December 4, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315

Spring 2015

Dan Kelly (Purdue University)
"What are Narrative Theories of the Self Supposed to Explain?"
March 27, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Marya Schechtman (University of Illinois at Chicago)
"Living Like We Do: The Metaphysics & Practicalities of Personhood & Personal Identity"
April 10, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Jason Farr, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Quasi-Realism and Objectivity”
May 1, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2014

Anjan Chakravartty (University of Notre Dame)
"Structures, Causation, and the Metaphysics of Physics"
September 19, 3:30 p.m., Davis Hall, Room 116
Troy Cross (Reed College)
"Counterfactualism"
October 17, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Michael Glanzberg (Northwestern University)
"Experiences and Taste Properties"
October 24, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Dean Zimmerman (Rutgers University)
"The Metaphysics of Qualia"
November 21, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Spring 2014

Elliott Sober (University of Wisconsin at Madison)
"Parsimony Arguments and Chimpanzee Mind Reading"
January 17, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Blake Roeber (University of Notre Dame)
"Problems for Pragmatism"
February 14, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 505
Wendy Parker (University of Durham)
"Is that a Real Observation? Simulating and Measuring Global Climate Change."
April 11, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 405
Emma Duncan, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Trolleys and Transplants: Derailing the Distinction Between Doing and Allowing”
April 25, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2013

Dan Haybron (St. Louis University)
"The Limited Abilities of the Capabilities Approach"
October 11, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room
Mark Schroeder (University of Southern California)
"The Price of Supervenience"
November 8, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Spring 2013

Timothy O'Connor (Indiana University)
“Could There Be an Explanation of Everything?"
March 29, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Neil Sinhababu (National University of Singapore)
"Desire's Explanations"
April 3, 5:15 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Lincoln Room
Peter de Marneffe (Arizona State University)
"Aesthetic Pleasure and Rationality"
April 5, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Laura Ruetsche (University of Michigan at Ann Arbor)
"Realism About What? A Quantum Theoretic Perspective"
April 19, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Griffin Klemick, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
"Truth We Can Aim At: Deflationism and Objective Norms of Assertion"
May 3, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2012

Gregory Landini (University of Iowa)
“Frege’s Turnstile: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong”
September 14, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room
Sanford Goldberg (Northwestern University)
“Epistemic Entitlement and Luck”
October 5, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Meghan Sullivan (University of Notre Dame)
“Against Time-Bias”
October 26, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315

Spring 2012

David Etlin (University of Groningen, Netherlands)
“Conditionals”
February 20, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 405
Daniel Korman (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
“Debunking Arguments Against Commonsense Realism”
March 2, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Illinois Room
David O'Connor (University of Notre Dame)
“Iconoclasm as Philosophy”
March 23, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Carrie Figdor (University of Iowa)
“fMRI as Telepathy: Problems and Puzzles”
March 30, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Micah Smith, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Redundancy, Prosententialism, Actuality, Non-Redundancy”
April 27, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2011

John Heil (Washington University at St. Louis)
“Causing”
September 9, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Neil Sinhababu (National University of Singapore)
“Emotional Perception of Morality”
September 12, 4 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 405
Keith DeRose (Yale University)
“Counterexamples: The Case of Insensitivity Accounts of No-Knowledge”
October 21, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Spring 2011

Helga Varden (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
“Kant's Moral Philosophy and Its Non-Moral Preconditions”
January 28, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Katherine Brading (University of Notre Dame)
“Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?”
March 4, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Russ Shafer-Landau (University of Wisconsin at Madison)
“Morality and Evolution”
April 8, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Dylan Black, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Assertion, Knowledge, and the Belief that One Knows”
April 15, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315

Fall 2010

Michael Williams (Johns Hopkins University)
"Skepticism and the Deontic Structure of the Space of Reasons"
October 29, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Summer 2010

Neil Sinhababu (National University of Singapore)
“Zarathustra's Metaethics”
June 8, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Illinois Room

Spring 2010

Michael Della Rocca (Yale University)
“Violations of the Principle of Sufficient Reason in Leibniz and Spinoza”
March 19, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Gillian Russell (Washington University in St. Louis)
“Indexicals and Barriers to Implication”
April 9, 3:30 p.m., Music Building, Room 173
Ben Rohrs, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“An Old Problem for Pritchard's New Anti-Luck Epistemology”
April 23, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315

Fall 2009

Jeff Speaks (University of Notre Dame)
“Against the New Fregeanism”
September 11, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room
Michael Jubien (University of Florida)
“Rethinking Modality”
October 30, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room
Andy Egan (Rutgers University)
“Three Grades of Self-Involvement: Self-Locating Content in Thought and Language”
November 6, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Spring 2009

Colin Klein (University of Illinois at Chicago)
“Phantom Limbs and the Imperative Account of Pain”
April 3, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room
Luca Ferrero (University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee)
“Intending, Acting, and Doing”
April 17, 3:30 p.m., Swen Parson, Room #188
Bryan Chambliss, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Overcoming Explanatory Exclusion”
April 24, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Illinois Room

Fall 2008

James Conant (University of Chicago)
“Cartesian and Kantian Skepticism”
October 3, 3:30 p.m., Campus Life Building, Room #100
Gregory Landini (University of Iowa)
“Russell and the Ontological Argument”
October 17, 4 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Illinois Room
Michael Rea (University of Notre Dame)
“The Case Against Analytic Theology: An Outsider's Perspective”
November 14, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Alicia Finch (Northern Illinois University)
“What is Free Will? The Many Senses of the Term 'Free'”
November 21, 3 p.m., DuSable Hall, Room #268
Sponsored by the Philosophy Department's Undergraduate Student Advisory Committee

Spring 2008

David Solomon (University of Notre Dame)
“Elizabeth Anscombe's 'Modern Moral Philosophy' and Virtue Ethics”
April 11, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite
Peter Wenz (University of Illinois at Springfield)
“Animal Rights in Social Context”
April 27, 6 p.m., Wirtz Auditorium
Blake Roeber, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Causation, Causal Dependence, and Counterfactual Transitivity”
May 2, 4 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Illinois Room

Fall 2007

Carolina Sartorio (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
“Moral Inertia”
September 14, 3:30 p.m., Campus Life Building, Room 100
Matthew McGrath (University of Missouri-Columbia)
“Two Bayesian Challenges for Epistemic Pragmatism”
October 12, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
John Greco (Saint Louis University)
“Epistemic Evaluation: A Virtue-Theoretic Approach”
November 16, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315

Spring 2007

Alvin Goldman (Rutgers University)
“Epistemic Objectivism, Epistemic Determinacy, and Rational Disagreement”
March 23, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Blake Roeber, NIU (Rafalson Essay Contest Colloquium)
“Does the Theist Have an Epistemic Advantage over the Atheist? Descartes and Plantinga on Theism, Atheism, and Skepticism”
April 27, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, University Suite

Fall 2006

Larry May (Washington University)
“Humanitarian Intervention: A Critique”
September 15, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Mylan Engel (Northern Illinois University)
“Moral Individualism and Its Implications”
October 13, 4 p.m., DuSable Hall, Room 474
Victor Caston (University of Michigan)
“How to Receive Form without the Matter: Aristotle on Perception”
October 20, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Alan Sidelle (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
“Conventionalism and the Contingency of Conventions”
November 3, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315

Spring 2006

Ted Sider (Rutgers University)
“Ontological Realism”
March 3, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Daniel Crow (NIU), Rafalson Essay Prize Winner
“Cartesian Freedom”
April 7, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Francesco Orilia (University of Macereta, Italy)
“A Descriptivist Account of Indexicals”
April 21, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315

Fall 2005

Jonathan Kvanvig (University of Missouri-Columbia)
“Knowledge, Assertion, and Lotteries”
September 9, 3 p.m., Altgeld 315
Russ Shafer-Landau (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
“Is Morality a Fiction?”
October 28, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315
Robert Pippin (University of Chicago)
“Hegel on the Subject of Deeds: The Inner-Outer Problem”
November 11, 3:30 p.m., Altgeld 315

Spring 2005

Jennifer Lackey (NIU)
“Learning from Words”
January 21, 3 p.m., DuSable Hall, Room 440
Harold Brown (NIU)
“On the Epistemology of Theory-Dependent Evidence”
February 25, 3 p.m., DuSable Hall, Room 440
Brandon Warmke (NIU), Rafalson Essay Prize Winner
“Problems with Situationism and First-Person Deliberation”
April 1, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 305
Stephen Stich (Rutgers University)
“Why Moral Theory Needs Lots of Help from the Social Sciences”
April 8, 3 p.m., TBA
Tina Chanter (DePaul University)
“Abjection: Film and the Constitutive Nature of Difference”
April 22, 3:30 p.m., DuSable Hall, Room 140

Fall 2004

Jaegwon Kim (Brown University)
“Agency and Self-Knowledge”
September 17, 3 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room
Charles Taliaferro (St. Olaf College)
“Minds, Bodies, and God: Thoughts on the Nature and Scope of Intentional Explanations”
September 24, 3:30 p.m., Holmes Student Center, Room 305
Baron Reed (NIU)
“The Long Road to Skepticism”
October 1, 3:30 p.m., DuSable 256
David Schweickart (Loyola University Chicago)
"In What We May Hope: Historical Materialism and the Question of Socialism”
October 8, 3:30 p.m., DuSable Hall, Room 176
Tomis Kapitan (NIU)
"Can Terrorism Be Justified?"
November 12, 3:30 p.m., DuSable 459

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