Philosophy Of Life

David Matheson published “Perfectionism and Vulgarianism about a Meaningful Life ”  and has another article forthcoming in De Ethica: A Journal of Philosophical, Theological, and Applied Ethics, titled “Evil and Meaning in Life.” 

The latest volume of Brill’s series "Philosophy as a Way of Life" contains a chapter by Annie Larivée titled “Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life Examined: Clearing up the Confusion between ‘Way of Life’ and ‘Art of Life’.” 

Myrto Mylopoulos

Myrto Mylopoulos has been especially prolific with recent talks on  “Self-Control and the Feeling of Mental Effort”, 
“Motoric Format”, 
“Skilled Action Guidance: A Problem for Intellectualism about Skill”, and “Higher-Order Approaches to Consciousness and the Dilemma of Demandingness”.
See her latest publication: “HOTT and heavy: higher-order thought theory and the theory-heavy approach to animal consciousness” 
 

Central APA Conference

Melissa Frankel, Kyla Bruff, & Marie-Pier Lemay spoke at the  APA Meeting in New Orleans in February. Frankel gave a critical response to a new G. Berkeley book, while Bruff presented on Schelling's ethics. Lemay spoke about justice for GBV survivors (pictured above with her co-panelists).

Frankel also delivered talks on modern philosophy in Toronto and the US. Bruff presented on Schelling, Adorno, and nature in Croatia, Washington state, and Germany. 

The department bids a fond farewell to Emily Fallows, a recent MA graduate whose outstanding contributions to the department will be greatly missed!

Emily, a long term member of CUPS, served as the Society's president. She recently taught a mini-course called "The Philosophers Stone: A Harry Potter Introduction to Philosophy" and was nominated for an Outstanding TA award for her contribution to PHIL2005 Ancient Philosophy: The Search for Wisdom. 

As she embarks on her next professional chapter, the department extends its  best wishes!

MA graduate Gavin Foster successfully defended his thesis on mindreading in great apes following a stay as a Visiting Graduate Student at the Social and Cognitive Origins Group within the Department of Psychology & Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins. There, Gavin collaborated on theory of mind tasks for dogs at Canine Minds Collaborative. He will soon become a Dean's Graduate Fellow at Purdue University, pursuing a PhD in philosophy. Gavin credits his success to the supportive community and mentors at Carleton, which have fostered his passions for  questions in philosophy and cognitive science.

Post graduation, Wendy Burgess, recent MA graduate and retiree, plans to take time to enjoy and better understand the world. She is eager to continue her education by volunteering and auditing humanities courses. Wendy states, "Carleton’s MA Philosophy program honed my skills, broadened my perspective, and showed the power of respectful debate. It also introduced me to inspiring young people. I'm grateful to the philosophy professors for their kindness and intellectual generosity."

Congratulations to the graduating cohort of MA students! For more details on our graduating class, click here.

Jenna Fenwick (here with Department Chair Annie Larivée) was the recipient of the 2023-24 Phylis Mary Putt bursary awarded to an outstanding female student in Philosophy.

In addition to academic exellence, students eligible for this bursary will have made a positive contribution to university life. 

Congratulations, Jenna!

Meet Saleha Anwer, a graduate of our MA program (2023)!

We sat down with Saleha to discuss her journey through the MA program, her timely thesis on Hegel and cancel culture, and how she approached the challenge of writing her thesis while also being a new parent. 

The full Spotlight Article on Saleha can be found here. 

Maryna Nekrasova, a recent graduate in Humanities & Philosophy, will pursue her PhD at McGill. Her SSHRC funded research will explore the intersection of AI, philosophy, epistemology, and metaethics. Driven by her interest sparked in Josh Redstone's seminar, "Minds and Machines," her passion was further cultivated through the CUROP and I-CUREUS programs under the guidance of A. Brook and J. Redstone, to whom she extends her gratitude!

Jay Drydyk, a dedicated colleague for over 40 years, will teach his final philosophy seminar as regular faculty member this fall on the capability approach. This is a unique opportunity to learn firsthand from an internationally acclaimed scholar in the field! Drydyk recently gave two talks on the capability approach in Hong Kong: "Why Capabilities Matter" and "Human Rights without Ideals: A Capability Approach."  As a new retiree, Drydyk will also teach the core EPAF seminar 'Public Reason 1' in Winter 2025. 

Huge congrats to Carleton alumna Melanie Coughlin on her recent appointment as Assistant Professor at MUN! This position is a joint appointment in Religious Studies and Philosophy in East Asian Religions and the History of Philosophy. Coughlin, a specialist of Japanese Buddhism with a PhD from McGill, has taught our ‘Intro to Asian Philosophy’ course for many years. More recently, she had joined the Carleton's Disability Justice and Crip Culture Collaboratory research lab. You can learn more about her research here.

Last fall was Dr. Nick Treanor's last semester with us after three fertile years as Visiting Professor at Carleton!

Nick made important contributions to the life of our department, especially in his capacity as colloquium organizer for two years during the pandemic. 

Nick returns to his appointment as Reader in Philosophy at University of Edinburgh. It was an honor and a great pleasure to host him! 

This first-year seminar examines the moral and political dimensions of contemporary movements against injustices. After exploring the meaning of oppression and injustice with the aid of classics like Plato and Martin Luther King, this course will seek to interpret contemporary concerns like environmental movements, whether celebrities have a responsibility to challenge injustice, and the efficacy and worth of digital activism.

This first-year seminar surveys the interdisciplinary field of consciousness studies by exploring how philosophers have answered the question: “What is consciousness?” This exploration will include learning about the unconscious mind, agency and free will, altered states of consciousness, the evolution of consciousness, and whether artificial consciousness is possible.

This course on existentialism will explore what it means for an individual to freely self-determine, without guidance from any supreme authority—including the authority of reason itself. This course will investigate themes like responsibility, subjective truth, despair, faith in/the death of God, authenticity, the possibility of an existentialist ethics, existential feminism, absurdism, and many more.

What is justice and how can we realize it through our political and social institutions? Should the decisions of legislators and policy-makers be governed by different principles of justice than those of private citizens? In this seminar we will examine the principles of justice offered by Utilitarian, Libertarian, Marxist, Kantian, Egalitarian, Communitarian, and Cosmopolitan theories, pausing as we go to test each view on a variety of contemporary social issues.

This seminar will focus first on the central concepts and methods of the capability approach as developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, and others. Then implications will be considered, e.g. for social justice, global justice, disability, health, and non-human life. Some assignments will provide students with the opportunity to examine what capability concepts and methods can add to research on topics of their interest.

This seminar will explore how the notion of trust is approached in different branches of contemporary analytic philosophy, from ethics and social philosophy to epistemology. Some questions that will be discussed include: “Are there different sorts of trust?”, “Is it possible to trust things as well as people?”, and “Is trust always a good thing?”