Professor Rose-Mary Sargent was the 2011 Sawyier Philosphy Lecturer in Science, Technology, and Society at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL on November 18. Her topic was “Useful Knowledge: Reflections on the Pursuit of Science in the Public Interest.” 

Professor Arthur Ledoux will present “Plato on Crossing Boundaries” and “Augustine as a Bridge for Buddhist-Christian Dialogue” at a Conference on “Crossing Boundaries: Transforming Identities, Cultures and Human Relations in a Global Village”, Davis and Elkins College, Elkins, West Virginia, Nov. 12, 2011.

Professor George Heffernan has been invited to participate in “New Frontiers:  Shifting Trends in the Global Research Landscape and Their Impact on Researchers’ Career Patterns,” a conference sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the German Academic Exchange Service, German Consulate, New York, New York, October 20–22, 2011.

Professor Rose-Mary Sargent presented “Early Twentieth Century Debates over Science in the Public Interest” at the Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association (ESPA11), Athens, Greece, October 6, 2011.

Professor George Heffernan presented “Phenomenology Is A Humanism:  Husserl’s Hermeneutical-Historical Struggle for the Genuine Meaning of Human Existence in the Crisis”, at the 4th Triennial World Conference on Phenomenology, Instituto de Empresa Universidad, Campus de Santa Cruz la Real, Segovia, Spain, September 19–23, 2011.

Professor William Wians was the lead presesnter for “A Foundation for Character Education” at the Professional Development Institute, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ, June 27-30, 2011

Professor George Heffernan presented “‘J’ai compris que j’étais coupable’ (‘I understood that I was guilty’):  A Hermeneutical Approach to Sexism, Racism, and Colonialism in Albert Camus’ L’Étranger/The Stranger”, at the 9th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain, June 8–11, 2011.

Professor George Heffernan presented “‘Cum ista vendebam’ (c. Acad. 3.15.34):  Did Augustine Peddle the Basic Concepts of Academic Skepticism?  A Hermeneutical Case Study of the Mutual Support between a Faulty Translation and a Misleading Interpretation”, 1st Bilingual Symposium on Hermeneutics and Translation Studies, Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany, May 26–27, 2011.

Professor Arthur Ledoux presented “Value and Values: A Monastic Perspective from St. Benedict to Benedict XVI” at the 10th East-West Philosophers’ Conference, University of Hawaii, Mano, May 17, 2011.

Professor George Heffernan presented “From the Essence of Evidence to the Evidence of Essence: A Critical Analysis of the Methodical Reduction of Evidence to Adequate Self-givenness in Husserl’s Die Idee der Phänomenologie” at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the International Husserl Circle, Gonzaga University in Florence, Florence, Italy, April 27–30, 2011.

Professor William Wians spoke on “The Beginnings of the Metaphysics” as an invited plenary speaker at the Boston College Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, March, 2011.

Recent publications from the philosophy department:

Professor Rose-Mary Sargent presented “History, Philosophy, and Science: The Liberal Arts, the Sciences, and Knowledge for the Common Good” at hte Citizenship through Empowerment Lecture Series, Southern Vermont College, Sept. 27, 2010.

Professor George Heffernan was awarded a three-month Research Grant from the German Academic Exchange Service for sabbatical work on Augustine and the problem of skepticism at the Institute for Greek and Latin Philology of the Free University of Berlin, September 15–December 15, 2010.

The Philosophy Department welcomes Professor Sandra Raponi, who holds both a Ph.D. and a J.D. from the University of Toronto. Before joining us, she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia. Among the courses that Professor Raponi will teach: Philosophy of Law, Political Philosophy, Biomedical Ethics, and Global Justice.

Professor George Heffernan participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers on “The Autobiographies of Perpetua and Augustine in their Roman African Context”, Center for Maghrib Studies, Tunis/Carthage, Tunisia, July 1–August 6, 2010.

Professor Rose-Mary Sargent delivered the Keynote Address “From Bacon to Banks: The Vision and the Realities of Pursing Science in the Public Interest,” at the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, June 28, 2010.