Reason, Action, & Morality

How does one deliberate about what to do? What role do our moral norms play in our reasoning about how to act? How should we reason through conflicting moral beliefs? These are a few of the many questions that arise at the intersection of reason, action, and morality. The third annual Undergraduate Philosophy Conference at Illinois State University will consider these questions from various points of view—philosophy of mind, epistemology, moral philosophy, philosophy of action.

The conference is scheduled for March 25–26, 2016.

SCHEDULE

Friday March 25th:

1:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.-Opening Remarks: Tom Buller, chair of Philosophy, and Associate Provost Jonathan M. Rosenthal

1:45 p.m.-2:35 p.m.-Elizabeth Fansler (Illinois State University), “On Testosterone and the Reduction of Violent Crime”

Commentary by Dee Savaria (Illinois State University)

2:40 p.m.-3:30 p.m.-Wally Wirchnianski (Beloit College), “Vindicating Moral Rationalism in the Face of a Conflict in Intuition”

Commentary by Dane Dusthimer (Illinois State University)

3:30 p.m.-4 p.m.-Break

4 p.m.-5:30pm-Keynote: Sarah Paul (University of Wisconsin – Madison), “The Courage of Conviction”

6 p.m.-8p.m.-Student Dinner – Baxter’s American Grille

Saturday March 26th:

9:30 a.m.-10 a.m.-Breakfast

10 a.m.-10:05 a.m.-Opening Remarks

10:05 a.m.-10:55 a.m.-Joe Rice (Illinois State University), “Happy Faults Unsmiling: The Felix Culpa Theodicy at the Intersection of Reason, Action, and Morality”

Commentary by Nicholas Santiago (Illinois State University)

10:55 a.m.-11:05 a.m.-Break

11:05 a.m.-11:55 a.m.-Stephen Wilke (Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville), “Aristotelian Usage of Mακάριόν and Eὐδαιμονία”

Commentary by Joe Rice (Illinois State University)

Noon-12:50 p.m. – Guus Duindam (Illinois College, Jacksonville), “Aristotle and Human Development: the Active Life as Precondition to Contemplation”

Commentary by Stephen Wilke (Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville)

12:50 p.m.-2:10 p.m.-Lunch

2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.-Madeline Reinecke (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), “In Response to ‘Men and Abortion Decisions’”

Commentary by Rudy Negrete (Illinois State University)

3:05 p.m.-3:55p.m.-Ryan Woods (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), “A Problem for the Utilitarian Impartial Observer”

Commentary by Bobby Parsons (Illinois State University)

3:55 p.m.-4:05 p.m.-Break

4:05 p.m.-4:55 p.m.-Rudy Negrete (Illinois State University), “The Problem of Universals: An Analysis of a Benovskyian Motivation for Trope Theory”

Commentary by Ryan Woods (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

4:55 p.m.-5 p.m.-Closing Remarks

7 p.m.-9 p.m.-Faculty Dinner