Our February monthly digest brings news of a new Canada Research Chair, publications, conferences, and public talks from some of our members. Listed below (in alphabetical order) are some of the ways our members have been busy engaging with other philosophers, scientists, and the general public.
- Gillian Barker was the featured speaker at the Darwin Day events at the University of South Florida, organized by the Department of Integrative Biology and the Department of Philosophy, February 11 -14th. She delivered two lectures — a public lecture, based on her recent book, titled, “Human Nature in Darwin’s World”, and a colloquium talk for the philosophy department, “Geofunctions: A New Concept for Understanding Global Change”. She also gave a workshop for high school biology teachers at the Museum of Science and Industry, “Understanding Evolving.” Past featured speakers for Darwin Day have included Evelyn Fox Keller, Kevin Padian, Lee Dugatkin, Eugenie Scott, and Massimo Pigliucci.
- Rotman Alumnus Michael Cuffaro has signed a contract with Cambridge University Press to co-edit (with Samuel Fletcher) an edited volume on the topic of: “Physical Perspectives on Computation, Computational Perspectives on Physics”. The book is planned for the summer of 2017. He has also just had his paper “Reconsidering No-Go Theorems from a Practical Perspective” accepted for publication in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
- The publication of The Language of Nature, edited by Benjamin Hill et al. in the Minnesota Series in the Philosophy of Science is scheduled for May 2016. It is the culmination of a collaborative project between the Rotman Institute and the Minnesota Center for the Philosophy of Science. At the heart of the project was a workshop on the mathematization of natural science: “Reassessing how the integration of mathematics and natural philosophy contributed to the scientific revolution” held at the Rotman Institute in October 2012. Included in the book is a chapter on Newton by Rotman Director, Chris Smeenk. Special thanks to Bill Harper for his input and activity at the workshop.
- Assistant Professor Markus Müller, jointly appointed with the Department of Philosophy and Applied Mathematics, was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in the Foundation of Physics.
- Rotman Alumnus Elliot Rossiter has a forthcoming publication in the April 2016 issue of the Journal of the History of Philosophy titled, Hedonism and Natural Law in Locke’s Moral Philosophy.
- Associate Rotman Director Anthony Skelton gave a talk titled The Ethical Principles of Effective Altruism as part of The Higher Seminar in Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University on February 16th.
- Rotman Director Chris Smeenk gave a talk titled Measurement and Empirical Content on February 12th, as part of the 56th Annual Lecture Series at the Centre for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh.
- Rotman Alumna Julie Walsh has a forthcoming publication in the April 2016 issue of the Journal of the History of Philosophy, co-authored with Eric Stencil, titled, Malebranche on the Metaphysics and Epistemology of Particular Volitions.
- Associate Professor Tony Weis delivered a lecture on February 9th titled, Ecological Hoofprint: The global burden of industrial livestock, as part of Western’s Senior Alumni Program. Western’s award-winning Senior Alumni Program is the largest, longest running lecture series in Canada.
Pictured above (from left to right): Markus Müller (Tier 2 Canada Research Chair), Gillian Barker (presenting at the Darwin Day events on Feb 11-14th), and Chris Smeenk (presenting at University of Pittsburgh on Feb 12th).
