tag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:/news/newsDepartment of Philosophy | News2024-01-10T14:06:54-05:00tag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1591042024-01-10T14:06:54-05:002024-01-10T14:07:52-05:00Arts & Letters faculty continue record NEH success, winning three fellowships and a major grant<p>Three faculty members in the <a href="https://al.nd.edu/">College of Arts & Letters</a> have won <a href="https://www.neh.gov/">National Endowment for the Humanities</a> (NEH) fellowships, extending the University of Notre Dame’s record success with the federal agency committed to supporting original…</p><p>Three faculty members in the <a href="https://al.nd.edu/">College of Arts & Letters</a> have won <a href="https://www.neh.gov/">National Endowment for the Humanities</a> (NEH) fellowships, extending the University of Notre Dame’s record success with the federal agency committed to supporting original research and scholarship.</p>
<p><a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/shane-duarte/">Shane Duarte</a>, an associate professor of the practice in the <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/">Department of Philosophy</a>; <a href="https://ftt.nd.edu/people/faculty/mary-celeste-kearney/">Mary Celeste Kearney</a>, an associate professor of <a href="https://ftt.nd.edu/">film, television, and theatre</a>; and <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/stephen-ogden/">Stephen Ogden</a>, the Tracey Family Associate Professor of Philosophy, are among the 82 scholars to be awarded the competitive fellowships, which were announced Tuesday.</p>
<p>Since 2000, Notre Dame faculty have won more NEH fellowships than any other university in the country.</p>
<p>Additionally, a pair of A&L scholars — <a href="https://pls.nd.edu/people/katie-bugyis/">Katie Bugyis</a>, the Rev. John A. O'Brien Associate Professor in the <a href="https://pls.nd.edu/">Program of Liberal Studies</a>, and <a href="https://sacredmusic.nd.edu/people/faculty/margot-e-fassler/">Margot Fassler</a>, the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Music History and Liturgy Emerita — have won a significant, three-year NEH Humanities Initiatives at Colleges and Universities grant to develop a website and to teach medieval liturgy.</p>
<p>“I am delighted and proud that the NEH has again supported our faculty members’ relevant and interesting projects,” said Sarah Mustillo, the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the <a href="http://al.nd.edu/">College of Arts & Letters</a>. “These four awards highlight the quality of diverse academic research conducted by our experts in multiple fields as well as the excellent support provided by the <a href="https://isla.nd.edu/">Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts</a> throughout the application process.”</p>
<h3><strong>A first-ever translation</strong></h3>
<p>Duarte will spend his fellowship editing, translating, and annotating Francisco Suárez’s “Metaphysical Disputation 30” (DM 30), which is a core part of <em>The Metaphysical Disputations (DM)</em>, published in Latin in 1597.</p>
<p>Suárez, a philosopher and theologian, composed <em>DM</em> to provide a grounding in metaphysics — the study of reality and existence — that’s needed to study revelation-based theology.</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><img src="https://al.nd.edu/assets/553379/shane_duarte.jpg" alt="Shane Duarte" width="400" height="533">
<figcaption>Shane Duarte</figcaption>
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<p>DM 30, Duarte said, is devoted to the nature of God insofar as He can be known by reason unaided by revelation. It’s interesting, in part, Duarte said, because Suárez was a professor of theology and most of his works were informed by revelation.</p>
<p>Duarte will be the first person to translate the treatise. The volume he plans to publish will include a substantial introduction, and in his translation, he'll strive for a balance of readability and fidelity to the original text.</p>
<p>“Translation work is often treated as secondary, or of lesser value, but at the same time everyone working in the history of philosophy wishes that more texts were translated into English,” he said.</p>
<p>The translation could provide valuable insights to people who work on better-known philosophers like Rene Descartes, Duarte said. Suárez was an important thinker whose views influenced even philosophers who saw themselves as breaking from the Aristotelian tradition of which he was a part.</p>
<p>While Duarte’s prior work focused on later thinkers, he became convinced that a greater familiarity with Suárez's work would provide a better understanding of 17th-century European philosophy, as well as of life today.</p>
<p>“I tend to think contemporary philosophy benefits from an understanding of its own history, though not everyone in the field agrees,” he said. “For society? Well, I think intellectual traditions inform our understanding of the present, though again, not everyone agrees.”</p>
<p>When Duarte learned he had won an NEH fellowship, his initial reaction was disbelief.</p>
<p>“For someone like me,” he said, “who is neither tenured nor on the tenure track, winning an award like this is tremendously validating.”</p>
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<h3><strong>A novel interpretation of a classical theory</strong></h3>
<p>Ogden, whose research focuses on classical Islamic philosophy, will write the first book specifically about 11th-century Muslim philosopher Avicenna’s theory of intellect.</p>
<p>Avicenna, who was also a physician, theorized that there were two types of intellect — the human intellect and the active intellect. Avicenna’s theory posited that active intellect was a single, eternal intellect ultimately responsible for all human understanding and for the major metaphysical components of the Earth.</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><img src="https://al.nd.edu/assets/553378/stephen_ogden.jpg" alt="Stephen Ogden" width="400" height="533">
<figcaption>Stephen Ogden</figcaption>
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<p>“Oftentimes when you explain it to nonexperts, they say, ‘That sounds like God,’” Ogden said. “It’s similar to God, but in Avicenna’s system, it’s a lower, semi-divine substance or intellect. It’s an intermediary between God and humanity.”</p>
<p>In his book — tentatively titled “Avicenna on Intellect”<em> </em>— Ogden will defend his novel interpretation of Avicenna’s theory as well as historically contextualize the theory with respect to Avicenna’s ancient predecessors and to later critiques.</p>
<p>The book will be a fitting companion piece to Ogden’s 2022 book, <em>Averroes on Intellect: From Aristotelian Origins to Aquinas's Critique</em>, which recently won the Journal of the History of Philosophy Book Prize.</p>
<p>Avicenna and Averroes, Ogden said, had two of the most important theories on intellect in classical Islamic philosophy, and they heavily influenced later Islamic, Christian, and Jewish philosophical traditions.</p>
<p>Evaluating the philosophical and historical reasons that Avicenna and others held their views continues to be important, Ogden said, because it helps modern readers consider their own preconceptions and biases.</p>
<p>“I think there's something valuable — I emphasize this with my students — in reading something that’s a thousand years old, 2,000 years old, or older,” he said. “A lot of things seem perfectly natural to our minds, given where we stand in history, but if read by an outsider a thousand years from now, they might not seem that obvious. We’ve gained much more empirical data, but philosophers and neuroscientists are still debating and exploring the nature of the human mind.”</p>
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<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Beth Staples</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/arts-letters-faculty-continue-record-neh-success-winning-three-fellowships-and-a-major-grant/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">January 10, 2024</span>.</p>Beth Staplestag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1586482023-12-08T15:27:00-05:002023-12-08T15:27:18-05:00Stephen Ogden Wins 2023 JHP Book Prize <p>The <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/journal-history-philosophy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Journal of the History of Philosophy</em></a> awarded <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/stephen-ogden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephen Ogden</a> for his book, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/averroes-on-intellect-9780192896117"></a>…</p><p>The <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/journal-history-philosophy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Journal of the History of Philosophy</em></a> awarded <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/stephen-ogden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephen Ogden</a> for his book, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/averroes-on-intellect-9780192896117" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Averroes on Intellect: From Aristotelian Origins to Aquinas’s Critique</em></a> (Oxford University Press, 2022). The prize is awarded for the best book written in history of philosophy published in 2022.</p>
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<p><a href="https://dailynous.com/2023/12/08/journal-of-the-history-of-philosophy-2023-book-prize/?fbclid=IwAR1eGsbqMddzl4bYvHtg8fhE4O1g14wi0e54wr_NVWJbXBXuT6q2mwH1Aiw">Original story</a></p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1580042023-11-14T11:41:00-05:002023-11-14T11:49:40-05:00Philosopher Janet Kourany utilizes Fulbright to examine the importance of values in science<p>Philosophy can, and should, be of benefit during these extraordinary times, Kourany said. “There’s still so much to be done. And I want to help do it.”</p><p>University of Notre Dame <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/">philosophy</a> professor <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/janet-kourany/">Janet Kourany</a>, the 2023-24<a href="https://www.fulbright.ca/activities/orientation"> Fulbright</a> Canada Research Chair in Values and Science at the University of Calgary, is working on a book there this fall semester tentatively titled Bacon’s Promise.</p>
<p>Her book is about Renaissance philosopher Francis Bacon, a chief architect of modern science, and the promise that he and centuries of successors have made: Science, if supported by society, will improve the lot of humanity and make the world a better place.</p>
<p>Society has supported science, Kourany said, and science has improved humanity and made the world a better place. But she said it has also harmed the humanity it was supposed to help, and harmed some humans while helping others.</p>
<p>“In fact, many of the most pressing problems we face today, such as environmental pollution and global warming, racial, ethnic, and other sources of social unrest, the ever-present threat of cyberattacks, and much, much more are, I would suggest, at least partially of these sorts,” Kourany said.</p>
<p>Science has also largely ignored the needs of most people, said Kourany, an affiliate of the <a href="https://reilly.nd.edu/">Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values</a> and core faculty member in its <a href="https://reilly.nd.edu/graduate/history-and-philosophy-of-science-hps/people/">history and philosophy of science</a> program.</p>
<p>“Medical research, for example, has devoted more than 90% of its resources into problems that affect only 10% of the world’s population,” she said.</p>
<p>A big part of the problem has to do with values — corporate values, fundamentalist Christian values, right-wing political values, and racist and sexist values — that have shaped so much of science, said Kourany, who is also a concurrent professor of <a href="https://genderstudies.nd.edu/">gender studies</a>.</p>
<p>And while scientists, science journalists, policymakers, historians, and philosophers of science have, at times, critiqued these values, Kourany said they haven’t identified and provided an effective rationale for alternative ones.</p>
<p>So, the problem continues.</p>
<p>This issue of identifying science’s values is called the new demarcation problem, and it’s a central question in philosophy of science.</p>
<p>The original demarcation problem — how to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate science — has been one of the most important questions in philosophy of science for centuries.</p>
<p>The new demarcation problem is far more modest but proves to be just as challenging, Kourany said. It seeks to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate value influences in science.</p>
<p>Bacon’s legacy might prove especially helpful here, Kourany said, because he provided an enduring framework for science. The framework included a vision of the benefits that science would produce, the way they would be produced, and a timeline of achievement — given that the enterprise was supported.</p>
<p>Most importantly, she said, Bacon's framework incorporated central tenets of Renaissance humanism — the idea of self-reliance and civic virtue, and a belief in the uniqueness, dignity, and value of human life — as an ultimate moral justification.</p>
<p>It also points the way to a more promising political philosophy of science and rationale for the social benefits of science. And over time, Kourany said the framework been corrected, updated, and shorn of its theological elements.</p>
<p>And while his moral vision — his ethics of science — also has needed further refinement, she said, thus far it has not received the attention it deserves.</p>
<p>That’s what she seeks to accomplish in <em>Bacon’s Promise</em>.</p>
<p>Her Fulbright-supported research builds on her prior work, including the essay collection she co-edited, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262538213/science-and-the-production-of-ignorance/"><em>Science and the Production of Ignorance: When the Quest for Knowledge Is Thwarted</em></a>; her monograph,<a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/7443"> <em>Philosophy of Science after Feminism</em></a>; and recent journal articles “<a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780367823436-5/bacon-promise-janet-kourany">Bacon’s Promise</a>,” “<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-philosophy/article/abs/new-worries-about-science/627EE4DC3897A9A7BE325673C7CFEBCA">The New Worries about Science</a>,” and “The Present Plight of Science, and Our Plight,” which is forthcoming in Science and Humanism: Knowledge, Values, and the Common Good.</p>
<p>Kourany’s book research also builds on her regular courses, including Forbidden Knowledge, as well as Science and Social Values, and The Science-Gender Connection. In her classes, she and advanced science and philosophy students explore resonant and cutting-edge issues in science studies.</p>
<p>Kourany has been recognized for her excellence in the classroom twice in her Notre Dame career — she received the Gender Studies Program’s <a href="https://genderstudies.nd.edu/faculty-resources/teaching-award/">Marian Mullin Hancock Teaching Award </a>and the University’s Kaneb Teaching Award (now the<a href="https://provost.nd.edu/faculty-recognitions/faculty-awards/joyce-award/"> Joyce Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching</a>).</p>
<p>Philosophy can, and should, be of benefit during these extraordinary times, Kourany said.</p>
<p>“There’s still so much to be done,” she said. “And I want to help do it.”<strong id="docs-internal-guid-6b99f1fc-7fff-c400-5fb1-f5ec346146f1"></strong></p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Beth Staples</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/philosopher-janet-kourany-utilizes-fulbright-to-examine-the-importance-of-values-in-science/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">November 14, 2023</span>.</p>Beth Staplestag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1570612023-10-06T15:50:00-04:002023-10-06T15:50:51-04:00Notre Dame appoints three A&L faculty to lead new strategic initiatives on democracy, ethics, and poverty<p>Following the recent launch of the <a href="strategicframework.nd.edu">University of Notre Dame’s Strategic Framework</a>, Provost <a href="http://provost.nd.edu">John T. McGreevy</a> this week announced the first three strategic iniatitives emerging from that plan: Democracy, Ethics, and Poverty. Three faculty members within the College Arts & Letters were appointed to lead these initiatives.</p><p>Following the recent launch of the <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame’s Strategic Framework</a>, Provost <a href="http://provost.nd.edu">John T. McGreevy</a> this week announced the first three strategic initiatives emerging from that plan: Democracy, Ethics, and Poverty.</p>
<p>“Now the work begins to realize our ambitious vision for Notre Dame, said McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. “These three University-led initiatives will be campuswide, building on existing strengths and encouraging the kind of institutional collaboration Notre Dame needs to reach its full potential and respond to some of the most complex challenges facing society today.”</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><img src="https://al.nd.edu/assets/190232/david_campbell_300.jpg" alt="David Campbell" width="300" height="366">
<figcaption>David Campbell</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Each initiative will be led by a faculty director, who will work closely with <a href="https://provost.nd.edu/about/associate-provosts-vice-presidents/vice-president-and-associate-provost-for-academic-strategy/">David Go</a>, vice president and associate provost for academic strategy, and an executive committee that will include deans, center and institute directors, department chairs, and faculty experts. The faculty serving as strategic iniatitive directors were appointed to five-year terms beginning Sept. 1, 2023.</p>
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<figcaption><a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/david-campbell/"> </a></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/david-campbell/">David Campbell</a>, the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy, will lead the new <strong>Notre Dame Democracy Initiative</strong>, a project to establish Notre Dame as a global leader in the study of democracy, a convenor for conversation about and actions to preserve democracy, and a model for the formation of civically engaged citizens and public servants. This initiative will connect research, education, and policy work across multiple units, including (but not limited to) the Department of Political Science, the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, which has long been a leader in scholarship on democracy in Latin America. It will also extend beyond Notre Dame’s campus to Washington, D.C., closely connecting Notre Dame’s voice and work to policymakers and federal agencies.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/meghan-sullivan/"><img src="https://al.nd.edu/assets/542621/9.14.21_meghan_sullivan.jpg" alt="Meghan Sullivan" width="300" height="400"></a>
<figcaption>Meghan Sullivan</figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/meghan-sullivan/">Meghan Sullivan</a>, the Wilsey Family Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and director of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS), will direct the <strong>Notre Dame Ethics Initiative</strong>. The goal of the initiative is to make Notre Dame a preeminent global destination for the study of ethics, offering rigorous training for future generations of ethicists and moral leaders, a platform for engagement of the Catholic moral tradition with other modes of inquiry, and an opportunity to forge insights into some of the most significant ethical issues of our time. This initiative will connect and amplify the work of many units, including NDIAS, the Departments of Theology and Philosophy, and ethics centers across the campus focusing on different areas, including applied subjects such as business, environmental, and technology ethics and the ethics of development.</p>
<p><a href="https://economics.nd.edu/faculty/james-sullivan/">James Sullivan</a>, professor of economics and director of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, will direct the <strong>Notre Dame Poverty Initiative</strong>. The initiative will establish Notre Dame as a premier university for poverty-related research, student formation, and policy and program impact. This University-wide effort will bring together academic units that focus on poverty-related activities, including the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, the Pulte Institute for Global Development, and several departments, as well as students, faculty, and programs across campus that are involved in the fight against poverty.</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><img src="https://al.nd.edu/assets/542625/james_sullivan_crop.jpg" alt="James Sullivan" width="300" height="400">
<figcaption>James Sullivan</figcaption>
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<p>These initiatives all emerged from the most faculty-led <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu/notre-dame-2033-a-strategic-framework/the-process/">strategic planning process</a> in Notre Dame’s history. This process included the 107 proposals involving more than 700 unique faculty that were developed as part of the Moment to See, Courage to Act initiative, as well as discussions among the deans, members of the President’s Leadership Council, and executive officers. Democracy came directly out of Moment to See, Courage to Act. Poverty became the focus of one of the University-wide <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu/notre-dame-2033-a-strategic-framework/the-process/">theme advisory committees</a> that informed the Strategic Framework. Ethics was identified as an important priority by the Opportunities for Excellence theme advisory committee.</p>
<p>“These three initiatives are only a first step,” McGreevy said in a Sept. 6 message to campus. “As the Strategic Framework implementation gets underway, faculty, staff, and students will have opportunities to engage with multiple college and school initiatives linked to the framework, as well as initiatives begun at the University level. I am grateful to the deans of the colleges and schools for their participation in and leadership of this effort, to David Go for guiding this first phase, and to Dave, Meghan, and Jim for taking on the particular challenge of launching new initiatives. </p>
<p>“I hope you will join me in congratulating these colleagues on their new roles and for their willingness to advance our shared vision as the world’s leading global Catholic research university.”</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Kate Garry</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://provost.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-announces-leadership-for-new-strategic-initiatives-on-democracy-ethics-and-poverty/">provost.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">September 07, 2023</span>.</p>Kate Garrytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1570582023-10-06T15:16:00-04:002023-10-06T15:16:30-04:00In Memoriam: Rev. David Burrell, C.S.C. <p>Rev. David Burrell, a University of Notre Dame professor emeritus of philosophy and theology, has passed away at the age of 90.</p> <p>In 1964 after earning his doctorate, Fr. Burrell taught in the Department of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame until 1980. In 1980, he served…</p><p>Rev. David Burrell, a University of Notre Dame professor emeritus of philosophy and theology, has passed away at the age of 90.</p>
<p>In 1964 after earning his doctorate, Fr. Burrell taught in the Department of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame until 1980. In 1980, he served for one year as Rector at the Ecumenical Institute for Advance Theological Studies in Tantur, Israel before teaching at Notre Dame College in Dhaka, Bangladesh until 1982. From 1982-2006, Fr. Burrell returned to the University of Notre Dame to teach.</p>
<p>More on Fr. Burrell's life can be found <a href="https://www.southbendtribune.com/obituaries/psbn0585534">here</a>. </p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1549242023-08-04T15:00:41-04:002023-10-06T15:17:09-04:00Meghan Sullivan receives Templeton Grant<p>Originally posted in news.nd.edu</p> <p> </p> <p>Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study receives $2.97 million grant from John Templeton Foundation to develop signature courses on human flourishing.</p> <p>The John Templeton Foundation has awarded the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS)…</p><p>Originally posted in news.nd.edu</p>
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<p>Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study receives $2.97 million grant from John Templeton Foundation to develop signature courses on human flourishing.</p>
<p>The John Templeton Foundation has awarded the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) a $2.97 million grant to support faculty seeking to translate research on human flourishing into “signature courses” — pedagogically innovative, large-scale courses that have an outsize impact on a university curriculum and the broader public discussion.</p>
<p>The three-year grant will provide funding for 15 faculty members from Notre Dame and national or international institutions to join the NDIAS as Signature Course Fellows, where they will spend a semester or summer in residence developing signature courses on topics connected to human flourishing.</p>
<p>“As we confront a period of unprecedented social, economic and technological change, new questions are emerging about how to build happy and meaningful lives,” said <a href="https://ndias.nd.edu/people/staff/meghan-sullivan/">Meghan Sullivan</a>, director of the NDIAS and the Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame. “We believe that with the right support, signature courses have a singular power to transform how we approach this urgent topic, both within the academy and in the broader public debate. Thanks to the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, researchers will now have the opportunity to gain the time, resources and training they need to build a course that will transform their students, positively influence the public debate and accelerate their careers.”</p>
<p>Sullivan’s own signature course, God and the Good Life, has instructed thousands of students since its beginning in 2016 and is now a primary way for students to experience philosophy at Notre Dame. The course served as the basis of Sullivan’s recent book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624476/the-good-life-method-by-meghan-sullivan-and-paul-blaschko/">The Good Life Method: Reasoning Through the Big Questions of Happiness, Faith, and Meaning</a>” (Penguin Books, 2022), co-authored with her fellow God and the Good Life instructor, Paul Blaschko, assistant teaching professor of philosophy and director of the Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise, and Society.</p>
<p>“The success of Meghan Sullivan’s God and the Good Life course at Notre Dame speaks to the deep desire for meaning among contemporary students,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost at the University of Notre Dame. “Meghan’s signature course has benefited thousands of Notre Dame undergraduates and served as a national model for innovative pedagogy. I am grateful to the Templeton Foundation for recognizing her work and providing an opportunity for Notre Dame to support faculty from across the country seeking to develop similarly transformational courses.”</p>
<p>The Signature Course Fellowship program includes a robust lineup of activities designed to help faculty develop, launch and maintain their courses, including a four-day opening retreat, weekly planning seminars, and training sessions led by experts on public engagement, website development and co-curricular program building.</p>
<p>After their residency, fellows will launch their course at their home institution and commit to teaching it for at least three semesters. Fellows will convene at the conclusion of the grant for a summative conference, providing them the opportunity to demonstrate course content and share lessons learned.</p>
<p>Semester-long fellows will receive a $50,000 stipend during their semester of residency, and summer-based fellows will receive a $15,000 stipend during their four weeks of residency. All fellows will be given subsidized housing, design funds to help build their courses, a sub-grant to their home university to facilitate the course launch and support from student research assistants.</p>
<p>The grant will also support the hiring of two new NDIAS staff members to help administer the program.</p>
<p>In joining the NDIAS, Signature Course Fellows will become part of an institute that has long sought to make interdisciplinary research on questions related to value, meaning and purpose accessible to broad audiences. Founded in 2008, the NDIAS convenes an interdisciplinary group of faculty fellows, graduate students and undergraduate scholars each year to study questions that engage complex ethical challenges of our time and affect our ability to lead valuable, meaningful lives.</p>
<p>The NDIAS selected “<a href="https://ndias.nd.edu/news-publications/news/the-notre-dame-institute-for-advanced-study-announces-call-for-2024-2025-faculty-fellows-on-the-good-life/">The Good Life</a>” as its organizing research theme for the 2024-25 academic year. The Signature Course Fellows will be integrated into the institute’s broader cohort of Good Life faculty, doctoral and undergraduate fellows and the programming it is developing to support them, such as research seminars, guest lectures, film screenings and community events.<br>Signature Course Fellowships are open to distinguished or high-potential tenure-stream scholars of any discipline who are developing a signature course on a topic connected to human flourishing. To learn more about the Signature Course Fellowship program, including how to apply, visit <a href="http://ndias.nd.edu/signature-course-fellowship">ndias.nd.edu/signature-course-fellowship</a>.</p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1546072023-07-17T15:20:00-04:002023-08-24T15:41:31-04:00Kristin Shrader-Frechette to receive the Cosmos International Prize<p>In November 2023 Professor Emerita Dr. Shrader-Frechette will receive the 2023 Cosmos International Prize in Osaka, Japan for her decades of research and pro-bono work on developing methods of quantitative risk assessment and on stopping environmental injustice. Environmental injustice refers to the…</p><p>In November 2023 Professor Emerita Dr. Shrader-Frechette will receive the 2023 Cosmos International Prize in Osaka, Japan for her decades of research and pro-bono work on developing methods of quantitative risk assessment and on stopping environmental injustice. Environmental injustice refers to the heavier pollution burdens that, in every nation of the world, are routinely imposed on the world’s most vulnerable people, namely, blue-collar workers, children, future generations, minorities, and poor people.</p>
<p>Shrader-Frechette accomplished much of her environmental-justice research and service work with Notre Dame graduate and undergraduate students, especially with Environmental Sciences majors from the ND Department of Biological Sciences. The Prize consists of an award and 40 million yen which Dr. Shrader-Frechette has said she will donate to environmental-justice charities. Her work was made possible in part because of seed money for her Center for Environmental Justice and Children's Health, given by the then-ND Dean of the Graduate School and because of 28 years of US National Science Foundation research funding. Previous winners of the Cosmos Prize are mostly biologists. They include Oxford University's Richard Dawkins, UCLA's Jared Diamond, Jane Goodall, and Harvard's E.O. Wilson. expo-cosmos.or.jp/english/news/the-winner-of-the-202330th-international-cosmos-prize.html</p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1510962023-02-16T14:47:00-05:002023-02-16T14:47:39-05:00When Philosophy Meets Fashion<p>The New York Times has done a piece on Prof. Meghan Sullivan's <em>Strong Suits</em> class which covered a deep interdisciplinary study of a major luxury brand: Thom Browne.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/style/thom-browne-rodarte-altuzarra-new-york-fashion-week.html?searchResultPosition=1">Article</a>…</p><p>The New York Times has done a piece on Prof. Meghan Sullivan's <em>Strong Suits</em> class which covered a deep interdisciplinary study of a major luxury brand: Thom Browne.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/style/thom-browne-rodarte-altuzarra-new-york-fashion-week.html?searchResultPosition=1">Article Link</a></p>
<p> </p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1485352022-10-13T10:00:00-04:002022-10-13T10:19:27-04:00In memoriam: Kenneth M. Sayre, professor emeritus of philosophy<p>Kenneth M. Sayre, a University of Notre Dame professor emeritus of philosophy and an early leader in the study of artificial intelligence, has died at age 94. A member of the faculty for 56 years, he was known for his teaching and research across a broad range of areas, including cybernetics, information theory, philosophy of mind, environmental philosophy, Plato, and epistemology. He authored 14 books, edited or co-edited five more, and published more than 50 articles in scholarly journals.</p><p>Kenneth M. Sayre, a University of Notre Dame professor emeritus of philosophy and an early leader in the study of artificial intelligence, has died at age 94.</p>
<p>Sayre, a member of the Notre Dame faculty for 56 years, was known for his teaching and research across a broad range of areas, including cybernetics, information theory, philosophy of mind, environmental philosophy, Plato, and epistemology. He authored 14 books, edited or co-edited five more, and published more than 50 articles in scholarly journals.</p>
<p>“With Ken’s passing, we in the Department of Philosophy lost a remarkable friend and colleague,” <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/paul-weithman/">Paul Weithman</a>, the Glynn Family Honors Professor of Philosophy, said. “Despite a teaching load that would seem almost unbearably heavy 50 years on, Ken was a prolific publisher from the outset, and was at the leading edge of a cohort of scholars who began to transform the department into the leading center of philosophical work that it is today. </p>
<p>“Those of us who teach philosophy at Notre Dame now owe an incalculable debt to those who effected that transformation, of whom Ken was among the very first.”</p>
<p>Born in 1928 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Sayre spent two years in the U.S. Navy before graduating from Grinnell College in Iowa with a joint major in philosophy in mathematics. His interest in AI began while earning his doctorate at Harvard University, when he worked in MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory on an air-defense system.</p>
<p>He joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1958, and four years later he won a National Science Foundation grant for research on the simulation of mental processes that would blend science with philosophy. </p>
<p>After he received a second grant in support of this research, the University established the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160318014839/http://www3.nd.edu/~philinst/history.html">Philosophic Institute for Artificial Intelligence</a> in 1965, with Sayre serving as director. That same year, he published <em>Recognition: A Study in the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence</em>, and began lecturing and making media appearances discussing issues related to cybernetics and automation. </p>
<p>For many years, his research involved developing computer software that could recognize handwriting, based on his theory that “understanding of a type of human behavior and our ability to simulate it go hand in hand." His work led to him recognizing a key problem that became known as “Sayre’s paradox” — a cursive word cannot be recognized without being segmented and cannot be segmented without being recognized — that continued to be a focus of handwriting recognition technology in subsequent decades.</p>
<p>After the Vietnam War, Sayre shifted his focus to ethical and social issues. Sayre led an NSF-funded interdisciplinary team that included 11 Notre Dame faculty from all five colleges, a nuclear engineer, philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, and others in a deep study of energy companies’ decision-making processes and values. The work resulted in a book on the subject, as well as another volume, <em>Ethics and Problems of the 21st Century</em>, containing essays from moral philosophers. </p>
<p>He continued teaching and researching until his retirement in 2014, the same year he published <em>Adventures in Philosophy at Notre Dame</em>, a book detailing the history and development of his department.</p>
<p>Sayre married Lucille M. Shea in 1958, and they had three children together — Gregory, Christopher, and Jeffrey. Lucille died in a car accident in 1980. In 1983, he married Patricia A. White, with whom he had a son, Michael.</p>
<p>Condolences may be sent to Patti Sayre, 910 W. Weber Square, South Bend, IN 46617.</p>
<p>In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to St. Margaret’s House, 117 N Lafayette Blvd., South Bend, IN 46601, or Our Lady of the Road Catholic Workers, 744 S. Main St., South Bend, IN 46601.</p>
<p>Paul Weithman's full reflection on the life of Ken Sayre:</p>
<p><em>With Ken Sayre's passing, we in the Philosophy Department lost a remarkable friend and colleague. Ken came to Notre Dame at a time when its research aspirations were much more modest than they are now. Despite a teaching load that would seem almost unbearably heavy fifty years on, he was a prolific publisher from the outset, and was at the leading edge of a cohort of scholars who began to transform the department into the leading center of philosophical work that it is today. Those of us who teach philosophy at Notre Dame now owe an incalculable to debt to those who effected that transformation, of whom Ken was among the very first.</em></p>
<p><em>Ken's philosophical interests were broad, ranging from ancient philosophy -- where he focused on his beloved Plato -- to the roots of the environmental crisis. They were also prescient. Ken saw the philosophical interest and implications of artificial intelligence before other philosophers did, and published pioneering work on the subject.</em></p>
<p><em>I first met Ken in my sophomore year of college, when my colleague Dave O'Connor and I took an undergraduate seminar he taught. As much as I have admired Ken Sayre the philosopher since then, I have admired Ken Sayre the person even more. His fitness regimen and his work ethic qualified him one of the most disciplined people I've ever known. He was a man of deep faith who found a home in the Catholic Church later in life, through a journey he recounts in the very moving closing pages of his manuscript Complexities of Religious Belief. He built a beautiful marriage and family life with Patti after the tragic death of his first wife Lucille. The regularity of Ken's presence in his office and the almost metronomic rhythm of his publication rate were constants of departmental life. Yet the constancy belied a capacity for personal and spiritual resilience and growth that I think of as Ken's most valued legacy.</em></p>
<p>A reflection from David O'Connor, professor of philosophy:</p>
<p><em>Professor Ken Sayre sometimes first struck students, and younger colleagues, as a rather daunting presence, with a seriousness and no nonsense demeanor reflecting his Nebraska roots. He certainly held students to high standards of precision and brevity. But Professor Sayre was also much admired and sought after as a teacher and mentor. His advanced seminars on Wittgenstein and on Plato were pillars of the curriculum for generations of philosophy majors, and prepared many of us, including myself and my colleague Paul Weithman, for the rigors of graduate study. For decades he also inspired students of every sort with his signature courses for a more general audience, "Philosophy and Fantasy" and "The Question" (for the uninitiated, What is the Meaning of Life?). For me, Ken was an essential teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend; the world is poorer without him.</em></p>
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<p class="attribution">Originally published at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/in-memoriam-kenneth-m-sayre-professor-emeritus-of-philosophy/">al.nd.edu</a></span>.</p>Josh Weinholdtag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1479802022-09-21T10:41:00-04:002022-10-14T12:33:36-04:00Notre Dame philosopher and psychologist team up to study whether intellectual humility is a virtue — and if it’s helpful or harmful to the marginalized and oppressed<p>Intellectual humility — being free to think and listen without being concerned with the need to “be right” — could be an antidote for some pressing personal and societal problems. An interdisciplinary group of philosophers and psychologists, led by Laura Callahan and supported by a John Templeton Foundation grant, are hoping to identify how the characteristic can be used by individuals to improve their lives and how it can be more inclusive.</p><p>Intellectual humility — being free to think and listen without being concerned with the need to “be right” — could be an antidote for some pressing personal and societal problems.</p>
<p>An interdisciplinary group of philosophers and psychologists, supported by a <a href="https://www.templeton.org/">John Templeton Foundation</a> grant, are hoping to identify how the characteristic can be used by individuals to improve their lives and how it can be more inclusive.</p>
<p>“Intellectual arrogance and vanity can stifle conversation, learning, and discovery, which contributes to polarization, as well as ignorance about the lived experiences of other people,” said <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/laura-frances-callahan/">Laura Callahan</a>, a Notre Dame assistant professor of <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/">philosophy</a> and the principal investigator on the project. “We can’t listen and learn and come to know the truth about important subjects if we're caught up in defending our own views just because they’re ours.”</p>
<p>It might seem like a no-brainer that everyone could benefit from more intellectual humility (IH), but Callahan said that judgment might not take into account the variety of contexts — including oppression and marginalization — that shape people's lives. </p>
<p>While many people are overly confident and attached to their beliefs, Callahan said, others — including those conditioned to distrust their experiences and abilities — are underconfident. And some may be in situations where they have to be super confident, even dogmatic, to make themselves heard.</p>
<p>Thus, she said, it’s important to consider IH from the perspective of people routinely bombarded with messages that they’re ignorant or untrustworthy. That could include an abuse survivor who’s been gaslit about their memory of a troubling situation. Or a student from a marginalized group who’s been told their ideas aren’t worthy. Or a Black patient whose obstetrician doesn’t believe their description of troublesome symptoms.</p>
<p>These types of contexts piqued Callahan’s interest in IH and oppression. To learn more about the topic, she teamed up with <a href="https://psychology.nd.edu/faculty/daniel-lapsley/">Daniel Lapsley</a>, the ACE College Professor of <a href="https://psychology.nd.edu/">Psychology</a> and director of the <a href="https://www3.nd.edu/~dlapsle1/Lab/Welcome.html">Moral and Adolescent Psychology Lab</a>, to form an interdisciplinary working group as part of the two-year project.</p>
<p>Collaborating with experts in psychology is fitting, she said. Philosophers think critically about what’s morally and epistemically valuable about IH across contexts, and psychologists examine how IH manifests and develops in people’s lives, which traits accompany it, and what life experiences it predicts.</p>
<p>“We can’t run empirical studies well without knowing what’s worth calling intellectual humility,” she said. “But neither can we theorize productively from the armchair about what traits are valuable for people to have, especially<em> </em>when we want to think about people in contexts of oppression and marginalization who may not closely resemble the philosopher sitting in said armchair.”</p>
<p>Callahan will read, write, and present ideas to philosophers, and the interdisciplinary working group will meet virtually biweekly and convene for a summer 2023 workshop in Chicago. Callahan and Lapsley have brought on several psychologists and philosophers from other universities to provide insight, and <a href="https://philreligion.nd.edu/fellowships/current-fellows/">fellows</a> in residence at the <a href="https://philreligion.nd.edu/">Center for Philosophy of Religion</a> will consider questions related to intellectual humility and oppression in 2023-24. Additional leading thinkers from epistemology and ethics will be invited to a capstone conference in 2024. </p>
<p>Callahan, who is also associate director of the center and an affiliated faculty member with the <a href="https://genderstudies.nd.edu/">Gender Studies Program</a>, said one project goal is to develop and inspire new definitions, or accounts, of intellectual humility, including those that are sensitive to experiences of oppressed and marginalized people.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Intellectual arrogance and vanity can stifle conversation, learning, and discovery, which contributes to polarization, as well as ignorance about the lived experiences of other people. We can’t listen and learn and come to know the truth about important subjects if we're caught up in defending our own views just because they’re ours.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She described humility and IH as disputed “virtues” — or desirable behaviors that indicate high moral standards. Aristotle and Friedrich Nietzsche didn’t even think they were virtues, but Jesus Christ and Iris Murdoch thought they were central to the good life.</p>
<p>A significant controversy, she said, is whether calling these traits “virtues” is just a way for the powerful to continue to subjugate the oppressed. </p>
<p>“I am really interested in whether you can celebrate humility as a central virtue for all people in a way that helps ameliorate, rather than exacerbate, oppression and marginalization.”</p>
<p>In the near term, the project will encourage participating philosophers and psychologists to incorporate relevant readings and discussion topics into their graduate and undergraduate teaching. In the longer term, Callahan said new theories of IH could be applied in the social sciences through measurement and the development of interventions or pedagogical techniques.</p>
<p>Increasing IH, ultimately, could have significant ramifications for education and other efforts to improve public discourse.</p>
<p>“Hopefully,” she said, “understanding intellectual humility better and more sensitively will enable students to <em>be </em>more intellectually humble, in productive ways.”</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Beth Staples</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/notre-dame-philosopher-and-psychologist-team-up-to-study-whether-intellectual-humility-is-a-virtue-and-if-its-helpful-or-harmful-to-the-marginalized-and-oppressed/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">September 21, 2022</span>.</p>Beth Staplestag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1452132022-04-29T12:00:00-04:002022-04-29T12:45:09-04:00Jordan Lavender Wins BJHP Award<p>The British Journal for the History of Philosophy (BJHP) announced that graduate student <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/graduate-students/jordan-lavender/">Jordan Lavender</a> was awarded the Best Graduate Essay Prize for 2022 for his paper "The Mark of the Mental in the Fourteenth Century: Volitio, Cognitio, and…</p><p>The British Journal for the History of Philosophy (BJHP) announced that graduate student <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/graduate-students/jordan-lavender/">Jordan Lavender</a> was awarded the Best Graduate Essay Prize for 2022 for his paper "The Mark of the Mental in the Fourteenth Century: Volitio, Cognitio, and Adam Wodeham’s Experience Argumen”. The prize of £1000 is awarded annually to the writer of an essay that makes a significant contribution to the history of philosophy. The competition is open to all graduate students, anywhere in the world, studying any subject.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Full story and list of award winners <a href="https://dailynous.com/2022/04/25/bjhp-prizes-2021-2022/">here</a>. </p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1442882022-03-24T14:00:00-04:002022-03-24T14:02:13-04:00With grants from NSF and Templeton Foundation, Notre Dame professor explores symmetry in philosophy, physics<p>With support from two major research grants, Notre Dame associate professor of philosophy <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/nicholas-teh/">Nicholas Teh</a> has been exploring new ideas in symmetry for philosophy and physics.</p><figure class="image-right"><img alt="Nicholas Teh Headshot" src="https://al.nd.edu/assets/462124/350x/nicholas_teh_headshot.jpg">
<figcaption>Nicholas Teh</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With support from two major research grants, Notre Dame associate professor of philosophy <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/nicholas-teh/">Nicholas Teh</a> has been exploring new ideas in symmetry for philosophy and physics.</p>
<p>Teh is collaborating with James Read, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford, on a project called Re-fashioning Galileo's Ship: A Philosophy of Symmetry for the 21st Century. The study is funded by a $383,000 grant from the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> and a $230,000 grant from the <a href="https://www.templeton.org/">John Templeton Foundation</a>.</p>
<p>The project is the latest in Teh’s efforts to pursue research at the intersection of science, philosophy, and mathematics. He’s particularly interested in applying philosophical principles to the work of scientists and engineers, offering conclusions and insights that can help them improve their understanding of the foundations of their research. </p>
<p>Galileo theorized 400 years ago that an object dropped from the mast of a ship would strike directly below the mast whether the ship was stationary or moving at a steady rate, thus showing that some changes in conditions don’t change anything.</p>
<p>“This was the first philosophical thought experiment concerning symmetry that linked the idea of symmetry with undetectability,” Teh said. “Since then, in both philosophy and physics, symmetry has been used as a guide in what we might be able to observe in certain situations and how we might go about constructing and expanding physical theory.”</p>
<p>The concept is also of interest to physicists, Teh said, as it has helped them generate new theories about what can and cannot be observed. The goal of Teh’s project is to connect the concept to more sophisticated theories, such as Albert Einstein’s ideas about general relativity.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“What we hope to show is that these ideas of Galileo don’t disappear. They are reincarnated in different ways, but it’s still that same basic philosophical idea that’s getting used all the time, even in these sophisticated theories. That’s valuable in telling a coherent conceptual story about physics to the public.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The project, aspects of which are also supported by a Faculty Research Support Program grant from <a href="https://research.nd.edu/">Notre Dame Research</a>, will provide a historical perspective by exploring the connection to deep conceptual issues raised by Einstein, Emmy Noether, and Felix Klein, with an emphasis on Noether’s theorems, which connects symmetry with the idea of physical law. In particular, Teh said it is only now that physicists and philosophers are beginning to fully reckon with Noether’s theorems.</p>
<p>Teh, who is also a faculty affiliate with the <a href="https://reilly.nd.edu/">Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values</a>, previously <a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/nsf-funds-notre-dame-philosophers-project-on-nature-of-observations/">received a National Science Foundation grant</a> to study the mathematical language used to represent observations and explore the historical and philosophical development of the concept of observables in quantum physics.</p>
<p>These two new grants are funding slightly different aspects of Teh’s research. The NSF grant will support a postdoctoral researcher based at Notre Dame, while the Templeton Foundation grant will support a postdoctoral researcher based at Oxford.</p>
<p>The “synergistic investigation” at Notre Dame and Oxford, Teh said, will be collaborative with the goal of producing research papers that will be submitted to top physics and philosophy journals. The researchers also hope the results will be incorporated into educational programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels of education as well as in grades kindergarten through high school.</p>
<p>“What we hope to show is that these ideas of Galileo don’t disappear. They are reincarnated in different ways, but it’s still that same basic philosophical idea that’s getting used all the time, even in these sophisticated theories,” Teh said. “That’s valuable in telling a coherent conceptual story about physics to the public.”</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Josh Weinhold</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/with-grants-from-nsf-and-templeton-foundation-notre-dame-professor-explores-symmetry-in-philosophy-physics/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">March 10, 2022</span>.</p>Josh Weinholdtag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1436112022-02-24T11:00:00-05:002022-03-03T14:35:51-05:00Arts and Letters launches Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise & Society<p>Notre Dame’s College of Arts & Letters is launching a new selective program that will offer specialized coursework, programming, and resources for undergraduates interested in finding deeper meaning in the practice of business through the liberal arts. The Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise & Society is a rigorous academic experience and collaborative community focused on helping students form strong bonds as they engage in exclusive classes, independent research, meaningful dialogue, and purpose-driven career discernment. The cohort-based program is open to Arts & Letters students with a minor in business economics or a Mendoza College of Business minor, or Mendoza majors who have a major, supplemental major, or minor in Arts & Letters.</p><p>Notre Dame’s <a href="http://al.nd.edu/">College of Arts & Letters</a> is launching a new selective program that will offer specialized coursework, programming, and resources for undergraduates interested in finding deeper meaning in the practice of business through the liberal arts.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://sheedyprogram.nd.edu/">Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise & Society</a> is a rigorous academic experience and collaborative community focused on helping students form strong bonds as they engage in exclusive classes, independent research, meaningful dialogue, and purpose-driven career discernment.</p>
<p>The cohort-based program is open to College of Arts & Letters students with a minor in <a href="https://economics.nd.edu/undergraduate-program/academic-programs/business-economics-minor/">business economics</a> or a <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/undergraduate/#minors">Mendoza College of Business minor</a>, or Mendoza majors who have a <a href="https://al.nd.edu/majors">major, supplemental major, or minor in Arts & Letters</a>.</p>
<p>“A hallmark of a Notre Dame liberal arts education has always been helping students understand not just what they want to do, but who they want to be,” said Sarah A. Mustillo, the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts & Letters. “The Sheedy Family Program will further engage business-minded students as they ponder the big questions facing the economy, develop their sense of vocation, and think deeply about how they can use their knowledge and skills to make a difference in the world.”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://sheedyprogram.nd.edu/the-program/">program</a> — made possible through a gift from Arts & Letters alumnus Charles Sheedy ’69 and his wife, Ellen — includes a sequence of classes including Business in Context, a gateway seminar that introduces big questions and important debates in the humanities about the modern history and practice of business. Students will then choose from a number of courses that tackle ethics in work, all of which will focus on practical, real-life ethical questions facing anyone entering the job market. An upper-level business and the liberal arts course will focus on a specialized discipline, question, or area of study. It will be taught by a rotating group of faculty affiliated with the program and provide further research and scholarly opportunities for those interested.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The conversations we have in the classroom, in the advising process, and at our events will be focused on our individual and collective pursuit of purpose and meaning. We’re bringing together people who want to ask big questions about business and work — and never want to stop asking them.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Beyond classroom opportunities, the program <a href="https://sheedyprogram.nd.edu/resources/">will also offer</a> research and writing boot camps and retreats; community dinners and dialogue events; lectures from Notre Dame faculty, visiting faculty, and industry professionals; research funding and mentorship; guaranteed internship funding; and career planning and recruitment events.</p>
<p>The program includes an <a href="https://sheedyprogram.nd.edu/the-program/honors-track/">honors track</a>, which students can apply for as a sophomore or junior. These Sheedy Scholars are given additional access to resources that develop their scholarly abilities and provide meaningful research experience. Through research-intensive mentorship from affiliated faculty and additional funding support, Sheedy Scholars will write a senior thesis involving business and the liberal arts, and many of the additional resources available to them through the program will support their efforts in such a project. </p>
<p>Faculty mentorship opportunities available to all Sheedy Program students will help them navigate internal and external internship funding resources, research experiences, and career discernment opportunities.</p>
<p>“The Sheedy Program will form a true community of faculty and students who are energized by topics at the intersection of business and the liberal arts,” said <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/paul-blaschko/">Paul Blaschko</a>, director of the Sheedy Program and an assistant teaching professor in the <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/">Department of Philosophy</a>. “The conversations we have in the classroom, in the advising process, and at our events will be focused on our individual and collective pursuit of purpose and meaning. We’re bringing together people who want to ask big questions about business and work — and never want to stop asking them.”</p>
<p>Between 30 and 40 students will be admitted to the program each year. <a href="https://sheedyprogram.nd.edu/the-program/application/">Applications</a> for the inaugural cohort open Feb. 28 and are due by March 15. Details about info sessions can be found on the <a href="https://sheedyprogram.nd.edu/news-and-events/">Sheedy Program website</a>.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Josh Weinhold</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/college-of-arts-letters-launches-sheedy-family-program-in-economy-enterprise-society-a-selective-program-focused-on-finding-meaning-in-business-through-the-liberal-arts/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">February 24, 2022</span>.</p>Josh Weinholdtag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1426542022-01-13T16:00:00-05:002022-01-14T09:01:59-05:00Sara Bernstein wins NEH fellowship for her research on ‘The Metaphysics of Intersectionality’<p>Three faculty members in the College of Arts & Letters — philosopher Sara Bernstein, theatre scholar Tarryn Chun, and historian Katie Jarvis — have won National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, extending Notre Dame's record success with the federal agency committed to supporting original research and scholarship. The University also received a significant grant for a digital scholarship project that will develop a new platform that makes digital archives easier to analyze, present, and reuse. Since 2000, Arts & Letters faculty have received more NEH fellowships than any other private university in the country.</p><p>Three faculty members in the <a href="http://al.nd.edu/">College of Arts & Letters</a> have won <a href="https://www.neh.gov/news/neh-announces-247-million-208-humanities-projects-nationwide">National Endowment for the Humanities</a> fellowships, extending the University of Notre Dame’s record success with the federal agency committed to supporting original research and scholarship. </p>
<p><a href="https://www3.nd.edu/~sbernste/index.html">Sara Bernstein</a>, an associate professor in the <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/">Department of Philosophy</a>; <a href="https://ftt.nd.edu/people/faculty/tarryn-chun/">Tarryn Chun</a>, an assistant professor in the <a href="https://ftt.nd.edu/">Department of Film, Television, and Theatre</a>; and <a href="https://history.nd.edu/people/katie-jarvis/">Katie Jarvis</a>, the Carl E. Koch Associate Professor in the <a href="https://history.nd.edu/">Department of History</a>, are among the class of<strong> </strong>fellows<strong> </strong>announced by the NEH this week.</p>
<p>Since 2000, Arts & Letters faculty have received <a href="https://al.nd.edu/about/the-faculty/fellowship-record/">more NEH fellowships than any other private university</a> in the country. NEH fellowships are competitive awards granted to scholars pursuing projects that embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing.</p>
<p>“We are thrilled and proud that these members of our faculty are continuing Notre Dame’s unprecedented success in earning NEH fellowships and grants,” said Sarah A. Mustillo, the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts & Letters. “These awards recognize the outstanding research that is happening here across a range of disciplines, the creativity and originality of our scholars, as well as the excellent support provided by the <a href="http://isla.nd.edu/">Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts</a> throughout the application process.”</p>
<p>Notre Dame also received a significant grant for a digital scholarship project led by <a href="https://reilly.nd.edu/people/faculty/robert-goulding/">Robert Goulding</a>, director of the <a href="https://reilly.nd.edu/">Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values</a>, in partnership with the <a href="https://cds.library.nd.edu/">Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship</a> and director <a href="https://www.library.nd.edu/news/scott-weingart-to-lead-navari-family-center-for-digital-scholarship-at-notre-dame">Scott Weingart</a> as well as collaborators at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“These awards recognize the outstanding research that is happening here across a range of disciplines, the creativity and originality of our scholars, as well as the excellent support provided by the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts throughout the application process.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Metaphysical questions</h3>
<p>Bernstein<strong> </strong>will examine how different forms of inequality interact in ways that exacerbate one another in her project, titled “The Metaphysics of Intersectionality.” </p>
<p>Metaphysics is the study of fundamental reality, and metaphysicians examine the nature of things like space, time, causation, and possibility. In recent years, Bernstein said, metaphysicians also have turned their philosophical attention to the social world to explore the nature of social entities, including corporations, social groups, gender, and race. </p>
<p>Bernstein will explore the metaphysics of intersectionality — the idea that various forms of social oppression interact and intersect in ways that are greater than the sum of their components. The metaphysics of social categories is key to helping anyone understand how various factors or circumstances have shaped their identity, she said. </p>
<p>“For instance: How would you have been a different person if you had been a different biological sex than you are? That is, in many ways, a metaphysical question about what you hold fixed and what you vary in the worlds where you are different,” Bernstein said. </p>
<p>“Would you have had exactly the same personality and preferences, or have those things been shaped by social forces related to the social categories to which you belong? In this way, metaphysics can help us understand who we are through who we might have been.”</p>
<p>Bernstein, who is also a <a href="https://genderstudies.nd.edu/">Gender Studies Program</a> affiliate, will complete four papers during her fellowship. She plans to present her research at a meeting of the 2023 American Philosophical Association, the California Metaphysics Conference at the University of Southern California, and at other universities.</p>
<h3> </h3>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Beth Staples</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/neh-awards-three-fellowships-and-a-digital-scholarship-grant-to-arts-letters-faculty-continuing-notre-dames-record-success/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">January 13, 2022</span>.</p>Beth Staplestag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1436722021-12-13T07:00:00-05:002022-02-28T07:49:14-05:00Char Brecevic Wins 2021 Notre Dame Graduate School Shaheen 3MT® Competition<p>Char Brecevic, a Ph.D. student from the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) Program, won the 2021 Notre Dame Graduate School Shaheen Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) on Wednesday, October 13<sup>th</sup> on the stage in Carey Auditorium in the Hesburgh Library.</p> <p>The Shaheen 3MT® is…</p><p>Char Brecevic, a Ph.D. student from the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) Program, won the 2021 Notre Dame Graduate School Shaheen Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) on Wednesday, October 13<sup>th</sup> on the stage in Carey Auditorium in the Hesburgh Library.</p>
<p>The Shaheen 3MT® is a competition open to all graduate students in which they explain their research in an accessible manner to an audience of specialists and non-specialists alike. The catch is that they are limited to one static slide to illustrate their work, and must finish in three minutes or less. Competitors present from a stage to a panel of judges in front of a live audience. </p>
<p>Brecevic was awarded a top prize of $2000 for winning the competition. A second place prize of $1500 went to Ola Abdalsalam (BIOE) and $1000 to the People’s Choice winner, Kathleen Hayes (CHEM).</p>
<p>All nine finalists deserve recognition for placing in college-specific preliminary rounds to earn their spot in the finals. The other finalists competing in the event were Sevda Arslan (ANTH), Luca Boccioli (PHYS), Nicolas Garcia (EE), Janeala Morsby (BCHM), Sarah Seto (PSY) and Vivek (CBE).</p>
<p>Brecevic’s presentation, titled “Managing Type-2 Diabetes: Imagining a Way Forward,” explores the problem of poor self-management among diabetics—resulting in deadly complications and increased healthcare expenditures. Her central argument is that knowledge and access to healthcare resources are not sufficient for successful self-management. Since type 2 diabetes is largely asymptomatic, most diabetics do not perceive any cues reminding them to take care of their condition—compare this to having a headache that is so painful one cannot help but stop and take some ibuprofen. If patients are most likely to engage in health behaviors when they see or feel a symptom, the solution lies in making visible that which is asymptomatic.</p>
<p>As a fellow with the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) and the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center (ND-TEC), Brecevic is working with her faculty advisors Professors Heather Douglas and Don Howard toward a solution such as this. Collaborating with campus partners to develop software allowing diabetics to visualize a simulated representation of what happens to their bodies when they engage in relevant health behaviors. The guiding hypothesis is that this visualization will enable diabetics to <em>see </em>how seemingly small choices about one’s diet, physical activity, and medication-taking habits affect their bodies—even when their body looks and feels no different. The goal is to provide a widely accessible visualization tool to all diabetics, especially those in underserved communities who are disproportionately afflicted with and affected by type 2 diabetes.</p>
<p>Brecevic will go on to compete at regional and national 3MT competitions against 3MT winners from other institutions.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Aaron Bell</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://graduateschool.nd.edu/news/char-brecevic-wins-2021-notre-dame-graduate-school-shaheen-3mt-competition/">graduateschool.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">October 18, 2021</span>.</p>Aaron Belltag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1387032021-07-06T13:35:00-04:002022-01-13T16:03:18-05:00Prof. Christopher Shields becomes NDPR Editor<p>Christopher Shields is the new editor of <em>Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. </em>He is succeeds Prof. Jc Beall. </p> <p>NDPR was founded in 2002 by the late Gary Gutting and Anastasia Friel Gutting and is entirely devoted to publishing substantive, high-quality book reviews. For more information…</p><p>Christopher Shields is the new editor of <em>Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. </em>He is succeeds Prof. Jc Beall. </p>
<p>NDPR was founded in 2002 by the late Gary Gutting and Anastasia Friel Gutting and is entirely devoted to publishing substantive, high-quality book reviews. For more information on NDPR and to see their latest reviews, check out their <a href="https://ndpr.nd.edu/">website</a>. </p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1382592021-06-09T09:00:00-04:002021-06-09T09:37:45-04:00Sebastian Murgueitio Ramirez wins Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Award<p>History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) Graduate Student, Sebastian Murgueitio Ramirez, wins the 2021 Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Graduate School Award.  The Shaheen Awards recognize one outstanding graduate student from each of the four divisions of the Graduate School: Humanities, Social Sciences,…</p><p>History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) Graduate Student, Sebastian Murgueitio Ramirez, wins the 2021 Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Graduate School Award. The Shaheen Awards recognize one outstanding graduate student from each of the four divisions of the Graduate School: Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, and Engineering. Sebastian is the first philosophy student to receive the award since 2006. Dr. Murgueitio Ramirez is headed to Oxford in the fall to start a 1-year post-doc. </p>
<p>More information on the Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Graduate School Awards found <a href="https://graduateschool.nd.edu/policies-forms/graduation/graduate-school-awards/eli-j-and-helen-shaheen-graduate-school-awards/">here</a>. </p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1378522021-05-20T09:00:00-04:002022-06-08T14:39:09-04:00Professor Rubin wins NSF Grant<p>Dr. Hannah Rubin received a 5-year career grant from National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project "<a href="https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2045007">Race, Gender, and the Science of Science</a>". </p> <p>The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide…</p><p>Dr. Hannah Rubin received a 5-year career grant from National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project "<a href="https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2045007">Race, Gender, and the Science of Science</a>". </p>
<p>The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.</p>Christine Grandytag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1375982021-05-12T10:00:00-04:002021-05-12T10:23:18-04:00With NEH grant, Notre Dame philosopher Paul Weithman planning conference on enduring impact of John Rawls<p>Rawls' work <em>A Theory of Justice</em> has had a lasting and far-reaching influence on the fields of economics, political science, philosophy, and law — and nearly 50 years after its publication, it remains one of the greatest works of political philosophy ever produced, said Paul Weithman, the Glynn Family Honors Professor of Philosophy. With funding from a Collaborative Research Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Weithman is planning a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication in September 2021.</p><p><em>A Theory of Justice</em>, published in 1971 by philosopher John Rawls, has been cited in U.S. Supreme Court opinions. Copies of the book were waved by students protesting China’s authoritarian rule in Tiananmen Square in 1989. A political party in England once named the work as its platform.</p>
<p>It has had a lasting and far-reaching influence on the fields of economics, political science, philosophy, and law — and nearly 50 years after its publication, it remains one of the greatest works of political philosophy ever produced, said <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/paul-weithman/">Paul Weithman</a>, the Glynn Family Honors Professor of Philosophy.</p>
<p>With funding from a <a href="https://www.neh.gov/news/neh-announces-30-million-238-humanities-projects-nationwide">Collaborative Research Grant</a> from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Weithman is planning a <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/news/events/john-rawlss-a-theory-of-justice-at-fifty-an-anniversary-conference/">conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication in September 2021</a>.</p>
<figure class="image-left"><img alt="Weithman Old" height="169" src="https://philosophy.nd.edu/assets/249710/300x/weithman_old.jpeg" width="300">
<figcaption>Paul Weithman</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“The number of scholars who have been and continue to be interested in the book and its implications is an impressive testament to its quality,” Weithman said. “It is well worth commemorating for its significance not just at the time it was published, but also for its continued importance.”</p>
<p>Notre Dame College of Arts & Letters faculty have a long track record of success with the NEH — receiving several Collaborative Research Grants, Digital Humanities Implementation Grants, and Public Scholar Grants in recent years, and winning <a href="https://al.nd.edu/about/the-faculty/fellowship-record/">more NEH fellowships than any university in the country</a> since 1999.</p>
<p>The conference will bring together 30 of the best political philosophers from institutions around the world — including the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany; the London School of Economics; Harvard University; and Yale University, among others — as well as early and mid-career faculty members.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Rawls is someone to whom I owe a lot, and I’m happy to be able to pay tribute to him on the 50th anniversary of the publication and what would be his 100th birthday. And I’m really glad to be able to bring these scholars to Notre Dame because I think what we have here is terrific — and I want people to see that.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The goal of the event is not primarily to celebrate the work, Weithman said, but to engage with it and advance scholarly understanding of Rawls’ thought.</p>
<p>“The book was written over the course of 15 or more years, during a period of high and equitable economic growth, of relatively low economic inequality, and at a time when many Americans had faith that government was an instrument of social improvement,” Weithman said. “Much has changed in the decades since, and those changes have raised new problems for political philosophy to consider.”</p>
<p>Presenters at the conference will explore Rawls’ relationship to other political philosophers in the modern period, including Hobbes, Rousseau, and Marx; his failure to address racial injustice; and how Rawlsian liberalism differs from neo-liberalism, among other topics.</p>
<p>Weithman is excited about both the caliber and range of participants — and hopes the conference will inspire the next generation of scholars as well.</p>
<p>“Having the conference at Notre Dame allows undergraduate and graduate students — from a variety of disciplines — to participate in both formal sessions and informal gatherings,” he said. “And you never know what that will spark. Some students might walk away with a thesis topic or just an idea they want to explore or a book they want to go read. All that would be to the good of the field.”</p>
<p>The event, scheduled to be held in the newly renovated Notre Dame Conference Center from September 24–26, 2021, offers the opportunity to showcase the caliber of Notre Dame’s faculty, students, and facilities, Weithman said. </p>
<p>And for Weithman, who wrote his dissertation under Rawls while completing a Ph.D. at Harvard University, it is a chance to pay homage to a valued mentor.</p>
<p>“Rawls is someone to whom I owe a lot, and I’m happy to be able to pay tribute to him on the 50th anniversary of the publication and what would be his 100th birthday,” he said. “And I’m really glad to be able to bring these scholars to Notre Dame because I think what we have here is terrific — and I want people to see that.”</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Carrie Gates</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/with-neh-grant-notre-dame-philosopher-paul-weithman-planning-conference-on-enduring-impact-of-john-rawls/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">September 23, 2020</span>.</p>Carrie Gatestag:philosophy.nd.edu,2005:News/1368712021-04-15T06:25:00-04:002021-04-15T12:42:03-04:00In Memoriam: Dr. Sheilah Maureen O’Flynn Brennan<p>Dr. Sheilah Maureen O’Flynn Brennan passed away on Sunday, April 11, 2021 at the age of 91. She retired in the late 1980's and is a significant figure in the history of our department. In 1971 she became the first female member of Notre Dame's Department of Philosophy, and she played an important role…</p><p>Dr. Sheilah Maureen O’Flynn Brennan passed away on Sunday, April 11, 2021 at the age of 91. She retired in the late 1980's and is a significant figure in the history of our department. In 1971 she became the first female member of Notre Dame's Department of Philosophy, and she played an important role in the department from that time until her retirement. She specialized in ancient Greek philosophy and existentialism, and in 1982 won the Sheedy Award for Excellence in teaching. You can find more details about her life <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.essexreporter.com/obituaries/dr-sheilah-maureen-o-flynn-brennan/article_7ac625c0-9c0e-11eb-b5b3-634270ba45b4.html?utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Duser-share&source=gmail&ust=1618535931744000&usg=AFQjCNGVOpkuhFGHR1Bv344e6nVviA68Og" href="https://www.essexreporter.com/obituaries/dr-sheilah-maureen-o-flynn-brennan/article_7ac625c0-9c0e-11eb-b5b3-634270ba45b4.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share" target="_blank">here</a>. </p>Christine Grandy