CSUN Student Philosophy Society
The Student Philosophy Society at California State University, Northridge
The Passions: The Myth and Nature of Human Emotions
In: Events
8 Feb 2010
Time for the second Student Philosophy Society meeting of the Spring 2010 semester! This time, Alberto Mendoza, will be giving a presentation on Robert C. Solomon’s book, The Passions: The Myth and Nature of Human Emotion. Following the presentation, as usual, we will have a discussion on the topic. The delicious—not to mention free—food and drinks that will be provided during this week’s meeting will undoubtedly help in providing an ample amount of nutrients to your brain. This, in turn, will likely cause you to ask many questions during the group discussion after the presentation. We dare you to tell us that doesn’t all sound yummy to you. You simply can’t. This meeting is sure to be as yummy as it is insightful; and that’s something you can take to the bank!
| Topic: | The Passions: The Myth and Nature of Human Emotions |
| Date: | Monday, February 8, 2010 [This meeting has been canceled.] |
| Time: | 5pm – 6:15pm |
| Place: | Sierra Tower 503 (the philosophy library/study room on the fifth floor) |
Book Description: The Passions takes a radical new stand on the nature of human emotions. Rather than being enslaved by these irrational, primitive forces, Robert C. Solomon shows that our passions—our emotions—alone provide our lives with meaning.
- Tags: Emotions, Robert C. Solomon
Heidegger’s distinction between World and the Intraworldly
In: Events
1 Feb 2010It’s the beginning of the Spring 2010 semester and the Student Philosophy Society is back in full swing. This semester, CSUN Philosophy major Alberto Mendoza continues to serve as the SPS President and already has many exciting ideas for future meetings. You’ll definitely want to check back here often so you don’t miss out on anything!
For this semester’s first meeting, we’ll be discussing Heidegger’s distinction between World and the Intraworldly. Our very own Alvin Mayorga will begin the meeting with a presentation on this topic and then we’ll have time for some discussion and questions.
What shall be explored (briefly) is the ontological structure of the human Dasein and the relationship which this being has to its surrounding environment as it is Being-in the world as such.
Also, although many of Heidegger’s concepts can initially seem confusing and complicated, during this meeting you can count on these concepts being presented in a manner as clear and as accessible as possible.
| Topic: | Heidegger’s distinction between World and the Intraworldly |
| Date: | Monday, February 1, 2010 |
| Time: | 5pm – 6:15pm |
| Place: | Sierra Tower 503 (the philosophy library/study room on the fifth floor) |
Because Martin Heidegger’s philosophy is often recognized as being groundbreaking, this semester we hope to have a number of subsequent discussions about his philosophical ideas in particular, and about existentialist phenomenology more generally. Who knows? You may just find these topics and different approaches to philosophy interesting and refreshing. Or…maybe not. Perhaps you’ll find it’s interesting and yet quite unrefreshing. Guess there’s only one way to find out, huh? You’ll just have to come to our first meeting and find out for yourself!
What’s that? You wish you could watch some videos of Heidegger that are narrated in German? Done!:
- Tags: Dasein, existentialist, Heidegger, Intraworldly, phenomenology, World
Final Meeting for Fall ‘09
In: Events
1 Dec 2009The final meeting for the Fall ‘09 semester will be held on Tuesday, December, 1st 2009. Think of this meeting as more of an open forum with some food and drinks bring provided. As such, there won’t be any formal topic set in advance and we’ll discuss whatever topic(s) participants might bring up.
You read correctly: There most definitely will be some free food and drinks available for all to enjoy. However, we do kindly ask that you also bring some type of food/snack/drink with you to the meeting for everyone to enjoy. That way, we’ll all have a nice variety of snacks from which to choose. For example, you might wish to bring some chips, salsa, drinks, sandwiches, thirty-five McDonald’s Oreo-McFlurrys, twelve large-sized Togo’s sandwiches, or even three bags of genuine Bubblicious-brand bubblegum. You get the point; All snacks are welcome—and graciously appreciated!
And, regarding snacks, one last note: Please, please send a quick note to Alberto letting him know what you plan on bringing so he knows what to expect ahead of time and can plan accordingly. (Alberto says, “Thanks!”)
| Topic: | Final Meeting for Fall ‘09 |
| Date: | Tuesday, December 1, 2009 |
| Time: | 6pm – 7:15pm |
| Place: | Sierra Tower 503 (the philosophy library/study room on the fifth floor) |
As usual, all CSUN philosophy majors & minors, professors, and all other philosophically-minded students are welcome to join us during this gathering; and you definitely should, seeing as this is the last meeting of the semester!
Man as Possibility-to-Himself
In: Events
10 Nov 2009This week, CSUN Philosophy student, Alvin Mayorga, will present his paper titled, Ekstinction by virtue of the System phenomenon itself.
This will be a discussion on the role of Existential-Phenomenology in the twenty-first century and the importance of understanding the interconnection between freedom, action, and responsibility
As always, feel free to bring your philosophically-interested friends!
| Topic: | Man as Possibility-to-Himself |
| Date: | Tuesday, November 10, 2009 |
| Time: | 6pm – 7:15pm |
| Place: | Sierra Tower 503 (the philosophy library/study room on the fifth floor) |
Some links that you might enjoy taking a look at before the meeting:
- Tags: Jean-Paul Sartre
The 12th Southern California Philosophy Conference
In: Events
7 Nov 2009For those interested, the 12th Southern California Philosophy Conference will take place this Saturday. Hosted by the Claremont Colleges’ departments of philosophy, the conference will take place at Pitzer College. Admission is FREE!
Also of note, our very own Dr. Tim Black will be presenting on epistemology in a talk titled, How To Do Epistemology.
Additionally, Dr. Julie Tannenbaum—who many of you will remember from CSU, Northridge, and who currently is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Pomona College—will be co-presenting a paper titled, Full Moral Status of the Cognitively Impaired: Rescuing the Commonsense View, along with Dr. Agnieszka Jaworska, from UC Riverside.
Click here for a complete program (with abstracts and an updated room listing).
| Event: | The 12th Southern California Philosophy Conference |
| Date: | Saturday, November 7, 2009 |
| Time: | 9:30am – 6:15pm |
| Location: | Pitzer College (Parking/Conference Location Map) 1050 N Mills Ave, Claremont, CA 91711 (Directions) |
Come support these professors of ours and check out the various other presentations that will be going on that day:
- Saba Bazargan (UC, San Diego), “On the Permissibility of Participating in Unjust Wars”
- Sara Bernstein (University of Arizona/ UNC-Chapel Hill), “The Social Composition Problem”
- Noell Birondo (Claremont McKenna College), “The Wrong Kind of Reasoning.”
- Tim Black (CalState, Northridge), “How To Do Epistemology”
- Michael Cholbi (CalState Poly, Pomona), “A neo-Kantian view of moral dilemmas”
- Amy Coplan (CalState, Fullerton), “Feeling without Thinking: Lessons from the Ancients on Emotion and Virtue Acquisition”
- Sean Greenberg (UC, Irvine), “Controlling Consent: Malebranche on Human Freedom”
- Pamela Hieronymi (UC, Los Angeles) “Of Metaethics and Motivation: The Appeal of Contractualism”
- Kristen Irwin (UCSD/Biola Univ.) “Bayle’s “Qualified Academic Skepticism”
- Agnieszka Jaworska (UC, Riverside) & Julie Tannenbaum (Pomona College), “Full Moral Status of the Cognitively Impaired: Rescuing the Commonsense View”
- Brandon Johns (USC), “How to Try without Intending”
- A. J. Julius (UC, Los Angeles), “Wrongness, the fourth dimension”
- JeeLoo Liu (CalState, Fullerton) “Memory, Quasi-memory and Personal Identity”
- Marcy Lascano (CalState, Long Beach) “Early Modern Women on the Cosmological Argument: A Case Study in the Methodology of Feminist Historiography”
- Gideon Manning (Caltech) “Descartes’ genetic answer to the other minds skeptic”
- Chris Naticchia (CalState, San Bernadino) “Nonideal Normative Theory in International Relations: The Case of Recognition.”
- Calvin Normore (UC, Los Angeles) “The Discovery of Self in Avicenna and Olivi”
- David Pitt (CalState, Los Angeles) “Demonstrative Thoughts”
- Gila Sher (UC, San Diego), “Forms of Correspondence: The Intricate Route from Thought to Reality”
- Clinton Tolley (UC, San Diego), “Kant and Frege on the Generality of Logic”
- Cory Wright (CalState, Long Beach) ‘Pluralism about Truth: A Progress Report’
- Aaron Zimmerman (UC, Santa Barbara) “On Inferring “Ought” from “Is”"
- Tags: Philosophy Conference
This week the topic is David Benatar’s book, Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence. CSUN Philosophy student, Alberto Mendoza, will give us a presentation of this book and lead a discussion about it.
In Better Never to Have Been, Benatar argues that coming into existence is a serious harm, regardless of the feelings of the existing being once brought into existence, and that, as a consequence, it is always morally wrong to create more sentient beings.
Many take Benatar’s conclusion to be more than a little counterintuitive, so count on a lively discussion after the presentation! Also, as always, feel free to invite your friends to this meeting, as well as all those in the future.
| Topic: | David Benatar’s book, Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence |
| Date: | Tuesday, November 3, 2009 |
| Time: | 6pm – 7:15pm |
| Place: | Sierra Tower 503 (the philosophy library/study room on the fifth floor) |
Some links that may help familiarize you with this book and its author before the meeting:
- Tags: David Benatar, existence, harm
Worlds and Individuals, Possible and Otherwise
In: Events
27 Oct 2009For this week’s meeting, our very own Dr. Takashi Yagisawa will give a presentation on some of the topics within in his upcoming book, Worlds and Individuals, Possible and Otherwise. This description of his book will give a clear idea of what to expect during his presentation:
Modal realism says that non-actual possible worlds and individuals are as real as the actual world and individuals. Takashi Yagisawa defends modal realism of a variety different from David Lewis’s theory. The notion of reality is left primitive and sharply distinguished from that of existence, which is proposed as a relation between a thing and a domain. Worlds are postulated as modal indices for truth on a par with times, which are temporal indices for truth. Ordinary individual objects are conceived as being extended in spatial, temporal, and modal dimensions and their transworld identity is explicated by the closest-continuer theory. Impossible worlds and individuals are postulated and used to provide accounts of propositions, belief sentences, and fictional discourse.
Currently Professor and Chair of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge, Dr. Yagisawa’s upcoming book is scheduled to debut in Feburary 2010 and will be published by Oxford University Press.
Seats will definitely fill up for this presentation, so make sure to come early!
| Topic: | Worlds and Individuals, Possible and Otherwise |
| Date: | Tuesday, October 27, 2009 |
| Time: | 6pm – 7:15pm |
| Place: | Sierra Tower 503 (the philosophy library/study room on the fifth floor) |
The Problem of Evil
In: Events
20 Oct 2009Evil, you say? A problem, perhaps? We’ll find out what many prominent philosophers have had to say about that during our meeting this week.
Our very own Dr. Robert Gressis will present on The Problem of Evil, and lead a discussion to follow. Currently an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge, Dr. Gressis will focus on the following during his presentation:
- The free will defense
- Skeptical theism
- Privation theodicy
With his enthusiasm and knowledge, we are in for a great night of a topic heavily debated in the Philosophy of Religion.
| Topic: | The Problem of Evil |
| Date: | Tuesday, October 20, 2009 |
| Time: | 6pm – 7:15pm |
| Place: | Sierra Tower 503 (the philosophy library/study room on the fifth floor) |
Some links you may find helpful regarding this topic:
- [Video] Problem of Evil – Dr. William Lane Craig
- [Video] A public forum on “The Problem of Evil” with Dr Russell Blackford (Bioethics and Philosophy at Monash University), Barney Zwartz (religion editor of The Age), Rev. Peter Adam (Principal of Ridley Theological College) and Lyn Allison (former Senator).
- Tags: evil, free will, religion, Rob Gressis, theodicy
Upcoming Events
- February 8, 2010:
Officers
Spring 2010
(and Fall 2009)
- Alberto Mendoza
- Chris Nosala
- Tyler Rasmussen
- Morgan Shaner
- Prof. Rob Gressis
Spring 2009
- Michael Sechman
- Nicole Boreham
- Kevin Haroon
- Tyler Rasmussen
- Morgan Shaner
- Prof. Adam Swenson