6th Annual University of Calgary Graduate Philosophy Conference

Date: May 3, 2017 – May 4, 2017

Topic: Ethics in the Age of Science

This year’s graduate conference topic will be Ethics in the Age of Science. Papers written in any area of applied or normative ethics will be considered, however, papers written at the intersection of philosophy of law, philosophy of neuroscience (including free will related issues), philosophy of science, metaphysics of free will, on the one hand and ethics on the other will be given priority.

The aim of the conference will be to explore the implications of recent work being done in cognitive science, biology, and neuroscience (as well as other soft and hard sciences) for our ethical theories and social practices. The following questions (among others) will be explored. Do ethical evaluations change in light of these findings? Should they? Does knowledge of our cognitive limitations change what we can be obligated to do? Should it? Should findings by neuroscientists and cognitive scientists affect what we ought to hold people responsible for with regards to their decisions and behavior? Should the neuroscience of emotions change how we should treat others? Should our growing knowledge of animal cognition change their moral status? Does the failure to replicate certain social psychological experiments change how we feel social psychological research should inform our ethical decisions?

Confirmed Plenary Speakers:

KATRINA SIFFERD (Elmhurst College)
GREGG D. CARUSO (SUNY-Corning)
SAMIR CHOPRA (CUNY-Brooklyn College)
ALLEN HABIB (University of Calgary)

We will be accepting papers or extended abstracts, however, papers will be prioritized. The word limit on papers is 3,700 words while the word limit on the extended abstract is 750 words but no less than 400 words. Please send submissions, prepared for blind review to aphilosopherstake@gmail.com. Include your name, affiliation, email address and word count and paper title in the body of your email. Also, if you are interested in staying with a fellow graduate student from the University of Calgary to help defer costs, please let us know in the body of your email.

DEADLINE: March 1, 2017.

Decisions will be made by March 15. Small stipends of (100 Canadian Dollars) will be paid to graduate student speakers to help defer travel costs. Graduate students will also have an opportunity to stay with UCalgary graduate students to help defer costs as well.

SUBMISSIONS: Please send submission to aphilosopherstake@gmail.com prepared for blind review with your word count, paper title, affiliation, and rank (PhD Student/MA Student) in the body of the email. If you are currently unaffiliated just put that in the email, we will consider unaffiliated folks with a PhD or currently taking time off from their graduate studies as well.

Links to our past conferences will be up shortly as well.

*NOTE: The Society for Exact Philosophy will be having their annual conference at the University of Calgary in 2017. The conference begins the day after the graduate conference ends (May 5th – May 7th). All graduate conference attendees are welcome to stay for the SEP festivities as well. A link to the SEP schedule of speakers will be included on this page as well once that information becomes available.

**NOTE: One of the conference organizers (Justin Caouette) will also be coordinating a trip to the majestic Banff National Park as well as Drumheller’s Royal Tyrrell Museum.