You can download a copy of the letter in pdf format here.
March 14, 2018
Greetings from the Fifth Floor of 745 Commonwealth Avenue! I’m writing to share some recent news from the Philosophy Department. This fall we welcomed to the faculty our new colleague Victor Kumar, a recent PhD from the University of Arizona who works in ethics/philosophy of mind and who has already gotten a Mind and Morality Lab up and running in the department (https://www.bu.edu/philo/profiles/victor-kumar/ ). Juliet Floyd and Russell Powell received a prestigious grant from the Mellon Foundation and have been hosting a series of Mellon Sawyer Seminars on current topics at the crossroads between the humanities and technology, including the role of big data, human plasticity and human-machine interface and the role of digitization in research (https://www.mellonphilemerge.com/). Our faculty have continued to publish widely, with new books on topics such as the relation between Rousseau and Adam Smith (https://www.amazon.com/Jean-Jacques-Rousseau-Adam-Smith-Philosophical/dp/1138218952)
on Nietzsche and moral psychology (https://www.routledge.com/The-Nietzschean-Mind/Katsafanas/p/book/9781138851689 ) and on the relation between politics and religion (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9789402410808 ). Our graduate students are hosting not only their third annual conference on “Applying Academic Philosophy Outside the Academy” this spring as well as a joint conference with BC on current topics in phenomenology. And our undergrads have continued to explore ways that philosophy can make a difference, including the remarkable Free Philosophy Project initiated by Clarinda Blais (’17) which teaches philosophy in homeless shelters (see the article this past year in the Washington Post on Clarinda’s efforts https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2017/03/24/this-college-student-teaches-philosophy-to-homeless-women-to-help-them-ponder-lifes-great-questions/?utm_term=.ca893e130f85 ), as well as a host of projects explored as part of our Karbank Fellowship experience (an initiative funded by our alumnus Steve Karbank).
For all of the good news this past year, we also have some sad news to share. We lost two of our former colleagues this past year, Professors Klaus Brinkmann and Robert Cohen. Both were significant presences in the Department for a number of years: Klaus taught German Idealism, Aristotle and many other topics for us and also served in many capacities in our Department’s life, including as Director of Graduate Studies and Interim Chair; Bob was the founding Director of the Center for the Philosophy and History of Science and the editor of Boston Studies in Philosophy of Science, as well as Acting Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Memorial occasions for both will be held in early April. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of a number of you, including an initial grant by our former colleague Professor Ed Delattre and his wife Alice, we have been able to earmark in the Department a fund for a memorial lecture in Klaus’ name. The inaugural Klaus Brinkmann Lecture in Aesthetics and Philosophy will be held on April 10, featuring noted philosopher of art Stephen Davies on the origins of music. (If you would like to attend the lecture and dinner to follow, please RSVP to philda@bu.edu by March 26.) The Cohen family, together with the Departments of Philosophy and Physics, will be hosting a memorial celebration of Bob’s life and work on April 14 (if you would like to attend you can RSVP to RobertSCohenMemorial@gmail.com, ).
We are, as always, so grateful to the many of you who have made memorial donations over the last year, both big and small. Although you can make contributions to the department at any time, BU’s annual Giving Day is around the corner (Wednesday, April 11) and is a great opportunity to make a contribution if you wish. You can donate from the button on the department’s webpage (https://www.bu.edu/philo/ : just click “Donate” and then from the drop-down menu (1) select “Department of Philosophy” and then (2) the “giving in honor or memory of” button further down the page). Please let us know if you have any questions.
We hope you will stay in touch and let us know what you are up to. If you live in the Boston area, or happen to be visiting, we invite you to come by your favorite faculty members’ offices at 745 Commonwealth Avenue. We’d love to see you and catch up.
Best philosophical wishes to each of you for continuing happiness and engagement in the life of the mind.
Eu prattein/ Be well,
C. Allen Speight
Chair, Department of Philosophy
Boston University