Letter from the Interim Chair

As the leaves change color and drift to the ground, we are all back in Ithaca in person! After 18 months of seeing our students and colleagues only on Zoom, our life together confined to 13" screens with the occasional socially-distanced walk, students and faculty of the Sage School of Philosophy are back to classrooms, meeting students in offices, being inspired by and quizzing visiting speakers, trying to make ourselves heard over the Cornell chimes, waiting in lines at the Temple of Zeus. There's an energy on our re-densified campus that masks can't quiet.

But the relief and joy in coming together doesn't undo the hardship of the past 18 months. Some of us juggled class-prep along with childcare or homeschool, while others wondered when they would ever be able to see far-off family again. Everyone was afraid for someone.

Nonetheless, faculty and students plugged away at their scholarship and teaching, found ways to mentor and connect with one another, and made it through various milestones. Our newsletter documents some of what we did.

Rachana Kamtekar, Professor and Interim Chair

Conversations about faculty research

Philosophy undergraduates Jacqueline Allen '23 and Fabio Cabrera '23 recently interviewed four Sage School faculty about their research. Their stories: Carlotta Pavese on The Knowledge in Skills, Shaun Nichols on The Cognitive Science of Philosophical Thought, John Doris on An Empirical Turn in Ethics, and Derk Pereboom on Forward-looking Attitudes Toward Wrongdoing.

Minorities in Philosophy

The Sage School of Philosophy's local MAP chapter aims to address various minority issues in the department. The events we organize include annual inclusive teaching workshops, reading groups, as well as emotional and mental health check-ins. Some of the previous topics for reading groups include philosophy of race, gender, and trauma.

We are now trying to organize reading groups on philosophical topics that are not widely studied in West (for example, Chinese philosophy and Indian philosophy). The annual inclusive teaching workshops usually address minority issues in classrooms. Some prior topics are "Managing Classrooms as a Gender and/or Racial Minority", "Teaching Sensitive Topics", and "Trust, Power, and Transformation in the Prison Classroom." We also organize ad-hoc meetings to address emerging issues related to minorities in our communities.

Philosophy Undergraduates and Logos

Logos, the Undergraduate Philosophy Club and Journal, boasts a sizable student membership and various spin-off groups. Emerging from a Covid- cocoon Logos kicked off the year with a 60-person first meeting in early September and a student-faculty hike in late September. Logos organizes the Norman Kretzmann annual lecture each Spring, bringing a distinguished philosopher to campus, and publishes an undergraduate Philosophy journal each May. Throughout the year it also organizes discussions and other events.

Plans have just finalized for the reprisal of the Apocalypse Debate! The Undergraduate Philosophy Club has hosted a number of these annual debates where faculty from several disciplines - humanities to the sciences - debate which discipline should be preserved to help the next generation!

In Memoriam

This past year the Sage School of Philosophy lost two great philosophers, beloved colleagues, and inspiring teachers, Professors Emeriti Nick Sturgeon and Dick Boyd.

Faculty and Graduate Student Notes

Members of the Sage School have been conducting research, writing, and presenting - please enjoy reading through the Faculty Notes and Graduate Student Notes.