The Department of Philosophy provides students, through a wide variety of courses and programs, with opportunities to explore questions of fundamental significance to human life, to develop critical thinking and reasoning skills, and writing and reading skills. Students will explore issues such as what is justice? How should we live? What is valuable? Can God exist given the existence of evil in the world? What is the relationship between faith and reason? What is reality? What can we know? How do we know that we know? What meaning is there to life? What is race? What is ethnicity? What acts are right and wrong? What is truth?

In The News

HONOR SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHERS

ATTENTION PHILOSOPHERS!

Have you completed two or more courses in philosophy?

Will you have completed two courses in philosophy by the end of this semester?

Did you receive a "B" or higher in your philosophy courses?

If so, you may be eligible to join The International Honor Society for Philosophers.

Moravian's Chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, would like to invite you to an informational meeting this Tuesday, November 17th at 11:30 in the REC Room of the HUB (Downstairs next to the bookstore).

Lehigh Valley Undergraduate Philosophy Conference

Moravian College is proud to present their first undergraduate philosophy conference. We invite undergraduate students and professors of Lehigh Valley colleges and universities to submit papers of general philosophical topics to be presented at the conference scheduled for March 27th, 2010 hosted at
Moravian College in Bethlehem PA.

Department News

William Falla, adjunct professor of philosophy, received the Timothy Breidegam Memorial Faculty/Administrator Service Award. The award is given to the faculty member who has unselfishly given his or her service to the College community, following the example of the late Timothy M. Breidegam of the class of 1978. A parallel award is given annually to the student who has similarly served the Moravian community. The members of the senior class vote for both faculty and student recipients.

In addition Dr. Falla was selelcted by the Moravian College senior class to give the Commencement address on May 16, 2009.

We welcome Dr. Arash Naraghi who will be joining our department as an Assistant Professor beginning fall 2009. Dr. Naraghi is a native of Iran and he earned his PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2008. He specializes in Islamic Philosophy, Religious Epistemology and Ethics. He will be teaching Inroduction to Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Epistemology and Islamic Philosophy.

We welcome guest speaker Michael Raposa, Ph.D. (Lehigh University). He will present " Pragmatic Resources for the Development of a Martial Spiritiality" on April 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM in Snyder Room.

Student News

The Philosophy Club meets every Tuesday and Thursday in the Rec Room from 11:30AM-12:45PM. Any one interested in participating in stimulating philosophical discussions is welcome to join us!

Student Colloquium Series

Presents

Harmony between Marxism and Existentialism
By
Maggie Riegel
Moravian Student

ABSTRACT: Marxism and Existentialism are two apparently antagonistic schools of thought. While Existentialism predominantly values an individual’s autonomy, Marxism emphasizes the collective order. This paper argues that if we reflect deeper into these philosophies, we will find common ground between the goals and objectives of Marxism and the initial stages of the existentialist way of life.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Rec Room of the HUB
(Bring your lunch!)

Movie Nights

On Thursday, October 8 (6:00PM -9:00PM) Philosophy Club will get to together to watch Waking Life at the Dog House. Anyone interested in paticipating is welcome.

Faculty Research

Dr Moeller has the following articels forthcoming: “Minoritized Thought: Open Questions of Latino/a and Latin-American Identities,” American Philosophical Association, Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Fall 2009 and “Competing Conceptions of Self and World: Alcoff’s Visible Identities,” American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, forthcoming, Fall 2009.

Dr. Moeller is currently working on “Knowing Bodies, Embodying Knowledge: Thinking Through Disabilities and Social Justice,” for inclusion in a book edited by Tobin Siebers; and on a manuscript, Learning from Minoritized Thought: Philosophies for Common Good. 

Dr Naraghi is currently working on a book chapter entitled "Religion and Politics in Post-Revolotionary Iran" for Prospects of Democracy in Iran, eds. By Larry Diamond, Mike McFaul, and Abbad Milani (Stanford University Press); "The Ethics of Human Rights (a collectioin of articles), Negah-e no publishing, (forthcoming, Tehran, May 2009); "The Logic of Tragic Dilemmas"; " Human Virtues and Dielmmatic Situations"; "Contemporary Shiism and the Challenge of Human Rights"; and on a manuscrpt entitled An Introduction to Philosophy of Rights.

Dr. Cantens edited a special issue on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Fall 2009. The Newsletter can be accessed online at apanewsletter.org

 Dr. Cantens has publsihed “Ultimate Reality in the Philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce: To Want To Learn The Truth” Ultimate Reality and Meaning, 29 (4) 2(2006): 229-243; “Forgiveness and it importance in Post-War Ethics” Journal of Religion, Disability and Health, 12 (3) (2008): 251-266; and “On the Metaphysics of Cultural Identity: A Darwinian Account” Latino Studies 7 (2) (2009): 167-196. He has the following articles forthcoming: "Why Forgive: A Christian Response" American Catholic Philosophical Association Proceedings and the following encyclopedia entries forthcoming: "Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolome de las Casas on the Rights of the American Indians" Blackwell Companion to Latin American Philosophy and "Francisco Suarez’s Philosophy of Religion” History of the Philosophy of Religion (5 volumes) Edited by Nick Trakakis Acumen Publishing Limited.

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