Philosophy Club Talk

[Nicholaos Jones]

Those of you who just can't wait to hear about Daoism might want to
know that yours truly will be giving a short presentation to the OSU
Philosophy Club titled "The Daoist Case Against Pursuing an Education."

The philosophy club meets every Wednesday at 7:30 in University Hall
347. I'll be giving my presentation this Wednesday (January 17).

Here's a brief description of the talk: Despite its many teachings and
arguments, Daoism frowns upon the pursuit of knowledge. Laozi,
legendary author of the Daodejing, advises that "When we renounce
learning we have no troubles". Zhuangzi, an equally famous Daoist,
cautions that "if we persist in increasing our knowledge, we will be in
danger". This attitude toward education stems from the general daoist
attitude toward life. And that attitude is supported, to an extent, by
some interesting arguments. So my plan is to talk a bit about some
relevant themes in daoist thought. Then I'll go through a few
arguments that make a case against pursuing an education.

[Nicholaos Jones]

Those of you interested in philosophy in general might like to know
that my good friend Joshua Smith, a visiting assistant professor in the
philosophy department, will be giving a talk to the philosophy club
this week. The topic is epistemology (theory of knowledge).

The philosophy club meets every Wednesday at 7:30 in University Hall
347.

Here's a brief description of the talk: "Skepticism about the external
world is often thought to depend on a certain controversial principle,
called the deductive closure principle, that holds that if one knows
some proposition p, and knows that p entails q, then one knows that q.
This principle is supposed to capture the idea that we can gain
knowledge via deduction. I claim that this principle is false, and
that a different type of principle does all the work of the closure
principle, but does not generate skepticism."

[Nicholaos Jones]

Another Philosophy Club Announcement:

This week Professor Declan Smithies (new from Britain) will be talking
about the connection between the justification of beliefs and
consciousness.

The philosophy club meets every Wednesday at 7:30 in University Hall

347. Also, currently they are giving away free Philosophy Club pins.

Here's a brief description of the talk: "What I am justified in
believing? And how am I justified in acting? Intuitively, answers to
these questions about rational justification must be somehow sensitive
to the subject's point of view. I must have some kind of first-person
access to the facts that determine whether or not I am justified in
forming beliefs and performing actions.I'll suggest that this is
because there is an intimate connection between rational justification
and *consciousness*."