‘Filtering the patterns that matter to us’
Epistemologist Jens Kipper has joined the University’s Department of Philosophy, bringing with him a focus on the nature of intelligence that spans the fields of philosophy, computer science, and artificial intelligence.
Australia asks how best to tell a story of national beginnings
What makes for a good celebration of national origins? Professor of philosophy Randall Current recently discussed the issue on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as the controversy over Australia Day grows.
Meet this year’s winners of the Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
Hayley Clatterbuck, an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy; John Lambropoulos, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering; and Michael Jarvis, an associate professor in the Department of History are being recognized for their distinctive teaching accomplishments.
Three University professors to receive Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
Hayley Clatterbuck in the Department of Philosophy, John Lambropoulos in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Michael Jarvis in the Department of History will be honored at a ceremony on October 18.
Ultimate vacuum chamber creates nothing
The concept of nothingness is the subject of everything from children’s books to philosophical debate. In the universe, however, is nothing ever possible? How have scientists, philosophers, and mathematicians thought about the concept of nothing throughout history and up to the present?
Parsing the Pledge of Allegiance
In an excerpt from his new book, philosophy professor Randall Curren looks at the Pledge’s Rochester roots and traces its evolving use in public schools.
The ethics of autonomous vehicles
As a computer science major minoring in philosophy, Josh Pachter was ideally suited for developing concepts for programming self-driving cars that behave ethically. His idea: create ethical machines through a process similar to how we raise children.
An improbable route to Rochester, then Harvard
Growing up in Los Angeles, Matthew Lyskawa ’18 saw no purpose in school. But a teacher saw a spark and lit the fire that set Lyskawa on his journey, first to community college, then Rochester, and now to begin a doctoral program in philosophy at Harvard.
Two University graduates honored with Gates Cambridge scholarships
Two recent Rochester graduates are among 92 students chosen worldwide to be Gates Cambridge Scholars—the most prestigious international postgraduate scholarship offered by the University of Cambridge.
Is it reasonable to ‘agree to disagree’?
When people disagree, and all involved in the discussion believe that theirs is the reasonable position, what’s to be done? That’s a question that underlies a lecture series in September by philosopher Richard Feldman.