Lantern, spring 2006.indd - University of West Georgia

Lantern
The
Department of Philosophy Newsletter for Students
Volume 7, Number 2
March 2006
Phony Baloney Cloney
In This Issue
Philosophy Awards
Summer 2006 Courses
Fall 2006 Courses
Summer Reading
Suggestions
Important Philosophers
Philosopher’s Wisdom
Meeting of the Minds
Embryonic stem cell research has been a source of great controversy
for several years, but it became even more controversial late last year,
when details of a shocking case of scientific misconduct and fraud
began to emerge.
Embryonic stem cell research involves removing stem cells from
very young embryos created in vitro. Stem cells occur in humans and
in embryos, but only embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent,
capable of transforming into a number of different types of body
cell. Each type of adult stem cell can produce only a certain sort of
cell (e.g., blood cell stem cells in adults can produce only new blood
cells), but researchers believe that ESCs can be coaxed into developing into cells of many different types and that those cells can be used
to treat a wide range of diseases.
Harvesting stem cells destroys the embryo from which they are taken, and many people, including a number of politicians, oppose the
research because they believe it amounts to the destruction of human life. In August 2001, President Bush limited federal funds that
could be spent on ESC research to the few stem cell lines already in
existence at that date, and in his 2006 State of the Union address, he
called on Congress to pass legislation to ban the creation of embryos
to be used for scientific research.
… many people, including a
number of politicians, oppose
the research because they believe
it amounts to the destruction of
human life.
ESC research is also controversial because of the possibility of combining it with a form of human cloning.
This method would use DNA almost all of which is
taken from a single patient to create an embryonic
“genetic twin” of that patient. Doctors would then
harvest stem cells from the embryo and coax those
cells to grow into other sorts of cell which would then
be used to treat the patient’s illness. This “therapeutic
cloning” is thought to be more promising than stem
cell therapy without cloning, since the cells it would
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produce would be a genetic match of the patient’s own and thus less likely to be
rejected by her immune system.
For several years, South Korea has been a leader in stem cell and cloning research. In February 2004, the prestigious journal Science published a study
detailing work conducted by Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk, who claimed to have derived
the first cloned human ESC line. Hwang published a second article in Science
in 2005, detailing his creation of 11 new cloned stem cell lines. For this work,
Hwang became world-famous and was hailed as South Korea’s greatest scientist.
But in late 2005, some ugly truths began to come to light. First, it was revealed
that some of the eggs used in Hwang’s research were donated by lab technicians,
Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk
some of whom were graduate students; accepting donated eggs from lab employees is frowned upon by research ethicists because of the possibility of coercion. When allegations regarding the actual source of the eggs first emerged, Hwang claimed he had no idea that this had happened.
But a graduate student who donated eggs later claimed that Hwang himself had accompanied her when
she went to have her eggs removed. Further, one researcher claimed that she was forced by Hwang to
donate eggs after accidentally spilling ova in the laboratory.
Even more devastating was the revelation that Hwang’s claim to have created cloned ESC lines was in
fact a lie. An investigative committee at Seoul National University found
no evidence at all that the ESCs created by Hwang were cloned. Hwang
has apologized and resigned his posts in disgrace, but he has blamed the
fraud on junior researchers in his laboratory. Prosecutors in South Korea
are preparing to charge Hwang and nine colleagues with fraud. If convicted, they could go to prison for up to ten years.
Snuppy
There is a silver lining to Hwang’s story, though. In August 2005, Hwang
claimed to have created the world’s first cloned dog, an Afghan hound
named Snuppy. This claim, at least, turned out to be true.
Philosophy Program Gives Awards
The annual Philosophy Program awards will be distributed
on March 29 in connection with the university’s Honors
Convocation. The ceremony is at 3:00pm in the atrium of
the TLC building. This year’s awardees are as follows:
Best New Major Award: David Ellis
Burdett and Shirley Wantland award in religion:
Matt Lewis
Gordon Watson award in philosophy: Michelle Fellows
Please come to the reception and help honor your fellow
classmates!
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March 2006
Summer 2006 Course Descriptions
Session III, June 5-27, 2006
Philosophy 2120-01 Introduction to Ethics
Dr. Robert Lane
MTWRF 10:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (HUM 207)
To some extent we all agree about what actions are right and wrong; for example, we all agree that murder is
wrong and that helping those less fortunate than us is right. But there are many moral questions about which people disagree: is physician-assisted suicide immoral? what abortion, or human cloning? is it wrong to spend money
on expensive cars and homes when people in other parts of the world are dying from malnutrition? This course
will enable you critically to evaluate your own beliefs about concrete ethical issues like these. We’ll also be dealing
with more theoretical questions, such as: where does morality come from?; what makes an ethical argument good
or bad?; and what general rules or principles ought we to live by?
Philosophy 2120-02 Introduction to Ethics
MTWRF 3:00-5:15 p.m. (HUM 207)
Same description as above.
Dr. Robert Lane
Fall 2006 Course Descriptions
Philosophy 2100-01 Introduction to Philosophy
Dr. Janet Donohoe
MWF 10:10-11:05 a.m. (HUM 207)
Required for Philosophy Majors. Required for the Minor in Religion. May count for credit in Core Area C.
This course takes an historical look at major philosophical questions through the primary texts of such important philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Boethius, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche and Camus. Students are exposed to
questions of what it means to be a human being, how to live the good life, what we can know, why we are here,
whether there is a God, why there is evil in the world, and whether anything at all has meaning. Through the texts
we learn not only the way that philosophers attempt to address these questions, but we also learn what it means to
engage in philosophical thought and how the process of thinking philosophically can change our understanding of
our own existence.
Philosophy 2110-01LCL Critical Thinking
Dr. Jeremiah Alberg
TR 9:30-10:45 a.m. (HUM 205)
Required for Philosophy Majors. Required for the Minor in Religion. May count for credit in Core Area C.
This course addresses the basics of how to think critically and how to evaluate arguments. By looking at the fundamentals of logic, and addressing contemporary cultural debates, we will focus on how to argue well and how to
identify the fallacies of weak arguments.
Philosophy 2110-02 Critical Thinking
Mr. Mark Tietjen
TR 8:00-9:15 a.m. (HUM 207)
Required for Philosophy Majors. Required for the Minor in Religion. May count for credit in Core Area C.
Same description as above.
Philosophy 2120-01 Introduction to Ethics
Dr. Robert Lane
MWF 9:05-10:00 a.m. (HUM 207)
To some extent we all agree about what actions are right and wrong; for example, we all agree that murder is
wrong and that helping those less fortunate than us is right. But there are many moral questions about which people disagree: is physician-assisted suicide immoral? what abortion, or human cloning? is it wrong to spend money
on expensive cars and homes when people in other parts of the world are dying from malnutrition? This course
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will enable you critically to evaluate your own beliefs about concrete ethical issues like these. We’ll also be dealing
with more theoretical questions, such as: where does morality come from?; what makes an ethical argument good
or bad?; and what general rules or principles ought we to live by?
Philosophy 2120-01 Introduction to Ethics
Dr. Robert Lane
MWF 10:10-11:05 a.m. (HUM 207)
Required for Philosophy Majors. Required for the Minor in Religion. May count for credit in Core Area C.
Same description as above.
Philosophy 3100-01 Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
Mr. Mark Tietjen
TR 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (HUM 205)
An exploration of such philosophers as the pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Augustine, Aquinas, and
Ockham.
Philosophy 3205-01 Religious Texts
Mr. Mark Tietjen
TR 2:00-3:15 p.m. (HUM 205)
This course introduces the student to the ancient world of religious textual traditions including: geographical
areas; time lines; political, social, economic, and cultural environments; languages; literary genre; manuscript traditions and translation problems.
Philosophy 4100-01 Phenomenology
Dr. Janet Donohoe
MWF 11:15 a.m.-12:10 p.m. (HUM 205)
Phenomenology is a philosophical movement of the twentieth century that focuses on descriptive investigations of
the ways in which the world appears to consciousness. In this course we will examine the development of the phenomenological method through primary texts of major phenomenologists including Husserl, Heidegger, MerleauPonty, Levinas, Derrida, and Ricoeur. We will address such issues as how the phenomenological method attempts
to overcome the subject/object dichotomy, and how it lays the groundwork for such contemporary movements as
hermeneutics and deconstruction.
Philosophy 4115-01 Political Philosophy
Dr. Jeremiah Alberg
TR 12:30-1:45 p.m. (HUM 205)
Political action aims at making the good life possible by achieving a good society. Political philosophy aims at
making explicit in what the good life and a good society consists. This course, then, is an exploration of some of
the most important attempts at fulfilling these aims. We will begin with a careful reading of the classic article by
Leo Strauss, “What is Political Philosophy?” After that we will examine some of the ancient conceptions of political philosophy. Students will choose a modern political philosopher to research and about whom they will make a
class presentation. The most important assignment will be the final 15 page paper on that philosopher.
Philosophy 4150-01W Analytic Philosophy
Dr. Robert Lane
MWF 2:30-3:25 p.m. (HUM 205)
This course is an historical overview of analytic philosophy, the most widespread and influential movement among
Anglo-American philosophers during the 20th century. We will consider how the most important members of
this tradition, including Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and W. V. O. Quine, attempted
to answer questions within metaphysics, epistemology (the philosophical theory of knowledge), and the philosophy of language.
Philosophy 4300-01W Senior Seminar: Heidegger and his Critics
Dr. Janet Donohoe
MWF 1:25-2:20 p.m. (HUM 205)
This year’s senior seminar focuses on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and the criticisms leveled against his
philosophy by such philosophers as Jurgen Habermas, Hans Georg Gadamer, Emmanuel Levinas, and analytic
philosophers yet to be determined. In addition to mid-term and final exams, students will be assessed by way of
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one major writing assignment that will be rewritten a few times in the course of the semester after feedback from
both the professor and other students. The final paper should be suitable for submission to undergraduate philosophy conferences and will become part of the student’s senior portfolio. Students will also present their research to
the class and respond to questions from the professor and their peers.
Summer Reading Suggestions
The following are books that the philosophy professors recommend for your summer reading pleasure.
Dr. Lane recommends:
Peter Singer, Practical Ethics
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investications
Dr. Donohoe recommends:
Carol Gilligan, The Birth of Pleasure: A New Map of Love
Franz Kafka, The Trial
Dr. Alberg recommends:
Leo Domrosch, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Restless Genius
Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self: The Making of Modern
Identity
How far can a philosophy degree take you?
Here’s how far these people went:
Mark Hulbert (financial columnist, FORBES magazine)
Carl Icahn (CEO, TWA Airlines)
Gerald Levin (CEO, Time-Warner, Inc.)
Carleton Fiorina (CEO Hewlett-Packard)
Moses Znaimer (owner of CITY-TV and MUCH-MUSIC,
Toronto).
P
oso
l
i
h
phe r ’s W isd
om
“If you’re studying geology, which is all facts, as
soon as you get out of school you forget it all …
but philosophy, you remember just enough to
screw you up for the rest of your life”.
—Steve Martin
in “Wild and Crazy Guy”
Interested in Philosophy?
Join the West Georgia
Philosophical Society
Interested in Philosophy?
Enjoy open discussions on every imaginable topic? Then you
should join The Philosophical
Society. Reincarnated in the fall
of 2003, the society is now a
registered student organization
and meets every other week to
discuss everything philosophical. Meetings involve discussions, paper presentations, community service projects, movie
nights, and the occasional night
out. Previous discussion topics
have ranged from “Morality” to
“Just War Theory” to “whether
our existence is absurd”. Members of the society have also
been involved in canned food
drives, bake sales, and trivia
nights at local restaurants. All
students, regardless of their
background or experience are
invited to join. This semester
meetings will be held every other Thursday at 3:45 pm in TLC
1204. For more information,
check out the philosophy bulletin board outside TLC 2254
or the Society’s website at www.
westga.edu/~philsoc. If you
have any questions, contact the
society at [email protected]
or Dr. Lane at rlane@westga.
edu.
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Meeting of the Minds: Does God Exist?
Come one, come all to this year’s meeting of the minds. On stage will be your very own
classmates representing some great philosophers. What will they be discussing? Their
answers to the big question of whether or not God exists and what God might be like.
The event is Thursday, April 13, 2006 in Kathy Cashen Hall at 7:00pm. The actors and
philosophers present will be:
Baruch Spinoza
Friedrich Nietzsche
Nishida Kitaro
Bertrand Russell
Soren Kierkegaard
Hannah Arendt
played by David Ellis
played by Jake Earl
played by David Sluder
played by Jared Bissell
played by Matt Lewis
played by Christina Tacoronti
The discussion will be moderated by Michelle Fellows.
The event is free and open to the public. Bring all your friends!
Department of Philosophy
Department Office: TLC 2255
Telephone: 678-839-4848
Department Office Hours: M-F, 8 am-5 pm
Fax: 678-839-4849
Website: www.westga.edu/~phil/
Faculty Offices
Faculty
Alberg, Jay
Donohoe, Janet
Green, Andrea
Lane, Robert
Sweeney, Meghan
Office
TLC 2254
TLC 2250
HUM 153
TLC 2255
TLC 2249
Phone
678-839-4738
678-839-4743
678-839-4744
678-839-4745
678-839-6294
Please direct any questions or comments about this newsletter to Dr. Janet Donohoe, 678-839-4743.
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