Philosophy gets a new twist
By Carly LeDuc, contributing writer
Posted on February 26, 2007

In coming weeks, the JMU chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, the philosophy national honor society, is presenting a number of guest lectures entitled “Current Perspectives in Western Philosophy.”

“We wanted to contribute to the JMU community by providing several speakers that represent different current perspectives based on the tradition of Western philosophy,” said Phi Sigma Tau president Amanda Cassiday. “Our hope is that deepening understanding of our own tradition will enhance not only appreciation of other cultures, but will also increase appreciation of the contributions made to the modern world by the Western culture.”

Over the past few years, Phi Sigma Tau has invited members of the philosophy faculty at JMU to speak at least once a semester in a program called “Philosophers Talk About Philosophy,” according to sponsor and professor Anne Wiles. During these programs, two or three faculty members talk generally about their approach to philosophy and interact with students, who ask about their interest and research.

“These programs have generally been well attended by philosophy students and faculty, and by students and faculty from other departments,” Wiles said.

The “Current Perspectives in Western Philosophy” lecture series is being made possible with the support of the SGA, which approved a grant of $3,500 for the series.

The SGA can allocate up to $5,000 per non-FEB organization program, Cassiday said. Phi Sigma Tau members began the program grant process during the fall semester by developing a themed-lecture series, finding and contracting speakers and coming up with travel estimates for the speakers to include in the program grant.

The program grant was approved in November.

“I think they were fairly impressed that we were providing five events within one program for under the $5,000 maximum,” Cassiday said.

Members of Phi Sigma Tau met early last semester to decide the theme of the lectures. They decided to emphasize the contributions the Western philosophical tradition has made to various aspects of present culture, according to Wiles.

“The inspiration behind this was that while many other cultures are being recognized — and rightly so,” Wiles said. “We felt that it would be good for students and others to reflect on the contributions of some of the prominent thinkers of the Western tradition.”

Some of the central thinkers in the Western tradition are Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas and Rene Descartes, who generally is considered the father of modern philosophy. Phi Sigma Tau deliberately aimed to invite persons with a national reputation to speak on these subjects, according to Wiles.

The next speaker, Professor Jude Dougherty, is the dean emeritus of the school of philosophy at The Catholic University of America. He has authored five books, three of his best-known being: “Western Creed, Western Identity;” “The Logic of Religion” and “An Intellectual Profile of Jacques Maritain.” His books have been translated into several languages. He’s written numerous articles, has an international reputation and is editor of The Review of Metaphysics, one of the premier journals of philosophy in the world.

Dougherty will be presenting the lecture: “The Use and Abuse of Metaphor in Scientific Explanation,” on March 15 at 5 p.m. in Taylor 404.

“Our goal in sponsoring this series was to make these topics widely available to the JMU community,” Wiles said. “The talks are not ‘narrow’ or ‘technical,’ but are designed to be accessible to anyone who wishes to come. They are worth hearing and inherently interesting to anyone who wants to know more about the Western tradition and its continuing influence on modern life. My impression was that many came to professor Simpson’s lecture who were students and faculty from areas other than philosophy, and I suspect that will be true of the remaining lectures.”