To kickoff the Science Undergraduate Society’s ‘Academia Week: To Science and Beyond,’ David Ragsdale, associate professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, explored questions on morality and neuroscience. Within every human head, there is a tangible organ associated with something fundamentally intangible: The mind. “Your brain is a physical thing,” Ragsdale said. “You can… Keep Reading
“I’m just going to use it to get through finals, but during Christmas break I’m going to quit.” This is how I explained my foolproof plan to abandon my Juul to my housemate at the end of last year. I do this with almost all the promises I make to myself; reaffirming a plan by… Keep Reading
Morality and politics are inextricably tied. In Plato’s Republic, the political arrangement of the city-state serves to elucidate justice and the Good, positioning politics as ontologically prior to morality—a relationship that also seems to hold in Marxist thought. In utilitarian thought—and much of contemporary conceptions of politics— morality comes first and tells us what is… Keep Reading
Death cafe provides a cozy space to contemplate mortality. Keep Reading
On March 22, Philip Kitcher, a professor of philosophy at Columbia University, discussed the difficulties of implementing climate change policy during the 2018 Mossman lecture. The lecture series, named after McGill alumnus and chemist Donald Mossman, seeks to raise awareness about scientific thought that is pertinent to solving the issues currently facing society. According to… Keep Reading
On Oct. 12, philosopher Professor Emeritus Charles Taylor delivered the 2017 Beatty Memorial Lecture “The Challenge of Regressive Democracy,” at Pollack Hall. Taylor discussed recent nativist and populist waves in Western politics and their impact on major events such as Brexit and the 2016 general election in the United States. A McGill alumnus,Taylor’s career has… Keep Reading
Since the dawn of mankind, human beings have questioned the world that surrounds us. Is there intelligent life on other planets? How did this universe begin? Is McTavish stuck in a continuous state of construction? Do we have free will? Yet, one question has never been answered by the great philosophers and scientists, such as… Keep Reading
