Philosophy News - Faculty

Acts of Listening: The 2023 Ontario High School Ethics Bowl

Published: March 28, 2023

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By Petra Dreiser   A lone, forest-green banner fluttered in the breeze outside the University of Toronto Mississauga’s (UTM) Instructional Building on the morning of Saturday, March 4, 2023. It offered a rare flash of colour in a landscape blanketed in layers of frosty white by the season’s most intense … Read More

Welcoming Taras Lyutyi, Visiting Professor

Published: March 16, 2023

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The department extends a warm welcome to visiting professor Taras Lyutyi from Ukraine. An expert in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, he hails from the Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA). His academic interests further extend to philosophical anthropology and the philosophy … Read More

In Memoriam John G. Slater (1930-2022)

Published: February 27, 2023

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The Department of Philosophy mourns the death of Professor Emeritus John Greer Slater, a formidable scholar of Bertrand Russell, former chair of the department, esteemed teacher, and cherished colleague. Slater passed away from complications of COVID-19 on November 19, 2022. Born in the United States on June 1, 1930, Slater … Read More

Singular Creatures: Mark Kingwell Discusses His Latest Book

Published: February 8, 2023

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Anxiety about non-human intelligent machines has been a longstanding theme of cultural production and consumption (think anything from Frankenstein to Black Mirror and beyond). It is rooted in the possibility that non-conscious entities may turn out superior to biological life forms, ultimately surpassing and possibly subjugating biological forms of intelligent … Read More

In Memoriam Fred F. Wilson (1937-2023)

Published: January 13, 2023

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The Department of Philosophy is deeply saddened by the death of our colleague, Professor Emeritus FRSC Fred F. Wilson, on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Wilson—an indefatigable scholar and dedicated teacher who also found time for a series of active service roles—worked in, and helped shape, … Read More

Welcome, Avia Pasternak

Published: December 19, 2022

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We are thrilled to announce that on January 1, 2023, Avia Pasternak will join us as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at UTSC and in the Graduate Department of Philosophy on the St. George campus. Professor Pasternak is a political philosopher whose work has centred on … Read More

CNRS—U of T Twin Research Scholars Award for Michael Miller and IHPST/Paris Colleague Vincent Ardourel

Published: November 17, 2022

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Congratulations to the department’s Michael Miller and his colleague Vincent Ardourel (Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology/Université de Paris 1) for receiving a 2022 CNRS—U of T Twin Research Scholars Award for their project titled “New Directions in Philosophy of Physics: Approximation, Precision, and Discreteness.” The … Read More

The Thing with Feathers: Donald Ainslie Goes Penguin in Support of UNICEF

Published: October 27, 2022

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This morning, students enrolled in PHL100Y—Introduction to Philosophy (Historical) had a surprise waiting for them: their instructor, Professor Donald Ainslie, a Hume expert and the former principal of University College, showed up to class in a full-length penguin costume. Eliciting giggles and many a cell-phone photograph, Ainslie’s plumed suit also … Read More

In memoriam Barry F. Brown, 1934-2022

Published: October 3, 2022

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The Department of Philosophy mourns Professor Emeritus Barry F. Brown, a cherished colleague, teacher, and long-time member and supporter of St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. Brown, who was born in small-town Manitoba in 1934 and raised in Vancouver, B.C., first joined U of T as a master’s … Read More

Christian Pfeiffer Promoted to Associate Professor

Published: September 19, 2022

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We are pleased to announce that Christian Pfeiffer was awarded tenure and promoted to the rank of associate professor, as of July 1, 2022. Pfeiffer specializes in ancient philosophy, in particular, in Aristotle’s theoretical philosophy. His 2018 book Aristotle’s Theory of Bodies (OUP) offers a ground-breaking study of Aristotle’s conception of … Read More

New Faculty Faces

Published: September 14, 2022

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With the beginning of the Fall 2022 term, the department is pleased to welcome new faculty members on all three campuses. At St. George, we extend a warm welcome to Sara Aronowitz, an assistant professor working on the study of memory, learning, and imagination. Reza Hadisi, also an assistant professor … Read More