Philosophy conference Saturday honors Alan Goldman
William & Mary’s Department of Philosophy is hosting an afternoon conference from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 5, in James Blair Hall 223 to honor Alan H. Goldman, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Humanities and philosophy professor emeritus. The mini-conference is free and open to the public.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to pay tribute to our colleague, who has made significant contributions over the course of his career to such a wide array of areas of philosophy, including the theory of knowledge, philosophy of art, ethics, practical reason and philosophy of literature. We are grateful for his years in the W&M Philosophy Department,” said Laura Ekstrom, Class of 2016 Professor, who, along with Francis S. Haserot Professor Joshua Gert, organized the conference.
Goldman retired this summer, after 13 years at William & Mary, preceded by 25 years in the University of Miami’s philosophy department. He has also held visiting positions at the University of Michigan, University of Colorado and University of Auckland.
Goldman is author of more than 100 articles and reviews and has written eight books since his first was published in 1979: Philosophy and the Novel, Reasons from Within, Practical Rules: When We Need Them and When We Don't, Aesthetic Value, Moral Knowledge, Empirical Knowledge, The Moral Foundations of Professional Ethics and Justice and Reverse Discrimination.
The conference will feature four speakers, all of them scholars in areas in which Goldman has published books. Commentary will be provided by four W&M graduates who returned for the conference. Each student studied under Goldman and is now a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at another university.
Sessions include:
Internalism and Externalism about Reasons and Rationality. Joshua Gert, Francis S. Haserot Professor of Philosophy at William & Mary, with commentary by Laura Matthews of the University of Georgia. 1 to 2 p.m.
Objectification, Mutuality, and Autonomy. Patricia Marino, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Waterloo, with commentary by Dustin Crummett of Notre Dame. 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.
Aesthetic Value, Artistic Value, and Value Interaction (Entanglement). Robert Stecker, professor of philosophy at Central Michigan University, with commentary by Zach McCarty of the University of Wisconsin. 3:45 to 4:45 p.m.
Knowledge in Action. Ernest Sosa, Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University, with commentary by Adam Lerner of Princeton University. 5 to 6 p.m.
“We’d like to thank the office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences, as well, for supporting this conference,” Ekstrom said. “That support enabled us to bring former W&M students back to campus, to help honor their professor on the occasion of his retirement.”
