Our primary mission is to increase and enhance ethics across the campus community. Some of the programs we offer are the following:
- Applied ethics certificate
- Discussion societies
- Book clubs
- Workshops
- Consultations
- Grants & research participation
- Research opportunities
Upcoming Speakers
Hearing Voices: Rhetoric at the Bench
Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Location: Memorial Student Union (Cedar/Maple)
Speaker: Dr. Anne Coughlin
The project is about hearing voices, the things that judges say during oral argument in appellate cases and the rhetorical moves that they are making when they say those things. It’s often assumed that judicial rhetoric refers to the persuasive efforts, linguistic framing, and metaphorical language of written decisions. In this project, I will suggest that scholars also should study judges’ utterances during oral arguments – their instructions, greetings, questions, hypotheticals, factual assertions, asides, monologues, and jokes. It likely is the case that significant components of these judicial performances are scripted – perhaps, with help from law clerks – and that they are scripted with an eye towards winning over at least some members of the audiences for whom they are produced. Fascinating too are the contributions of the oral advocates, who come to the podium armed with their own scripts but who then must go off script, forced to ad lib their responses to more-or-less improbable hypotheticals or incredulous demands for concessions. The expectation of judicial impartiality conditions, but hardly eliminates, judges’ recourse to a range of oral rhetorical practices to induce responses from the courtroom audience that endorse the judge’s views while belittling the opposing position.
I’m also in the throes of deciding how to “write” about how voices sound. How do I persuade an audience to accept claims about the character and function of hearing voices unless the audience hears those voices for themselves? To enlist your help on that front, my workshop presentation will consist of remarks from me and audio clips of excerpts of a few Supreme Court oral arguments. At the workshop, I’ll distribute transcripts of the argument excerpts so that you can follow along and so that you might consider whether, how, and why hearing the judges’ voices adds to the meaning of the written transcription of the words they said.
Anne M. Coughlin is the Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. She also is Co-Director for UVA’s Sound Justice Lab, an anti-racist gender justice collaborative. She teaches and researches in the areas of criminal law and procedure, feminist jurisprudence, and law and humanities. She has received an All-University Teaching Award and served for ten years as Co-Director for UVA Law School’s Public Service Program. Coughlin earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law. She also holds an M.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Tufts University. After receiving her J.D., she clerked for the Honorable Jon O. Newman, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for the Honorable Lewis F. Powell, Jr., of the United States Supreme Court.
This event is co-sponsored with the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovations.
From AI to Human Engineering: Governing the Ethical Future of Technology and Humanity
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 | 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Location: Memorial Student Union (Ballrooms ABC)
Speaker: Dr. Sylvester Johnson
The rise of Artificial Intelligence in the form of generative AI is demonstrating the ability of machine intelligence to transform virtually every aspect of our global society. Intelligent machines can now assist in diagnosing disease, tutoring students in advanced subjects, and even discovering new research insights across multiple fields of study. At the same time, advances in genomic research and genetic engineering are yielding extraordinary possibilities in health care and biotech. There is every indication that these areas of technology innovation will not only continue their advance but also intersect to create unprecedented opportunities and challenges.
What is the future of humanity in a world shaped machine intelligence and genetically engineered humans? How is innovation blurring the boundary between the natural and the artificial? What will become of the massive wealth that technology might create? As our global society evolves beneath the weight of god-like technology and fragile social institutions, how will we govern the ethical future of technology?
In this talk, Sylvester Johnson will examine the global dimensions of technology innovation to explain the future intersection of AI and human engineering. From eradicating genetic diseases to augmenting human cognition and creativity, the fusion of AI and genetic engineering holds the promise to elevate humanity to new heights. These changes also threaten to upturn fundamental assumptions about humanity and the environment. Drawing on his experience as a human-centered technologist and founding CEO of a public benefit company, Johnson will suggest a possible way forward for governing the uncertain future of a technological society.
Sylvester A. Johnson is the 2024 Kluge Chair in Technology and Society at the Kluge Center in the Library of Congress and is the founding CEO of the Corporation for Public Interest Technology, a public benefit company whose mission centers on making technology accountable to public interest and social justice. He is also Professor of Black Studies at Northwestern University. Johnson formerly served as Associate Vice Provost for Public Interest Technology and Executive Director of the “Tech for Humanity” at Virginia Tech, where he was the founding director of the Center for Humanities. His research has examined religion, race, and empire in the Atlantic world; religion and sexuality; national security practices; and the impact of intelligent machines and human enhancement on human identity and race.
The Ethics of Personalized Digital Duplicates: A Principled Framework
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024 | 3:00-4:15 p.m.
Location: (Recording)
Speaker: Dr. John Danaher
With new developments in generative AI, people are now creating digital duplicates of themselves and others to engage in a variety of tasks. In this paper, I develop a general framework for thinking about the ethics of digital duplicates. I start by clarifying the object of inquiry – digital duplicates themselves – defining them, giving examples, and justifying the focus on them rather than other kinds of artificial being. I then identify a set of generic harms and benefits associated with digital duplicates and use this as the basis for formulating a principle that stipulates the conditions that should be met in order for the creation and use of digital duplicates to be ethically permissible.
Dr. Danaher is Lecturer in Law at the University of Galway. His research focuses on the ethical, legal and social implications of new technologies. He maintains a blog called Philosophical Disquisitions, and produces a podcast with the same title. He also writes for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.
This event is co-sponsored with the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovations.
Social Media & the News: Is Traditional Journalism Dead?
Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 | 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nønic
Moderators: Dr. Kate Edenborg and Eli Darnell
As older print media is being replaced with news on the internet and social media, journalists have been forced to change alongside new innovations in communication technology. As the internet becomes more inseparable from everyday life, we become accustomed to living with it. The internet helps us save time and expand our reach, but it has also led to increased isolation, divisiveness, and the spread of misinformation. Have these changes been more helpful or harmful? Are Americans becoming more divided? What role has social media play in this? Are personalized news feeds spurring more radicalization and echo chambers? We have access to more information than ever before, why then doesn't this create a more informed citizenry? Is social media making it harder to avoid misinformation? What role should regulators play in regulating social media companies? These are some of the questions we will consider in this discussion.
Privacy in a Public Ledger: Technology and Ethics
Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024 | 8:00-9:30 a.m.
Location: Virtual (Recording)
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Bailey
Cryptocurrencies raise vexing normative questions across a number of topics including money creation, censorship, financial inclusion, governance, and privacy. These topics are not purely technical, and require an integrated approach that draws on computer science, philosophy, economics, and more. This talk is an extended examination of the last of these topics — privacy — through a case study of bitcoin, the oldest and most important cryptocurrency. Financial privacy is under threat from a range of private and public actors. Popular digital payment networks exacerbate the problem. This talk will show how bitcoin can be used to enhance privacy along four dimensions, despite its transparent and publicly accessible ledger. These results raise questions about the value of privacy and how to best pursue it. A novel taxonomy of "cypherpunk" theories will illuminate these questions and show how bitcoin's curious approach relates to some familiar political categories. We'll conclude with an ethical framework for weighing financial privacy against other values – especially the public’s interest in curbing criminal activity. Bitcoin’s similarities with physical cash guide the way forward and suggest this irenic parity thesis: if cash makes the world better off, then so does bitcoin.
Dr. Bailey is Associate Professor of Humanities (Philosophy) at Yale-NUS College. He has a new book (w/ Bradley Rettler and Craig Warmke), Resistance Money: A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin, recently published by Routledge.
This event is co-sponsored with the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovations.
Ethics and Perspectives of Scientists Involved in World War II
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024 | 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Jarvis Science Wing (Room 114)
Speaker: Dr. Alan Scott
World War II was fought on sea, land, and air but also in laboratories. This presentation will highlight the circumstances, ethics, and motivations of those involved in this war effort; with a focus on physicists other than the iconic J. Robert Oppenheimer. It includes both Allied and Axis scientists. The dramatic and landmark movie Oppenheimer is predicted to garner awards at the 2024 Oscars on March 10, 2024. This presentation is coupled to many of the themes in the movie. Dr. Scott is Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Stout. He received his Ph.D. from Kent State University in Experimental Nuclear Physics.
Should We Remove Racist Monuments?
Date: Thursday, November 30, 2023 | 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Location: Virtual (Recording)
Debaters: Dr. Travis Timmerman & Dr. Daniel Demetriou
There have been increasing calls in recent years to remove monuments. Is this something we should be doing as a society? Join us for a civil and informative philosophical debate on this important and timely question. Dr. Travis Timmerman (Seton Hall University) will defend the view that we should remove monuments, whereas Dr. Daniel Demetriou (University of Minnesota, Morris) will defend the view that we shouldn't. The debate will be held virtually.
American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation
Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 | 3:00-4:30 p.m. (Recording)
Location: Memorial Student Center (Ballroom A)
Speaker: Dr. Edward J. Larson
What is the relationship between liberty and slavery in the birth of the nation? Leaders of the founding have come under intense scrutiny for their simultaneously championing liberty while also enslaving Black people. What did the leaders of this new nation think about slavery? How did they reconcile this with their convictions in American liberty?
Join us for a discussion with Dr. Edward J. Larson, Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law and University Professor at Pepperdine University. Larson is the author of seven books and is the recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History.
Philosophers' Café
What are Philosophers’ Cafés?
Philosophers’ Cafés are public forums held at local pubs and coffee shops in which community members engage in open, friendly, and respectful dialogue in a relaxed and informal setting. Meetings are led by faculty from UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire, with topics ranging from traditional philosophical problems to pressing contemporary ethical issues.
Who should attend?
Everyone is welcome to attend. A diversity of views and approaches is encouraged, and no formal training in philosophy (or anything else) is required – just an interest in good questions and good conversation.
Current Schedule
Abortion and Human Equality
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Alexander Bozzo (Philosophy, UW-Stout)
Few moral issues are as hotly contested as abortion. But what are the main arguments for and against it? In this Café we will discuss some of the these arguments (and the fanciful thought experiments associated with them!). In particular, we will discuss a recent argument put forward by opponents of abortion: "the moral equality argument." According to this argument, differences in intellectual ability, mental capacity, physical strength, race, sex, and so on, are irrelevant to whether human beings have equal moral rights. But what then grounds this equality? According to this line of argument, the only plausible ground is our common humanity. But, since fetuses are humans, doesn't this imply that fetuses too are moral equals, and thus have a right to life?
The Nature and Limits of Forgiveness
Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Sean McAleer (Philosophy, UW-Eau Claire)
Forgiveness is the stuff of everyday life, but most of us don’t think about it very much. Tonight we’ll try to remedy that by asking questions like What exactly are we doing when we forgive someone? Is forgiveness always good? Does self-respect imply that we shouldn’t forgive an unapologetic wrongdoer? Are some things unforgiveable? Can I forgive you for wronging you did to somebody else? Is self-forgiveness conceptually coherent?
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity: Why the Controversy?
Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Rickie-Ann Legleitner (Interim Executive Director of Inclusive Excellence, UW-Stout)
In recent years, DEI initiatives across the country have faced heavy scrutiny from politicians and their constituents. These attacks include attempts to ban books, cuts to funding for DEI positions and programming, bans on teaching or using certain language in K-12 and college classrooms, overturning Affirmative Action in higher education admissions, and questioning the qualifications of “DEI hires” to effectively perform their jobs. Our discussion will explore where the scrutiny of DEI comes from, who is impacted by these attacks, and who benefits and who loses when this criticism gains traction.
Classical Ethics for the (Post)Modern World
Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Chris Freeman (History, UW-Stout)
Socrates, the Buddha, and Marcus Aurelius have much in common and provide thoughtful approaches for developing a so-called “Technology of Self.” In the classical view, developing a technology of self is essential for realizing the good life. It just so happens that the classical technology of self, made up of equal parts of mindfulness and letting go, has much to tell us about living the good life in today’s topsy turvy post-modern world.
Where the Wild Things Are
Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Julie Beston (Biology, UW-Stout)
As human civilization has expanded, the wild places of the world have shrunk, and the diversity and abundance of wild animals have diminished. What responsibility do we have to those wild things? Humans evolved, just like every other species on the planet. So why are our modifications of the world around us viewed so differently from the activity of other ecosystem engineers, like beavers? What limits should we place on our use of wilderness and wildlife? Such limits are often controversial; just consider the relisting of wolves a year after Wisconsin’s ill-fated 2021 hunt or the implementation of reservation requirements in some national parks. When we lack the will or the resources to save all the wild things, how do we decide which ones are acceptable losses?
Is Free Speech Too Free?
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Tim Shiell (Philosophy, UW-Stout)
The United States is unique in the strength of its protections for expression. Other first world democracies enforce many more restrictions on expression. Have we gone too far in protecting, for example, hateful messages at the funerals of soldiers and students, falsely claiming a military honor, racist and other biased expression, violent expression, and burning the US flag in protest? What, if anything, justifies legal protections for these?
Free: Priceless vs. Worthless
Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Chris Ferguson (Economics, UW-Stout)
Economists don’t spend as much time thinking about when the price of something is $0 as we probably should. The philosophical implications of our conceptions and measurement of value in these cases can profoundly impact health, sustainability, policy making, war and peace, personal decision making, relationships, happiness and other key local, national, and global areas of life. In this Café, will discuss these issues!
Should We Still Listen to Thriller?
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Alexander Bozzo (Philosophy, UW-Stout)
What is the relationship between an artwork’s ethical value and its artistic value? Can works of art be worse because of their ethical flaws, or better because of their ethical merits? Can artworks even be the object of ethical evaluation in the first place—aren’t such judgments reserved for persons, actions, intentions? Such questions in the philosophy of art have reemerged in recent years: What are we to do with the comedy of Bill Cosby or Louis C.K.? Should we still listen to Michael Jackson? I don’t have the answers, but I’m hoping you might.
Dungeons & Dragons & Discourse
Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2023 | 7:30 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Cody Reimer (English, UW-Stout)
The resurgence of D&D, thanks in part to popular media like Stranger Things and the rise of actual plays like Critical Role, means that more people than ever are participating in the hobby, and that new generational and cultural sensibilities are being brought to bear on the writing, design, and community of “The World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game.” We’ll talk about the discourses that shape and move how people think about, write through, design for, and play in Dungeons & Dragons.
Drawing the Line: Does Tolerance Have Limits?
Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Adam Kunz (Political Science, UW-Eau Claire)
A core liberal value of a just society is the notion that it should be tolerant of a multitude of lifestyles, beliefs, and cultures. At the same time, justice is generally believed to demand adherence to mutually agreed upon rules that all must obey, e.g., laws and societal norms. To what extent are the concepts of tolerance and universal justice consistent with one another? How should a just society define tolerance? How far does it extend and does it have limits? To root the discussion, consider the case of Employment Division v. Smith, in which an insular minority religion ran afoul of generally applicable criminal laws. How should such cases be resolved?
Back from the Dustbin? The Marxist Critique in the Twenty-First Century
Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Christopher Marshall (History, UW-Stout)
With the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Marxist critique seemed consigned to history’s dustbin. Indeed, in 1992 Francis Fukuyama famously proclaimed liberal capitalism’s apparent victory as signifying “the end of history,” with humankind’s political and economic evolution reaching its zenith. The 1990s saw “Third Way” ideology, embodied in leaders like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, attempt to address inequality via mechanisms of the market. However, despite these bold claims, the last thirty years have witnessed deepening inequality, expanded corporate power, economic crises (particularly in 2008), and democratic retreat. Given these realities, is it time to revisit the Marxist critique? Can it provide useful perspectives and strategies for dealing with the challenges of our historical moment?
What’s the Role of Fathers in Pregnancy?
Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Lauren Johnsen (Communication, UW-Stout)
What is or is not appropriate for the outsider/insider within the context of maternal health? That is, what is appropriate or not for those supporting a pregnant person throughout that process? How do we know what is or is not appropriate for those involved but not pregnant, those I am calling the insider/outsider. I specifically look at fathers who are often expected to be present but silent throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery, but this discussion could broaden to include others who are engaged in supporting a pregnant person but not actively pregnant themselves. Essentially, what is the role of this outsider/insider, someone involved and expected to be present who may not know their role or boundaries?
The Trolley Problem: Beyond the Memes to Understanding Ethical Decision Making
Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Monica Berrier (Philosophy, UW-Stout)
Perhaps you’ve seen the trolley problem memes. A cartoon stick figure is standing at a railroad junction, and he has a choice: allow a trolley to continue its path where it will surely strike 5 people on the tracks or divert the trolley onto another track where only one person is in mortal peril. Trolley problem memes have been making light of the follies of human existence for about a decade, but did you know that it originated in 1967 in a philosophical paper about abortion? In this interactive discussion, we’ll learn about the origins of the trolley problem and its significance to ethical theorizing by considering our moral intuitions on several different variations of the trolley problem that have been the subject of academic philosophical inquiry for over 50 years.
Appropriation Art: The Case Against Andy Warhol
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Cynthia Bland (Art History, UW-Stout) & Hon. Paul H. Anderson (retired, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice)
In a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court ruled in May of 2023 against the Andy Warhol Foundation and the artist’s use of Lynn Goldsmith’s photograph of Prince. The ruling delivered a blow to appropriation artists, determining that Warhol’s work was not transformative and of the same essential nature as the original. Retired Justice Paul H. Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court will provide context for the ruling, while art historian Dr. Cynthia Bland will focus on the dissent, written by Justice Kagan, which argues that Warhol’s work is “fair use” and not copyright infringement. Should the court determine the merit of artistic contributions, or should artists be set free to borrow, transform, and be inspired by original works?
Russia’s War in Ukraine
Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brewery Nonic
Moderator: Dr. Heather Fielding (English, UW-Eau Claire)
This session considers ethical questions related to Russia’s current war in Ukraine. While the fact that the war was an unprovoked gesture of imperial aggression is not in question, the broader situation poses many ethical challenges for Ukraine, for Russians, and more broadly for the international community. What is the ethical responsibility of other nations--how far should other democracies go toward defending Ukraine, which is a democracy defending itself from a strong authoritarian neighbor? Other nations could save Ukrainian lives by stepping in, at the risk of provoking a wider conflict—how are allies negotiating this situation, and are they making the right decision? Other ethical questions are posed for Russians—what is the responsibility of Russian citizens to stand up for peace when they live in an authoritarian state and risk their lives in doing so? What responsibility do international businesses bear that continue to function in Russia, or that enable the Russian state or individual wealthy Russians? Within Ukraine, what are the ethics of preventing men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country, and what rights should be afforded to conscientious objectors. Should Ukraine agree to give up territory in order to stop the war?
Philosophy Club
The Philosophy Club is a student-run organization which meets every other Wednesday @ 5pm. The club discusses fun and interesting topics related to philosophy and contemporary events, such as:
- Do we have free will?
- Is it wrong to eat meat?
- Does God exist?
- What is it to be racist?
- Can computers think?
Please visit their Stout Connect page for more information.
