Philosophy Department

Professor William Paris is seated in front of a bookshelf — Photo provided by William Paris, Phd

William Paris To Speak At Louden Family Lecture Series

At this talk entitled, The Antinomies of Self-Emancipation, Paris will draw from the ideas of figures such W.E.B. Du Bois, C.L.R. James, Frantz Fanon, and James Boggs as well as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer to outline what he takes to be the specifically temporal antinomy at the heart of self-emancipation and defend the role of utopia in its resolution.

October 16, 5:00-7:30
Glickman Library
University Events Room
Portland Campus

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Consider Philosophy
Spring 2025

Study public philosophy, logic, ethics, compassion, contemporary feminism, and much more…

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“This, I believe, is the greatest gift given to me by the philosophy department at USM: providing me the opportunity to put my deepest and most fundamental beliefs to the test of argumentation and to emerge with a clearer understanding of myself and the world around me.”

— William Harper, Philosophy Alum

Read about William’s experience taking the optional senior thesis course.

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William Harper, photo provided by William

Meet the 2023 Mackensen Award in Philosophy Recipient

Congratulations to Zaid Shaikh, who was chosen for the Mackensen Award in Philosophy. The award is given to an outstanding senior student, based on academic excellence, outstanding service, and quality of philosophical writing. Read about Zaid’s journey in philosophy through the link below.

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a circle chart that foregrounds environmental Gen AI Awarness

Professors Murphy and Ebben on Pedagogy and Environmental GenAI Awarness

Professor of Philosophy, Julien Murphy, and Associate Professor of Communication, Maureen Ebben, published an article for Geneva Graduate Institute’s NORRAG Global Education Centre’s Policy Insights AI and Digital Inequities.

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Robert Louden Round Table Baselow Video Stills

Johann Bernhard Basedow and the Transformation of Modern Education

Professor Louden’s book, Johann Bernhard Basedow and the Transformation of Modern Education, is discussed in this international Zoom roundtable.

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“We cannot learn philosophy; for where is it, who is in possession of it, and how shall we recognize it? We can only learn to philosophize, that is, to exercise the talent of reason, in accordance with its universal principles, on certain actually existing attempts at philosophy, always, however, reserving the right of reason to investigate, to confirm, or to reject these principles in their very sources..”

— Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), Critique of Pure Reason (1781)

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