UNLV Philosophy Department

A Kant essay competition for undergraduates and high-school students!

Immanuel Kant Essay Competition - Goethe-Institut USA The Goethe-Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institute, active worldwide. We promote the study of German abroad and encourage international cultural exchange.

Our ninth Philosophy Colloquium Series talk is Friday 4/26 at 3pm in CHB C210. Prof. Melisa Vivanco from University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley will discuss “Number-Properties: Existence in a Homogeneous Reality”.

“Number-Properties: Existence in a Homogeneous Reality” Melisa Vivanco, Department of Philosophy, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley — Although number sentences are ostensibly simple, familiar, and applicable, the justification for our arithmetical beliefs has been considered mysterious by the philosophical tradition. In this paper, I argue that s...

Our eighth Philosophy Colloquium Series talk of the term is Friday 4/12 at 3pm in CHB C210. The Dept’s own Professor Paul Schollmeier will discuss, “Happiness and Nothingness”.

“Happiness and Nothingness” Paul Schollmeier, Department of Philosophy, UNLV — Human happiness is a daydream. All our thoughts are daydreams because human knowledge has its limits. Our ideas and impressions cannot grasp reality. Our ideas arise from our impressions, internal or external, but our impressions are false! They s...

Hey Las Vegas parents! Do you have kids who will be in the 8th, 9th, or 10th grade in the Fall? Do you want to introduce them to philosophical thinking? Then consider enrolling them in this UNLV Summer Camp this June! 🤔😮🤯😁

Our seventh Philosophy Colloquium of the term is Friday 3/29 at 3pm in CHB C210. The Dept’s own Prof. Amy Reed-Sandoval will discuss “Children, Borders, and ‘Adultification’”.

“Children, Borders, and ‘Adultification’” Amy Reed-Sandoval, Department of Philosophy, UNLV — Many of the world’s borders systematically harm children and adolescents in terrible ways. In particularly violent cases, they are sites where children experience death, injury, sexual violence, and a range of other physical harms. Borders are ...

Our sixth Philosophy Colloquium Series talk of the semester is at 3pm, Friday 3/22 in CHB C210. Prof. Cat Saint-Croix will discuss “Poisoning the Well: Hermeneutical Injustice through Conceptual Engineering.”

“Poisoning the Well: Hermeneutical Injustice through Conceptual Engineering” Cat Saint-Croix, Department of Philosophy, UMN Twin Cities — To "poison the well" is to pollute a source of life and community—spoiling a safe, essential resource. This talk identifies two ways conceptual engineering can be used to poison the well, each bringing about epistemic injustice. Both r...

Hey, wait a minute!!

We have an additional Philosophy Colloquium on *Tuesday*, March 5 in CHB C138 at 3pm. Prof. Marc Moffett will discuss “Reasoning, Inference and the Ontology of Reasons”.

"Reasoning, Inference and the Ontology of Reasons" Marc Moffett, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Texas, El Paso The question of what kind of things reasons are – the ontology of reasons – is not independent of the question how one thinks actions and beliefs are justified. This is particularly true if one accepts (as I do) Dancy’s Unity of R...

Our fourth Philosophy Colloquium Series talk is Fri 3/1 at 3pm in CHB C210. Michael Rosenthal of the University of Toronto will consider “What is at Stake in the Early Modern Debate over Jewish Ceremonial Law? Agency, Reform, and A Defense of Toleration”.

“What is at Stake in the Early Modern Debate over Jewish Ceremonial Law? Agency, Reform, and A Defense of Toleration” Michael Rosenthal, Dept.

Our third Philosophy Colloquium Series talk is this Friday 2/23 at 3pm in CHB C210. UNLV’s own Prof. Bill Ramsey will discuss “What Eliminative Materialism Isn’t”.

“What Eliminative Materialism Isn’t” Bill Ramsey, Dept. of Philosophy, UNLV — In this talk, my aim is to get clearer on what eliminative materialism actually does and does not entail. I look closely at one cluster of views that is often described as a form of eliminativism in contemporary philosophy and cognitive science and try to s...

This Thursday’s Forum Lecture!

Join us at the next University Forum on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. in the UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art for an interesting conversation about perverse actions. Professor Paul Bloom from the University of Toronto and Yale University will discuss what perversity tells us about human nature. Lecture is co-sponsored by the UNLV Philosophy Department.

Our second Colloquium Series event is Fri 2/9 at 3pm in CHB (formerly called CBC) C210. Prof. Paul Bloom of UToronto and Yale will discuss “Pleasures of Suffering”.

"Pleasures of Suffering" Paul Bloom, Departments of Psychology and Cognitive Science, U Toronto and Yale — People are hedonists, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. This view is central to much of psychology and it fits many people’s own sense of why they do what they do. But what about our appetites for spicy foods, ho...

Our first Colloquium Series event this semester is a UNLV Liberal Arts Forum Lecture on Thurs 2/8 at 4pm in the Barrick Museum Auditorium. Prof. Paul Bloom of UToronto and Yale will discuss “Perverse Actions”.

University Forum Lecture Series - Perverse Actions Speaker: Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto & Yale University

Our last Colloquium Series talk of the semester is Friday 12/1 at 3pm in BEH 242. Prof. Joey Miller from West Chester University will discuss "Sketching an Indigenous Moral Theory: The Muscogee Concept of Reciprocity as a Guide to Moral Decisions".

"Sketching an Indigenous Moral Theory: The Muscogee Concept of Reciprocity as a Guide to Moral Decisions" Joey Miller, Dept. of Philosophy, West Chester University — I would guess that most courses in American universities that cover ethical theories don't include any theories or frameworks based in Indigenous philosophy. While there may be a number of reasons for this absence, it has certainly contri...

On Thursday 11/2 at 7:30pm in RLL 101, Brian Burkhart from the Dept. of Philosophy and the Native Nations Center at the University of Oklahoma will give a Forum Lecture on “Climate Hope Through the Land: An Indigenous Framework for Decolonial Hope During Climate Chaos”. More info at https://www.unlv.edu/event/brian-burkhart-climate-hope-through-land-indigenous-framework-decolonial-hope-during-climate

Mark your calendars for the next University Forum lecture on Thursday, Nov. 2 featuring Professor Brian Burkhart of the University of Oklahoma. He'll discuss a transformative framework for decolonial hope during climate chaos.

Our fifth Colloquium Series talk is Friday 11/3 at 3pm in BEH 252. Brian Burkhart from the Dept. of Philosophy and the Naive Nations Center will discuss “Orality and Indigenous Land-Based Philosophies”.

"Orality and Indigenous Land-based Philosophies: The Importance of Oral Tradition in the Global History of Philosophy" Brian Burkhart, Dept. of Philosophy and The Native Nations Center, University of Oklahoma — I will argue that focus on individual philosophers who produce texts limits access to a significant portion of global philosophy, both in the present and in the history of philosophy. This limitation is cre...

Our fourth Colloquium Series talk is 3pm on Friday 10/13 in BEH 242. Prof. Robyn Bluhm from Michigan State will discuss, “Deep Brain Stimulation, Electroconvulsive Therapy, and the Self.”

“Deep Brain Stimulation, Electroconvulsive Therapy, and the Self” Robyn Bluhm, Dept. of Philosophy and Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University — Deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy uses electrodes implanted in the brain to treat several neurological disorders, and it is also being investigated for a variety of psychiatric conditions. After a small numbe...

Our third Colloquium Series event will be on Friday 10/6 at 3pm in BEH 242. UNLV’s own Prof. Todd Jones will lead a discussion addressing the question, “How will the New AI Technology Affect our Lives?”

“How will the New AI Technology Affect our Lives?” Todd Jones, Dept. of Philosophy, UNLV — Dr. Jones will lead a free-ranging open discussion about the way that the new AI technology, popularized by the emergence of programs like ChatGPT, may change our lives. What are some of the ways they will likely make our lives better? What are some of the w...

The Dept’s own James Woodbridge has a paper with Bradley Armour-Garb now forthcoming at The Journal of Philosophy. It’s a response to Will Gamester’s interesting paper, “Nothing is True”, recently published there. Anyone interested can access a “pre-review” version (the only thing the Journal allows) on PhilPapers.

Bradley Armour-Garb & James A. Woodbridge, "Revenge for Alethic Nihilism" - PhilPapers Note: This is a "pre-review" version, not the final version that will be published. In “Nothing is True,” Will Gamester defends a form of alethic nihilism that still grants truth-talk a ...

Our second Colloquium Series talk is at 3pm, Friday 9/15 in BEH 242. James Woodbridge will present, “That’s Just How it Is: A Pretense Account of Property-Talk”.

"That's Just How it Is: A Pretense Account of Property-Talk" James Woodbridge, Department of Philosophy, UNLV — A promising newer approach to underwriting property nominalism is via a deflationary account of property-talk, i.e., our talk seemingly about properties, attributes, and the like. As with deflationism about truth-talk, the central idea is that, de...

The first Colloquium Series talk of the semester is this Friday 9/8 at 3pm in BEH 242. Abigail Aguilar will discuss “Rejecting Political Malice”.

"Rejecting Political Malice" Abigail Aguilar, Department of Philosophy, UNLV — Since Socrates first raised issues that come with democracy, free speech and debate has been a challenge in democratic societies. In a current climate of divisive political dialogue, those who want to engage in fruitful discussions need to reject t...

Neon Stoa—the UNLV Philosophy Club—is getting started for the semester this week (Thur 9/7 at 7pm)! Follow the QR code to access the new Instagram account for scheduling details!

This Fall PHIL 441: Meyaphysics is being taught by Prof. Woodbridge on MW 11:30-12:45 in BEH 127.

For our final colloquium of the semester on Friday 5/5 at 3pm in CBC C113, Todd Jones and Michael Bishop will discuss, “Why We Need Not Be Threatened by the Repugnant Conclusion”.

“Why We Need Not Be Threatened by the Repugnant Conclusion” Todd Jones and Michael Bishop, Depts. of Philosophy, University of Nevada Las Vegas and Florida State University

The Philosophy Colloquium originally scheduled for Friday 4/28 has been cancelled due to health reasons.

This week’s Philosophy Colloquium is Friday 4/14 at 3pm in CBC C113. Alison Springle of the University of Oklahoma will discuss “Radicalizing Practical Representations”.

“Radicalizing Practical Representations” Alison Springle, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Oklahoma

Our next Philosophy Colloquium Series talk is 3pm Friday 3/31 in CBC C113. Patricia Marechal from UCSD will discuss “Women, Spirit, and Authority in Plato and Aristotle.”

“Women, Spirit, and Authority in Plato and Aristotle” Patricia Marechal, Dept. of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego

Hey UNLV Philosophy alumni and fans! The College of Liberal Arts RebelsGive initiative is running through tomorrow (Thur 3/23)! If you are feeling generous and are in a position to donate some funds to help some current philosophy students make ends meet while they pursue their degrees, click on the link below and select "Philosophy" as your donation target. All money donated goes to the students!

Rebels Give 2023 Rebels Give March 23, 2023

James Woodbridge just had a paper co-authored with Bradley Armour-Garb, defending deflationism about truth against certain recent challenges, published in the journal Synthese. It is accessible at

Answering the conceptual challenge: three strategies for deflationists - Synthese We defend deflationism about truth against a pressing challenge, which is to explain how deflationists can understand the role that the concept of truth appears to play in accounts of several other philosophically important concepts. We provide three strategies that deflationists can employ in respo...

For this week’s Philosophy Colloquium, 3pm on Fri 3/3 in CBC C113, Dr. Alessandra Buccella of “The Brain Institute” at Chapman University will discuss “Philosophy of Mind: A Conceptual “Goldmine” for Machine Learning?”

“Philosophy of Mind: A Conceptual “Goldmine” for Machine Learning?" Alessandra Buccella, Institute for Interdisciplinary Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University