April 23 - April 29

An annual series of discussions, talks, tastings, and screenings, that bring people together to think about what matters and why. We are adding new events as details solidify. Check back here for up-to-date info.

An annual series of discussions, talks, tastings, and screenings, that bring people together to think about what matters and why. We are adding new events as details solidify. Check back here for up-to-date info.

EVENT SCHEDULE

23

SUNDAY

Featured
Cows, Cyborgs, and our Conscience: Exploring the Role of Technology in Animal Agriculture
Apr 23
Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library
Cows, Cyborgs, and our Conscience: Exploring the Role of Technology in Animal Agriculture
Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library

Ayana Curran-Howes, Zach Goldstein, and Catherine Horowitz

Come discuss ethical questions about the influence of technology on the livestock industry. Do virtual reality headsets provide real happiness for cows? Would you eat a lab-grown mammoth meatball? What is the difference between a human, animal, and robot?

Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library
Against Purity
Apr 23
Windfall Orchard
Against Purity
Windfall Orchard

Amy Trubek and Tyler Doggett

Veganism! Paleo! No logo! Straight line voting! Join a philosopher and an anthropologist for a chat about purity as a guide to life.

Windfall Orchard
How Matter Matters: on the Relationship Between the Material World, the Mind, Meaning Making and Conduct of Life
Apr 23
Four Corners Schoolhouse
How Matter Matters: on the Relationship Between the Material World, the Mind, Meaning Making and Conduct of Life
Four Corners Schoolhouse

Genese Grill

For thousands of years, the materiality of the world has been suspected as fleeting, shallow, or deceptive, while continuing to be a driving force of many of our choices and pleasures and also an impetus for learning and meaning making. From Plato to…

Four Corners Schoolhouse
Is Death Too Dark for Kids?
Apr 23
New Village Farm
Is Death Too Dark for Kids?
New Village Farm

Melissa Pasanen

At New Village Farm in Shelburne, youngsters learn about the whole cycle of life, including death. Hear from farm educators about how they teach about raising cows as livestock, not pets; how they approach slaughter from a place of gratitude…

New Village Farm

24

MONDAY

Featured
Why Higher Ed?
Apr 24
112 UVM Aiken Center
Why Higher Ed?
112 UVM Aiken Center

Addison Schwarz and Emma von Licht

Join us in a discussion of the value - and disvalue - of a college education. How does higher education benefit the individual and society as a whole - or does it? We want to hear from you! If that wasn’t convincing… know that snacks will be provided.

112 UVM Aiken Center
Dewey and Deafness
Apr 24
UVM Philosophy Department
Dewey and Deafness
UVM Philosophy Department

John Pirone

In the United States, over 80 percent of deaf children are placed in mainstream schools, and less than 40 percent use sign language. Deaf students struggle because of conditions in mainstream schools. To address this, I will present and discuss John Dewey’s…

UVM Philosophy Department
Cautionary Tales and Aspirational Futures: Climate Change and Science Fiction
Apr 24
Board Room, South Burlington Library
Cautionary Tales and Aspirational Futures: Climate Change and Science Fiction
Board Room, South Burlington Library

Holly Painter

Climate change isn't science fiction, but there's plenty of science fiction about climate change. What is the purpose of writing it? What do we want climate sci-fi to do, and what makes a good climate fiction story? Come explore the genre of climate science fiction, from cautionary tales to aspirational futures.

Board Room, South Burlington Library
Art and Politics: A Philosophical Discussion
Apr 24
Democracy Creative, The Soda Plant
Art and Politics: A Philosophical Discussion
Democracy Creative, The Soda Plant

Becca Gurney and Crystal L'Hote

What is the function of art? What is relationship between art and political activism? A philosopher and an artist will invite the audience into a casual conversation. Join us!

Democracy Creative, The Soda Plant
Should We Abolish Prisons?
Apr 24
Yates Common Room, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Should We Abolish Prisons?
Yates Common Room, Vermont Law and Graduate School

Kathy Fox and Robert Sand

What is our societal intent when we send people to prison? Come to a discussion of the philosophies of punishment, what the evidence shows about what works in the criminal-legal system, and whether or not prisons work.

Yates Common Room, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Stoicism: How to be Free of Suffering
Apr 24
ONE Community Center
Stoicism: How to be Free of Suffering
ONE Community Center

Riin Sirkel

What if someone told you that much of your suffering results from your thinking? What if they claimed to show you how to be free of suffering and achieve peace of mind? One finds these claims in the works of ancient Stoics – Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius…

ONE Community Center

25

TUESDAY

Featured
AI and Humanity: What's the Deal and Where Are We Now?
Apr 25
Venetian Soda Lounge
AI and Humanity: What's the Deal and Where Are We Now?
Venetian Soda Lounge

Randall Harp and Juniper Lovato

This will be a short talk and Q&A about the current state of AI. We will cover what AI is, what it does, and what it means for human activity and intelligence. After the discussion, we will host a short judged competition between humans in the audience and AI to see whether our current AI is already more human than humans.

Venetian Soda Lounge
Are We Born Good? The Confucian Mencius's Idea of Human Nature
Apr 25
Community Room, Dorothy Alling Memorial Library
Are We Born Good? The Confucian Mencius's Idea of Human Nature
Community Room, Dorothy Alling Memorial Library

Sin yee Chan

In this sometimes heartbreaking world, do we ever wonder what human nature really is? In the talk, I will examine the views of a Confucian, Mencius (372-289 BCE), on human nature. He thinks that we are born innately good!

Community Room, Dorothy Alling Memorial Library

”

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.

  • Margaret J. Wheatley

26

WEDNESDAY

Featured
Truth in Poetry // Poetic Speech Acts
Apr 26
Despacito
Truth in Poetry // Poetic Speech Acts
Despacito

Eric Lindstrom, Chapman Matis, and Eleanor McDowell

Sir Philip Sidney said the poet "nothing affirmeth, and therefore never lieth." We say that in free verse poetry, anything goes. What ways do we have to think about truth in poetry? Do those ways amount to philosophy?

Despacito
Standing Against Injustice
Apr 26
350 Vermont
Standing Against Injustice
350 Vermont

Kate Nolfi

A philosophical discussion exploring questions about protesting injustice: What is involved in standing against injustice? What forms can genuine protest take? When and why might we, as individuals, have a duty to protest injustice?

350 Vermont
Socially Constructed Categories, Data Collection, and Equity
Apr 26
Pickering Room, Fletcher Free Library
Socially Constructed Categories, Data Collection, and Equity
Pickering Room, Fletcher Free Library

Clare LaFrance and Amy Redman

Are you interested in the social construction of everyday life? Have you have ever wondered what parts of our identity are socially constructed? If so, please join Clare LaFrance, MA, a philosophy fan, and Dr. Amy Redman, a Sociologist, for an interactive discussion…

Pickering Room, Fletcher Free Library
Philosophy for Kids!
Apr 26
Fletcher Free Library
Philosophy for Kids!
Fletcher Free Library

Kate Nolfi

Join us for a read-aloud storytime and fun philosophical conversation as we think together about what love is. This event is pitched for children ages 5-9 and their caregivers and facilitated by Kate Nolfi, Philosophy Professor at UVM.

Fletcher Free Library

27

THURSDAY

Featured
Masculinity in the 21st Century
Apr 27
Onyx Tonics
Masculinity in the 21st Century
Onyx Tonics

A Different Voice

A philosophical examination of and discussion about social expectations of men.

Onyx Tonics
Everywhere Philosophy Presents: The Twilight Zone Examined
Apr 27
CCV Brattleboro
Everywhere Philosophy Presents: The Twilight Zone Examined
CCV Brattleboro

Michael Ferreira and Bethany Thies

Join Everywhere Philosophy's Dr. Mike and Bethany for an interactive exploration of the shifting boundaries between reality, truth, fantasy and fiction in The Twilight Zone's inaugural season finale "A World of His Own". Spin the Wheel of Philosophy, and contemplate…

CCV Brattleboro
Children and the Case for a Universal Welfare State
Apr 27
Community Room, Norwich Public Library
Children and the Case for a Universal Welfare State
Community Room, Norwich Public Library

Oliver Minshall

This talk explores the need for a universal welfare that covers all non-workers through the lens of child benefits, revealing why our support for children should commit us to support all nonworking people. Objections to the feasibility and desirability of a universal welfare state will be covered, and there will be time for questions at the end.

Community Room, Norwich Public Library
Epistemic (In)justices: Philosophy and Listening as Social Change
Apr 27
Off Center for the Dramatic Arts
Epistemic (In)justices: Philosophy and Listening as Social Change
Off Center for the Dramatic Arts

Patrick Standen

There is a distinctively epistemic type of injustice, in which someone is wronged specifically in their capacity as a knower, by not listening or undermining the other's claims to knowledge. Come find out how philosophy can be a useful tool for social change by learning how to listen.

Off Center for the Dramatic Arts
Friendship, Loyalty, and Betrayal in The Third Man
Apr 27
101 Cohen Hall
Friendship, Loyalty, and Betrayal in The Third Man
101 Cohen Hall

Sarah Stroud

A guileless American arrives in the shadowy world of postwar Vienna and soon finds he must navigate a moral maze. Does he do so successfully? The Third Mancompels reflection on the moral significance of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal.

101 Cohen Hall
The ABC's and 123's of Power & Authority - a ten minute video and discussion: how does it work in the classroom?
Apr 27
ONE Community Center
The ABC's and 123's of Power & Authority - a ten minute video and discussion: how does it work in the classroom?
ONE Community Center

Infinite Culcleasure

What do power and authority have to do with teaching? How are they different from each other and/or similar? A fun musical video from many years ago provides an opportunity for a lighter conversation about how power dynamics play out in the classroom.

ONE Community Center

28

FRIDAY

Featured
The Philosophy of Farming
Apr 28
Works and Days Farm
The Philosophy of Farming
Works and Days Farm

Caroline and Mark Usher

Is farming the best job for a philosopher? What is the relationship between head work and hand work? Is the kind of problem solving a farmer engages in akin to philosophical thinking? What is a “land ethic”? This informal gathering on site at Works & Days Farm…

Works and Days Farm

29

SATURDAY

Featured
The Philosophy of Civic Engagement
Apr 29
Shelburne Vineyard
The Philosophy of Civic Engagement
Shelburne Vineyard

Mike Ashooh

This will be a discussion of why people involve themselves in local politics, and other forms of civic engagement within their community: what it means, why they do it, what value it has, etc.

Shelburne Vineyard
Socrates Today
Apr 29
Stone Mill Public Market
Socrates Today
Stone Mill Public Market

Martha Woodruff

How does Socratic citizenship by critique speak to us today? How might (ironic) Socratic wisdom (“I know that I do not know”) help us with learning? Why did Martin Luther King invoke Socrates and call for “non-violent gadflies” in civil rights work?

Stone Mill Public Market
Ecofeminism
Apr 29
Kestrel Coffee
Ecofeminism
Kestrel Coffee

Paloma Wallace

IA discussion of the similarities between man’s subjugation of woman and humankind’s control over nature and how the two are connected.

Kestrel Coffee

Thanks for participating

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