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Philosophy

Ecuador’s vice president talks biodiversity protection
Two people sit in chairs on a stage. Ecuador's Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner speaks at Perry World House.

Ecuador’s vice president talks biodiversity protection

Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner spoke to a packed Perry World House about protecting the environment while balancing economic growth.

Kristen de Groot

Learning civil discourse and open-mindedness from high schoolers
gse student at carver high school

Learning civil discourse and open-mindedness from high schoolers

In the city’s first regional Ethics Bowl, facilitated by Penn philosopher Karen Detlefsen and Graduate School of Education doctoral student Dustin Webster, six local teams competed for a chance at Nationals.

Michele W. Berger

On the condition of alienage for refugees
rendering of silhouettes of refugees walking with children and a few possessions.

On the condition of alienage for refugees

Eilidh Beaton, doctoral candidate in philosophy, argues for the reconsideration of the alienage condition for refugee status.

Penn Today Staff

Paideia’s spring course offerings highlight wellness, service, and citizenship
A group of students sit on the lawn under a cherry blossom tree on College Green.

Paideia’s spring course offerings highlight wellness, service, and citizenship

The first four courses offered to Penn undergraduates as part of the new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program will focus on passion, civility, effective communication, and a deep dive into American Chinatowns.

Kristen de Groot

The human driver
self driving car

The human driver

As the ability to harness the power of artificial intelligence grows, so does the need to consider the difficult decisions and trade-offs humans make all the time about privacy, bias, ethics, and safety.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

The programming ethos
michael kearns recording a podcast

Aaron Roth, left, and Michael Kearns, right, discuss their new book “The Ethical Algorithm.”

The programming ethos

In a podcast conversation, Penn professors Michael Kearns, Aaron Roth, and Lisa Miracchi discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence.
Polarization can happen even when rational people listen to each other
A cartoon drawing of six people. Two are holding megaphones, one is holding a sign that says "Yes," one is holding a sign that says "No," and one is holding a cane.

Polarization can happen even when rational people listen to each other

Using computer models, philosopher Daniel J. Singer, political scientist William Berger, and colleagues found that divides over factual issues can stem from humans’ limited memory capacity rather than from one side or the other being irrational.

Michele W. Berger

Historical treasures of ‘most talented woman in 20th-century philosophy’ come to Penn
Three people standing over a book in a library setting.

Philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe was both a divisive figure and one of the most important female philosophical minds of her time. Notebooks filled with old postcards and scrawled responses, like those viewed here by graduate student Paul Musso (left), associate professor Errol Lord, and graduate student Marie Barnett, reveal Anscombe’s thought process as she corresponds with Anthony Kenny, a philosopher and priest, about God and faith.

Historical treasures of ‘most talented woman in 20th-century philosophy’ come to Penn

On loan from the Collegium Institute, an archive of materials written to and by Elizabeth Anscombe will be at the Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections for the next three years.

Michele W. Berger

‘Can we change social norms?’
NPR

‘Can we change social norms?’

Cristina Bicchieri of the School of Arts and Sciences joins a philosophical discussion about the possibility of changing social norms.