Fredonia, N.Y. — Sept. 16, 2008 — Department of Philosophy Assistant Professor Andrew Cullison will present a talk entitled, “A Puzzle about Scientific Knowledge” as part of SUNY Fredonia’s Brown Bag Lecture Series on Wed., Oct. 1, at 12:00 p.m. in S-121 of the Williams Center. The event is free and open to all campus and community members.
In this talk, Dr. Cullison will begin by noting that a distinguishing feature of science is that it is an empirical discipline that only accepts hypotheses that have been tested through observation based on the senses. He will then discuss issues that arise from attempts to justify the common belief that this scientific method is a reasonable method for forming beliefs about the world. He will also argue that these puzzles may force us, even the scientist, to accept that there is some non-empirical knowledge.
Dr. Andrew Cullison received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rochester in 2006, where he wrote his dissertation on questions of foundational moral knowledge. His primary research interests include contemporary epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of religion. His work has appeared in Philosophical Studies and Philosophia Christi.
Dr. Cullison began teaching at SUNY Fredonia in the fall of 2007, and has since started the university’s Young Philosophers’ Lecture Series and organized SUNY Fredonia's first Ethics Bowl Team. He is also one of the advisors for the Fredonia Philosophical Society.
The Brown Bag Lecture series, sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities, offers informal talks on the first Wednesday of each academic month, October through May, featuring new creative and scholarly work by members of the SUNY Fredonia faculty. Each 30-minute talk and/or presentation is followed by a brief discussion. Refreshments will be served, and all members of the campus and community are welcome to attend. Classes are also welcomed.
For more information on the lecture series, please contact series director Natalie Gerber.
Upcoming speakers for Fall semester:
Nov. 5: Eric Meringer (Dept. of History) --"Educational Access in the Development of the Indigenous Rights Movement in Latin America. (2008-09 Convocation Series event).
Dec. 3: "A Roundtable on the 2008 U. S. Presidential Election: Reflections, Lessons, and Implications." Featuring Linda Brigance (Communications dept.) David Rankin (political science dept.) and Jacqueline Swansinger (history dept.). Respondent: Jeanette McVicker (English dept.).
