The Royal Society of Canada has announced some new appointments of Philosophy Department members.

Will Kymlicka, Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy at Queen's, has received the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada's (SSHRC) highest research honour, the Gold Medal.

The Gold Medal is awarded to an individual whose sustained leadership, dedication and originality of thought have inspired students and colleagues alike. Will has won the medal for his groundbreaking work on the link between democracy and diversity which has advanced knowledge on models of citizenship and social justice within multicultural societies.

PhD Candidate Michael Tremblay has recently published two papers:

“Akrasia in Epictetus: A Comparison with Aristotle”, Apeiron: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science (Forthcoming).

“Digestion and Moral Progress in Epictetus”, Journal of Ancient Philosophy 13(1): 100-119.

For more information on Michael's work, visit his website.

In the past few years, the Department of Philosophy has added a number of permanent faculty. We're introducing them one by one through short interviews. Today we meet Lisa Guenther.

How did you become interested in philosophy? And then what happened to make you realize that you were on the path to becoming a philosopher?

Rahul Kumar was on Ontario Today talking about the ethical dimensions of the Don Cherry affair, including the moral norms of friendship.

Congratulations to students who have successfully defended their theses! Students who have recently completed degrees are:

Jeremy Butler, PhD, Democracy, Instrumentalism, and Power as a Trust: On the Foundations of Political Instrumentalism

Alex Cousins, MA, Reason, Agency and the Malaise of Mental Health

Alisha Sharma, MA, An Exploration of Coloniality and Decolonial Violence: Towards a Loving, Resurgent War

Will Kymlicka was a CBC in-studio guest for Alan Neal's All in a Day program. Kymlicka was being interviewed for having won the SSHRC Gold Medal for his research.

Kerah Gordon-Solmon has a new article in the journal Philosophy and Public Affairs. While contractualism seems to resolve some morally fraught conflicts well, it does less well in situations where the conflicts involve substantial risks and benefits. Kerah proposes a novel solution to the problem, by drawing out the core thoughts behind contractualism. The article was workshopped at the Queen’s Political Philosophy Reading Group. 

The Queen's Department of Philosophy has been really fortunate to hire several new philosophers over the past few years. Joining the department this year is Professor Meena Krishnamurthy, who has moved to Queen's from the University of Michigan.

On January 29, the Department of Philosophy’s Equity Committee hosted a panel event on philosophical and legal questions concerning hate speech in Canada. With over 40 undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members from across Queen’s attending, the event was a tremendous success.

The panelists were Meena Krishnamurthy, assistant professor in Philosophy, Wendy Phillips, elder-in-residence in the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, and Jacob Weinrib, assistant professor in Law. Sofie Vlaad, an MA student in Philosophy, moderated the session.