Through the Symposium, Siena has had the honor of hosting a remarkable series of distinguished philosophers, including David Chalmers, Richard Rorty, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Judith Butler. Each year’s distinguished philosopher visits campus at the beginning of the Symposium to meet with students and deliver a public lecture. At the end of the semester, they participate in a public panel discussion where the Symposium students share their scholarly work with the distinguished philosopher. There are two additional public lectures by philosophers whose work critically engages with the work of the featured philosopher.
The Symposium provides a transformative experience for our students, who not only have the chance to interact directly with some of the most influential philosophers, but also get to construct and defend their own positions on cutting-edge topics and issues that define contemporary philosophy.
The Distinguished Philosopher Symposium was made possible by a generous gift from Dr. Christopher P. Gibson and Mrs. Mary Jo Gibson.
The Spring 2025 Distinguished Philosopher:
Dr. Miranda Fricker of New York University
Dr. Fricker is known for her pioneering work on epistemic injustice— the special kind of injustice suffered by people as members in the information economy. All of us, as social beings, want to be able to give and receive information. But not all people have fair access to this information economy. Sometimes, for instance, a person’s testimony or advice is given less weight because of their race or their gender. When that happens, that is an example of epistemic injustice. The first part of the Spring 2025 Distinguished Philosopher Symposium will focus on epistemic injustice—its types, its causes, and ways to address it. The final part of the seminar will focus on Dr. Fricker’s more recent scholarship in moral psychology—specifically, her work on the role of blame and forgiveness in the good life.
Register for Seminar Course
Students who are interested in registering for the seminar as a spring 2025 course should speak to their philosophy professors or contact Dr. Tony Manela, Chair of the Philosophy Department.
Lecture Date
Dr. Fricker will give a public lecture on Siena’s campus
Date: Thursday, January 30
Time: 4:30 to 6:00pm.
Topic: epistemic injustice.
This talk will be of interest to anyone concerned about identifying and addressing injustice. It will be of special interest to students and faculty in Philosophy, Criminal Justice Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Social Work, Communications, Education, Health Studies, Psychology, Race and Ethnic Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. A title and more information about Dr. Fricker’s talk will be available in late 2024.
Reading Group
The Philosophy Department will host a reading group prior to Dr. Fricker’s visit to introduce faculty to the major themes of her work. This reading group is open to faculty in all departments at Siena who might be interested in epistemic injustice. We are also happy to work with faculty members in any department to help them incorporate themes from Dr. Fricker’s lecture into their curricula. If you are interested in our pre-lecture reading group, please contact Dr. Melissa Rees.