St. Edward's University Department of Philosophy

04/23/2026

The St. Edward's University Philosophy Department is gathering at Cosmic Pickle; we will grab a table or two, y'all are welcome to come join us. The Cosmic Pickle (Cosmic Hospitality Group) just off of South Congress and Pickle Road near campus. We will meet Friday, May 08; roughly noon to 2 pm. Feel free to come and go, or stay much later. You will have to purchase your own beer, coffee, soda, snacks etc. as the Department has no budget. (My apologies!)
For those who have never visited Cosmic Pickle, there is a great deal of outdoor space, food trucks are usually nearby, and craft beer. Feel free to invite students, friends, etc. Hoping to see you there!

08/16/2025

Looking for first-gen college Philosophy BA's who'd let me know if their story from SEU and beyond could be included in a SEU alumni magazine article. If you're willing, email me at [email protected] and we'll go from there. Thanks!

05/08/2025

Philosophy alumni, come meet the PHIL majors graduating this year! Your philosophy faculty and those majors will be at Cosmic (121 Pickle Road #121) tomorrow, Friday, May 9th from 1-3pm CST. Come join us and feel free to buy anyone a drink! (And now that there's no live conflict of interest, buy your professors two!)

04/17/2025

SEU alum, philosophy and psychology major, attorney Rina Gandhi, was on CNN today to talk about her client, a Maryland man, illegally deported by the Trump Administration. See her CNN interview for how she rocks! (At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYMbXJS6bF0).

Rina Gandhi, attorney for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, reacts to standoff between US District Judge Paula Xinis and Depa...

04/08/2025

Hey PHIL major alumni! The Faculty Senate had more than half of the profs vote on endorsing the Chicago Statement on free speech. 90% voted to endorse it and 85% want to add it to the Faculty Manual. Yippie! However, it still needs President and Board approval to go in that Manual. What would you say to them, if you had an audience, about why they should formally place it in the Manual? Send me your two cents. Thanks! Jack. (For the actual statement, see https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/model-freedom-expression-resolution-based-university-chicago-statement).

Home Research & Learn Contents Table of Contents Share Share with Email Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Print Model Freedom of Expression Resolution Based on University of Chicago Statement Because [INSTITUTION] is committed to free and open inquiry in all matters, it guarantees all members of th...

12/13/2024

Some brief reflections on murder and health care, from a bioethicist (at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/opinion/united-healthcare-shooting-brian-thompson.html).

Our broken system can test us, but it shouldn’t break our morals.

11/28/2024

Could the Democrats read Rawls and come back in 2026? Maybe, though anyone who took Mark Cherry's political philosophy Senior Seminar is probably thinking "Don't. Just don't." (See https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/24/opinion/democratic-party-progressives-john-rawls.html).

The theories of the 20th-century philosopher John Rawls can inspire a new way for Democrats to find relevance.

10/14/2024

Calling all alumni! We're making a short video (maybe five minutes) to link to the department web page and would love to have one of y'all (for about a minute) talk about how your major informs your life and work! Email me (at [email protected]) if you're free this week for a remote five-minute video recording. Thanks! Jack

08/26/2024

https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/25/stephen-wolfram-thinks-we-need-philosophers-working-on-big-questions-around-ai/?fbclid=IwY2xjawE5pOZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQ51iVmaRYoTqRowhqO6JwaF1w7JK8Y6n6BWO-_Gn8WVB-BXVZH4OjJp5w_aem_IwqKcABN-l1Cz8yq5xXxUw

As AI developers and others start to think more deeply about how computers and people intersect, Stephan Wolfram says it is becoming a much more of a philosophical exercise

08/11/2024

https://asiatimes.com/2024/08/philosophy-is-crucial-in-the-age-of-ai/

New scientific understanding and engineering techniques have always impressed and frightened. No doubt they will continue to. OpenAI recently announced

05/21/2024

https://hbr.org/2024/04/why-engineers-should-study-philosophy?ab=HP-hero-latest-text-1&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2m7Bih-0Z8F-EsBhtyjR4JsjsFBBBQWeHoSuSqzOmH-huRFG2YiWYRjZA_aem_ARo4DXs_igVeB_G7MEYs0QwH9DTdlnK0_XT6AZjNfszXR-WfLIkKZBq16zhUitXXqgCA9cNtex619Gq2hG-5lSSy

The ability to develop crisp mental models around the problems you want to solve and understanding the why before you start working on the how is an increasingly critical skill, especially in the age of AI. Coding is one of the things AI does best and its capabilities are quickly improving. However,...