Program & Schedule 2014

5th Moravian Undergraduate Philosophy Conference

All rooms located in Haupert Union Building (HUB)

8:15-8:45 Registration
HUB Lounge 

8:45-9:00 Welcome and Announcements
The Snyder Room, HUB
Dr. Jim Skalnik

9:00-10:10 Panel 1: Metaphors and Epistemology 
The Snyder Room, HUB
Chair: Dr. Cantens

  • Melanie Peternel, (Marywood University)
    Three Interpretations of Metaphor: A Comparison of Theories Presented by Black, Davidson, and Walton
  • Katie Makoski (Moravian University)
    St. Thomas Aquinas on the use of Metaphor in Scripture
  • Joshua D. Steinberg (Kutztown University)
    Truth or Incoherence

10:15-11:25 Panel 2: Ethics 
The Snyder Room, HUB
Chair Dr. Naraghi

  • Monica Perone (Moravian University)
    College Hard Determinism Prevails, Compatible With Moral Responsibility 
  • Grace Morrissey (Marywood University)
    Are You Necessarily Irrational If You Are Not Motivated by Your Own Normative Claims?
  • Connor Stone (Moravian University)
    A Critique of Peter Abelard’s Ethics

11:30-12:35 Panel 3: Philosophy of Religion
The Snyder Room, HUB
Chair Dr. Harold Weiss 

  • Colton Carlisle (Northampton Community College)
    Arguing God's Existence Via Monadology
  • Meagan Ackerman (Northampton Community College)
    The Tao of Pooh
  • Kelsey Oliva (Muhlenberg College)
    Religion: To Question or Not to Question

12:45-1:45 Lunch
The Pavilion, HUB

1:45-2:00 Department Awards
Snyder Room, HUB

2:00-3:00 Plenary Talk
Snyder Room, HUB
Evolution is a Fact because it is the Best Theory
Dr. Ted Schick, Muhlenberg College

3:10-4:30 Panel 4 (A): Ancient Philosophy
The UBC Room, HUB
Chair: Dr. Falla

  • Andrew Edward (Nyack College)
    Elementary: The Epistle to the Hebrews and Plato
  • Michael Vazquez (Villanova University)
    Re-thinking ‘Cause’: A Logic of the Eidos
  • Edwina Picon (Johns Hopkins University)
    Are American Relativism, Objectivity, and Pragmatism Related to Ancient Greek  Philosophy?

3:10-4:30 Panel 4 (B): On the Existence of God
The Snyder Room, HUB
Chair: Katie Makoski 

  • William Kelly (Temple University)
    Unintelligent Design: Why God Probably Doesn’t Exist
  • Tom DePietro (University of Delaware)
    Does Early Universe Cosmology Render God Unnecessary?
  • Steven Deemer (Northampton Community College)
    Swap God for a Janitor Rot in a Jar of Dog Paws
  • Christian Lusareta (Northampton Community College)
    A Critique of Descartes’ Ontological Argument

4:35-5:55 Panel 5: Applied Ethics and Emotion
The UBC Room, HUB
Chair: Dr. Moeller

  • Benjamin Croll (Muhlenberg College)
    A Conflict of Interests: Understanding Duty, Obligation, and Benevolence in Healthcare 
  • Katherine Passmore (Northampton Community College)
    Depression: Artistic Enhancement or a Disease? 
  • Jessa Wood (Bloomsburg University)
    An Examination of Disgust and its Relation to Morality
  • Jeta Mulaj, (Villanova University)
    Democracy Promotion as a Political Project Rethinking Democracy as Non-Governmental

4:35-5:55 Panel 5 (B): Philosophy of Leibniz
The Snyder Room, HUB
Chair: Connor Stone 

  • Joshua Maskornick (Northampton Community College)
    Analyzing Leibniz and his Reasoning for God
  • Leon Manuel (Northampton Community College)
    Leibniz’s Matrix
  • Andrew Beal (Northampton Community College)
    Leibniz' Arguments for the Existence of God in the Monadology

5:55 Closing Remarks

 

Program Coordinators: Monica Perone 2016, Brian Welsko 2014, Connor Stone 2014, Katie Makoski 2014, Kasey Smith 2014, and Zachery Molchany 2016