UT students and faculty gathered in McClung Tower Monday night to attend the Philosophy Department’s first lecture of the year with guest speaker Neil Sinhababu and his presentation entitled “Ethical Reductionism.”
Having previously attended Harvard University, Sinhababu received his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Texas, Austin, in 2008 and is currently an assistant professor of philosophy at the National University of Singapore, where he specializes in ethics and meta-ethics. Sinhababu has published many articles and dissertations on morality, epistemology and psychological thought and is continuing to travel to various universities sharing his views and perspectives on philosophical issues.
“This is a talk on how to be a naturalistic moral realist,” Sinhababu stated at the start of his lecture. The professor then discussed two main ideals central to the philosophical discussion of ethics — that of reductionism and that of non-reductionism, both of which are studied in UT philosophy classes.
Also in attendance at the lecture was Assistant Professor of philosophy E. J. Coffman, who, after the lecture, further explained the two ideas.
“Reductionism deals with whether ethics or moral concepts are the same as other respectable scientific ethics, while non-reductionism states that moral ethics and scientific ethics are entirely separate entities…This is central to ethics,” Coffman said.
In other words, reductionism believes that moral ethics can be reduced to scientific principles, while non-reductionism does not.
The views presented by the reductionist-non-reductionist debate are introduced at the undergraduate level to all philosophy students at UT, many of whom return as graduate students to continue their studies at a more advanced, research-minded level.
“This issue (on reductionism versus non-reductionism) is really abstract, and your position on this could impact your life,” Coffman said, affirming that your opinions on ethics and morality, in turn, affect how you plan and live your day-to-day life.
Around 30 people attended the lecture, the majority of whom were UT philosophy professors and graduate students.
“It was an exceptional turnout for a philosophy talk,” Coffman stated, especially since, he added, the lecture was held so late in the day at 6:30 p.m., whereas most philosophy discussions are held between 3-5 p.m.
The Philosophy Department is continuing its growth at UT, as this year alone, it has hired three more professors and has doubled the number of majors it offers. The department hosts about one lecture or presentation every couple of weeks, generally in either McClung Tower or — if the audience is expected to be large — in the Shiloh Room in the UC.
Visiting speakers for Philosophy Department lecture presentations are chosen one of three ways: either because of their involvement in a weekend conference, a professor would like to incorporate them in a course he or she is teaching, or — in the case with Sinhababu — the departmental staff has become acquainted with the speakers over the years and asks them to present.
Coffman added, “It was actually an accident that Neil spoke tonight,” but because of the friendship between the two professors and the department’s acquaintance with him, Sinhababu was more than pleased to speak.
Overall, the lecture proved to be a success for the Philosophy Department.
“Here at UT, we try to cultivate good citizens so that they can serve and develop to help make the world a better place,” Coffman said. “That weighs largely on moral views … (reductionism versus non-reductionism) was the perfect topic to talk about.”
The Philosophy Department hopes to continue its growth as a part of UT’s intellectual and cultural atmosphere. The next departmental lecture is set for Oct. 17, in 1210 McClung Tower, where speaker Melinda Roberts will be presenting her discussion entitled, “The Asymmetry: A Solution.”
