Upcoming Events!

John Dupré
Professor of Philosophy of Science and Director of Egenis, University of Exeter
The New Philosophy of Nature

As philosophers of biology have focused increasingly on the details of biological science, attempts to integrate the insights which this has provided into a wider philosophy of nature have become unfashionable. However this is unfortunate, because in fact recent biology has transformed our understanding of nature in ways that are insufficiently appreciated. These lectures will begin to articulate a philosophy of nature illuminated by the remarkable findings of recent biology.
Individual lectures will focus on important categories of biological objects (or processes!) as follows:

15th May: Molecules
22nd May: Microbes
29th May: Macrobes
5th June: Systems

The lectures will take place at 5.15 pm in the Miall Lecture Theatre, Baines Wing.

Click here for more details.

Upcoming Events!

Darwin200 plans to celebrate the impact that Darwin's ideas about evolution, as well as his approach to the understanding of the natural world and his outstanding example as a scientist, continue to have on our lives. The celebrations are centred on Darwin’s 200th birthday in February 2009, but will begin in July 2008 by commemorating 150 years since Darwin first presented his theory to fellow scientists. Darwin200 events will build up to November 2009, which is the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

Click here for more details.

Research volenteers needed by Sam Harris (Harvard University)! We are preparing to run another fMRI study of belief and disbelief, and we need volunteers to help us refine our experimental stimuli. This promises to be the first study of religious faith at the level of the brain. By responding to the four surveys I have posted online, you can make an enormous contribution to this work.

Click here for details.

It has been decided that The Summer Social will take place on Sunday 13th July, 3.00 - 7.00pm at 36 Oak Dene Close, Pudsey.

Click here for map.

Upcoming Event!

Slavoj Zizek will be delivering a lecture based on his latest book
Violence at the University of Leeds, Mar 18. While discussing uses and
misuses of violence in its various forms (Subjective and Objective),
he makes a case for eschewing religion as the basis for political
action. He has also come out in defence of Atheism as a legacy of
Europe worth fighting for
(http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/13/opinion/edzizek.php).

Details of the talk.

Žižek: THE LECTURE!

Slavoj Žižek - "The (Mis)uses of Violence"
Tuesday 18 March
5:30pm - 8:00pm
Conference Auditorium 1 (behind sports centre)
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT

Slavoj Žižek is an (in)famous cultural theorist, philosopher,
psychoanalytical tour de force. Referred to as the "Elvis of Cultural
Theory" and "The Marx Brother" he charismatically and provocatively
examines popular culture using the unlikely pairing of German idealist
philosophy and French psychoanalysis.

Author of numerous books, and the star of his own movie, Žižek! (Dir.
Astra Taylor 2005) and the Channel 4 TV Series The Pervert's Guide To
Cinema, Žižek combines great intellect with a passionate delivery
style and regularly draws huge audiences at prestigious venues across
the world.

On Tuesday March 18th, he is talking at the University of Leeds about
his latest book Violence (Profile Books 2008)

Admission to the event is free - all staff, students and alumni are
welcome!

Schedule

5:30pm - Žižek on Screen, A compilation of Zizek's TV appearances.

6:00 pm - Welcome, Prof. Margaret Atack
University of Leeds Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research.

6:05 pm - "Why Žižek? Why Now?", Dr. Paul A. Taylor
ICS, University of Leeds & Editor of the International Journal of Žižek
Studies.

6:15pm - "The (Mis)uses of Violence", Prof. Slavoj Žižek

7:15pm - Question and Answer session


Links

Details of his Channel 4 TV Series The Pervert's Guide To Cinema
http://www.thepervertsguide.com/

Žižek! (the movie)
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/film.php?directoryname=zizek

The International Journal of Žižek Studies
http://zizekstudies.org/

Map of the Conference Auditorium - it is building no. 33 at the bottom
of the map.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/timetable/assets/map/index.htm

It has been decided that The Summer Social will take place on Sunday 13th July, 3.00 - 7.00pm at 36 Oak Dene Close, Pudsey.

Click here for map.