59th WCPA-CSEP Meeting: UBC Vancouver

Meeting on traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam people

WCPA & CSEP welcome you to a weekend of friendly, insightful and creative philosophical discussion! Buchanan Building, A, B and D blocks

Coffee room: Buchanan D324

No registration or fees – all are welcome. Name-tags for presenters can be found outside Friday keynote session/coffee room Saturday, or possibly earlier.

Organizing team: Sophie Au, Sylvia Berryman, Alex Bryant, Alexander Jewell, Michael Jimenez, Chris Stephens, Michelle Tobias, Jennifer Welchman, Jenna Yuzwa, Erika Yep

Special thanks for financial assistance: UBC Philosophy Department, Centre for Applied Ethics, Arts Workshop Grant

Emergency contacts:

UBC Campus Security: 604-822-2222 (building access, emergencies)

Sylvia Berryman: 778-881-4227 Chris Stephens: 604-724-0913

AuthorsTitleCommentatorRoomChair
Friday 2-4.15
2-4.15Jen Foster, Jonathan Ichikawa and Emily TiltonPANEL: Ethics of Belief and Moral PsychologyBuch B219Note room change
2-3pmAlisabeth AyarsReason, Inclination, and the Ground of Moral WorthBruno GuindonBuch B312Andrew Allison
3.15-4.15Andrew AllisonEvery Man Has His Price… And His Dignity: Value Pluralism and a Price for EverythingPeter DietschBuch B312Alisabeth Ayars
2-3pmDominic Alford-Duguid and Tashi Alford-DuguidPrivacy at the Limits of ControlChelsea RosenthalBuch B313Ivy Spector
3.15-4.15Manuela UngureanuHistoriography of the Former Soviet Bloc and Totalitarianism Theory: Might new approaches to institutions help break the deadlock?Cindy HolderBuch B313Chelsea Rosenthal
CSEP moved to Sunday morning
2-3pmTyler PaetkauReasoned Resistance: Inductive Risk and Vaccine Hesitancy among Healthcare WorkersJenna YuzwaBUCH D218Jade Hadley
3.15-4.15Alyssa Izatt and Kimberley BrownleeA Protocol for Treating Impregnated Children like Saviour-Siblings: On the Provision of Abortion as Adequate CareColin MacleodBuch D218Tyler Paetkau
2-3pmFarid SaberiA Case for Transcendental Optimism: Comparing Feminist and Realist Philosophies of ScienceAlison WylieBuch B315Matthew Smithdeal
3.15-4.15Angella YamamotoHow To Ask Biologists Metaphysical Questions Without Explaining MetaphysicsDaniel SaundersBuch B315Farid Saberi
WCPA keynoteWelcome, Graduate Student Essay Prize: Elias Yuan (Calgary)
4.30-6Endre BegbySignal-to-Noise: Toward an Alternative Account of the “Fake News” PhenomenonBUCH A201Chris Stephens
Reception 6-7Buchanan A
Saturday morning 9-12.30coffee/muffins Buchanan D324
9-12.30Margaret Schabas, François Claveau, Colin Macleod and Peter DietschPANEL: Recent Topics in the Philosophy of EconomicsBuch D229
9-12.30Jennifer Welchmann, Michel-Antoine Xhignesse, John Dyck and James YoungPANEL: Author Meets Critics on James Young’s A History of Western Philosophy of MusicBuch D 221
9-12.30Dwayne Moore, Neil Campbell, John Lemos and Ishi HajiPANEL: Recent Issues in Free WillBuch D204
9-12.30Peter Alward, Christopher Viger, Manuela Ungureanu, Elizabeth Stoll, Henry JackmanPANEL: Metaphysics of LanguageBuch D228Patrick Rysiew
9-10amLogan GintherEpicurus on Deathbed Pangs of ConscienceEmily LawsonBuch D205Siranat Thamtrachai
10.15-11.15Siranat ThamtrachaiThe Transformation for Wholeness and the Transcendence of Ideal Love in Aristophanes’ SpeechSarah Hogarth RossiterBuch D205Logan Ginther
11.30- 12.30Sherif SalemAgainst the Logicians: Ibn Taymiyya’s Rejection of the Aristotelian Theory of DefinitionHassan MasoudBuch D205Sarah Hogarth Rossiter
9-10amLaurence BlommeAgreement Within the Disagreement on Defining LifeMukund MaithaniBuch D214Clarisse Paron
10.15-11.15Clarisse ParonAre the New American Pediatric Obesity Guidelines Eugenic? Evidence of FatphobiaAlyssa IzattBuch D214Larry Bloome
11.30-12.30Avontay WilliamsThe Ethics of Blood Donation: It’s in you to GiveNeha NandakumarBUCH D214Mukund Maithani
9-10amKousaku YuiThe Dogma of the Conscious SelfTyeson Davies-BartonBuch D207Eric Hockstein
10.15-11.15Eric HochsteinAre There Two Distinct Projects of Naturalism Regarding Mental Representation?Elena HolmgrenBuch D207Julia Minarik
11.30- 12.30Julia MinarikThe imaginative limitations of text-to-image generatorsJing ChangBuch D207Kousaku Yui
9-10amSophia KimiagariLogical Nihilism: Where the Disagreement Stems fromShamima AkterBuch D213Mark Battersby
10.15-11.15Mark BattersbyPractical Rationality: Critical Questions for Rational Decision MakingBuğra SagsenBuch D213Cindy Holder
11.30- 12.30Adam JacksonMitigating Bias: A Wittgensteinian PedagogyJade HadleyBuch D213Sophia Kimiagari
9-10amKent PeacockThe Last Loophole in Bell’s Theorem? A prima facie problem with superdeterminism.Richard JohnsBuch D 216Elias Yuan
10.15-11.15Elias YuanWhat is an Answer without a Question?: Context Should be Considered when Determining Explanatory PowerAngella YamamotoBuch D 216Richard Johns
11.30- 12.30Milos MihajloivcOn Woodward’s Causation with Human FaceRonaldo ShresthaBuch D 216Angella Yamamoto
9-10amScott WoodcockA Puzzle for Epistemic PartialismGurpreet RattanBuch D201Saila Jubara
10.15-11.15Naila JubaraHermeneutical conflict and epistemic rutsAlex BryantBuch D201Gurpreet Rattan
11.30- 12.30Brandon BeasleyFrom Pragmatism About Content to Pluralism About IntentionalityRon WillburnBuch D201Scott Woodcock
Saturday lunch break 12.30-2
12.30-2Matthew Smithdeal, Jas Heaton, Alison Wylie, Kristin Conrad Kilgallen, Cam GilbertDiversity, Equity, Inclusiveness in Philosophy: The Philosophy Exception ProjectBuch D229
12.30-2John Miller, Carrie Jenkins, Anna Cook, Jorge Sanchez-PerezTeaching, Place, and PowerBuch D324Robin Roberts
Saturday pm 2-4.15
2-4.15Elizabeth Brake, Macy Salzberger, Carrie Jenkins, Kimberley BrownleePANEL: Relationship wrongsBuch D228
2-4.15Eric Wilkinson and Ritam ChakrabortyPANEL: Moral Epistemology PanelBuch D229
2-4.15Chelsea Rosenthal, Kino Zhao and Sun-ha HongPANEL: New Concerns Regarding Decision-Making by AlgorithmBuch D201
2-3pmChris Tillman and Joshua SpencerScience, Fiction: Creatures of fiction, legend, science, and imaginationChris MoleBuch D205Peter Alward
3.15-4.15Peter AlwardCharacters and Their NamesEmma EsmailiBuch D205Chris Mole
2-3pmEmer O’HaganThe Rationality of Grief’s DemiseJelena MarkovicBuch D214Eileen Wang
3.15-4.15Eileen WangVirtues and Control: On the Proper Grounds of Reactive LoveIvy MaddenBuch D214Emer O’Hagan
2-3pmJonathan IchikawaHow Racist is Racist?Jorge Sanchez PerezBuch D221Madeleine Ransom
3.15-4.15Madeleine Ransom and Albert CotugnoPerceiving RaceKathleen AkinsBuch D221Jonathan Ichikawa
2-3pmDavid ScottDoubts on Descartes’ “Curb-Your-Enthusiasm” Theory of Right ThinkingAmy SchmitterBuch D204Nicholas Michieli
3.15-4.15Nicholas MichieliThe Leibnizian Problem of Monadic AggregationDavid ScottBuch D204Amy Schmitter
2-3pmBernard LinskyA Note on “The Principle of Contradiction and Symbolic Logic” Lukasiewicz 1910Kent PeacockBuch D207Nic Fillion
3.15-4.15Katalin BimboChurch’s paradoxNicolas FillionBuch D207Kent Peacock
2-3pmShamima AkterDefending Russell’s Theory of Definite Descriptions against the Objection Arising from the Argument from IncompletenessYangyang WangBuch D213Hao Yang
3.15-4.15Felix Amaya-SpornitzTolerance and KindsHao YangBuch D213Shamima Akter
CSEP KeynotePassing of the Baton
4.30-6Brett BuchananHow to Talk about How Animals Talk: An Ethical & Ethological ForayBuch A201Jennifer Welchman
Reception 6-7Buchanan A
Sunday 9am-12.30coffee/muffins Buchanan D324
9-12.30Alex Bryant, Alison Wylie, Emily Tilton, Karoline PaierPANEL: “Standpoint Theory: Formations, Contestations, Legacies” Podcast LaunchBuch D204
9-10amSamuel Carlsson TjernströmSubstantializing The Metaphysics of Doxastic WrongingJacob SchwartzBuch D221Daniel Munro
10.15-11.15Daniel MunroConspiracy Theories as Emotionally Satisfying NarrativesCihan CapanBuch D221Ella Zhang
11.30-12.30Miriam KhanEpistemic Resistance and Objectification: Considerations for Sexual Agency and the Harm of PornographyElla ZhangBuch D221Jacob Schwartz
9-10amNathaniel DansereauOntology and Being in Nietzsche and HeraclitusAbdulrahman BajodahBuch D201Luis Melo de Andrade Lima
10.15-11.15Luis Eduardo Melo de Andrade LimaFoucault’s neglected reading of Adam Smith: a critique of Foucault’s views on the homo economicusLaurent DobuzinskisBuch D201Abdulrahman Bajodah
11.30-12.30Joseph CarewThree Models of a Secular Religion in HegelTrevell Hamilton-FrederickBuch D201Nathaniel Dansereau
9-10amEric WilkinsonLogical RationalismPaul BarthaBuch D205Anthony Rowden
10.15-11.15Tyler WarkThe Argument from Inquiry for Pragmatic EncroachmentEmily TiltonBuch D205Paul Bartha
11.30-12.30Anthony RowdenConciliationism Is Still Too Demanding: A DilemmaSamuel Carlsson TjernströmBuch D205Tyler Wark
9-10amScott AndersonA Pragmatic Field Guide for Distinguishing Conditional Threats and OffersElla ZhangBuch D207Matt Bedke
10.15-11.15Javier Gomez-Lavin and Matthew RacharBetter Together: An empirical investigation of strategic interaction and shared agencyDaniel SaundersBuch D207K.T. Falvey
11.30-12.30K. T. FalveyOn Knowing What I’ve DoneMatt BedkeBuch D207Daniel Saunders
9-10amRichard JohnsCausality and Determination: the order of existenceElias YuanBuch D209Mojtaba Soltani
10.15-11.15Noa LathamFundamental Dynamical Laws and Initial ConditionsKino ZhaoBuch D209Richard Johns
11.30-12.30Bryson BrownAchilles, van Fraassen and the Laws of NatureMojtaba SoltaniBuch D209Noa Latham
9-10amHolly LongairConceptualizing Relations of Equality in Relational EgalitarianismSusan DielemanBuch D213Chrysogonus Okwenna
10.15-11.15Chrysogonus OkwennaAutonomy Crisis in Medicine and the Liberal-welfarist InterventionEvan CaveBuch D213Erik Severson
11.30-12.30Connor CosgroveOnce More Unto the Breach: On Emancipatory InterestErik SeversonBuch D213Susan Dieleman
9-10amHoward Nye, Maddie Youngman and Avontay WilliamsStrategic Collective Action and the Proportionality of Reasons to Expected BenefitsFrançois ClaveauBuch D216Cam Gilbert
10.15-11.15Setareh EzzatabadiRelational Autonomy and Oppressive Socialization; Toward an Externalist Account of Personal AutonomyJasper HeatonBuch D216François Claveau
11.30-12.30Yanjie DingThe Significance of Hope for Social Movement Mobilization RevisitedCam GilbertBuch D216Jas Heaton
9-10amJorge Sanchez-PerezCSEP: The Philosophical Basis for Andean Environmental Philosophy: Sumak Kawsay and the Grounding of ExistenceJennifer WelchmanBuch D217
10.15-11.15Jennifer WelchmanAesthetics of Last Chance TourismJennifer IngleBuch D217
11.30-12.30Jodi NewmanCSEP: More Than Climate Anxiety: Youth and the Moral Injury of Climate ChangeAnn LeveyBuch D217Jennifer Welchman
9-10amNeha NandakumarThe Role of ‘Importance’ in Friendship and the SelfMete Han GencerBuch D218Willow Verkerk
10.15-11.15Madeline YoungmanTowards a Lesbian Phenomenology: How Lesbians ‘Queer’ Relationship DynamicsWillow VerkerkBuch D218Neha Nandakumar
11.30-12.30Evan CavePluralism About Aesthetic ValueAlex KingBuch D218Mete Han Gercer

CfP: WCPA-CSEP 2023 Joint Meeting, Vancouver, October 20–22

WCPA 2023: Western Canadian Philosophical Association, held jointly with
CSEP 2023: Canadian Society for Environmental Philosophy

2023 Buchanan D Block, University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada, October 20-22, 2023

  • Abstract registration deadline July 15, 2023
  • Submission deadline July 15, 2023 Topics: philosophy environmental philosophy

Western Canadian Philosophical Association stands for a group of philosophy departments in Western Canada who have been passing the ‘baton’ for half a century to host an annual philosophy conference, usually in late October. UBC is pleased to host this year.

Canadian Society for Environmental Philosophy meets with WCPA for several years now and invites submissions on topics in environmental philosophy.

Keynote speakers to be announced at a later date.

UBC is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.

Submission Guidelines

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. The following paper categories are welcome:

Full papers are welcome on any topic in academic philosophy, approximately 3000 words, 30 minutes reading time. Please precede papers with an abstract of up to 100 words. Papers on environmental philosophy will be considered as submissions to Canadian Society for Environmental Philosophy, which meets simultaneously. Papers should prepared for anonymous review and submitted electronically in electronic form, pdf, via easychair:

easychair.org/conferences/?conf=wcpa2023

Proposals for panels with 3-5 speakers, on any topic in philosophy. Papers do not need to be submitted. Panel proposals can be in any format, such as Author-meets-Critic or Symposia. Please ensure that proposed speakers are able to attend the conference prior to submitting. Panels will be allocated time slots of 2 hours 15 minutes or 3 hours 30 minutes, depending on number of participants.

Program Committee

  • Sylvia Berryman, UBC
  • Alex Bryant, UBC
  • Chris Stephens, UBC
  • Jenna Yuzwa, UBC

Questions about submissions can be emailed to sylvia.berryman@ubc.ca

58th Annual WCPA: Winnipeg, September 30-October 2, 2022

Updated: September 17, 2022

This year’s meeting of the WCPA includes keynote presentations by Alex King (Simon Fraser University) and Eileen S. Nutting (University of Kansas). Closing remarks on Sunday, October 2 will be delivered by Niigaan Sinclair, Associate Professor and Department Chair in Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba.

See below for a copy of the conference program:

This year’s WCPA will occur in tandem with the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for Environmental Philosophy (http://csep-scpe.ca/). For CSEP-related information, please contact Prof. Jennifer Welchman at the University of Alberta: welchman@ualberta.ca

The conference will be held at Alt Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. (https://www.germainhotels.com/en/alt-hotel/winnipeg). For additional information, please contact the conference organizers at wcpa2022@gmail.com.

CfP: WCPA-CSEP 2019 Annual Meeting, October 25–27, 2019, Lethbridge

Call for Papers

The 56th annual meeting of the

Western Canadian Philosophical Association

in conjunction with the 4th annual meeting of the

Canadian Society for Environmental Philosophy/ Société Canadienne de Philosophie Environnementale

will be held October 25th-27th at the University of Lethbridge

in Lethbridge, Alberta

Keynote Speaker:

Andrew Light (George Mason University)

Paul Thompson (Michigan State University)

Submissions of papers from all areas of philosophy are welcome. Papers should be no more than 4,000 words (excluding notes), presentable in 25-30 minutes to allow for commentary and discussion, and prepared for anonymous review. The EXTENDED submission deadline is JULY 15st 2019.

Please submit papers in electronic form (PDF) and a brief abstract (no more than 150 words) via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=wcpa2019conference

Proposals for panels or symposia are also welcome. Please submit the proposed title of the symposium as well as a collection of abstracts in electronic form (PDF), and a brief abstract (no more than 150 words) indicating that you are proposing a panel/symposium via EasyChair (in the same way as you would submit a paper). Symposia are allotted 2 hours.

Colloquium papers and panels/symposia on environmental topics may be submitted for presentation either on the WCPA main program or the program of the CSEP/SCPE, but will automatically be considered for presentation on both programs. Please indicate if you are submitting with the CSEP/SPCE in mind at the top of your abstract.

Both the WCPA and CSEP will be awarding a Student Essay Prize, so if you are a student, please indicate this.

For more information, and a link to the EasyChair submission page, please visit: http://www.uleth.ca/artsci/philosophy/western-canadian-philosophical-association-wcpa-conference

Registration for WCPA & CSEP 2018 is now open!

You can now register for the 2018 WCPA/CSEP meeting at regonline.ca/WCPA-CSEP2018.

The registration fee includes a catered reception on Friday and boxed sandwich lunch on Saturday, so please indicate your dietary preferences even if you do not plan to attend the banquet.

Information on booking at the conference hotel are provided on the WCPA website. Note the group rate is only available until October 9.

While you’re at it, consider signing up as a reviewer for an account on the WCPA Open Conference system site. This way we’ll have your contact information when we send out announcements about, or assign reviewers for, submissions to future WCPAs.