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Category Archives: Actitives for Students
Calling for Facilitators for Inter-School Philosophy Dialogue (ISPD) 2019
(From the organizers)
Hello everyone,
The Inter-School Philosophy Dialogue (ISPD) turns 16 this year!
In line with the Bicentennial Commemoration this year, we will have The Bicentennial Edition of ISPD this year and participants will have the opportunity to explore concepts related to the Bicentennial Commemoration such as Openness, Multiculturalism, Self-determination, Identity, Culture and Progress.
It will be held on 2nd August (Friday), from 1500h to 1900h, in Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary).
The success of ISPD depends on our very helpful facilitators who are able to engage our participants in collaborative rational inquiry. To kick-start our prep for ISPD, please take a minute register yourselves at this link, to let us know that you will be joining us: https://tinyurl.com/16thISPDfacilitatorregform
More information will be sent closer to the date of the event.
Lastly, if you know of anyone who is Philosophy-trained and is an experienced facilitator, and would like to join us for ISPD, please feel free to forward the above link to them.
We look forward to meeting all of you at our annual gathering and hope to see everyone at ISPD.
ISPD (2018): Knowledge
The Inter-School Philosophy Dialogue (ISPD) is an annual event which the philosophy programs of Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls’ School take turns to organize and host, with the sponsorship of the Department of Philosophy at NUS. Throughout the years, an increasing number of schools have participated in the event. This year, the 15th anniversary of the event, was held at Raffles Institution with 12 schools represented and some 171 secondary level students participating. They were joined by 25 facilitators, many of whom are alumni of the Department of Philosophy at NUS. Our own A/P Loy Hui Chieh gave the keynote address on Plato’s the Ring of Gyges (Republic II).
The theme this year is “Knowledge”, a theme that expresses the aims and ideals of the ISPD – to encourage students from schools all over Singapore to think more deeply about real and current issues we face in Singapore society as well as universal concepts such as fairness and truth. While participants may come away with more questions than answers to the scenarios posed to them, sparking an interest in the issues as well as introducing better ways to navigate difficult topics are definite take-aways that students bring back with them. At the end of the day’s event, 15 students—chosen for the maturity of thought, creativity, metacognitive awareness, and conversational virtues they exhibited during the discussions—were presented with the Gadfly Awards (named in honor of Socrates).
Photos from the event can be seen here.
Calling for Facilitators for Inter-School Philosophy Dialogue (ISPD) 2018
(From the organizers)
Hello everyone,
The Inter-School Philosophy Dialogue (ISPD) turns 15 this year!
It will be held on 13th July (Friday), from 1500h to 1900h, in Raffles Institution.
The success of ISPD depends on our very helpful facilitators who are able to engage our participants in collaborative rational inquiry. NUS Philosophy students who are interested to be facilitators, email organisers, Ng Chong Jin / Ong Shu Juin at: philosophyraffles@gmail.com
More information will be sent closer to the date of the event.
Lastly, if you know of anyone who is Philosophy-trained and is an experienced facilitator, and would like to join us for ISPD, please feel free to forward the above link to them.
We look forward to meeting all of you at our annual gathering and hope to see everyone at ISPD.
The Philosophy Party 2017
NUS Philosophy held its fifth annual departmental party–The Philosophy Party–on 5th May 2017. Following last year’s precedence, the event was scheduled for the last day of the exam period. this year’s celebration saw the attendance of around 50 guests including undergraduates and graduate students, alumni, and department staff.
The festivities started with an opening speech filled with personal anecdotes by A/P John Holbo, who spoke of his own philosophical journey and his time in NUS. Dinner lines were opened shortly after, and as with all of our parties, a variety of mouthwatering dishes were provided. This year’s party saw a change in caterer: the party committee went for Peranakan cuisine from Chilli padi. Ranging from servings of authentic laska to kueh dada, each dish was carefully picked out to suit the needs of all our guests.
Join us @ Singapore Undergraduate Philosophy Conference
Hi all!
The Singapore Undergraduate Philosophy Conference (SUPC) is happening this Saturday 25 Feb 2017! It is a joint academic conference for undergraduate Philosophy majors based in Singapore. The Philosophy Sub-Club intends to create a discursive space through collaboration between philosophy majors by holding an annual undergraduate conference. The SUPC 2017 centres on the theme of Ethics. A couple of undergraduate speakers from each university (NTU, NUS and Yale-NUS) will represent their respective universities.
This conference hopes to provide a platform for undergraduates to showcase and present their philosophical work as well as to learn more about Ethics from other students from various institutions. SUPC 2017 provides an opportunity for participants to network with other philosophers from other institutions. Philosophers cannot thrive in isolation and we hope that the discussions that arise during the conference will help in the intellectual development of the undergraduates.
Do join us this Saturday, see you there!
ISPD (2016): Philosophy and Science
From data privacy to artificial intelligence, to the ethics of experimentation–today’s scientific and technological advancement confronts core issues about our human identity and values. Against this background, philosophy promises to empower us with clear and critical thinking to make sense of our scientific present and future. That’s why “there’s no better way to spend a Saturday morning!” than to enable teenagers in philosophical discussion about science at the Inter-school Philosophy Dialogue (ISPD), said keynote speaker Assistant Professor Voo Teck Chuan of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.
This year’s ISPD was held at Raffles Girls School (RGS) on July 9. It saw the participation of some 147 students from fourteen secondary schools from across Singapore, joining with scores of facilitators to discuss various topics on philosophy and science. This is the 13th ISPD, and for the first time, the event was jointly organised by the Philosophy Departments of Raffles Girls School and Raffles Institution, with the sponsorship of the Department of Philosophy at NUS.
The Philosophy Party 2016
On 6th of May, the Philosophy Department held its annual commencement party for the fourth year running. Timed for the last day of the exam period, this year’s celebration saw the attendance of around 60 guests, comprising of undergraduates and graduate students, alumni, department staff and their families.
Besides being held earlier than in the past, this year’s party broke the mold in other ways too. For one, the party was not held at the usual function room, but by the Waterway on the ground floor of the Shaw Foundation Alumni House. Tables were set amidst the water features and in the large space, creating a more open atmosphere for the participants involved. For another, this was also the first time Yale-NUS students and staff were invited. New faces and places thus formed the undercurrent of this year’s party.
The festivities officially started at 6pm, with guests streaming in around that time. An opening speech was given by our Head of Department, Associate Professor Michael Pelczar, before the dinner lines were opened. At which point the guests tucked into a variety of dishes, ranging from the caterer Rasel’s signature Shepard’s Pie, to servings of authentic laksa and mock prawn for our vegetarian guests. The meal was accompanied with servings of craft beers and ciders, each carefully picked out by our graduate students Wilson and Jeremy. During this time of feasting and drinking, bridges were built across schools years and even generations, as students, alumni, staff and accompanying family conversed and interacted. The sight of graduate students entertaining some of the professors’ children, of undergraduates networking with alumni and of staff catching up on old times, certainly was something to behold.
Yale-NUS philosophy research seminar: “Socrates’ Final Symposium” by Matt Walker
Dear all,
Matt Walker will be presenting his paper “Socrates’ Final Symposium” this Wednesday, 30 March from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM (abstract below). We will meet as usual in RC2-01-09F.
Directions to the seminar: On the campus map that I have attached, the Oculus is the circular area with a taxi icon, right next to College Avenue West. The room (RC2-01-09F) is directly south of the Oculus, in the area labeled “EC1” on the map. Simply enter the building from the Oculus and take the elevator to the top floor.
Abstract: I briefly sketch the outline of a revisionary reading of Plato’s Phaedo. On traditional readings, the dialogue gives us Socrates’ defense of the soul’s unqualified immortality, i.e., the soul’s capacity for eternal and individual existence in separation from the body. On such readings, Socrates aims to meet Cebes’ demand that he show “that the soul still exists after a man has died and that it still possesses some capability and intelligence” (70b). I agree that the Phaedo, through the figure of Socrates, accepts that we are immortal. But the sort of immortality that Socrates accepts in the Phaedo, I propose, is only the qualified immortality that he endorses in the Symposium. Reading the Phaedo through the lens of the Symposium, I suggest, brings to light nuances of the Phaedo that commentators have overlooked. It also pays other interpretive dividends.
Best,
Neil
—
Neil Mehta
Assistant professor of philosophy
Yale-NUS College
Calling for Facilitators for Inter-School Philosophy Dialogue (ISPD) 2016
Hello everyone!
This year, ISPD will be held on 9th July (Saturday), from 0800h to 1300h, in Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary).
The theme for this year’s ISPD is Philosophy and Science, an exciting theme which allows us to explore philosophical issues related to science as a discipline, scientific discoveries, technological advancements and breakthroughs.
The success of ISPD depends on our very helpful facilitators who are able to engage our participants in collaborative rational inquiry. To kick-start our prep for ISPD 2016, please take a minute register yourselves at this link by 8th April to let us know that you will be joining us:
http://tinyurl.com/2016ISPDfacilitatorregform
More information will be sent closer to the date of the event.
Lastly, if you know of anyone who is Philosophy-trained and is an experienced facilitator, and would like to join us for ISPD 2016, please feel free to forward the above link to them
Looking forward to meeting all of you at our annual gathering at ISPD 2016.