Written by Anna Weinstein

Are human beings free, or are we determined by nature, culture and other factors?

A large crowd gathered at the Gnu's Room in Auburn to discuss this topic on October 7, 2009, with a panel of Philosophy Club members (Kristin Courtney, Ben Pierce and Jared Rehm) and two philosophy professors (Roderick Long and Howard Hewitt). This was the second Philosophy event at the Gnu's Room, which Assistant Professor Keren Gorodeisky organized as part of an outreach effort.

"We wanted to reach out to the community, and invite members of the community to engage in a dialogue with members of our department, people who spend much of their time doing philosophy," Gorodeisky said.

Kristin Courtney, an undergraduate philosophy major who worked with Gorodeisky to arrange the monthly meetings, said, "We wanted to give an opportunity for people in the community to engage in philosophical conversations. Many of us have encountered people who have limited knowledge but infinite interest."

The conversation focused on the philosophical topic of determinism and free will. Is all human action caused entirely by preceding events (determinism)? Is life predetermined by an all-powerful force (fatalism)? Do human beings have freedom of choice, or self-determination (free will)? Or can people make choices that are not determined by physiological or psychological causes (indeterminism)?

"What is at stake?" one audience member wanted to know, "Why is it important to answer these questions?"

These questions seemed to resonate with several community members in the room. "It's a question of framing the issues," said Darryl Scriven, a religion and philosophy professor at Tuskegee. "I lost interest in philosophy in school until it was grounded in something," Scriven said. He emphasized the importance of framing philosophical topics around practical social applications. For example, how does the concept of free will apply to social responsibility? Are all people responsible for their actions? Do individuals with mental illness exercise free will when it comes to behaving responsibly? How does the concept of free will play into determining punishment for a crime?

Courtney summed up the relevance of the conversation this way: "We have this intuition that we have free will. This is a chance for you to see a problem and decide where you stand on it-to exercise your mind and face a difficult problem and say, 'Why is your intuition right? Why do we feel like it's the right way to behave?'"

Next month's topic: the mind-body problem. Join the community for more Philosophy at the Gnu's Room, Wednesday, November 11 at 5 p.m.

Visit the AU Philosophy Department online for more information about the Philosophy Club and conversations that are open to the public, including a discussion following a screening of American Psycho Friday, November 6, and a series of faculty and guest lectures . Gorodeisky emphasizes that philosophers and nonphilosophers alike are welcome to join all events.

Photographs from the Philosophy Club's trip to the '09 Annual Meeting of the Central American Philosophical Association in Chicago are displayed as a photo gallery on the home page . Also take a look at the photo gallery of AU's first Annual Philosophy Conference , created by Philosophy Club member Andy Bass.

The College of Liberal Arts is pleased to announce four new chairs in the departments of Music, Communication and Journalism, English, and Philosophy. They are Sara Lynn Baird, Music; Margaret Fitch-Hauser, Communication and Journalism; Jim Ryan, English, and Michael Watkins, Philosophy.

Sara Lynn Baird earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Florida State University, a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and a Ph.D. in Music Education with an emphasis on Choral Conducting from Florida State University. Her previous position was Interim Dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts at Louisiana State University. Baird also served as Associate Dean for the College of Music and Dramatic Arts from 1998-2007 and Director of Graduate Studies from 2005-2007. Baird served as President for Southern Division ACDA and on the National Board from 2005- 2007.

Margaret Fitch-Hauser earned a bachelor's degree in English and Communication and a master's degree in Communication from Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, and a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. For the past 20 years, she has taught Public Relations at Auburn University. During that time, the program has progressed from offering only two PR classes to being one of two accredited PR programs in the state of Alabama. She was chair of the Department previously from 1993-1996, and served as Acting Head of the Department from 1991 - 1993. In 2007, she received the International Listening Association Research Award, 2007 and the College of Liberal Arts Teaching Excellence Award in Communication and Social Science, 2004-2005.

Jim Ryan earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English, political science, and urban life. He later earned a doctorate in early American literature from UNC-Chapel Hill. His current teaching and research fields are in early American Literature and interdisciplinary American Studies. For his work with undergraduate and graduate students at AU, he received the College of Liberal Arts Early Career Teaching Award (2004).

Michael Watkins earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology and a master's degree in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He received his doctorate degree in Philosophy from The Ohio State University and has been faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Auburn since 1994. Watkins is currently a Lanier Professor and was recently inducted to the College of Liberal Arts' Academy of Teaching and Outstanding Teachers.

The CLA Student Services Center (this includes all Advisor and Administrative offices) is moving to 321 Tichenor Hall. We hope to be open for advising in our new offices on Aug. 26. We will be closed on the afternoon of Aug. 21 and all day Aug. 24 and Aug. 25 in order to make the move. Please keep checking your email for updates--as with all moves, there may be some last minute changes to the schedule.

The Department of Communication and Journalism will also be moving back to Tichenor. Please look for more information from the Department.

Any undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at Auburn University is eligible to submit a video. Only one video may be entered per person or group.

$500 will be awarded to the creator(s) of the video selected as the first place winner. The creator(s) of the second and third place videos will receive $250 and $150, respectively. Prize money is sponsored by Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts.
The three winning videos will also be showcased on the CLA website.

To submit a video, upload your video on YouTube and then email its url to Christa Slaton, Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at ccepc@auburn.edu. Emails must be sent from an Auburn University email account. Please type "CLA YouTube Contest" in the subject line of your email, and include in the body of the email the names of the person, persons, or group submitting the video. The College of Liberal Arts will make your video available for viewing on the contest website. You will receive confirmation email from the College of Liberal Arts indicating that your video entry has been received.

In the event that you are unfamiliar with how to upload a video to YouTube, directions are available at http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=57931.

Videos need to be between one and five minutes in length.

The deadline for submitting videos is March 27, 2009. Videos received after the deadline cannot be considered.

Between April 1 and April 5, students are invited to vote for their favorite contest video by sending an email to Christa Slaton, Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at ccepc@auburn.edu. Emails must be sent from an Auburn University email account. Please type "Vote CLA YouTube" in the subject line of your email and indicate the title of the favorite video in the email's body. Only one vote per person will be tallied.

Videos will be judged by members of the College of Liberal Art's Civic Engagement Planning Committee. Videos will be judged based on the five criteria outlined below:

• Relevance to the contest theme
• Extent to which the video provokes productive reflection, discussion, debate, and/or critique regarding civic responsibility as a feature of learning and living at Auburn University
• Creativity
• Originality
• Number of student votes

Contest winners will be notified via email on April 10, 2009.

View the Video Entries

• Submitted by Amanda Morris
• Submitted by Ashley Nunn
• Submitted by John Anderson
• Submitted by Griffin Limerick and John Collins
• Submitted by Jillian Clair
• Submitted by Mallory Rice

Jonathan Mahler, NYT writer, describes Jolley and what he has done for the AU Philosophy Department in his article "The Thinker" from September 19, 2008.