Good morning. My name is Daniela
Vallega-Neu. I'm Associate
Professor and Head of the Philosophy
Department, and it is my pleasure to
welcome you all, so welcome graduating
class of 2018. Welcome!
Welcome friends, family, relatives, all of
you, welcome. Graduation marks an
important threshold, the end of a time
devoted to studying, to intellectual and
personal growth, a time that should
prepare one for whatever comes next.
Whatever comes next, not only
professionally, but also in life. More
generally, whatever comes next will be
different for all of you. Whether those
of you receiving a bachelor degree or an
MA degree will continue studying or plan
to get a job or to travel and live for a
while abroad in another country or
whatever else you think you might do
next.
as for those receiving a PhD, most of you
will go on to a teaching position at
another university and you will begin
your professional career as academics. My
best wishes to all of you having
concrete plans does not abolish the
uncertainty that comes as one stays at
the threshold. None of us quite knows
what comes next.
I hope that your studies in philosophy
helped you grow in a way that allows you
to embrace this uncertainty and to live
wisely with the unforeseeable challenges
the future brings. My father
always had a saying, and since he was
German, it's in German. I'm going to say
it first in German: "Aston Scots Titans
and us
Titans as mandated. In English: "It's gonna
happen."
Second differently, and third differently
than you think, but consider how boring
life would be if this were not the case!
So I hope you can stand at this threshold,
not only embracing uncertainty but
also with exhilaration
and curiosity. To the parents in the room
who made sacrifices and offered support
to their child, and especially to those
who have been quite worried that their
child has studied a notoriously
breadless subject, I want to offer some
perhaps relieving facts. Statistics say
that philosophy majors end up earning
higher salaries than majors in business,
accounting, and political science
(you can look this up at payscale.com);
in fact, we are second only to economics.
A major in philosophy opens many doors
to many kinds of jobs, not just becoming
a teacher, but also for example, to being
a successful manager or lawyer. This is
because a philosophy major teaches you a
variety of basic skills from logical and
critical thinking to reflecting on an
understanding ethical and social life
and relations, and communicating
effectively with people from all kinds
of backgrounds. Our philosophy program
distinguishes itself with the faculty
coming from a variety of different
traditions and backgrounds (and you will
hear more about that shortly) and it
distinguishes itself for its pluralist
approach to philosophy which means that
our majors learn to think of and to
understand issues from a variety of
different perspectives. They learn to
think outside the box and to seek and
find novel or different possibilities of
thinking, relating, and acting. Before
leaving the podium so that Professor
Naomi Zack may tell you a little bit more about our
faculty, I would like to invite all of
you who are graduating to feel free to
say a few words when you come up here on the stage to get your diplomas. That you
can be here today has much to do with
your own determination,
hard work and hard work, but it has also
much to do with the support of family and
friends, teachers who are here today,
proud of your accomplishments and ready
to celebrate you. I know that all of you
were invited to fill out a questionnaire,
but perhaps in addition to that, when you
come up here, you know, feel free; maybe
there's somebody you want to thank,
something you want to to say,
this is the moment for you. Again welcome
to all of you and congratulations to the
class of 2018.
[Naomi Zack]: Hello it is my honor to introduce the faculty to you but it's a little bit
more complicated than you might think,
because there are three different ways
in which the faculty get categorized and
compete over who gets named
first; but very softly, so on the website
it's alphabetical. In the
procession that you just saw, it's based
on academic rank, and in your program (and
in the order in which I'm going to
introduce the faculty), it's based on
administrative rank within the
department. So you can follow along in
your program if you want (if you have a
program). And there's one other thing:
not all of the faculty are here. The ones who are not here are -- they're
still alive, but they're just in some other place geographically.
You know what, on the planet. Okay, so. Well, we get around,
you know, we travel. So let me begin with
Professor Daniela Vallega-Neu, who just
spoke to you, and she is Head of
Philosophy and Associate Professor of
Philosophy, and we found out just this
morning by email that Daniela has
received the Fund for Faculty Excellence
Award, and in recognition of this
significant impact of her scholarly work
and her commitment to the University, so
thank you; thank you for being our
Department Head!
She's the only one who's award I'm going
to mention because she is Department
Head. So Daniela's interests are 19th
& 20th century European thought,
especially Nietzsche, Heidegger,
Merleau-Ponty and contemporary
French thought, phenomenology
hermeneutics, deconstruction, and ontology
related to issues of the body. Next we
have Peter Warnek who is -- oh, those who
are here, please wave or stand up or
something.
Peter Warnek is Associate Head of
Philosophy and Associate Professor of
Philosophy, and his interests are ancient
philosophy, 19th & 20th century continental
philosophy, Kant's philosophy of nature,
myth, tragedy, and history of philosophy.
Next is Bonnie Mann, and she is not
present.
Bonnie Mann is Professor of Philosophy and has been Director of Graduate Studies
this term. Her interests are feminist
philosophy and continental philosophy.
Erin McKenna, Professor of Philosophy,
Director of Undergraduate Studies, and
her interests are feminist theory and
American pragmatism. Colin Koopman,
Associate Professor of Philosophy and
Ethics Minor Director during this spring
term; also, Colin is Director
of New Media and Cultures and the
Culture Certificate Program. His
interests are political philosophy,
ethics, pragmatism, genealogy, and the
history of modernity. I thought he would
be here today, but I don't think he is;
okay, unfortunately not. I'm listed next.
I'm [Naomi Zack] Professor of Philosophy. My interests are philosophy of race, philosophy of
science and political philosophy,
feminist theory, justice and injustice
theory, disaster ethics, history of philosophy, especially early modern 17th century
philosophy. Mark Johnson. Mark is Philip H. Knight Professor of Liberal Arts and
Sciences. His interests are metaphor
theory, philosophy of language, philosophy
and cognitive science, American
philosophy, Kant moral philosophy,
ethical naturalism, and aesthetics. Scott
Pratt. Scott Pratt is not present. He is
Executive Vice Provost for Academic
Affairs and Professor of Philosophy. His
interests are American philosophy,
history of philosophy, and logic.
Beata Stawarska. Beata is Professor of
Philosophy. Her interests are
contemporary European philosophy,
phenomenology, structuralism and
post-structuralism, philosophical
psychology, and feminism, and she's not
here.
Alejandro Arturo Vallega Arredondo; is
that okay?
No, I was previously only used to three
names, and now there are four, so okay,
great.
Alejandro is Associate Professor of
Philosophy. His interests are Latin
American thought, philosophy of
liberation, decolonial thought,
hermeneutics and deconstruction, and
aesthetics.
Rocío Zambrana, also not here. She is
Associate Professor of Philosophy. Her
interests are continental philosophy,
especially Kant and German idealism,
particularly Hegel, Marx, and the
Frankfurt School, critical theory and
decolonial thought, anti colonial
feminism. Nicolae Morar.
Nicolae Morar is not here, he's in Paris; he's Assistant Professor of Philosophy and
Environmental Studies, and his interests
are applied ethics, philosophy of biology,
and 20th century continental philosophy.
Camisha Russell. Camisha is Assistant
Professor of Philosophy. Her interests
are critical philosophy of race, ethics
(especially bioethics), African-American
philosophy, and feminist theory. Steven
Brence. Steven Brence is Senior
Instructor of Philosophy, and his
interests are social political
philosophy, ethics, philosophy of film,
pragmatism, 19th & 20th century German
philosophy. Paul Bodin.
Paul is Adjunct Instructor of Philosophy.
His interests are education studies,
elementary middle school writing in
social studies, philosophy for children,
curricula and community outreach, and
also jazz performance and composition,
and hiking the Sierras and North
Cascades. Caroline Lundquist. Caroline is
Pro Tem Instructor, and she is affiliated
with the Philosophy Department. I might
also add that she is a relatively recent
graduate of our Philosophy Department.
David Meens is not present. He is Pro Tem
Instructor, and he's affiliated with
Education as well as the Philosophy
Department. And Rebecca Saxon, also not
present, is a Pro Tem Instructor in an
administrative capacity. As well, today we
are honored to be joined by Malcolm
Wilson who is Professor of Classics and
Department Head of Classics, and also
affiliated with the Philosophy
Department.
Malcolm's interests are the history of
science and the philosophical issues
surrounding the organization of systematic
knowledge in antiquity, Greek philosophy,
Aristotle, and Greek intellectual history.
Thank you.
[Alejandro Vallaga]: Good morning. First of all, of course, congratulations to those graduating.
"Against Philosophy" The most expensive
soccer player in the world costs one
thousand one hundred and seventy million
Euros. The president of one of the most
powerful and aggressive nations in the
world sits on the toilet and tweets to
millions who hold their breath in
expectation, even when the messages may
very well be nothing more than
alternative facts.
Bill Gates. Bill Gates photograph collection includes 17
million images and is now buried 220
feet underground in a sub-zero low
humidity storage vault. The images
include pictures of the Wright brothers,
the pictures of JFK Jr. saluting his
father's coffin, and many important
historical images, such as from the
Vietnam War and Nelson Mandela's years
in prison.
The images are totally inaccessible, and
they're being digitalized. It
is estimated that it will take 453 years
to digitalize them all. Gates estate also
holds the rights to another 65 million
images, including the rights to images in
many of the world's principal museums.
These few facts call forth a series of
apparent ways of being in our society.
With the leader of the free world,
appears the capitalist division of labor
and class that is with the disappearance
of the middle class and a more and more
evident divide between the 1 percent and
the rest. Moreover, this in a
male-dominated world ordered by gender
roles and sexualized bodies,
where violence against women, and again
against all differences, is clearly
present for us every day - this one may
add, in all three cases above, racism with
the perpetuation of white Western
cultural prejudices over all others. It
focuses on the accumulation of wealth as
the end goal of any life and the
commodification of all dimensions of
living including the senses and the
imagination (as you just heard about Bill
Gates). These are difficult times when one
thinks about it; and how may
one think about this? When's the language
to do so, considering that one finds
oneself in a situation which alternative
facts seem to take a prominent place in
this society's self understanding, and
also when the effective memories of
whole communities are disappeared --
buried -- as they get buried in a mountain
and become a question of rights.
Alternative facts make things difficult
indeed, since they dismiss the facts of
history. Indeed, if one is creative with
alternative facts, at least for a short
time, in the immediate now, in the heat of
the moment, history no longer matters.
And this displacement of history does fit
the other characteristics of these times
in this America. Again, the ideals and
mercantilist rationalism behind wealth
accumulation, the growth of technology
and applications of knowledge for the
sake of further accumulation, a growth
that cares not for history but for
future infinite progress, and its new
arriving order. The imagination takes its
place at the head of progress
as the maiden of all Sciences and a
utilitarian problem-solving. What is
needed are solutions not memories,
solutions not images, not imaginary is
that deviate from the project of the
progress of humanity. Out of the vault,
we will trot out what we need for
progress. And to speak of humanity, one
would say from gazing at the front page
of the New York Times, is to speak of
exclusion, racism, sexual discrimination,
nationalism, extremists of building walls,
isolation borders, with the strictest
control keeping the violence we inflict
at a safe distance from us. If one stops
to think, desperation may set in. They
need to do something. They need to act
for change. They need to fix the problem,
find solutions, and yet how often are
such actions done for the sake of
bringing all into this same system of
violence and force, and in the name of a
freedom that will allow alternative
facts that maybe include that may
include other cases into its one and
only pluralist world. Alternative facts
certainly disturb history and accuracy
in the moment. And yet, like it or not, we
humans in our distinct ways are for the
most part memorial beings. We carry our
histories, lineages, and memories with us,
not only in a rational, analytical way,
but in our effects and bodies. We are
memorial beings, and this means that
without regard for our engagement or
indifference to history. Memories; we are
claimed by them. This is a simple
hermeneutical point we may engage our
memorial dimensions and think with them in
a way that takes tradition in its active
sense, that is, as the dynamic place of
encounters and transformations. Or, we may close our eyes
to those histories and lineages we carry,
and while believing we are changing the
world, we may very well, very likely, be
claimed by an invisible, sovereign,
unchanging blanket of power relations
that puts us right where we no longer
wanted to be, even in our best intentions
and purest visions, we share the danger
of reaffirming what we seek to change.
But there is an alternative way that
disrupts history in a transformative way,
a liberating way, history in his
dialectical progress, may be interrupted
at any moment by what has been discarded, excluded, and considered of little value
if not nothing, in the heat of the moment,
in the narratives of progress. This is an
electronic moment, the excluded idea, a
letter, an involuntary memory appears to
disrupt the comfort progress, and takes
us back to a time of conception, of
birthing, in which the concreteness of
experience leaves no room for
alternative facts. This is not a
religious experience, the result of
reason alone, or the result of the
application of power and wealth. The rush
that transforms one's life may come at
any moment from a simple gesture, a leaf,
a stone. "It changed in the weather" as the
Japanese philosopher Watsuji Tetsurō would
put it, a turn of phrase or verse, a
discarded idea. This is why Walter
Benjamin, when unpacking his library, felt
that his most important books were the
unread ones, the ones that were
coming. In this sense, power, wealth,
control, stand behind, and can never catch
up to wonder, to the encounters with what
does not belong to us, that which one
cannot measure, define, manipulate, and
dominate or produce, as you go forth into
that difficult world we inhabit,
challenged by the
operative language, submerged in a
cacophony of meaningless words, jingles,
promises, and images, present and
sequestered, as you enter that while
clamor as you enter that white clamor
and desert, I hope that like Walter
Benjamin and myself, and many of us
philosophers, sometimes you will manage
to be anachronic, oblivious, crafting
the most difficult art to being in the
world, in community as most critical
planners, that is as contemporaries.
Congratulations and thank you.
[Camisha Russell]: Good morning. Each year, the Philosophy Department awards the
Philosophy Matters Prize for
the best UO undergraduate and graduate
student essays that showcase the
continued relevance of philosophy to
concrete issues facing the
world. It is my honor to award the prize for
best undergraduate paper. Our finalists
were Vanessa Jackson, Megan Lyslo,
Nisha Sridhar, and Guthrie Stafford. And
our winner is Megan Lyslo.
Megan's essay "Curdling Logic in Scientific Inquiry" offers a way to bring
crucial feminist insights to scientific
inquiry, while avoiding, in her own words:
"the politically regressive danger of
falling into a full discrediting of
science." Rather than abandon any notion
of unbiased objectivity, she seeks to
transform that notion through, again in
her words (quote): "a creative and
collaborative project which as a matter
of course would seek to synergistically
integrate the Kuril perspectives
experience and experiences of
multiplicities beings so as to create a
clearer and more unbiased scientific
process" (end quote) Her descriptions of the theories upon which
she draws are strong and clear, as are
her contributions to the discussion. Her
insight and creativity are a model for
the engaged philosophy this program
prizes. Congratulations, Megan!
[Alejandro Vallega]: It is my pleasure to give the prize for the Philosophy Matters essay for the
Graduate essay. The winner is Joshua Kerr. He's a fourth year PhD student. He's
an ace ABD (all but dissertation) so that he
has finished all of his work. Now, he
writes, his interests are philosophy of
nature, especially vegetality,
philosophy of literature, 19th & 20th
century continental philosophy. In his
website for research he writes "My
research focuses on two primary areas.
First, I study environmental philosophy, particularly the philosophy of plants.
Drawing both on broadly interdisciplinary approaches to plant
life and the role of plants in the history of philosophy, I am interested in
the challenges plants pose to traditional approaches to ontology and
ethics." The second interest he writes, he
says "Second, I study the philosophy of
literature, particularly poetry. I am interested in the relationship between
literature, language, and non-linguistic expression, especially as it emerges in
20th century Continental philosophers such as  Martin Heidegger, Maurice
Merleau-Ponty, and Gilles Deleuze. In this respect, I also
study literary writers such as Wallace Stevens and Italo Calvino."
His essay; this is what he says about his
essay: "Spinoza: has very little to say
concerning the creative arts." The careful
consideration of those passages in which
he discusses art, however, reveals art to
have an importance for him that far
outstrips what his relative silence
might suggest. This paper argues that
Spinoza means art for its role in the
genesis of rational philosophical
knowledge. In the ethics of Spinoza offers a
developmental account of this kind of
knowledge. Specifically, he shows how
reason develops out of the imagination
or sense experience. By tracing his
account of this process, we can begin to
see the role that art plays in the
education of the imagination that leads
to philosophical knowledge. So please
join me in congratulating Joshua Kerr
for his essay "Spinoza: from Art to
Philosophy"
[Steven Brence]: Good morning. Among the one, our graduate; let me start again.
Our -- those were so lengthy; I didn't
prepare something quite as -- I need
to come up with something justifying, or
you know, worthy of the award; I get to
present the Paideia prize, which is
described on our website as for the GTF --
that's out of date, is now GE (graduate
employee) -- who most exemplifies the ideals
of undergraduate teaching. The winner of
this year's prize is genuinely deserving.
I've gotten to work with her a couple of
times in my Philosophy of Film class and in
my Environmental Philosophy class, and
both instances, at least half a dozen
times a term -- and this doesn't occur that
often necessarily -- undergraduate
students would tell me how much they
delighted in her teaching, and how much
they learned from her specifically, and I
can confess, it's one of the the genuine
delights of my job to get to work with
each term, several of our really really
talented graduate students, not only
really talented philosophers, but
exceptional teachers, and this year's
award winner is someone from whom I've
learned in ways about teaching. Well so,
let me cut this short and introduce
Martina Ferrari, whose undergraduates
could testify
[Peter Warnek]: I'm not Colin Koopman. Dr. Koopman, unfortunately, was unable to make it, so
I'm filling in for him, and I will be
presenting the doctoral and masters
candidates. Today is a day for
celebration. An occasion to come together
and to extol and to honor the
accomplishments of everyone in this room,
not only the students who worked so hard
to make it here, but also those who
supported them: their families, friends
and loved ones, faculty and the staff, and
even (I'll dare to say it) the
administrators. And today is also an
opportunity for us as faculty to express
our admiration for you and to
congratulate you on what you've achieved
here at the University of Oregon. And in
this section especially, I think that's
appropriate with regard to those who
will be completing their PhDs and Master
degrees. Let me say personally that I
have found it to be a tremendous
privilege to have been able to work with you.
One of the things among others that
philosophers do, even to the point of
annoyance, is that we pay attention to
words. To "graduate" means, originally, to
"take a step" and this step is
symbolically enacted as each of you, as a
degree candidate, walks across the stage. At every step is a transitional moment
which marks not only a stepping away
from something, but also a stepping
toward something. A movement or a passage in which something is left behind
in order to open up and make something
possible. And so we call today
a "commencement" Commencement, as a
celebration, is a coming together. It is
a gathering of a community. But in
commencing, we come together also in
order to begin. To begin something new
together, by coming together. And even as
each of you must now make that beginning
by following your own way, facing what
must remain an uncertain future, it will
always be a beginning rooted in the time
we shared here together. So it is now my
great honor to present the doctoral and
masters candidates, and I will begin with
the doctoral candidates, and then follow
with masters candidates. Each of these
individuals has completed, as PhD
candidates, not only all the coursework
and other requirements for this degree,
but has also completed and defended a
dissertation on a philosophical topic
and is thereby recognized for making a
unique contribution to the discipline.
So, our first doctoral candidate, I don't
believe he's here,
Russell Duvernoy. Dr. Duvernoy is now
a full-time lecturer in philosophy at
Seattle University. He defended his PhD
in the fall of 2017, the title of which is
"From Individuality to Ecological Attunement in Whitehead and Deleuze"
Next, Amy Marvin. Amy will be defending
her PhD in the fall of 2018.
Her dissertation title is "Humor Work, Feminist Philosophy, and Unstable Politics"
And unfortunately, Amy's
committee is not present today, but her
advisor, Dr. Bonnie Mann, sent to me
the following remarks, which I will read
to you. So here is Bonnie Mann's comments: "Amy decided to write her dissertation
on humor, and I was so relieved; after
chairing committees for folks who write
about war and violence and trauma and
various modes of social injustice,
I thought: this is going to be the fun one;
a dissertation in the field of humor
studies offering a feminist intervention --
the implicit assumption in offering such
an intervention is, of course, that
feminists have a sense of humor and can
actually be funny, which I was very relieved to discover,
since it goes against the grain of what
everyone thinks about feminists and our
work, it had taken me a while to realize
that Amy was funny." Let me interject here,
this isn't Bonnie Mann, but I agree;
"She would say these odd things in class,
everyone would sort of look at her and
move on,
then a minute and a half later, I'd
realized that the odd thing she'd said
was both utterly brilliant and hilarious,
and I'd end up laughing at a totally
inappropriate moment in the middle of
another student's very serious comment. So I've spent the last seven years trying
to catch up. Looking forward to a
light-hearted discussion, it took me
a while to realize that Amy was actually
building a heavy-hitting, deadly serious,
sharp as a knife criticism of the entire
field of humor studies which entertains
unsustainable notions about itself, about
its innocence in relation to politics
and power.
Amy's dissertation is not just an
occasion to laugh, though there are some
very funny moments in it, it is about how
social justice and injustice are at play
in what she calls humor work: about humor
used for purposes of humiliation and
domination, about humor as a mode of
justification for egregious beliefs and
unconscionable circumstances, humor set
loose in the world to do one job and
ending up doing something else entirely,
and about humor work as an ambiguous,
imperfect, but powerful site of
resistance for those who are
marginalized. This reflects Amy's own
aspirations and accomplishments beyond
the work toward her degree here at the
University of Oregon, as she has become
somewhat of a national celebrity, at
least in certain virtual spaces as a
sometimes funny, always
formidable, advocate for those who are
among the most marginalized in the
discipline of philosophy and in wider society. In her teaching and in her
work as a public intellectual, she has
contributed to making philosophy and the
broader world a more welcoming place. Congratulations, Amy!
Okay, next: Dana Lauren Rognlie. Malcolm Wilson from the
Classics Department is here today. He's on her committee and will present Dana for the degree.
[Malcolm Wilson]: Thank you. Dana's primary advisor was also Bonnie Mann
who again is not able to be here. She is present at her own daughter's
graduation today. But I think that it is our sad fate that we cannot
be in two places at once, so there it is. So
Bonnie has prepared the following
remarks in the same manner, and I shall
read them: "Dana's dissertation -- The Love
of Nike: On the Denials of Racialized Patriarchy and the Philosophy of
Courageous Overcoming -- tackles the
problem of sexualized violence on
college campuses. She offers a complex
form of interdisciplinary and cultural
critique arguing that we live in a
trauma culture" -- this was not the funny
dissertation -- "a trauma culture which
normalizes and institutionalizes
certain responses to trauma that prevent
us from facing up to physical and
emotional violence and doom us to repeat
it."
Now I'd like to interject at this point
that I didn't get the "doom to repeat it"
part of the dissertation. I thought it
was much more hopeful than that.
"Dana identifies patterns of
denial as key to keeping the trauma
culture in place. Survivors of sexual
violence are encouraged to get over it
and to focus on the future, and
institutional actors refused the process
of memory and memorization that are key
to overcoming trauma. Since she is
concerned with academic culture,
Dana herself performs a radical act of
memory, taking us back to the original
Academy,
and the works of Plato who formed that
Academy, to find resources for
courageously facing and overcoming
trauma. Doing this work required Dana
to study ancient Greek" -- now this is where I come in -- "which she did with extraordinary
dedication" -- those are Bonnie's words, but
they are also mine -- "in order to
challenge standard translations of Greek
texts and propose alternative readings" --
and I remember many a happy hour spent
at Roma's Cafe in the summer, reading
Symposium with Dana -- "She then turns to
the works of Simone de Beauvoir, and offers
an interpretation, a Kierkegaardian perspective, which
allows her to distinguish key structures
of temporality, operative in trauma, and
the denial of trauma, and to claim that
in order to overcome trauma, we have
first to remember it. It requires an
enormous courage, both personal and
institutional courage, to confront trauma in a way that
breaks the cycle of violence and denial
that characterizes trauma culture. The
same courage, that on Dana's
reading, Plato himself called for in the
ancient Academy in the wake of the
history of the traumatic Peloponnesian
War. Dana's dissertation exemplifies
this same courage just as her
personal life does. Since she became part of the
Philosophy Department and joined the
larger UO community, Dana has been
part of what the Atlantic magazine calls
a national renaissance of
student activism. She has helped found
and lead a student movement to address
the enormous increases in tuition that
leaves so many of our students in
massive debt when they graduate from
college. She was a key player in the
graduate student strike on campus that
resulted in real material gains for
MA and PhD students, and she has" -- yes
indeed -- "and she has been
and she has been a voice of conscience for
the University of Oregon in its efforts
to address and sometimes avoid and deny
the issue of sexual violence on
campus; all of that, and a number of other
challenges including two
hospitalization-worthy bike crashes." -- Dana, you've got to watch out for those cars --
"It has made" -- no, I know, I know -- "has made the road to completing the PhD
an arduous one as well. You can imagine, I
think, that we could even say that there
have been moments of real trauma on the
road to the PhD. I think that we can
safely say that persisting required
courage" -- and I know this from my own
experience -- "real courage in the very mode that Dana unearths in Plato's works.
So, Dana, what I want for you most of all
today is that you savor every moment, every
detail of this accomplishment, that you
recognize the courageous woman that you
are, and that you continue to become, and
that you remember in order to forget and
in order to lose yourself in what comes
next. I wish you no more or less then
your own continued courage, Dr. Rognlie, as the next chapter, or should we say
the next epic journey, begins."
[Peter Warnek]:Okay our next doctoral candidate is Joshua August (or Gus) Skorburg, and Mark
Johnson will now present his. [Mark Johnson]: I've been teaching for over 40 years and working
with Gus has been one of the greatest
pleasures of my teaching career. More
than any other graduate student I've
ever advised, Gus best embodies the
commitment to philosophical pluralism,
which I take to be the view that we in
order to get any sufficiently complex
and rich understanding of any topic from
human nature to morality to virtue, we
need to employ multiple perspectives
from multiple disciplines, and doing this
is really hard. It's hard not to sound
foolish when you jump out into these
other fields. From the moment Gus arrived,
I was impressed, because on his own
initiative, he began to make connections
with the Psychology Department. It's one
thing to read some neuroscience, but it's
quite another to actually take the
science courses -- which Gus did -- go over
there, start taking the courses, and learn
about the relevant methods of research.
This led Gus to Gus's being invited to
participate on research projects, and I
found this incredibly impressive, because
these projects presupposed a very high
level of methodological sophistication. You had to understand how they did
things in the Psych Department in
experimental method, and you had to know
something about neuroimaging and brain
research. It takes intelligence, courage,
dedication, and a strong work ethic to
do this type of thing, especially when it
falls outside the comfortable confines
of the philosophy you're used to doing.
And that's Gus; he goes out there and
goes for it. Doing all of this science
immersion, however, Gus never wavered in
his steadfast commitment to a broad
pluralistic view, that does ... that does what? It brings together multiple
scientific fields from cognitive
neuroscience to developmental psychology
to moral psychology to social psychology,
all of those scientific
approaches, it blends in with and puts in
dialogue with analytic moral theory,
phenomenology, pragmatist philosophy, and feminist theory; and yes, he can do all of
that. It's not, it, this is a real fact not
a pseudo fact. There are not many people
in the world who can work across all of
these different fields, bringing all of
these orientations together. He wrote a terrific doctoral
dissertation, a real pleasure, that
started from the idea of externalized
mind, which is the hypothesis that mind
is not some internal, mental, subjective
entity somewhere, or reality locked up
within the boundaries, as he likes to say,
"of skin and skull", but instead, mind
extends out into the environments we
live in and through. It incorporates our
social relations, material objects,
informational technologies, so the mind
is in the world in a very real way. So we
then asked the following question: What
becomes of our notions of virtue? Human
virtue? Moral virtue? Once we see that our
mind and our personal identity stretches
out into the world beyond our bodies,
Gus argued that we can't just conceive
of virtue as a disposition locked up
within the mind, but must see it as
encompassing aspects of our surroundings, stretching out into the environment.
This means that we have to reconsider, which he did in his dissertation, our
sense of responsibility for who we are,
and for others, and for how we cultivate
moral virtue. His dissertation was a
beautiful example of a pluralistic
approach that's both existentially
meaningful -- deals with a real topic that
matters for human life -- and is ethically
engaged. It reveals his commitment to a
philosophy that makes a difference for
how we ought to live. So to conclude, it's
no surprise that -- and I wasn't surprised, 
but I was thrilled -- when Gus won a
prestigious postdoctoral fellowship at
Duke with affiliations in the Department
of Philosophy, the Keenan's Institute for
Ethics
and the Social Sciences Research
Institute. He's working with some of the
best people in his field of interest in
a way that manifests his conception of
what philosophy can and ought to do to
help us live better lives. It's a real
pleasure to hood Gus and to witness his
transformation into the next stage of
his career, and I would end by saying for some reason they had him fill out
the thing the undergraduates fill out; I
just wanted to read you two things and
it says "why did I
choose to major in philosophy?" that Gus
said "when I was an undergraduate, I was
impressed that
philosophy graduate students could have
a two martini lunch talking about big
ideas and consider it work." I don't
think that's what we do, but
maybe a microbrew or something like that,
and finally let me just read what
he said: "other things you'd like to
mention?" "I'm incredibly grateful for the
unconditional support from my parents
John and Mary Ann Skorburg
and my partner Kristen Reinhart. I'm also
grateful for the personal and
professional mentorship provided by
Professor Mark Johnson, Professor Nicolae Morar, and Professor Colin Koopman.
[Peter Warnek]: Okay now for the Masters candidates. So, this year we have two students receiving
their MAs in philosophy who are also
continuing in our philosophy program as
PhD students. These are Joshua David Kerr, who was up
here earlier on the stage for winning
the graduate philosophy matters prize
and Jane Nam. We also have two students
receiving terminal master's degrees in
philosophy, both of whom are moving on to
study philosophy at other institutions,
and entering programs at the doctoral
level. Amy Nigh -- is she here today?  Amy Nigh
defended her master's thesis in the
spring of 2018, the title of which was
"Genealogy Through the Decolonial Turn:
Cultivating Critical Attitudes" and Amy
will be entering the philosophy PhD
program at the University of Memphis
this fall. Daniel Michael Westbrook
completed his master's degree in 2018,
and he will be attending the PhD
program in philosophy at
Emory University in the fall. Okay, so next is
Erin McKenna, who will introduce the
baccalaureate candidates.
[Erin McKenna]: So it is my honor to present our graduating majors and minors, and I know
this is the moment many of you been
waiting for all day.
I also want to make sure that you know
that there is a little reception
afterward, and the faculty really look
forward to meeting you and all of your
families at that time, so hopefully we
will see you there. So without further ado:
Giancarlo Alfano
Giancarlo writes that he chose the
philosophy major.
He chose philosophy "because I enjoy
learning about the way in which people
think about the world and their
existence in it." Favorite philosopher:
"Alan Watts, because he accurately
discusses Eastern thought through
Western ideas and concepts which reveals
more about our relationship with
ourselves and nature." Next year's plans
include "attending law school for
environmental and contract law."
[Giancarlo Alfano]: Good afternoon. I would like to thank my family and friends for being here, also
the wonderful faculty and staff, for I
could not have done this without you,
and for everyone else here today, for if
it weren't for you, it would just be us, so thank you.
[Erin McKenna]: Elizabeth Reyes Beltran
Elizabeth writes "I was originally
an ethics minor, but when I completed the
requirements for it, I found that
philosophy was something i really loved
and wanted to pursue further." Favorite
philosopher "Friedrich Nietzsche
because after stepping away from
religion, I found myself struggling with
the idea that life has no purpose or
meaning; however, through him I learned
how this actually is an affirmation of life, because it means
that we can not only do whatever we want
but also give life our own meaning, and
to me, there is nothing more beautiful
and liberating than that." Plans for next
year include "moving to Washington DC and working for Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley
to advance social and economic justice
issues."
[Elizabeth Beltran]: I just want to thank my family for their ongoing support; when I told them I
was majoring in philosophy, they're like "what is that?" but I promise I have a plan
and I just want to thank the faculty
here. I felt consistently supported. You
know, it's been a great four years, thank
you. [Erin McKenna]: I should mention that Elizabeth
served on our Diversity Committee as an
undergraduate representative as well.
Next, Jaston Burri.
Jaston chose philosophy he says "because
I knew that I love to read and write and
I was exposed to some political
philosophy my senior year of high school
that made me interested in the
discipline. I also wanted my
undergraduate studies to prepare me for
Law School and felt that deconstructing
arguments and comprehending their
underlying logic would be extremely
useful." Favorite philosopher: "Val Plumwood. I have never heard of another
philosopher who had a dialogical
relationship with a wombat --- or any other
non-human animal for that matter -- and
survived an attack by a crocodile which
made them reconsider death in human
embeddedness within nature." Next year's
plans include "moving to Portland, taking
the LSAT, applying to law schools, and
hopefully beginning an internship with a
civil rights criminal justice
organization." [Jaston Burri]: Thank you guys. I just want to give one shout out to my mom;
she helped me throughout college,
articulating everything, making sure
everything worked, also I chose
philosophy as a major. I hadn't taken a
single class, so it was like one of the
best uninformed decisions in my life.
[Erin McKenna]: Next, Olivia Chandler.
Olivia chose philosophy "because it
challenged me intellectually" she says
"and was truly interesting." Favorite
philosopher: "Val Plumwood." They just finished
the class, so it's really not fair. "Val Plumwood." Most influencing
instructors: "Dr. Erin McKenna and Dr.
David Baumeister" who you heard about
earlier "of their love for and interest in
animals as well as" -- she chose philosophy
"because their love and interest in
animals as well as making me feel I had
a place within the field of philosophy."
Plans for next year include "venturing to
the East Coast where I will hopefully be
working for an olympic-level horseback
riding trainer, traveling with them, and
learning from them."
Other things you'd like to mention: "I
could not have gotten to this point
today without the love and support of my
family. I'm incredibly grateful for that."
[Olivia Chandler]: I also just want to say thank you so much to my family and my friends and all
the people who have supported me
throughout the years. It has been a tough
four years but I'm really proud of
myself and I couldn't have done any of
it without the support and love of my
family and friends so thank you so much
and really the faculty has made this the
entire philosophy experience phenomenal
for me so I really thank all of you guys
for that as well. [Erin McKenna]: Leah Darline Crewse.
Leah writes that she chose philosophy "because all of my schooling and military
training beforehand had just been
teaching me stuff but didn't teach me
how to think about that stuff.
I loved the humbling feeling of leaving
a philosophy lecture completely stunned
and stupefied from thinking in a new way.
Favorite philosopher: "Marcus Aurelius
because of the stoicism, and his
meditations helped me to keep my sanity
while studying and writing philosophy
papers, especially while reading Hegel's
Phenomenology of Spirit; he wrote: today I
escaped all difficulty, or rather, I have
cast out all difficulty, for difficulty
is not external, but rooted in my
judgments." Plans for next year:
"Relax! I don't have any grandiose plans
for next year and am completely content
with that. I've been planning this degree
since 2009, so it's time for a recess and
to catch up with friends and family; my
long-term plan, however, is to pursue my
passion of writing and teaching." She'd
also like to mention that she's "an Air
Force veteran, and I'm a first generation
student graduating with full scholarship."
[Leah Crewse]: So I just want to take a second to acknowledge the wealth of wisdom that is
on this stage right now and I'm
completely humbled to be sharing this
stage with you all. Through the last
three years, it's been pretty challenging
transitioning from the military to
liberal arts college. It's a very
different culture and philosophy. I
didn't even start out as a philosophy
major; it chose me, and now I'm ready to
go into the world as a leader and really
think about these critical issues that
are facing our country and the nation so
yeah it finally did it; rock on!
[Erin McKenna]: Next we have Caroline Crisp
Caroline writes that she chose philosophy
"because I wanted to expand my scope of
knowledge. I came from a conservative
background, and I wanted to challenge
concepts that have been normalized my
entire life. I wanted to study decolonial
feminist philosophy." Favorite philosopher: "Angela Davis, because her dedication to
smashing the patriarchy and building
constructive forms of resistance that
builds the people's power." Plans for next
year include "building bike lanes and
helping people." She wants to study city
planning, does study city planning, and
believes that cycling can also
help with issues of equity. [Caroline Crisp]: I just wanna
thank my family for all their support
and love, and I want to thank all the
awesome faculty that have been there for
their support as well. I really appreciate it.
[Erin McKenna]: Amanda Patricia
Narcisa di Grazia
Amanda writes that she chose philosophy
because she "enjoys thinking about things
in depth, how people think and why the
world has been shaped the way it is.
Philosophy discusses those big questions.
I've always wondered, like,
Why am I here? Why are we all here? What is language? What happens when you die?"
Favorite philosopher: "Val Plumwood" She's racking them up! "Not only are Plumwood's
reasonings behind ecological devastation
true, but the way she approaches
philosophy in general is truly inspiring. As a female, I often feel silenced in the
philosophical community, quieted by
louder more eloquent and articulate
voices that love buzzwords. Plumwood
writes in such a way, particularly in her
book Eye of the Crocodile that is so
accessible anyone could read it and
understand it, philosophy can be scary to
so many people because of its natural
tendency to be dense and complicated. My
goal as a philosophy major is to remind
everyone that philosophy is done
everyday by everyone whether it's
wondering what happens after you die or
why a particular painting is so
beautiful to you.
We are constantly asking philosophical
questions, and this should inspire us to
learn more. Val Plumwood is a shining
example of this." Plans for next year
include "travel, returning to graduate
school for a degree in counseling."
She also majored in sociology, and the
pairing of that with philosophy has
taught her a lot about life and herself,
and she's incredibly grateful for the
department and the wonderful teacher
she's had.
[Amanda di Grazia]: I just want to say that I didn't do this alone. I want to thank my friends and my
family for supporting me, especially my
mom, and then a shout-out to Erin for
being a fabulous teacher. She was my last
philosophy teacher. And Paul specifically.
I took his class twice, 
teaching kids philosophy and it's what
helped me decide that I wanted to major
in philosophy, and I hope that he gets to
continue it for as long as he wishes to.
Thank you.
[Erin McKenna]: Leyla Ersan. Leyla chose philosophy she says "because I fell in love with philosophy
during a hard time in my life when I was
going through the emotions of a
sexual-assault. Feminist philosophy
really picked me up on my feet and
helped me to see where I could take my
experience to help other women in the
same position. With philosophy, I have not
only been able to contemplate and study
other people but myself as well." Favorite
philosopher: "John Dewey because I believe
education is the key to solving some of
the biggest issues and concerns in the
world and I agree with the way in which
John Dewey thinks education should be
taught. Because of his work, I decided to
join the teaching children philosophy
classes for two terms, and it was truly
eye-opening to have actual open
conversation and a true dramatic
rehearsal on current issues in the world
was something that I believe changed my
point of view as well as many children's."
Plans for next year include "working with
victims of sexual assault so I can learn
more about the key issues that we as
survivors allies and for anyone can
focus on. After this, I would like to take
my knowledge into the school system and
possibly continue with my education"
She's waiting to find the right major. "If
waiting to find the right major for you
is worth that time I went from not
knowing what I was doing in school to
using school as my crutch and my passion."
[Leyla Ersan]: First off, I did not know that we were going to be reading the survey. Wow!
But thank you to my family and friends and
thank you so much to all of the
professors that I have had. You've all
played a hand in bringing me to the next
professor. and you all have been amazing. Thank you!
[Erin McKenna]: Alexis Gandara
Alexis chose philosophy she says because
I want to critically engage in
philosophical inquiry and strongly
believe in Socrates when he says an
unexamined life is not worth living
philosophy was the perfect outlet for me
to question anything and everything
while developing my reasoning and
argumentation skills favorite
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche has a way of really making you
reevaluate your morals and values as
soon as you think you can stand straight
he pulls the carpet right out from under
your feet
he helped me critically evaluate my life
and become a stronger person in college
plans for next year include traveling
and searching for a career I'm
passionate about where I can use the
skills acquired throughout my time in
Oregon she was a double major in
philosophy in political science with a
minor in the Business Administration and
Wayne Morse scholar at the Wayne Morse center for law & politics
thank you so much mom and dad I couldn't
have done this without you guys thank
you so much my family traveling all the
way from Texas to be here today with me
I'm so excited for the weekend thank you
to these wonderful professors and thank
you for all the teachers that are also
in the crowd that played a part of my
education here thank you
Laura Tasha
Garcia
Lord chose philosophy because I enjoyed
how philosophy challenges me to think in
many different angles and encourages me
to analyze any situation for many
perspectives before developing my take
on the subject at hand favorite
philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft in her
work vindication of the rights of women
wolston craft brought her idea that
women should be given the same
educational access as men it was an
extremely revolutionary and
controversial subject at the time but I
admire how she didn't care what others
would think of her thoughts Mary
Wollstonecraft is also the mother of
Mary Shelley who wrote one of my
favorite novels Frankenstein plans for
next year include to take a year to
study for both the GRE as well as the
ELSA so I could apply to graduate school
and law school I'm not sure which path I
want to take but I hope to be Riaan
rolled in University of by fall 2019
other things on my father's side I'm the
first person to graduate from a
university on my mother's side I'm the
first female to do the same
I'm also an homage
I'm also an only child and would love to
thank my parents for all the love
support and sacrifices that they've made
so I can be walking across this stage
like as I like to repeat it I'd like to
thank my parents again
they've been there like since you know
elementary school so yeah you're gonna
go to college or you get that degree I'd
also like to thank my family who drove
up in California thank you for all being
here as well as my organ family love you
guys
I'd also like to thank my friends yep I
noticed you guys and as well as the
whole faculty upon here as well as the
other professors that couldn't attend
and I'm just oh this has been an amazing
experience and I wouldn't trade it for
anything else and thank you we're all
attending
gabi gardener
Gabi writes that philosophy was a major
- to pursue the close critical reading
process drew me in and the dialogue that
forms between peers and professors was
an invigorating climate that kept me in
it also felt important for me to come
from an ethnic studies focus to
understand Western thinkers in order to
understand compare and critique them
based on indigenous ways of knowing
favorite philosopher Maria lagunes ago
and has has an important understanding
of decolonial feminism that has been
both empowering and expansive to my
worldviews next year I plan on taking a
year to focus on GRE and LSAT prep
before applying to do a graduate
programs with an emphasis on philosophy
and law
thank you for all of my family and
chosen family who came here today and
also the ones who couldn't because as a
working-class student I understand that
people have work schedules and stuff so
there's a lot of people that aren't here
that definitely supported me in my
journey and thank you all for making me
move past the motto C's get degrees and
I actually helped me find my passion and
continuing academic pursuits so thank
you
Jacob Goldfarb
Jacob chose philosophy because I wanted
to strengthen my reading skills my
reading comprehension and writing skills
favorite philosopher John Dewey because
human nature and conduct which is one of
Duty's books made me more conscious of
my own habits and how I maintain and
alter them in daily activity plans for
next year include applying to law school
while using my last year of eligibility
to play baseball for the Ducks I just
like to thank my parents for instilling
a strong moral compass in me and for my
girlfriend and my parents as well and in
this wonderful faculty for continuously
challenged me to use that moral compass
and examine my everyday choices thank
you
Stephanie Gordon
Stephanie chose philosophy because I had
inspiring mentors in my philosophy
classes the passion of the UO and the
philosophy program for critical thinking
learning and teaching was everything I'd
been searching for in a department and
that some of my best friends in these
classrooms and found myself in the text
favorite philosopher Simone de Beauvoir
because her words are the words I knew I
needed but did not know plans for next
jou year includes saving money in the
hopes of getting my masters or PhD I'm a
first-generation college student when I
graduate I do so not only for myself but
for my parents my grandparents and all
those in my life who carried me to this
day
my name is Stephanie I grew up poor I
grew up I spent my early life in a
trailer I grew up poor but my mother
made sure that I was never wanting for
one thing books recently when cleaning
out our storage unit together my mom and
I found boxes and boxes of books from my
childhood she must have spent every
spare dollar she had on making sure I
was educated my family are not academics
but when I was a little girl my mom told
me I would go to college someday I
didn't realize at the time that she had
no idea how I would get there it was a
lot of work on both of our behalves but
we got there today because of my mother
I am the first one in my family to stand
at this podium and she stands here with
me she has carried me for so long and
now I carry her across this floor with
me thank you mom
alik home
alik shows philosophy because it was the
first subject that I not only found
interesting but also beneficial favorite
philosopher Enrique de sel he made makes
important efforts to expose the
reasoning why Latin America is still
underdeveloped today while also
providing a course of action to improve
the lives of those who haven't have an
unsatisfactory living standards next
year's plans include traveling to South
America and improving Spanish also a
minor in business administration and
Spanish alright so if you couldn't tell
it it not work very hard on my
graduation comments so I'll attempt to
make up for that I'd really like to
thank my family for being so supportive
especially for not getting the business
major and I'd like to I'd like to thank
our amazing staff every one of the
teachers that I've both met and had
classes with has influenced me much and
change the way of look at the world I'd
like to thank all of you philosophy
students as well for doing the exact
same thing you guys are amazing thank
you
William James mayor
chose philosophy because I have a love
for wisdom favorite philosopher
jean-paul Sartre because of his
assessment of human existence plans for
next year include working for AmeriCorps
in Delaware while I'll help tutor and
teach 3rd graders I'd like to thank
everyone for being here and for helping
cultivates a rich environment for
learning and for education and rest in
peace Pugsley thank you Caden Malden
an answer to the question of why she
chose philosophy I didn't choose it it
shows me my favorite philosopher my
little brother and sister because
children are the best philosophers
because their imagination is limitless
next year's plans are surprised she
would like to thank family and to all
the wonderful professors and graduate
employees who supported her but would
you like to add some I just feel so
lucky and fortunate to have had this
wonderful opportunity to work with these
amazing people and to make all these
beautiful friends and yeah kids never
stop asking questions your minds are
amazing
Nik McGuirk
Nik chose philosophy because he was
learning the most from his philosophy
classes favorite philosopher Mark
Johnson plans for next year working in
Portland so do you want to expand
all right I was a little brief as well I
especially want to thank Stephen and
Mark for advising my thesis I also want
to thank the fantastic graduate students
especially on Martina and Larry thank
you so much
Kylee McConnell
hardly chose philosophy because I wanted
to challenge myself and deepen my
knowledge of logic and critical
reasoning favorite philosophers Maria
lagunas and valve on wood because they
have both taught me the importance of
self critical reasoning that can resist
the unnecessary dualisms that dominate
society specifically the bonus has
taught me to recognize multiplicity
rather than fragmentation and plum wood
has taught me the importance of
Prudential arguments that can be used to
argue against irrational forms of
rationality plans for next year include
taking a year off from schooling to
rethink my life and career goals thank
you to everyone that has helped me get
to this get where I am today
specifically to my parents as well as my
most influential professors Bonnie Mann
and Erin McKenna thank you I just want
to say thank you to my parents again
thank you to all my family and my
boyfriend for supporting me and dealing
with all my mental breakdowns thank you
to all the faculty and yeah thank you
sorry for the bad timing Nick's already
walked across the stage but I wanted to
say a couple of words as his thesis
advisor about his thesis it was
remarkable and I think I'd rather put
him through the wringer for that past
year so he deserves a few extra words I
think he came to me about a year ago
with the idea of writing
he's Nick was a major in philosophy and
a minor in creative writing and a member
of the very prestigious kit creative
writing program here at the University
and he came with to me with this idea I
want to write some fiction that does
philosophical work and I thought well
that's a great idea
sure but you'll have to do more than
that you'll have to write to do the
fiction and then you'll have to meditate
it on it as a philosopher and explain it
to the rest of us where the
philosophical work is he not only so he
did both of those things he not only did
that but in the process of this I sent
him to Mark Johnson to to as a as a
second reader and to get a few ideas of
what more he might do mark recommended
to him a book by John Gardner
on moral fiction which then Nick worked
through Gardner's distinction between
moral fiction and moralistic fiction and
then gave an account not only of the
eminent philosophical content of his
story
but then discussed it at the meta level
engaging then in this took some courage
I think and I don't know how much
courage he quite knew he was embracing
at this point I then sent him to read
some of Mark Johnson's work perhaps why
he's his favorite philosopher one of
mine too
and then brought into a conversation
with with gardener's idea of moral
fiction brought this into account of
with Professor Johnson's account of
moral deliberation is informed by John
Dewey and a lot of contemporary
cognitive science so he did a wide
sweeping thing working at all different
levels and it came out terrifically and
I'm extremely proud of him so thank you
sorry for the road
thank you guys to all those Freddy's
Matt makrooh
Matt chose philosophy because I really
enjoy reading philosophy pursuing proper
methods for answering life's questions
is a noble activity favorite philosopher
John Dewey because he understands the
social nature of human interaction and
applies it to his ethics in a way that
feels uniquely applicable plans for next
year work for a law office or nonprofit
and save up for Law School
thank you mom dad and congratulations on
getting your third in the last kid
through college
Kathy Mullin
Kassie chose philosophy because I enjoy
discussions of meaning and intent
favorite philosopher Karl Marx because
he had an amazing beard and taught me an
economic system that could value people
over capital plans for next year to go
to school to obtain my paralegal
certificate and then work as a paralegal
she writes the UO was a great place to
cultivate an attitude of critical
thinking and an openness to discussion I
just want to thank my parents for
supporting me and encouraging me to
follow my passions and I want to thank
all my friends for supporting me when I
felt like I couldn't support myself
Jonathan wood Gus key
Jonathan chose philosophy because
philosophy provides individuals with the
tools necessary to critically analyze
situations and have logical
conversations it is so much more than
just an educational tool it's a way of
seeing the ways in which the world's
pieces collide and collaborate favorite
philosophers Deleuze and guitar II I
really identify with their notion of
rhizomes I hope to take my talents into
the cannabis industry where I will focus
on ethical analysis and building
relationships to understand the
complexity that comes with legalization
I would like to thank my parents sister
and family for supporting me throughout
my academic career I couldn't have done
it without them I just want to say
thanks to my family and friends and my
parents for allowing me to switch majors
it's about 10 times to different
universities and the staff here
specifically professor Bowdoin because
your children's the philosophy class
really changed my life and I think it
inspires everybody to really be a better
person and really encourage children to
have open free thoughts that's about it
and we did it
that completes our ceremony
you
