News and Events

Prof. Howard on Dhyāna

[2024.11.16] As as invited speaker at the Still & Moving Center, Hawaii’s Premier Center for Mindful Movement Classes & Bodywork. Professor Howard delivered a talk about the Hindu tradition, entitled "Dhyāna - The Virtue of Contemplation." She has spoken at this venue before. Past recordings of talks - hers and others - can be found here: https://stillandmovingcenter.com/2020/07/gems-from-the-wisdom-traditions-a-dialogue-circle-live-online/.

Truth in Jainism

[2024.11.15] At an online conference under the heading 'Perspectives about Truth 3,' held at the National University of Science and Technology ‘Politehnica’ Bucharest, in Bucharest, Romania, Professor Rosenhagen presented a talk on 'Truth in Jainism' . After introducing Jain Dharma to the audience, he argued against the mainstream of available interpretations of the Jain doctrine of syādvāda. According to these interpretations, syādvāda is the claim that the truth of a statement is dependent on [or to be assessed relative to] the perspective of the speaker who is making it. Moreover,  it is held that each such perspective affords partial truth. Professor Rosenhagen argued against the universally quantified statement expressed in the previous sentence and, also, that syādvāda should taken to be unrelated to claims regarding the dependence of the truth-value of statements on perspectives. On the view he suggested, some possible perspectives are so skewed that with respect to a given situation that they don't even afford access to partial truth. However, from such perspectives, there will still be claims that are rationally assertible. He proposed that what depends on a perspective, rather than the truth of statements, is a) what truths, if any, are accessible from it, and b) what statements [which may or may not be true] are rationally assertible from it. 

Philosophy Club discusses Shadows!

[2024.11.13] At 1 pm, the Philosophy Club met in the PhilZone to discuss some puzzles that arise when thinking about plausible principles about the nature of puzzles. The session, based on readings by Aranyosi and Gava, was led by Professor Cusick and Professor Rosenhagen. Those interested in joining the club are invited to register using the upper QR code below.

Gandhi's Global Impact

[2024.11.08] At 4.30 pm, Professor Howard delivered an invited lecture entitled "Gandhi's Global Impact: Peace, Non-Violence, and Upliftment of All" at Soka University of America. In the talk, she examined Mahatma Gandhi's life and philosophy of non-violence and peace. She explored the methods he employed in his mass movements of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and the concept of welfare of all and examined the global impact of Gandhi, particularly on the Civil Rights Movement and the Farm Workers Movement in America. 

Temple Diwali Visit with Students  

[2024.11.03] To witness this year's festival of Diwali, the pan-Indian festival of light, Professor Howard, Professor Rosenhagen, and some students visited the BPAS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on 8105 N. Maple Ave. Students witnessed a fire ceremony [aarti], marveled at the decorations and the food donations [some of them intricately carved], were introduced to the various murtis [statues of divine figures as well as statues of the founder of this particular sampradaaya [teacher-student lineage]], learned about various Hindu festivals that are being celebrated throughout the year through the help of displays set up in the temple and explained by various Hindu students from the surrounding areas, and enjoyed an Indian meal. The visit was interesting and educational, the students were welcomed very warmly and much enjoyed the event. Special thanks to Shreya and Naakshi for taking such good care of us!

Here are two student voices:

Experiencing the celebration of Diwali first-hand was an incredible opportunity. Everyone was so welcoming and open to educating us in their beautiful culture. As a dual language elementary teacher, I was able to share what I learned with my current students and will continue to share with my future students, to show them the beauty in diversity.
- Yessica Nieblas, M.A. Multilingual, Multicultural Education

Diwali for me was an opportunity to learn about a culture we had touched upon in class. Seeing all the beautiful colors and how welcoming the people were made the experience amazing. I did not feel out of place and the coordinators went out of their way to make us feel included.
- Jesus Nieblas, B. Sc. Electrical Engineering, Senior [the class in question: PHIL 1 - Intro to Philosophy (Prof. Rosenhagen)]

   

 

   

Professor Howard at the 13th Annual YogaDay

[2024.11.02] On November 2, Professor Howard took part in the 13th Annual YogaDay at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, serving as a Trouble in YogaLand roundtable facilitator in a panel on The Dharma of Climate Change. 

Peace Walk

[2024.10.25] On October 25, 4:30 pm, a group of peace walkers who are walking the globe for peace, conducting a Gandhi-MLK Peace Pilgrimage, will be walking through Fresno and visit us in the Peace Garden. See below for the program and, better even, come! Click on the image to get to see the full flyer [with more details about the peace walkers on the back side].  

Pittsburgh: Conference in Memoriam of Nuel D. Belnap, Jr.

[2024.10.19] Professor Rosenhagen traveled to Pittsburgh to participate in a conference organized by Professor Anil Gupta - an event put together by the latter to celebrate the life and work of his friend and former teacher, the late Nuel D. Belnap, Jr.

Belnap had served as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh for over 45 years and passed away earlier this year, at the age of 94. His most influential works all fall into various areas of Logic. His The Logic of Questions and Answers, co-authored in 1976 with Thomas B. Steel, is a classic work in what is now commonly referred to as erotetic logic [i.e., the logic of questions and answers] and remains highly relevant to contemporary computer science and philosophy of AI. His two-volume compendium on Entailment is a labor of love, dedicated to the long-time collaboraton and the fond memories that linked Belnap to the co-author of its first volume [1975], Alan Ross Anderson [also a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, who had passed away in 1973]. The second volume of Entailment [1992] was published together with J. Michael Dunn and again, posthumously, Alan Ross Anderson.

Belnap's technically demanding and highly influential The Revision Theory of Truth, which offers an account co-developed and co-authored with Anil Gupta, contains one of the most developed and powerful contemporary approaches to truth - one that provides, inter alia, ingenious ways of dealing with truth paradoxes and circular definitions, while escaping familiar problems besetting fixed-point theories. In Facing the Future: Agents and Choices in Our Indeterminist World, a book co-authored with Michael Perloff and Ming Xu, Belnap develops a logical operator stit [short for: seeing-to-it-that], which serves him, among many other things, to provide an account of promising. His last major project, executed together with Thomas Müller & Tomasz Placek, concerns the rigorous development of the concept of Branching Space-Times, which combines the theory of relativity with the indeterminist idea that the future is open and [thus] branches off into different possible trajectories.

The celebration was well-attended by former colleagues, students, as well as their students, who honored Professor Belnap's memory in the presence of his children, grandchildren, and extended family. Below is a picture of the announcement [with a picture of the late Nuel Belnap], along with a picture of Professor Rosenhagen, taken while he was delivering some remarks.

Bioethics Workshop

[2024.10.18] On October 18, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, a workshop on Contemporary Issues in Bioethics was held at the Clovis Community Medical Center. Two of our faculty members were part of it: Professor Andrew Fiala gave a talk entitled "Hope as a Moral Imperative?" and Professor Veena Howard gave a talk entitled "Spirituality and Religion." See below for details:

Movie Screening: Gandhi (1982)

[2024.10.16] Professor Rosenhagen organized a screening of Richard Attenborough's 1982 historical biopic "Gandhi" for students of PAX and PHIL, specifically his PAX 100, PHIL 1, and PHIL 108/ASAM 108 classes. The movie was screened in the Auditorium of the Fresno State Library [LIB 2206]. The event was generously supported by the M.K. Gandhi Center, which sponsored pizza, soda, and cookies for all. About 40 students attended.

Professor Howard talks at the Institute for World Culture

[2024.10.12] On October 12, 2 pm, Professor Howard delivered an online talk with the Institute for World Culture on Gandhi's perspective on religion and politics, followed by Gandhian scholar Dr. James Tepfer. The event was live-streamed and can be watched here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqSIIijFY8o

Gandhi's 155th Birthday - Dr. Kapoor talks to students 

[2024.10.02] Dr. Kapoor visited campus today to help celebrate Gandhi's 155th birthday. Professors Veena Howard and Raja Rosenhagen and students from his PAX 100 [Introduction to Peace and Nonviolence Studies] and PHIL 108/ASAM 108 [Jain, Hindu, and Asian-American Religions] classes helped in the celebrations. Dr. Kapoor shared withe the students the account of how the Peace Garden came into being, as well as various events associated with Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Cesar Chavez. Flowers were presented and laid down at the Gandhi monument, a pledge against hate and a number of inspirational quotes from figures displayed in the Peace Garden were recited by students and faculty together, and students seized the opportunity to ask questions and take pictures.

   

Prof. Howard speaking about Gandhi at his 155th birthday

[2024.10.02] On the occasion of Gandhi's 155th, Professor Veena Howard gave a online lecture for the Golden Gate Breakfast Club, entitled, "Gandhi: India and Beyond the Ancient Traditions." Here are a few screenshots:

Building a Beloved Community

[2024.09.21] Prof. Raja Rosenhagen served as an invited speaker at a Peacebuilding and Nonviolence Workshop called "Building a Beloved Community" hosted at the University of Pittsburgh and collaboratively organised between the University of PIttsburgh's Center on Race and Social Problems, its David C. Frederick Honors College, and the Alliance for Humanitarian Initiatives, Nonviolence, and Spiritual Advancement (AHINSA). The speakers included:

• Raja Rosenhagen, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fresno State
• Morgan Overton, Artist-in-Residence at Frederick Honors College
• Dr. Sal Corbin, DC Peace Team Board Member
• Rev. Paul Abernathy, Director of the Neighborhood Resilience Project
• Dr. Kyaien Conner, Director of Center on Race and Social Problems 

. Here are some pictures:

Press Release Unveiling

[2024.09.16] The unveiling of the Mandela Monument was featured in the Campus News and in an article written by Lisa Bell for the Fresno State News. Follow the links and learn more about this significant event. After all, as Bell writes, "This is the first new statue added to the garden in nearly 20 years."

Mandela Monument Unveiled

[2024.09.12] What an event! On a beautiful afternoon and in the presence of about 400 people -- students, faculty, honoraries, staff members, and interested visitors from in and around Fresno -- the new addition to the Peace Garden was finally unveiled. The beautiful ceremony featured African drumming, the Fresno State Chamber Choir with, inter alia, a beautiful rendition of "Wade in the Water", and addresses by Fresno State president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Prof. Veena Howard, Professor of Philosophy and Endowed Chair in Jain and Hindu Dharma, who also led through the program, Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, Fresno State professor emeritus in Social Work, the founder of the University's program in Peace and Conflict Studies and instrumental in creating the Peace Garden, and, finally, the invited keynote speaker, Dr. Siyabulela Mandela, who gave a passionate and enthralling speech on Nelson Mandela. Here are some beautiful impressions, captured and graciously shared by Peter Maiden, photo editor for the Community Alliance newspaper:

Publication Alert

[2024.09.10] Just out: The Fresno Bee published an  article penned by Prof. Veena Howard about the upcoming unveiling of the Mandela Monument on Thursday [see below]. 

The Maldonados playing Bach & Shawn

Peace Garden Event: Mandela Monument to be unveiled & Conversation between Dr. Siyabulela Mandela and ASI President Faith van Hoven

[2024.09.05] On Sep 12, 5 p.m., the small but illustrous group of monuments in the  Peace Garden will get a new member. In this free and open-to-all event, the new Nelson Mandela monument will be unveiled [you may have seen the box and wondered...], there will be African Drumming, singing [by, e.g., the Fresno State Chamber Singers], and a keynote address by Dr. Siyabulela Mandela. Do come and join us for the ceremony!

On the following day, Sep 13, 2 pm, Dr. Mandela will engage in a public conversation with ASI President [& Philosophy student] Faith van Hoven. Don't miss it!

Click on the images below to open the PDFs.   

   

Congratulations!

[2024.09.01] The Philosophy Department congratulates Dr. Amin Tais to his promotion to Associate Professor and Dr. James Rocha to his promotion to Full Professor. 

Welcome!

[2024.08.21] New faces in the Philosophy Department! We welcome Dr. Raja Rosenhagen [Dr. Raja], our newest Assistant Professor [in Peace & Non-Violence Studies and Philosophy]; Dr. Mariah Cushing, who joins us as a part-time lecturer; and we also recognize Anissa Guerrero, M.A., who is returning to serve the department as a part-time lecturer for the second semester already. 

 

Dr. Raja Rosenhagen                           Dr. Mariah Cushing                               Anissa Guerrero, M.A.

Philosophy Student of Distinction

The Philosophy Department congratulates Caleb Charles on being the 2021 Philosophy Student of Distinction!

Program of Exceptional Quality

The University's Undergraduate Academic Program Review Subcommittee has completed its review of Philosophy.  They have recommended that the B.A. degree in Philosophy be approved as a Program with Notation of Exceptional Quality.  This recommendation is offered without reservation in recognition of our specific areas of promise and excellence!

Congratulations!

The Philosophy Department congratulates Dr. Veena Howard on her appointment as the Endowed Chair in Jain and Hindu Dharma.