Philosophy

Lecture to explore relationship between physiology and eloquence

In 1575, the Spanish physician Juan Huarte recorded an encounter with a “rude countrie fellow who made very eloquent discourse” after becoming frantic. According to Huarte, this oratory sprang directly from the man’s fevered state.

In a free public lecture Wednesday, English professor Stephen Pender takes seriously Huarte’s assertion — eloquence is a matter of heat rather than cognition, imagination or memory — and explores an ensemble of neglected ideas in early modern medicine and rhetoric.

Lecture to explore model of scientific reasoning

The Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric presents distinguished research fellow Douglas Walton delivering his free public lecture “An Argumentation Model of Defeasible Scientific Knowledge” at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, February 8, in the seminar room, Parker House.

In his discussion, Dr. Walton presents a model of the procedure whereby argumentation is used to justify the claim that a given proposition should have the status of scientific knowledge.

Philosopher to consider the nature of nature

Even asking the question “What is Nature?” seems to presume a distinction between the natural and the non-natural, says philosophy professor Philip Rose.

He will explore that notion in a lecture today — Wednesday, February 1 — at 3:30 p.m. in room 52-1, Chrysler Hall South. Dr. Rose will provide an overview of the idea of nature in classical thought and discuss the contrast drawn between the natural and the divine.

His lecture, part of the Philosophy Dry Run Series, is free and open to the public.

Pioneering philosopher honoured for blazing trail in his field

For the last 45 years, Tony Blair has been making the world a better place, one argument at a time.

A professor emeritus in the university’s Philosophy department, Blair is one of the original founders of a school of thought known as informal logic. Simply put, it’s a manner of ordinary reasoning that helps people become more skilled critical thinkers, better able to assess the validity of arguments they’re faced with every day.

Tags: 

Philosophers to trace the Windsor Method in argument evaluation

Seven UWindsor authors – Tony Blair, Leo Groarke, Ralph Johnson, Kate Parr, Robert Pinto, Christopher Tindale, Douglas Walton – account among them for at least five textbooks on reasoning and argument evaluation.

Now, several members of that group are working to identify an approach to informal logic common to this University.

Blair, Johnson and Tindale have drafted the Windsor Method, which outlines a broad school of thought on identifying, analyzing and judging reasoning and arguments.