Opening ANWR to Oil Drilling

With the cost of oil peaking at about $60 per barrel, the debate over opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has come to the forefront again (Economist, 19 March 2005, p. 38). Pro-drilling advocates argue that the ANWR may hold enough crude oil to sustain the demands of the gas-guzzling consumer for at least a few years, while pro-environment advocates argue that a network of pipelines and oil-drilling platforms will harm the caribou, polar bear, and millions of migrating birds natural habitat.

There is no doubt that installing oil rigs and pipelines in the ANWR will damage the environment at some level. One of the complaints usually leveled against the oil companies is that they have no regard for the environment. They will do anything to make a profit. Doesn't this assume that the oil companies prefer to destroy the environment and everything in it?

But if this assumption is correct, then oil companies have no regard for their business either. Drilling agencies depend on the environment for profits. So, to think that they have no regard for the environment seems silly. They should care enough to protect their investment.

Also, I imagine that the executives share a common interest in life. That they just care about profit is to assume that they do not care about anything else. What seems more reasonable is the claim that firms want to reduce the amount of damage the drills and pipelines cause. They must realize that the environment is an important asset for them and for the world. Thus it seems unlikely that they have such a brazen attitude towards the environment as some may argue.

What should be scorned - and something I will leave for later - is the way the Bush administration has pushed through the agenda to open ANWR. It is not a separate bill, but it is a part of the budget. No filibusting allowed!

Experimental Philosophy in the Classroom

Well, it's official. The University of Utah has decided to fund my proposed teaching/research project using experimental philosophy methods in the classroom. The project consists of two courses to be offered in the AY 2005-2006. The courses will be introductory philosophy classes with a slight twist. Students' intuitions will be tested through a series of experiments, much akin to the sort that (to name a few) Joshua Knobe, Thomas Nadelhoffer, Eddy Nahmias, Stephen Stich and (Utah's own) Shaun Nichols and Ron Mallon have created.

As a part of this project, I will also use some experiments in my classroom during the summer. I will be teaching an introductory philosophy class at Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

IWSPC Review

The 2005 Intermountain West Student Philosophy Conference was a huge success largely due to the quality of the papers presented and the keynote speaker, Professor Kim Sterelny. We - me and the other members of the conference committee - thank everyone who attended for their support and for their valuable contributions.

For the record, I would like to share some statistics about the conference. First, it is one of the largest student conferences. The 2005 conference included 27 papers by graduate and undergraduate students from around the world (We have Alik Pelman of University College London to thank for that).

Second, the conference received 113 submissions, which means the acceptance rate was approximately 24%.

Finally, we have begun to prepare for the 2006 conference, and we should have a flyer available soon. A copy of the flyer will be available on the University of Utah website, and I will provide a hyperlink to the flyer in this blog.