Events

The Templeton Institute is excited to announce that we will be hosting David Chalmers, Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science and Co-Director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at New York University, for our signature Fall term event. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 30th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM for his lecture, which will address the intersections of Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, and related interdisciplinary topics. If you are interested in learning more about Prof. Chalmers's work in advance of his visit, please see his official website or Wikipedia pages.

This event emerged through a partnership between the Templeton Institute and Union's Department of Philosophy, and we are especially grateful to Prof. Marianna Bergamaschi Ganapini for helping us to bring such a world-renowned scholar to our campus. This Templeton Institute event will be held in conjunction with the Feigenbaum Forum's annual Fall lecture.

One of our signature events, TI Wednesdays, brings together faculty and staff to meet with their colleagues, get to know each other better, and discuss new ideas and potential integrative collaborations. Each TI Wednesday features a topic (e.g., Academic Honesty, Artificial Intelligence, etc.), and participants will be encouraged to spend at least part of the time discussing such topics together. From time to time, a brief “lightning talk” may be scheduled to stimulate conversation.

Interdisciplinary Approaches for Reimagining Death and Dying: Finding Meaning at the End of Life

If you imagined your dying process, what would your final days look like? Come examine excerpts of records chronicling the end-of-life journeys of over 500 patients who died receiving hospice home care in the local community and join a discussion aimed at interdisciplinary approaches that might help to redesign and reimagine how we die.

Quincy Brown ‘25 Neuroscience major/English Minor used Twine, an open-source tool for creating interactive, nonlinear stories about end-of-life care.
Carol Weisse, Ronald M. Obenzinger Professor of Psychology/Director of Health Professions has conducted mixed-methods research of caregivers’ challenges to provide quality end-of-life care.

Sociologists are uniquely positioned to analyze the implications of technological transformations on communities, and how technology's utility and dangers depend on how it's used and how accessible it is.

Professor Deidre Hill Butler, Chair of the Sociology Department, will share reflections and data on how social media impacts belonging in campus life.