minds & machines
In partnership with the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ we are offering academically motivated Michigan High School students in grades 10, 11 or 12 an opportunity to participate in the Witherspoon Forum, a series of virtual seminars designed to help you reflect on foundational questions of human existence that are also highly relevant to our society. The Forum’s 2024-2025 theme is “Minds and Machines.”
Throughout the academic year, we will reflect on the most pressing philosophical and theological questions arising from life in a technological society. We will explore how new technologies are reshaping our ideas about God, humanity, and the cosmos, and what a humanistic response might look like. We will bring key thinkers and ideas from philosophical and religious traditions into dialogue with contemporary debates in ethics, politics, and culture.
What does it mean to be human in a scientific and technological age? How might we order our souls and organize our society?
Successful applicants should be ready and eager to participate in discussions of the common themes of their seminars. No grades will be given. No familiarity with the subject matter is expected.
We want lively conversation and careful reflection on the big questions that you will soon need to engage at the college of your choice. And hopefully you'll also discover just how important intellectual friendships will be during your college experience!
If accepted, students commit to attending these seminars. Those who attend three or more seminars throughout the year will be recognized as Witherspoon Scholars. They will also receive priority consideration for the Witherspoon Institute’s week-long, summer seminar in Princeton, Moral Life and the Classical Tradition.
Fall 2024 Seminars
Artificial Intelligence
& Religious Belief
October 8, 15 & 22, 2024
7:00PM EST
Joseph Vukov, PhD is Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at Loyola University Chicago, and Associate Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola.His research explores questions at the intersection of ethics, neuroscience and religion. In 2022, he published Navigating Faith and Science, and in 2023, he published The Perils of Perfection. In Spring 2024, he will publish a book that grapples with questions arising from new forms of Artificial Intelligence. At the graduate level, Vukov advises PhD and MA students, and teaches courses in philosophy of mind and neuroethics. At the undergraduate level, he mentors undergraduate research projects, and teaches courses in philosophy of mind, bioethics, and neuroethics. In Fall semesters, he teaches a course sequence with Dr. Michael Burns (Biology) that uses science fiction novels to introduce near-future moral problems: Philosophy and Biology for the Future. Also with Dr. Burns, Vukov is PI on an approximately $150,000 project funded by the NEH to develop interdisciplinary courses at Loyola focused on near-future problems. In 2020, he was named a Sujack Master Teacher and in 2019, was awarded the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Freshmen.
Technology & Human Agency
November 4th (Monday), 12 and 19 (Tuesdays) 7:00PM EST
Landon Hobbs is Research Fellow and Director of Academic Programs at the Zephyr Institute, at Stanford University. Hisresearch focuses on Ancient Greek philosophy, especially the theoretical philosophy of Aristotle. He received his PhD from Stanford University in 2023 and is currently pursuing a research project on the content, justification, and use of the ancient metaphysical principle that the cause must precontain its effect.
How to Apply to the fall 2024 seminars
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This program is open to high school students in grades 10, 11 and 12. Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis.
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Students may apply to 1, 2 or all 3 of the seminars.
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You may begin the application process anytime, then revise and update your packet until the deadline. Deadlines for receiving your application are as follows:
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Revolutions in Science & Faith: September 23, 2023 at midnight
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Revolutions & Totalitarianism: October 24, 2023 at midnight
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Rewinding Revolutions: November 21, 2023 at midnight
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There is a limited number of spots for these seminars. Should you be accepted, you'll be sent reading material to review before the seminar begins. We expect you to prepare the readings thoroughly, listen to your instructors and fellow students attentively, and participate with thoughtfulness and generosity.
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There is no application fee. Those students who are accepted should submit a nonrefundable $25.00 registration fee per seminar.
Spring 2025 Seminars
genetic engineering and human nature
Dr. Janet Madigan
The surveillance state
and society
Dr. Luke Foster
