Breadcrumb
Humboldt Philosophy Forum
The Humboldt Philosophy Forum is created and hosted by Philosophy professor Mary I. Bockover. The forum covers topics of contemporary significance and aims to increase understanding of the diversity of ideas, values, and practices embodied by our culture. The aim is to promote critical as well as constructive thinking, so discussions are expected to be reasonable, respectful, but also open to objections. Formerly called the Humboldt Ethics Forum, the Humboldt Philosophy Forum covers a broad range of topics of interest to the university and larger community.
For more information or to get involved, contact mary.bockover@humboldt.edu
2025/26 Keynote: Lying on the Philosopher's Couch
Thurs. Nov. 6, 5:30-7pm, Goodwin Forum (NHE 102)
Susi Ferrarello is associate professor at California State University, East Bay. Her work integrates phenomenology, (bio)ethics, and interdisciplinary research in perinatal care and emerging technologies. She is currently pursuing projects at the intersection of phenomenology of motherhood, perinatal mental health, and bioethical frameworks for care, with particular attention to identity transformation, affectivity, and embodied intersubjectivity. Her recent work also explores the ethical and cultural implications of artificial intelligence, drawing on Husserlian philosophy to critically examine cognition, affect, and technological mediation.
She works as philosophical counselor and writes for Psychology Today. Among her recent books The Ethics of Love (Routledge, 2022), Phenomenology of Pregnancy and Early Motherhood (Routledge, 2024), The Origin of Bioethics and Human Emotions (2023), The Routledge Handbook of Phenomenology of Mindfulness (2023). She is also the founder of the
non-profit in reproductive rights NoBumpNoCare.
She has taught philosophy and ethics in both Europe and the United States, and collaborates widely across disciplines including psychology, medicine, and the social sciences. Her current research agenda is guided by the conviction that phenomenology and narrative inquiry provide essential tools for addressing urgent questions of care, identity, and human flourishing in contemporary contexts of medicine, technology, and culture.
Forum Archive
Wednesday, March 6 from 5:30-7PM in the Great Hall
Keynote Speaker
Maurice Hamington
Maurice Hamington is Professor of Philosophy and Affiliate Faculty of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Portland State University. He writes about the theory and application of feminist care ethics. He is the author of Revolutionary Care: Commitment and Ethos (2024), Care Ethics and Poetry (2019), written with Ce Rosenow, The Social Philosophy of Jane Addams (2009), Embodied Care (2004), and Hail Mary? The Struggle for Ultimate Womanhood in Catholicism (1995). Hamington edited Feminism and Hospitality: Gender in the Host/Guest Relationship (2010) and has co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Jane Addams (2023), Care Ethics, Religion, and Spiritual Traditions (2022), Care Ethics in the Age of Precarity (2021), Care Ethics and Political Theory (2015), Applying Care Ethics to Business (2011), and Socializing Care (2006).
Hamington holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oregon and, a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics, and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California. He is currently working as a consultant for two major grants in the U.K. on care ethics and aesthetics. He is a Fulbright Specialist who will spend November of this year in Kyoto working with Japanese feminist care ethicists. http://mhamington.com/
Wednesday, April 26 at 7pm in the Van Duzer Theatre
Keynote Speaker
Pattie Gonia
Wyn Wiley (he/him), aka Pattie Gonia (she/her), has made waves over the past few years as a drag queen advocating for the environment. People love Pattie for her comedy and dancing, but also for her powerful honesty and vulnerability when addressing issues of inclusion and climate.
Humboldt Philosophy Forum topics have included:
2020-21: Racism and Culture Change - Keynote Speaker, George Yancy on "Between Pessimism and Optimism: White Crisis"
2019-20: Conversations on Culture and Power - Keynote Speaker, John Leguizamo [canceled due to COVID-19]
2018-19: Sexual Awareness in Contemporary Times - Keynote Speaker: Tarana Burke
2018: An Urban Food Revolution - Keynote Speaker, Ron Finley
2017: Identity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Keynote Speaker: Jennifer Finney Boylan
2014: Sex, Gender, and the Self - Keynote Speaker: Janet Mock
2013: Ethics, Animals, and the Environment - Keynote Speaker: Peter Singer
2012: Science and Spirituality: Falling Awake to Diversity - Keynote Speaker: Vic Stenger on "God and the Folly of Faith"
Humboldt Ethics Forum topics have included:
- Biomedical Ethics
- Hate: Some Social, Psychological, and Philosophical Dimensions
- The Ethics & Politics of Health Care
- Marriage Equality
- Persons Living on the Margin
- Privacy, Safety, and Globalization
- Addiction: Desire, Disease, or Choice?
- Global Warming: A Moral Controversy
- Ethics, Violence, and Revolution
- War, Peace, and Globalization
- Life, Death, and Medical Ethics
- On Democracy
- Non-violence, Terrorism, and War