Preparation for philosophy of mind presentation

Next meeting on Feb 17, we will be discussing philosophy of the mind and the speakers who spoke at the Santa Clara Conference (Dennett, Churchland, and Searle). Bring your notes!! Please email us and let us know if you wish to be a part of the presentation on Feb 24. Please review the following to help you if you didn't attend the conference or if you simply want to review the topic. We'd love to have people help with the presentation!!! :)

Hello Everyone!

Sarah here, the VP/Secretary/Communications Czar! I have some updates for you. For those who weren't at the meetings, you might be unaware of what I have been up to. Well, as the C.C., I am creating ways of keeping everyone in contact outside of this website and email. I have created a Facebook page for our club and also a Twitter page.

If you have a Facebook, please add the fan page.

I had to make two or three attempts at creating different pages to get the right one, but I have finally found it! And I apologize for emailing you about the previous group page which I have now deleted. I can't add you guys unless you're on my personal friends list, so I need you to follow this link and add the page on your own. Here's the link to the Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/MJCPhiloSoc

Also, if you have a Twitter, please follow our Twitter page is here:

http://twitter.com/MJCPhiloSociety

And if you don't have a Facebook page or a Twitter, sign up for one ASAP! They will be communication hubs for our Philo Club.

We will also be working on a Wikispaces page sometime in the near future.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer!

- Sarah

Suggestions?

Here comment on any suggestions that you have for the club and what you would like to see/read during meetings.

Also, please try to make it to the meeting this Tuesday if possible (5/26/2009) at the Queen Bean at noon.

Mill's Mr. Oreo (Thought Experiment)

Consider the case of someone i will call Mr. Oreo. Mr. Oreo cannot even think of passing, being quite dark with clearly black African features and with known black ancestry. But he is unhappy with his racial resignation, so he fills in "white" on bureaucratic forms, identifies himself as white, and rejects black culture. Will these gestures make him white?

Suppose individuals such as Mr. Oreo whose bodies are not . . . naturally white make us of [Plastic surgery techniques or genetic engineering to make it possible to transform one's skin, hair, and facial features so that one looks completely white] and then go on to assimilate as above. [Would they be white or just look white?] . . . Compare another kind of physical transformation, that of bodily physique and strength. if a machine were invented (Call this the Schwartzenegger Machine) that could transform 98-pound weakling into massively muscled superman capable of pressing hundreds of pounds without the tedium of years of special diets and weight training, would we say that the person only looked strong but had not really become strong? Obviously not: His new body, new physique, new strength are real. So What is the difference?

Why is Philosophy interesting to you?

What made you interested in Philosophy? Was is a certain class, philosopher, or pure curiosity?

What philosopher(s) interest you the most?

Getting Started

Welcome philosophers!

I am happy to announce that this blog will be dedicated to those in the Philosophical Society Club at Modesto Junior College.

Also, this blog is open to all that are enrolled or were enrolled in any sort of philosophical class.

This is just the beginning, so do not expect much for now, but as time progresses, there will be topics up, in which, everyone is able to be a part of and share their opinions with others.