Phil Club FAQ

Greetings --

As the Philosophy Club's unofficial computer-task exploitee, I've been given the honor of contacting you on behalf of the glorious afore-mentioned organization to fill you in on the latest happenings of this semester's highly-motivated club members. Throughout the course of this hastily written and spell-checker-lacking letter I will attempt to relate my fairly accurate (?) impression of what it is we are planning on accomplishing this semester, or at least the general direction which we are currently planning to direct our combined energy. Please feel free to ignore my blabbering on any topic you deem unworthy of concentration...

(1) Philosophy Club? What do you do in a Philosophy Club?

The traditional role that our club has filled (at least in my limited experience) is to provide people with interest in philosophical questions the opportunity to explore those topics in an environment which facilitates open discussion, debate, and the consumption of FREE pizza & pop. Typical topics discussed are such diverse questions as:
  1. Is there a God? What is he/she like?
  2. What exactly is morality? How does it apply to us? How do I know what actions are moral / immoral?
  3. Which of the world's many religions is correct? How can we find out?
  4. Is reading Hegel really necessary? Is it even a good idea?
  5. How can I successfully convince the person sitting next to me to give me their wallet?
If you've never been to a philosophy club meeting, I highly recommend that you try it once. It's free, it's thought provoking and we have food. No matter what the topic you're interested in, the chances are that someone would be more than happy to explore it with you.

(2) Where does the Philosophy Club meet?

We traditionally meet at DaVinci's, which is located just west of Quick Trip in campustown. Meetings are currently slated for every other Friday, making the next meeting land on Fri, Sep. 29. Everyone is welcome.

(3) "Highly motivated," eh? What else are you planning?

In addition to the non-stop action of bi-monthly club meetings, we are in the process of organizing several events of monumental proportions, including:
  1. Local forum(s) for student paper presentation(s) (readings)
  2. Guest speakers on philosophical topics
  3. Programs for increased faculty-student interaction (Phil dept.)
  4. Some form of highly-memorable VEISHA participation
  5. Local debates (all-campus, philosophically orientated)
  6. Trips to conferences in the area
  7. Formation of Philosophy honorary society
  8. ... ad infinitum (approx.)

(4) Fascinating. How can I get more information?

Glad you asked. At this very minute, I'm plotting the construction of a web site for the club. It should be fairly useful shortly, including all information regarding club meeting times and related events. It can be reached at:

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~phil_info/philclub

For the technologically impaired (at ISU? tsk, tsk -- it's all free, you know!), you can contact one of the following exec members:

PresidentPat Forddelivion296-2369
Vice PresidentKenneth Hornekhorne292-8401
TreasurerJay Hannahjhannah268-0071
SecretaryBryan Johnsonbjohn294-6769
LASC Rep. Ruthie Smith
Faculty AdvisorMichael Bishopmikebish

(5) How and why did I recieve this message?

This mailing list is a consolidation of the registrars' lists of Philosophy / RS faculty, Philosophy / RS undergrads, and those people who signed our list of interested persons at the Clubfest.

To post a message to the mailing list, simply write to "philclub@iastate.edu". Or, just "philclub" if you're logged in at Iowa State. It will be copied 64 times, and sent to each person on the list. To remove yourself from the list, type chlist -d your_user_name philclub at a Vincent prompt. To add a friend, have him type chlist -a his_user_name philclub at his Vincent prompt. That's all there is to it. Feel free to post to the mailing list regarding any philosophical topic or administrative questions about the club.

(6) Isn't this ever going to end?

Sure is. I've run out of things to comment on, so I think I'll stop now. If you have any questions about anything club related, or need me to explain Kant's second derivitive of the categorical imperative from his _Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals_, just let me know.

Thanks for your time, and I hope to see you on the 29th!

Jay Hannah

jhannah@iastate.edu
268-0071
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jhannah

Jay Hannah (jhannah@iastate.edu)