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Faculty Research Colloquium 2007-08: MECHANIZATION: Aspects of its historical development

The mechanization of physical and intellectual labor has had an enormous impact on economic and social developments, as well as human self-understanding.

In the fall, the Humanities Lectures presented facets of historical developments, beginning with a discussion of mechanical devices in the 17th century and the mechanistic turn in the thinking of Descartes, Hobbes, and Leibniz. The historical sketch ended with Turing's abstract computing machines and their realization in modern computers.

In the spring, the Humanities Lectures focus on contemporary applications of computational theory and technology, but also related, deeply human problems. The applications concern, in particular, the computational modeling of aspects of the human mind; the problems pertain to moral agency and social values.

Organizing Committee: David Danks, David Hounshell, Wilfried Sieg (Chair), Michael West, Michael Witmore

Spring 2008 Schedule

Fall 2007 Schedule

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Humanities Departments:

   English
   History
   Philosophy
   Modern Languages

College of Humanities and
Social Sciences

Center for the Arts in Society

The Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics and Political Philosophy