MURFREESBORO, Tenn — Middle Tennessee State University will host its first Applied Philosophy Lyceum of the spring semester March 28 to explore conversing with others and thinking philosophically in a free public lecture. 

Agnes Callard, author and associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, will speak about “The Wrong Conversation,” focusing on philosophical conversations and their limited occurrence in everyday life. 

Free and open to the public, the event will take place at 5 p.m. Friday, March 28, in Room 164 of the College of Education Building, 1756 MTSU Blvd. A reception will follow. 

“I look forward to professor Callard’s vibrant, colorful style of presentation, and to her noted wit and wisdom. She is something of a rock star in philosophy,” said Phil Oliver, associate professor of philosophy in MTSU’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. 

Callard’s newest book, “Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life,” was published in January and examines the idea of a philosophical life through the ways of Socrates. She posits that people should philosophize more in their daily lives, explaining that philosophy is about conversing and refuting to achieve an answer to a question. 

Her new book has been reviewed in multiple publications like the New York Times and The New Yorker.  

Her MTSU talk will address the following: “To think philosophically is to think together with another person who is trying to refute what you say in answer to some fundamental question. In this talk, (Callard) will address the puzzle of why we don’t tend to do this. If philosophy is so great, why do we avoid it? Why aren’t we having philosophical conversations all the time? And how could we build a bridge between the world we live in and the one where we are open to shared inquiry?” 

Designed after the Greek philosopher Aristotle’s Lyceum, the annual public lecture series at MTSU began in 1992. Each lecture aims to inspire private reflection and public reasoning.  

“I think people generally take away from our Applied Philosophy Lyceum events a renewed feeling of humanity and solidarity with their peers, and a greater appreciation of the value of philosophy,” said Oliver.  

A campus parking map is available at https://bit.ly/MTSUParking and more information is available at https://mtsu.edu/parking/.

Led by Department Chair Mary Magada-Ward, the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies is part of the College of Liberal Arts. It offers a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Art in both Philosophy and Religious Studies. 

— Jordan Reining (Jordan.Reining@mtsu.edu)