The autumn of 2003 finds me starting a new position at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, where I am assuming the duties of the W. K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics. The position will provide me with a number of opportunities to do collaborative work with specialists in food and agricultural technology, and hopefully it will result in ways that I can advance philosophical studies of technology. Although I have been almost overcome with the complexities of making a move—new checking accounts, new doctors—I would be happy to hear from members with ideas about where SPT should be going over the next two years. Contact me at thomp649@msu.edu

Thanks to everyone who attended our meeting in Park City, Utah. We had a large number of interesting papers, and it is fair to say that both philosophy of technology and philosophy and technology are doing well. Unfortunately, the meeting resulted in significant financial losses for the Society. Planning for the meeting was made in a pre 9-11, pre-recession environment. We had about 80 paid participants, significantly lower than for our meeting in Aberdeen in the summer of 2001, only about half of whom stayed at conference site. As a result, SPT wound up covering costs for a significant number of unsold room nights. While I believe that we were able to cover these losses with our reserves, this was, nevertheless, a set back for our planning in the future. A full accounting for the Society’s financial status will be forthcoming from our Secretary/Treasurer sometime in the future.

And speaking of the future, our nominations committee has put together a great slate of new officers. Please vote, and please consider serving in one of these roles some time during the coming years.

Best wishes to all.

Paul B. Thompson

Letter from the past president

Dear SPT Members:

I hope this message finds you all enjoying a new semester. The work of the society continues apace as we look forward to an exciting new academic year. Most important, I am very happy to pass on the leadership of the society to Paul Thompson. We all owe Paul a debt of gratitude for his excellent organization of our last international conference in Park City, Utah, as well as congratulations for recently taking his new position as the W. K. Kellogg Chair in Agriculture Food and Community Ethics at Michigan State University. Additionally, we all look forward to our next international conference in the summer of 2005 at Delft University in The Netherlands with a central theme on design and technology. Details will follow.

My immediate duty as Past-President of the Society is organization of the next round of elections. Following the Utah meeting, I formed a nominations and elections committee consisting of myself and three other members of the society. In addition to a new Vice President/President-Elect, we were also charged to fill three vacant slots on the advisory board, with the terms of Yoko Arisaka, Philip Brey and Langdon Winner now coming to an end. Two other board members, Anne Johnson and Peter Kroes, will continue. However, due to a problem involving the last round of elections, Arisaka and Brey only served half of their elected terms and so are eligible to run for re-election to the board.

Following some discussion the nominating committee unanimously approved the following slate of candidates:

For Vice President/President-Elect

· Peter Kroes (Delft University)

For Board

· Yoko Arisaka (University of San Francisco)

· Philip Brey (Twente University)

· David Kaplan (Polytechnic University, Brooklyn)

· John Sullins (Sonoma State University)

· Anne Chapman (Lancaster University, UK)

· Inmaculada de Melo-Martin (St. Mary's University of San Antonio)

I am pleased to report that all of these candidates have agreed to run for office. Because Peter Kroes will be leaving the board to become the Vice President, four of those running for positions on the board will be elected from this slate. You will be receiving a mail ballot for the election shortly, including biographies of all of the candidates.

As this will most likely be one of my last official messages in the newsletter, I once again wish to thank all of my close friends and colleagues who showed the confidence in me to allow me to serve the society in the way that I have the last several years. As I said in Utah, the SPT has been an intellectual home for me since graduate school and I truly treasure the close friends in the society who have become an extended family for me during this time.

Very Best,

Andrew Light, SPT Past-President

New York University

andrew.light@nyu.edu

News from the APA divisions

Central Division

This year the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association will meet April 22-25, 2004, at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel, Chicago, IL. The Palmer House is the traditional venue for the APA in Chicago, and it will be nice to be back there after a six year absence. SPT will sponsor two sessions, one of which will be in cooperation with the International Society of Environmental Ethics. Those who would like to volunteer either to present a paper, respond to a paper or chair a session are invited to contact Paul Thompson: thomp649@msu.edu The program must be complete by the first of December, 2003 so volunteers should contact Paul as soon as possible.

Eastern Division

SPT sessions at the American Philosophical Association eastern division meeting, Washington DC:

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 11:15 A.M. - 1:15 P.M. Military Room

Topic:

Author Meets Critics: Andrew Light's Reel Arguments: Film, Philosophy and Social Criticism (Westview 2003)

Speakers:

Bill Lawson (Michigan State University)

Davis Baird (University of South Carolina)

Comments: Andrew Light (New York University)

Chair: Melissa Clarke (James Madison University)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 11:15 A.M. - 1:15 P.M. Bancroft Room

Topic:

Ethics, Privacy, and Information Technology

Speakers:

Helen Nissenbaum (New York University)

"Privacy and Contextual Integrity"

Diane Michelfelder (Indiana State University)

"Informational Privacy and Ubiquitous Computing"

Respondent: TBA

Pacific Division

The SPT session at this year's APA Pacific Division meeting will be round two on last year's theme. There will be a session sponsored jointly by SPT and the APA Committee on Philosophy and Computers. The theme is "Computers and the Mediation of Human Experience." Papers will focus on assessing the role computers play in mediating experience. Against the idea that computers are neutral conduits (phenomenologically, cognitively, etc.), the session will seek to develop a better understanding of how they can shape what human beings do and know.

Calls for papers

Computing and Philosophy – 2004 CAP Conference at Carnegie Mellon, August 5th- 7th

Computing and Philosophy (CAP) conferences have become the central meeting place for all aspects of computing and philosophy. CAP now holds both East Coast and West Coast meetings on a bi-annual basis. As with all CAP conferences, speakers and panels will address many aspects of the "computational turn" that is occurring within the discipline of Philosophy. Featured topics include AI and Epistemology, new models of Logic Software, Computer Ethics, Computing and World Cultures, Electronic Resources, and the Impact of Distance Learning on the Profession. In addition to invited participants, the Program Committees welcome proposals dealing with, but not restricted to:

· The use of computers in the teaching of philosophy. This may include their use in symbolic and informal logic as well as in the teaching of other courses in philosophy. Pedagogically rich and/or advanced uses of educational computing will receive priority in the selection process.

· The use of computers as research tools in philosophy. This may include any substantive use of computers in areas such as electronic texts and communications as well as topics in logic, the philosophy of language or the philosophy of mind.

· The philosophical aspects of artificial intelligence. This may include current theories and methods as well as relevant areas of the philosophy of science.

· The area of computer ethics. This may include ethical issues regarding privacy, ownership of intellectual property, professional responsibility, access and distributive justice, anonymous communication, democracy and the electronic citizen, human values and human rights, globalization and ethical relativism, or other ethics topics related to information technology.

The conference format strongly discourages mere 'paper reading.' Speakers are urged to use computer-based or generated presentation materials wherever appropriate. CAP welcomes proposals dealing with all aspects of computing and philosophy. Proposals for panels are also encouraged. The deadline for submissions to CAP@CMU in 2004 is February 16th, 2004. Information about all CAP conferences can be found on the web-site for the International Association for Computing and Philosophy at iacap.org.

Genetics and Health Care – Reykjavik, Iceland, August 25-28, 2004

Conference organized by the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare (ESPMH), the ELSAGEN bioethics project, and the Centre for Ethics at the University of Iceland .

The focus of the conference is on philosophical, ethical and legal issues in relation to biomolecular technologies, and genetics in particular. Abstracts are invited, addressing the following topics:

- population based genetic databases
- ethical aspects of genetic databases
- social aspects of genetic databases
- legal aspects of genetic databases
- genetic screening and testing
- genetic counseling
- geneticization of medicine
- genetics and prevention
- genetic engineering
- patenting and genetics
- commercialization of medicine
- stem cell research and cloning
- governance of databases
- European guidelines

The program of the conference includes plenary sessions as well as parallel sessions. Papers will be selected from abstracts submitted to the Conference Program Committee. Papers addressing the philosophical, ethical and historical dimensions of the conference topic are welcomed. Persons wishing to present papers at the conference should submit an abstract (500 word maximum) before November 1, 2003. Kindly send abstracts -- as well on diskette in Word or through email – to the conference organization:

Prof.dr.Henk ten Have, ASPMH Secretariat
Dept. of Ethics, Philosophy, and History of Medicine
University Medical Centre Nijmegen
PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Emails: d.verhaar@efg.umcn.nl or h.tenhave@efg.umcn.nl

Heritage of Technology – Gdańsk Outlook 4, May 4-7, 2005

Gdańsk University of Technology is organizing the International Conference “Heritage of Technology – Gdańsk Outlook 4” (HOT-GO4) on May 4-7, 2005. The conference is dedicated to the role of the past technology in the cultural life of society. The following problems are proposed for discussion in eight sections:

- Identity and historical memory of the industrial society – the tangible and intangible heritage of technology.

- Embodiment of ingenium – approach to heuristics by the investigation of the phenomena of technical creativeness.

- Storytelling on industrial, technical and engineering heritage – reports and case studies on conservation-restoration.

- Heritage of names – biographical notes about inventors of old testing instruments or methods being still in use and named after them.

- History of engineering for engineers – case studies on the recent teaching experience.

- Toward e-society – ICT for promotion of cultural heritage and conservation-restoration of its resources.

- Technological themes in fine arts, music and poetry.

- History of engineering sciences and education in Gdańsk.

Participants wishing to present a paper are invited to submit the Preliminary Registration Form along with the written Abstract in English containing a maximum of 300 words or one A4 page including graphics by mail, e-mail or fax addressed to the Conference Secretariat in Gdansk, before March 31, 2004. For more information, visit the website: http://hotgo4.mech.pg.gda.pl

Forthcoming Events

Issues in Computer Ethics: Practical and Theoretical, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, October 10-11, 2003

The purpose of the conference is to promote the ethical use of computers in Business, Education, Government, Health Care, Computer Science, Engineering, Journalism, and Research. Presentation topics are on any of the wide range of issues relating to computers and ethics, including those that overlap with business, educational, medical, journalistic, and engineering ethics. They include theoretical work, case studies, discussions of Computer Ethics teaching, and reports by those with first-hand experience in ethical decision-making. Plenary speakers: Donald Telage and Timothy Madigan

"Building Ethics into Professionalism" – Conference on Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 15-17, 2003

Conference topics include:

· Discovering Ethical Dilemmas and Communicating Ethical Resolutions

· Ethics in Competitive Bidding and Contracting

· Shareholder Ethics and Social Responsibility

· Integrating Ethics into the Classroom and Workplace

· Establishing an Ethical Organization

More information: http://www.gonzaga.edu/continuingeducation

Bioethics – Joint Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) and the Canadian Bioethics Society (CBS) in Montreal, Canada, October 22-26, 2003

The objectives of the conference are to:

1. Provide background education in bioethics and the humanities.

2. Discuss emerging issues in bioethics.

3. Explore recent research findings related to bioethics and the humanities.

4. Encourage cross-border dialogue promoting collegiality and scholarship in bioethics and the medical humanities.

5. Examine the significance of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to issues in bioethics and the medical humanities.

More information: http://www.asbh.org/annual_meeting

Mephistos 2004 – University of Western Ontario, Canada , Friday January 30^th - Sunday February 1^st 2004.