What is the relationship between value and action? If performing some act would be good for you or others, is that reason enough to think it is the right thing to do? Or are there other kinds of reasons that bear on the morality of an act, distinct from how good or bad its outcomes would be? This seminar explores these questions of normative ethics, a branch of moral philosophy. We will consider certain well-known examples, both real and hypothetical, and learn from classic and contemporary philosophers about how there can be better and worse reasoning regarding moral matters.

The 2020 presidential order requiring “classical architecture” in Federal buildings — and its subsequent revocation in 2021 — have highlighted current controversies about the meaning of public buildings and spaces. Not surprisingly, this is a topic with a long and nuanced history. This seminar will explore the civic meaning of architectural choices in both contemporary society and earlier times.

The muon, one of the fundamental building blocks of subatomic particles, is back in the news again because of its quantum interactions with electricity and magnetism and its anomalous magnetic moment, or simply “g-2”. In this seminar we discuss how the measurement of g-2 provides a window into the search for new particles and fundamental forces, and the potential implications of recent experiments revealing discrepancies with the Standard Model of particle physics.

Every day a human cell is subject to approximately 70,000 lesions from various sources. Cells have amazing mechanisms to almost always repair these lesions, and damage to DNA that goes unrepaired contributes directly to cancer and aging. We’ll look at how these natural mechanisms of DNA breakage and repair lead directly to modern methods that intentionally break DNA at defined locations and then repair it in a targeted way to provide cells with new or augmented functions.

Over the years, experimental findings in Psychology have found their way into public awareness and have become broadly accepted as fact. Some of these findings have later come under scrutiny because of failed efforts to reproduce the results. Examples include well-known studies on self control (the Marshmallow Experiment) and on learning styles. What underlies the “crisis of reproducibility”? And what should the public know to maintain a proper balance of trust and skepticism in Social Science findings?