Volume 6: Spring 2021

This virtual conference, which is supported by Washington and Lee University's Roger Mudd Center for Ethics, is the only open undergraduate conference in the country solely dedicated to the academic study of ethical issues. All accepted speakers will not only have the opportunity to present their papers at the conference, but also to have them published in the The Mudd Journal of Ethics.

Keynote Speaker

Professor Nandi Theunissen

Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh

Nandi Theunissen (PhD Columbia 2012) is an associate professor of philosophy. Before joining the department in 2018 Nandi was Duane L. Peterson assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University. She works on theoretical topics in ethics, with a focus on the nature of value.

Conference Schedule

Saturday, March 6, 2:00 to 6:00 pm

  • 2:00-2:10 pm: Opening Remarks
  • 2:10-2:50 pm: "Kantian Forgiveness: A Shared End," by Sofia Stutz, Northwestern University
  • 2:50-3:00 pm: BREAK
  • 3:00-3:40 pm: "The Biopolitical and Return of the Ethical," by Andrew Gillespie, Eastern University
  • 3:40-3:50 pm: BREAK
  • 3:50-4:30 pm: "An Analysis of the Morality of Infanticide," by Roslyn Valdespino, Northwestern University
  • 4:30-4:40 pm: BREAK
  • 4:40-5:20 pm: "Medical Rationing, Moral Thinking, and Common Morality," by Robert Campbell, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Sunday, March 7, 9:00 to 11:30 am

  • 9:00-10:30 am: Keynote Address: "An Explanation of the Value of Human Beings," by Professor Nandi Theunissen, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh
  • 10:30-10:40 am: BREAK
  • 10:40-11:20 am: "Thoughts, Thinkers, and a Hollow Substitution for Mental Privacy," by Justin Wong, Harvard University
  • 11:20-11:30 am: Closing Remarks