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Events

Social Events and Workshops

Philosophy Speaker Series

A series of academic talks by guests and local faculty. Information from past talks are in the Events Archive and some recordings are available on our Youtube channel. 

October 23rd, 2025, 4:30 p.m. (COB2-295) : BarryLam (UC Riverside) "Philosophy That Tells a Story: How I Craft an Episode of Hi-Phi Nation" (details here).

December 4th & 5th, 2025: Kaitlyn Creasy (CSU San Bernardino)

6 p.m. Thursday Public Talk Downtown (UC Merced on Main: 1635 M Street): How to Be Lonely

Everyone experiences loneliness at some time or other. Even so, some of the situations in which we find ourselves lonely can surprise us. While we might expect to feel lonely in a room full of strangers, for example, we typically don't expect to feel lonely in the presence of loved ones. To make better sense of the wide variety of circumstances in which loneliness may arise, I begin by exploring several distinct causes of loneliness with the help of concrete (including real-life) examples. Then, after reflecting on the features of human existence to which loneliness calls our attention, I will suggest that loneliness, although painful, may have positive potential. As an experience that can reveal what and who matters to us, loneliness may offer opportunities for self-knowledge and meaningful personal transformation, depending on how we relate to it.

3:30 p.m. Friday Academic Talk at UC Merced (COB 129): Loneliness and Emotional Resonance

Loneliness is a painful feeling that arises when our desires for recognition or connection are not fulfilled (or are perceived to be unfulfilled). But there are many forms of meaningful recognition and countless forms of connection that we may need or desire, not all of which can be offered even by those who love and appreciate us. Building on my work on the importance of particular recognition and affirmation for assuaging loneliness, in this talk I explore what I call deep forms of recognition, affirmation, and personal connection, forms that necessarily involve emotional engagement or experiences of emotional resonance. I then contend that these deep forms of recognition, affirmation, and connection, when present, play a distinctive role in the amelioration of loneliness: they allow the individual to feel more at home in her world, in part by allowing her to make (shared) sense of it. Finally, I show that attending to certain of the conditions that make these forms of recognition, affirmation, and connection possible—e.g., shared forms of life and complementary sensibilities between individuals—helps us make sense of cases of loneliness tied to the presence or absence of particular empirical others.

February 6th, 2026: Daphne Martschenko (Stanford)

Mailing List

To get updates by email, please visit: https://lists.ucmerced.edu/mailman/listinfo/philosophyevents

Examined Life 

Examined Life is an informal group that comes together on a weekly basis to brainstorm philosophical questions or topics. We choose a question/topic from participants' suggestions in the following four categories:

  • What I have been thinking about,
  • What everyone is talking about,
  • What no one is talking about,
  • and A bold idea.

Our goal with Examined Life is to create a space where individuals from any major and background can come together to discuss philosophical topics of their choice. This year Examined Life is moving downtown and members of the public are welcome to join. Our first meeting starts at 5 p.m. at the Branding Iron on Friday, September 5th, 2025. We will be in the "couch room" at the front of the restaurant or outside on the patio. Meetings will be led by Devyn Williams, Carolyn Jennings, Max Hallman, and Sedney Suarez Gordon. 

Contact examinedlife@myyahoo.com for more information.

Minorities and Philosophy

Minorities and Philosophy at University of California Merced is an undergraduate led chapter of MAP International that is committed to examining and addressing issues of minority participation within academic philosophy. MAP at UC Merced facilitates conversations on issues in philosophy pertaining to gender, race, minorities, sexual orientation, class, and disability. If you would like to be added to the mailing list (this is separate from the philosophy program mailing list), register here. Contact Devyn Williams <dwilliams55@ucmerced.edu> for more information.

Information for Visitors

All of our department events are open to students, faculty, and members of the public, both here at UC Merced and in our extended community.