Community

As a tribute to former Trent University president Dr. Leo Groarke ’24 (hon), the Philosophy department established the Groarke Debates. This biannual event brings two high-profile intellectuals to Trent to debate an urgent interdisciplinary topic of wide interest to the Trent and Peterborough communities. The debates are funded by the Groarke Philosophy Endowment.

The Gilbert Ryle Lecture Series was established by the Department of Philosophy at Trent University in 1977 in honour of the late Gilbert Ryle. Previous talks have featured notable philosophers like A.J. Ayer, Iris Marion Young, and Martha Nussbaum.

The Chair in Ethics was established by members of the Patterson and Drain families through a generous $2 million gift, the largest gift given to Trent by living donors. The Chair is named in honour of Kenneth Mark Drain, “a quintessential son of Peterborough,” who lived and worked in Peterborough County all his life.

The Ethics Bowl is a philosophy-based competition designed to give students the opportunity to have in-depth conversations about complicated moral issues. Every year across Canada, high school and university students compete in debates and are scored on their ability to consider all sides of an issue and clearly explain their position.​

The Philosophy Department regularly invites guest speakers to give talks related to their research. In addition to talks by individual professors, we sometimes organize roundtable discussions around philosophical topics. All talks are free to attend and open to the public.