May 1, 2:00PM-3:00PM: Richard Kim — Honors Independent Study Presentation/Philosophy Colloquium: “Is Psychophysical Harmony a Problem for Naturalism?”

Richard Kim — Honors Independent Study Presentation/Philosophy Colloquium (May 1, 2-3PM, DP2205 or Zoom): “Is Psychophysical Harmony a

Problem for Naturalism?”

Oakton Honors Student Richard Kim will present work from his Honors Independent Study course (with Dr. O’Donnell), in fulfillment of the Honors Scholar Designation, on the topic: “Is Psychophysical Harmony a Problem for Naturalism. “Psychophysical harmony” is the fact that experiences of pleasure and pain give us reasons to act in ways that maintain our biological survival. It is surprisingly hard to explain why it exists. In this talk, Richard will argue that theistic explanations of this phenomenon have significant advantages over naturalistic explanations. These advantages do not settle the question of God’s existence, but they give us an idea of what requirements a successful naturalistic explanation would have to meet.

Richard Kim will graduate from Oakton in May 2024 with an Associates in Arts and the Honors Scholar Designation. He was the recipient of the Honors Philosophy Award in 2022-2023, and has been nominated for Honors Student of the Year in 2023-2024. This work is the culmination of an Honors Independent Study he pursued in Spring 2024.

Attend in-person in DP2205 or register here to attend via Zoom. A reception with light refreshments will follow for those in-person.