G.E.M.S.

The Group for Empirical Approaches to Morality and Society

Hi and welcome!

The Group for Empirical Approaches to Morality and Society (G.E.M.S.) is an NYC-based venue for the presentation of research in social, political, and moral philosophy that is empirically-informed in a broad sense of the term. We welcome presentations that bring work in psychology, economics, history, anthropology, gender studies, cultural studies, and other disciplines to bear on philosophical issues. We host presentations on research at a variety of stages of development in a constructive and open atmosphere.

G.E.M.S. is housed at the City University of New York (CUNY) and promotes research in the broader NYC area, but we also invite speakers and welcome participants from outside the region.

Upcoming Presentations

May 12, 2022, 11am ET (Zoom)

  • “How morality drives human evolution”
    Victor Kumar (Boston University)

  • “Seeing and sanctioning system-level injustice”
    Grace Flores-Robles (CUNY Graduate Center)

Past Presentations

March 31, 2022, 11am EST (Zoom)

  • “Asymmetrical genetic attributions for prosocial versus antisocial behavior”
    Kathryn Tabb (Bard College) & Matthew Lebowitz (Columbia University)

  • “The moral staining effect: a study of moral definition over time”
    Brian McNiff (New York University)

February 24, 2022, 4pm EST (Zoom)

  • “Lay beliefs about self-identification: the case of gender”
    Cai Guo (Stanford University)

  • “Based on Billions of Words on the Internet, PEOPLE = MEN”
    April Bailey (New York University & University of New Hampshire)

December 9, 2021, 4pm EST (Zoom)

  • “Structural Thinking about the Social World”
    Ny Vasil (California State University, East Bay)

  • “What's ‘Undue’ about Inducement? Critical Perspectives from Bioxphi”
    Julia Kolak (CUNY Graduate Center)

Session on Feminist Themes
April 22, 2021, 12pm EDT (Zoom)

  • “When is Reappropriation Appropriate? Lessons from ‘Gossip’”
    Shannon Brick and Tomasz Zyglewicz (CUNY Graduate Center)

  • “Pornography, Discourse, and Desires”
    Eleonore Neufeld (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

November 12, 2020, 4pm EDT (Zoom)

  • “Actor-Observer Asymmetry: Under the Microscope”
    Abby Concha (New School for Social Research)

  • “Individualism, Structuralism, and Climate Change”
    Michael Brownstein (John Jay College and CUNY Graduate Center)

October 22, 2020, 4pm EDT (Zoom)

  • “Minds Without Moral Status?”
    Nicolas Porot (Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique) and Madeline Reinecke (Yale University)

  • “Autonomy and the Folk Concept of Valid Consent”
    Joanna Demaree-Cotton (Yale University) and Roseanna Sommers (University of Michigan)

  • “Are Philosophers Expert Modal Reasoners?”
    Caroline Hendy (University of Hawaii) and Daniel Kilov (Australian National University)

September 24, 2020, 4pm EDT (Zoom)

  • “Perceptual Dualism”
    Fiona Schick (CUNY Grad Center)

  • “Moral Affordances Shape Moral Perception”
    Jordan Wylie (CUNY Grad Center)

  • “Philosophical Arguments Can Motivate Charitable Giving”
    Matthew Lindauer (Brooklyn College, CUNY)

May 7, 2020, Online Session (Zoom)

  • “Separability and the Effect of Valence: An Experimental Study on Thick Concepts”
    Pascale Willemsen (University of Zurich) and Kevin Reuter (University of Zurich)

  • “Surprising Ways that People Classify Obviously Moral Judgments as Non-Moral”
    Ross Colebrook (CUNY Graduate Center)

  • “The Development and Consequences of Punishment-Related Concepts”
    James Dunlea (Columbia University)

  • “How Empirical Criminology and Moral Philosophy Can Inform Each Other”
    Jonathan Jacobs (John Jay College and CUNY Graduate Center)

March 5, 2020, CUNY Graduate Center

  • “Doesn’t Everybody Jaywalk? Exploring the Phenomenon of Phantom Rules”
    Ana Gantman (Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center)

  • “Essentializing Language and the Prospects for Ameliorative Projects”
    Katherine Ritchie (City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center)

Location: Our in-person meetings are held at the CUNY Graduate Center and our online sessions are held on Zoom. All sessions are online for the time being.

Organizers: Matthew Lindauer, Hagop Sarkissian, Joshua Knobe

Substitute organizers (Spring 2022): Shannon Brick and Tomasz Zyglewicz

Email: GEMSPhilosophy@gmail.com