Northrop Distinguished
Speaker Series
Speaker Events to Discuss the Issues of Our Time
The Northrop Distinguished Speaker Series aims to promote interdisciplinary discourse on the most pressing societal issues of the present and future. The series focuses on one theme each semester and emphasizes each problem through a holistic approach. It thus involves theorists and practitioners of all backgrounds and perspectives.
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The series is named after Sterling Professor of Law and Philosophy F.S.C. Northrop. A broad thinker in philosophy, anthropology, science, and law, Northrop incorporated these disciplines to study early 20th century scientific advances such as Einstein's theory of Relativity, Cybernetics, and Biological Warfare.
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The series was launched in 2022 and is sponsored by Yale's department of philosophy.
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Spring 2025
Shelly Kagan – Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale
Glenn Cohen – James A. Attwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law, Deputy Dean, Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics at Harvard Law School
Ted Wittenstein – Senior Lecturer in Global Affairs and Director of Schmidt Program on Emerging Technologies at Yale Jackson School
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More to come...
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Fall 2024
Claudia Valeggia – Professor of Anthropology at Yale
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Lori Bruce – Associate Director, Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Director, Sherwin B. Nuland Summer Institute in Bioethics, Director, Community Bioethics Forum, Program for Biomedical Ethics, Yale School of Medicine
Spring 2024
Steven Pinker – Johnstone Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. Public Intellectual Named to Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
Katherine Elkins – Professor of Psychology at Kenyon College, Co-Director of the ADH AI Laboratory.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld – Lester Crown Professor of Management at the Yale School of Management. Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies. President and Founder of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
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Fall 2023
Stephen Latham – Director of Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Former Director of Ethics Standards at the AMA
Mary Evelyn Tucker – Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology. Advisor to the Garrison Institute, Orion Magazine, and the Green Belt Movement U.S.
Shelly Kagan – Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University
Sophie Grace-Chappel – Professor of Philosophy at the Open University.
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Maeve McDermott and Allison Rogers – Environmental Lawyer, Policy Researcher, and Associate Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Environmental Law. Director for Environmental Justice Public Engagement at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
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Dale Jamieson – Professor of Environmental Studies, Professor of Philosophy, and Affiliated Professor of Law at NYU. Founding Director of the NYU Environmental Studies Program.
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Spring 2023
Joshua Knobe – Professor of Cognitive Science and Philosophy
Brian Scassellati – Professor of Computer Science and Cognitive Science, Director of NSF Expedition on Socially Assistive Robots
Stephen Latham – Director of Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Former Director of Ethics Standards at the AMA
Arthur Caplan – Connolly Mitty Professor and Founding Head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Steven Pinker – Bestselling author, Public Intellectual, Harvard Professor of Cognitive Science
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Fall 2022
Lily Hu – Assistant Professor of Philosophy, former fellow at Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society
Matt Kuan Johnson – Senior Technical Advisor at the Center for Responsible AI in the Department of Defense, Gates Cambridge Scholar
Tracey Meares – Yale Law School Professor, Founding Directors of The Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School
Carlos Eire – T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies, National Book Award Winner
Shelly Kagan – Clark Professor of Philosophy
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