Philosophy

Philosophy Chair John Kaag loves to ask students the big questions – such as “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” – and answers them for himself in his upcoming book, “American Philosophy: A Love Story.”

Should your self-driving car protect you at all costs? Or should it steer you into a ditch - potentially causing serious injury - to avoid hitting a school bus full of children? Those are the kinds of questions that preoccupy Nicholas Evans, a UMass Lowell assistant professor of philosophy who teaches engineering ethics and studies the ethical dilemmas posed by emerging technologies, including drones and self-driving vehicles.

Should your self-driving car protect you at all costs? Or should it drive you into a ditch to avoid hitting a school bus? The National Science Foundation has awarded a $556,000 grant to three philosophers, a transportation engineer and two public health experts so they can figure out ethical safety algorithms for self-driving cars.

In 2009, following the death of his estranged father and the breakup of his marriage, UMass Lowell philosophy professor John Kaag set out for New Hampshire to help organize a conference on 19th-century philosopher William James, who famously asked, “Is life worth living?”