O’Connor Has Article Published by The New York Times

For the second time in the last six months, Gustavus Adolphus College Professor of Philosophy and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Peg O’Connor has had an article published by The New York Times. The article titled “The Fallacy of the ‘Hijacked Brain’” is part of a Times series called The Stone, which regularly features the writing of contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless. This most recent article was published on June 10, while her previously published article, “In the Cave: Philosophy and Addiction,” was published on Jan. 9, 2012.

O’Connor’s articles are part of a larger project to bring the discipline of philosophy to discussions about addiction, relapse, and recovery, as she is currently working on a book titled, On the Rocks Is a Form of Life: Philosophy and Addiction. O’Connor spent part of the 2011-12 academic year conducting research as an A.A. Heckman Fellow at the Hazelden Foundation in Center City, Minn.

In her most recent article in The New York Times, O’Connor writes, “Of all the philosophical discussions that surface in contemporary life, the question of free will — mainly, the debate over whether or not we have it — is certainly one of the most persistent. That might seem odd, as the average person rarely seems to pause to reflect on whether their choices on, say, where they live, whom they marry, or what they eat for dinner, are their own or the inevitable outcome of a deterministic universe. Still, as James Atlas pointed out last month, the spate of “can’t help yourself” books would indicate that people are in fact deeply concerned with how much of their lives they can control. Perhaps that’s because, upon further reflection, we find that our understanding of free will lurks beneath many essential aspects of our existence.” The article can be read in its entirety online.