For first time visitors, Shane and I would like to welcome you to the online edition of Prometheus, Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Philosophy Journal. Here you will find numerous articles and papers from undergraduate students all over the world addressing some of the fundamental problems concerning matters of existence, knowledge, language, value, mind, and reason. As a discipline, philosophy itself has withstood the test of time, instilling itself as an essential part of helping individuals understand the very nature of reality and the human condition. Prometheus was created …

By Cuong Q. Nguyen
Last semester I posted a riddle regarded by a number of contemporary philosophers as the “hardest” logic puzzle in the world. Raymond Smullyan, a prominent logician and philosopher, has a number of logic puzzles available online for people to solve, and this particular puzzle received a lot of attention from our readers. After some considerable delay, here is both my solution and various other solutions to the puzzle. Enjoy!

The undergraduate students of Johns Hopkins University are pleased to announce that, for spring of 2009, the first publication of Prometheus, Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Philosophy Journal has been released.  The journal may be viewed online by navigating to the archives section or clicking this link.
Prometheus is a peer-reviewed international undergraduate journal of philosophy providing a forum for scholarly discussion among undergraduates on both early and modern philosophy.  The print journal emphasizes discussions on a broad range of philosophical topics emphasizing thoughtful analysis and creative solutions to early and modern philosophical …

The Hammond Society essay contest on “What is a good life?” has a new deadline of April 10, 2009. The winner will receive a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble and 2nd place a $50 gift card.  This contest is open to Johns Hopkins undergraduates only.  For further details on the prompt and other requirements, click here to visit the original post.

LOCATION CHANGE: Maryland 114, 04/01 @ 8PM
Graduate Philosophy student Alexander James will be presenting a short talk and leading a discussion on “The philosopher within: Wittgenstein’s critical
reflection on the beginnings of philosophy.”
Coffee and snacks provided.
All are encouraged to attend.
For more information, see:
http://prometheus-journal.com/events/seminar/

By Cuong Q. Nguyen
Besides working on Prometheus, I like to distract myself from time to time trying to solve riddles and logic puzzles procured by philosophers. Raymond Smullyan, a prominent logician and philosopher, has a number of logic puzzles available online for people to solve. I’m proud to say that I solved a fair number of them but there’s this one particular puzzle by Smullyan that’s been coined by many philosophers to be “The hardest logic puzzle ever.” I found this early on in September 2008 and I’ve contemplated and quarreled with myself trying to solve this puzzle. Think you can solve it?

As the submission deadline comes to a close, we move forward in the review and publication process. Already, the volume of submissions and general interest in Prometheus has exceeded our highest hopes:
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James Gilmore will be delivering a seminar on the above subject.  This is the first talk in the spring 2009 series “Meaning, Method and Motivation: Perspectives on the Nature and Scope of Philosophy.”
The talk will take place in Maryland 202 at 8PM on Wednesday February 18, 2009.
Q&A session to follow.
Coffee and snacks will be provided.

The editorial staff of Prometheus, along with the Hammond Society, are pleased to announce a seminar series for the spring semester entitled “Meaning, Method and Motivation: Perspectives on the Nature and Scope of Philosophy.”  The seminars will consist of a short talk each session given by a graduate student in the Philosophy Department followed by a Q&A session.
The first seminar will be delivered by James Gilmore on Februrary 18th at 8PM in Maryland 202.  For more details about the seminar, please see:
http://prometheus-journal.com/events/seminar/
Details about future locations, abstracts of the talks, and …

To everyone who has read even one word of our journal, to everyone who has submitted even one word, to everyone who has believed in our vision, to everyone who has provided guidance, to the thankless faces on our staff who have made this journal possible, thank you. Happy Holidays.
When we took on the daunting challenge of creating an undergraduate philosophy journal here at Hopkins, we imagined but also sometimes doubted the success that we have had thus far.  Prometheus has been a labor of love, a vision largely realized …