Doug Berger, associate professor of philosophy at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, will deliver an Honors Council Lecture on animals and their importance in philosophy and in understanding human behavior.

Berger’s presentation, “Animals as Exemplars in Classical Chinese Thought,” will be held at 7 p.m. in Hagg Sauer 107 on the Bemidji State campus. Honors Council Lectures are open to the public free of charge.

In his lecture, Berger will discuss classical Chinese views of animals and explore their unique insights, as well as their significance for the modern world.

Berger is an associate professor of Indian and Chinese philosophy and cross-cultural hermeneutics at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He has authored several articles and two books (one book is currently in progress) on classical debates between Hindu, Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian schools of thought, as well as how traditions of Asian philosophy have been understood in 19th and 20th century Continental European thinkers.  He is also the chief editor of the Hawai’i University Press book series Dimensions of Asian Spirituality and is currently the Vice President of the Society of Asian and Comparative Philosophy.

The Honors Council Lecture Series is hosted by the Bemidji State University Honors Council. The council is the advisory group to the honors program comprised of 12 faculty members from each of the University’s colleges. Student representatives are also elected to the council by their cohorts for one-year terms.

For more information about the Honors Council Lecture Series, please contact the honors program at (218) 755-3984.