Featured note from the Editor:
What are we? The question has animated philosophy since its earliest practitioners asked it from market squares and garden paths, and it is one that continues to press itself upon us. It is also, in different ways, a question that this inaugural volume of Techné cannot avoid.
This is the first issue of Techné, and with it comes the creation of an identity. The journal was founded on the belief that undergraduate philosophical work deserves a serious venue as a scholarly space in which arguments are advanced, tested, and held to rigorous standards. That commitment is not something we can claim in advance; it is something that must be established over time, through the quality of the work we publish and the seriousness with which it is received.
What distinguishes the work gathered here is not the fame of the thinkers it engages or the ambition of its scope, but its commitment to the argument. Each paper advances a claim, defends it carefully, and takes seriously the objections that bear against it. At the same time, this journal proceeds on the conviction that rigor and accessibility are not opposed. The papers engage demanding philosophical literature, but they do so in the service of questions that press on all of us. What does it mean to live well? Who are we, beneath the identities our communities assign us? What moves us to act– Arjun Desai, Editor in Chief, Snippet from Page 6.
Author Features
Ben Katz – First Place Prize
Benjamin Katz
bnk.62404@gmail.com
Ben’s first place prize winning paper, Overcoming the Experience Machine Reformulation, was written under the precept that “Almost anyone should be able to read a philosophy paper.” Not only is this apparent when reading the paper, Techné is proud to showcase a fine example of clear and deliberate philosophy. It is this devotion to intentionality which we intend to cultivate in publishing this journal.
Ben attended James Madison University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in the class of 2026. At JMU, he majored in Political Science and Philosophy, while completing three minors in Economics, Legal Reasoning, and Modern European Studies. While in school, Ben played for the marching band and pep band, while maintaining a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo. Ben Currently works at Amalgamated bank in the DC area.
His philosophical interests were sparked by Phil 150 (Ethical Reasoning) at JMU, where he was first exposed to the discipline’s treatment of argument. It was in Phil 440 (Advanced Moral Theory) with Professor Mark Piper his junior year where he wrote the first draft of “Overcoming the Experience Machine.” Over many iterations, this semester long paper was submitted and published during Ben’s final year at James Madison.
The paper largely claims that the Molly/Polly Reformulation of the Experience Machine fails to defeat welfare hedonism. By staking this claim, the paper defends theories welfare hedonism as a theory of well-being. Welfare hedonism, the thought that a person is living well only if internal pleasure exceeds internal pain, is both largely criticized, and scrutinized by means of the experience machine objection.
Ben begins by establishing his bounds and definitions before walking the reader through a brief history of the Experience Machine and theories of well-being. When addressing Hawkins’ Molly/Polly framework, Katz argues that the reformulation solves issues in the original thought experiment offered by Robert Nozcik, yet it is left exposed to his arguments.
When asked what the reader should know about his paper, Ben said that although “people hear hedonism and think one thing”, he finds that a more Epicurean brand of Hedonism best describes his philosophy. This approach intends to cultivate long term pleasure, over short-term vices.
The entire Techné team is honored to publish Ben’s paper, and we look forward to seeing what more he has to offer to the field.
Ryan Beach-Verhey – Second Place Prize
Bennet Moore – Third Place Prize
Featured note from the Club President:
In the spring of 2025, five undergraduates envisioned a cohesive forum for academic philosophy. With hopes of starting such a forum at Illinois, the founding members sought direct engagement with accomplished works from students around the country.
Techné was born out of this desire, and it is this desire which it hopes to perpetuate in years to come.
The creation of this journal often times proved to be more difficult than expected. Navigating and thinking about our place in the unfamiliar landscape of academia seemed daunting. But in the course of events which followed that first meeting in Gregory Hall, the founding members became excited to learn, and grow the seed of Techné. As time went on, this rigorous learning process became normal in Techné. And when the club expanded its membership, the flow of ideas only served to make this journal better.
The process in starting this journal is very similar to the process many of this volume’s authors undertook. Creating and cultivating a new idea is daunting, but in the process, excitement seems to often be aroused. This excitement pushes the Techné team to refine, innovate, and share our process, in the same way that these authors have shown dedication to refinement, innovation, and communication of complicated philosophical topics.
I hope this volume conveys the excitement shared by both its authors and publishers. It is this excitement that drives new ideas forward, and new ideas, while often daunting, inspire creativity in those willing to explore them.– Anthony Salerno, Club President, Snippet from Page 8.