John Gibson, associate professor for the Department of Philosophy at the University of Louisville, will discuss empathy, expression and art in a "Philosopher's Corner" forum at Coastal Carolina University on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 5 p.m. in the Lib Jackson Student Union Movie Theater. Admission is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow in the rotunda.

Gibson believes there is an analogy between the terms used to explain the nature of empathy and those used to explain basic features of how people emotionally engage with art. In his presentation, he will explore the extent to which people can turn his analogy into a proper theory. He will discuss questions such as: can our experience of art, at least on occasion, be literally and non-trivially described as empathetic? What must a work of art be in order to be considered empathetic? What must a work of art be in order to be considered a proper object of empathy?

Gibson's area of research includes philosophy of literature, aesthetics and philosophy of language. He has given many presentations that correlate art and philosophy for the American Society for Aesthetics and schools such as Brown University, Boston University, University of Tampere in Finland and the University of Southampton in the U.K.

The discussion is sponsored by the Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values. The theater is located at 106 Spadoni Park Circle, Conway. For more information, contact Nils Rauhut, director of the Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values, at 843-349-2547 or nrauhut@coastal.edu.