William Sabo, UNC Asheville professor of political science, will kick off UNC Asheville’s annual philosophy lecture series with a talk on “Religion and Political Life” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, at UNC Asheville’s Kellogg Center, 11 Broyles Rd., Hendersonville. An open discussion will follow his talk.

The program is part of a year-long, nine-part series co-sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Philosophy Department and the Institute for Applied Philosophy. The series, “Great Quotes,” is designed to foster discussion of philosophically significant issues surrounding well-known quotations. The 2005-06 series will be held on Tuesday evenings. All events are open to the public. A donation of $5 will be suggested at the door.

Additional topics and speakers are:

-- October 4: “Is the Wheel the Chariot?” Keya Maitra, UNC Asheville assistant professor of philosophy

-- November 1: “The Roots of Social Pessimism Among Afro-Americans,” John Cato, LaGuardia College retired social sciences professor

-- December 6: “God is Dead,” Professor Duane Davis, UNC Asheville associate professor of philosophy

-- January 10: “The New Science of Happiness,” Don Emon, Institute for Applied Philosophy program chair

-- February 7: “Transnational Duties,” Mark Gibney, UNC Asheville Belk Professor of Humanities

-- March 14: “Our Language [is] an Ancient City,” Brian Butler, UNC Asheville associate professor of philosophy

-- April 4: “Multifaceted Forces of ‘Womanist’ Activism and Contemporary Feminism,” Charlotte Cato, former director of the Lehmen College Women’s Studies Program

-- May 2: Presentations by UNC Asheville students

For driving directions, call the Kellogg Center at 828/890-2821. For more information about the series, call the Institute for Applied Philosophy at 828/891-5068.