CV
Charles Taliaferro
Department of Philosophy
St. Olaf College
Northfield, MN 55057 USA
507-786-3662; fax: 507-786-3462; home phone: 612-377-5116
taliafer@stolaf.edu
Education
Brown University, MA, Ph.D. Philosophy 1984
--Dissertation: “Cartesian Dualism” under Chisholm, Sosa, VanCleve
Harvard University, Master of Theological Studies 1979
University of Rhode Island, MA Philosophy 1977
Goddard College, BA Philosophy and Literature 1975
Academic Appointments
St. Olaf College, 1985-present
--Full Professor in 1998
--Acting Chair, 1996
University of Oxford, Fellowship, Trinity Term (HMC), 2005
Princeton University, Visiting Fellow, 1998-99
New York University, Visiting Scholar, 1998-99
Columbia University, Visiting Scholar, 1998-99
University of Oxford, Faculty Visitor (Oriel College), 1991-1992
University of Notre Dame, Instructor, 1984-1985
University of Massachusetts (Boston), Instructor, 1982-1984
Brown University, Teaching Fellow and Assistant, 1979-1984
University of Rhode Island, Teaching Fellow and Assistant, 1975-1977
Fellowships, Grants
Scots Philosophical Club (Scotland), Centenary Fellow, 2006
St. Olaf College, Sabbatical leave, 2004-2005
Templeton Grant, 2004-2006
St. Olaf College, Sabbatical leave, 1998-99
St. Olaf Grant, Faculty Tutorial, Summer 1997
NSF
--Under G. Comstock, #SBR-9254504
--ISU Model Bioethics Institutes
St. Olaf Grant, Research, Spring 1997
Pew Foundation, Research, Summer 1995
Pew Foundation & Brown University, Research, Summer 1993
National Endowment of the Humanities, Research, 1991-1992
St. Olaf College, Sabbatical leave, 1991-92
Bush Foundation, Research, Spring 1990
Bush Foundation, Research, Summer 1987
University of Notre Dame, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1984-1985
Exxon Fellowship, Teaching Fellowship, 1982
Brown University, University Fellowship, 1979-1980
Representative Publications
Books
(Books and articles aimed for popular readership are listed on p.13)
The Image in Mind, co-authored with Jil Evans (London: Continuum Press, forthcoming).
The Cambridge Companion to Christian Philosophical Theology co-edited with Chad Meister (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).
Dialogues About God (Rowan & Littlefield, forthcoming).
The Golden Cord (University of Notre Dame Press, forthcoming).
Philosophy of Religion: A Beginners Guide (Oxford: Oneworld Press, forthcoming).
Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion with Elsa Marty (Scarecrow Press, forthcoming).
2nd edition of A Companion to Philosophy of Religion co-edited with Paul Draper (Blackwell, forthcoming).
Naturalism co-authored with Stewart Goetz (Eerdmanns, 2008).
Evidence and Faith; Philosophy and Religion Since the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
Cambridge Platonist Spirituality co-edited with Alison J. Tepley (New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2005). Includes introduction and scholarly notes, preface by Joroslav Pelikean
Philosophy of Religion Reader co-edited with Paul Griffiths (Oxford: Blackwell, 2003).
Contemporary Philosophy of Religion (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1998).
Chinese translation to be published by Peking University Press
A Companion to Philosophy of Religion co-edited with Philip Quinn. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1997).
Consciousness and the Mind of God (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Released again in 2004.
Articles
“Explaining religious Experience,” The Believing Primate: Scientific, Philosophical and Theological Reflection on the Origins of Religion, ed. By J. Schloss and M. Murray (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).
"L'importanza di essere coscienti," L'uomo a due dimensioni, ed. by Andrea Lavazza (Milano: Bruno Mondadori, 2008).
"Philosophical Critiques of Natural Theology," The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology, ed. by Russell Re Manning (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).
“A Shakespearean Account of Redemption” in The Psychology of Character and Virtue (Arlington, VA: The Institute for the Psychological Sciences Press, 2008).
“Feminism and Impartiality,” Philosophia, 2007.
“A Christian Perspective,” The Oxford Hardbook of Religious Diversity, ed by Chad Meister, Oxford University Press, forthcoming.
“Christology Today,” Giornale di Filosofia della Religione, forthcoming.
Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy Compass, forthcoming.
"The Project of Natural Theology," Chapter one in A Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology, William Craig and JP Moreland (eds) (Oxford: Blackwell, forthcoming).
"The Prospects of Christian Materialism," co-authored with Stewart Goetz, CSR, 2008.
"Burning Down the House: D. Z. Phillips and the Metaphysics of Theism," Philosophia Christi, 2007.
“Philosophy of Religion,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2007.
“Religious Experience,” Oxford Companion to Consciousness, ed. T. Bayne, P. Wilken, A. Cleeremas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming).
“The Virtues of Dualist Modal Thought Experiments,” Irreducibly Conscious, ed. Alexander Battyany (Universitatsverlag Winter of Heidelberg, forthcoming).
“Comprehensive Explanations and Cumulative Arguments,” Philosophia Christi, 2007.
“The Virtues of Reason and Faith,” Dialogue (Scotland, 2006).
Theistic Argument from Consciousness” with Stewart Goetz, Naturalism and Theism; Philosophers Debate the Evidence, ed. Paul Draper, online book, appearing on The Secular Web, 2007. The debate is between Taliaferro and Goetz and Melnyk.
“Prayer,” The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion, ed. Paul Copan and Chad Meister (London: Routledge, 2007).
“The Coherence of Theism” in Philosophy of Religion: Contemporary Issues ed. Paul Copan and Chad Meister (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007).
“Philosophy of Mind and Life after Death,” Handbook on Eschatology ed Jerry Walls (Oxford University Press, 2007).
“Introduction,” Twentieth Century Philosophy of Religion, Vol. V of History of Philosophy of Religion, ed. Graham Oppy and N. Trankakis (Acumen Press, forthcoming).
“Philosophy of Religion; the Analytic Tradition” with E. Christopherson Companion to 20h Century Philosophy, ed. Constantin Boundas (University of Edinburgh Press, 2007).
“Philosophy of Religion,” The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, ed. R. Segal (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006).
Entries in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition, Macmillan: “Thomas Nagel,” “Ideal Observer in Ethical Theory,” and with Rick Fairbanks: “Death,” 2005. Also: Consulting Editor for the Encyclopedia Philosophy of Religion entries.
“Divine Virtues,” Environmental Virtue Ethics ed. Ronald Sandler and Phil Dafaro (Rowman and Littlefield, 2005).
“The Give and Take of Biological Naturalism,” Philosophia Christi, Spring 2005.
“Natural Reason and the Trinity; Some Lessons from the Cambridge Platonists,” forthcoming in The Trinity; The Beginning of East-West Dialogue ed. Melville Stewart (Kluwer, 2004).
“The Orthodoxy of Dualism” with Stewart Goetz, First Things, May 2005.
“Rites and Christian Philosophy,” Ritual and Philosophy ed. Kevin Schilbrack, (Routledge, 2005).
“A God’s Eye View” Faith and Analysis ed. H.A. Harris and C.I. Insole (Ashgate, 2005).
“Soul,” “Dualism,” and “Special Providence” The Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, ed. J.W.V. vanHuyssteen (New York: Macmillan, 2003).
“The Possibility of God,” The Rationality of Theism ed. P. Copan and P. Moser (Lodon: Routledge, 2003).
“Theism,” A New Handbook for Christian Theology, second edition, ed. D. Musser and J. Price (Abington Press, 2002). Other miscellaneous entries: “Paradigm,” and “The Enlightenment,” for IVP Dictionary, “The Argument from Consciousness” and “Can God create a stone too heavy for God to lift?”.
“Hume’s Racism and the Case Against Miracles,” with Anders Hendrickson, Philosophia Christi, 2002.
“Sensibility and Possibilia; A Defense of Thought Experiments,” Philosophia Christi, January 2002.
“Philosophy of Religion,” The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, second edition, ed. N. Bunnin and E. Tsui-James (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 2002). This is a revised version of the chapter in the first edition (1995). Chinese translation available.
“Family Farming,” Life Science Ethics ed. Gary Comstock (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 2001).
“Emergentism and Consciousness; Going beyond Property Dualism,” Soul, Body and Survival ed. K. Corcoran (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001).
“The Virtues of Embodiment,” Philosophy, vol.76:295, Jan 2001.
“Naturalism and the Mind,” Naturalism: A Critical Appraisal ed. W. Craig and J.P. Moreland (London: Routledge, 2001).
“Early Modern Philosophy,” Companion to Environmental Philosophy, ed. Dale Jamison (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 2001).
“Mysterious Flames in Philosophy of Mind; Reflections on McGinn’s Naturalism,” Philosophia Christi, (Winter 2000).
“Land, Labor, and God in the Colonies,” The Agrarian Roots of Pragmatism ed. Paul Thompson (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2000).
“Philosophy of God and Mind; Theism and the Queerness of Consciousness,” in Theos, Christus, Anthropos (Peter Lang, 2000).
“The Ideal Observer's Philosophy of Religion,” The Proceedings of the 20th World Congress of Philosophy, 1999, Philosophy Documentation Center, Vol. IV.
“One Hundred Years among the Gods and Giants,” CSR, 1999.
“The Ethics of the Incarnation,” Anglican Theological Review, Fall 1999.
“Attributes of God; Personality,” Philosophy of Religion: A Guide to the Subject, ed. Brian Davies (London: Cresswell, 1998).
“Taking Common Sense Seriously; The Philosophy of Roderick Chisholm,” Inquiry, Fall 1998.
“The Perils of Subjectivity,” Inquiry, 40:4, December 1997.
“Possibilities in the Philosophy of Mind,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 1997.
“Saving Our Souls with Hacking's Archeology and Churchland's Neurology,” Inquiry, 1997.
“God's Natural Law,” Liberalism, Modernity, and Natural Law ed. R. George (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996).
“Animals, Brains, and Spirits,” Faith and Philosophy, October, 1995.
“Philosophy of Religion,” The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, ed. N. Bunnin and E. Tsui-James (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1995).
“Believing because it is not Absurd,” Soundings, 17:5, 1995, p.19.
“Taking Philosophy Personally,” The Cresset, vol. LVII:7, 1994, pp.16-22.
“Unknowable Truths and Omniscience,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, LXI:3, 1993, pp.701-713.
“Imaginary Evil; A Skeptic’s Wager,” Philosophia, vol. 21, nos. 3-4, April 1992, pp.221-233.
“God’s Estate,” Journal of Religious Ethics, vol. 20/1, Spring 1992, pp.69-92.
“Theism,” A New Handbook of Theology, ed. Donald Musser and Joseph Price (Abington Press, 1992) pp.447-480.
“The Intensity of Theism,” Sophia, vol 31:3, 1992, pp.61-73.
“Divine Agriculture; The Role of Philosophy and Theology in Agricultural Ethics,” Agriculture and Human Values, Fall 1992, pp.71-80.
“The Argument from Transposed Modalities,” Metaphilosophy, vol. 22:1,2,
January/April 1991,
pp.93-100.
“Philosophers, Red Tooth and Claw,” with Thomas Chance (Classics, University of
California, Berkeley), Teaching Philosophy, 14:1, March 1991, pp.67-76.
“Philosophy of Mind,” Christian Theism and the Problems of Philosophy, ed.
Michael Beaty (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1990), pp.230-253.
“The Limits of Power,” Philosophy and Theology, 5:2, Winter 1990, pp.115-124.
“God and Concept Empiricism,” with Michael Beaty (Baylor University), Southwest Philosophy Review, 6:2, July 1990.
“The Ideal Aesthetic Observer,” British Journal of Aesthetics, 30:1, 1990, pp.1-13.
“Why We Need Immortality,” Modern Theology, 6:4, 1990, pp.367-379.
“The Jealousy of God,” New Oxford Review, Jan-Feb. 1990, pp.12-15.
“The View from Above and Below,” Heythrop Journal, 30:4, 1989, pp.385-402.
“The Vanity of God,” Faith and Philosophy, 6:2, 1989, pp.140-154; Reprinted in Philosophy and Faith ed. D. Shatz (McGraw Hill, 2002) and Philosophers Speak of God (OUP).
“The Passibility of God,” Religious Studies, 25, 1989, pp.217-224.
“Does God violate your Right to Privacy?” Theology, May 1989, pp.190-196.
“The Coinherence,” CSR, 18:4, 1989, pp.333-345.
“Relativizing the Ideal Observer Theory,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 49:1, 1988, pp.123-138.
“Nagel’s Vista or Taking Subjectivity Seriously,” Southern Journal of Philosophy, 26:3, 1988, pp.393-401.
“The Environmental Ethics of an Ideal Observer,” Environmental Ethics, 10:3, 1988, pp.233-250.
“The Proximity of God,” New Blackfriars, April 1988, pp.181-188.
“A Narnian Theory of the Atonement,” Scottish Journal of Theology, 41, 1988, pp.75-92.
“The Incorporeality of God,” Modern Theology, 3:2, 1987, pp.179-188.
“A Modal Argument for Dualism,” Southern Journal of Philosophy, 24:1, Spring 1986, pp.95-108.
“Dualism and the Problem of Individuation,” Religious Studies, 22, 1986, pp.263-276.
“Kenney and Sensing God,” Sophia, 25:2, 1986, pp.11-16.
“The Art of Creation and Conservation,” New Blackfriars, July/August 1986, pp.315-323.
“Pollock’s Body Switching,” Philosophical Quarterly, 36:4, October 1985, pp.57-61.
“Divine Cognitive Power,” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 14, 1985, pp.133-140.
“The Magnitude of Omnipotence,” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 14, 1983, pp.99-106.
“The Divine Command Theory of Ethics and the Ideal Observer,” Sophia, July 1983, pp.3-8.
Book Reviews
Realism and Religion, Ars Disputandi, forthcoming.
Philosophers Without God, Philosophia Christi, forthcoming.
Immortality Defended, Notre Dame Philosophical Review, forthcoming.
Philosophy of Religion by L. Zagzebski, Philosophia Christi, 2007.
Religions, Reasons and Gods by Philip Clayton, NotreDame Philosophical Review, 2007.
Arguing About Gods by G. Oppy (Cambridge University Press), Philo, forthcoming.
Various entries for Blackwell's Religious Studies Review.
Morality: Does “God” make a Difference? (University Press, 2005), Review of Metaphysics, 2006.
Panpsychism (MIT Press, 2005), Times Literary Supplement, 2005.
The Divine Lawmaker, by John Foster, Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing by Bedce Rundle, and Is God Free? by William Rowe (all Clarendon Press), with Jen Dotson, Philosophical Quarterly, forthcoming.
Beyond Finitude, by Arjan Murkas, Ars Dispudandi, 2004.
Consciousness; New Philosophical Perspectives, ed. Quentin Smith and Aleksandar Jokic, Religious Studies, 2004.
God, the Mind’s Desire: Reference, Reason, and Christian Thinking, by Paul Janz, Notre Dame Philosophical Review, 2004.
The Closing of the Western Mind, by Freeman, The World and I, 2004.
Religion in Radical Interpretation, ed. Nancy Frankenberry (Cambridge), Notre Dame Philosophical Review, 2003.
Augustine’s Memory, by G. Wills, The World and I, 2003.
Divine Attributes, by Rosenkrantz and Hoffman (Blackwell), Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2005.
Philosophy of Religion; A Reader and Guide, ed. William Craig (Routledge), Philosophia Christi, 2002.
A Middle Way to God, by G.L. Hallett, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2003.
A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues, by Andre Comte-Sponville, The World and I, 2002.
Philosophy of Religion, by Keith Yandell, Philosophia Christi, 2002.
Vexing Nature, by Gary Comstock, Ethics, Place, and Environment, 2002.
The Problem of God in Modern Thought, by Philip Clayton (Eerdmans) Ars Disputandi, 2002.
Acts of Faith; Explaining the Human Side of Religion, by R. Stark and R. Finke (U. of California Press), Anglican Theological Review, 2002.
Philosophy of Religion, by Louis Pojman (Mayfield) and Philosophy of Religion; A Guide and an Anthology, ed. Brian Davies (Oxford) in Philosophia Christi, 2002.
Why Gods Persist,by R.A. Hinde (Routledge), Contemporary Psychology, 2002.
A Short History of Western Philosophy, by Anthony Kenny (Blackwell), Review of Metaphysics, 2001.
Coleridge, Philosophy and Religion,by Douglas Hedley (Cambridge), International Philosophical Quarterly, 2001.
God and Goodness, by Wren (London: Routledge), Faith and Philosophy, January 2000.
Finite and Infinite Good, by R.M. Adams (Oxford), Times Literary Supplement, Spring 2000.
Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology, by William Abraham (Oxford), Journal of Religion, Fall 2000.
Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, ed. Michael Kelly (Oxford), International Philosophical Quarterly, Fall 1999.
Providence and the Problem of Evil, by Richard Swinburne (Oxford), The Philosophical Quarterly, Fall 1999.
Philosophy of Religon: The Big Questions, ed. Eleanor Stump and Michael Murray (Blackwell), Philosophia Christi, 1999.
Divine Providence; The Molinist Account, by Thomas Flint (Cornell), Journal of Religion, Fall 1999.
Rationality and Religion,by Roger Trigg (Blackwell), Times Literary Supplement, October 1998.
Events of Grace; Naturalism, Existentialism, and Theology, by C.D. Hardwick (CUP), Review of Metaphysics, December 1998.
Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature, by W. Brown et al (Fortress), CSR, 1998.
God, Reason, and Theistic Proofs, by S.T. Davis (Eerdmans), Theology Today, Fall 1998.
Religious Experience,by Jerome Gellman (Cornell), The Journal of Religion, 1998.
Ontological Arguments and Belief in God, by Graham Oppy (Cambridge), Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 1998.
Metaphysical Personalism; An Analysis of Austin Farrer's Theistic Metaphysics (Oxford), The Journal of Religion, 1998.
Reason and Religion: A Prolegomenon to a Critique of Passional Reason, by William Wainwright (Cornell), The Journal of Religion, 1997.
Religion, Science, and Naturalism, by William Drenn (Cambridge), The Journal of Religion, 1997.
Faith and Criticism, by Basil Mitchell (Oxford), Anglican Theological Review, 1997.
The Christian God, by Richard Swinburne (Oxford), Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 1997.
Divine Discourse: Philosophical Reflections on the claim that God Speaks, by Nicholas Wolterstorff (Cambridge), Times Literary Supplement, 1996.
Theology and Women's Ministry in Seventeenth-Century English Quakerism, by C. Wilcox (Mellon), CSR, Fall 1996.
The Concept of Faith: A Philosophical Investigation,by Lad Sessions (Cornell U. Press), The Journal of Religion, 1996.
The God who Acts,by T. F. Tracy (Penn State), Faith and Philosophy, 1996.
Life's Dominion,by Ronald Dworkin, and Healing Powers by Fred Frohock, co-authored with Ray deVries (Sociology, St. Olaf), Qualitative Sociology, 1995.
Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting, by John Cooper (Eerdmanns), International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, 1995.
John Locke, by John Marshall, Journal of Church and State, 1996.
Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting, by John Cooper (Eerdmanns), International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, 1995.
Confrontations with the Reaper, by Fred Feldman (Oxford), Times Literary Supplement, February 12, 1993.
Divine Action: Studies Inspired by the Philosophical Theology of Austin Farrer, ed. Brian Hebbelthwaite and Edmund Henderson, Faith and Philosophy, 10:1, January 1993.
Care of the Soul, by Thomas Moore (HarperCollins), The World and I, summer 1992.
Religion, Interpretation, and Diversity of Belief: The Framework Model from Kant to Durkheim to Davidson, by Terry Godlove (Cambridge), Teaching Philosophy, 14:4, 1991.
An Investigation of the Concept of Miracle, by Robert Larmer (McGill-Queen’s), Modern Theology, 6:4, 1990.
The Possibility of an All-Knowing God, by Jonathan Kvanvig (Macmillan), Modern Theology, 6:4, 1990, pp.216-217.
The View From Nowhere, by Thomas Nagel (Oxford), CSR, 17:2, 1987.
God’s World, God’s Body,by Grace Jantzen (Westminster), Faith and Philosophy, 4:1, 1984, pp. 93-97.
Metaphysics: Its Structure and Function,by Stephen Korner (Cambridge), CSR, 15, 1986, pp.187-190.
Representative Lectures; Papers at Conferences
“Naturalism,” Washington and Lee, Fall 2008.
Bethel Lectures in Philosophy, "Human and Nonhuman Minds" and "Religious Rites: A Neglected Area in Philosophy of Religion," Bethel College, March 25-26, 2008.
“Boston Personalism and the Future of Philosophy of Religion,” Boston University, January 2008.
Authors Meet Critics, American Academy of Religion, November 2007.
Davis' Philosophical Theology, American Academy of Religion, 2007.
"90 Minutes on Beauty," Art Department, University of Minnesota, Spring 2007.
"The Reasons for Love," A conference on H.G.Frankfurt's Love's Reason, St. Olaf College, Spring 2007.
"Impartiality and Feminism: A Reply to Anderson," mini-conference on Models of God, Spring 2007.
"Redemption," Pennsylvania State University, Spring 2007.
"Problems of Evil and Redemption," Claremont Graduate University, Spring 2007.
"Virtues and Philosophy of Mind," University of Dundee, Scotland, Spring 2006.
“A Shakespearean Account of Redemption,” University of St. Andrews, Spring 2006.
“Moral Regeneration,” Marquette University, Spring 2006.
“The Importance of Being Conscious” and “Embodiment and Values…” Indiana University, Spring 2006.
“Human Consciousness and the Mind of God,” North Central Program in Science and Theology, Spring 2006.
“Consciousness and Philosophical Inquiry,” APA Pacific, 2006.
“The Virtues of Redemption,” Oxford University, 2005.
“Descriptions and Explanations: Some Lessons from the Cambridge Platonists,” The “Nature” of Belief Conference, Calvin College, 2005.
“Redemption in Theism, Naturalism, and Other Worldviews,” The Christian Worldview Conference, 2005.
“A Double-Movement Model of Forgiveness in Buddhist and Christian Ritual,” ARR, 2005.
“Theism and Cosmology,” APA Pacific, 2005.
“The Virtues of Redemption,” Institute of Psychology, January 2005.
“Consciousness and the Limits of Nature,” Yale University, 2004.
“Virtues and Philosophy of Mind,” Bethel College, 2004.
“God, Minds, and Bodies,” University of Northern Illinois, 2004.
“Theistic Environmental Ethics,” APA, Eastern Division, December 2003.
“The Virtues of Psychoanalysis,” Contribution to the panel on “Boundary Issues: Contemporary Freudian and Contemporary Relational Perspectives,” Division of Pscyhoanalysis, American Psychological Association, Spring Meeting, 2003.
“In Defense of a Romantic Education,” Mellby Lecture, St. Olaf College, Fall 2002.
“A Divine Ethic,” Seventh Sino-American Symposium on Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tsinghua University, China, Fall 2002.
“The Soul and Body,” The Lawrence Lecture , Saganaw State University, Fall 2002.
“The World is not Enough; The Problem of Evil as a Problem of Redemption, not Justification,” Bethel College, 2002.
“Hume’s Racism and His Case Against Miracles,” Minnesota Philosophical Society, Fall 2001.
“The Virtues of Immortality,” Conference on philosophy of mind, Wheaton College, Fall 2001.
“Feminist Philosophy of Religion,” American Academy of Religion, Fall 2001.
“The Trinity and Natural Reason; Lessons from the Cambridge Platonists,” The Holy Trinity Conference, hosted by the Theological Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate, Moscow, Russia.
“Natural and Unnatural Boundaries: Balancing Geography, Economics, and Politics” with Rebecca Judge (Economics, St. Olaf), The Thirteenth Annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Luther College, March 2001.
“The Embodiment of Art,” Graduate Seminar, Art Department, University of Minnesota, Fall 2000.
“Philosophy of Mind after Virtue,” Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University, Spring 2000.
“Philosophy of Art and Philosophy of Mind; Reflections on Descartes and Danto,” Aesthetics in the 21st Century, Beloit College, Winter 2000.
“The Candle of the Lord in 17th Century England,” New York University, April 2000.
“Philosophy of Mind in the Philosophy of Religion,” Symposium on Philosophy of Religion, Peking University, Beijing, China, October 1999.
“The Virtues and Vices of God,” The 1999 Edward Beavin Lectures, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Oct 1999.
“The Virtues of Embodiment,” The American Academy of Religion, Boston, Nov. 1999.
“Genetics and Religious Ethics,” Consultation on Bio-Ethics, National Cathedral, Washington DC, Summer 1999.
“Five Years After Consciousness and the Mind of God,” The Faculty of Philosophy, The Gregorian Institute, Rome, Italy, April 1999.
“Teaching Philosophy of Religion,” Department of Religion, Boston University, Winter 1999.
“Philosophy of Mind as an Art,” Cooper Union, Fall 1998.
“Revising Philosophy of Religion,” Columbia University, Department of Religion, Fall 1998.
“The Ideal Observer's Philosophy of Religion,” 20th World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, Summer, 1998.
“Contemporary Philosophy of Religion,” University of Minnesota, UEC, Spring 1998.
“The New Agrarianism,” Bioethics Institute, Michigan State University, also sponsored by Iowa State University, Spring 1997.
“Theories of Consciousness and God” and “Companions to Philosophy of Religion,” University of Chicago, Spring 1996.
“Consciousness and the Mind of God; A Reply to Critics,” St. Cloud State University, Spring 1996.
“Recent work in Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of Mind,” Bethel College, Spring 1996.
“Modal Dualism,” Society of Christian Philosophers, Loras College, Spring 1995.
“Animals, Brains, and Spirits,” Philosophy of Mind Conference, University of Notre Dame, Fall 1994.
“Consciousness and the Mind of God,” Presentation and reply to critics, Society of Christian Philosophers meeting, Bethel College, Spring 1995.
“Materialist and Dualist Modal Arguments; What it's like to be identical with one's body,” Fall meeting, Minnesota Philosophical Society, 1994.
“Death: Normal but not Natural” and “Minds and Bodies,” Calvin College, Fall 1994.
“Reflections on Recent Philosophy of Mind” and “Death is Normal but not Natural,” University of Akron, Ohio, Department of Philosophy, Spring 1993.
“Environmental Ethics and Philosophy of Religion,” Oriel College, University of Oxford, Fall 1992.
“The Ransom Theory,” Pussey House, University of Oxford, Spring 1992.
“The Suffering of God Defense,” Joseph Butler Society, University of Oxford, Fall 1991.
“Science and Ethics,” Young Researchers Conference, National Science Foundation, Summer 1991.
“Environmental Policy and the Problem of Moral Pluralism,” Department of Politics, University of Iowa, Fall 1990.
“Divine Ownership; Problems from Job, Plato, and Locke,” The McMannis Lectures in Philosophical Theology, Wheaton College, Winter 1990.
“Imaginary Evil: A Skeptic’s Wager,” Minnesota Philosophical Society, Spring 1988.
“Language and Reality,” Department of Politics, Princeton University, Mellon Law Series, Spring 1987.
“A Narnian Theory of the Atonement,” National Endowment of the Humanities Institute of Philosophy of Religion, University of Western Washington, Summer 1986.
Respondent to different philosophers, APA meetings, annual commentator at Minnesotta Philosophical Society meetings and other conferences. Regular contributions of papers to the St. Olaf College-Carleton College Philosophy Colloquium.
Publications for Popular Readership
Love. Love. Love. And Other Essays (Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 2006).
Does the Idea of God Make Sense? Examining the Coherence of the Divine Attributes (Norcorss: Ravi Zacharias Press, 2002) This is a booklet in a series of contributions to philosophy of religion.
Praying with C.S. Lewis (Winona: St. Mary’s Press, 1999).
Contributions to the Open Court Press series on Philosophy and Popular Culture
“The Passion of the Christ,” in Mel Gibson’s Passion and Philosophy ed. J.E. Gracia, (2004).
“The Power and the Glory,” with Craig Lyndell-Urban in Superheroes and Philosophy ed. TV Morris, (2005).
“The Atonement in Narnia,” with Rachel Traughber in Narnia and Philosophy ed. J. Walls, (2005).
“Bond as Chivalric, Comic Hero,” with Michel LeGall in James Bond and Philosophy Volume, ed. James South, (2007).
"Being J. R.," with Craig Lindel-Urban in Johnny Cash and Philosophy, ed. J. Huss and D. Werther, (Open Court, 2008).
“The Soul of the Runner,” with Rachel Traughber, Running and Philosophy, (Oxford: Blackwell, forthcoming).
"The Real Secret of the Phoenix: Regeneration Through Death," in Harry Potter and Philosophy ed. G. Basshan and David (Oxford: Blackwell, forthcoming).
"Boycot Olympic Ethics," with Michel LeGall, The Olympics and Philosophy, (University of Kentucky Press, forthcoming).
Other essays: “Jury Duty with James Bond,” The Challenger; “The Conversation Crackled Merrily,” an essay on Mark Marth painting for exhibition in Grand Rapids pairing writers and painters; catalogue essay on Colin Brandt, NYC gallery.
Selected Titles of Courses and Seminars Taught
Personal Identity
Modern Philosophy
Ethics and the Good Life
Philosophy of Religion
Locke and Leibniz
Metaphysics
Ethical Theory
Epistemology
Environmental Ethics
Philosophy of Mind
Law and Society
Logic
Philosophical Theology
Philosophy of Language
Introduction to Philosophy
Aesthetics
The Enlightenment
The View from Nowhere
Ways of Knowing
Moral and Social Problems
Vices
Ethics and Biology of Agriculture
Consciousness - (team taught with biologist)
War and Peace - (taught with historian)
Mind, Matter, and Meaning
Critical Thinking
Business Ethics
Philosophy of History
Continental Philosophy
Law, Politics, and Morality
History of Modern Philosophy
Hegel
Wittgenstein
Tutorials on different topics
The Great Conversation (2006-2008). St. Olaf's great books program (Western literature, philosophy and history)
Editorial Positions
Member of the Editorial Board for:
American Philosophical Quarterly
Philosophy Compass
Religious Studies Review
Religious Studies
The Philosopher’s Annual
Continuum Studies in Philosophy of Religion
Sophia
Ars Disputandi
Book Review Editor for the quarterly journal: Faith and Philosophy, seven-year appointment, beginning June 2000. Renewed for additional appointment 2014.
Other
Reader: Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Blackwell, Cornell, Yale, Routledge, Wadsworth, Mayfield, Peter Lang, SUNY, Program Committee Minnesota Philosophical Society, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Quarterly, Religious Studies, Sophia, Faith and Philosophy, and other journals. Invited in 2002 to serve on NEH panel for summer fellowships, but unable to accept due to scheduling.
Three year appointment to the APA Committee on Lectures, Publication, and Research, 2007-.
Appointed to the panel that makes the yearly selections for best articles in philosophy: The Philosophical Annual, 2003-2006.
Philosophy of Religion Editor, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, MacMillan, 2nd edition, 2005.
Program Committee, APA, Central Division 1999. Regular committee and administrative work at St. Olaf College, e.g.Committee for Minority Scholarships, Secretary to the Faculty, Program Director for Junior Year Abroad at the University of Oxford (Harris Manchester College and the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, attached to Keble College), Faculty Advisor to The Messenger (school newspaper). Successfully wrote two NEH grants for the Department of Philosophy, “The Visiting Distinguished Philosopher Grant.” Successfully co-authored a grant, “Witnessing and Thinking about Genocide.” Member of the Environmental Studies Concentration and member of committee to found a Public Policy Concentration, St. Olaf College, supported by the Lerass Foundation.
Participant in NEH Summer Institute in Philosophy of Religion, Summer 1986; Workshop on the Epistemology of Religious Belief under William Alston, Syracuse University, Summer 1985; Workshop on Religious Pluralism under Keith Yandell, University of Wisconsin, Summer 1985.
Languages: Greek and French
Steering committee, Philosophy of Religion, American Academy of Religion, appointed in 2002-2007.
Organizing Committee, Mini-Conference on Models of God, APA Pacific, 2007.
Super Course, Philosophy of Religion, Hong Kong, May 2004.
Invited by classes at St. Olaf (1998, 2003, 2004, 2006) to be “the last lecturer” on graduation weekend.
References
Ernst Sosa (Brown University) ernest_sos@brown.edu
Galen Strawson (Rutgers University)
Richard Swinburne (Oxford University) richard.swinburne@oriel.oxford.ac.uk
Roger Trigg (University of Warwick, England) pyrbs@titanic.csv.warwick.ac.uk
Linda Zagzebski (Oklahoma) lzagzebski@ou.edu
Alvin Plantinga (Notre Dame) plantinga.1@nd.edu
Tim Chappell (University of Dundee)
Danial Robinson (Georgetown University and Oxford University)
Paul Griffiths (Loyola University)
Robert Audi (University of Nebraska) raudi@unlinfo.unl.edu
William Wainwright (University of Wisconsin) wjwain@csd.uwm.edu
Ed Langerak (St. Olaf College) langerak@stolaf.edu
Gary Iseminger (Carleton College) giseming@carleton.edu
William Hasker (Huntington College) whasker@huntington.edu
Brian Davies (Fordham) BrianDavies4compuserve.com
