    |
Faculty Profiles
TCNJ has a strong faculty in philosophy, covering a wide range of philosophical areas and philosophical orientations. Our professors have Ph.D.s from Claremont, Columbia, CUNY, Penn, Illinois, UMass, Rutgers, Bowling Green, and Syracuse, and have published several books and many articles. All are highly respected as scholars in their fields, and some have distinguished international reputations; some have taught by special invitation at major universities in England, Holland, Germany, Japan, and South Africa. And all are first and foremost dedicated teachers, who consistently get high student evaluations of their teaching.
| Name | Office | Phone | Website* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Kamber | Bliss Hall 100 | (609)771-2384 | rkamber@tcnj.edu | |
| Pierre Le Morvan | Bliss Hall 104 | (609)771-2391 | lemorvan@tcnj.edu | www.tcnj.edu/~lemorvan/ |
| Consuelo Preti | Bliss Hall 108 | (609)771-2524 | preti@tcnj.edu | http://preti.faculty.tcnj.edu/ |
| Melinda Roberts | Bliss Hall 112 |
(609)771-2360 | robertsm@tcnj.edu | www.tcnj.edu/~robertsm/ |
| John Sisko | Bliss Hall 102 | (609)771-2794 | sisko@tcnj.edu | |
| James Stacey Taylor | Bliss Hall 106 |
(609)771-2880 | jtaylor@tcnj.edu | |
| Morton Winston | Bliss Hall 110 |
(609)771-2398 | mwinston@tcnj.edu | mortonwinston.intrasun.tcnj.edu/ |
| Name | Office | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbi Joel Chernikoff | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | jchernik@tcnj.edu |
| Michael Dahnke | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | dahnke@tcnj.edu |
| Parviz Dehghani | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | drparviz@optonline.net |
| Sergei Denisov | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | supis405@gmail.com |
| Father Joseph Hlubik | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | bedehouse@gmail.com |
| Kenneth Howarth | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | howarth@tcnj.edu |
| Steven Kang | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | skang@tcnj.edu |
| David Rech | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | drech@scribenet.com |
| Jeffrey Rutstein | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | rutstein@tcnj.edu |
| Anu Sinha | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | sinha@tcnj.edu |
| Glory Thomas | Bliss Hall 30 | (609)771-2935 | thomas@tcnj.edu |
| Name | Website* | |
|---|---|---|
| Gerald W. Barnes | geraldbarnes@btopenworld.com | |
| Roy A. Clouser | royclouser@comcast.net | |
| Allan Gotthelf | gotthelf+@pitt.edu | www.pitt.edu/~hpsdept/people/fac_pages/gotthelf.html |
*These links will take you to personal webpages. Material on these pages is not controlled or maintained by The College of New Jersey and should not be considered official content of TCNJ's Website. Authors of these pages are responsible for obeying all relevant laws and College policies, including those delineated in TCNJ's Computing Access Agreement and Web Page Policy.
Richard Kamber, Professor
(Ph.D. Claremont Graduate School 1975)
Some areas of special interest: aesthetics; philosophy of literature; existentialism; American philosophy; philosophical issues of the Holocaust.
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Aesthetics; Philosophy of Literature; Existentialism; American Philosophy; others.
Recent articles: “Historical Sociology and the Construction of the Holocaust” in Social Interaction: Readings of Sociology, St. Martin’s Press, Sixth Edition, (forthcoming); “Should Philosophy Become a Predictive Science?” Yearbook of the Centre for Ethics at the University of Tartu (forthcoming); “Grade Conflation: A Question of Credibility” The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 12, 2002; Whatever Became of Stoicism?” The College of New Jersey Review, April 2001; Dobro I Zo W Kinie Amerykaskim (“Good and Evil in American Movies”) Etyka (Ethics) published by the Polish Academy of Sciences, 2000; “Can the Holocaust Be Understood?” The College of New Jersey Magazine, Autumn, 2000, No.33; “The Logic of the Goldhagen Debate”Res Publica, Summer 2000; “Klopot z “Urdzonymi mordercami” (“The Trouble with Natural Born Killers”) Ruch Filozoficzny (Philosophical Movement), 1999, No. 4; “Goldhagen and Sartre on Eliminationist Anti-Semitism” Holocaust and Genocide Studies, , Fall 1999; "Weitz Reconsidered: A Clearer View of Why Theories of Art Fail” British Journal of Aesthetics, 1998; "Humanities and Community Service," The Department Chair March 1996; “A Modest Proposal for Defining a Work of Art” British Journal of Aesthetics, October 1993 (A Japanese translation of this article by Akitaka Kawakami has been published in The Bulletin of Kanazawa College of Art.).
Books: On Free Will (Wadsworth, forthcoming); On Camus (Wadsworth, 2002); On Sartre (Wadsworth, 2000); Humanities: Ideas and Ideals (contributing editor, published for Trenton State College by Ginn Press, 1993).
Other: Post-doctoral study, Oxford University; presenter at many conferences on Humanities education. Is an avid skier and a fine cook.
Visiting teaching: University of Frankfurt (Germany).
Currently working on: a book on the nature of philosophy and its relation to literature.
Pierre Le Morvan, Associate Professor
(Ph.D. Syracuse University 2000)
Some areas of special interest: epistemology, philosophy of perception, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science.
Teaches (besides the basic core courses): courses in the above areas, ethics, aesthetics.
Recent articles: "Sensory Experience and Intentionalism" (2008) Philosophy Compass 3: 1-18; "Epistemic Means and Ends: A Reply to Hofmann" (onilne 2007, print 2008) Synthese: An International Journal for Epistemology, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science 162:252-264; "Is Clouser's Definition of Religious Belief Itself Religiously Neutral?" (2006) Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 58(1): 16-17; "A Metaphilosophical Dilemma for Epistemic Externalism" (2005), Metaphilosophy 36(5): 688-707; "Medical Learning Curves and the Kantian Ideal" (co-authored with Barbara Stock) (2005) The Journal of Medical Ethics 31: 513-518; "Intentionality: Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque" (2005) The Journal of Philosophical Research 30: 283-302; "Goldman on Knowledge as True Belief" (2005) Erkenntnis: An International Journal of Analytic Philosophy 62(2): 145-155; "Ramsey on Truth and Truth on Ramsey" (2004) The British Journal for the History of Philosophy 12(4), 705-718; "Arguments Against Direct Realism and How to Counter Them" (2004) The American Philosophical Quarterly 41(3), 221-234; "Plantinga on Warranted Christian Belief" (co-authored with Dana Radcliffe) (2003) The Heythrop Journal: A Quarterly Review of Philosophy and Theology 44(3), 345-354; "Is Mere True Belief Knowledge?" (2002) Erkenntnis: An International Journal of Analytic Philosophy 56(2), 151-168. "The Converse Consequence Condition and Hempelian Qualitative Confirmation," (1999) Philosophy of Science 66(3), 448-455.
Also at TCNJ: Religious Studies Adviser (2003-present); Faculty Sponsor of the Liberal Learning Concentrations in Religious Studies and Cognitive Science (2005-present); Coordinator of the Liberal Learning Concentration in Religious Studies (2005-2006); Departmental Webmaster and IT Liaison (2003-present); Member, School of Culture and Society Curriculum Committee (2001-present); Charter member, TCNJ's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (2005-present); Member, Academic Dismissals Committee (2001-2005); Member, All-College Disciplinary Board (2001-2006); Adviser to the Philosophical Society (2000-2003).
Other: Interested in French and Indian vegetarian cuisine, the welfare of non-human animals, Canadian history; loves the New York Review of Books; referee for Erkenntnis (2002-present), Synthese (2003-present), The Journal of Medical Ethics (2006-present), Theory & Psychology (2006-present), Dialogue (2007-present).
Currently working on: Papers on animal consciousness and ethics, epistemology, philosophy of perception; book defending the Theory of Appearing.
Consuelo Preti, Associate Professor and Acting Chair
(Ph.D. CUNY Graduate Center 1994)
Some areas of special interest: Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, History of Early Analytic Philosophy.
Teaches: courses in the above areas, as well as 20th Century Philosophy, Metaphysics, Wittgenstein.
Recent research, books and articles: Awarded Franklin Grant for Research by the American Philosophical Society (2007); APA Eastern Division Conference: (December 2004): “Moore’s Early Theory of Judgment”; British Society for the History of Philosophy Conference (March 2004): “Moore’s Theory of Propositions: A Reconsideration”; sabbatical research at Cambridge University on archival papers of Moore and Wittgenstein; On Kripke (Wadsworth 2002); "Normativity and Meaning: Kripke's Sceptical Paradox Reconsidered," The Philosophical Forum, 2002; On Fodor (Wadsworth 2000)
Also at TCNJ: SOSA committee; Faculty Senate; Liaison, Student Achievement Celebration.
Other: Great interest in fashion, art, painting, fiction, dress, yoga, swimming, Italy, and English bull terriers. I love to surf.
Currently working on: G.E. Moore’s early theory of judgment; externalist theories of content and analyticity, Bradleyan idealism and Moorean propositions.
Melinda Roberts, Professor
(B.A. Vassar College; Ph.D. Five College Ph.D. Program, Amherst Massachusetts 1983; J.D. University of Texas 1986)
Some areas of special interest: law and ethics; obligations toward future persons.
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Philosophy of Law; Law and Ethics; and Metalogic.
Recent articles: "Supernumerary Pregnancy, the Problem of Collective Harm and the Nonidentity Problem," Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (forthcoming 2006) "The Nonidentity Fallacy: Harm, Probability, and Another Look at Parfit's Depletion Example" Utilitas (forthcoming 2006); "Is the Person-Affecting Intuition Paradoxical?" Theory and Decision (2003); “Person-Based Consequentialism and the Procreation Obligation,” The Repugnant Conclusion: Essays on Population Ethics (ed. J. Ryberg and T. Tännsjö)(2005); “Supernumerary Pregnancy and the Limits of the Constitutional Privacy Guaranty,” Journal of Philosophical Research (ed. F. Adams) forthcoming (2005); “Can it Ever Have Been Better Never to Have Existed At All? Person-Based Consequentialism and a New Repugnant Conclusion,” Journal of Applied Philosophy (2003); “A New Way of Doing the Best We Can: Person-Based Consequentialism and the Equality Problem,” Ethics (2002); “Cloning and Harming: Children, Future Persons and the ‘Best Interest’ Test”, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy (1999); “Human Cloning: A Case of No Harm Done?”, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (1996); “Parent and Child in Conflict: Between Liberty and Responsibility”, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy (1996); “Present Duties and Future Persons: When Are Existence-Inducing Acts Wrong?” Law and Philosophy (1995).
Book: Child Versus Childmaker: Future Persons and Present Duties in Ethics and the Law (Rowan and Littlefield 1998).
Also at TCNJ: Human Subjects Review Board; Pre-Law Advisory Committee; Executive Committee, Women’s and Gender Studies; has advised Philosophical Society.
Other: Practiced corporate and securities law at Wall Street firm for six and a half years.
Currently working on: Consequentialism, abortion, and the structure of normative theory.
John Sisko, Associate Professor
(B.A. St. John’s College (Annapolis, MD); Ph.D. Rutgers University 1995)
Some areas of special interest: Ancient Philosophy, especially Aristotle and early Greek physics.
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Ancient Philosophy, Seminar on Aristotle, Seminar on Plato, Medieval Philosophy, and Modern Philosophy.
Recent articles: "Cognitive Circuitry in Plato's Timaeus and the Pseudo-Hippocratic Peri Diaites." Forthcoming in Hermathena 2006; "Anaxagoras and Recursive Refinement." Forthcoming in Ancient Philosophy, Winter 2005; "Reflexive Awareness Does Belong to the Main Function of Perception: Reply to Victor Caston." Mind v.113.451 (2004), pp.513-521; “Worlds within Worlds within the One: Anaxagoras' Parmenidean Cosmology.”Apeiron xxxviv, n.2 (2003), pp.87-114; “Taste, Touch and Temperance in Nicomachean Ethics III.10”, Classical Quarterly, 53.1 (2003), pp.135-140; “Aristotle’s NOUS and the Modern Mind”, Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, 16 (2001), pp.177-198; “On Separating the Intellect from the Body: Aristotle’s De Anima III.4, 429a10-b5”, Archiv fur Geschichte der Philosophie, 81 (1999), pp.249-267; “Alteration and Quasi-Alteration”, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy,16 (1998), pp.331-352; “Space, Time and Phantasms in Aristotle, De Memoria 2, 452b7-25”, Classical Quarterly. 47 (1997), pp.167-175; “Material Alteration and Cognitive Activity in Aristotle’s De Anima", Phronesis, 41 (1996), pp.138-157.
Also at TCNJ: member of Program in Classical Studies
Other: recently participated in a N.E.H. Seminar for College and University Professors on Aristotle’s Philosophy of Language.
Currently working on: Aristotle’s account of imagination, the relation between Plato’s account of cognition in the Timaeus and earlier discussions of cognition in the Hippocratic corpus, and late medieval cosmology.
James Stacey Taylor, Assistant Professor
(MA, St. Andrews University, 1994; M.Litt, St. Andrews University, 1996; MA, Bowling Green State University, 1997; Ph.D., Bowling Green State University, 2000)
Some areas of special interest: Applied ethics (especially medical ethics), ethical theory, and action theory.
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Bioethics, Ethics, Modern Philosophy, and various courses in applied ethics.
Recent articles: "The Myth of Posthumous Harm," American Philosophical Quarterly , Vol. 42, No. 4 (2005): 311-32; “Willing Addicts, Unwilling Addicts, and Acting of One's Own Free Will,” Philosophia, Vol. 33, Nos. 1-4 (2005): 237-262; “Autonomy and Informed Consent: A Much Misunderstood Relationship,” The Journal of Value Inquiry, Vol. 38, No. 4 (2004): 383-391; “In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance,” Public Affairs Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 3 (2005): 227-246; “Identification and Quasi-Desires,” Philosophical Papers, Vol. 34, No. 1 (2005): 111-136; “Autonomy and Informed Consent on the Navajo Reservation,” Journal of Social Philosophy, Vol. 35, No.4 (2004): 506-516; “Plea Bargains, Constraining Options, and Respect for Autonomy,” Public Affairs Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 3 (2004): 249-264; “Autonomy, Duress, and Coercion,” Social Philosophy & Policy, Vol. 20, No. 2 (2003): 127-155.
Books: Editor of Personal Autonomy: New essays (Cambridge University Press, 2005); author of Stakes and Kidneys: Why markets in human body parts are morally imperative (Ashgate, 2005)
Other: Associate Editor (Book Reviews) of The Journal of Value Inquiry; Member of the Advisory Board of the IHEU—Appiganni Center for Bioethics at the United Nations in New York. Interested in cricket, architecture (esp. of medieval English churches), and the satire of Thomas Rowlandson. Loves cats and dogs (esp. Catahoula cur dogs!)
Currently working on: Writing a monograph entitled Autonomy’s Realm: Identification, Autonomy, and Applied Ethics; also working on the ethical issues associated with organ procurement, and various ethical and metaphysical issues surrounding death.
Morton Winston, Professor & Chair (On sabbatical for the 2007-2008 academic year)
(B.A. Swarthmore College; Ph.D. University of Illinois 1978)
Some areas of special interest: theory and practice of human rights; ethical theory; political philosophy, philosophy of technology.
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Biomedical Ethics, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Technology, Ethical Theory, Honors SET, Bioethics, Human Rights in International Relations.
Books and articles: On Chomsky (for Wadsworth Philosophers Series 2002), Society, Ethics and Technology (Second edition, co-edited, Wadsworth/ITP 2003); Philosophy of Human Rights (edited, Wadsworth Publishing Co. 1989); numerous articles on various topics related to human rights, applied ethics, and cognitive science; “Assessing the Effectiveness of Human Rights NGOs: Amnesty International”, Chapter for Claude Welch (Ed). International Non-governmental Human Rights Organizations: Making a Difference? (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000);"The Death Penalty and the Forfeiture Thesis," Journal of Human Rights (September 2002).
Also at TCNJ: Co-Director, Core Course: Society, Ethics and Technology (1993-1999); Adviser, TCNJ Amnesty International (1985-2003); Chair, Honors Program Taskforce (2003-2004); Chair, Department of Philosophy and Religion (1982-1988).
Other: Chair, Standing Committee on Organization and Development, Amnesty International (1999-2003); Member, Editorial Board, The Journal of Human Rights; Member, American Philosophical Association Committee on International Cooperation; Member, Advisory Board, Social Accountability International (1999-present); Honorary Chair, Board of Directors, Amnesty International USA (2003); Fulbright Scholarship (1999-2000) Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Fulbright Scholarship (1992) University of Durban-Westville, Durban, South Africa.
Hobbies: Tennis, bicycling, photography, travel.
Currently working on: Global Ethics: Human Rights and Responsibilities (for University of Pennsylvania Press)
Gerald W. Barnes, Professor Emeritus
(B.A. Cornell; Ph.D. Harvard University 1968)
Contact Address:
31 Barkston Gardens
London SW5 0ER
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 01 01 259 2895
E-mail: geraldbarnes@btopenworld.com
Some areas of special interest: Ethics, philosophy of language, epistemology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics (particularly Compatibilism), history of modern philosophy (especially in connection with Kant and Hume).
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Introduction to philosophy; logic; history of ancient philosophy; history of modern philosophy; Kant's moral philosophy; Kant's Critique of Pure Reason; Hume; ethics; social and political philosophy; 20th century analytic philosophy; 20th century moral philosophy; perception (problems); philosophy of mind (problems); the unconscious (problems); philosophy of language (problems); epistemology (problems); “Reason, Human Nature, and Ethics."
Articles: "In Defense of Kant's Doctrine of the Highest Good," The Philosophical Forum (Summer 1971); "Utilitarianisms," Ethics (October 1971); "Unger and Skepticism," Philosophical Studies (March 1973); "Some Remarks on Belief and Desire," The Philosophical Review (July 1977); "Mince Pie Reasoning," Analysis (June 1982); "The Conclusion of Practical Reasoning," Analysis (October 1983).
Also at TCNJ: Department. Chair, 1972-1978; stretches thereafter as Acting Chair; many A&S and College committees; designed and taught the first course in the Honors Program; various non-committee activities (e. g., started the student Philsophical Society).
Other: Has lived in London since 1999, and finds it exhilirating.
Currently working on: Trying to develop a novel line of argument against Compatibilism (regarding determinism and properties ostensibly instantiated in the world (intentionality, blameworthiness, etc.).
Roy A. Clouser, Professor Emeritus
(Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 1972)
Some areas of special interest: philosophy of religion; metaphysics, philosophy of science; comparative religion.
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Modern Philosophy; Seminar in Modern Philosophy; Philosophy of Religion; Metaphysics; Science and Religion; Introductory and Intermdiate Logic, Political Philosophy and others.
Books and articles: The Myth of Religious Neutrality (Univ. Notre Dame Press 1991); Knowing with the Heart (InterVarsity Press 1999) and numerous articles in philosophy of religion.
Also at TCNJ: former Director, Freshman Core Course; Athens to New York; has chaired the Dept. and served on various committees.
Other: Played trombone on a coast-to-coast radio show, and in a symphony orchestra for eight years. Sang with the Pennsylvania Ballet; sang the national anthem at the ballpark in Philadelphia.
Currently working on: Belief in God and Strategies for Theories, to be published by University of Notre Dame Press.
Allan Gotthelf, Professor Emeritus
(Ph.D. Columbia University 1975)
Some areas of special interest: ancient Greek philosophy (esp. Aristotle); metaphysics; ethical theory; philosophy of Ayn Rand; conceptions of love.
Teaches (besides the basic and core courses): Ancient Philosophy; Seminar in Ancient Philosophy; Metaphysics; Reason, Human Nature and Ethics; Honors Human Love in Philosophy and Literature; others.
Books and articles: On Ayn Rand (Wadsworth Publishing Co., 2000); Philosophical Issues in Aristotle’s Biology (co-edited, Cambridge Univ. Press 1987); Aristotle on Nature and Living Things (edited, Bristol Classical Press 1985); “Darwin on Aristotle”, Journal of the History of Biology, 1999 and many articles on ancient philosophy and science.
Also at TCNJ: former Co-Coordinator, Classical Studies Program; former Adviser, Ayn Rand Society.
Other: Life member, Clare Hall, Cambridge University; organized many international conferences. Is an admirer of Bruce Lee.
Visiting teaching: Oxford University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Georgetown University, Swarthmore College.
Currently working on: a book on Aristotle and articles on Ayn Rand.
