Faculty Profiles
Chair • Professors • Associate Professors • Assistant Professors • Instructors • Adjunct Faculty • Emeritus Professors
Chair
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Chair & Professor
Dr. Stephen E. Braude

braude@umbc.edu

Fine Arts 541
410-455-2005

Stephen E. Braude is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Scientific Exploration.

He studied Philosophy and English at Oberlin College and the University of London, and in 1971 he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

After publishing a number of articles in the philosophy of language, temporal logic, and the philosophy of time, he turned his attention to several related problems in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind — in particular, questions concerning causality, scientific explanation generally, and psychological explanation specifically. One of his overriding concerns was to demonstrate the inadequacy of mechanistic theories in psychology and cognitive science.

Prof. Braude also examined the evidence of parapsychology to see whether it would provide new insights into these and other traditional philosophical issues.

After that, he shifted his focus to problems in philosophical psychopathology, writing extensively on the connections between dissociation and classic philosophical problems as well as central issues in parapsychology—for example, the unity of consciousness, multiple personality and moral responsibility, and the nature of mental mediumship.

Prof. Braude is past President of the Parapsychological Association and is the recipient of several grants and fellowships, including Research Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the BIAL Foundation in Portugal. He has published more than 60 philosophical essays in such journals as Noûs; The Philosophical Review; Philosophical Studies; Analysis; Inquiry; Philosophia; Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society; Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology; Social Philosophy and Policy; New Ideas in Psychology; The Journal of Scientific Exploration; and The Journal of Trauma and Dissociation.

He has written five books: ESP and Psychokinesis: A Philosophical Examination (Temple University Press, 1979; revised edition, Brown Walker Press, 2002); The Limits of Influence: Psychokinesis and the Philosophy of Science (Routledge, 1986; revised edition, University Press of America, 1997); First Person Plural: Multiple Personality and the Philosophy of Mind (Routledge, 1991; revised edition, Rowman & Littlefield, 1995); and Immortal Remains: The Evidence for Life After Death (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003); and most recently, The Gold Leaf Lady and Other Parapsychological Investigations, which describes Prof. Braude's own encounters with the paranormal.

Prof. Braude is also a professional pianist and composer and a prize-winning stereo photographer.
 

Associate Professors


Steven Yalowitz

yalowitz@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 542
410-455-2108
"My central philosophical interests concern understanding the conditions that make possible our thought about and action in the physical and social worlds around us. Much of my earlier research focused upon linguistic aspects of this issue, in particular how meaning and communication fit in to the natural world. I have also been interested in the relation between commonsense psychology and other scientific explanatory schemes. More recently I have become increasingly interested in the nature of self-knowledge and human freedom, as well as the relation between these two issues.

The philosophy courses I teach in which some of these issues are addresssed are PHIL 470, Philosophy of MInd - which surveys topics such as the mind-body problem, mental causation, personal identity and freedom of will and action, and PHIL 445, Philosophy of Language - which surveys topics such as the nature of linguistic meaning and reference, the relation between language and thought, the relation between language and the social and physical environments, the possibility of communication, and speech acts."

 

Assistant Professors

Jessica Pfeifer

pfeifer@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 540
410-455-2014

 Dr. Pfeifer received a B.A. in Philosophy and Government at Wesleyan University and in 1999 completed her PhD in Philosophy/Science Studies at the University of California, San Diego. The primary focus of her research has been on the nature of modal notions, and in particular the natural necessity involved in lawful relations. She has also done related work on the nature of properties, the distinction between natural and artificial kinds, and John Stuart Mill's views about natural laws and experimentation. More recently she has focused on questions in the philosophy of biology, such as the use of information theory in various biological contexts and the use of probability in the theory of natural selection. Dr. Pfeifer is co-editor (along with Sahotra Sarkar) of the two volume Philosophy of Science: An Encyclopedia (forthcoming). She has also been a Visiting Fellow and is currently an Associate Fellow at the Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science.


"My primary interest is in ancient philosophy, especially Plato and Aristotle. Most recently I have been working on their notion of the rule of law and how law is meant to produce virtue. Both thinkers give law central importance--but given that virtue for them involves the rule of reason in the individual, it is not clear how the coercion or habituation provided by law could play more than a limited role. I have also worked more generally on what it means to be ruled by reason as opposed to appetite or desire, both in individual and political contexts.

I first thought I might want to read, write and teach for a living while writing an essay on Oedipus Rex as a freshman at St. John's College in Annapolis. After St. John's I studied Greek philosophy at Cambridge University and the University of Chicago before enrolling in the classical philosophy program at Princeton. While at Princeton I came to realize that some good philosophy had actually been done since the 4th century B.C., and so I started reading and thinking about contemporary philosophy as well, especially ethics of all kinds, political philosophy, and the relations between philosophy and theology." Photo by Lizzie Maughan.


Zena Hitz

zenahitz@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 523
410-455-2038


Visiting Assistant Professors

Ben Dixon

bdixon@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 524
410-455-3995

I received my PhD in Philosophy from Bowling Green Sate University.  My main research and teaching interests are in ethical theory and environmental ethics.  These are the areas I addressed in my doctoral dissertation, and these are the areas in which I have published.  With respect to my current research, I continue writing on the idea of moral progress: how the activities and characters of groups can become increasingly moral over time and whether such improvements are inevitable given the rational nature of human beings.  The inevitability of moral progress was of particular importance to Enlightenment thinkers, but that idea has found few contemporary adherents, and for good reasons—the 20th Century, for example, is haunted by persons whose histories bear testament to the non-inevitability of humanity’s moral improvement.  I am interested in what makes the concept of moral progress still philosophically interesting and applicable after the inevitability claim is jettisoned.

Some of the environmental ethics scholarship I am pursuing involves reinterpreting Aldo Leopold’s “Land Ethic” as foundationally dependent on a kind of moral pluralism.  I am also working on a non-speciesist account of human dignity that takes seriously the variety of intrinsic value found in the nonhuman, natural world.

At UMBC I enjoy teaching a variety of classes, including lower and upper division courses in ethical theory and upper division courses in applied ethics (e.g., Environmental Ethics and Bioethics).  In 2007-2008 I was the William Lyon Visiting Chair in Professional Ethics at the United States Air Force Academy.

 



Instructors

Mr. Templeton received his B.A. in Philosophy from Albright College in 1964, and his M.A. in Philosophy from Howard University in 1977. He specializes in teaching critical thinking.


Roye S. Templeton

rtemplet@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 526
410-455-2155


Lecturers

Richard Wilson

rwilso4@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 521
410-455-3843

I have a dual appointment in Philosophy and Computer Science/Electrical Engineering. My primary interest is in applied ethics, including Engineering Ethics and Computer Science Ethics, as well as traditional topics such as Business, Medical and Environmental Ethics. I have also worked in the area of Police Ethics. Most recently, I have developed the required ethics courses for both Engineering and Computer Science majors at UMBC, and along with a lawyer, a graduate Engineering Management Law and Ethics class. I continue to be interested in 20th century French and German Philosophy and have a strong background in the history of Philosophy in general. This was due to a strong historical emphasis in Graduate school from Duquesne and the University in Pittsburgh. I have also had a life long interest in German Idealism, specifically in the Philosophy of Immanuel Kant.

I first realized my interest in studying philosophy 5 minutes into a philosophy class in my 1st semester at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. At that moment a voice in my head said to me, “you’re finally home”; I felt comfortable for practically the 1st time in my life. As a result, I became interested in 20th century continental thought, particularly French philosophy which in turn led to German philosophy. I next became interested in ethics, so I started reading and thinking about ethics of all kinds, although my heart has always remained focused on the ethical philosophy of Kant. Plato and Aristotle still strongly influence how I think about ethics. While my primary interest is now in applied ethics, I also maintain a strong interest in the history of philosophy. I believe that a good understanding of philosophy requires a historical grounding. According to my view, all of these concerns should move each of us to strive to change the world into a better place for all of us every day of our lives. I believe that a philosophical outlook is crucial to the success of this project.

Book Publications: Logic: Deductive, Inductive and Informal Analysis; Logic, Values and Ethical Analysis; Business Ethics and Contemporary Issues; Forthcoming: Engineering and Information Technology Ethics and Computer Science Ethics.


Adjunct Faculty

Mr. Ealick received his B.A. in Philosophy from UMBC. He received a Master’s from The William Rice Institute for his work on the metaphysics of formal rationality theory. He currently is completing his PhD at College Park, where his research involves implications evolutionary theory has for the philosophy of mind.


Greg Ealick

ealick@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 525
410-455-2010

James Thomas

jathomas@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 521
410-455-3843
Jim Thomas has been teaching at UMBC for a number of years. His
interests include Philosophy of Humor, Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy
of Mind, and Metaphysics.

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Phil Seng

philseng@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 522
410-455-3282


Emeritus Professors


John M. Titchener

titchene@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 520
410-455-2015

 		"I share with G.E. Moore the belief that philosophical problems arise not so much from the world as from what philosophers say about it. Are their assertions true or false? How can one know? Does it make a difference? In asking students to read philosophy we seem to presume that there is some value in this activity which does not necessarily have to do with its truth or falsity. In what, then, does this value lie? In differing ways those classes that I have regularly taught such as PHIL 321, History of Ancient Philosophy, and PHIL 346, Deductive Systems, attempt to provide answers to these questions. How is it possible, in philosophy, to admire a work that one believes to be wrong? One of my favorite courses, on the book Godel, Escher, Bach, asks such questions about the limits of logic, the perils of self-reference, and differences between showing and telling."



Administrative Assistant

The Philosophy Department Administrative Assistant, Nafi, can answer many of the questions you may have about the Philosophy Department or the courses being offered at any time. She can also put you in touch with other faculty members, with whom you may wish to speak further.


Nafi Shahegh

shahegh@umbc.edu
Fine Arts 539
410-455-2103