Dr. Yalowitz received his B.A.in Philosophy and in Intellectual History at Oberlin College, and his M.Phil and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Columbia University. His research interests are primarily in Philosophy of Mind, in particular on issues concerning the nature and status of psychological explanation in relation to the harder natural sciences. Dr.Yalowitz has been focusing on the topics of free action, free will, responsibility, rationality and irrationality, and has long standing interests in self-understanding, first-person authority, rule-following skepticism and mental causation. His advanced courses rotate through and explore theses various interests. He has published on these topics in Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and other places.

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. On this question I've written "Plato on the sovereignty of law" (in R. Balot ed. The Blackwell Guide to Greek and Roman Political Thought); "Degenerate Regimes in Plato's Republic (in M. McPherran ed. The Cambridge Critical Guide to Plato's Republic); and "Aristotle on law and moral education" (forthcoming in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy). I've also written on other topics in Aristotle's moral philosophy: "Aristotle on self-knowledge and friendship" (in Philosopher's Imprint).

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 and political philosophy. More recently I have become very interested in late antiquity and the interactions between pagan philosophy and early Jewish and Christian thinkers." Photo by Lizzie Maughan.

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.

Phillip Seng received his B.A. from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1992. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, finishing his dissertation in the 2007-8 academic year. His main areas of interest are the philosophy of John Dewey and aesthetics and philosophies of art and art criticism, particularly as they relate to film. He currently teaches introductory and upper level courses in the value fields: ethics, politics and aesthetics.

For the 2011-2012 academic year Dr.Seng is also the Acting Director of the Humanities Scholars Program; a scholarship progam serving exceptional students majoring in the humanities.The Humanities scholars program office is located within Dresher Center for Humanities,found in AOK Library Room 216H.

Stephen E. Braude is Professor of Philosophy 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.

"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."