Books | Books in Preparation | Public Writings | Articles | Grants & Awards | Articles Under Review | Articles in Preparation | Encyclopedia Entries | Editing | Book Reviews
My writings fall under a few categories. As a scholar, I write academic works such as books, journal articles, edited book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and book reviews. As a citizen and advocate, I write guest columns in newspapers, letters to the editors of various newspapers and magazines. I am developing a few projects that build on my scholarly work, but that I am writing for general audiences. So far, my goal has been to solidify my philosophical tools and ideas. In current and future projects, I communicate the value of philosophical study for practical, real-world problems of ethics, leadership, and policy.
My academic research and writing focus on several overlapping areas of interest. The first two are ethics and political philosophy. I am most concerned about how to live well and to organize a society that will be just and flourishing. In that endeavor, though, crucial matters arise about how to know what to do, which is a question that fits in the field of epistemology. Therefore, I write about epistemology, the study of the nature knowledge, the origins of concepts, and the strategies we can use to best promote intelligent social action. Finally, I approach these subjects with a favorite tradition, American pragmatism. Another area of specialty for me, then, is pragmatic philosophy, especially John Dewey's.
My research is sometimes focused on the probing questions that arise in abstract philosophical debates. At the same time, I see a continuity between apparently abstract philosophical beliefs and practical applications of them. So while I may write on matters of metaethical debate, I also enjoy writing about practical concerns, such as one recent project on government expansions in internet access or another on the ethics of fundraising. In one way, then, I am an epistemologist who attends to the practical, moral, and political consequences of theories of concept formation and knowledge. Given my attention to application, I am in another sense an applied ethicist and pragmatist, with a number of projects treating matters of public policy. The following is a list of some of my work that has been published and other projects that are in progress.
Books
Democracy and Leadership (forthcoming 2013)
Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy (2011)
Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism (2010)
Books in development
Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Social Intelligence,
In this book, I reject the common belief among scholars of leadership that democratic leadership is a contradiction in terms. Turning back all the way to Plato, who believed that in a democracy there were no rulers, I develop a general theory of leadership in order to then reconstruct it for democratic societies. In making my case, I develop a theory of democratic leadership, grounded on the demands of intelligent and free public inquiry into social problems. I draw a number of important lessons from John Dewey's democratic theory to show the extensive resources available not only for a theory of democratic leadership, but also for the methods of teaching students its elements. After Part I on the nature of democratic leadership and Part II on a number of challenges for it, I end the book with an extended look at Mississippi in order to test my theory through its application to a state that has been home to many challenges for democratic leadership.
"This superbly researched and written book defines more clearly than anything that I have read in recent years the elements that are essential for a democratic political system to fulfill its proper mission. Coming as it does in a time of diminished public decision-making capability, particularly at the national governmental level, this volume points the way out of our current malaise. It should be read by every citizen who wants to see our system work as well as it is capable of. As a former governor of Mississippi, I can attest to the value of the wise and pragmatic counsel which it contains."
– The Honorable William Winter, Governor of Mississippi from 1972-1976 and from 1980-1984, the "Education Governor."
"From Plato through today's college students, Eric Weber's Democracy and Leadership carefully examines the pedagogy of leadership development. Because the book is so rich in content and style, you can add Weber's name to a select list of noted Southern scholars and writers."
– Dean James L. "Skip" Rutherford, The Clinton School of Public Service, The University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
The goal of this book is to present an experimentalist approach to the problems of ethics in public policy grounded on John Dewey’s philosophy. Leaders in public policy face some unique challenges regarding the framing of problems, policy prioritization or agenda setting, as well as challenges of addressing the concerns of citizens who hold to conflicting religious and moral doctrines. This book is intended for students and leaders in public policy and for philosophers interested in how leaders in public matters can fuse the many important moral considerations that must be addressed in public settings concerning policy.
Description of the book on Continuum's Web site:
"In Morality, Leadership and Public Policy, Eric Weber argues for an experimentalist approach to moral theory in addressing practical problems in public policy. The experimentalist approach begins moral inquiry by examining public problems and then makes use of the tools of philosophy and intelligent inquiry to alleviate them.
Part I surveys the uses of practical philosophy and answers criticisms – including religious challenges – of the approach, presenting a number of areas in which philosophers’ intellectual efforts can prove valuable for resolving public conflicts.
Part II presents a new approach to experimentalism in moral theory, based on the insights of John Dewey’s pragmatism. Focusing on the elements of good public inquiry and the experimentalist attitude, Weber discusses ways of thinking about the effective construction and reconstruction of particular problems, including practical problems of public policy prioritization.
Finally, in Part III the book examines real-world examples in which the experimentalist approach to ethics proves useful, including instances of “bandwidth theft” and the controversies surrounding activist judges in the US Supreme Court."
Endorsements:
"I cannot urge strongly enough the consideration of this ingenious, well-written study for inclusion in the policy curriculum. We seldom have a book that is both original and practical, and this work is both. We have a major problem in the world today, a shortfall in ethical understanding that is producing dire consequences for every level of government. We need to spark interest in the ethical dimensions of policy studies, and Professor Weber has provided us with both the spark and the tinder. I will make good use of his study, and hope others will too."
– Dr. Paul Rich, President, Policy Studies Organization, Washington, D.C., USA
"Eric Weber has written a much needed book. Many commentators lament the prevalence of ideological rigidity in American politics. At the same time, defenders of ideological rigidity often defend rigidity as a consequence of a genuinely “ethical” approach to the great issues of public policy. They often equate compromise with ethical weakness. In Morality, Leadership and Public Policy: On Experimentalism in Ethics, Weber convincingly refutes any notion that ethical leadership need be dogmatic by appealing to the most genuinely American of philosophical traditions. Weber’s book shows great sensitivity to both the complexity of public policy formation and to the subtleties of philosophical ethics. His book deserves to be read by both policy makers and philosophers."
– Dr. David Schrader, Executive Director, The American Philosophical Association, Newark, Delaware, USA
"If there was ever any doubt that philosophy belongs in the real world–in the realm of legislatures and leadership–Weber's book lays it to rest. By a marvelously rich development of the pragmatic experimental method, the author shows how philosophy can make central contributions to dealing with some of our most vexing moral problems. Lucid thinking and accessible style make the book's lasting insights unmistakable. A must-read for both philosophers and community leaders."
– Dr. John Lachs, Centennial Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
NEW: Continuum's page for the paperback, coming out in Feb. 2013 .
Continuum's page for the hardback.
Amazon.com's page for the book.
Reviews
In March of 2013, Richard Cotter posted a careful and challenging review of Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy on Academia.edu, noting that the piece is forthcoming in a 2013 issue of Political Studies Review.
The review presented some challenges to the project. Cotter writes that "Whilst well written and at times genuinely thought provoking, as a whole the book invoked an ambiguous response." Elsewhere, though the book's optimism was overreaching to Cotter, he admits that "the pragmatic approach is attractive and we might agree with Weber that it probably holds out the most hope for advancing social improvement." Cotter's review presents a number of interesting and helpful challenges for me to consider as I develop my nexts project.
– Richard Cotter, National University of Ireland, Political Studies Review
In June of 2012, The Journal of Speculative Philosophy published a review of Morality, Leadership, and Public Policyby Dr. Royce Jones. Here's a passage from the review:
"Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy is written in an engaging manner. So filled is it with clear and powerfully compelling ideas and suggestions that one cannot read the book without finding oneself examining one's habitual ways of approaching difficulties and seeking new possibilities for meaningful collaboration with others in fashioning public policy. Although Weber writes explicitly for philosophers, his work can also be read with benefit by nonphilosophers who are concerned with the moral dimensions of public policy and leadership."
– Dr. Royce Jones, Capps Professor of Humanities Emeritus, Illinois College, The Journal of Speculative Philosophy
Publicity for Morality, Leadership and Public Policy:
- Iran's Mehr News agency made an announcement about the book and a computer generated Google translation of this page is here.
Description of the book on Continuum's Web site:
"In Rawls, Dewey and Constructivism, Eric Weber examines and critiques John Rawls' epistemology and the unresolved tension - inherited from Kant - between Representationalism and Constructivism in Rawls' work. Weber argues that, despite Rawls' claims to be a constructivist, his unexplored Kantian influences cause several problems. In particular, Weber criticises Rawls' failure to explain the origins of conceptions of justice, his understanding of "persons" and his revival of Social Contract Theory. Drawing on the work of John Dewey to resolve these problems, the book argues for a rigorously constructivist approach to the concept of justice and explores the practical implications of such an approach for Education."
Endorsements:
"Eric Weber provides a well considered and carefully crafted analysis of the work of John Rawls from a Pragmatist perspective. Chapter six alone, 'Dewey and Rawls on Education,' is worth the price of admission."
– Larry A. Hickman, Center for Dewey Studies, Southern Illinois University, USA
"Eric Thomas Weber's comparative study identifies a deep Kantian tension between constructivism and representationalism in Rawls. His well informed, very clear and persuasive critique of Rawls highlights the many resources of Dewey’s constructivism and constructivist epistemology for democratic political philosophy."
– Tom Rockmore, Duquesne University, USA
Continuum's page for the book.
Amazon.com has a discounted rate for the book here.
BarnesandNoble.com has a discounted rate for the book here.
Reviews
In October of 2011, Nicholas Tampio of Fordham University's department of Political Science published an elegant review of two books, one of which was my first book, Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism. He published the review essay on H-Net Reviews, an excellent online source of reviews on texts in the humanities and social sciences. To read a PDF version of the review, click here or on the thumbnail photo on the right. To read the regular, HTML version, click here. Tampio calls Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism and the other subject of his review "excellent books" and writes that:
"Weber’s Rawls, Dewey and Constructivism provides a welcome addition to the Rawls literature by offering a Deweyan critique of, and alternative to, Rawlsian constructivism..." and "In the contemporary political and economic climate, Weber’s call for strengthening the American tradition of public, humanistic education is refreshing."
– Nicholas Tampio, Fordham University
In July of 2011, I felt honored when I found out that McAnulty College Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Tom Rockmore of Duquesne University reviewed Rawls, Dewey and Constructivism in the Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. The review was published on July 14th, 2011. As all of the rich pieces on NDPR, Rockmore's review offers an account of the book as a whole, while also presenting critical engagement of particular areas. Click here to visit the NDPR page with the review or click here to see a printable Adobe PDF version of the piece. Rockmore writes:
"Eric Thomas Weber's excellent book raises a constructivist challenge against Rawls's constructivism... In his short, tightly-argued book, Weber further develops the constructivist criticism of Rawls in creatively comparing and constrasting the views of Rawls and Dewey."
– Tom Rockmore, Duquesne University, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, review here.
Forthcoming in Political Studies Review (2011) is a review of Rawls, Dewey and Constructivism, which you can read in its entirety here. Among the comments are these: "Weber's critique is ... robust[,] judicious and collegial throughout... Weber has delivered a powerful [case]."
– Richard Cotter, National University of Ireland, Political Studies Review
"Eric Weber's first book is a TOUR DE FORCE, in terms of its contribution to existing scholarship on John Dewey and John Rawls. In it, he expertly draws upon Dewey's constructivism in order to critically assess Rawls's Kantian constructivism. Having worked on Rawlsian political philosophy for several years, and as a Dewey scholar myself, I worried that the book would be a mere rehashing of previous scholarly views on the two thinkers' ideas. It is not. The author offers insightful readings of works by Dewey, Rawls, Peirce, Locke, Hegel and several meta-ethicists. He evaluates the epistemological assumptions behind Rawls's theories of justice and political liberalism in ways that I've never seen before. I learned something new in each chapter. Indeed, I plan to assign the chapter on social contract theories to students in my introduction to social-political philosophy course next term. Since it is so clearly written, the book would make an excellent teaching tool. I strongly believe that Eric Weber's book proves Robert Talisse wrong. In Talisse's recent paper 'John Rawls and American Pragmatisms,' he writes: 'The fact is that Rawls's views have not been well-received by philosophers who identify as pragmatists. Indeed, today's pragmatists tend to be overtly hostile to Rawls.' While Weber is certainly critical of Rawls, he is never 'overtly hostile.' Rather, his criticisms are leveled in a melioristic spirit, aiming to improve the discourse about Rawls's political ideas by closely scrutinizing their epistemological assumptions from a pragmatist perspective. Anyone seriously interested in political ideas should DEFINITELY read this book."
– Shane Ralston of Penn State University, Hazelton, review on Amazon.com here.
"Weber's chapter 6, 'Dewey and Rawls on Education,' is particularly valuable. Weber suggests Dewey is a central defender of the optimistic belief in the potential of intelligence when directed at the careful selection of good social habits and education is precisely this process ... The book ... will be a useful addition to any educational library."
– The Historical Association of the United Kingdom. You can read the review by clicking here.
In November of 2012, David Wall published a review in Metapsychology in which he explains that those not sympathetic to constructivism or to Dewey's views won't be persuaded by the book. An Adobe PDF version of the review is available here.
Publicity for Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism:
A few Web sites have posted initial information about Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism. Among these are:- Continuum's blog page about the book.
- Political Theory - Habermas and Rawls blog.
- Iran's Mehr News agency made an announcement about the book and a computer generated Google translation of this page is here. For their interview article about the book, click here. For Google's imperfect translation of this second article, click here. The agency then published an interview with me about the book in their English language newspaper, The Tehran Times. You can read the article by clicking here. The article is called "Rawls revived idea of social contract theory: professor."
Books in Preparation
My next book after Democracy and Leadership will be titled A Culture of Justice. I will post more information about this book here in the near future. The quick explanation will likely speak most to scholars: It is a fusion of the insights of John Dewey and Richard Rorty with challenges and contributions that John Rawls encountered and offered regarding the extent to which culture can inhibit or enable the pursuit of justice. I argue that institutions are empowered or frustrated by culture, but institutions can also help reshape cultures for the better. The book will address the challenges in the way of Rawls's theory of justice with help from the Pragmatists' ideas about shaping culture democratically and with democratic values. More on this soon.
Mississippi and other poor regions in the United States suffer from mutually aggravating problems of poverty and educational failure. The situation looks like a Catch-22, since to improve one problem requires resolving the other. At bottom, I argue that the most pernicious problem for poor people in Mississippi and elsewhere is the internalization of expectations of failure. This problem is the subject of my book, Culture Bound: Overcoming Self-fulfilling Prophecies of Failure in Education. I argue that we must fight culture with culture. We must overturn the powerful, detrimental influences that push kids to drop out of school, which they do because they see no future in it for themselves. The kinds of problems and solutions I see for Mississippi, furthermore, are applicable to countless communities beyond the state and the nation. Mississippi is one of the toughest cases, the ultimate test for big ideas about overcoming seemingly intractable problems. As such, I believe that this project will appeal to people wherever poverty discourages educational attainment. (To read The Clarion Ledger article that explains part of this project, click here.)
The Meaning of Moderation: On the Virtue of Centrism in Politics,
In the last few years, people have rushed back to the works of Ayn Rand to refresh their ideological points of view. People have a great need to understand political positions and to find ideological allies. There are many books about hard line views, therefore, such as from libertarians, solid liberals, and ardent conservatives. There are very few books that address the middle, however. I think most people are in the middle, yet they are treated as indecisive, needing to "get off the fence." I disagree. I believe that the best things to do are almost always a matter of finding the mean between divergent values. In this context, I am writing a book called The Meaning of Moderation: On the Virtue of Centrism in Politics.
The book proceeds in three parts. Part I begins with two chapters diagnosing the problem today of having voices represent hard line views almost exclusively. I show how people like Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, and Glenn Beck stoke the fires of ideological difference. My next chapter focuses on politicians, whom we hope would be more sensible, addressing figures like Jimmy Carter, Newt Gingrich, Bernie Sanders, and Ron Paul. At times, each exemplifies extreme views.
Part II covers the foundations and challenges of moderation. The first of these chapters addresses the sense in which people like grand principles. John Stuart Mill will be my example of a practical philosopher who did this. Mill was the father of a number of important political views that conflict with one another. Mill was a moderate, however, a person who could appreciate the value of competing ideals. He was also elected to public office for a term, something uncommon among professional philosophers. The next chapter deals with the fact that we like sensationalism. We are entertained by firefights over culture wars. Philosopher Georg Hegel shows us how even when we are surrounded by fighting and incivility, we can rest assured that synthesis will be the outcome of the clash of opposing views. This explains why the United States will certainly lean politically, but will always be a center-right or center-left nation - i.e., if we're doing the right thing. Finally, even if we enjoy the bustle of competing political banners, we nevertheless can see the value of moderation in our private lives and relationships. In the next chapter of Part II, therefore, I present Aristotle's timeless contribution to thinking about friendship, which he took to be the central political virtue. Even if we disagree passionately about what to do, we are still citizens of the same country with many common causes. Aristotle's philosophy taught us about the Golden Mean, the guiding lesson of The Meaning of Moderation: that virtue, in life as in politics, is the mean between extremes of behavior.
Part III applies the lessons of moderation in six chapters, covering live and controversial political topics, before a brief conclusion. The first three topics covered are religion versus secularism, patriotism versus criticism of America, and the evil vs. divinity of business and industry. The next three topics deal with social programs vs. personal responsibility, terrorism and torture, and international interference vs. laissez-faire approaches. The book addresses each of these topics with the idea of appreciating the criticisms that conflicting ideologies level, while offering sensible, moderate reactions. Finally, the book closes with acknowledgement that costs accompany all decisions. Moderation teaches us to appreciate the worth of competing values and the immense costs of holding one point of view to the exclusion of all others.
Public Writings
(Beyond Books)
While many of my writings are intended for academic audiences, some of my book projects and a number of other writings are intended for wider audiences. In short, there is overlap between my writings and my public engagement efforts. Since some of my articles primarily target public audiences and are few, I have for now put a list of them on my public engagement page - Click here to see that list of public writings. I have also started a blog in the last year on which I write about current events or ideas that intrigue me when inspiration comes and time allows. You can visit my blog by clicking here.
Scholarly Articles
“On Pragmatism and International Relations: Empiricism, Stoic Optimism, and Collaborative Culture,”
Chapter 1 in Philosophical Pragmatism and International Relations: Essays for a Bold New World, edited by Shane Ralston,
Lanham, MD: Lexington Books (a division of Rowman and Littlefield Publishers), 2013, 25-49.
"James’s Critiques of the Freudian Unconscious – 25 Years Earlier," William James Studies, Volume
9, Issue 1, December 2012, forthcoming.
"What Experimentalism Means in Ethics,” the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Volume 25, Number 1, 2011, p. 98 - 115.
“Deweyan Experimentalism and Leadership,” in Dewey's Enduring Impact: Essays on America's Philosopher, Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2011, p. 293 - 301 and 385 (notes).
With Dr. David Rutherford, “Ethics and Environmental Policy,” to be included in Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation, Chapter 9, 40 pages, Springer, forthcoming 2011.
“The Third Enlightenment as American: A Reply to Kondylis,” Skepsis, Volume 21, Issue 2, 2011, p. 97 - 107.
“On Applying Ethics: Who's Afraid of Plato's Cave?” Contemporary Pragmatism, Volume 7, Number 2, December 2010, p. 91 - 103.
“A Historical Mandate for Expanding Broadband Internet Infrastructure,” Review of Policy Research, Volume 27,Issue 5, September 2010, p. 681 - 689.
“Civil Religion,” with Richard Couto, Chapter 57 in Political and Civic Leadership, edited by Richard Couto,Washington, D.C.: Sage Press, 2010, p. 505 – 512.
“Democratic Political Leadership,” Chapter 13 in Political and Civic Leadership, edited by Richard Couto, Washington, D.C.: Sage Press, 2010, p. 105 – 110.
“James, Dewey, and Democracy,” William James Studies, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2009, p. 90 – 110.
“Social Contract Theory, Old and New,” Review Journal of Political Philosophy, Volume 7, issue 2, p. 1 – 23, 2009.
“The Responsibilities and Dangers of Pragmatism,” Philosophy in the Contemporary World, Volume 16, Issue 1, April 2009, p. 122 – 129, published with response, “What Can Philosophers Contribute?” on p. 130 – 134 by John Lachs.
“Religion, Public Reason, and Humanism: Paul Kurtz on Fallibilism and Ethics,” Contemporary Pragmatism, Volume 5, Number 2, December 2008, p. 131 – 147.
“Learning from Others: What South Korean Technology Policy Can Teach Mississippi,” Review of Policy Research, Volume 25, Issue 6, Special issue on science and 
technology, December, 2008, p. 608 – 613.
“Dewey and Rawls on Education,” Human Studies, Volume 31, Issue 4, December, 2008, p. 361 – 382.
“Lessons for Leadership from Keping and Dewey,” Skepsis, Volume XIX, Issues 1 & 2, 2008, p. 100 – 111.
“Proper Names and Persons: Peirce’s Semiotic Consideration of Proper Names,” Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, Volume 44, Issue 2, Spring, 2008, p. 346 – 362.
“Clearing the Path to Human Rights.” Humanity at the Turning Point, Sonja Servomaa, ed., Renvall Publications Series no 23, Helsinki, Finland: Renvall Institute, University of Helsinki, 2006.
Grants, Awards, and Honors
The following are grants and awards that in some cases apply exclusively to my research, in others concern my service efforts, and in others regard teaching, research, and service.
In December of 2012, the American Philosophical Association awarded the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) a grant that I wrote, with $1,000 of support for our 2013 events.
In October of 2012, the Mississippi Humanities Council awarded the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) a grant that I wrote for $2,500 of support for a 2013 event.
In May of 2012, I was honored to be selected for the Frist Student Service Award at the University of Mississippi, for
"going the extra mile in unwavering dedication to students." More information on this is posted on my "Teaching" page.
In January of 2012, I was awarded a grant from the University of Mississippi's College of Liberal Arts to support my research for the upcoming summer, when I will complete my manuscript for the book, A Culture of Justice.
In July of 2011, I was awarded a grant to support my research from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, along with support from the College of Liberal Arts and the Department of Public Policy Leadership, totalling $3,500.
In May of 2011, I was honored to receive the Cora Lee Graham Award for the Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen. For more information on this, visit my "Teaching" page, in the "Honors" section, which you'll find by clicking here.
Departmental Summer Research Award, Public Policy Leadership, University of Mississippi, summer 2011.
Faculty Travel Support Award, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Mississippi,
$500 for travel to the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy's Summer Institute, in Eugene, OR, July 2011.
American Philosophical Association Grant to support the Society of Philosophers in America's (SOPHIA) “Democracy and Civic Participation: Two Symposia on Philosophy and Public Engagement,” awarded $4,000 for events in 2011.
Mississippi Humanities Council grant to support a Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) symposium titled “Disability, Civic Responsibility, and Community Friendship,” awarded $5,000 in fall of 2010 for the event in 2011.
Faculty Travel Support Award, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Mississippi,
$1,500 for travel to the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy's Summer Institute, in Eugene, OR, July 26-31, 2010.
Departmental Summer Research Award, Public Policy Leadership, University of Mississippi, summer 2010.
Honored with Distinguished Membership in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars for “outstanding contributions to the classroom, the campus, and the community,” July 2009.
American Philosophical Association Grant for 3 projects for the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA), $2,400 with $3,700 match, 2009.
Departmental Summer Research Award, Public Policy Leadership, University of Mississippi, summer 2009.
Mississippi Humanities Council Grant for SOPHIA symposium on “Ethics at the End of Life,” with Jo Ann O’Quin, $1,994 with $2,700 match, January 2009.
Mississippi Humanities Council Grant for the Mississippi Philosophical Association’s Medical Ethics Conference, $2,920 with $5,900 match, November, 2008.
Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Inquiry Transnational, Amherst, NY, July 2008.
Departmental Summer Research Award, Public Policy Leadership, University of Mississippi, summer 2008.
College of Liberal Arts Summer Research Grant, The University of Mississippi, $8,400 for summer 2008.
Invited to the Greek Life luncheon in recognition for “Outstanding service to Ole Miss,” spring 2008.
Faculty Travel Support Award, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Mississippi,
$1,500 for travel to “Transforming Regional Economies,” in Baltimore, MD, October 2007.
Andrew P. Smith Writing Award, Southern Illinois University, 2005.
S. Morris Eames Philosophy Graduate Student Award, "Awarded to an outstanding graduate student in philosophy,"Southern Illinois University,
2004 – 2005.
N.E.H. Young Scholars Summer Research Grant Award, summer 1996.
Articles under Review
I have a number of works in progress. I will update this section soon.
Articles in Preparation
I have many papers in preparation for submission to journals and for adaptation into book chapters. For a long list of papers I have presented, have a look at my curriculum vitae, on which I offer a list under the section called “Presentations.” The following papers are a handful of projects that are fairly far along in the process of development, though some of them have been on the back burner for quite some time...
“A Culture of Justice: on Rawls, Dewey, and Rorty,” finishing.
“The Role of the Philosopher in Public Policy,” finishing.
“Fiscal Responsibility and the ‘Use it or lose it’ Rationale for Spending,” revising.
“Stoicism’s Value and Some Challenges,” to be sent to the Journal of Philosophy.
Encyclopedia Entries
“John Dewey,” in Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication, Volume 1, pages 216 - 218, Sage Press, 2010.
“Deductive Logic,” in Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication, Volume 1, pages 206 - 207, Sage Press, 2010.
“Inductive Logic,” in Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication, Sage Press, 2010.
“Education: American Philosophers on,” in American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia, edited by John Lachs and Robert Talisse, 206 – 209, New York, Routledge, 2008.
“Intelligence,” in American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia, edited by John Lachs and Robert Talisse, 403 – 405, New York, Routledge, 2008.
“Temperament,” in American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia, edited by John Lachs and Robert Talisse, 754 – 756, New York, Routledge, 2008.
Editing
Revised Robert Hahn’s, Conduct and Constraints, 8th ed., Pearson, 2008, from 7th Ed., see p. xiii. This is Hahn's textbook for his Ethics courses, which he teaches at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, in Carbondale, IL.
Reviews
Clanton, J. Caleb. Religion and Democratic Citizenship: Inquiry and Conviction in the American Public Square in Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, Volume 45, Issue 3, 2010, p. 449 – 452.
Frank, Jill. A Democracy of Distinction. In the Review of Metaphysics, LX, No. 2, Issue 238, p. 396 – 397, December 2006.
Kellogg, Frederic R. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Legal Theory, and Judicial Restraint. In The Pluralist, Volume 7, Issue 3, 2012, p. 136 – 139.
Lachs, John. A Community of Individuals. In Teaching Philosophy, 29:1, p. 72 – 74, March 2006.
Putnam, Hilary. Ethics without Ontology. In The Journal of Value Inquiry, Vol. 41, No. 2 – 4, p. 359 – 361, December, 2007.
Tong, Rosemary, A. Donchin, and S. Dodds, editors. Linking Visions: Feminist Bioethics, Human Rights, and the Developing World. In Teaching Philosophy, 29:4, p. 367 – 369, December 2006.
