HERE’S MY CV

Looks like we’ll have plenty to talk about.

Research

I’ve spent lots of time on bioethics, philosophy of god, cosmology, ancient philosophy, and the philosophy of science. Though lately, very possibly through no fault of my own, I’ve been thinking a lot about human freedom and determinism.

Courses

Here are courses I’m currently teaching on a rotating basis, though I’m always looking to develop more.

Logic & Critical Thinking

This course is designed to introduce students to the history and use of syllogistic and propositional logic. They learn to evaluate arguments with Venn diagrams, truth tables, and other proof strategies, while becoming familiar with informal reasoning and logical fallacies.

Intro to Philosophy

This course provides a general introduction to the big questions of philosophy, including questions of existence, knowledge, freedom and meaning. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to great thinkers and theories while engaging them in the exploration of the same beginning questions applied to contemporary issues.

Perspectives in the Humanities

This course is designed to examine the history of ideas from three perspectives: the historical, the aesthetic, and the philosophical. Students examine cultural history, architecture, art, literature, theater, philosophy, and theology, and attempt to define what constitutes a “civilization” and “culture” in the modern world.

Religions of the World

This course reviews the emergence of various belief systems and their differences and similarities. Students explore the role of religious belief in the course of human history. Special emphasis is given to the five major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Ethics Seminar

This course is a study of the principles of traditional and contemporary ethical theory. It emphasizes the historical and theoretical development of answers to such questions as: What kind of a person do I want to be? and How do we figure out what the right thing to do is? Topics: relativism, egoism, utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, social contract, and virtue ethics.

From Pi to AI

A history of the philosophy of science, from the ancient to contemporary eras. Topics include classical problems of the philosophy of science, such as: infinity, time, number, perception, experience, cosmology, evolution and intelligent design, quantum theory and artificial intelligence, as well as problems with the philosophy of science, such as: induction and confirmation, verification theory, scientific paradigms, correspondence and coherence truth theories, and the the possibility of true scientific knowledge based on quantum indeterminacy.

Positions

Teaching positions I’ve held over the last decade or so—where I earn just enough to pay my student loans.

Instructor - Southern New Hampshire University

  • Online & On Campus, Manchester, New Hampshire 2011-Present
  • Courses: Ethics, Introduction to Philosophy, Religions of the World, Perspectives in the Humanities

Instructor - Hesser College

  • On Campus, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 2009-2011
  • Courses: Ethics, Intro to Philosophy, Religions of the World, Intro to Humanities, Logic & Critical Thinking

Academic Coach & Writing Fellow

  • Boston College, Chestnut Hill MA, 2004-2008
  • Saint Anselm College, Goffstown NH, 2000-2004

Works

A selected list of publications and downright scintillating presentations made over the last two decades.

  • On God, Creation, and the Logical Necessity of a Finite Past
    (Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag, 2009). ISBN: 3639146735.
  • The Existence and Nature of a Possible God
    Humanities Seminar Guest Speaker, Saint Anselm College – 2007
  • Human Freedom in a Deterministic Universe
    Boston University Graduate Conference, Boston University – 2006
  • Did the Universe Begin?
    The Public Debate, Boston College – 2005
  • The Force of Negation in the Phenomenology of Spirit
    Boston College Hegel Seminar, Boston College – 2005
  • Anselm, Plotinus, and the Derivation of Eternal Existents
    Biennial Saint Anselm Conference, Saint Anselm College – 2004
  • Zeno’s Paradoxes: Unraveling the Mystery
    Saint Anselm College Philosophy Club, Saint Anselm College – 2003
  • Saint Anselm’s Ontological Argument
    Biennial Saint Anselm Conference, Saint Anselm College – 2002

Education

When you’re interested in everything, you pick a major that requires you to study everything.

MA - Philosophy

  • Boston College – Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 2008
  • Dissertation: The Logical Necessity of a Finite Past
  • Director: Ronald K. Tacelli, S.J.

BA - Philosophy

  • Saint Anselm College, 2004
  • Thesis: Personal Identity in the Metaphysics of Plotinus
  • Director: Kevin M. Staley, Ph.D.

Research Languages

  • Full Proficiency: Latin, French (Boston College Exams)
  • Competency: Spanish, German, Ancient Greek

Awards & Honors

I promise I deserved most of these distinctions. I’ll leave it to you to determine which.

  • Pass with High Distinction –  Master’s Degree Oral Examinations
    Boston College, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
  • Bernard Lonergan Fellowship Award
    Boston College Institute for Lonergan Studies
  • Joseph MacDonald Award for Outstanding Student in Philosophy
    Saint Anselm College
  • Saint Anselm College Philosophy Club President
    Saint Anselm College, 2001-2004