BMC Philosophy Faculty

B R Y N
M A W R
Department of Philosophy
Thomas Hall, Bryn Mawr College
101 No. Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Phone: 610-526-5332
Fax: 610-526-7475

About our Faculty and Staff

Faculty Members Teaching Full-time for the Department of Philosophy
Professors:
Robert Dostal, Acting Chair

Christine Koggel (on leave semester I and II)

Michael Krausz
George Weaver, Emeritus

Lecturer:

Bharath Vallabha

Visiting Faculty:

Scott Edgar

Carol Hay

Morgan Wallhagen

Affiliated Faculty (not featured below):

Jeremy Elkins, PhD., Assistant Professor of Political Science
Deepak Kumar, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Computer Science
Stephen G. Salkever, Ph.D., Mary Katharine Woodworth Professor of Political Science
Azade Seyhan, Ph.D., Fairbank Professor in the Humanities and Professor of German and Comparative Literature

Faculty Secretary and Coordinator:
Lorraine Kirschner

Robert Dostal (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University) has taught at Bryn Mawr since 1980 and is the Rufus Jones Professor of Philosophy and Religion. He served as Provost from 1994 - 2002. Although he specializes in Kant and contemporary European philosophy, especially phenomenology and hermeneutics, he takes a great interest in classical Greek thought. Besides the historical introductory courses, he teaches courses in the philosophy of Plato, Kant, Hegel, phenomenology (Husserl and Heidegger) and hermeneutics (Gadamer). He has taught courses on the problem of interpretation in the social sciences, literary criticism, and philosophy. He is also concerned with history and philosophy of science and technology, especially as it relates to ethics and politics. Among Dostal's published works are articles on Kant, the theory of interpretation, the political theory of Hannah Arendt, Heidegger's interpretation of Plato, Heidegger's politics, and Gadamer's hermeneutics. He is editor of The Cambridge Companion to Gadamer (2002) and co-editor of Phenomenology on German Idealism, Hermeneutics and Logic (2000). (top)

Curriculum Vitae

Christine Koggel(Ph.D., Queen's University) has taught at Bryn Mawr since 1996 and is currently Chair of the department. She has held Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships at Queen's and York Universities. Her main research interests are in the areas of moral theory, practical ethics, social and political theory, and feminism. In addition to several papers and journal articles, she is the author of Perspectives on Equality: Constructing a Relational Theory (Rowman & Littlefield, 1998), a book that brings together her interests in moral, social, political and feminist theory. She is the editor of Moral Issues in Global Perspective (Broadview, 1999) and of the Second edition of an expanded three volumes of Moral Issues in Global Perspective. Volume I: Moral and Political Theory; Volume II: Human Diversity and Equality; and Volume III: Moral Issues (Broadview, 2006). With Wesley Cragg she has co-edited the Fourth edition of Contemporary Moral Issues (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1997) as well as the Fifth edition of Contemporary Moral Issues (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2005). She has also co-edited Confidential Relationships: Psychoanalytic, Ethical and Legal Perspectives (Rodopi, 2004). She also has interests in Greek Philosophy and in Wittgenstein, particularly in Wittgenstein's account of meaning as use about which she has written an article in Feminist Interpretations of Ludwig Wittgenstein (Penn State, 2003). In addition to teaching historical introductory courses in ancient and modern philosophy, she teaches courses on Wittgenstein, ethics, development ethics, feminist theory, and political theories of justice and equality. Her most recent research is in the area of development ethics. She has contributed an article on agency to a special volume on the work of Amartya Sen in Feminist Economics and is currently doing work on the concept of empowerment for which she has been awarded, with Jay Drydyk of Carleton University, a research grant by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
(top)

Michael Krausz (Ph.D., University of Toronto) is the Milton C. Nahm Professor of Philosophy at Bryn Mawr College. Trained at the Universities of Toronto and Oxford, he has been visiting professor at Georgetown University, Oxford University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, American University in Cairo, University of Nairobi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, University of Ulm, and others. Krausz is the author of Rightness and Reasons: Interpretation in Cultural Practices, Cornell University Press, 1993; Varieties of Relativism (with Rom Harré), Basil Blackwell Publishers, 1995, Limits of Rightness, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000; and Interpretation and Transformation: Explorations in Art and the Self, Rodopi Publishers, 2006. He is alo contributing editor of Critical Essays on the Philosophy of R. G. Collingwood, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1972; Relativism: Interpretation and Confrontation, Notre Dame University Press, 1989; The Interpretation of Music: Philosophical Essays, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1993; Is There a Single Right Interpretation?, (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002, and Relativism: A Compendium, Columbia University Press (currently in production). Krausz is contributing co-editor of The Concept of Creativity in Science and Art, Nijhoff Publishers, 1981; Relativism: Cognitive and Moral, Notre Dame University Press, 1984; Rationality, Relativism and the Human Sciences,Nijhoff Publishers, 1986; Jewish Identity, Temple University Press, 1993; Interpretation, Relativism and the Metaphysics of Culture, Humanity Press, 1999; and The Idea of Creativity, Brill Publishers (currently in production). Krausz is the co-founder and former Chair of the thirteen-institution Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium. In 1997 Krausz was awarded the Hans Kupczyk Prize from the University of Ulm. In 2001 the University of Delhi sponsored a four-day international conference on his philosophical work. In 2003 a festschrift dedicated to Krausz's work, entitled Interpretation and Its Objects: Studies in the Philosophy of Michael Krausz, was edited by Andreea Deciu Ritivoi and published by Rodopi Publishers.

His courses include Theory of Knowledge, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of History, Culture and Interpretation, Aesthetics, and Philosophy of Music.

Krausz's creative activities include art and music. He has had twenty one-person shows in galleries in the U.S., U.K. and India. And, since 2005 he has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Great Hall Chamber Orchestra, comprised of thirty-seven conservatory and young professional musicians. (top)

George Weaver (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) has been teaching at Bryn Mawr since 1969. He is the Harvey Wexler Professor of Philosophy. Trained in mathematical logic and formal linguistics, he has had post-doctoral work in the Logic and Methodology Group at the University of California at Berkeley. He teaches courses in logic, set theory, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of mathematics, and formal grammars and formal semantics. Some of his courses are offered in General Studies or the mathematics department. His research centers on model theory and abstract logic. He is the author of Henkin-Keisler Models (Kluwer Press, 1996). (top)

VISITING FACULTY

Scott Edgar will be receiving his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. He is interested in the contrast between two facts in the history of philosophy of science. First, Early Modern philosophers sought the grounds of scientific knowledge in human cognitive structures. Second, 20th Century philosophers investigated scientific theories considered independently of the cognizing mind. Why the change? To date, his attempts to answer this question have focused on philosophical reactions to the emergence of empirical psychology in the late-19th Century, especially those of the Marburg School of Neo-Kantians. His other interests in philosophy of science and its history include Kant, Logical Empiricism, scientific explanation, and the role of social institutions in science. Besides philosophy of science, he is also interested in existentialism.

Carol Hay will receive her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 2007. She works primarily in analytic feminism and normative ethics, and is especially interested in moral issues that arise in oppressive social conditions. In her current project, she argues that in addition to the obligation people have to resist the oppression of others, they have an obligation to themselves to resist their own oppression. This obligation to oneself, she argues, is grounded in a Kantian duty of self-respect. Her other philosophical interests include theories of consent, feminism in the liberal political tradition, and Kant’s ethics. She’s also interested in metaethical issues such as moral epistemology, and in various issues in applied ethics. Her personal webpage can be found at <http://carolhay.googlepages.com/carolhay> http://carolhay.googlepages.com/carolhay

Morgan Wallhagen received his B.A. from New Mexico State University in 1997 and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. He works mainly on issues in philosophy of mind and cognitive science. In particular, his research has focused on the problems and prospects for a representational theory of consciousness and intentionality. Though he thinks there are good reasons to believe that some representational theory of these mental phenomena is correct, he believes a convincing theory of mental representation has yet to be formulated. With respect to consciousness, he argues against so-called "higher-order" representationalist theories and defends a version of "first-order" representationalism. Other philosophical interests include the philosophy of science (especially issues surrounding explanation and reduction), metaphysics (and its relation to logic), the psychological phenomenology of Franz Brentano, and artificial life.

Philosophy Home
Bryn Mawr College Official Philosophy Page Philosophy at Haverford Philosophy at Swarthmore


	Robert Dostal (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University) has taught at Bryn Mawr since 1980 and is the Rufus Jones Professor of Philosophy and Religion. He served as Provost from 1994 - 2002. Although he specializes in Kant and contemporary European philosophy, especially phenomenology and hermeneutics, he takes a great interest in classical Greek thought. Besides the historical introductory courses, he teaches courses in the philosophy of Plato, Kant, Hegel, phenomenology (Husserl and Heidegger) and hermeneutics (Gadamer). He has taught courses on the problem of interpretation in the social sciences, literary criticism, and philosophy. He is also concerned with history and philosophy of science and technology, especially as it relates to ethics and politics. Among Dostal's published works are articles on Kant, the theory of interpretation, the political theory of Hannah Arendt, Heidegger's interpretation of Plato, Heidegger's politics, and Gadamer's hermeneutics. He is editor of The Cambridge Companion to Gadamer (2002) and co-editor of Phenomenology on German Idealism, Hermeneutics and Logic (2000). (top) Curriculum Vitae
Christine Koggel(Ph.D., Queen's University) has taught at Bryn Mawr since 1996 and is currently Chair of the department. She has held Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships at Queen's and York Universities. Her main research interests are in the areas of moral theory, practical ethics, social and political theory, and feminism. In addition to several papers and journal articles, she is the author of Perspectives on Equality: Constructing a Relational Theory (Rowman & Littlefield, 1998), a book that brings together her interests in moral, social, political and feminist theory. She is the editor of Moral Issues in Global Perspective (Broadview, 1999) and of the Second edition of an expanded three volumes of Moral Issues in Global Perspective. Volume I: Moral and Political Theory; Volume II: Human Diversity and Equality; and Volume III: Moral Issues (Broadview, 2006). With Wesley Cragg she has co-edited the Fourth edition of Contemporary Moral Issues (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1997) as well as the Fifth edition of Contemporary Moral Issues (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2005). She has also co-edited Confidential Relationships: Psychoanalytic, Ethical and Legal Perspectives (Rodopi, 2004). She also has interests in Greek Philosophy and in Wittgenstein, particularly in Wittgenstein's account of meaning as use about which she has written an article in Feminist Interpretations of Ludwig Wittgenstein (Penn State, 2003). In addition to teaching historical introductory courses in ancient and modern philosophy, she teaches courses on Wittgenstein, ethics, development ethics, feminist theory, and political theories of justice and equality. Her most recent research is in the area of development ethics. She has contributed an article on agency to a special volume on the work of Amartya Sen in Feminist Economics and is currently doing work on the concept of empowerment for which she has been awarded, with Jay Drydyk of Carleton University, a research grant by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (top)
	Michael Krausz (Ph.D., University of Toronto) is the Milton C. Nahm Professor of Philosophy at Bryn Mawr College. Trained at the Universities of Toronto and Oxford, he has been visiting professor at Georgetown University, Oxford University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, American University in Cairo, University of Nairobi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, University of Ulm, and others. Krausz is the author of Rightness and Reasons: Interpretation in Cultural Practices, Cornell University Press, 1993; Varieties of Relativism (with Rom Harré), Basil Blackwell Publishers, 1995, Limits of Rightness, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000; and Interpretation and Transformation: Explorations in Art and the Self, Rodopi Publishers, 2006. He is alo contributing editor of Critical Essays on the Philosophy of R. G. Collingwood, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1972; Relativism: Interpretation and Confrontation, Notre Dame University Press, 1989; The Interpretation of Music: Philosophical Essays, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1993; Is There a Single Right Interpretation?, (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002, and Relativism: A Compendium, Columbia University Press (currently in production). Krausz is contributing co-editor of The Concept of Creativity in Science and Art, Nijhoff Publishers, 1981; Relativism: Cognitive and Moral, Notre Dame University Press, 1984; Rationality, Relativism and the Human Sciences,Nijhoff Publishers, 1986; Jewish Identity, Temple University Press, 1993; Interpretation, Relativism and the Metaphysics of Culture, Humanity Press, 1999; and The Idea of Creativity, Brill Publishers (currently in production). Krausz is the co-founder and former Chair of the thirteen-institution Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium. In 1997 Krausz was awarded the Hans Kupczyk Prize from the University of Ulm. In 2001 the University of Delhi sponsored a four-day international conference on his philosophical work. In 2003 a festschrift dedicated to Krausz's work, entitled Interpretation and Its Objects: Studies in the Philosophy of Michael Krausz, was edited by Andreea Deciu Ritivoi and published by Rodopi Publishers. His courses include Theory of Knowledge, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of History, Culture and Interpretation, Aesthetics, and Philosophy of Music. Krausz's creative activities include art and music. He has had twenty one-person shows in galleries in the U.S., U.K. and India. And, since 2005 he has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Great Hall Chamber Orchestra, comprised of thirty-seven conservatory and young professional musicians. (top)
	George Weaver (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) has been teaching at Bryn Mawr since 1969. He is the Harvey Wexler Professor of Philosophy. Trained in mathematical logic and formal linguistics, he has had post-doctoral work in the Logic and Methodology Group at the University of California at Berkeley. He teaches courses in logic, set theory, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of mathematics, and formal grammars and formal semantics. Some of his courses are offered in General Studies or the mathematics department. His research centers on model theory and abstract logic. He is the author of Henkin-Keisler Models (Kluwer Press, 1996). (top)