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Curriculum Vitae Robert A. Williams Department of Philosophy 806-789-6032 Duke University [email protected] 201 West Duke Building, Box 90743 Durham, NC 27708-0743 Education: Duke University, Ph.D. program, Philosophy, 2004-may 2013 Dissertation: “Peircean Naturalism” Advisor: Owen Flanagan Texas Tech University, M.A., 2004, Philosophy Thesis: “INUS Abnormalism: the semantics of singular causal statements” Advisor: Rob Rupert Texas Tech University, B.A., 2002, Psychology and Philosophy, summa cum laude Areas of Specialization: Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Epistemology Areas of Competence: American Philosophy (esp. Peirce), Ethics Teaching Assistantships and Graduate Instructorships (recent): 2014, Instructor, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Phil 201 History of Modern Philosophy (Spring) Phil 234 Existentialism (Spring) 2013, Lecturer, Lander University, Greenwood, South Carolina Phil 309-OL Philosophy of Mind (Fall 2013, online) 2007-2013, Graduate Instructor, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Courses taught: Phil 44s Intro to Philosophy (Ethics emphasis, Fall 2007) Phil 43s Intro to Philosophy (Metaphysics, Epistemology emphasis, Spring 2008) Phil 142 Problems in Philosophy of Science (Summer II 2008) Phil 116 Problems in Contemporary Moral Theory (Summer II 2008) Phil 44s Intro to Philosophy (Ethics emphasis, Fall 2008) Phil 117 Ancient and Modern Ethical Theories (Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Summer II 2010) Phil 198 Honor’s Thesis Seminar/Workshop (Fall 2010) Phil 250 Logic (Spring 2013) 2005-present, Teaching Assistant, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Courses: Phil 117 Ancient and Modern Ethical Theories (Fall 2005) Phil 142 Problems in Philosophy of Science (Spring 2006) Phil 42 Intro to Philosophy (Fall 2006) Phil 101 History of Modern Philosophy (Spring 2007) Phil 118 Issues in Medical Ethics (Spring 2010) Phil 262 Human Rights (Fall 2012) Phil 155 Reason and Argument (Fall 2013, flipped course) 2010, Course and Curriculum Designer, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Phil 198 Honor’s Thesis Seminar/Workshop (Fall 2010) Other Employment: June 2013-present, editor, developmental editor, American Journal Experts Publications: (w/ Owen Flanagan, 2010) “What does the Modularity of Morals have to do with Ethics? Four Moral Sprouts Plus or Minus a Few,” Topics in Cognitive Science- Issue on Moral Decision Making, 2, 430-453. Awards and Professional Activities: ad hoc reviewer The Review of philosophy and Psychology, 2012 The Kenan Institute for Ethics Fellowship Colloquium 2008-09.

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Maintaining Meaningful Expressions of Romantic Love in a Material World
Reconciling Eros and Neuroscience: Maintaining Meaningful Expressions of Romantic Love in a Material World by ANDREW J. PELLITIERI* Boston University Abstract Many people currently working in the sciences of the mind believe terms such as “love” will soon be rendered philosophically obsolete. This belief results from a common assumption that such terms are irreconcilable with the naturalistic worldview that most modern scientists might require. Some philosophers reject the meaning of the terms, claiming that as science progresses words like ‘love’ and ‘happiness’ will be replaced completely by language that is more descriptive of the material phenomena taking place. This paper attempts to defend these meaningful concepts in philosophy of mind without appealing to concepts a materialist could not accept. Introduction hilosophy engages the meaning of the word “love” in a myriad of complex discourses ranging from ancient musings on happiness, Pto modern work in the philosophy of mind. The eliminative and reductive forms of materialism threaten to reduce the importance of our everyday language and devalue the meaning we attach to words like “love,” in the name of scientific progress. Faced with this threat, some philosophers, such as Owen Flanagan, have attempted to defend meaningful words and concepts important to the contemporary philosopher, while simultaneously promoting widespread acceptance of materialism. While I believe that the available work is useful, I think * [email protected]. Received 1/2011, revised December 2011. © the author. Arché Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy, Volume V, Issue 1: Winter 2012. pp. 60-82 RECONCILING EROS AND NEUROSCIENCE 61 more needs to be said about the functional role of words like “love” in the script of progressing neuroscience, and further the important implications this yields for our current mode of practical reasoning.
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Buddhism and Cognitive Science: How Can the Dialogue Move Forward?
Buddhism and Cognitive Science: How Can the Dialogue Move Forward? Keynote Lecture for the Conference “Buddhism, Mind, and Cognitive Science” University of California, Berkeley April 25, 2014. Evan Thompson University of British Columbia The main proposition of my lecture is that the Buddhism-cognitive science encounter needs to be fundamentally reoriented in order to have a chance of becoming a genuine dialogue. At present, the encounter takes its direction from scientific research on meditation and gives primacy to the measurable biological and behavioural effects of meditation practices in controlled experimental and clinical situations. Although this research is worthwhile, it is neither the same as nor sufficient for a dialogue between Buddhism and cognitive science about the mind. I intend to argue that the Buddhism- cognitive science encounter should take its direction from philosophy and give primacy to the constitution of meaning in human experience. Buddhist philosophy especially must be central to this dialogue. The Embodied Mind To set the context, I would like to go back to the book, The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience, which I wrote with Francisco Varela and Eleanor Rosch almost twenty-five years ago. Since this book helped launch the Buddhism-cognitive science discussion, and since parts of it were written here at Berkeley, it seems fitting to begin by recalling some of its main ideas in relation to our conference theme, “Buddhism, Mind, and Cognitive Science.” I would also like to take this opportunity to explain what I now see as the book’s limitations. Our aim in The Embodied Mind was to create what we called a circulation between cognitive science and human experience.
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Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose in the Age of Neuroscience
Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose in the Age of Neuroscience Edited by Gregg D. Caruso and Owen Flanagan Oxford University Press New York, 2017 In Memory of Louis J. Caruso Table of Contents Preface Contributor List (1) Neuroexistentialism: Third-Wave Existentialism Owen Flanagan and Gregg D. Caruso I. Morality, Love, and Emotion (2) The Impact of Social Neuroscience on Moral Philosophy Patricia Smith Churchland (3) All You Need is Love(s): Exploring the Biological Platform of Morality Maureen Sie (4) Does Neuroscience Undermine Morality? Paul Henne and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (5) The Neuroscience of Purpose, Meaning, and Morals Edmund T. Rolls (6) Moral Sedimentation Jesse Prinz II. Autonomy, Consciousness, and the Self (7) Choices Without Choosers: Towards a Neuropsychologically Plausible Existentialism Neil Levy (8) Relational Authenticity Shaun Gallagher, Ben Morgan, and Naomi Rokotnitz (9) Behavior Control, Meaning, and Neuroscience Walter Glannon (10) Two Types of Libertarian Free Will are Realized in the Human Brain Peter U. Tse III. Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Meaning in Life (11) Hard-Incompatibilist Existentialism: Neuroscience, Punishment, and Meaning in Life Derk Pereboom and Gregg D. Caruso (12) On Determinism and Human Responsibility Michael S. Gazzaniga (13) Free Will Skepticism, Freedom, and Criminal Behavior Farah Focquaert, Andrea L. Glenn, Adrian Raine (14) Your Brain as the Source of Free Will Worth Wanting: Understanding Free Will in the Age of Neuroscience Eddy Nahmias (15) Humility, Free Will Beliefs, and Existential Angst: How We Got from a Preliminary Investigation to a Cautionary Tale Thomas Nadelhoffer and Jennifer Cole Wright (16) Purpose, Freedom, and the Laws of Nature Sean M.
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Zombies and the Function of Consciousness Owen Flanagan
© 1 9 9 5 P o l g e r a n d F l a n a g a n Zombies and the Function of Consciousness Owen Flanagan Departments of Philosophy, Psychology, and Neurobiology, Email: [email protected]. and Thomas Polger Department of Philosophy, Email:[email protected], Box 90743 Duke University, Durham, NC, 27707, USA.* Abstract: Todd Moody’s Zombie Earth thought experiment is an attempt to show that ‘conscious inessentialism’ is false or in need of qualification. We defend conscious inessentialism against his criticisms, and argue that zombie thought experiments highlight the need to explain why consciousness evolved and what function(s) it serves. This is the hardest problem in consciousness studies. 1. Conscious Inessentialism Conscious inessentialism is “the view that for any intelligent activity i , performed in any cognitive domain d , even if we do i with conscious accompaniments, i can in principle be done without these conscious accompaniments.”1 Among other things, conscious inessentialism forces questions about the function, and thus the adaptiveness and evolutionary significance, of consciousness. This is because conscious inessentialism just is the claim that consciousness is not metaphysically or logically necessary. It is * The order of authors follows alphabetical convention. Authorship is completely equal. 1 Flanagan, O. Consciousness Reconsidered. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992), 5. 1 © 1 9 9 5 P o l g e r a n d F l a n a g a n not necessary in all possible worlds where creatures who are functionally equivalent to us exist. But consciousness did emerge in this actual world—possibly among many species.
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Owen Flanagan Page 1-55 9:24 AM-10/30/071 Draft: March 14
owen flanagan Page 1-55 9:24 AM-10/30/071 Draft: March 14, 2004 Comments welcomed Rev. 1/2007 Buddhist Ethics: The Therapy of Desire and Delusion1 Owen Flanagan This alone -- one’s service to sentient beings (sattvaraddhana) is pleasing to Tathagatas [Enlightened or Awakened Ones]. This alone is the actual accomplishment of one’s goal. This alone removes the suffering of the world. Therefore, let this alone be my resolve. (Santiveda, Bodhicaryavatara, VI, 127) 1 My thinking about the topic of destructive states of mind owes much to His Holiness, the XIV Dalai Lama and the other participants in a week long conference on the topic in Dhararmsala, India in March, 2000. A splendid report on the meetings is narrated by Daniel Goleman, Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them? A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama (2003). My first paper on this topic was “Destructive Emotions” in Cognition & Emotion 1: 2 (2000) 259-281. There my aim was to defend the Tibetan Buddhist therapy of destructive emotions against those who might attempt to defend all emotions on evolutionary grounds, on grounds that all emotions are biological adaptations. owen flanagan Page 2-55 9:24 AM-10/30/072 Thus, one who has patience should cultivate zeal, because Awakening is established with zeal, and there is no merit without zeal…What is zeal? It is enthusiasm for virtue. (Santiveda, Bodhicaryavatara, VII, 1 & 2) Upon mounting the chariot of the Spirit of Awakening, which carries away all despondency and weariness, what sensible person would despair at progressing in this way from joy to joy? (Santiveda, Bodhicaryavatara,VII, 30) Virtue and Happiness in Buddhism2 In the previous chapter I offered and analysis of eudaimonia, Buddhist style.
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Flanagan/Duke/Revised 4.2014 1
Flanagan/Duke/Revised 4.2014 1 Curriculum Vitae Owen Flanagan Duke University 201 West Duke Building Box 90743 Durham, NC 27708 +1 919.660.3050 (office) [email protected] (email) University Appointments and Honors Duke University 1993- James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy (Distinguished University Professorship) Associate Graduate Program in Literature Steering Committee Philosophy, Arts, and Literature Initiative (PAL) Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience Professor of Neurobiology Faculty Associate Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Distinguished Visiting Professor, City University of Hong Kong, August-December 2013. Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) Distinguished Annual Lecturer 2012 (Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Allahabad) Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Vienna, Dec-Jan, 2011-2012. Jack Lynch Distinguished Professor, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem NC, Spring 2009. Templeton Distinguished Research Fellow, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 2006. Six Lectures on “Human Flourishing in the Age of Mind Science” Flanagan/Duke/Revised 4.2014 2 February 2006. Distinguished Fellow, Psychology & Biology of Morality, Dartmouth College, Summer 2004. John Findlay Distinguished Visiting Professor, Boston University, 2000. Romanell Phi Beta Kappa Award 1998-1999. Three Lectures on “Science and the Human Image.” Wellesley College 1978-1993 Class of 1919 Reunion Professor of Philosophy, 1989-1993 Professor of Philosophy 1988-89; Assistant Professor 1978-1983; Associate Professor 1983-88. Administrative Experience
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Heather M. Wallace
Heather M. Wallace CONTACT Department of Philosophy [email protected] Duke University [email protected] West Duke Building 1 (919) 308-7054 Box 90743 Durham, NC 27708 EDUCATION Duke University, PhD Candidate Present Dissertation Advisors: Owen Flanagan (Philosophy) and Toril Moi (Literature) GPA: 3.79 Certificate in College Teaching Whitworth University, B.A. Philosophy and English 2011 GPA: 3.98 summa cum laude DISSERTATION “Barriers to Reciprocity: The Problem of Others’ Minds” Directors: Owen Flanagan (Philosophy) and Toril Moi (Literature) An abstract is included at the end of the C.V. RESEARCH Area of Specialization: Philosophy of Mind Areas of Competence: Existentialism, Philosophy of Literature, Feminist Philosophy PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Duke Center for Philosophy, Arts, and Literature (PAL) Associate Director, present Assistant Director, 2013-2015 Critical Thinking Assessment, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Duke University Office of Assessment Grader, Spring 2013 1 PUBLICATIONS, Co-Authored Owen Flanagan and Heather Wallace, “The Character of Consciousness” Understanding James, Understanding Modernism. ed. David Evans (Bloomsbury Press), 2017. Owen Flanagan and Heather Wallace, “William James and the Problem of Consciousness” Consciousness and the Great Philosophers. ed. Stephen Leach and James Tartaglia (Routledge Press), 2017. CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS “The Problem of Others’ Minds: Simone de Beauvoir, Ambiguity, and Reciprocity” October 12, 2017: Duke Philosophy Department, hosted by the Duke Philosophy Women
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Partially Examined Summaries
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The Science of the Mind Owen Flanagan
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Book Review Gregg D. Caruso and Owen Flanagan
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Moral Psychology, Volume 1
1 Naturalizing Ethics Owen Flanagan, Hagop Sarkissian, and David Wong Introduction In this chapter we provide (1) an argument for why ethics should be naturalized, (2) an analysis of why it is not yet naturalized, (3) a defense of ethical naturalism against two fallacies—Hume and Moore’s—that ethical naturalism allegedly commits, and (4) a proposal that normative ethics is best conceived as part of human ecology committed to pluralistic relativism (Flanagan, 1995, 2002; Wong, 1984, 1996, 2006b). The latter substantive view, supported by a neocompatibilist view of human agency, constitutes the essence of Duke naturalism. It provides a credible substan- tive alternative to bald or eliminativist Australian ethical naturalism, espe- cially one that supports moral skepticism (Mackie), and to the more reticent Pittsburgh naturalism.1 Naturalism in the Broad Sense Ethical naturalism is a variety of a broader philosophical naturalism, so it will be good to say what naturalism in the broad sense is. According to the OED the original philosophical meaning of the term “naturalism” dates back to the seventeenth century and meant “a view of the world, and of man’s relation to it, in which only the operation of natural (as opposed to supernatural or spiritual) laws and forces is admitted or assumed.” In a recent presidential address to the American Philosophical Association, Barry Stroud writes: Naturalism on any reading is opposed to supernaturalism. By “supernaturalism” I mean the invocation of an agent or force which somehow stands outside the familiar natural world and so whose doings cannot be understood as part of it. Most 2 O.
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