Faculty

Philosophy Faculty Directory

Tenured & Tenure-Track

Eric Barnes

Chairman/Full Professor
Ph.D. Indiana University
Hyer Hall Rm 210B
214-768-2128
ebarnes@mail.smu.edu

Research: Philosophy of Science, including the nature of scientific progress, scientific explanation, confirmation theory, and the realist-anti realist debate. My primary focus over the last several years has been on predictivism. My current research interests are in free will and personal autonomy .


Philippe Chuard

Assistant Professor
PhD ANU, 2006
Hyer Hall Rm 210A
214-768-2705
pchuard@smu.edu 

Research: Philosophy of Perception, Epistemology, and Philosophy of Mind, including the nature of perceptual content and whether it is conceptual or non-conceptual. Recently, I have focused on the non-transitivity of looking the same as. Various other interests in epistemology.


Douglas E. Ehring

William Edward Easterwood Professor of Philosophy
PhD Columbia, 1981
Hyer Hall Rm 211C
214-768-2137
dehring@smu.edu 


Justin Fisher

Assistant Professor
PhD Arizona, 2006
Hyer Hall Rm 210D
fisher@smu.edu

Research: Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Science (especially Biology), Metaphysics, Epistemology nd Decision Theory


Soraya Gollop

Assistant Professor
PhD Michigan, 2007
Hyer Hall Rm 211B
214-768-2120
sgollop@smu.edu

Research: Moral Psychology, Ethics, and Rational Choice. I am primarily interested in desires: how they relate to our actions, deliberations and beliefs; and what these relations imply about the nature of our desires, actions, and ourselves.


Robert Howell

Associate Professor
PhD Brown, 2001
Hyer Hall Rm 211F
214-768-3063
rhowell@smu.edu

Research: Philosophy of Mind, Epistemology, and Metaphysics. In general, my work concerns the nature of subjectivity, the self and the mind. Most recently, I have been developing a view called "Subjective Physicalism" which maintains that while everything is physical, some physical states cannot be fully grasped unless they are occupied. 


Matthew Lockard

Assistant Professor
PhD UCLA, 2008
Hyer Hall Rm 209
214-768-4620
mlockard@smu.edu

Research: Epistemology 


Luke Robinson

Assistant Professor
PhD UCSD, 2005; J.D. Penn Law, 1996
Hyer Hall Rm 211A
214-768-4399
lrobinson@smu.edu

Research: Metaethics and Normative Ethics. Currently, I’m focused on some related questions about moral principles, morally relevant factors, and moral conflicts that lie at the intersection of metaethics and normative ethics. I have related interests in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of science, as well as interests in philosophy of law.


Steve Sverdlik

Director of Undergraduate Advising/Associate Professor
PhD Columbia, 1981
Hyer Hall Rm 211D
214-768-3364
sverdlik@smu.edu 

Research: Ethics, Action Theory, Moral Psychology and Punishment. I have been working lately on the deontic significance of motives, and have done some studies of the significance of motives in various moral theories. My manuscript, Motive and Rightness, was recently accepted for publication.


Brad Thompson

Associate Professor
PhD Arizona, 2003
Hyer Hall Rm 210C
214-768-2119
bthompso@smu.edu

Research: Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Perception, Cognitive Science. I'm especially interested in consciousness, and in particular the relationship between the phenomenal character and intentionality of perceptual experiences. In recent work I have developed a Fregean version of representationalism for visual experiences of color and space.


Lecturers

Kenneth Daley

Visiting Lecturer
PhD Colorado, 2007
Hyer Hall Rm 211E
214-768-2160
kdaley@smu.edu 

Research: Philosophy of Mind, including the nature of concepts, their content and structure, in addition to constraints on an adequate theory of concepts. More generally, issues surrounding mental representation and propositional attitudes.


Steve Hiltz

Adjunct Assistant Professor
PhD Texas
Hyer Hall Rm 210E
214-768-4027
shiltz@smu.edu

Research: Metaphysics, Wittgenstein, and Philosophy of Language & Mind.


Nenad Popovic

Visiting Lecturer
PhD Miami, 2007
Hyer Hall Rm 211E
214-768-4867
apopovic@smu.edu

Research: Epistemology, Logic, and Philosophy of Education, including contextualist and subject-sensitive invariantist solutions to skeptical puzzles. In logic, I work on the Liar paradox.


Adjuncts

Scott Bartlett

Adjunct Assistant Professor
PhD Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1999
sbartlett@smu.edu

Research: Classical American Philosophy and Critical Social Theory.


Jean Kazez

Adjunct Assistant Professor
PhD Arizona, 1990
jkazez@smu.edu

Research: Ethics, Animal Rights, and Philosophy of Mind & Language.


James W. Lamb

Adjunct Assistant Professor
PhD Brown, 1972
jimlamb@ebby.com

Research: Tools and techniques of applied logic and practical epistemology; free will and determinism.


Administration

Charee Stewart

Administrative Assistant
Hyer Hall Rm 207
214-768-2118
charees@smu.edu