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ERIC BROWN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY |
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WELCOME
If you are looking for a different Eric Brown, check out my Guide to Eric Browns on the Web
This page provides some information and many links
in the following five categories.
Some of the links are even to pages I maintain.
I was born and raised in Ohio, where I met my wife, Amy Ravin. We both grew up in Sylvania, just outside Toledo, the "Glass Capital of the World" and the home of the Mud Hens.
In 1988, I left Ohio to study at the University of Chicago, and I spent the next eight years in Hyde Park first as a student in the College and then as a graduate student in philosophy. During these years, I also wandered from the City of Big Shoulders for vacation or return visits to Ohio, to teach in summertime debate "institutes" for high-school students at the University of Kentucky, American University (in Washington, D.C.), the University of California at Berkeley, and Stanford, and to spend two terms studying Classics at the University of Cambridge.
In 1996, Amy reached the end of eight years of study at MIT and the University of Chicago, and we moved to Pittsburgh. I spent our first year in "Stiller" Country finishing my dissertation in the warm company of the Program in Classics, Philosophy, and Ancient Science at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1997, I took my Ph.D. from Chicago and joined the philosophy department at Washington University. This led to some serious frequent flier miles for two years, but fortunately, I was granted leave in 1999-2000 to be a visiting scholar in the University of Pittsburgh's philosophy department.
In the Summer of 2000, Amy and I happily settled in the old St. Louis suburb University City, where we now live under the thumb of two adorable and much adored tyrants Madeline and Nathaniel.
My expertise is in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, and I am especially interested in how ancient approaches to philosophical ethics fare in comparison with modern moral philosophy. For me, these questions are most interesting at the boundaries between ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics, that territory where questions about how a person should live bleed into questions about how a person can know how she should live and into questions about the relation between how one conceives of how one should live and how the world is.
My research at the moment is more particularly focused on two distinct programs, one to assess the meaning, significance, and plausibility of the ancient Stoics' claims that the world as a whole is the true city and that a good human being lives as a citizen of the world and the other to come to grips with the fundamental "eudaimonist" commitment of philosophical ethics in ancient Greece and Rome. For some indication of what these projects involve, see the annotated list of my current and imminent philosophical publications.
Not all philosophical research aims to publish new ideas. During the Fall and Spring semesters, I spend most of my time reading and thinking to try out new ideas in my courses. I also engage in a couple of reading groups that involve students and faculty from WUSTL and the St. Louis area. I convene one of these groups, the St. Louis Area Group Reading Ancient Philosophy (SLAGRAP). Since 1997, we've read Plato's Menexenus, Sophist, Statesman, Philebus, and Gorgias; the possibly Platonic Clitophon; and Stobaeus' excerpts from treatises on marriage by the Stoic Antipater of Tarsus. Since Fall 2006, we have been reading Plato's Theaetetus. If you are interested in joining SLAGRAP, email me for more information.
Finally, conversations and colloquia lead to still more reading and thinking. It does not take too much curiosity to turn from one philosophical question to a dozen others, and it does not take too much ambition to want to see how the answers to all these questions might fit together. So one can easily find oneself assenting to what Wilfrid Sellars says on the first page of "Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man:" "The aim of philosophy, abstractly formulated, is to understand how things in the broadest possible sense of the term hang together in the broadest possible sense of the term. Under 'things in the broadest sense' I include such radically different items as not only 'cabbages and kings', but numbers and duties, possibilities and finger snaps, aesthetic experience and death. To achieve success in philosophy would be, to use a contemporary turn of phrase, to 'know one's way around' with respect to all these things, not in that unreflective way in which the centipede of the story knew its way around before it faced the question, 'how do I walk?', but in that reflective way which means that no intellectual holds are barred."
I hope that that gives some sense of what philosophical research can involve.
Current Offerings - Fall 2008
Humanities 203C: Text and Tradition: Early Western History
This is a Fall course, limited to twenty students (who
are typically in their first or second year). It proceeds primarily by
discussion, and it involves a great deal of reading and writing. Texts
vary, but last time they were Thucydides (selections), Plato's Republic, Cicero's On Duties, Seneca's On Retirement, Augustine's City of God (selections), Aquinas' "Treatise on Law" in the Summa, Castiglione's Book of the Courtier (selections), and Machiavelli's Prince (whole) and Discourses (part). This course is part of the Text and Tradition minor and the new Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities major, and students entering these programs have priority in enrollment.
Philosophy 4310: Twentieth-Century Metaethics
This is another graduate survey that is offered
regularly. Like the others, it is open to advanced undergraduates,
although its pace and demands make it very difficult for those
undergraduates who do not already have some background in the material
or who cannot devote the primary energies to it. "Metaethics"
concentrates on linguistic, metaphysical, and epistemological questions
about ethical judgments. Take the judgment that it is wrong to set cats
on fire for fun. Linguistic questions: What does the sentence 'It is
wrong to set cats on fire for fun' mean? Can it be literally true?
Metaphysical questions: If it can be literally true, in virtue of what
is it literally true? Is it a mind-independent fact that it is wrong to
set cats on fire for fun? Epistemological questions: (How) can one know
that it is wrong to set cats on fire for fun? The course studies the
most influential attempts to answer these questions by Anglo-American
philosophers in the twentieth century. When I last taught it, the
assigned readings included work by Moore, Ross, Stevenson, Strawson,
Hare, Anscombe, Geach, Foot, Williams, Mackie, Harman, McDowell,
Railton, Boyd, Blackburn, Gibbard, Gauthier, Scanlon, and Korsgaard.
Regular Offerings
I will be on leave in Spring and Fall 2009.
Humanities 203C: Text and Tradition: Early Western History
This is a Fall course, limited to twenty students (who
are typically in their first or second year). It proceeds primarily by
discussion, and it involves a great deal of reading and writing. Texts
vary, but last time they were Thucydides (selections), Plato's Republic, Cicero's On Duties, Seneca's On Retirement, Augustine's City of God (selections), Aquinas' "Treatise on Law" in the Summa, Castiglione's Book of the Courtier (selections), and Machiavelli's Prince (whole) and Discourses (part). This course is part of the Text and Tradition minor and the new Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities major, and students entering these programs have priority in enrollment.
Philosophy 125C: Great Philosophers
This is an introduction to philosophy via some great
works in western philosophy's history; the goal of the course is to
foster an appreciation for what philosophy is and how to do it. I teach
this course with some regularity (about once a year), but
Heraclitus-inspired, I never it teach it the same way twice. Typically,
class time proceeds by a blend of discussion and lecture, and there are
short assignments as well as three more substantial papers. I like to
choose a theme that the class can explore (alongside a wide range of
tangentially related issues) in all of the six or so "great
philosophers" we study. In Spring 2003, the theme was skepticism about
the external world and value. We read Plato's Meno to get our feet wet, and then we launched into Plato's Gorgias, a chunk of Sextus Empiricus' Outlines of Pyrrhonism, Descartes' Meditations, selections from Hume's Treatise of Human Nature, selections from Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, short essays by G.E. Moore, and Wittgenstein, On Certainty. In Spring 2004, the theme was "God, Duty, and Happiness," and we read Plato's Apology and Euthyphro, Aquinas' "Treatise on Law" in the Summa, Spinoza's Ethics, five of Butler's Fifteen Sermons, Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Mill's Utilitarianism, and selections from Nietzsche's Good and Evil.
Philosophy 131F: Present Moral Problems
Another introduction to philosophy, this one via
philosophical reflection on some hotly debated issues of personal
morality and public policy. The class is limited to forty-five
students, and these students must be ready to participate. But the
point of the course is not to share our feelings about the hotly
debated topics but to learn how to do philosophy. The hot topics and
our readings about them are just the starting point. The topics
themselves vary from semester to semester. I typically choose six, and
I try to include some discussion of personal issues like food (what
shouldn't we eat, and what do we owe to those who do not have enough to
eat?) and sex (when is having sex wrong?), in addition to discussion of
large political issues like discrimination (what traits can be the
basis for justifiable discrimination and why?) and war (when is making
war justified?). I have not taught this course in some time, but I hope
to do so again sometime in the near future.
Philosophy 347C = Classics 347C = Religious Studies 356C: Ancient Philosophy
I typically teach this in the Fall each year. The course is designed so that majors in philosophy, classics, and
religious studies
can study some of the high-water marks of ancient Greek philosophy and
can come to see what philosophy was for ancient Greeks. Some prior
acquaintance and comfort with philosophy is presupposed, and students
without either need special permission and extra effort. The reading
list varies, but there is always a substantial amount of Plato and
Aristotle and a substantial amount of both ethics and politics, on the
one hand, and metaphysics and natural philosophy, on the other. The
class proceeds by lecture, with a fair amount of free discussion, and
the assignments include multiple papers, short assignments, and a final
exam.
Philosophy 451 = Classics 451: Plato
This is one of the three graduate surveys I teach in a
rotation. It is open to advanced undergraduates, but the pace and
demands of the course make it very difficult for those undergraduates
who do not already have some background in the material or who cannot
devote the primary energies to this course. I select a few Platonic
dialogues for careful study with some of the best recent scholarship,
and the classes proceed primarily by lecture, punctuated by questions.
Assignments include two substantial papers, or one near-publishable
paper, and a final exam. In Spring 1998, we read a medley of Socratic
dialogues and the Republic. In Spring 2002, we read the Republic, Parmenides, Sophist, and Theaetetus. In Spring 2005, we are reading the Euthyphro, Phaedo, Republic, Philebus, Statesman, and selections from the Laws.
Philosopy 452 = Classics 452: Aristotle
This is another of the three graduate surveys I teach
in a rotation. It is open to advanced undergraduates, but the pace and
demands of the course make it very difficult for those undergraduates
who do not already have some background in the material or who cannot
devote the primary energies to this course. I cherry-pick a few texts
from the corpus Aristotelicum, seeking a balance of topics and coverage
of a few of Aristotle's most distinctive and influential doctrines, and
classes proceed primarily by lecture, punctuated by questions.
Assignments include two substantial papers, or one near-publishable
paper, and a final exam. I plan to teach this again in 2005-2006.
Philosophy 4530 = Classics 4350: Hellenistic Philosophy
This is the third of the three graduate surveys I teach
in a rotation. It is open to advanced undergraduates, but the pace and
demands of the course make it very difficult for those undergraduates
who do not already have some background in the material or who cannot
devote the primary energies to this course. The goal is to survey the
philosophically richest contributions of Stoicism, Epicureanism, and
ancient skepticism, using some of the best recent scholarship as
sounding-boards. Classes proceed primarily by lecture, punctuated by
questions. Assignments include two substantial papers, or one
near-publishable paper, and a final exam. This course should be on the
books for 2006-2007.
Philosophy 4310: Twentieth-Century Metaethics
This is another graduate survey that is offered
regularly. Like the others, it is open to advanced undergraduates,
although its pace and demands make it very difficult for those
undergraduates who do not already have some background in the material
or who cannot devote the primary energies to it. "Metaethics"
concentrates on linguistic, metaphysical, and epistemological questions
about ethical judgments. Take the judgment that it is wrong to set cats
on fire for fun. Linguistic questions: What does the sentence 'It is
wrong to set cats on fire for fun' mean? Can it be literally true?
Metaphysical questions: If it can be literally true, in virtue of what
is it literally true? Is it a mind-independent fact that it is wrong to
set cats on fire for fun? Epistemological questions: (How) can one know
that it is wrong to set cats on fire for fun? The course studies the
most influential attempts to answer these questions by Anglo-American
philosophers in the twentieth century. When I last taught it, the
assigned readings included work by Moore, Ross, Stevenson, Strawson,
Hare, Anscombe, Geach, Foot, Williams, Mackie, Harman, McDowell,
Railton, Boyd, Blackburn, Gibbard, Gauthier, Scanlon, and Korsgaard.
Seminars
About every fourth semester I lead a seminar on a more specialized topic. Here is a list of seminars I have offered. These, too, are frequently cross-listed for credit in Classics.
Weakness of Will
I taught this in 1995 at Chicago, to a specially-tracked group of undergraduate philosophy majors.
Cosmopolitanisms
This I taught with Pauline Kleingeld in Spring 1999.
Stoic Ethics
Fall 2000.
Akrasia
I taught this reworked version of the "Weakness of
Will" seminar in Fall 2001; it was required of and limited to incoming
graduate students in philosophy.
Socratic Ethics
Spring 2004. We studied three of Plato's Socratic dialogues: Charmides, Euthydemus, and Gorgias.
Junior Colloquium in the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities
(co-taught with Ryan Balot)
This seminar, in Spring 2005, focused on conceptions of rhetoric, pro and contra.
Epicureanism
Fall 2006.
Honors Theses
I am happy to supervise up to two honors theses per year, but I will not take on projects far afield of my expertise and I favor students who are interested in pursuing graduate study, since the honors thesis is more important to such students' education. The requirements for candidacy are strict—see the information in the philosophy department's undergraduate guide on-line—and only those who are ready to devote a serious amount of time during the summer, fall, winter break, and winter of their last year should even think about it. If you are potentially interested, you should meet with me before winter break of your third year; the application is due at the end of the spring semester that year. I have recently supervised honors theses on Socrates' conception of harm in Plato's Apology, Sextus Empiricus' conception of Pyrrhonism, and Epicurus' possible responses to Cicero's criticisms of Epicurean hedonism in De Finibus. (Two of these students are now studying ancient philosophy in graduate school.)
Independent Studies
I also occasionally lead an independent study for a graduate student or undergraduate (or even for a handful of graduate students or undergraduates). Whether I can do an independent study with you depends upon what you want to study, how independently you are able to study, and what my other commitments for that semester are. Recent independent studies include Plato's Theaetetus, philosophy as the art of living, Anscombe's Intention, Plato's Protagoras and Gorgias, and conceptions of natural law in ancient thought.
Dissertations
I am happy to advise dissertations in topics outside of ancient philosophy, especially in ethics, but I am best suited to advise in ancient philosophy. Those interested in pursuing a specialization in ancient philosophy must master Greek and Latin in addition to philosophy, and they should learn about ancient history, literature, and culture while they are mastering the languages. In concrete terms, they should spend a minimum of three years of Classics training in Greek and two years of Classics training in Latin, and thereafter they should be engaged in courses or reading groups to maintain their skills. Fortunately, the Classics department at Wash U is excellent though it is small, and there are fine summer programs available for making an rapid initial acquaintance with Greek or Latin. Additionally, the St. Louis Area Group Reading Ancient Philosophy (SLAGRAP) and a Latin reading group at St. Louis University offer friendly forums for further training.
Philosophy
Surfers beware: there is much bad information about philosophy and philosophers on the web. Googling will not necessarily lead to reliable information. For a trustworthy primer, visit The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
You can witness nothing but the splendors of capitalism at www.philosophy.com.
Classics
Carl Conrad, a recently retired Wash U classicist, set up a very useful page of links to classics resources on the web.
Fun
Baffled? Still haven't had enough? Check out my page of RAQs!
Wilson Hall 213
(314) 935-4257 (office)
(314) 935-7349 (fax)
eabrown@wustl.edu
Department of Philosophy
Washington University
Campus Box 1073
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO, 63130-4899
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last updated 21 August 2008 ©1997-2008, Eric Alan Brown problems? questions? comments? please email me. |
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