DEPARTMENT FACULTY MEMBERS
The Department of Philosophy is fortunate to have on its faculty experts in a broad range of philosophical topics. All the traditional areas of philosophy, as well as several major sub-specialties, are represented. The following list of the department members will tell you a bit about us.
BRENT BRAGA, Instructor/Lecturer
B.A., Simpson College, 2001
M.A., University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 2006
Ph.D., University of Nebraska - Lincoln, in progress
304 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7885
Areas of interest: philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, epistemology. Currently completing a dissertation on anti-individualist theories of mental content and self-knowledge.
ROBERT FELEPPA, Professor
Ph.D. Washington University (1978)
104 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7881
Areas of Interest:
Professor Feleppa's main interests are in philosophy of social science, metaethics, and comparative philosophy, with current emphasis on the comparison of Asian and Western thought and culture. He has been at WSU since 1980. In 2001 he received the college's John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching Award; in 2004 he was promoted to full Professor. Dr. Feleppa is working on a series of papers in Philosophy of Social Science.
JEREMY GALLEGOS, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ph.D.Purdue (2002)
Fiske Hall
(316) 978-3125
Areas of interest:
Ethics; Social and Political Philosophy; Philosophy of Law; Eastern thought; and Existentialism and Phenomenology.
Professor Gallegos earned his B.A. in Philosophy at Wichita State University in 1995. He received his M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2002) in Philosophy at Purdue University. He has delivered papers at the Hume Society, the Merleau-Ponty Circle, and the World Congress of Philosophy, the last of which was included in the online published proceedings. Outside of the academic arena, he has delivered "Ethical Issues for Bankers" seminars in Austin, Texas. Currently, he also works as a Training Specialist for a financial services company in Wichita where he conducts training on management, diversity, and ethics.
JEFFREY HERSHFIELD, Associate Professor
Ph.D. University of Arizona (1992)
307 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7883
jeffrey.hershfield@wichita.edu
Areas of Interest:
Philosophy of Mind; Philosophy of Language; Philosophy of Religion; Philosophy of Sex and Love; Metaphysics, Ethics
B.A. (Hon.), 1982, University of British Columbia; M.A., 1985, Ph. D., 1992, University of Arizona. Professor Hershfield's principal areas of interest are in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language. His published work includes articles on mental causation, psychological explanation, mind-body reduction, and the nature of consciousness. In the philosophy of language he has published articles on the theory of meaning, and on Donald Davidson's theory of truth. Current projects include a joint paper with Deborah Soles on Paul Horwich's use theory of meaning, as well as one on the role of rule-following in John Searle's account of language understanding. Hershfield serves as an Assessing Editor for The Journal of Mind and Behavior, as well an occasional referee for Dialogue and The Canadian Journal of Philosophy. Hershfield has been at WSU since 1995, first as a Visiting Assistant Professor; he was promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor in 2004. He has also taught philosophy at the University of Manitoba, Eastern Michigan University, and the University of Arizona.
XIUFEN LU, Assistant Professor
Ph.D. University of Kansas (2000)
107 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7889
Areas of Interest:
Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Social/Political Philosophy, Feminism, and Ethics
Professor Lu earned a B.A. in English from the Beijing Second Institute of Foreign Languages, an M.A. in Philosophy and Women's Studies from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Kansas. Her current research interests include Classical Chinese philosophy, Euro-American feminist theories and their relation to Third World women, and Marxism and its impact on Chinese society.
A.J. MANDT, Associate Professor
Ph.D. Vanderbilt University (1978)
Director of the Emory Lindquist Honors Program
Emory Lindquist Honors Program Main Office€”Neff Hall
Campus Box 102
(316) 978-6459
Areas of Interest:
19th Century Philosophy; Continental Philosophy; Philosophy of Culture
B.A., 1972, Trinity College (Hartford, CT); M.A., 1974, Ph.D., 1978, Vanderbilt University. Professor Mandt's special area of interest is philosophy of culture, a focus which has grown out of his original interests in German Idealism and the history of philosophy. He has authored numerous articles on the philosophies of Kant, Hegel, and Fichte, as well as essays on the ideas of the contemporary American philosopher Richard Rorty, the philosophy of J. S. Mill, cultural change, education, and the place of silence in thought. He currently serves as Director of the University's Emory Lindquist Honors Program, where he teaches seminars on such topics as "Friendship," "Radical Ideas in the 20th Century," "The Good Life," and "Plato and Nietzsche." He recently developed a team-taught course with Elizabeth Behrman (Physics) on "Science, Religion, and Philosophy." Professor Mandt currently serves as a member of the Teaching and Learning Committee of the National Collegiate Honors Council. He is a long-time member of the WSU's Faculty Senate, and was elected its president in both 1991-92 and 1999-2000.
DAY RADEBAUGH, Visiting Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Philosophy, The Johns Hopkins University (1983)
M.S., Computer Science, George Washington University (1990)
003A Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7890
Areas of Interest: Philosophy and history of technology, philosophy of mind
Professor Radebaugh received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Johns Hopkins University in 1983 and an M.S. in Computer Science from the George Washington University in 1991. He served as Assistant Director of the Information Resources Division at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC until 2001. Areas of specialization include ethical issues in computing and engineering, philosophy and history of technology, and information-processing theories of cognitive behavior.
BEN ROGERS, Associate Professor, Emeritus
Ph.D. Indiana University, Bloomington (1971)
(316) 978-7882
Areas of Interest:
History and Philosophy of Science; Logic; Metaphysics; Causation
Professor Rogers received a B.A. (English) from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a M.A.T. (Mathematics) from Vanderbilt University, and M.A. and Ph.D. (History and Philosophy of Science) from Indiana University, Bloomington. His primary areas of research have been in the foundations of statistical inference, probabilistic causation, and the foundations and practice of causal reasoning. He has taught, among other courses,philosophy of science, introductory and symbolic logic, and systems and theories of psychology. He has served as Coordinator of the University Honors Program, on the University and Faculty Senates, and as President of the Faculty Senate. In 1996 he received the John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching Award, in 2000 the President's Award for Distinguished Service to WSU, and in 2001 the University Award for Leadership in the Advancement of Teaching. Dr. Rogers retired from teaching in 2003.
DANIEL RUSSELL, Associate Professor
Ph.D. Arizona (2000)Areas of Interest:
Ancient Philosophy, Ethics, Virtue Theory, Moral Psychology
Professor Russell received a B.A. (Philosophy, Greek) from the
Click here for Dr. Russell's home page.
NIALL SHANKS, Curtis D. Gridley Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science
Ph.D. University of Alberta (1987)
007 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7789
Areas of Interest:
Philosophy and History of Science, especially Evolutionary Biology and Medicine
Professor Shanks received a B.A. (Hons.) in Philosophy from the University of Leeds in 1979, an M. Phil. in Philosophy from the University of Liverpool in 1981, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Alberta in 1987. Shanks is the author of several books and numerous articles in the history and philosophy of science. His latest book is God, the Devil, and Darwin: A Critique of Intelligent Design Theory (Oxford University Press, 2004). Shanks' research interests are currently focused on evolutionary biology and its implications for medical theory and practice. Professor Shanks is also the Vice-President of Americans for Medical Advancement, and President-Elect of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
DAVID SOLES, Professor and Department Chair
Ph.D. The Johns Hopkins University (1977)
100 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-3125
Areas of Interest:
History of philosophy, with emphasis in epistemology
Professor David Soles received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Johns Hopkins University. His primary areas of research and teaching are in the History of Philosophy, especially Modern European and Classical Chinese Philosophy. He has published numerous articles in the areas of Early Modern Philosophy and Classical Chinese Philosophy, and is currently working on a book project on Locke. He has received the George A. Lewis Award for Creative and Innovative Teaching and has been selected as an Emory Lindquist Honors Society Mentor several times. He is also a recent winner of the John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching Award and the President's Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Soles served as President of the SOUTHWESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY from 2003-05, and he was the Program Chair for the 2005 SWPS meeting.
DEBORAH SOLES, Professor
Ph.D. The Johns Hopkins University (1975)
308 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7886
Areas of Interest:
Philosophy of language, Epistemology, Philosophy of Logic; currently working on Donald Davidson on objectivity and belief.
Teaching:
Professor Soles routinely teaches Introductory Logic, and is responsible for Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Logic, Theory of Knowledge, and offers special courses such as seminars on Davidson and Wittgenstein. She also occasionally teaches Philosophy of Feminism. In fall 2002 did a course on 20th century analytic philosophy, emphasizing work done prior to 1960.
Professor Deborah Hansen Soles received her B.A. from George Washington University and her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University. She has been teaching continuously at WSU since 1975. Her major research area is the philosophy of language and adjacent topics in epistemology and logic, and she has published work on both historical and contemporary treatments of these topics. Currently she working on a book on Donald Davidson's epistemology. [List of publications.] Since coming to WSU she has taught some dozen and a half different courses. She has served as an Emory Lindquist Honors program mentor, several times as a McNair program mentor, and in 1999 was awarded the college's John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1998 she received the President's Award for Distinguished Service to WSU. Dr. Soles is a PastPresident of the Southwestern Philosophical Society.
WILLIAM L. VANDERBURGH, Associate Professor
Ph.D. University of Western Ontario (2001)
Interim Director, Center for Teaching and Research Excellence
105 Fiske Hall
(316) 978-7882
william.vanderburgh@wichita.edu
Areas of Interest:
History and Philosophy of Science; History of Astronomy; Logic; Evidence and Method in Science; Early Modern Philosophy
Professor Vanderburgh earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario in 2001, where his dissertation was Dark Matters in Contemporary Astrophysics: A Case Study in Theory Choice and Evidential Reasoning. His area of specialization is the History and Philosophy of Science, especially astronomy and cosmology, focusing in particular on the seventeenth and the twentieth centuries. He has been at Wichita State University since August 2001, and received tenure in 2007; before that, he taught for a year at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He has published on Kepler's methodology, on science and religion, on Hume and miracles, on evidential reasoning, and on the dark matter problem in astrophysics. Vanderburgh has won several grants for research on the history of science, including the 2002 Herbert C. Pollock Award for Research in the History of Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Dudley Observatory, and a 2004 Grant-in-Aid for Research in the History of Modern Physics from the American Institute of Physics. Vanderburgh edited and contributed to the textbook, The Essentials of Logic, by Copi and Cohen (Prentice Hall, 2003), a shortened and simplified version of Copi and Cohen's famous Introduction to Logic. Here is Vanderburgh's curriculum vitae.