Faculty & Staff

Rebecca Copenhaver, Associate Professor and Core Curriculum Director

“In teaching philosophy, I encourage people to love the power of their own minds. The mind, like the body, must be exercised and exercised through work. Philosophy is the most extreme of extreme sports.”

I received my Ph.D. in philosophy from Cornell University in 2002. My research is in Early Modern Philosophy and Philosophy of Mind. I have published in Philosophical Quarterly, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, History of Philosophy Quarterly, Journal for the History of Philosophy, British Journal for the History of Philosophy and the Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the 18th Century. With Brian P. Copenhaver (UCLA), I co-authored From Kant to Croce: Modern Philosophy in Italy, 1800 – 1950. I am currently working on a piece on Thomas Reid’s theory of aesthetic perception and on another book about the history of Italian philosophy, co-authored with Brian P. Copenhaver.

During my free time, I like to do philosophy, read non-fiction, watch police procedurals, cook, do all sorts of DIY projects, and drink wine with my husband, Greg Bauer, winemaker at Union Wine Company.

Office:  J.R. Howard 231
Phone: 503-768-7441
Email: rebeccac@lclark.edu

Classes for Spring 2012:

PHIL 312  Philosophy of Language
 Philosophical issues concerning truth, meaning, and language in the writings of 20th century thinkers such as Frege, Russell, Grice, Putnam, Quine, Searle, Kripke.

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J. M. Fritzman, Associate Professor

“Philosophy is always one generation from dying. Students allow philosophy to continue. For that, we teachers of philosophy owe them an unrepayable and immeasurable debt of gratitude. Studying philosophy is never easy. It is, however, usually pleasant. Teaching philosophy is always a joy.”

I graduated with a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University in 1991. I have research interests in 19th & 20th Century Continental Philosophy, and Indian Philosophy. I have published articles such journals as in 1650-1850, American Philosophical Quarterly, Bulletin of the Hegel Society of Great Britain, Clio, Continental Philosophy Review, Educational Theory, Idealistic Studies, International Philosophical Quarterly, International Studies in Philosophy, Janus Head, The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Philosophia, Philosophical Forum, Philosophical Frontiers, Philosophy in the Contemporary World, Praxis International, The Pluralist, and Rhetorica.

During my copious free time, when I’m not busy neglecting my duties, I enjoy watching Bollywood movies, cooking Indian food, going to bhangra dances, and worshiping murtis.

Office:  J.R. Howard 223
Phone: 503-768-7477
Email: fritzman@lclark.edu

Classes for Spring 2012:

PHIL 203 Philosophy of Art and Beauty
Theorizing about art. Puzzles in art that suggest the need to theorize; traditional discussions of art in Plato and Aristotle and critiques of them (Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Collingwood); critical perspectives on these discussions (Danto). Specific discussions of individual arts: literature, drama, film, music, dance, the plastic arts.

PHIL 303 19th Century Philosophy
German Idealism: Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, as well as the reactions of philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Marx, Nietzsche.
Prerequisites: Any 100- or 200-level philosophy course or consent of instructor.

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Jay Odenbaugh, Associate Professor and Department Chair

“Philosophy in its best moments is about instilling intellectual accountability. As William James noted, ‘a great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.’ To understand our beliefs and values is important not only for intellectual reasons but for deeply practical reasons. Beliefs and values have effects — some beneficial and some not. It thus is of profound importance to be responsible for one’s view of the world and my teaching is first and foremost an attempt to bring students to understand and respect that responsibility.”

I graduated with a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Calgary in 2001. My dissertation was on Searching for Patterns, Hunting for Causes: A Philosophical Examination of Mathematical Modeling in Theoretical Ecology. My research interests include Philosophy of Biology (especially ecology and evolution), Philosophy of Science, and Environmental Ethics. I have published articles in Philosophy of Science and Environmental Values.

Besides philosophy, I enjoy reading about about art and art history, rock climbing, hiking, and cycling.

Office:  J.R. Howard 230
Phone: 503-768-7377
Email: jay@lclark.edu

Classes for Spring 2012:

PHIL 215 Philosophy and the Environment
Investigation of philosophical questions about our relationship to the environment. Topics include the value of individual organisms, species, ecosystems; the concepts of wildness and wilderness; aesthetics of natural environments; and the relationship between ecological science and environmental policy.

PHIL 453 Philosophy Study: Metaphysics
Advanced study of topics covered in 300-level themes in philosophy courses, in areas other than value theory.

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Joel A. Martinez, Assistant Professor

“My aim in teaching is to express to the students how puzzling and interesting the everyday world is. We talk about morality, the external world, social institutions and other minds every day. However, philosophical reflection shows us that when we use these everyday ideas we do so in ways that are loaded with assumptions and involve commitments or implications we do not always notice. Philosophy is practical, important, and also just plain interesting.”

I graduated with a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Arizona in 2006. In my dissertation Livability, Education and the Aims of Moral Theory, I argued that philosophers interested in ethics can and should take moral education to be a central aim of moral theorizing. My subsequent research has focused on the development of Virtue Ethics and Moral Psychology.  My publications have appeared in The Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Apeiron, Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, and An Anthology of Philosophical Studies (ATINER).  My interests include Virtue Ethics, 19th Century Philosophy (particularly the development of Utilitarianism), and the Philosophy of Education.

I am honored to have received the 2010 Arnold L. and Lois S. Graves Award, administered by Pomona College and the American Council of Learned Societies.

During my free time, I like to hike with my dog in the forests surrounding Portland.

Office:  J.R. Howard 232
Phone: 503-768-7735
Email: joel@lclark.edu

Classes for Spring 2012:

PHIL 103 Ethic
Fundamental issues in moral philosophy and their application to contemporary life.

PHIL 314 Ethical Theory
The main systematic approaches to issues in moral philosophy. Meta-ethics: meaning of moral terms, relativism, subjectivism, ethics and science, social contract theory. Normative Ethics: deontological duties, utilitarianism, virtue and character, egoism, rights, natural law, justice, blameworthiness, excuses.         

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Nicholas D. Smith, James F. Miller Professor

“My goal in every class I teach is to try to infect my students with the same fascination and passion for philosophy and the classics that I have always felt for them. Teaching, for me, is an attempt to share my love for these subjects.”

 

 

 

 

 

I am the James F. Miller Professor of Humanities. Prior to 1999, I taught at Virginia Tech, the University of Hong Kong, and Michigan State University. I received my BA (High Honors) from the University of Rochester in 1971, and my Ph.D. from Stanford in 1975. I am author, co-author, editor or co-editor of over 15 books, including Plato’s Socrates (with T. C. Brickhouse), which won the “Outstanding Academic Book for 1994” award from Choice. I am also the author of more than 80 journal, encyclopedia, or dictionary articles, reviews, and translations, including three of the translations of works by Plato and Pseudo-Plato that appear in the new Plato: Complete Works from Hackett. In 1985, I won the American Philological Association Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Classics.

During my free time, I like to hike, travel, cook (and eat!), and read fiction.

Office:  J.R. Howard 229
Phone: 503-768-7478
Email: ndsmith@lclark.edu

Classes for Spring 2012:

PHIL 415 Philosophy Study: Plato’s Republic
Advanced study of movements and philosophers discussed in 300-level history of philosophy courses.

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Eddie Cushman, Visiting Assistant Professor

I graduated with a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003. My dissertation Normativity, Naturalism, and Scepticism identifies ways in which a pre-theoretic conception of epistemic rationality shapes both the mind-body problem and the problem of the external world. My research interests lie in epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and some overlapping areas of value theory. My teaching interests extend to normative and applied ethics, philosophy of the social sciences, logic, and metaphysics.

I spend much of my free time surfing the Oregon Coast, reading eclectically outside my discipline, and renovating a quirky duckling of a home.

Office:  J.R. Howard 227
Phone: 503-768-7732
Email: cushman@lclark.edu

Classes for Spring 2012:

CORE 107 Exploration & Discovery

PHIL 101 Logic
Analyses of arguments with an emphasis on formal analysis. Propositional and predicate calculus, deductive techniques, and translation into symbolic notation.

PHIL 102 Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to problems and fields of philosophy through the study of major philosophers’ works and other philosophical texts. Specific content varies with instructor.  

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Clayton Morgareidge, Professor Emeritus

“My aim in teaching is to find ways to ensnare the minds of students in the endlessly rewarding pathways of philosophical perplexity. Philosophy is a life-long journey in which confusion and enlightenment are constantly succeeding each other, with each moment of enlightenment outshining the one before it.”

I came to Lewis & Clark College in 1965 with a new Ph.D. from Duke University. In my early years, I taught logic, metaphysics, and philosophy of science, as well as courses in Wittgenstein and the history of modern & contemporary philosophy. In the early 1970s, inspired by the events and social movements of the times, I turned to social & political philosophy, especially Marxism. In more recent years, I have concentrated on issues in ethics and moral psychology, writing and teaching on such topics as free will and punishment. Combining business with pleasure, I led overseas programs to Italy, Argentina, Ecuador, and Scotland. I retired after the 2001 fall semester. Besides books, I enjoy cycling, cooking, gardening, and travel.

Email: clayton@lclark.edu

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William A. Rottschaefer, Professor Emeritus

“My goal in teaching is that my students leave class each day with a greater love and understanding of the Real, the One, the True, and the Beautiful.”

I earned a BA in the Classics and Philosophy with honors from St. Louis University. I then received an MA in philosophy also from St. Louis University writing my master’s thesis on “The Object of the Intellect in St. Thomas’ Commentary on Peter Lombard’s Book of the Sentences.” After teaching Latin and Mathematics in a high school for three years, I obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Theology, from St. Louis University. I then acquired a MS in physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Finally, I earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston University, writing my dissertation on “Ordinary Knowledge in the Scientific Realism of Wilfrid Sellars,” under the direction of Abner Shimony.

My research has focused on the topics in philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, the biological and psychological bases of moral agency, and the epistemic relationships between science and religion. I have published in a number of journals including Philosophy of Science, Biology and Philosophy, Behavior and Philosophy, The Journal of Consciousness Studies, The Southern Journal of Philosophy and Zygon. Cambridge University Press published my book, The Biology and Psychology of Moral Agency.

I was named the teacher of the year in 2002. I retired after the 2003 spring semester, but I continue to teach regularly on a part time basis. 

Office:  J.R. Howard 227
Phone: 503-768-7479
Email: rotts@lclark.edu