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I am a PhD candidate at the University of Iowa, specializing in the history of modern philosophy. My dissertation deals with the problem of individuation in Spinoza's metaphysics and epistemology. My goal is to successfully interpret Spinoza's Ethics in such a way that he can consistently hold that there are genuine finite objects that are not merely figments of the imagination, while preserving the uniqueness and indivisibility of Substance/Nature. I am only in the beginning stages of putting together the argument, but I am happy with my initial reading so far.Currently I am working backwards on my dissertation. I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of what will be chapter 4.
I am also very interested in: Kant, Berkeley, Hume, Descartes, Wittgenstein, Nietzsche, Aristotle, and the Presocratics (in no particular order, obviously). Very briefly, one day I'd like to develop a study of the Moderns' approach to the imagination; the Moderns dealt with the imagination in a number of ways, pointing to it as: the source of error (Spinoza), the natural feigner of the self and external objects (Hume), what is necessary for the synthesis of experience (Kant). The imagination thus went through a strange series of transformations from the 1600s to the late 1700s and beyond.
I enjoy teaching very much, and I take it very seriously. Critical reasoning and questioning are important to maintaining a healthy society, and hopefully my students will gain and retain these skills throughout their lives. I believe that students learn and participate better when they are comfortable in the classroom and have some fun. I thus try very hard to encourage their objections and comments while challenging them intellectually.
Outside my academic life, I keep myself busy by playing soccer, rooting for the Hawkeye football team, and drumming.
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I have just written an autohotkey script for streamlining your commenting on students' philosophy papers. The user guide can be downloaded from here. The program itself can be found here. I assure you it is virus-free and is not spyware. I'd love to hear your feedback on it. My email address can be found in the user guide.
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"It has been estimated that if every household in the US replaced just three of its incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving designs and used them for five hours per day, it would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 23 million tonnes, reduce electricity demand by the equivalent of 11 coal-fired power stations and save $1.8bn." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4667354.stm
Links:
My CV can be found here
Here's my interview with the University of Iowa Graduate Student Senate
Computer tips for Spinoza scholars
University of Iowa Department of Philosophy