University Education:
B. A. University of Toronto. Honours Philosophy Programme. Granted in June 1970 with first-class standing.
Dr. phil. Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg i. Br., Germany. Granted summa cum laude in July, 1977.
Scholarships, Fellowships, and Teaching Positions:
1970-72 German Academic Exchange Association Scholarship
1972-76 Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship
1977-80 Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, Instructor (Part-time)
1980-82 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Postdoctoral Fellowship
1983-84 University of Toronto, Erindale College, Assistant Professor
1984-88 Brock University, Assistant Professor
1988-02 Brock University, Associate Professor
1997 Fall term McMaster University, Adjunct Associate Professor
July 1999-July 2001 York University, Toronto, Adjunct Professor
July 1999-July 2004 McMaster University, Hamilton, Adjunct Associate Professor
2002 - Brock University, Professor
Publications:
I. BOOKS
1. Logik und Metaphysik bei Kant. Zu Kants Lehre vom zwiefachen Gebrauch des Verstandes und der Vernunft. Vittorio Klostermann Verlag, Frankfurt, W. Germany, 1978, 307pp. For more information, click here, then click 'Buecher,' 'Philosophy,' 'Gesamtverzeichnis' and search
2. Leibniz Lexicon. A Dual Concordance to Leibniz's 'Philosophische Schriften' (with R. McRae, R. Finster, G. Hunter, and W. Seager). Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, W. Germany, 1988, vii + 419pp. For more information, click here, then 'Search' and enter 'Leibniz Lexicon'
3. Insight and Inference. Descartes' Founding Principle and Modern Philosophy. University of Toronto Press (Toronto Studies in Philosophy). Toronto and Buffalo, 1999, xx + 564. Click here for more information
4. Inroads: Paths in Ancient and Modern Western Philosophy. University of Toronto Press (Toronto Studies in Philosophy). Toronto and Buffalo, 2003, xxiv + 666.Click here for more information
II. CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOOKS, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, AND REFERENCE WORKS
1. "Leibniz, Adam and the Furnished Soul." Proceedings of the International Colloquium on "Leibniz and Adam," Tel Aviv, Israel. University Publishing Projects, Ltd. Tel Aviv, 1993, pp. 85-98. (Conference Proceedings, refereed by editors)
2. "Descartes's Method." In: Janet Broughton and John Carriero , eds. Companion to Descartes. Blackwell Publishing, 2007. (A revised version of chap. 15 of Insight and Inference)
3. Entries "Existence," "Essence," "Deduction," and "Common Notions" in Descartes Lexicon, ed. Lawrence Nolan, Cambridge University Press (Forthcoming).
III. ARTICLES
1. "Psycho-Physical Union. The Problem of the Person in Descartes." Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, Vol. XXII, 1 (1983) pp. 23-46. (Refereed)
2. "Condensation and Rarefaction in Descartes' Analysis of Matter." Nature and System, 5 (1983), pp. 169-180. (Refereed)
3. "Kant and the Synthetic Apriori." University of Toronto Quarterly, Vol. 55, No. 2 (1985/86) pp. 172-184. (Refereed)
4. "The Idea of Extension: Innate or Adventitious?" On R. F. McRae's Interpretation of Descartes. Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, Vol. XXVII (1988), pp. 15-24. (Refereed)
5. "McRae on Innate Ideas: A Rejoinder." Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, Vol. XXVII (1988), pp. 29-30. (Refereed)
6. "Descartes' Mechanicism and the Medieval Doctrine of Causes, Qualities, and Forms." The Modern Schoolman, LXV, January 1988, pp. 97-117. (Refereed)
7. "Heidegger and the Question of Humanism." Man and World, Vol. 22 (1989), pp. 427-451. (Refereed)
8. "Some Recent Research on the Mind-Body Problem in Descartes." Manuscrito. Revista Internacional de Filosofia, XIII(2), 1990, pp. 85-109. (Refereed)
9. "The Socratic Legacy: Reflections on Myth, Science, and Philosophy." Brock Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1993, pp. 131-148. (Refereed)
10. "Fundamental Ontology and Existential Analysis in Heidegger's Being and Time." International Philosophical Quarterly. Vol XXXIV, No 3, Issue No. 135, September 1994. (Refereed)
11. "Leibniz on Apperception and Animal Souls." Dialogue XXXIII (1994), 701-724. (Refereed)
12. "Philosophy and Liberal Learning." Queen's Quarterly 104/1 (Spring 1997). (Refereed)
13. "Plato on Suicide (Phaedo 60c-63c)." Phoenix. Vol. 55 (2001) 3-4, pp. 244-258. (Refereed)
14. "Ueberlegungen zum Metaphysik-Begriff Kants." Perspektiven der Philosophie. Neues Jahrbuch. Band 30, 2004, pp. 37–62. (Refereed by Editor)
15. "Kant's 'Copernican Revolution.' Toward Rehabilitation of a Concept and Provision of a Framework for the Interpretation of the Critique of Pure Reason. Kant-Studien, 97, pp. 1-32.(Refereed.)
16. "Analytic Method, the Cogito, and Descartes's Argument for the Innateness of the Idea of God." Epoche. A Journal for the History of Philosophy, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Spring 2010), pp. 289-320. (Refereed.)
17. "Connaissance de Dieu et Conscience de soi chez Descartes." Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, Vol. 49 (2010), pp. 1-24. (Refereed.)
IV. BOOK REVIEWS
1. Review of Frank Schalow, Imagination and Existence. Heidegger's Retrieval of Kant's Ethics. In Canadian Philosophical Reviews, Vol. VII, No. 3 (1987), pp. 130-132. (Invited.)
2. Review of Marcelo Dascal, Leibniz: Language, Signs and Thought. Canadian Philosophical Reviews, Vol. VIII, No. 7 (1988). (Invited.)
3. Review of Stanley Rosen, The Quarrel between Philosophy and Poetry. Studies in Ancient Thought. Echos du Monde Classique/Classical Views, 1991.1, pp. 113-117. (Invited)
4. Review of François Duchesneau, Leibniz et la méthode de la science. Leibniz Society Newsletter and Review. Vol 3, 1993, pp. 2-7 (Invited.)
5. Review of R. S. Woolhouse, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz: The Concept of Substance in Seventeenth Century Metaphysics. Dialogue,Vol. XXXVI, No. 3 (Summer 1997), pp. 659-661. (Refereed.)
6. Review of: K. R. Westphal, Kant's Transcendental Proof of Realism. The Review of Metaphysics. Vol. 61, No. 1, 2007. (Invited.)
Reviews of Logik und Metaphysik bei Kant:
A. Una in La Ciudad de Dios, Vol. 192 (1979) No. 3, 481.
Petra Jäger in Philosophischer Literaturanzeiger, 1979, 257-261. (Read review)
R. Günther in Wissenschaftlicher Literaturanzeiger, 5-6/79, 115.
D. P. Dryer (Critical Notice) in Dialogue, Vol. XIX, No. 3 (1980), 469-476. (Read review)
Wolfram Steinbeck in Kant-Studien, Vol. 77 (1986), 260-262. (Read review)
Reviews of Leibniz Lexicon
G. H. R. Parkinson, Studia Leibnitiana, Band XXII/1 (1990), 112-114.
François Duchesneau, Dialogue, XXXI (1992), 341-2. (Read review)
Adelino Cardoso, Analise (Lisboa) 16 (1992), 183-186.
Reviews of Insight and Inference
Richard A. Watson, International Studies in Philosophy, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 374-375 (1999) (Read review)
Tom Sorell, Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 38, No. 1, January 2000, pp. 122-123. (Read review)
Jay Newman, The Canadian Book Review Annual, 2000, 86. (Read review)
John Cottingham, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Vol 8, No. 3 (Oct. 2000), 555-58. (Read review)
Dennis L. Sepper, Philosophical Books, Vol. 42, No. 1 (January 2001), 56-58. (Read review)
Lawrence Nolan, The Philosophical Review, Vol. 111, No 1 (January 2002), 105-108. (Read review)
Anthony Jenkins, Dialogue, Vol. XLIII, No 1. (Winter 2004) (Read review)
Reviews of Inroads. Paths in Ancient and Modern Western Philosophy
Brian Garret, University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 75, Number 1, Winter 2006 (Read review)
Papers and Conferences:
1. Commentary on: Howard Duncan, "Kant and Understanding Forces which Act at a Distance." Canadian Philosophical Association Meetings, Ottawa, 1982. (Invited)
2. "Psycho-physical Union: The Problem of the Person in Descartes," Department of Philosophy, McGill University, April 1982. (Invited)
3. "Is Heidegger an Existentialist?" Philosophy Colloquium, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, December 1983. (Invited)
4. "Kant and the Synthetic Apriori." Department of Philosophy, Wilfrid Laurier University, March 1984. (Invited)
5. "Transcendence in Heidegger and Sartre," Department of Philosophy, Brock University, March 1984. (Invited)
6. "Descartes' Mechanicism and the Medieval Doctrine of Causes, Qualities and Forms." "New Perspectives on Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant," University of Toronto, April 1985. (Invited)
7. "The Idea of Extension: Innate or Adventitious. On R. F. McRae's Interpretation of Descartes." Canadian Philosophical Association Meetings, Winnipeg, 1986. (Refereed)
8. Commentary on André Rocque: Dilthey et Heidegger: parallelismes conceptuels." C. P. A. Meetings, Winnipeg, 1986. (Invited)
9. "Heidegger and the Question of Humanism," Canadian Society for Hermeneutics and Postmodern Thought Meetings, Quebec City, May 1989. (Refereed)
10. "Recent Research on the Mind-Body Problem in Descartes." S.U.N.Y. Buffalo, May 10, 1989 (Invited). Canadian Philosophical Association Meetings, Quebec City, 1989. (Refereed)
11. "Leibniz, Adam, and the Furnished Soul." Paper read at "Leibniz and Adam. An International Colloquium," Tel Aviv University and The University of Jerusalem. December 29 1991 - January 2, 1992. (Invited)
12. "Descartes on Consciousness, Thought, and Reflexion." Paper read at the Canadian Philosophical Association Meetings, Charlottetown, P.E.I., 1992. (Refereed)
13. "Fundamental Ontology and Existential Analysis in Heidegger's Being and Time." Ontario Philosophical Society, London Ontario, October 17, 1992. (Refereed)
14. "Leibniz on Minds, Souls, and Entelechies." Paper read at the Canadian Philosophical Association Meetings, Ottawa, 1993. (Refereed)
15. "Philosophy and Liberal Learning." Paper read at the Ontario Philosophical Society, Waterloo, Ontario, October 30, 1993. (Refereed)
16. "Descartes' Intentions." Paper read at the Ontario Philosophical Society, York University, Toronto, November 5, 1994. (Refereed)
17. "Certainty and Circularity in Descartes' Meditations." Paper read at the Argumentation and Education Conference held at Brock University, St. Catharines, May 5 and 6. (Invited)
17. "The Emancipation of Reason in the Meditations of Descartes." Paper read at the Ontario Philosophical Society, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, October 28, 1995. (Refereed.)
19. "The Responsibility of the Professoriate: Academic Freedom, Peer Review, and the Scholarly Conscience Today." Paper read at the Symposium Neglected Aspects of Academic Freedom at the Ontario Philosophical Society, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, October 28, 1995.
20. "Subjectivism and Dualism. Pope John Paul II on Descartes. " Paper read at conference Descartes 400 on the occasion of the Quatercentenary of the Birth of Descartes, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, April 18, 19, 20, 1996. (Invited)
21. "Academic Freedom, Evaluation, and the 'Politics of Difference'". Paper read at the Third Annual SAFS Conference Symposium: Maintaining Standards in Research, Teaching, and the Evaluation of Faculty Performance. University of Toronto, May 11, 1996. (Invited.)
22. "The Elements of Academic Freedom, Central and Peripheral." Paper read at the session: "Censorship, Harassment, and Discrimination: Concepts and Case Studies," at the Symposium, "The Future of Liberal Learning: Freedom of Speech and Justice on Campus," a special event at the Learned Societies Congress, Brock University, May 31, 1996.
23. "Certainty and Circularity in Descartes' Meditations." Paper read at the Colloquium of the Department of Philosphy, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, December 5, 1996. (Invited. Revised version of the paper read at the Argumentation and Education Conference held at Brock University, St. Catharines, May 5 and 6.)
24. "Intuition and Anti-formalism." Descartes on Logic, Synthesis, and the Analytic Method of Discovery." Paper read to the Colloquium of the Department of Philosophy, McMaster University, Hamilton, October 28, 1997 and to the Colloquium of the Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, January 23, 1998. (Invited.)
25. "A Note on Suicide (Phaedo 60c-63c)." Paper read at the Ontario Philosophical Society at the University of Guelph, Guelph, October 29 adn 30, 1999 (Refereed).
26. "Kant's Copernican Revolution." Paper read at the Inaugural Meeting of the Central Canadian Seminar for the Study of Early Modern Philosophy, University of Toronto, September 3-4, 2000. (Refereed.)
27. "What Philosophy Is." Talk to the York Undergraduate Philosophy Students' Association. October 17, 2000. (Invited.)
28. "Brave New Way: Representations and Things in Kant and the Tradition." Paper read to the Philosophy Colloquium, Department of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, March 20, 2001. (Invited.)
29. "SAFS Role in Defending Academic Freedom." Panel discussion at the Annual General Meeting of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship, Somerville House, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, May 19, 2001 (with John Furedy, Clive Seligman, and Chris Furedy).
30. "A Note on Kant and Conditions." Paper read at the Canadian Philosophical Association Meetings, Toronto, 2002. (Refereed.)
31. "What is Metaphysics." Paper read to the Philosophy Colloquium, Department of Philosophy, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, November 15, 2002.
32. "Ueberlegungen zum Metaphysik-Begriff Kants." Paper read to the Colloquium of the Department of Philosophy, University of Marburg (May 5, 2003) and the University of Freiburg (May 8, 2003).
33. "Politics and Morals in Sartre's L'Existentialisme est un humanisme." Colloquium on Ethics, Politics, and Society, Centro di Recerca e Studi sui Diritti Humani, Libera Universita Internazionale degli Studi Sociali, Rome, Italy, July 3, 2003.
34. "Kant on Mathematics." Ontario Philosophical Society, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario. November 6, 2004.
35. Commentary on M. Schoenfeld, "Superstrings and the Euler-Kant Mirror." Ontario Philosophical Society, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario. November 6, 2004.
36. "The Perenniality of Metaphysics." Paper read at the Canadian Philosophical Association Meetings, London, 2005. (Refereed.)
37. "Spinoza's Theology of Science: A Synoptic View of the Aims of the First Two Books of the Ethics." Paper read at the Atlantic Canada Society for Early Modern Philosophy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, July 10, 2006.
38. "The End of Metaphysics." Paper read to Philosophy Colloquium Series, Department of Philosophy, The University of Western Ontario. October 27, 2006.
39. "Illiberal Learning: Human Rights Offices Come to Canadian University Campuses." Paper read at the session "Collective Agreements: Protecting or Threatening Academic Freedom" of the Annual General Meeting of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship, Somerville House, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, May 10, 2008 41
40. "Analytic Method, the Cogito, and Descartes's Argument for the Innateness of the Idea of God." Colloquium Series, Department of Philosophy, University of Ottawa, November 28, 2008.
Courses Taught at Brock, McMaster, and York Universities
Introduction to philosophy: philosophical classics and contemporary life
Introduction to philosophy: the foundations of the present
Introduction to ethics (Normative ethical theories)
Philosophy of man (Philosophy of human nature)
Greek philosophy (with M. Husain)
Early modern philosophy (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkelely, Hume)
Theory of knowledge
Phenomenology
Hermeneutics
Metaphysics**
Comparative studies in ancient and modern philosophy (with M. Husain)
Issues in 17th and 18th -cenry philosophy (individual courses on Descartes, Leibniz, and Kant)**
Kant and the 18th century**
Hegel and the 19th century
Husserl and transcendental philosophy*
Descartes*
Leibniz*
Heidegger*
* indicates graduate course ** indicates course taught at Brock and McMaster or York Universities
Research and Other Grants (Internal and External)
Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, Humanities and Social Science Federation of Canada, February 1997 ($8,603.00).
President's Fund for the Advancement of Scholarship, Brock University, Release Time Research Award for ½ course release n the year 2001 (awarded March 2001).
German Academic Exchange Association Study Visit Award (DM 5,000) for a six-week study visit at the University of Munich (awarded April 2001).
Present and Past Professional Activities and Memberships:
Canadian Philosophical Association (1982-1993); Ontario Philosophical Society; Leibniz Society of America; Local Representative, Niagara, Ontario Secondary School Philosophy Project (1987-89); Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship; National Association of Scholars (U.S.)
University and Community Service:
Departmental Chair, 1984-89
Chair, Brock University Faculty Association Committee on the Terms and Conditions of Employment, 1986-87
Member of Executive, Faculty Board, 1987-88, 1988-89
Member, Senate Committee on Graduate Studies and Research, 1987-88, 1988-89
Member, Decanal Committee on the Image/Profile of the Humanities, 1988
Member and Recording Secretary, Parent Advisory Group, Niagara Peninsula Children's Centre Member, Strategic Planning and Organizing Team, Niagara Peninsula Children's Centre
Chair, Brock University Faculty Association Committee on Public Affairs and Community Liaison, 1992-93, 1993-94
Member, Senate Standing Committee on Research, 1996-97 (resigned Februrary 1997)
Member, OCUFA Political Relations Committee, 1992-93
Member and Recording Secretary, Parent Advisory Group, Niagara Peninsula Children's Centre, 1992-94
Member, Stategic Planning Organizing Team, Niagara Peninsula Children's Centre, 1992-93
Chair, Parent Advisory Group, Niagara Peninsula Children's Centre, 1994-96
Member, Advisory Committee, Neurodevelopmental Clinical Research Unit, Chedoke-McMaster Hospital, 1994-96
Member, Board of Directors, Community Care Access Centre, Niagara (appointed by the Minister of Health of Ontario), 1996-98
Member, Selection Committee for the Appointment of an Executive Director, Community Care Access Centre, Niagara, Fall 1996 - Spring 1997
Member at Large, Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Community Care Access Centre, Niagara, 1997-98
Chair, Board Human Resources Committee, Community Care Access Centre, Niagara, 1997-98.
Member, Brock University Faculty Association Committee for the Evaluation of Academic Administrators, 2000-01.
Member, Board of Directors, Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship, London, Ontario.
Activity Leader (Philosophy Club), Ridley College, St. Catharines, Ontario, Fall/Winter 2000-01, Fall 2001.
Member, Senate Sub-committee on Instructional Development, 2003-04
BUFA Committee on Advice on Promotion and Tenure, 2004-07
BUFA Committee for Evaluation of Academic Administrators, 2004-07, 2010-11
Departmental Scheduling Officer, 2008-09
References:
On request