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217Sorrow and the Sage: Grief in the zhuangziDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 6 (4): 339-359. 2007.The Zhuangzi offers two apparently incompatible models of bereavement. Zhuangzi sometimes suggests that the sage will greet loss with unfractured equanimity and even aplomb. However, upon the death of his own wife, Zhuangzi evinces a sorrow that, albeit brief, fits ill with this suggestion. In this essay, I contend that the grief that Zhuangzi displays at his wifeâs death better honors wider values averred elsewhere in the text and, more generally, that a sage who retains a capacity for sorrow…Read more
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91Looking Philosophical: Stuff, Stereotypes, and Self‐PresentationHypatia 30 (4): 692-707. 2015.Self-presentation is a complex phenomenon through which individuals present themselves in performance of social roles. The success of such performances rests not just on how well a performer fulfills expectations regarding the role she would play, but on whether observers find her convincing. I focus on how self-presentation entails making use of material environment and objects: One may “dress for the part” and employ props that suit a desired role. However, regardless of dress or props, one ca…Read more
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24“Ascending the hall”: Style and moral improvement in the analectsPhilosophy East and West 59 (4). 2009.The moral vision of the "Analects" notably includes among our moral responsibilities the need to style behavior such that the propriety of one's dispositions is evident in one's manner and demeanor. While the sage effortlessly fulfills this responsibility, the moral learner must actively strive to shape her demeanor and manner. This essay considers her resources for doing so where becoming effortlessly sagely is a distant, if not unreachable, possibility. While the "Analects" clearly proffers th…Read more
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287"The feel of not to feel it": Lucretius' remedy for death anxietyPhilosophy and Literature 29 (1): 114-129. 2005.Do Lucretius’ vivid evocations of pain and suffering render impotent his therapy for fear of death? Lucretius’ readers have long noted the discord between his avowed aim to provide a rational foundation for cool detachment from death and his impassioned and acute attention to nature’s often cruel brutality. I argue that Lucretius does have a viable remedy for death anxiety but that this remedy significantly departs from Epicurus’ original counsel. Lucretius’ remedy confesses its origins in a …Read more
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65Mourning, Memory, and Identity: A Comparative Study of the Constitution of the Self in GriefInternational Philosophical Quarterly 37 (1): 29-44. 1997.
Norman, Oklahoma, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Normative Ethics |
Asian Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy |
Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality |