Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States of America
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    Liberalism can be defined as that political system in which the state remains neutral on questions of the good life while providing a framework of rights that respects persons as free and independent selves capable of choosing their own values and ends. Neutrality is the priority of the right over the good . In Political Liberalism, John Rawls describes a liberal society in which political debate is based upon an overlapping consensus. An overlapping consensus consists in agreement about those p…Read more
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    The Grand Forks Herald’s attack on the UND law school in “Thou shalt not take on such cases†was inexcusable. While discussing the Ten Commandments monument in Fargo, the paper endorsed some of the most dangerous myths about education, showing a profound disrespect for the university, its professors, and its students.
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    The connection between Adam Smith and Alasdair MacIntyre is not evident at first glance. In fact, those who know MacIntyre’s work might bristle at the association. MacIntyre is inherently anticapitalist. He believes that moral people ought to reject the modern state and large-scale corporations.1 He also rejects what he terms the enlightenment project, claiming not only that it failed but that it was doomed to do so.2 Furthermore, MacIntyre’s perspectivalism seems to run counter to any “impartia…Read more
  •  1
    On Adam Smith
    Wadsworth Publishing Company. 2001.
    "This book does not treat Smith as an historical curiosity who has accomplished all that he was capable of. It treats Smith as someone with a contemporary message. That capitalism is the dominant political system in the contemporary world is almost without doubt. That capitalism is succeeding, however, is much more contentious. I will argue that Smith would challenge such claims of success. As the standard of living rises in most of the world, few could challenge the notion that vast numbers of …Read more
  •  12
    The Case Against Public Philosophy
    In Lee C. McIntyre, Nancy Arden McHugh & Ian Olasov (eds.), A companion to public philosophy, Wiley-blackwell. 2022.
    The subdiscipline of public philosophy is in its adolescence. The mark of maturity in philosophy is the introduction of a metatheoretical discourse. The niche subfield “experimental philosophy” tries to incorporate social scientific methods, but like public philosophy, it too is in its adolescence, often falling back on haphazard and poorly defined methodologies. The definition of public philosophy distinguishes between professional philosophers and what would best be termed amateurs, where prof…Read more
  •  3
    Three Types of Critical Thinking About Religion
    Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 15 (3): 79-88. 1996.
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    Three Conversations
    Teaching Philosophy 26 (1): 3-20. 2003.
    Students sometimes leave introductory courses in philosophy with no deep sense of the connection between the work of Plato and contemporary philosophy, with a view of Plato’s dialogues as a kind of literature, or with a somewhat shallow sense of the thrust of Plato’s philosophy. This paper proposes a pedagogical method that offers students a highly sophisticated understanding of Plato’s philosophy that is both applicable to lower-level survey courses and capable of being delivered in a limited a…Read more
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    Three Conversations
    Teaching Philosophy 26 (1): 3-20. 2003.
    Students sometimes leave introductory courses in philosophy with no deep sense of the connection between the work of Plato and contemporary philosophy, with a view of Plato’s dialogues as a kind of literature, or with a somewhat shallow sense of the thrust of Plato’s philosophy. This paper proposes a pedagogical method that offers students a highly sophisticated understanding of Plato’s philosophy that is both applicable to lower-level survey courses and capable of being delivered in a limited a…Read more
  •  6
    Review: Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments (review)
    Journal of Scottish Philosophy 1 (2): 181-184. 2003.
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    Review: Adam Smith's marketplace of life (review)
    Mind 113 (449): 202-207. 2004.
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    Neutrality, Pluralism, and Education: Civic Education as Learning About the Other
    Studies in Philosophy and Education 23 (4): 235-263. 2004.
    The purpose of this article is to investigate appropriate methods for educating students into citizenship within a pluralistic state and to explain why civic education is itself important. In this discussion, I will offer suggestions as to how students might be best prepared for their future political roles as participants in a democracy, and how we, as theorists, ought to structure institutions and curricula in order to ensure that students are adequately trained for political decision making. …Read more
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    Guest Editor’s Introduction
    Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 18 (1): 4-21. 1998.
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    Critical Thinking and the Moral Sentiments
    Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 16 (3): 76-91. 1997.
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    Adam Smiths Marketplace of Life
    Mind 113 (449): 202-207. 2004.
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