WILLIAM
T. MYERS
CURRICULUM VITAE
Professional Affiliation and Contact Information:
Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Classics
205-226-4868
bmyers@bsc.edu
Education:
- The
- The
- The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, Texas, 1986-1987, graduate studies in religion.
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Employment:
- Chair, Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Classics, 2006-present
- Associate Professor of Philosophy, Birmingham-Southern College, 2003-present
- Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Birmingham-Southern College, 1997-2003
- Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Birmingham-Southern College, 1996-1997
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Assistant Instructor,
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Instructor,
- Instructor, Austin Community College, 1990-1991, 1993-1996
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Teaching Assistant,
Areas of Specialization:
Whitehead, Dewey, Process Metaphysics, Pragmatism.
Areas of Competence:
American Philosophy, Ethics, Applied Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, History of Modern Philosophy.
Dissertation:
Title: "The State of
Abstract:
In the dissertation I argue that John Dewey has a metaphysical system. Toward
demonstrating this claim, I begin with a discussion of his views on metaphysics
and then spell out the system in a more systematic fashion than did Dewey
himself. In order to strengthen this analysis, I then compare Dewey's system
with that of Alfred North Whitehead. I show how these two systems are
remarkably similar in their fundamental structures. Finally, I apply both
systems to a number of philosophical problems to further demonstrate their
similarities.
Presentations:
Comments on H. B. Dalrymple's
"Some Mistakes That May Help to Explain the Rejection of Realism" at
the Mid-South Philosophy Conference,
Comments on Heidi Storl's "The Risks of Going
Natural" at the Southwestern Philosophical Society meeting,
Comments on Glenn Webster's "Time, Eternity, and Everlastingness in
Whitehead's Philosophy: A Cosmology for the 21st Century" at the Society
for the Advancement of American Philosophy meeting,
"Hartshorne, Whitehead and the Religious Availability of God" at
the Charles Hartshorne Centennial Birthday Celebration and Conference at the
"The State of Dewey's Metaphysics" at the Joint North/South Carolina Societies for Philosophy meeting in Columbia, SC, February, 1998.
"Hartshorne, Whitehead and the Religious Availability of God" at the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy meeting's special symposium honoring Hartshorne's centennial birthday, Milwaukee, WI, March 1998.
"John Dewey: Process and Paideia" at the
World Congress of Philosophy meeting in
"Dewey's Metaphysical System" at the Society for the Advancement
of American Philosophy meeting,
"Dewey, Whitehead and the Intellectualist Criterion" at the annual meeting of the Midwest Pragmatist Study Group, Chicago, IL, October, 1999.
"Whitehead and Dewey on Starting Point and Method" at the annual
meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy,
Comments on William Gavin's "Dewey, Death, and Dying" at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, Las Vegas, NV, March 2001.
"Pragmatist Metaphysics: A Defense" at the annual meeting of the Midwest Pragmatist Study Group, Chicago, IL, September, 2001.
"The One and the Many: Metaphysics, Environmental Philosophy, and Pedagogy" at the Associated Colleges of the South workshop and conference on Sustainability in the Humanities Curriculum, Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, March 2002.
"Pragmatist Metaphysics: A Defense" at the annual meeting of the
Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy,
Comments on David Hildebrand's "Pragmatism, Neopragmatism, and the
Linguistic Turn" at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement
of American Philosophy,
“Aesthetics, Experience, and Method in Dewey and Whitehead,” Philosophy
Department Colloquium, Southern
“Aesthetics, Experience and Method in Dewey and Whitehead,” at the annual meeting of the Midwest Pragmatist Study Group, Chicago, IL, September 26, 2004.
“The State of
“Sherburne, Dewey, and Whitehead on Aesthetic Experience” at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, San Antonio, TX, March 9, 2006.
“John Dewey’s Metaphysics of Moral Experience” at the annual meeting of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association, Chicago, IL, April 28, 2006.
“Why Process Philosophers Need John Dewey” at the annual meeting of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association, Chicago, IL, April 27, 2006.
Publications: Books
Philosophers of Process, 2nd edition, edited with Douglas Browning, Fordham University Press, 1998.
Publications: Articles
Comments on "The Risks of Going Natural" by Heidi Storl.
Comments published in Southwest Philosophy Review, vol. 9, no 2, August, 1993.
"Hartshorne, Whitehead and the Religious Availability of God," The Personalist Forum, volume 14, no. 2, Fall 1998.
"Dewey and Whitehead on the Starting Point and Method," Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, Volume XXXVII, No. 2, Spring 2001.
"Pragmatist Metaphysics: A Defense", Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, Volume XL, No.1, Winter 2004.
“Dewey’s Metaphysics: A
Response to Richard Gale,” co-authored with Gregory F. Pappas. Transactions
of the Charles S. Peirce Society, Volume XL, No. 4, Fall, 2004.
“Whitehead and
Dewey,” in Handbook of Whiteheadian
Process Thought, forthcoming by Ontos Verlag, 2006.
Book Reviews and Other:
Moral Progress: A Process Critique of MacIntyre, by Lisa Bellantoni. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Volume 15, No. 3, 2001.
John Dewey and Moral Imagination, by Steven Fesmire. Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. XLI, No. 1, Winter 2005.
John Dewey and Moral Imagination, by Steven Fesmire. Journal of Aesthetic Education, Volume 35, No. 1, Spring 2005.
“Donald Sherburne,” entry for the Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers, John R. Shook, editor. Continuum International Publishing, July, 2005.
“Panentheism” entry for the Encyclopedia of American Philosophy, forthcoming by Routledge, 2007.
Conferences:
Conference Organizer: The Charles Hartshorne Centennial Birthday Celebration
and Conference at the
Local Arrangements Chair: The 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, Birmingham, Alabama, March 4-6, 2004.
Journal:
Guest editor, The Personalist Forum’s special issue commemorating the Hartshorne Centennial Conference, Volume 14, No. 2, Fall, 1998.
Other Professional Activities:
Treasurer, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, 2006-present
Visiting Fellow at the Pragmatism Archives,
Member, Executive Committee, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, 2002-2005.
Member, Studies in Pragmatism and Values board of assistant directors, 1999-2004. Series sponsored by The Value Inquiry Book Series.
Consultant, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education's continuing education, online course "Ethics for Law Enforcement".
Program Organizer, Sustainability and Spirituality: A Conference for Clergy and Persons in Ministry with John B. Cobb, Jr. and Jay McDaniel. March 20-22, 2001, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL.
Ethics Committee, Bessemer Carraway Hospital, 1998-2002.
Consultant, The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability, for the annual Pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy, July, 2000.
Nominating Committee, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, 2000-2001.
Program Committee, Midwest Pragmatist Study Group, 2000, 2002, 2005.
Director, Student Leaders in Service, Birmingham-Southern College program in Leadership and Ethics, Summer 2000.
Professional Lectures and Panels:
"What is process theology?" Faculty presentation at The Arkansas Governor's School, 1993 & 1994.
"The Truth is Out There: Can We Tell it With a Straight Face?" Presentation to the International Association of Business Communicators, June 1997.
"The Ethics of Capital Punishment." Presentation to the YMBC, Birmingham, Alabama, July 24, 2000.
"Medical Confidentiality." Presentation to the Bessemer-Carraway Ethics Committee, April 24, 2001.
"Business Ethics: An Oxymoron?" Presentation to YMBC, Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2003.
“Business Ethics.” Presentation to New Horizons, Birmingham, Alabama, September 17, 2003.
“Business Ethics for Healthcare Officers,” Presentation to the Healthcare Compliance Officers of Alabama seminar, Children’s Hospital, October 10, 2003.
“The Moral Standing of Animals” as part of a panel for “Issues in the Public Square” sponsored by the University of Central Arkansas Honors College, April 9, 2004.
Professional Affiliations:
The American Philosophical Association
The Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy
The Society for the Study of Process Philosophy
The Center for Process Studies
The
The American Dental Education Association
Teaching Experience:
Courses:
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Ethics and Managerial Choice (Masters level) |
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Perspectives on Management, Summer Module: Ethics, Entrepreneurship, and Globalization (Masters level) |
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Ethical Choice |
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Introduction to Philosophy |
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Introduction to Logic |
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Symbolic Logic |
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Environmental Ethics |
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Ethical Issues in Healthcare Management |
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Whitehead, Dewey, and the Cartesian Trap |
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Process and Pragmatism |
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Philosophy of Religion |
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Business Ethics |
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History of Western Philosophy II (Modern) |
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The Medium and the Message: Film and Philosophy (Interim and Spring semester) |
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Philosophy and Film |
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Introduction to Process Theology |
Masters Theses Directed:
- Michael Easterling, "Marketing on the Internet: A New Medium for Business Communicators", 1997.
- Melissa Shackelford, "The Role of Research in Human Subjects a Look into the Past, Present and Future: Implications for Cancer Patients", 2001.
- Shirley Ogburn, "Has
Russell Corporation Fulfilled Its Corporate Social Responsibility to the
Citizens of
- Brenda Durham, “Motivational Behaviors that Lead to the Breakdown of Societal Values in Pursuit of the American Dream”
Masters Thesis Committees Served:
- Elaine Jackson, "What the Future Demands: A New Paradigm for Nonprofit Social Agencies", 2000, directed by Dr. Ed Lamonte.
- Robert L. Baldwin, M.D. “Abolition of the Death Penalty: A Moral, Philosophical, Religious, Logical, and Cost-Based Justification,” 2003. Directed by Dr. Ed Lamonte.
- John M. Wade, “A Review of the City of Birmingham, Alabama’s 1981 Consent Decree to End Employment Discrimination,” 2007. Directed by Dr. Natalie Davis.
Courses:
Contemporary Moral Problems
Philosophy of Religion
Arkansas Governor's School, Area II Instructor, Summers 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995.
Courses:
Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to Logic
Introduction to Ethics
Philosophy of Religion
Courses:
Introduction to Philosophy
Contemporary Moral Problems
Plato's Republic
Whitehead and Dewey
Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church,
Adult Education Class (1999-2005)
Books taught:
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Jesus Before Christianity, by Albert Nolan |
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Encountering Evil, edited by Stephen T. Davis |
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The Body of God, by Sallie McFague |
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Genesis |
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The God We Never Knew, by Marcus Borg |
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Who Was Jesus, by N. T. Wright |
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Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity, by Bruce Bawer |
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Writing in the Dust, by Rowan Williams |
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Matthew |
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Homosexuality and Christian Faith,
by Walter Wink |
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Galatians |
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God’s Politics: Why the Right is Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, by Jim Wallis |