Professor
Robert
W. Hoag
The Henry Mixter
Penniman Chair in Philosophy
Division Chair
Berea College
"The right attitude in philosophy
is to accept aims we can achieve only fractionally and imperfectly...It
means in particular not abandoning the pursuit of truth, even though if
you want the truth rather than merely something to say, you will have a
good deal less to say. Pursuit of the truth requires more than
imagination:...it
requires readiness to attack one's own convictions. That is the only
way
real belief can be arrived at."
Thomas Nagel. The View From Nowhere
Education
A.B. in Philosophy (cum
laude),
Davidson College, 1976
M.A. in Philosophy, The
University of Virginia, 1980
Thesis-
W.V. Quine and Ontological Commitment
Ph.D. in Philosophy, The
University of Virginia, 1983
Thesis-
J.S. Mill on Happiness and Morality
Courses and Teaching
Philosophic topics in contemporary
social issues (legal, medical, political, national and international); history
of political philosophy sequence; foundations
of
ethics, theories of ethics; philosophy of law, contemporary theories of
justice; introduction to
philosophy, and introductory reasoning. Also courses in the
College's interdisciplinary core curriculum.
Professional Interests
Ethics,
social and political philosophy, philosophy of law; contemporary social
issues (abortion, capital punishment, religion and the law, free
speech, civil disobedience,
etc.); John Stuart Mill and consequentialist/utilitarian theory; human
rights, international law, and just war theory.
Grants
John B. Stephenson Fellowship for Faculty:
"Armed Humanitarian Interventions:
Rights, Wrongs, and Recourse to War Principles"
Appalachian College Association, 2008-09
National
Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute:
"War and Morality:
Re-thinking the Just War Tradition for the 21st Century"
George Lucas, Director. United
States Naval Academy, June, 2004.
Jesse duPont Summer Seminar for Liberal Arts College Faculty:
"Humanitarian Interventions:
Legal, Ethical, and Political Dilemmas"
Allen Buchanan and Jeff
Holzgrefe, Directors
National Humanities Center,
Research Triangle Park, NC, June, 2003.
Finalist, National Endowment for
the Humanities Fellowships for College Teachers, 1991.
"John Stuart Mill: Happiness, Rules, and Character"
National
Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar:
"The
Moral Limits of the
Criminal Law."
Joel Feinberg, Director.
University of Arizona, 1984.
Charlotte
W. Newcombe Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation,
1982-83.
Honors & Memberships
Phi
Beta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa
Phi
Kappa Phi
American Philosophical Association
-
Other Interests and Activities
American History, Native American culture and society,
golf, tennis, surfing,
and good discussions of
good books with good friends.
" Philosophy, if it cannot answer so many questions as we could wish,
has
at least the power of asking questions
which increases the interest of the world, and shows the strangeness and wonder
lying just below
the
surface
even in the commonest things of daily
life."
"Philosophy,...to
the doubts which it raises, is able to
suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the
tyranny of custom. Thus,
while
diminishing our feelings of certainty
as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may
be; it removes the
somewhat
arrogant dogmatism of those who have
never traveled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense
of wonder by showing
familiar
things in an unfamiliar aspect."
Bertrand
Russell. The
Problems of Philosophy
Any questions or comments?
Send me an...
bob_hoag@berea.edu
Additional Contact Information:
Prof. Robert Hoag
203B Draper Hall
CPO 2153
Berea College
Berea, KY 40404
(859) 985-3582
Links
Web page concept
and
design by Samuel T. Weddington.
Property of Berea
College, 2000.
Last Updated
9/07/2011
Questions or comments? Email Dr. Jim Butler