Dr. Chapman's research focuses on the topics of epistemology, existential ethics, and social and political philosophy. His current research focuses on the nature of justification within the realms of existential ethics and political philosophy. Justification is the foundation of our uniquely humanly lives in that it structures all of our intentional action as well as provides value to our actions and life projects. The best accounts of the nature of justification derive from Aristotle and Kant and are pictures of us as self-constituting, self-creating, self-constructing individuals whose very essences are bound up with the demand we place on ourselves to justify our lives.
Teaching
courses taught
PHIL 1000 - Introduction to Philosophy
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022
Introduces students to the most fundamental questions of human existence, either topically or through various major figures in philosophy. Topics may include free will, the mind-body problem, the nature of the self, the existence of God, knowledge of the external world, the nature of morality, the meaning of life.
PHIL 1160 - Introduction to Bioethics
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Fall 2019
Introduces students to moral dilemmas in medical practice, biomedical research, and health policy, placing them in the context of comprehensive ethical theories and core principles of bioethics. Topics may include: euthanasia; abortion; organ procurement; moral status; research on nonhuman animals; navigating cultural differences between patients and health professionals; and the fair distribution of healthcare resources; as well as the bioethical issues arising from technological advances in medicine, including genetic engineering, cloning, and assistive reproductive technologies.
PHIL 1200 - Contemporary Social Problems
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Spring 2018 / Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022
Examines competing positions in debates over a wide variety of controversial moral, social and political issues. Topics may include: abortion, world poverty, animal rights, immigration, physician-assisted suicide, freedom of religion, hate speech, cloning, income inequality, pornography, gun rights, racial profiling, capital punishment, overpopulation, prostitution, drug legalization, torture. Formerly titled 'Philosophy and Society.'
PHIL 1400 - Philosophy and the Sciences
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Summer 2018
Considers philosophical topics and concepts related to the natural sciences, such as the following: science and pseudo-science; scientific method; the nature of explanation, theory, confirmation, and falsification; the effect of science on basic concepts like mind, freedom, time, and causality; ethics of experimentation; and the relation of science to society.
PHIL 3010 - History of Modern Philosophy
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Summer 2018 / Spring 2022
Introduces modern philosophy, focusing on the period from Descartes through Kant. In addition to careful analysis of philosophical arguments, attention is paid to the ways in which philosophers responded to and participated in major developments in the 17th and 18th century, such as the scientific revolution. Recommended prerequisite: 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
PHIL 3180 - Critical Thinking: Contemporary Topics
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Summer 2018
Looks at a selected topic such as nuclear disarmament, racial and sexual discrimination, animal rights, or abortion and euthanasia by examining issues through the lens of critical philosophical analysis. Reviews the reasoning behind espoused positions and the logical connections and argument forms they contain. Recommended prerequisite: 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
PHIL 3200 - Social and Political Philosophy
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Fall 2018
Introduces students to an in-depth examination and analysis of central operational ideas in social and political philosophy, such as power, freedom, equality, democracy, justice, rights, community, individuality, civil disobedience, and law. A thorough treatment of any of these ideas may call for some cross-cultural and/or comparative political and social analysis. Recommended prerequisite: 6 hours of philosophy course work.
PHIL 3600 - Philosophy of Religion
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Spring 2020
Explores fundamental questions concerning major world religions, especially the Abrahamic religions. Possible topics include: the divine'attributes (Is perfect goodness compatible with the existence of hell? Can God be truly omnipotent?), the problem of evil, divine'hiddenness and evidence of the existence of God, religious experience, the legitimacy of faith, the dilemma of freedom and divine'foreknowledge, God and morality, tensions between religion and science, conceptions of the self in Abrahamic religions and in'Buddhism. Recommended prerequisite: 6 hours of philosophy coursework.
PHIL 4070 - Existentialist Philosophy
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021
Examines central figures and texts in the existential tradition, from Kierkegaard and Nietzsche to Heidegger and Sartre. Recommended prerequisite: 12 hours philosophy course work.
PHIL 4950 - Honors Thesis
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Spring 2019
May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Recommended prerequisite: 12 hours philosophy course work.
