Academics
Philosophy Faculty
Peter Tumulty
Department Chair
Professor of Philosophy
B.A. Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception; M.A., Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
Courses Taught: Introduction to Philosophy Ethics; Human Rights; Theories of Justice; Wittgenstein; American Philosophy
Areas of Expertise: Dr. Tumulty's interests connect one way or another with clarifying the nature and significance of the moral dimension to human existence. This leads to examining such topics as: the nature of moral experience; the conditions for making objective yet fallible value judgments; the reconciliation of universal human rights with respect for cultural diversity; the significance of the apparent encounter with an Absolute as our moral lives mature; etc.
On Teaching and Research: Currently, Dr. Tumulty is researching the various types of preconditions for cognitively significant judgments of various kinds (e.g., farming; science; morality; etc.), especially as they bear upon the formation of the young in a progressively secular and commercial society with disorienting consequences for ever more vulnerable individuals and communities. Past articles include: “Judging God by ‘Human’ Standards: Reflections On William James’ Varieties of Religious Experience;” “A Contemporary Bridge From Facts To Values: But Will Natural Law Theorists Pay The Toll?;” and “Aristotle, Feminism and Natural Law Theory.” His most recent article “Recognizing Varieties of Objectivity in Promoting a Global Culture of Human Rights: Remarks in the Tradition of Plato, Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein” will appear in International Philosophical Quarterly in December 2009. He joined Saint Michael's College faculty in 1974.
Outside Saint Michael's: Dr. Tumulty spends lots of time and conversation with family and friends; politics; films; travel; and spoiling his grandchildren Fiona and Jack.
Learn more about Dr. Tumulty in his faculty spotlight.
Campus Office
Saint Edmund's Hall 229
Phone: 802.654.2468
Box 191
E-mail: ptumulty@smcvt.edu
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Ronald Begley
Professor of Philosophy and Classics
B.A. Haverford College; M.A., Ph.D. University of North Carolina
Dr. Begley specializes in ancient philosophy, the scholastic-humanist debate, Pascal, Newman and Kierkegaard. He is currently collaborating with Daniel Sheerin (University of Notre Dame) on volume seventy-nine of the Collected Works of Erasmus, a translation and annotation of two apologiae of Erasmus against the Carthusian monk and Paris theologian, Pierre Cousturier. Recent Publications include Metaphor in the Apologia and Newman's Conversion in Ian Ker ed., Newman and Conversion.
Campus Office
Saint Edmund's Hall 236
Phone: 802.654.2313
Box 373
E-mail: rbegley@smcvt.edu
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John Izzi
Professor of Philosophy
B.A. Fordham University; Ph.D. Université de Paris - Sorbonne
Courses Taught: Philosophy of Human Existence; Spinoza; Nietzsche; Heidegger; Introduction to Philosophy
Areas of Expertise: Dr. Izzi is a specialist in European philosophy from the nineteenth century to the present (especially Nietzsche and Heidegger). He is also interested in the thought of Spinoza, Plotinus, and Chuang-Tzu.
Recent Scholarly Achievements: Dr. Izzi wrote "Proximity in Distance: Lévinas and Plotinus," in Lévinas and the Ancients (Indiana University Press, 2008). He is currently researching the non-identifiable dimension of our self and the world.
On Teaching and Research: Dr. Izzi teaches the same philosophers and themes during the academic year that he writes about during the summer months. This approach helps him to integrate the teaching and research components of his professional life. He especially likes to teach courses devoted to a particular philosopher because the class size is smaller and the level is more advanced.
Outside Saint Michael's: Dr. Izzi enjoys travel, going to art exhibits, and physical exercise. He lives in Paris when Saint Michael's is not in session.
Campus Office
Saint Edmund's Hall 242
Phone: 802.654.2367
Box 182
E-mail: jizzi@smcvt.edu
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Katherine E. Kirby
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Global Studies
B.A. Salisbury State University; M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Fordham
View Dr. Kirby's Curriculum Vitae
Courses Taught: Ethics; Introduction to Philosophy; Ethics of the Heroic; Otherness and Marginalization: Levinas and the Alienated; Truth and Propaganda: Ethics and the Media; First-Year Seminar: Global Studies; Foundations of Global Studies
Areas of Expertise: Ethics (including the philosophical ethics tradition, metaethics, applied ethics); Emmanuel Levinas (French postmodern ethicist); Continental Philosophy; Global Studies
Recent Scholarly Achievements: Dr. Kirby has two recent journal publications, including: "The Hero and Asymmetrical Obligation: Levinas and Ricoeur in Dialogue," which appeared in the June 2010 issue of International Philosophical Quarterly and "Encountering and Understanding Suffering: The Need for Service-Learning in Ethical Education," which appeared in the June 2009 issue of Teaching Philosophy. The latter publication was chosen to be the topic of a plenary session at the 2009 North American Levinas Society conference in Toronto, and a shorter version of this paper was presented at a session of the 2007 meeting of the Association of Moral Education. Another article entitled "War and Peace, Power and Faith" was released in the book, X-Men and Philosophy, in 2009.
On Teaching and Research: Dr. Kirby's research interests coincide very closely with her teaching. She has been able to develop courses that tackle the very questions with which she grapples in her work, which ensures that her course material continues to be fresh and innovative. Dr. Kirby is a huge proponent of service-learning courses, especially in courses that challenge students to think about ethical or moral responsibility and engagement, where she finds that service-learning opportunities set the stage for a close philosophical (phenomenological) exploration of lived experiences. During the summer of 2008, Dr. Kirby and five students from her course, Otherness and Marginalization, traveled to Lima, Peru, to expand their classroom experience. They worked in Mission of Charity home, in a soup kitchen, and in a school, as part of their many interactions with the local culture. Learn more >>
And in May of 2010, upon teaching the Otherness course again, she took 6 students on a two week, 2-credit course to Georgetown, Guyana, where they integrated coursework with their volunteer engagement at the Palms Institution for the elderly, disabled, and dying; Mahaica Leprosy Residence; St. John Bosco Boys’ Orphanage; and the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Center for children with disabilities. Both of these trips followed a semester studying the work of Emmanuel Levinas paired with service-learning partnerships with senior citizens at St. Joseph Residential Care Home, in Burlington.
Outside Saint Michael's: Dr. Kirby enjoys hikes, playing with her dog Abigail, movies, cooking, selected television shows, and spending time with friends and family.
Learn more about Dr. Kirby in her faculty spotlight.
Campus Office
Saint Edmund's Hall 233
Phone: 802.654.2873
Box 368
E-mail: kkirby@smcvt.edu
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Crystal L'Hôte
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
B.A. Colgate University; M.A., Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University
Courses Taught: Contemporary Analytic Philosophy; Philosophy of Mind; Logic: Laws of Thought; Feminist Philosophy; Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Environment; Philosophy of Human Nature; Introduction to Philosophy
Areas of Expertise: Philosophy of mind (and cognates), metaphysics and epistemology, and feminist philosophy, all in the analytic tradition. Dr. L'Hôte's research engages contemporary iterations of the mind-body problem, generally advancing the thesis that mindedness defies reductive explanation. Her current works focuses on two topics: the metaphysics of brain parcellation and functional localization in the neurosciences, and the relationship between mental states and moral endeavors, e.g., between memory, emotion, and forgiveness.
Recent Scholarly Achievements: Dr. L'Hôte has published journal articles and reviews, has been invited to present her work at national and international conferences and workshops, and has been awarded local and national fellowships. Her work has appeared in Evolution: Education and Outreach, The Journal of Value Inquiry, and Metapsychology, and she has recently delivered papers at the joint session of the Aristotelian Society and Mind Association (on emotion and epistemology); at the University of Osnabrueck (on the hypothesis of extended cognition); at the University of Hertfordshire (on narrative and theory of mind), and at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (on thoughtlessness and virtue epistemology). Dr. L’Hôte is also one of fifteen scholars awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship to participate in a six-week Metaphysics and Mind seminar at Washington University in St. Louis.
On Teaching: Dr. L’Hôte’s courses highlight the ongoing relevance of philosophy. Philosophy of Mind engages contemporary neuroscience; Logic: Laws of Thought prepares students for the Law School Admissions Test; Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Environment examines responsibilities to nature and environment; and Philosophy of Human Nature pairs timeless philosophic topics with timely topics in bioethics. Dr. L’Hôte also makes efforts to see that learning extends beyond the classroom: she launched the Plato Lecture and is the regular host of the Philosophers’ Table.
Outside Saint Michael's: Dr. L'Hôte has competed in triathlons and running events (long and short distances), and generally enjoys rigorous physical activity, whether hiking in the Green Mountains with her dog or cross-country skiing in the wooded areas of Burlington.
Campus Office
Saint Edmund's Hall 238
Phone: 802.654.2481
Box 376
E-mail: clhote@smcvt.edu
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R. Michael Olson
Associate Professor of Philosophy
B.A. Boise State University; M.A., Ph.D. Emory University
Dr. Olson specializes in Ancient and Nineteenth-Century Philosophy. His interests within these areas include moral psychology, political philosophy and the philosophy of religion. Dr. Olson has published on John Henry Newman and is currently working on Aristotle’s philosophical psychology.
Campus Office
Saint Edmund's Hall 227
Phone: 802.654.2416
Box 354
E-mail: rolson@smcvt.edu
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Prof. Lara Ostaric
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
B.A. University of Chicago; Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
Courses Taught: Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Kant: Action and Value, Kant’s Critique of Judgment, History of Aesthetics, Early Modern Philosophy, Philosophy of Society, Introduction to Philosophy
Areas of Expertise: Dr. Ostaric specializes in Kant and post-Kantian European philosophy. Her interests within these areas include ethics and aesthetics, metaphysics and epistemology.
Recent Scholarly Achievements: Dr. Ostaric’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in journals such as Kant-Studien, Inquiry, Kantian Review, and Philosophisches Jahrbuch. She is the editor of Interpreting Schelling: Critical Essays forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. Dr. Ostaric has delivered peer reviewed and invited presentations at the meetings of the American Philosophical Association, North American Kant Society, Society for German Idealism, 10th and 11th International Kant Congress, University of California San Diego, Università di Bologna, and Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba. Dr. Ostaric is currently working on a book manuscript entitled Critique of Judgment and the Unity of Kant’s Critical System.
On Teaching and Research: Dr. Ostaric believes that scholarship helps one teach more effectively and many times an insigtful question from a student helps her think more thoroughly about her own research topics.
Outside Saint Michael’s: Dr. Ostaric enjoys long distance running, skiing, and cuddling with her baby daughter, Lucretia.
Campus Office
Saint Edmund's Hall 240
Phone: 802.654.2208
Box 153
E-mail: lostaric@smcvt.edu
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Patrick Standen
Instructor of Philosophy
B.A., University of Vermont; M.A., Boston College
Mr. Standen’s interests in philosophy stem from a brilliant high school philosophy course he chanced to take. He would subsequently pursue an undergraduate degree in analytical philosophy and a graduate degree in continental thought. Mr. Standen has also completed graduate studies in psychoanalysis and philosophy at Harvard University, the philosophy of education at the University of Vermont, comparative law at Harvard Law School and literature and politics at Boston University. He served as an editorial assistant on the scholarly journal Philosophy and Social Criticism. His research interests include examining the philosophical and historic dimensions of disability, as well as studying the history of ideas and aesthetics.
Campus Office
Durick Library 332
Phone: 802.654.2407
Box 308
E-mail: pstanden@smcvt.edu