Faculty Profile

Jeff Engelhardt

Associate Professor of Philosophy (2014)

Contact Information

engelhaj@dickinson.edu

East College Room 205
717-254-8301
https://sites.google.com/site/virtualjeffengelhardt/home

Bio

My research focuses on interactions between minds, language, and broader social structures. In one recent paper, for instance, I consider how gendered linguistic norms might contribute to the prevalence of gaslighting. In the recent book Nonideal Theory and Content Externalism (Oxford, 2024), I argue that many, perhaps most, theories of language implicitly assume that oppression doesn't affect the structures that determine linguistic meaning; in fact, however, oppression systematically shapes these structures, and thus such theories of language are systematically inaccurate. In the past, I've worked on metaphysical issues relevant to minds, cognitive science, and causation; I'm still interested in those things, but I don't have research plans in those areas right now. In the coming years, I plan to explore how solidarity, mutual aid, and political organizing affect language and what can be thought. In addition to Philosophy 101, I teach courses in logic, philosophy of race and gender, philosophy of mind, philosophy of sex, metaphysics, philosophy of language, and phenomenology.  

Curriculum Vitae

Education

  • B.A., Saint Peter's College, 2004
  • Ph.D., Georgetown University, 2011

2023-2024 Academic Year

Fall 2023

PHIL 103 Logic
The study and practice of forms and methods of argumentation in ordinary and symbolic languages, focusing on elements of symbolic logic and critical reasoning, including analysis and assessment of arguments in English, symbolizing sentences and arguments, constructing formal proofs of validity in sentential and quantificational logic.Offered every semester, or every three out of four semesters.

ARTH 252 Philosophy of Art
Cross-listed with PHIL 252-01.

PHIL 252 Philosophy of Art
Cross-listed with ARTH 252-01.

PHIL 303 Epistemology
This seminar will probe key issues in epistemology, such as: the nature of knowledge and justification, the challenge of skepticism, the relation of sense perception to conceptual thought. Prerequisites: three prior courses in philosophy, at least two at the 200 level, or permission of the instructor.

Spring 2024

PHIL 101 Intro to Philosophy
An introduction to Western philosophy through an examination of problems arising in primary sources. How major philosophers in the tradition have treated such questions as the scope of human reason, the assumptions of scientific method, the nature of moral action, or the connections between faith and reason.

PHIL 113 Dialogue and Difference
Cross-listed with RELG 260-02.

WGSS 201 Sex
Cross-listed with PHIL 261-03. This course investigates sex, sexual activity, sexual orientations, and related philosophical topics. We'll consider questions such as, Is sex important? What is morally good sex, if there is such a thing? What is a sexual orientation? What roles should sex, sexual activity, and sexual orientation play in our lives?

RELG 260 Dialogue and Difference
Cross-listed with PHIL 113-01.

PHIL 261 Sex
Cross-listed with WGSS 201-03. This course investigates sex, sexual activity, sexual orientations, and related philosophical topics. We'll consider questions such as, Is sex important? What is morally good sex, if there is such a thing? What is a sexual orientation? What roles should sex, sexual activity, and sexual orientation play in our lives?