Philosophy Department

Philosophy is studied by professionals across a range of fields, each benefiting from its emphasis on critical thinking, ethics, and reasoning. Academics and educators in philosophy itself engage with the subject deeply, contributing to theoretical discourse and teaching students. Lawyers and judges also study philosophy, particularly ethics and logic, as it helps in understanding moral implications and constructing sound arguments.

Politicians and public policy makers often draw from political philosophy and ethics to guide decision-making and governance. In fields like psychology and neuroscience, professionals explore the philosophical aspects of consciousness and the mind. Additionally, business leaders and corporate strategists may study philosophy, particularly ethics, to navigate complex decision-making and corporate responsibility.

Read more here: https://www.apaonline.org/page/whostudiesphilosophy

• Broadens the range of things that you can understand and enjoy
• Makes a substantial contribution to your expressive powers
• Enhances your self-knowledge, foresight, and sense of direction in life
• Brings you into contact with the most important and fundamental human questions
• Develop your critical skills that offer you the best defense against foolishness and falsehoods
• Enhances your problem-solving capacities
• Teaches interpretive, comparative, argumentative, and description writing skills

• Brain in a Vat: https://www.youtube.com/c/BraininaVat
• Philosophize This!: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
• The Partially Examined Life: https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/
• Link to additional resources on the APA website: https://www.apaonline.org/general/recommended_links.asp?cc=33368 

Steven Berg, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy

Alumni Hall 119, Phone (502) 272-8188
Email: sberg@bellarmine.edu

Education:

• Ph.D., Philosophy, The Catholic University of America
• M.A., Philosophy, The Catholic University of America
• M.A., Program of Liberal Studies, St John’s College
• B.A., Liberal Arts, The New School for Social Research

Book:

• Eros and the Intoxications of Enlightenment: On Plato’s Symposium. State University of New York Press. April 2010.

Katherine Johnson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy

Alumni Hall 209, Phone (502) 272-8204
Email: kjohnson@bellarmine.edu

Education:

• Ph.D. (Philosophy), Loyola University Chicago
• M.A. (Applied Philosophy), Loyola University Chicago
• B.A., Philosophy, Providence College

Areas of Specialization:

Moral Philosophy, Bioethics

Books:

• “Bioethics in Physical Therapy: A Reader, 1^st ed.” Cognella Academic Publishing, 2023.  

Select Recent Publications:

• “The Moral Pillars of Biomedical Ethics,” in Bioethics in Physical Therapy: A Reader (2023).
• “Hope and Autonomy,” in Bioethics in Physical Therapy: A Reader (2022). 
• “Uncertainty in Healthcare: Clinical and Philosophical Perspectives,” in Bioethics in Physical Therapy: A Reader (2022).
• “Ignorance and Hope,” in The Bright and the Good: The Connection between the Intellectual and Moral Virtues, ed. Audrey Anton (Rowman & Littlefield International, 2018).

Tedx Talk:

The Revelation of Hope (and Virtue)

Sample of Recent Courses:

• Bioethics
• Philosophy of Hope (for Honors students)
• Logic

Joshua Golding, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Philosophy

Email: jgolding@bellarmine.edu

Education:

• Ph.D., M.A., Philosophy, University of Pittsburg
• B.A., Philosophy, Columbia University

Areas of Specialization:

Philosophy of Religion, Jewish Philosophy

Dr. Golding has taught philosophy for over thirty years. His primary research and publication areas include Philosophy of Religion and Jewish Philosophy.  He has published in the area of Pragmatic Justification of Religious Faith, including Pascal's Wager. He has also published articles and books dealing with the intersection of philosophy and Judaism, including the mystical tradition of Judaism known as the Kabbalah. His books include, Rationality and Religious Theism, The Conversation, and  The Way of the Name: The Jewish Spiritual Path.

Sample of Recent Courses:

• Philosophy of God
• Philosophy of Religion

Books:

• The Jewish Spiritual Path: The Way of the Name. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2019.
• The Conversation: A Philosophical Novel.  Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2011.
• Rationality and Religious Theism.  London: Ashgate Academic Press, 2003 (published as part of the Ashgate series in philosophy of religion, edited by Paul Helm, Jerome Gellman, and Linda Zagzebski).

Recent Publications:

• “Commitment to Judaism in the Modern Era,” invited essay for Strauss, Spinoza & Judaism: Contemporary Responses to Modern Questions of Faith. New York: Kodesh Press, 2022.
• “The Wager Argument,” invited submission for Contemporary Arguments in Natural Theology, edited by Rulof and Horban. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.
• “Atzmut and Sefirot: A New Approach,” invited for Analytic Jewish Philosophy, edited by Lebens, Rabinowitz, and Segal. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
• “Noahide Commandments and Natural Law,” published in VoeglinView, edited by Lee Trepanier. April, 2019.
• “Prudential Arguments for Religious Faith,” invited essay for Theism and Atheism: Opposing Arguments in Philosophy, MacMillan (Cengage) USA, 2019.
• “The Role of Pascal's Wager in Authentic Religious Commitment,” invited essay for Classical Philosophical Arguments: Pascal's Wager, edited by Bartha and Pasternack, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
• “The Wager Argument: A Critical Analysis of Pragmatic Justification of Faith in the Work of    Blaise Pascal and William James,” invited essay for Philosophy: Religion, edited by Donald M. Borchert for Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks: Philosophy series. March, 2017.

David C. Scott, J.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Director, Pre-Law Program

Alumni Hall 110
Email: dscott3@bellarmine.edu

Education:

• Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Kentucky
• J.D., Harvard Law School  
• B.A., Philosophy, Vanderbilt University

Areas of Specialization:

Philosophy of Law, Social & Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Social Epistemology

Dr. Scott's teaching & research interests are inspired by the implications of sharing social, political, and physical space with persons holding diverse moral, religious, and political beliefs. Some of his current interests include: How the law ought to protect spaces deemed sacred by religious minorities; Disagreements about sources of judicial interpretation, including stare decisis and original intent; How our physical, online, and media communities shape our beliefs & knowledge claims; The appropriate place of moral & religious convictions in public institutions, especially courts & hospitals; The ethics of public discourse in liberal democracies

Sample of Recent Courses:

• Philosophy of Law
• Law of the Land (constitutional theory-focused Honors IDC course)
• Fake News & Public Trust (honors course focusing on social epistemology)
• Free Exercise in the Public Square (Independent Study focusing on religious liberty)
• Healthcare Justice
• Technology Ethics & Society

Recent Publications:

• 2022. Democratizing Conscientious Refusal in Healthcare. HEC Forum.
• 2022. Diversity and Stability in Social Bargaining. Introduction to Symposium on Ryan Muldoon’s Social Contract Theory for a Diverse World. Syndicate.  
• 2017. “Is There Life After Barbarism? Phenomenological Reflections on Science and the Future of the University” (with J. Aaron Simmons). PLI: The Warwick Journal of Philosophy.

Evanthia Speliotis, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy; Humanities Division Chair

Alumni Hall 108, Phone (502) 272-8232
Email: espeliotis@bellarmine.edu

Education:

• Ph.D., Philosophy, Tulane University
• M.A., Philosophy, The Catholic University of America
• B.A., Philosophy, University of Michigan

Areas of Specialization:

Ancient Philosophy

Books:

• Nature, Law, and the Sacred: Essays in honor of Ronna Burger, edited by Evanthia Speliotis (Mercer University Press: 2019)

Recent Publications:

• “Enlightened Piety in Sophocles’ Antigone.”  In Nature, Law, and the Sacred, edited by Evanthia Speliotis (Mercer University Press: 2019), 3-26.
• “Regime, Law, and Statesmanship.” In Promise and Peril: Republics and Republicanism in the History of Political Philosophy, edited by Will Jordan (Mercer University Press: 2017).
• “Sophist and Philosopher in Plato’s Sophist.” In Socratic Philosophy and Its Others, edited by Christopher Dustin and Denise Schaeffer (Lexington Books, 2013): 197-215 (chapter 9).
• “FronhsiV and Law in Plato’s Statesman,” in Ancient Philosophy 31 (2011): 295-310.
• “The True, the good, and the beautiful in Plato’s Statesman,” in Literature & Aesthetics 19(1) (June 2009): 215-36.