What is Philosophy?
- Rational examination of the world
- Unearthing sedimented ideas and concepts that we may take for granted
- Asking big questions about truth, goodness, beauty, and meaning
- Testing out ideas through rigorous debate
- Also, an academic discipline
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A strong portion of my background and training is in philosophy, especially, but not exclusively, environmental philosophy and ethics (see below for details).
In 2021, I completed my PhD dissertation in Environmental Studies focused on the ethical implications of ways of knowing, especially in relation to conservation management. My master's thesis in philosophy on wildness in and beyond wilderness isn't too shabby either.
Find me on Academia.
I taught philosophy as a full-time instructor at Rocky Mountain College in spring 2023, teaching two sections of Intro to Philosophy, one section of ethics, and one section of Contemporary Philosophy focused on Pragmatism. I also taught four quarters of Introduction to Philosophy and two quarters of World Religions for Central Texas College from 2010-2015. Finally, I assisted and graded several courses during my graduate education.
Some philosophical writings
Do Clouds Have Politics? Reflections on Aesthetic Encounter with Nature | 2025 | Nordic Journal of Aesthetic
Prior Conception and Inuit Knowledge in a Changing World | April 2018 | Environmental Thoughts
My wilderness page includes several publications, presentations, and writings on wilderness philosophy.
A strong portion of my background and training is in philosophy, especially, but not exclusively, environmental philosophy and ethics (see below for details).
In 2021, I completed my PhD dissertation in Environmental Studies focused on the ethical implications of ways of knowing, especially in relation to conservation management. My master's thesis in philosophy on wildness in and beyond wilderness isn't too shabby either.
Find me on Academia.
I taught philosophy as a full-time instructor at Rocky Mountain College in spring 2023, teaching two sections of Intro to Philosophy, one section of ethics, and one section of Contemporary Philosophy focused on Pragmatism. I also taught four quarters of Introduction to Philosophy and two quarters of World Religions for Central Texas College from 2010-2015. Finally, I assisted and graded several courses during my graduate education.
Some philosophical writings
Do Clouds Have Politics? Reflections on Aesthetic Encounter with Nature | 2025 | Nordic Journal of Aesthetic
Prior Conception and Inuit Knowledge in a Changing World | April 2018 | Environmental Thoughts
My wilderness page includes several publications, presentations, and writings on wilderness philosophy.
Though my PhD is in Environmental Studies, please note that the topical concentration of my dissertation was in philosophy and my advisor was a well-regarded environmental ethicist with a PhD in philosophy. My committee also included ecophenomenologist Ted Toadvine. Furthermore, my MA is in philosophy. I have also taught or assisted teaching philosophy and/or religious studies at Rocky Mountain College, the University of Colorado-Boulder, the University of Montana, and Central Texas College
Additionally, my professional engagement with philosophy has been substantive, as evidenced by conference and workshop participation, recent publications and works in progress. These include that I:
Additionally, my professional engagement with philosophy has been substantive, as evidenced by conference and workshop participation, recent publications and works in progress. These include that I:
- Published an article in Environmental Values
- Presented at the Nordic Aesthetics conference in 2024 and published a paper in the Nordic Journal of Aesthetics
- Published a book chapter in Artistic Witness and Response to Environmental Change in the Arctic, which incorporates philosophical considerations of the senses
- Participated in three International Society for Environmental Ethics conferences (as a paper presenter in 2018 and as a commenter in 2023 and 2025) as well as the Pacific APA in 2025
- Have a forthcoming paper based on a panel I presented at and moderated on The Universal Values of Wilderness? at the World Wilderness Congress Global Gathering on Knowledge, Wisdom, and Ways of Knowing in 2024
- Published a paper in AI & Society
- Have a paper in progress on The Moral and Ecological Rationales for Roadless Areas: An Icelandic Case Study
- Presented on Sensing Ice: A Philosophical-Aesthetic Investigation of Immediacy and Mediation at Ice and Water: Circular Thinking on Cultural and Environmental Sustainability in Iceland in 2024
- Ran a workshop on Bringing the Environmental Humanities out into the World at the Greenhouse Center for Environmental Humanities at Stavanger University in Norway centered primarily on expanding field philosophy into the broader environmental humanities
- Attended a Public Philosophy Network Workshop on Field Philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology