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Professor Robert Baker
B.A. with honors, City College of New York; Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Bob Baker's main areas of research are ethics, medical ethics, and the history of medical ethics. His most recent book is The American Medical Ethics Revolution (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000). He is also the Director of the Center for Bioethics and Clinical Leadership. He is a restless soul who loves to walk, to travel, to meet new people and to try new cuisines.

bakerr@union.edu • 388-6215 • Humanities 020

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Associate Professor Felmon J. Davis
B.A. cum laude, Haverford College; Ph.D., Princeton University

Felmon Davis's research centers on moral theory, metaphysics and philosophy of mind, with particular focus on some contemporary treatments of the problem of the objectivity of moral belief and principle, e.g. in "discourse ethics" and analytical meta-ethics. In the end, his question is, what does it make sense for anyone to believe about right and wrong? There are intriguing connections too to recent work in the philosophy of religion (rationality of religious belief).

davisf@union.edu • 388-6205 • Humanities 215A

Professor Raymond Martin (Chair)
Ph.D., University of Rochester

Ray Martin taught at the University of Maryland for many years before coming to Union College in 2002. The author and editor of several books, his research has been primarily in the areas of personal identity theory and the philosophy of history. His current project is a history of personal identity theory, to be entitled The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self. A notorious workaholic, he also enjoys traveling, the arts, hiking, movies, and golf.

martinr@union.edu • 388-8011 • Humanities 216A
Personal home page: http://idol.union.edu/~martinr

Visiting Assistant Professor Michael B. Mathias
B.A. magna cum laude, West Virginia University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Rochester

Mike Mathias’s teaching and research interests include moral, political and legal philosophy. He is particularly interested in the historical dimensions of these areas of inquiry. He coaches the Ethics Bowl team and serves as the Director of the Departmental Honors Program. Outside of academics his interests include hiking, camping and astronomy.

mathiasm@union.edu • 388-8024 • Humanities 215D

Professor Linda E. Patrik
B. A. cum laude, Carleton College; Ph.D., Northwestern University

Linda Patrik's teaching and research focus on cross-cultural humanistic questions in philosophy: the good life, altruistic ethics, and the role of art. Her current research is in Tibetan philosophy, particularly Madhyamaka. She is the faculty advisor for I.D.E.A.S., an electronic journal for undergraduate research in Asian Studies. To disconnect the conceptual mind, she dances, gardens and meditates — all at the same time.

patrikl@union.edu • 388-6240 • Humanities 216B

Mrs. Marianne V. Snowden (Administrative Assistant)

Marianne Snowden is the Administrative Assistant for both the Philosophy and Classics Departments, where she has worked since coming to the College twenty years ago. She is an unparalleled source of departmental history and advice. She also serves as the resident notary public. Outside the office she is the mother of two, and spends a lot of time on soccer fields and training the newly-acquired family pet, a Brittany Spaniel named Abby.

snowdenm@union.edu • 388-6376 • Humanities 215

Visiting Assistant Professor Lisa Warenski
B.A. cum laude, Wellesley College; M.A., New York University; Ph.D. with Honors, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Lisa Warenski will be joining the Department in Fall 2004. Her teaching and research interests are concentrated in epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of science. She is currently working on several projects in the epistemology of logic. A former dancer and choreographer, she counterbalances her philosophical life with a variety of dance and movement classes. She also enjoys the arts, travel, and conversation with friends.

warenskl@union.edu • 388-6376 • Humanities 215C

Visiting Instructor Peter Lupu
B.A., City University of New York; M.A., Columbia University; Ph.D. candidate, Columbia University

Peter Lupu's areas of specialization are philosophy of language and of mind, ethics and applied ethics. The subject of his dissertation is radical interpretation and linguistic norms. In addition, Peter is currently writing a paper on the topic "Why Do Innocent People Suffer?" and is exploring how certain Biblical themes may help us understand this question better. His hobbies are riding a Harley Davidson, dancing, and listening to music.

peterlupu1@icqmail.com • 325-5682 • Humanities 215E

Associate Professor William Vitek
B.A., Union College; Ph.D. with Honors, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Bill Vitek  teaches Envrionmental Ethics and Environmental Literature at Union. He is the author of one book (Promising), and numerous articles and essays on the topics of agriculture, environmental ethics, social policy, and civic philosophy. He is Associate Director of Clarkson University's Center for the Environment.  He is also a jazz pianist and composer with three recordings devoted to children's music.

vitek@clarkson.edu • 388-6376 • Humanities 215

Visiting Instructor Chalmers Clark
B. S. magna cum laude, honors in philosophy, Union College; M.A., Ph.D. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Chalmers Clark will split his time at Union and as Visiting Fellow in Philosophy and with the Institute for Social & Policy Studies at Yale University. His background is in the naturalized epistemology of W. V. Quine. His interest is to extend Quine's scientific holism into the domain of moral and political thought. The result has been research and publication in several interdisciplinary forms. Current work is on trust relations in the professions (medicine especially), the professions as stewards of public trusts, and the role public trusts play in the basic structure of a free society. After class, Chalmers practices (not plays) the violin, runs (slowly), and looks for short cuts to logic problems.

Visiting Instructor James Walker
B.A., University of Rochester; Ph.D., expected December 2004, University at Albany

James Walker's research centers on epistemology and the history of early modern and 19th century German philosophy, with particular focus on epistemology in the period from Kant to Hegel. He is currently in the process of putting the finishing touches on his dissertation Hegel's Response to Meta-Critical Skepticism in the Phenomenology of Spirit. Outside of academia he enjoys listening to music, playing the guitar, having the Boston Red Sox crush his spirit, and hanging out with his dog Miles.